No Place Like Home
just peachy
"Are you leaving?"
Loren stopped walking and looked in the living room where Hunter was. "Yeah, I am."
"Okay be safe and have a good first day."
"Thank you."
Loren was surprised that Hunter actually said something to her since just the other day seemed to still be upset with her. She avoided him after that not knowing what else to do so she figured that would have upset him as well. She didnt want to think that much about it since she has to worry about her first day of work.
She was even more surprised that she got the job than anything else that has happened recently. Loren doesn't have any previous work history so the manager is definitely taking a risk on hiring her and she doesn't want to let him down. Since she doesn't know how long it will take her to get to work with her bike yet she left an hour early, packing her little basket with her work shirt, a small bag of make up and hair accessories, her phone, a bottle of water and her iPod.
She ended up arriving with fifteen minutes to spare so she used the extra time to freshen up and talk to the manager about what she would be doing. The manager, Travis, led her to one of the other servers and introduced her to Daniel a tall and lanky guy who was also quite attractive. (Loren has never seen this many attractive guys in one place and she's beginning to wonder what's in the water.)
"So what brings you to this fine establishment?" Daniel asked leaning against the counter.
"I just moved."
"From where?"
"Chicago."
"Oh, the Windy City. This must be a change."
"A very much welcomed change."
"Think you'll miss Chicago?" He asked starting to walk towards some tables.
Loren shrugged, "Probably."
Questions about her moved stopped once they reached the table and Daniel introduced them and explained that Loren is new and would be shadowing him. Luckily for Loren, Daniel wasn't just cute he was very helpful and she ended up learning more than she thought she would in one night. Halfway through her shift Will, Colton, and Hunter walked in looking around for her and shouting when they finally spotted her.
"Friends of yours?" Daniel asked laughing as Loren blushed.
"Yeah, my brother and roommates."
"Alright well lets go take care of them. I think you can do this one on your own."
Loren whipped her head around to stare at Daniel, "You must be crazy."
Daniel laughed and pushed her in the direction of the table, "I'm most certainly not. You've got the hang of this real quick, you can do it."
Loren sighed and nodded, walking up to the table and taking a deep breath. "Hello, I'm Loren and I'll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get you guys to drink?"
All the guys laughed and Loren just shook her head and looked at Colton first who just ordered a coke, Will ordering a sprite next and Hunter getting a sweet tea. She told them she would be back and followed Daniel to bring a table their food before she got her friends drinks.
"Alright a coke for you, a sprite and sweet tea for you." She was about to ask for their order when Hunter interrupted her.
"This doesn't taste like sweet tea. You brought me the wrong kind."
Everyone stared at him then at Loren who wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry.
"I'm sorry sir. This is my first day so I must have accidentally used the wrong glass. I'll go get you a new one." Loren smiled at him and picked up the glass having the sudden urge to pour it all over him.
The second her back was turned she stopped smiling and marched off to the drink station.
"You okay?" Daniel asked following her.
"Just peachy."
"He's kind of a prick." Loren couldn't help but laugh, "Is he always like that?"
"I don't even know, honestly. I didn't think so but first impressions are usually wrong aren't they?"
She walked off to give Hunter his drink and told them she would be back for their order in a moment. She wanted to be rude and wait too long to go back over there but she wasn't alone and she didn't want to get Daniel in trouble. For the rest of the time Will, Hunter and Colton were there Hunter was making her go the extra mile. She could understand if it was Will who was messing with her but Hunter had no reason and it was really pissing her off.
By the end of her shift Loren was fuming, not being able to forget the other day when Hunter's mood changed on her or that afternoon when she was leaving and then how annoying and how big of a prick he had been on her first day of work. She was tired and still nervous and now mad and she just wanted to go home. Loren was hoping that the bike ride home would help calm her and it did a little bit but the second she saw Hunter again she was angry.
"How was the rest of your day?" Colton asked but Loren ignored him and starred at Hunter.
"Dude what is your problem?" She asked him.
"What?"
"What is your problem with me? Because I didn't think I did anything wrong to make you act this way. We were fine when we hung out the other day, until you found out how I could afford that bike." Loren said taking a pause to see if he would say anything and when he didn't she continued. "And if that's the case then I don't know what to tell you. I did what I did because I had to and until you are in my shoes you have no room to judge me. You don't know what it was like in that house and you would have done anything to get out as well. So don't act all high and mighty just because you think I'm some terrible person. You don't know the whole story and have no room to judge or to care so much on what I've done! And you didn't have to make me look like such a fucking tool on my first day of work either, you're being a real prick. And if you don't like me that much then maybe you shouldn't have agreed to let me move in."
And with that Loren stalked off to her room ignored the shocked looks on Colton and Will's faces and the blank expression on Hunter's. She grabbed her pajamas from her room and and stormed into the bathroom shutting the door behind her and locking it, taking a much needed shower.
++
"Dude, what on earth did you do?" Colton asked Hunter.
"I was wondering the same thing."
Hunter's never seen Will so mad before and he wished he had a valid answer but he doesn't.
"I honestly don't know."
"Well you were a douche at dinner." Colton pointed it out.
"We all talked about doing that but you two wouldn't do it."
"I'm not so concerned about that as I am about when you two hung out."
"Bro, nothing happened. We went to get something to eat, she applied to Mellow Mushroom, then we went to get her a bike."
"Which is why she said all that stuff about you judging her?" Will asked.
"I wasn't even judging her." Which was kind of a lie but he didn't know how to explain what he felt.
"We had it rough." Will started to say. "It wasn't the worst case scenario but it certainly wasn't the best. We both had to leave when we turned 18 because we couldn't stand it anymore. She did it the smart way, taking money that to be honest was rightfully ours in the first place. You don't know what it was like to live there and I'm happy you never will. But until you know the full story you can't say or think shit about what she or I even had to do to get out." Will got off the couch to make his way to the stairs. "We didn't all have nice families who helped us whenever we needed."
++
"Are you okay?"
Loren shrugged and nodded, "I suppose."
"I'm sorry he was such a dick to you. I don't know what his problem is."
"I don't either. I did nothing wrong." Loren said looking down at her hands. "I know stealing the money wasn't good but I had to Will, I had no other choice."
"Hey, you don't have to explain it to me or anyone else for that matter. You did what you had to to survive an no one can fault you on that one."
Loren sighed and nodded, "Okay."
"Really, don't worry about him. He'll either come around or I'll make him."
Loren laughed, "I'm not too worried. You don't have to make him do anything. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Will nodded, "Alright alright, fair enough. I'm going to go to bed. See you in the morning." Will kissed Loren's forehead and stood up.
"See you."
Loren really didn't want to worry about this situation with Hunter but she couldn't exactly help it either. She's still confused at his behavior and she doesn't want to not get along with her roommate. And there's still the fact that Loren wants Hunter to like her and not even just Hunter Colton as well. So far it hasn't seemed like Colton has any form of problem with her so why does Hunter?
Loren stopped walking and looked in the living room where Hunter was. "Yeah, I am."
"Okay be safe and have a good first day."
"Thank you."
Loren was surprised that Hunter actually said something to her since just the other day seemed to still be upset with her. She avoided him after that not knowing what else to do so she figured that would have upset him as well. She didnt want to think that much about it since she has to worry about her first day of work.
She was even more surprised that she got the job than anything else that has happened recently. Loren doesn't have any previous work history so the manager is definitely taking a risk on hiring her and she doesn't want to let him down. Since she doesn't know how long it will take her to get to work with her bike yet she left an hour early, packing her little basket with her work shirt, a small bag of make up and hair accessories, her phone, a bottle of water and her iPod.
She ended up arriving with fifteen minutes to spare so she used the extra time to freshen up and talk to the manager about what she would be doing. The manager, Travis, led her to one of the other servers and introduced her to Daniel a tall and lanky guy who was also quite attractive. (Loren has never seen this many attractive guys in one place and she's beginning to wonder what's in the water.)
"So what brings you to this fine establishment?" Daniel asked leaning against the counter.
"I just moved."
"From where?"
"Chicago."
"Oh, the Windy City. This must be a change."
"A very much welcomed change."
"Think you'll miss Chicago?" He asked starting to walk towards some tables.
Loren shrugged, "Probably."
Questions about her moved stopped once they reached the table and Daniel introduced them and explained that Loren is new and would be shadowing him. Luckily for Loren, Daniel wasn't just cute he was very helpful and she ended up learning more than she thought she would in one night. Halfway through her shift Will, Colton, and Hunter walked in looking around for her and shouting when they finally spotted her.
"Friends of yours?" Daniel asked laughing as Loren blushed.
"Yeah, my brother and roommates."
"Alright well lets go take care of them. I think you can do this one on your own."
Loren whipped her head around to stare at Daniel, "You must be crazy."
Daniel laughed and pushed her in the direction of the table, "I'm most certainly not. You've got the hang of this real quick, you can do it."
Loren sighed and nodded, walking up to the table and taking a deep breath. "Hello, I'm Loren and I'll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get you guys to drink?"
All the guys laughed and Loren just shook her head and looked at Colton first who just ordered a coke, Will ordering a sprite next and Hunter getting a sweet tea. She told them she would be back and followed Daniel to bring a table their food before she got her friends drinks.
"Alright a coke for you, a sprite and sweet tea for you." She was about to ask for their order when Hunter interrupted her.
"This doesn't taste like sweet tea. You brought me the wrong kind."
Everyone stared at him then at Loren who wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry.
"I'm sorry sir. This is my first day so I must have accidentally used the wrong glass. I'll go get you a new one." Loren smiled at him and picked up the glass having the sudden urge to pour it all over him.
The second her back was turned she stopped smiling and marched off to the drink station.
"You okay?" Daniel asked following her.
"Just peachy."
"He's kind of a prick." Loren couldn't help but laugh, "Is he always like that?"
"I don't even know, honestly. I didn't think so but first impressions are usually wrong aren't they?"
She walked off to give Hunter his drink and told them she would be back for their order in a moment. She wanted to be rude and wait too long to go back over there but she wasn't alone and she didn't want to get Daniel in trouble. For the rest of the time Will, Hunter and Colton were there Hunter was making her go the extra mile. She could understand if it was Will who was messing with her but Hunter had no reason and it was really pissing her off.
By the end of her shift Loren was fuming, not being able to forget the other day when Hunter's mood changed on her or that afternoon when she was leaving and then how annoying and how big of a prick he had been on her first day of work. She was tired and still nervous and now mad and she just wanted to go home. Loren was hoping that the bike ride home would help calm her and it did a little bit but the second she saw Hunter again she was angry.
"How was the rest of your day?" Colton asked but Loren ignored him and starred at Hunter.
"Dude what is your problem?" She asked him.
"What?"
"What is your problem with me? Because I didn't think I did anything wrong to make you act this way. We were fine when we hung out the other day, until you found out how I could afford that bike." Loren said taking a pause to see if he would say anything and when he didn't she continued. "And if that's the case then I don't know what to tell you. I did what I did because I had to and until you are in my shoes you have no room to judge me. You don't know what it was like in that house and you would have done anything to get out as well. So don't act all high and mighty just because you think I'm some terrible person. You don't know the whole story and have no room to judge or to care so much on what I've done! And you didn't have to make me look like such a fucking tool on my first day of work either, you're being a real prick. And if you don't like me that much then maybe you shouldn't have agreed to let me move in."
And with that Loren stalked off to her room ignored the shocked looks on Colton and Will's faces and the blank expression on Hunter's. She grabbed her pajamas from her room and and stormed into the bathroom shutting the door behind her and locking it, taking a much needed shower.
++
"Dude, what on earth did you do?" Colton asked Hunter.
"I was wondering the same thing."
Hunter's never seen Will so mad before and he wished he had a valid answer but he doesn't.
"I honestly don't know."
"Well you were a douche at dinner." Colton pointed it out.
"We all talked about doing that but you two wouldn't do it."
"I'm not so concerned about that as I am about when you two hung out."
"Bro, nothing happened. We went to get something to eat, she applied to Mellow Mushroom, then we went to get her a bike."
"Which is why she said all that stuff about you judging her?" Will asked.
"I wasn't even judging her." Which was kind of a lie but he didn't know how to explain what he felt.
"We had it rough." Will started to say. "It wasn't the worst case scenario but it certainly wasn't the best. We both had to leave when we turned 18 because we couldn't stand it anymore. She did it the smart way, taking money that to be honest was rightfully ours in the first place. You don't know what it was like to live there and I'm happy you never will. But until you know the full story you can't say or think shit about what she or I even had to do to get out." Will got off the couch to make his way to the stairs. "We didn't all have nice families who helped us whenever we needed."
++
"Are you okay?"
Loren shrugged and nodded, "I suppose."
"I'm sorry he was such a dick to you. I don't know what his problem is."
"I don't either. I did nothing wrong." Loren said looking down at her hands. "I know stealing the money wasn't good but I had to Will, I had no other choice."
"Hey, you don't have to explain it to me or anyone else for that matter. You did what you had to to survive an no one can fault you on that one."
Loren sighed and nodded, "Okay."
"Really, don't worry about him. He'll either come around or I'll make him."
Loren laughed, "I'm not too worried. You don't have to make him do anything. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Will nodded, "Alright alright, fair enough. I'm going to go to bed. See you in the morning." Will kissed Loren's forehead and stood up.
"See you."
Loren really didn't want to worry about this situation with Hunter but she couldn't exactly help it either. She's still confused at his behavior and she doesn't want to not get along with her roommate. And there's still the fact that Loren wants Hunter to like her and not even just Hunter Colton as well. So far it hasn't seemed like Colton has any form of problem with her so why does Hunter?