#and the one of Heather sitting in a chair drinking while Alejandro is standing with an apron on

[xoangel-dust]

....

[codysepipen]

Love At First Bite - Chapter 1

       The last drizzle of the late April showers droned on outside the bay window as Courtney finished breakfast. It was 5:30 am; the time Courtney usually awoke to shower and get ready for her nine hour Saturday shift. In order to catch the bus at 6:15, she would need to be out the front door by 6:08; a schedule she had calculated minute by minute over the last year. A familiar brush of fur against the back of her calf was her cue to feed Brittany, the cat she’d had since the age of thirteen. Courtney Hayden’s morning routine was not necessarily voluntary, as it had just become habitual after only a few days of performing the very specific set of tasks at much too specific times. But she didn’t mind, really. Punctuality was order. And order gave her a sense of security.

After completing her set tasks at home, Courtney exited her parents house on the outskirts of Condervale, New York, making sure to secure both locks on the front door, and walked to the bus stop two blocks away. Though the light rain had stopped, the air was still thick with moisture; the humidity causing her perfectly styled hair to begin to frizz. Courtney furiously tried to smooth it down as she stepped onto the perfectly-on-time transport, catching her reflection in the dark-tinted windows as she took her seat in the third row. Even though Courtney was a strong believer in the fact that what she was doing and where she was going was far more important than anyone else, she always had the habit of leaving the first two rows of seats open for the handicapped and people with small children. This being one of the only lessons in courtesy her mother had ever impressed upon her in her rushed youth. Courtney’s parents, Alice and Jeremy Hayden, owned the 50’s-style diner where Courtney worked part-time as a waitress on the weekends and during the summer. This particular weekend happened to be the beginning of Spring Break, and while all of her friends were going to be out of town on road trips or family vacations starting tomorrow, Court’s parents were going to Old Orchard Beach, Maine for the week; leaving their only child home alone. She didn’t mind of course. She was seventeen and had been staying by herself since before she could remember. It would be a perfect opportunity to work on her senior class president campaign or her college admission forms.

As the bus pulled up to her stop, Courtney rose, straightening out the skirt of her employee uniform, which was a baby blue vintage waitress dress replica that was buttoned up just high enough for tasteful modesty, but cut short enough to get and hold the attention of particularly, well...male customers. The roller-skates were the only hassle, which she would replace her flats with once she got inside.

When Courtney reached the diner at 6:25, she flipped the sign on the front door to ‘open’ in preparation for the beginning of 6:30’s breakfast rush. The unlocked door meant Heather was already here, which was unusual considering the fact that her ‘boyfriend’ had no doubt spent the night at her house last night. The senior in question was standing behind the counter, pressing in random buttons on the cash register for no apparent reason. “You’re here early,” Courtney noted as she walked through the ‘employees only’ door and sat down on a chair to change shoes, “I assumed you’d be at least ten minutes late since Alejandro was at your place last night.”  Heather’s head snapped to the side, glaring in Courtney’s direction, “Alejandro and I are no longer together.” Courtney placed the back of her hand against her forehead, feigning barely-believable shock, “No! You’re kidding.” Heather rolled her eyes, returning her focus back to the cash register as the clock on the wall finally read 6:30 and customers started rolling in.

A few hours later, Courtney was wiping down a recently vacated table when the bell over the glass front doors tinkled. She wouldn’t have thought anything of it had it not been 11:45 on a Saturday. As she began to walk back towards the kitchen, trying to ignore the figure that she knew was walking through the entryway. Her suspicions were confirmed when a low and all-too-familiar voice echoed at her back. “Good morning Heather,” Duncan said to the dark-haired girl at the counter, not yet noticing Courtney as she slipped around the corner. Duncan Cross was a senior at Courtney’s high school. He was a self proclaimed ‘bad boy’ who had a habit of skipping class, pulling pranks, and getting arrested every now and then. He was a bit taller than her, maybe 5’10” and had a slim athletic build, more from running from the cops than doing any sports. Duncan’s most off-putting feature was his jet black hair, which would have been fine in itself if it wasn’t topped with a neon green mohawk. He came in to Hayden’s every Saturday at 11:45, just before his shift as a lifeguard at the Condervale public pool. He was attractive, but totally not Courtney’s type, yet he always insisted on coming into her place of work to terrorize her with his endless flirting.  As usual, he seated himself in Courtney’s section. She never complained, and tried to be as polite as possible. As she approached his table, the track on the jukebox changed to ‘Love At First Sight’ by The Brobecks. “Can I get you something to drink?” Courtney asked, putting on her best fake grin and pulling the order pad and pen from the pocket in her half-apron. Duncan turned to face her and smirked. His teal eyes were startling, glinting with enough mischief to make Loki jealous.  “Anything that’ll get you to sit with me Princess.”  She looked towards Heather, who snickered under her breath, and Courtney scowled before turning back with an even-faker smile plastered onto her face, “We’ve gone over this before Duncan. If you aren’t going to order anything, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Before she could turn to walk away, he shot out of his place in the booth, snatching the pen and order pad out of her hands. Courtney whirled, prepared to swiftly take it back, but he held up a hand, “Hang on just a second, would you?” He muttered, scribbling something onto the top piece of paper. After looking over it, Duncan nodded once, seemingly satisfied with his work, and handed them both back to her. The green-haired boy sketched a mock bow and made his way back towards the front doors. He raised an arm to Heather, who waved back, and exited the building the way he’d come. Courtney rolled her eyes and raised the order pad into her field of vision. A series of numbers was scrawled across the page. Her face heated slightly and she bit down on her lip. That boy was a nuisance and she didn’t want anything to do with him. Aggravated, she ripped off the sheet and shoved it in her apron pocket, sulking back toward Heather’s spot at the counter. The taller girl leaned onto the countertop and sighed dramatically,

“Courtney’s in looove.”