Diner Boy

A very distinctive cheer of "yes" went around the high school stadium as the Warriors' star quarterback, Dylan Marks, scored the final touchdown. The boys on the team all cheered and picked Dylan up, carrying him around like he was the king of football, the best there is.

Valerie Hewitt looked around at all the faces in the crowd, the large, proud smiles on their faces as their prodigies cheered for Dylan and the Warriors' victory. She didn't understand what the fuss was all about. It was a football game. Sure, it was the championship game, but the Warriors won it every year. It was exciting the first year that they won but that was at least 20 years ago. They hadn't lost a game since. Valerie's brothers had all dragged her to come see the games when they were in high school, so did her cousins and her parents, and her friends' siblings, so really, she'd been to a majority of all the games since she'd been born. Naturally, it gets boring after a while, especially if you're a girl who doesn't care for football.

Who cares what she thought though because in their town, football was like church apparently. Everyone had to attend.

"Valerie!" her friend, Caroline, screamed in her ear as she jumped up and down. Valerie flinched and pulled away from Caroline.

"What?" she asked.

"Aren't you excited?! Aren't you happy?!" Caroline exclaimed. Valerie was going to need hearing aids by the time she finished high school unless Caroline changed the pitch of her voice. Jesus.

"Why would I be?"

Caroline stared at Valerie, open mouthed. Well, Valerie thought, at least she stopped screaming.

"W-wh-why should you be? Are you kidding me?! Your boyfriend just scored the winning touchdown and you can't find a reason to be happy or excited? Are you joking?" Caroline ranted, flabbergasted.

"Dylan scores every touchdown, every game, every year. What's so different about this year?" Valerie asked her friend as she got up and started walking out of the stadium. She'd find Dylan at the diner they always went to after football games. Caroline followed her down, still confused.

"Uh... How about the fact that the scouts are here? He could get recruited for how he played tonight! You should be happy about that."

"Sure, if he gets recruited, I'll be happy, but I still don't see anything different about this year."

"But‒" Caroline began, protesting.

"Just leave it alone, Caroline! I don't care."

Caroline blew a frustrated breath out through her nostrils and nodded. Valerie got into her car and Caroline got into the passenger seat. Valerie sent Dylan a quick text, telling him where she'd be, just in case he forgot where they went after every game. When she got an okay, she started the car and backed out of her parking spot.

"Val?" Caroline asked timidly two minutes into the car ride.

"Hm?"

Caroline fidgeted, seemingly unsure of what she wanted to ask. She changed channels on the radio continuously for a minute before Valerie reached over and shut off the radio all-together.

"Are you happy?" Caroline asked, turning to look at Valerie worriedly.

"Didn't we just have this conversation?" Valerie asked, exasperated.

"No, I don't mean about the football game. I mean, like in general, are you happy?"

"What makes you ask that?"

Caroline didn't answer for a long time. Valerie thought she probably wouldn't even get an answer. She pulled into Dave's Diner on Main Street and parked her car right in front of the door.

Inside, Landon, or as the football team likes to call him, diner boy, was working as a waiter and busboy tonight. Valerie sighed. She didn't want to see him tonight. She couldn't handle him and having to plaster a fake smile on her face all at the same time. Valerie inhaled deeply and climbed out of the car, Caroline following her.

"I was asking because lately, you just don't look happy. You might have a smile on your face but your eyes scream: Help me! I've been meaning to ask you but every time I thought I should, suddenly you're laughing and it seemed like you were completely happy so I thought maybe..." Caroline trailed off.

Valerie sighed. "To be honest ‒"

"Val!" someone shouted, running up to Valerie and Caroline. Caroline huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. Valerie just stared at the intruder.

"What do you want, Vincent?" Caroline snarled.

"Whoa, relax. I was just going to ask Val why she didn't stay to congratulate the team," Vincent said, throwing his hands up in the air, surrendering.

Valerie turned around and just walked into the diner, ignoring Caroline and Caroline's on-and-off again boyfriend's argument. Everything dissolved into an argument between the two of them.

Valerie walked to the side of the diner that her, her friends, and the football team usually occupied and sat down in one of the chairs. She sighed, crossing her arms on the table and placing her head on her arms.

It was a few minutes before he walked up the the table she was at and sat across from her. When the chair scraped across the floor as he pulled it out, she didn't look up. When he cleared his throat, she didn't look up. She really couldn't deal with him tonight. It was enough to feel out of place and unhappy with her boyfriend but to see him... She just couldn't do it.

"Val?" he said, his voice low, ensuring that only Valerie could hear him.

"What?" she muttered into her arms, still not looking up. She was hoping he'd get the hint soon enough.

"Will you please just look at me?"

"Why should I?" Valerie grumbled.

"Val, come on. I just want to see your face when I talk to you."

"No."

"Seriously? You still don't want us to ‒"

"Diner Boy! What do you think you're doing?" a voice from across the diner shouted.

Valerie lifted her head a bit to look at Landon as he sighed. His brown eyes locked with her blue ones. He mouthed "Diner Boy" and waggled his eyebrows. Valerie hid her grin and stifled her laugh by putting her head onto her arms again.

The chair Landon had been sitting on scraped across the floor as he pushed it back to get up, while the chair beside Valerie's did the same as someone pulled it out to sit on it. That same someone threw their arm across the back of Valerie's chair. She tilted her head to the right to look at the person beside her, only to find Dylan sitting beside her, glaring ahead of him. The grin that had been on her face fell.

"Stop it," she said, glaring at him.

"Was he bothering you?" Dylan asked her, barely even acknowledging her.

"Obviously not," she growled.

Dylan whipped around, looking at Valerie with his eyebrows bunched together. She'd find it cute if he wasn't such a dick. He was good looking, and she hated it. His looks should match his personality, not whatever it's meant to match.

"What's your problem?"

Valerie sighed. This wasn't territory she wanted to set foot in.

"Nothing. Just leave him alone, okay, Dylan?" she told him. He continued to look at her weirdly for a few seconds before he nodded and kissed her cheek.

For the rest of the night, Landon avoided their side of the dinner and made one of the other diner boys take over his section. Valerie zoned in and out of the football team's conversation, ignored Caroline and Vincent's arguments and then their making out, and watched Landon do his job. Every time he caught her, he'd quirk an eyebrow and grin. Her stomach would suddenly develop the butterfly disease and she'd have to do everything possible to fight off her grin.

Several hours later, Valerie was at home, laying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her cell beeped and she rolled over to pick it up from her bedside table. She unlocked it and stared at the messaged that appeared.

Landon: r u home?

Valerie bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she actually wanted to answer him. Dylan had ripped a new one in her when she dropped him off at his house earlier in the night. "Landon this, Landon that." She hated when he did that.

Valerie: yea. where would i be?

Once the text sent, Valerie stared up at the ceiling again and waited for Landon. Two minutes later, there was a knock on her bedroom window. She glared at the brown eyes that she could see peeking through the window. She was not getting up to open the window. He could do that himself. He tapped the window again but Valerie only rolled over to turn off her bedside lamp. Her cell beeped.

Landon: pls open the window. its rly cold out here.

She groaned, giving in. She rolled out of her bed, getting tangled in the bed sheets and landing on the ground with a thump. Outside her window, she could hear snickering, and she was really tempted to just give him the finger and get back into bed. She chose not to but took her sweet time getting to the window and opening it. As soon as the window opened, letting in a cold breeze, Landon stepped into the room, automatically throwing off his shoes and coat.

"Next time, I'm pushing you off that branch or letting you freeze to death," Valerie told him as she shut the window behind him and locked it.

"You wouldn't! You love me too much," he responded, grinning.

Valerie froze, hands on the window. Her body tensed and her heart started beating at a much faster pace than what was normal. She was sure it was going to beat right out of her rib cage it was beating so hard. Her mind was racing trying to decipher reality from fantasy, trying to make sure she didn't respond with "Yea, I do," and kiss him. God, how she wanted to kiss him.

"Val?"

Landon reached out to touch her. She flinched and he pulled his hand back as though he'd been electrocuted.

"Val, it was a joke," he told her softly.

Valerie took in a deep, shaky breath and turned around, a large smile plastered on her face.

"I know. Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts," she reassured.

Her heart was still racing. Landon was so close to the truth and he didn't even realize it. She took another deep breath, trying to calm her heart because if he got any closer there was no way he wouldn't hear it, or feel it. He took a cautious step towards her and waited for her nod before he approached her completely. When he did, he wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on the top of her head. Valerie wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head comfortably on his chest.

"So wanna tell me what happened at the diner?" Landon mumbled as he pulled her back towards her bed and crashed down on it, Valerie following him down. She sighed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Val, come on. You came in, put your head down and barely looked up until you snapped at Dylan."

"So?" Valerie asked harshly. He was entering dangerous territory. There's some things that are better left unsaid.

"So ‒ fuck, Val, ‒ you looked miserable, and then you, the perfect girl in the perfect relationship with the supposed perfect guy, get upset with Dylan which we all know never happens, and never in public."

"Again, so? Every couple is bound to have some arguments."

"Except you guys don't! Do you know how weird that ‒"

"He was being a dick, Landon! You knew that at any moment, he would start throwing insults in your face and the entire fucking football team would back him up, saying things like 'Yea, Diner Boy.' Fuck, am I not allowed to defend you?" Valerie exclaimed.

"You never have before," Landon muttered.

Valerie's head shot up off of Landon's chest, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as she just stared at him. She tried to find a way to explain her lack of loyalty without exposing the truth, but the words just wouldn't come.

"Honestly, I don't blame you. Dylan's a dick on the best of days. Add me into the mix and forget it, he'll treat you worse than he does me if you try to even think about defending me," he continued.

Valerie's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the conversation her and Dylan had before he'd left her car. She hated him so much. She sat up on the bed and tried to find some way to hold herself together. She couldn't break down. Not in front of Landon, this amazing boy; not about Dylan, the guy with a bigger dick for a personality than the one in his pants. Landon sat up quickly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Valerie badly wanted to lean into his touch but she couldn't. She stood up quickly and retreated to her window, leaning against the window sill.

"I want to break up with him," Valerie said, with as much conviction as she could.

Landon stared at her in silence for a while. She didn't think he would answer and she accepted the fact that'd she have to deal with Dylan by herself. She was terrified.

"About fucking time!" Landon exclaimed.

"I just told you I want to break up with the guy I've been dating for 5 years and you say it's about time. Wow, great friend you are!"

"You don't get to pull the friend card on me, Val. Friends don't avoid each other at school or when they see each other in public. Friends don't resign themselves to talking only in the dark of their rooms. Friends don't delete their conversations like they have something to hide. Fuck, I'm a better friend to you than you ever were to me. I was there for you, every time, but you always fucking pushed me away!" Landon shouted.

He stood up and stalked towards Valerie, grabbing her shoulders. Valerie pushed against his chest and walked towards her bed. She began to pace back and forth as she tried to hold in the truth about her's and Dylan's relationship.

"What else did you expect? It was the only way to keep Dylan away from you!" Valerie shouted at him.

Landon ran his hands through his blonde hair and tugged at the ends.

"I was doing fine before you guys started dating. Sure, he threw insults in my face every time he got a chance but it's not like he beat me up or anything."

"Not for lack of trying," she whispered. Her eyes went wide and she clamped a hand ever her mouth. She really hoped he didn't hear that.

"What?" Landon asked, stepping closer to her.

Valerie shook her head. She couldn't tell him anything. Landon would kill Dylan if he knew.

"Val," he said, a warning in his voice.

She shook her head again and backed up until her back hit her bedroom door. He reached over and peeled her hand off her mouth. His thumb stroked the corner of her mouth.

"Just tell me, Val, please," he pleaded with her.

"You have to promise you won't hurt him," she said, finally speaking.

Landon looked at her, his head cocked to the side, as though he was contemplating her. She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. He finally nodded.

"He threatened to hurt you in grade seven ‒"

"So?" he asked.

"So! It was either date Dylan or have you beaten up. I didn't think he was serious, and I said no the first time, before him and his gaggle of followers started walking towards you, and I knew he was serious, so I screamed out yes before he could do anything. A few weeks later, when he caught us talking, he said if I talked to you again, he would beat you up so bad no one would be able to recognize you. Not even me. And I remember that day on the football field, when you tried out for the team. I remember how rough him and the other boys were on you. You came home with a fucking concussion! What else was I suppose to do?" Valerie said, all in one breath. She took a deep breath before she continued. "I love you, Landon, and if something were to happen to you because I rejected that dick, I don't know what I'd do."

"You what?" he whispered.

"What?"

"What did you say?"

Valerie sighed.

"I'm not repeating that entire ‒"

Her eyes grew wide as her word flow was cut off by Landon's wonderful lips on hers. She gasped and he pulled her to him with his arms around her waist. He pulled away the tiniest bit and smiled at her.

"I love you too, Val. God, do you know how long I've waited to say that to you?" he murmured.

She smiled at him and he leaned back in, kissing her again. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, her fingers threading through the hair on his neck.

Her cell began to ring a few minutes later, pulling her out of the kiss and away from Landon, the call ending just as she pulled back from his lips. She stared at Landon for a second before leaning in to kiss him again. She stopped and stepped back quickly, her mouth opening in an 'o'. She'd just kissed Landon. She'd just kissed Landon when she was with Dylan. Dylan hates Landon. Dylan wants to beat up Landon. Holy fuck, this was going to end bad.

"Shit, Landon. We can't do this. Dylan‒"

"We'll deal with him tomorrow," Landon said as he cornered her against her door again and pressed his lips against hers.

She sighed and fell into the kiss. She'd deal with the consequences in the morning.