Like Tattoos on This Town

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky nodded and smiled at her, watching as she walked away. Things could have been different if he'd have stayed. But he wouldn't change it now, now that everything seemed to be falling right into place. No matter how much out of place he felt. Licking over his lips he sat one of the vacant chairs allowed him to over look the door in case a customer walked in.

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"I don't want to take time off." She informed him, "besides people my age suck." She told him, shaking her head. "I'm not into partying and sleeping around, but that seems like that's all my friends from school wants to do. And I know where we are now, I just meant from an earlier stand point." She chuckled, "and I maybe a teenager by definition but I'm more of an adult now then most of the men at the shop." She pointed out.

In the kitchen, Hayden got to work cooking the order for table one. She cracked two eggs in a pan, adding a bit of salt and pepper before breaking them up with a fork. She mixed up the mixture for the French toast and started cooking the bacon. When the food was done, she carefully plated it and poured a cup of black coffee. "Oh waiter," she called out teasingly. "Order up. Table one."

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"Well I'm sure you could find people who aren't into that kind of stuff, just go to the library or something, find some nerds," Matt joked. He was beginning to realize that trying to get Laney to make friends was an impossible task. "Well if course you're more of an adult than the guys at the shop," Matt laughed. "It's a bunch of guys in their twenties and thirties. Not exactly a mature bunch."

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky smirked at Hayden, "watch it, or you'll end up paying me for this." He chuckled, before grabbing the plate she offered. He was tempted to lean in a give her a kiss, but knew that it might be pushing his luck. Smiling he turned and exited the kitchen taking the plate out to the gentlemen that ordered it. "Here we go." He said, placing the plate in front of the man. "Can I get you anything else?" He asked, his eyes moving over the table seeing if he could at least fill his cup, but that was a bust.

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Laney laughed out, shaking her head. "You've never been to a southern school." She chuckled. "There aren't such things as nerds, the smart people are like the cool kids." She said trying to explain how the high archery works at a southern school. "The people here don't care about money, it's like the people that are going places are the ones you want to hang out with, we all get a long well but you still have your groups its manly personality that don't mesh." She didn't know if he understood her but that's the best way to put it.

"I'm not paying you for shit," Hayden called back, grinning. She went back to the kitchen, starting on the order for table eight, since the other cooks had already started on the fried chicken. She decided not to bother Zacky with this one, so when the baked potato was ready, she grabbed the plate and took it out into the diner herself. "Here you go," she said, smiling as she handed the plate to the elderly man. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to let us know."

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"Yeah, I went to school on the west coast, everybody was already somewhere," Matt said, grinning. "Or their parents were, which pretty much guaranteed that they'd be going somewhere, too." Matt ventured off of the sidewalk when he spotted a picnic table nearby. He sat the basket down and started pulling things out.

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky smiled as Hayden exited the kitchen, and took the man his food. Shaking his head he finished up with the current order he was taking. "Alright I'll be right back with your drinks." He informed them before moving towards the kitchen nearly bumping into Hayden as he went. "Oh crashing on my section, trying to steal my tips." He scoffed. "Gees first you don't pay me then you you try and take a piece of my pie, hows a man suppose to live?" He teased her.

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Laney moved beside him sitting down and watching as he pulled items out. "No the bad thing about living in the country is everyone wants to be city so bad." She shook her head. "I just want to live life, I don't need friends that drag me down." She told him, "I'm just glad I only have like two more months of high school." She was younger than most kids in her class. But the sad thing was she didn't turn eighteen for almost another year after she graduated.

Hayden rolled her eyes. "I think you'll be fine," she drawled sarcastically, grinning teasingly at Zacky. She touched the small of Zacky's back. "And besides, I'm not gonna steal your tips, I know how bad you need that five dollars." She headed back into the kitchen and saw that the food for table three was ready. She grabbed the plate and carried it out, smirking when she spotted Zacky. "Better come get this plate or this time I actually will take your tips."

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"I'm just saying, if I was in your position, I'd want friends," Matt said, sitting down at the picnic table. "Even if they did ultimately want different things out of life than me. That's what makes life interesting. I mean, after I've been settled in for awhile, I'll probably look for more friends, people who do something other than work on cars."

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky scoffed, before rolling his eyes. Before gracefully allowing her to pass him with the food. "Nah I don't think I need it." He chuckled at her before heading to the kitchen, delivering the order to the cooks, and while he was at it grabbing the couple their drinks.

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Laney smiled at him, "I'm fine with the way things worked out," she said looking up at him. "I mean they'll be leaving for colleges and I'll be here." She shrugged. "I know its not ideal but it's till I get grounded and out on my own. I still have time for friends. I just choose to have the quite life."

"You sure?" Hayden asked, slipping past him. "I thought you might wanna buy some more steaks to cook for me." She took the food over to the table, smiling at the woman and telling her to find Zacky if she needed anything. She walked back to the kitchen and leaned against the wall. She liked having Zacky at the diner. It made work fun. Not that being at the diner wasn't fun before, she just enjoyed flirting with Zacky while she worked.

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Matt just shrugged. "To each their own, I guess," he said, unwrapping his sandwich. He guessed he was just more social than Laney. He'd only been here for a few days and already it was driving him crazy to not have anyone to go out and drink with. He definitely couldn't do that with Laney, not for a few more years. She didn't look the type of person who liked go drink anyway. "I prefer the not-so-quiet life," he said, smiling at her as he handed her a sandwich.

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky scoffed at her comment. "Please I can butcher my own cows if I am in desperate need of cooking steaks for you." He retorted to her, before moving to the table and giving the family their drinks. "Alright I'll have your order out shortly." He smiled at the kids before heading back to the kitchen, he knew the looks were short lived but they still made him feel unwanted at times. But seeing the smile that took over Hayden's face was more than enough to keep him from running from those stares.

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Laney smirked at him before thanking him for the sandwich. "I've noticed." She chuckled. "But you're not going to find what you're used to here." She informed him, "but that's why I suggested the other place, it's more lively than a park." She chuckled. Granted her reasons for taking him there were for other purposes than to drink and act stupid.

"Yes, because I'm sure you trying to butcher a cow will go over well," Hayden teased. She stood in the kitchen for a bit longer before she decided to go out into the seating area and mingle with the customers. She knew most if not all of them by name, or at least by face. And she figured it wouldn't hurt to drag Zacky around a little and introduce him to folks.

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"I know, and that's why I kind of regret coming all the way out here just to work," Matt said, unwrapping his sandwich "It's just...too quiet. And I thought we decided we were going to that other place later, after dinner and the movie?" Matt was honestly a little curious as to what was so special and interesting about this place Laney was talking about, or what made it so lively, as she said.

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky watched as Hayden moved effortlessly through out the diner, talking to people as she went. He some times wished he could do that, but his shy demeanor had him back into the kitchen. Part of the reason he started getting tattooes is they tend to make people look the other way. He liked it when he was left alone.

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Laney smiled at him before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Well I'm glad you moved out here." She told him honestly, he'd changed things for her. And that she was grateful for. Before Matt showed up her future was bleak, no friends, no college, just her and her father. She sighed softly not liking where her thoughts had turned.

Hayden made a short round around the dining area before she went over and grabbed Zacky's hand. "Come on waiter, I'm gonna introduce you to the customers," she said. She grinned at him. "Maybe you'll be a little more social if you know some people." She could tell Zacky was being a little shy and she honestly couldn't blame him. He'd gone off and gotten unaccustomed to southern ways and besides, he looked different than everyone around here. But maybe if Hayden helped everyone realize that Zacky was still one of the sweetest men she'd ever known, then maybe they'd stop looking at him the way they did.

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Matt smiled. "Well at least somebody seems to be," he said. "Pretty much everybody else in this town looks at me like I'm a hoodlum or something." Matt knew there wasn't much he could do to fix that, and honestly he didn't really care. If people didn't like him because of his tattoos, that was their problem. It was mostly old people who looked at him funny, anyway. "So what's this other place you were wanting to go to?" he asked Laney, chewing his sandwich. "It isn't like some teen hangout or something is it?"

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky smiled gripping her hand firmly, letting her lead him around the place introducing him to the people. Most of them were either friends with his grandparents or had at least meet them a time or two. After the first group of people started to talk to him and they reminisced about his and Hayden past. It had turned out one of the men Hayden and Zack had actually smashed his mail box. He remember his grandmother making him buy a new one and even installing it.

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Laney smiled, "it kinda is, but mostly college kids." She informed him. "It's a nice place to hangout at during the day, but people like to party there at night." She told him honestly. "We could have went swimming too." She informed him, though they still could later.

Around nine thirty, things started to slow down, so Hayden decided to close things a little early. She helped to clean up a few of the tables before going to find Zacky, wrapping her arm around his elbow and leaning into him. "So are you coming to stay the night at my house again?" she asked, looking up at him as she let out a yawn. "Or would you rather stay at the farmhouse? It's been awhile since we've had a sleepover there." Hayden grinned at him, remembering how when they were younger, she would sneak away from her parents' house and slip into Zacky's bed. "Either way, we should hurry and decide, I'm tired."

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"Well, we can go there later, after dinner and the movie," Matt said. Laney seemed indirectly insistent on going to that place and Matt couldn't see any harm in going there with her. And maybe going there would be the first step in helping Laney make some friends, although Matt did admit that he liked having her to himself. "So since you know the town better, what should we do before we go to dinner?" Matt asked. "We could go to that place you were talking about, if you wanted to go ahead and go sooner. Or we could do something else. Whatever you want."

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky smiled down at Hayden, pulling his arm gently from her grasp, he slipped it around her waist. "Well I guess a night at the farm is what my lady gets." He informed her, guiding her towards the door. Opening the door for her to exit it from he signed out relief the night was over. He'd had a great time with Hayden today. But the snide comments her sister threw his way while in the kitchen wouldn't be missed. He hoped thing would blow over and the two could really start a fresh new relationship, something the both of them missed out on when he left.

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Laney smiled sadly at Matt. "This is it." She told him flouncing her arm around, displaying the park was the biggest excitement the town held. "Most of the fun people have here is sneaking around." She informed him. Hiding things in a small town was exhilarating, the rush of a secret or the scandalous acts that followed once the sercet slipped. Small town weren't memorable for anything. Kids got good grades because standards of leaving were so high they had to jump to get the fuck out.

It sounded a little weird to hear Zacky call Hayden his lady, but it was a good weird. She followed him out of the diner and over to her truck, waiting for him to get in and buckle his seatbelt before she started the engine and headed off towards the farm. It had been so long since Hayden had been out to the farmhouse, but she still knew the way like the back of her hand, although it was a little different driving than sneaking there on foot. "Man, I can't remember the last time I was here," Hayden said, looking around as she walked into the house. She turned to Zacky was a slight smirk. "Although I do remember wishing that you would just fucking kiss me already."

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"Well maybe we could go back to my house and watch TV or a movie or something," Matt suggested. He knew they were going to see a movie after they went to dinner, but according to Laney, there wasn't much to do here. So Matt had a feeling that if they continued to hang out, they would be watching a lot of movies. It was one thing he was already missing about California. There was always something to do, and he missed that sort of fast-paced lifestyle. "I'll have to take you out to California sometime," Matt said to Laney, flashing his dimples. "There's tons of shit to do where I'm from. You'd like it, I think."

@ ZackyEffingVengeance
Zacky smiled over at her, listening to her talk. He was just glad that he'd been able to patch thing up with her. She had seemed so reluctant in the beginning, and now he had her to himself. It made him wonder if she had been stuck in the past. If she really ever tried, to move past the life she'd envisioned in high school. "You really never visited here after I left?" He questioned, finding it hard to believe she'd cut this place out of her life so easily.

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Laney smiled at him, "you think?" She questioned him. "I don't know the pace of everything just seem so different, almost scary." She informed him, not knowing how she would fair out in Cali. She'd really not thought of anything else but this town, since fifteen. "I don't care what we do, really." She smiled softly, she like taking to him. Most of all she liked hearing him speak.

Hayden shrugged at Zacky's question, tossing her keys onto the kitchen counter. "I never really had a reason to come back here after you left," she answered. "I mean, I liked your grandparents, but the only reason I ever came here was because of you. Once you left this place wasn't really comforting to me anymore. So I stayed away." Hayden sighed, reaching up to pull the ponytail holder from her hair. "Do you have any clothes I could change into?" she asked Zacky, hoping to change the subject. Things were going so well, she didn't want to talk about Zacky's leaving all those years ago. "I want to get out of these clothes and get comfortable."

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"Yeah I think so," Matt said again, smiling. "I mean, I know it's a lot different than what you're used to here, but it's still fun. We could go to the beach, I have a friend who could teach you how to surf. Or we could go to an actual bar or club, and there's several malls there, so maybe shopping. And those are just the well known things. There are tons of hidden places that are just super great. Man...I guess I miss California more than I thought." Matt chuckled, getting to his feet. "Let's go back to my house, then," he said. "We can hang out there until it's time for dinner. We can watch TV or maybe you could teach me to cook like you promised."

@ paradigm;
Zacky listened to her, feeling guilty knowing he'd cause so much pain over the years. "Yeah, I think I have something you can wear." He informed her, before moving towards his old room. Going straight to his dresser, and pulling out clothing. Thing he knew she'd be comfortable wearing, gathering them in his grasp he turned to exit his room. Almost running into her, "shit, I'm sorry I didn't see you there." He muttered, shaking his head, letting out a light chuckle, having been startled by her. "Here you go baby." He said offering her the clothing he'd found.

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Laney smiled over at Matt, "we can head back towards your place." She nibbled on her lip, realizing how eager she sounded. Lightly blushing looking down, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way. She hadn't meant for it to sound so dirty, she'd actually like to teach him how to cook, just spending time with him was enjoyable.

Hayden followed after Zacky as he walked to his bedroom, laughing when he almost ran into her as he left. "Did I scare you?" she teased, seeing him jump. She took the clothes from him, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek before she went into the bathroom to change. Once she was done she went back to Zacky, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his breastbone. "So what should we do with the rest of our evening?" Hayden asked. "Watch movies? Ooh, we should find some whiskey and go get drunk in the hayloft of the barn like we used to, do you remember that?"

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Matt raised an eyebrow at how eager Laney seemed to be about going over to his house. He knew she didn't mean it that way, but it still sounded a little dirty. "Well let's go, then, he said. He offered his hand to Laney, pulling her to her feet and leading her out to his car. "Now fair warning, my house is a little cramped and really dirty because I don't like to clean," Matt told her as they drove away. He chuckled. "So sorry in advance. If I would've known that a pretty girl was going to be in my house, I would've cleaned up a little."