Hollywood Hills and Suburban Thrills

Another hour passed and it was five forty-five when I looked at the clock for what felt like the billionth time.

The flow of customers was even slower now and Noah had left the diner at five just like he had wanted to. So that left me leaning on the counter by myself, keeping a sharp eye on the front door of the restaurant and even closer eye on the minute hand of the clock.

Then my cell phone vibrated in my pocket, breaking me from my reverie. I dug it from my jeans pocket and barely glanced at the screen, not registering who it was at all, before pressing it to my ear.

"Hello?" I ask in a bored voice, and the responding tone made me stagger.

"Don't sound so happy to hear from me," Kayla says. I blinked, my mind reeling. When was the last time I had spoken to Kayla? I thought. Three days ago? Four? My silence dragged on and Kayla laughed. "For a while there, I thought you had fallen off the face of the earth. I go to Warped Tour and then don't receive a phone call at an un-Godly hour demanding details." She laughed again. "You had me worried."

I blinked and then laughed too. "Sorry." I mumble, running a hand across the back of my neck. "I was…busy." I decided that was the appropriate word for just what I had been for the last however many days it had been.

"Well, since it appears that you aren't going to be screaming at me for the particulars, I'll just tell you." She sighed, seeming disappointed with my lack of enthusiasm, and then dove headlong into a very thorough story of her adventure at Warped Tour. She talked about the various bands, the booths, and the crowds at the venue. It had been well over fifteen minutes before she stopped and I took it as my cue to say something.

"Wow?" I asked, not really knowing what else to say at that point.

"Yeah, wow." She agrees breathlessly and she laughed lightly again. "So…" she trails off and I already knew where she was going with this and I squinted my eyes. "Why have you been so busy lately?"

"Working," I said. It was partially true, after all.

"And?" she pressed and I sighed. She read me as well as Noah.

"And…" I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to word this. "…well, I sort of was hanging out with a certain someone this morning."

"And who is this certain someone?" she asks with curiosity in her voice. I didn't answer right away but when I did, Will's name came out in a muffled jumble of gibberish. Kayla listened. "What was that?"

"WilliamBeckett." I say in a quick breath but once again, she didn't seem to catch what I said. "William Beckett." I mumbled.

Sure that she heard me that time, I listened for Kayla's reaction, but it didn't come as soon as I was expecting. Instead, she was silent, probably in thought.

"Kayla?" I asked, trying to be sure that she hadn't hung up on me.

"You spent this morning with William Beckett?" she asks in a level voice.

"Yes," I answer.

"And you didn't so much as text me?"

I tried to swallow the guilt that rose in my throat. "No,"

"Well you're a great friend," she says sarcastically and then laughed, causing me to laugh as well. "What'd you guys do?"

And then it was my turn to dive into a story about the events of that morning. Of course, I didn't put anything into fine detail. I merely gave Kayla a drawled out narrative with a couple things (okay, one large thing at the end) left out.

"You're a prude," was the first thing she said when I was finished.

"How do you figure?" I gasped at her, shocked at her accusation.

"You have a sweet, funny, adorable guy in the same room as you, and you barely even talk to the kid." She replies.

I made a face at the napkin I had been toying with for the past half hour, trying to come up with a response for that, but failing.

"Touche." I sigh and I heard her hum in agreement.

"Next time you see him, give him a hug or something at least. He probably went straight to his bus and put on deodorant with the thought of B.O. or something."

That made me laugh. He actually smelled kind of good. I recalled mentally, recollecting when I had jumped on his back while trying to reach his phone. "I'll be sure to do so," I say.

My eyes drifted across the kitchen to the clock that rested high on the wall, and at the sight of it, my heart jumped to my esophagus; it was six thirty. "Kayla, no offense to you but I'm off work now so I'm going to go home and go to bed."

"Some offense taken," she dictates, "I'm shocked to discover that your treasure sleep more than me." I didn't even have to say anything for her to know that she was being stupid. "I know, I'm being stupid." See? "Talk to you later."

"Bye." I said and then hung up, slipping my cell back into my pocket while lunging for my time card. I punched in my time, put it in my slot, and then threw my apron on the counter. But right when I had reached the front doors, bad luck caught up with me.

"Dani?" my mom's voice rang and I stopped mid-step, turning slowly on my toes to see her walking toward me.

"I'm going home, mom." I say before she could ask, moving barely a centimeter farther out the door.

"I know," she says and continues walking forward. "I wanted to tell you that I have to work late tonight so don't expect me home before you go to bed."

I resisted the urge to glare at her. The mere thought of her setting a curfew for me was laughable. But I nodded stiffly and then walked out the door, giving her a one-motion wave as I went.

I practically ran home, despite the fact that it was thirteen city blocks away. I couldn't wait to be away from my mom and away from that diner and even away from this life, at that moment. Al I wanted to do was to go home, crawl into bed, and drift away.

I walked into the foyer, gasping and holding my ribs after the two block sprint I had just finished, and kicked off my shoes. I proceeded to let Jude inside and he immediately went upstairs to my bedroom, probably already passed out on my bed. I followed him, stripping off my clothes and putting on pajamas. And after my nightly pre-sleep routine, I was in between my cool sheets, huddled close to Jude and drifting, but before I was out, I caught a glimpse of a pair of headlights outside my window.

They drove by slowly but picked up speed as they reached the corner and turned. The sounds of tires squealing, an engine roaring, and then a door slamming were the last things I heard before I was out like a light, and Jude squirmed in his sleep beside me.