ᴋʟᴜᴛᴢ | ʟʀʜ

𝟗. 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐨

"Wakey, wakey," Alina heard a voice whisper in her ear in the late morning.

"Not now," Alina groaned, turning on her side to face the wall and shield herself from the girl standing by her bed. Fortunately, she did not have class this morning because Mr. Smith was giving them an extra day to perfect a paper she finished Monday at 12:30 a.m. Of course, he emailed the day it was due that he was giving them extended time.

"Ashton is at the door for you," Nina added with mock worry and eagerness.

"No, he is fucking not. We are meeting at Ketchup's," Alina huffed, opening her eyes to glare at Nina. "Nice try."

"C'mon Alina. We need you to look nice today."

"It's just Ashton." Jutting her lower lip out in a small pout, the short girl asked, "And when do I not look nice?"

Ignoring the first part of Alina's defense, Nina joked, "Every day."

"Hey!" Alina shouted with a laugh, ripping the pillow out from under her head to bash Nina with it. The room was filled with shrieks and giggles as Nina tried to escape; however, Alina sprung out of bed to follow Nina into the kitchen.

"Got you," Nina boasted, protecting her head from Alina's swings.

"No, I got you!" Alina said exasperatedly, referring to the multiple hits she managed to get in. Dropping her pillow to her side, she quirked an eyebrow at Nina's smirk.

"You're out of bed," Nina stated simply, turning on her heel.

Gasping at this realization, Alina murmured, "You're evil."

"It's called strategy, klutz."

"Don't call me that," Alina frowned, sitting down on one of the stools to peel an orange.

"Oh. Sorry, I forgot that it's reserved for Luke," Nina teased, wiggling her eyebrows. The tall girl had evidently recovered from her sentiments of guilt and sorrow.

"Why are you still on that if you know it's not gonna work," Alina sighed, avoiding using the words 'Luke' and 'girlfriend' in the same sentence. She popped a slice of orange in her mouth, welcoming the bright freshness the citrus brought to her palate.

"Oh no reason," Nina waved her off, turning around to grab a bowl from the wooden cupboard. Now facing away from Alina, the dark-haired girl let her knowing smile spread across her face.

~ ~ ~

Clad in her uniform for her shift at 2:30, Alina pulled open the front door of Ketchup's. Waving at the host, Sammy, she immediately recognized Ashton in a couple of booths away.

The curly-haired man wore a dark red button-up with what looked like a floral pattern. His hair was slicked back with some gel, shining under the dazzling lighting of the restaurant.

"How's it going, love," Ashton greeted cheerfully.

Sliding across from him, Alina gave him a bright grin. "I'm good. How are you?" She asked, flipping open her menu.

"Great now that you're here," he flirted openly, watching for her reaction.

Only laughing awkwardly, the petite girl busied herself with searching a menu she almost already had memorized. How do I show him that I just want to be friends without hurting him? Alina groaned.

"So, what are you studying?" She asked curiously, breaking the suffocating silence.

"Marketing and communications. I actually have a job with a company right now," Ashton beamed. "It's nothing too serious or anything but it's a good experience," the man shrugged before flipping the menu over.