Private Universe

I'd ordered my favorite. Turkey sand which with fries. Alex got a grilled cheese with soup. We were sitting in the corner near the window. The place was small and crowded for a little diner. But I was assuming it had some amazing food. I didn't know I was hungry until they brought the food to us. The serving size was enormous and I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat it all. I took a bite of my sand which and nearly died.

"This is amazing." I said.

"No doubt. I don't think I've ever had such a good grilled cheese."

I laughed. "I still cannot believe you got a grilled cheese and soup. It's not soup weather."

"Sure it is. Soup is like..." He thought for a minute.

"Ice cream. You can eat it whenever."

"You can't eat ice cream whenever. Especially not in the winter. It's too cold." He said rolling his eyes.

"I eat it in the winter all the time. I'm from Colorado. If you don't eat it in the winter there is something wrong with you."

He snorted. "Seriously?"

"Yes. I eat ice cream year round."

"Huh. "I'll have to try it."

"Oh you will. I'll make sure of it." I grinned and continued to eat.

Behind the counter of the diner there was a young girl who couldn't stop staring at us. It made me uncomfortable but I figured she knew who Alex was and she wasn't happy that I was with him. I tried to focus on the food in front of me but it wasn't happening. Finally I sighed.

"Alex?"

"Hmm?" He looked at me with a full mouth.

I leaned closer to him and I saw the girl shift from the corner of my eye. "There's a girl behind the counter who won't stop staring at us." He looked over at her and I saw her straighten up and pretend to do something else.

He laughed. "Huh. Maybe she's a fan?"

"Maybe. But it's making me nervous."

"It's okay. Want me to talk to her?" He smirked and I really wanted to slap his arm.

"No. I just...I dunno."

"It's all right. I won't let her hurt you."

I sighed. It wasn't exactly the reaction I wanted but I didn't want to cause a scene. The diner was too small to really talk about it. I finished my food, surprisingly, and waited for Alex to finish. Our waitress came by dropping off the check for us and smiling sweetly. I was about to grab it but Alex took it from me. Again.

"Alex. I need to pay for something."

"Fat chance." He grinned.

"This isn't fair. I haven't paid for anything since we met."

He rolled his eyes. "Good. That's how it should be."

I sighed. "You kind of suck, you know that?"

"I don't. Enlighten me?"

"No."

"That's because you can't think of a single reason why I suck." He grinned and I had to admit he was right.

"Still. I should pay for something. Are you forgetting I have money now?" I smirked at him.

"Not at all. I just like being able to take care of someone." He smiled.

"But I eat like a pig. I should pay for something."

He laughed. "That's the best part. You eat all the food. I've dated girls who eat almost nothing of what they order. That bugs me."

I sighed. I wasn't going to win this. "Fine. Can we go? I thought I saw some shops that I wanted to check out."

He grinned. "Absolutely."

We got out of the booth and headed for the counter. The young girl from earlier rang up our check and I stood there waiting. Alex kept throwing glances my way and I couldn't help but grin. The girl handed him his money and spoke to him.

"I'm sorry. I know you're probably not in the mood for this but, are you Alex Gaskarth from All Time Low?" I knew it. She was a fan and it looked like she was obsessed with them. I sighed. We were probably never going to get out of here.

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

Her eyes got big and her face broke into a grin. "I'm a fan. Huge fan. And I haven't seen you guys live and it's killing me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like you guys helped me through a lot. I was with this guy and he was an asshole and then I heard about you guys and I don't know. You really helped me through some serious shit."

"Wow. I'm glad we did something good. I didn't think our songs were that good." He grinned at her and I knew she wanted to melt. It was the feeling I got every time he grinned at me.

"I know this is really fan girl of me but I was wondering if I could get a picture? And maybe an autograph?" She looked nervous and I couldn't help but smile.

"Of course!" He grinned at her and looked at me as she ran to the back to probably get a camera. "I'm sorry."

I waved him off. "Don't worry about it. I get it. Besides, she's cute. And not crazy like some of the others I've seen."

He smiled at me. "You're the best." He kissed my cheek and the girl came back out.

"I'm Jess, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Jess. This is my girl Zooey." I smiled at her and she grinned.

"You're really pretty, did you know that?" I felt myself blush a little.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

I saw Alex roll his eyes. "She's beautiful."

"Zooey? Will you take the picture?" Jess asked.

"Sure." I smiled at her.

Alex put his arm around her shoulder and she put hers around his waist. She was grinning so hard I was sure her face was going to stick like that but it was cute. Alex smiled too and I took the picture. The camera was one of those old ones where the film comes out almost automatically and then you have to wait for a little bit before it shows up. The three of us stood around the photo waiting for it to show up. When it did I saw Jess's eyes fill with tears.

"Thank you so much." She said and out of nowhere she wrapped her arms around Alex and hugged him.

He laughed. "No problem. Got a sharpie?"

She let go and dug through one of the drawers under the cash register. She pulled one out and handed it to Alex. He leaned over the photo and signed it. He handed both the picture and sharpie back to her and she started to cry.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I'm usually not this emotional. But wow. Thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it. I hope everything works out." He said taking my hand.

Jess smiled at us. "You guys are cute. I hope you stay together. You seem good for each other." She laughed a little. "Not that I would know. I've only just met you."

Alex grinned. "She's perfect." He looked at me and I could tell I was blushing again. "Anyway, we have to get going. It was nice meeting you. I hope you can make it to a show soon."

"Me too." She grinned and we waved goodbye as we left the diner.

"She was cute." I said.

He laughed. "I guess so. I didn't realize how much our music meant to people."

"It may not be perfect or have some seriously deep lyrics but it's good, Alex." I grinned at him.

"Now I know what you really think of us?" He smirked.

"I'm just being honest."

"Oh really?" Before I knew what was happening Alex had grabbed my sides and started tickling me. I giggled and screamed at him to stop.

"Alex! Quit it!" I was practically curling up into myself trying to get him to stop. I couldn't stop laughing and he pushed me up against the wall of the building next to the diner.

He grinned at me before kissing me with so much passion it should have been illegal.