Morning Shift

Chinese Food

Nicky could see Jonah waiting for him through the window of the restaurant, playing with his straw and staring outside as Priya talked.

He could not get his legs to move.

Nicky wasn't afraid of much. He liked to think of himself as a pretty courageous person, so he couldn't figure out just why his legs wouldn't move out from under the dash. They stayed stationary on the floor like they were super glued down. He stared down at them, watching them bounce up and down against his will. He hoped that maybe if he stared hard enough, his legs would move by themselves.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't work.

When Nicky looked back up, he noticed other two hadn't seen him yet, so he had a bit of time to psych himself up before he walked in.

Maybe it was because he was so cold. He decided to ditch his puffy jacket and just wear a giant sweatshirt and joggers, which wasn't exactly Minnesota winter material. He tried on two full outfits before deciding on the one he walked out of the house with, and he was still sort of iffy on it. In his defense, he rarely wore anything besides his uniform and pajamas, so he wasn't a very fashionable guy.

He started to feel like he was able to leave the car, so peered inside again and found the two staring back at him, one with a huge smile and the other already sticking her middle finger up like she knew he'd walk inside and make some stupid comment (in her defense, he probably would).

Then, Jonah gave him a little wave.

        And his feet were stuck to the ground again.

        "Oh fuck you," he said to his body.

        He decided not to read into it, especially after one look from Jonah basically caused him paralyzation. Honestly, he just wanted to get some egg rolls in his system before he went home and had to control the little Haddad siblings, so after a few more seconds of silently swearing at himself, he got up, locked the car, and walked inside.

        "You look different without your aprons," he told them right as he slid into the booth across from Jonah.

        "What the fuck does that mean, Nicky?" He thought to himself.

        Jonah just shrugged, probably not realizing how awkward Nicky was feeling at that moment. In the two weeks he'd gotten to know him, Nicky got the feeling Jonah was a pretty naive guy. He didn't really seem phased by Nicky's natural standoffish nature, which, as he's been told by too many people to count, makes him "boring," and "hard to connect with."

        And to those people, he would like to say a kind, "fuck off and leave me alone."

        But Jonah didn't seem to have a problem with it, and Nicky sort of liked that.

        "Well, we do have lives outside of our minimum wage jobs, Nicolas," Priya remarked, popping her head out from behind Jonah.

        "Hey, Priya."

        She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

        After that, Nicky didn't bother including Priya in the conversation. He turned to Jonah and focused on him, genuinely wanting to talk to him this time. He regretted not taking advantage of the first time they spoke on the walk to the pharmacy, fearing he'd never have that opportunity with the other boy again. He was never much for social interaction, but Jonah made it easy.