Haner to Save the Day

“Okay but what about a duck mixed with a lion?” Jimmy pondered, tapping his chin.

Veronica looked at him like he was insane. “That sounds like an abomination.”

“Dude don’t be mean to Fluffy.”

“You named it…Fluffy.”

They stopped walking and stared each other down until Veronica broke first and started laughing. Jimmy shook his head, muttering how no one appreciated his genius ideas.

As the two friends continued walking, Jimmy kept glancing at Veronica. He had his arm comfortably over her shoulder, but her absurdly long hair kept tickling his arm. He wondered if she would hit him if he took off her hair tie. He tried that once and got a good pop to his jaw. He vaguely remembered the girl mentioning it was an attack of her personal space when he was just trying to get the spider away from her hair. Pursing his lips, Jimmy decided the pain was worth it and released Veronica’s hair from its imprisonment.

Veronica gasped and looked at him. “What are you doing?”

“Your hair was bothering my arm,” Jimmy said plainly, putting the little piece of fabric into his pocket. “It can’t hurt you anymore Chip.”

Veronica simply nodded and smiled. She didn’t know what it was, but something about Jimmy made her feel so comfortable. She couldn’t be upset at anything he said or did, except maybe hurting Jack. However, even then, she doubted she could ever stay angry for a long period of time.

Once they got into the diner, they saw the twins and immediately sat in their booth.

“Tell us how it went!” Jo and Nick said in unison before glaring at each other.

Veronica shook her head. “Super well! He told me before I left I got the job. I don’t know when I start though.”

“I knew you would get it,” Jo smiled.

“All thanks to us really,” Nick teased. Veronica responded by stealing a fry. Then Jimmy followed suit and stole five more. “Hey! Get your own food!”

“You are so right,” Jimmy agreed. He saw a waitress and began yelling, “HI MA’AM. May we have two cheeseburgers with curly fries and two root beer floats? Thank you!”

The waitress stared at him strangely before walking over to the POS system to punch in the order. At this point, everyone looked at Jimmy; and he did not have a care in the world. He easily focused on his friends and tuned out the rest of the world unless it was the waitress back with their food.

Veronica looked at Jimmy incredulously. “How did you know I like root beer floats? And curly fries?”

Jimmy shrugged. “You told me once you could never find them in New Jersey. You’re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy,” Jimmy said and poked her cheek.

“But what about the curly fries? I never said anything about that,” she whined.

“Young Jedi,” Jimmy sighed. “I cannot tell you all my secrets…but I will this time if you promise to let me have dinner at your house.”

“Don’t blackmail me. Besides, I’m sure my parents already invited you.”

“Ah damn you’re a smart one. Okay fine. I guessed.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Veronica muttered, crossing her arms.

“All the time,” Nick laughed. “I can’t believe it took you that long to realize that.”

“Don’t bully me. I’m new here. You guys hav-Oh my god food!”

Jimmy and Veronica promptly moved their forks, napkins, and spoons to the side to make room for their food. The twins stared at the them. They acted as though they hadn’t eaten in days. The poor waitress was probably going to have her arm ripped off if she didn’t place the food on the table fast enough.

The moment the food sat on the table in front of Veronica and Jimmy, they both chorused “Thank you!” before getting to work. Veronica removed her pickles and put it on Jimmy’s plate while he gave her his lettuce. He also took the cherry on his milkshake and plopped it into hers. Content with their switch, they began eating.

Nick frowned. “You guys act like twins. It kind of makes me jealous.” Jimmy and Veronica rolled their eyes before going back to their curly fries.

Jo noticed the change in Veronica’s demeanor. She didn’t have to tell Nick; he felt his hand tingle and knew what his sister thought. They looked at each other silently. They remembered her bashfulness and bleak outlook on life when they first met. They didn’t think she knew herself, but she wrapped herself in a depression. Veronica always hung out with them, but it never felt like she was present. But looking at the girl in front of them now, she was an entirely different person. She almost seemed happy, though she would probably always deny it.

“Hey! What are you guys doing here?” Brian smirked, walking up to the booth with his tall friend behind him. Veronica looked up at him with plastic straw walrus teeth in her mouth. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He was convinced Jimmy turned her into his clone.

“I got a job at Islands,” Veronica grinned.

“Noice!” Brian declared, giving her a high eye. “By the way, this is our friend Matt,” he continued, pointing his thumb behind him. Matt was very tall, almost the same height as Jimmy, but he had a bulky build. His hair was buzzed extremely short and he had a shiny lip ring to pull off the badass vibe.

Matt gave a quick nod. “Hey guys. I’ve never met you Veronica.”

Veronica shook her head. “I’ve only been here a few months.”

“Oh okay. You should stop by with the twins and hear us play eventually.”

She tilted her head to the side. Jimmy scoffed and pushed the hair away. She chose to ignore Jimmy while asking, “Play what?”

Matt looked at her, a bit confused. “Brian and Jimmy didn’t tell you? We’re in a metal band.”

Brian scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. Nick shot a weird look to Brian. He always talked about the band every moment he had. Why hadn’t he told Veronica?

“I don’t really listen to Metal. But I’m down!” Veronica professed, fist pumping into the air. Matt laughed, enjoying her bright attitude. Everyone else glanced quickly at her before laughing to dispel any suspiciousness. She truly had transformed into a happier person than what she was months ago.