When I woke up, my hair was a tangled mess and my eyes were puffy. My body felt as if it was on the brink of falling asleep again. But I knew I had to get up at some point.

The shrill sound of my phone echoed throughout the room and that made me groan into my pillow.

Not again, please, no!

I rolled onto my side and reached over to grab my phone from the bed side table, dragging it along the surface to peer at its bright light.

The sound of kids laughing in the park and dogs barking outside made me well aware it was way passed the morning.

Way passed the morning.

Oh no!

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I ripped the covers off me and scrambled out of bed, almost tripping when my foot got tangled with my other.

I mentally groaned in frustration as I ran my hands down my face, squishing and pulling my cheeks in front of the mirror.

I hurriedly grabbed my phone from my bed side table again and tapped the screen once for it to glare with the time. No messages from Betty yet. How long did it take to get to London? What if something bad had happened to her and I didn't know about it?

No! I couldn't think like that. She was fine, she was just busy, moving in and stuff. Duh!

The clock blinked, 12:34pm.

A grumble left my throat and I rubbed my eyes again at the hope of rubbing away the fatigue I was currently feeling. But no. It was still very much there!

I regained consciousness again and picked up my pace, running, (more like stumbling) over to the curtains and ripping them open. My eyes slammed shut again and my nose scrunched up in annoyance as the light beamed into the room.

Aware my shift was at one, I begrudgingly forced myself to get a move on and shuffled to the bathroom. I reluctantly grabbed my work uniform which was a hideous blue and white. I could only imagine somebody from a 50's diner would've worn something like this!

I took a quick shower and scraped my hair back into a ponytail. I dabbed on some concealer and noticed it didn't even cover the dark circles under my eyes.

Uh!

My phone clock taunted me. Only five minutes to get to work! It was times like this that I could really do with a magic button that I could press and I would suddenly be at work. Instead, I was going to get there like a hot mess!

"I'm screwed!" I laughed loudly to myself as I sped away. Somehow, I managed to get to work with... wait! Ten minutes late!

"Sorry, sorry sorry." I chanted as I came through the staff door, mentally cussing all sorts of profanities to myself when I could see Nicky standing in front of me; finger tapping her watch.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again Willow. I've had to cover the minutes you have missed." The stern voice belonging to my boss, Nicky, scolded me with a pointed look, her short red hair moving from side to side as she shook her head at my late arrival.

She had got to be joking me. I was like, ten minutes late. All she did around here was eat and moap around the place doing absolutely nothing. Nor had she bloody raised my salary - which I bloody deserved!

I popped my head around the door to find aggravated customers waiting in line. Without further ado, I chucked down my bag and made my way into the front of the diner; waving to Clair as she cleaned the coffee machine.

The more I took in the heaps of people, the more my heart dropped. Even more so when I could see a bunch of recognisable school kids from my school. None that I talked to and, probably none of them who knew I existed. Thank goodness...

I ignored Nicky's snarky comment of me being late, and focused on sorting out peoples' needs. Hopefully it died down soon!

Clair raced over to the till and started to take their orders whilst I raced over to the cupboard where all the aprons were stored and tied one around my waist. I swung open the cupboard door and grab a notepad and pen. I did a quick scribble at the top of the paper to make sure it still worked.

'Just four hours doing this and then you can go home and sleep, Willow." I told myself.

I closed the cupboard door with my hip and made my way over to the group of teens who had just come in. All are girls, apart from three.

A small blonde girl wearing a football jersey, (most likely belonging to the boy she was closely sat next to).

A black haired girl was tapping away on her screen whilst her friend peered over her shoulder, nosily.

Then two other boys who were challenging each other to who was going to eat the quarter pounder burger first.

How could high school students look like freaking bodybuilders and then eat complete rubbish?

These football boys didn't back down from a challenge. Ever.

I meekly made my over to them, holding onto the pen and paper tightly like it was some sort of source of stress reliever.

I came to the front of the table, stopping in front of it in triumph. All of their heads looked up to me, immediately stopping what they were doing.

I hated saying it. It was so dumb and embarrassi-

"Welcome to Al's Diner, what can I get for you?" I sighed, tapping the pen lid repetitively against the note pad.

"Hey can we get two quarter pound burgers for those two losers," The blonde girl pointed to the boys who were hitting each other rather aggressively across the head. "I'll have a normal cheese burger and fries. Chase, you said you wanted chocolate waffles, right?" She turned to the boy next to her.

The boy piped up "Oh an' pile on two extra scoops of chocolate ice cream while you're at it." He said as he leant back in his seat, throwing his arm around the girl.

I rolled my eyes and sniggered. I was suddenly aware that my boss was watching me. Oops!

I lowered my eyelids and covered my laugh with my notepad. Boy's were so basic with flirting. I'd give him an A for effort because the girl next to him was burning pink and leaning into his arm.

The girl spoke up again, "Kat, what do you want?" The blonde girl pointed her freshly, purple painted finger at the girl who was glued to her phone.

"Um. Just a strawberry milkshake and some fries." The girl shrugged and went back to tapping away on her phone, flicking her black shiny hair off of her shoulder.

"Casey, what about you?" The blonde girl poked her friend who was sat beside her. "Can I please get a bacon cheeseburger?" She asked, her glasses almost slipping off her face but reluctantly she pushed them back up onto the bridge of her nose.

"Yes, of course. I'll get that now for you guys." I smiled weakly, capping the pen lid and taking in the menu's from the blonde-haired girls' hands. She mouthed a 'thanks' and I smiled at her kindness before spinning on my heel, walking away back behind the counter.

Over an hour passed by and customers drifted in and out. Work could be quite boring but at the end of the day, it was the money I was after. I was just thinking about how much shopping I could do.

Double-checking there were no new customers, I headed back into the staff room, pouring myself a glass of water to hydrate and energise me for the remainder of the shift.

The staff room looked kind of basic and dull.

The walls were painted in grey as a plane white window was slammed right in the centre, reluctantly a sofa beneath it - (which I used all the time). There was also a Calendar of the month pinned up against the wall as well as a staff notice board and sign out shift sheet.

As I gulped down the rest of my drink, Nicky came strolling in, the home phone in her hand. "Willow, you have customers waiting for you out the front." She said warningly and as she turned away. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her.

As I stepped behind the counter, head focused down as I readjusted my apron, I could hear someone gruffly clear their throat making me look up.

As I looked up, I was met with a pair of recognisable green emerald eyes that were staring down at me. Exactly like the time in the store yesterday.

I coughed, clearing my throat. I forced my eyes off him and to the girl beside him. Her face was scrunched up in annoyance.

She was wearing a pair of bright pink sunglasses and a Prada white bag that was hung on her left arm.

I stepped back and desperately looked for Clair, but she was no where in sight. Where was she when I needed her?!

"Excuse me. We've been waiting for service for like, ages!" The girl said and I recognised her snarky voice. Her words drifted off as she lifted up her glasses onto her head; her brows narrowed. "Of course it's you." She quirked up her brows and latched her manicured fingers around the guys bicep - like I was going to take him away from her.

Oh, it was Stephanie.

"Yeah." My voice came out quite shaky and faint as my eyes danced between hers and his. I didn't know what to say because it felt like the words had gone completely.

"Ugh," Stephanie rolled her eyes and looked down at my fob attached to my blouse. "Willow, are you going to make us wait or do I have to talk to your manager?"

I gulped. I felt so small under their intimidating stares, but there was nothing much I could do about that. I peered over at the diner to look for an empty table as the diner was pretty busy today, and I luckily spotted a table. The only spare and clean table and to add more fuel to the fire; the light above it was broken. "If you go sit down over there, I-I'll bring the menus over to you." I said, and I tried to calm my breathing down.

Stephanie pulled down her glasses with a smug smirk on her makeup-covered face. "Took you long enough. Come on Theo." She leant against his chest and it was like on command because he wrapped his arm around her waist; a small but slightly obvious smirk on his plump red lips.

"You sure you want to stay here?" The boy with her piped-up. Theo, I was presuming.

Stephanie gave him a hard stare. "They sell the best burgers here, so we're staying." She replied icily, and they both made their way over to the table. I couldn't help noticing Theo stealing a quick glance back at me before Stephanie grabbed his arm to catch his attention once again.

It must be so tiring being with someone like Stephanie.

I couldn't imagine that.

"Willow, are you okay?" A pair of arms spun me on my heel by my shoulders and I came face to face with Clair's worried one. "What happened?"

I shook my head and wiped my hair away from my face. "I'm good. I felt a bit sick but I'm fine now." I told her and her face contorted into an even more worried expression.

"Do you need to sit down?" She asked, and I instantly felt bad for lying. I bit the inside of my cheek and released a shaky breath.

I shook my head at her and her face soon relaxed. "Do you need me to cover you?" She asked and I nodded, my eyes glancing at their table.

Clair came beside me and leant against the counter in front of me. "What table?" She patted my arm comfortingly.

"The one by the window." The one with the flickering light that had yet to be fixed.

She chuckled. "There are a lot of tables by the window."

I closed my eyes and smirked. "Right. I meant the table in the corner that has the faulty light."

Clair smirked. "You gave them that table on purpose, didn't you?"

I nodded my head, a cheeky grin playing on my lips.

She nodded her head in understanding, "Okay, listen. We'll swap duties until they are gone. How does that sound?" She asked and a wave of relief washed over me.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I felt bad.

"Yes, it's fine." She said before patting my back and leaving me to go take care of them both. Thank goodness.

As I tried to keep to myself busy and preoccupied whilst cleaning around the diner, I made my way back behind the counter to start cleaning there, too. Then soon after, Clair was coming back over to me and chucking the menu's to the side.

"All done." She gave me a thumbs up to which I gave her a small, appreciative smile.

Some time drifted by, the clock hands went around quickly. I continued to clean up and put things away when a pair of hands spun my around on my heels. Why was this happening a lot today?

I must've been so caught up in my worries because I didn't hear them approaching me. I broke myself free from the hold and stumbled back against the counter, hand pressing against my chest. "Mike!" I gasped loudly "You scared me!" I whisper-shouted to him and he raised his hands up in surrender.

Mike grimaced. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He covered his mouth, hiding a laugh making me roll my eyes at him.

After my erratic heartbeat has calmed down, I let out a short breath of air. I sat down on a stool to support my slight shaky legs but holy shitting fuck I was not prepared for that.

"It's fine, don't worry." I let out a fast breath of air and composed myself. "What're you doing here?" I asked curiously.

"My grandma wanted me to come down here and grab some food for us. She thought of getting delivery but I offered to come pick it up instead, since I know you work here." He smiled, his brown eyes glinting at the small light of sun that was streaming in.

Oh no, no, no. Why was I admiring Mike? I thought I disliked the dude?

I had never really looked at Mike differently other than thinking he looked semi-cute. With his chubby cheeks and big alluring brown eyes, what was not to love?

Maybe for some, but not for me. He wasn't the type of cute I usually went for...He was different amongst the guys I liked. I just didn't think he knew that.

"Have you ordered already?" I walked behind the counter and over to the register. He nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket to grab some cash. As I took the money from his hands, our hands brushed and I got the feeling he did that on purpose.

I looked up at his face through my long lashes and silently laughed to myself at the sight of his face being a dark pinky color.

I bit back another laugh and sorted the money into the cash register before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Bobby!" I called. Bobby had a very short temper, almost as short as him. He was definitely someone you wouldn't even consider getting on the wrong side of.

Bobby's face came into view at the sound of his name. He stopped stirring the pot and hopped down from the stool he was sitting on. Yes. He was very small, and yes, he was on a stool.

"A delivery for Mike Carlton should be ready, right?" I asked him and he nodded, sticking up his finger telling me to wait whilst he went to go grab the food.

"Thank you, Bobby." I said as soon as he came back. I took the big bag from his hands and smiled as he sent me a thumbs up.

"It's alright Willow. It was good seeing yer'." He said and I waved to him before making my way back out to the front of the diner. I handed Mike his food and I bided him goodbye.

But he didn't leave.

He instead stopped in his tracks, wandering back over to me. I stared at him, confused.

From the corner of my eye I could see someone looking at me and weirdly, the side of my face felt tingly as if someone's eyes were boring into the side of my head.

Rude.

"I was wondering," He gulped nervously and I tilted my head to the side, waiting for him to carry on. "If you're free this Friday. Do you want to, possibly, go to the outdoor cinema with me?" He scratched his neck and stared down at the floor. "You don't have to, it's just an idea. A stupid one, in fact." He gripped the bag in his hands, tighter and shook his head.

I opened my mouth to speak. I mean, what did I even say to that? It would be too harsh to reject him.

That had happened to me so many times in the past so I knew exactly how it felt - it was not very nice. As I smiled at Mike, the same tingly sensation happened to come over me again...but this time it was even more pronounced.

"Yes. I'll go with you." I surprised myself. But really, it was not like I could of said no to him.

Mike's distressed face was soon enough wiped away, forming his normal, cheeky smile. "Great! I'll pick you up at, let's say, five thirty?"

I nodded my head, "You know where I live, don't you?"

"You might need to message me your address, it's been a while since I came to yours." He said loudly, with a laugh before pulling open the door and grabbing his phone.

You're probably wondering - Mike had been over your house before? Yes, yes he had.

Mike used to come to mine when we were younger because our parents were very good friends. I guess maybe this was where his obsessive, kind of annoying, crush started from.

I took in some comfort clearing up the tables and putting away everything that needed to be put away. But even while doing all of that, there was that same feeling on the side of my face. It was as if someone's eyes were really, superbly and fantastically, staring into my soul. I shivered at one point and even had to turn away. But wherever I went, whatever I did, they were still watching me.

But it didn't feel sinister, it didn't feel weird.

Strangely, I liked it. Their state felt warm and it covered the whole of my body with warmth and comfort.

When I finished wiping down the table from making it shine from the overuse of disinfectant, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood upright and allowed my eyes to scan around the diner. Scan around until they caught site of someone, if anyone.

Then they did.

My eye's met the same one's that I had stared into twice these two days. The warmth, but also coldness, radiated off of them as they stared at me.

But it wasn't who I was expecting.

I definitely didn't think it was going to be him.

Theo was leant back against the booth chair with his arm swung around Stephanie's shoulder, allowing me to painfully see as she giggled into his side at something on her phone.

I gulped, my throat suddenly feeling dry. Theo's jaw was tense, and so were his shoulders. The t-shirt he was wearing seemed to clinging on for dear life as his biceps flexed under his movements. I noticed how there were a pair of black shades sitting on top of his dark, fluffy head of hair.

I switched between foot and force myself to break the unusual eye contact with him, but he looked away first. Now I was the one staring at him and I wished I had looked away.

I wished I had looked away!

Theo turned away and grabbed ahold of Stephanie's neck to force her lips onto his.

Why was I watching them make out?

Gross.

I frantically picked up the spray and cloth, and walked away back into the staff room, feeling at any given moment that I was going to vomit.