Collab with [@Saint Girralo]
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James got up and walked to the front door, and turned to face his siblings who were still at the house. [color=FF3030] “I'm going out myself. Try not to burn the house down or anything.” [/color] He said, walking out the door and locking it behind him. He began to walk toward his neighbor’s house, but stopped early and pulled out his phone and checked his phone. He found a pair of texts from Nathan [color=firebrick] "Please. I'm pretty much the closest thing you got to a girlfriend, so you better treat me right. :P Let's just meet in the heart of town, in front of the mall. We'll figure it out from there," [/color][color=firebrick]"What time?"[/color] James laughed lightly at the irony of his best friend’s text and quickly responded, [color=FF3030] ‘Lol. Okay that sounds good. I'm going to get on a bus shortly to head to the mall. See you there.’[/color] 

Nathan was just about to start reading when his phone went off. [color=firebrick][i]”Oh thank god.”[/i][/color] It was a reply from James. He apparently was about to be on his way. Nathan pushed his book to the other side of his desk. [color=firebrick][i]”Another assignment for another day.”[/i][/color]

He made sure he had his wallet, his phone, and his keys before leaving the apartment. Then he walked over to the nearest bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive. He sent James a text to let him know that he was on his way too. [color=firebrick]”Waiting for the bus. Yup see you soon!”[/color]

The bus stop by James was fortunately just past the new neighbor’s house, the police officer neighbor’s house, so instead of walking up the pathway to the front door, he kept going. He saw the bus just pulling up, and he waved halfheartedly to the driver. He recognised the man to be one of the usual drivers he saw, a pleasant middle aged man named Dave. [color=Gray] “Well, this is unexpected. Everything okay, J?” [/color] [color=FF3030] “Yeah, Dave. The others closed early after a rough start, giving me the day off.” [/color] James replied with a sigh, dropping the fare into the collection container. [color=FF3030] “So I decided to make the most of this rare opportunity, and catch up with a friend at the mall.” [/color] He added, heading to his usual seat, about halfway to the back, next to the window. 

The bus had arrived and Nathan took a seat after paying the fare. He put his ear buds in and stared out the window, almost dramatically. Not really. But it would be cool if he was like some sort of main character in a movie or something. He wasn’t really main character worthy though, unless it was some cheesy shoujo anime. He got bored of window staring and noticed a couple of cute girls were on the bus, so he gave them a smile. Some of them smiled back while others rolled their eyes. Normally he would make a move on those who positively returned his smile but he had already gotten rejected twice. His heart couldn’t handle another heartbreak. At least, not until he tried later while hanging out with James. 

The bus ride wasn’t too long and Nathan soon found himself at the bus stop in front of the mall. He walked towards one of the benches by the entrance and sat down. James must be arriving any minute now.

It took very little time, as far as James was concerned, for the bus to reach the mall. As he got off the bus be waved to the driver and smiled as he noticed his friend sitting near the entrance, though the smile didn't exactly reach his eyes. He made his way to his friend with his tired looking smile on his face. He makes no effort to sneak up on his friend like he might under different circumstances, and instead just walks up to Nathan and sits next to him. [color=FF3030] “What a day, huh?” [/color] He said, looking to his friend. [color=FF3030] “So how was yours so far? Did you manage to get Ami’s number?”[/color] He poked, a hint of genuine curiosity poking through the otherwise tired expression on his face.

Nathan waved to his best friend as he approached him. [color=firebrick]”It was not bad, not bad at all,”[/color] he replied, reflecting on his day. Sure, he got rejected twice, but he did turn in his report on time and he managed to eat lunch with Ami. Oh… right. [color=firebrick]”Ah! I forgot to ask her for her number again!”[/color] he sighed while running his left hand through his hair. [color=firebrick]”She lives in the same apartment complex as me though so it’s not like it’d be hard to find her again. But she lives with Axel and Anthony! A girl like that living with two guys like them! It’s insanity I tell you!”[/color]

[color=firebrick]”I got to go on a lunch [i]date[/i] with her though.”[/color] To call it a date was an exaggeration of course, but that’s what guys did sometimes. They exaggerate, especially when it involves girls. 

[color=firebrick]”You still gotta tell me about what happened to the diner.”[/color] He leaned back onto bench, making himself comfortable. It was nice enough just talking to James like this and catching up with him again. He wouldn’t mind just staying here and talking, though he wouldn’t admit that because that was pretty gay.

Oh boy, he had to ask about the diner. What a marvelous shitshow that was, and he had only heard about what had happened. James chuckled and leaned forward, shaking his head in disappointment at the memory of the earlier conversation with his siblings. [color=FF3030] “Apparently it was a magnificent disaster, and I missed it because I went to my class. Firstly, Kylie was forced to go in and actually work today. Should have reminded them to actually train her, but I didn't and things went bad quickly. Kylie must have dropped the serving tray as she brought biscuits and water out to some customers, because I heard something about her not knowing how to clean up broken glass. But wait there's more. Apparently Kylie was so incompetent today that she picked up a biscuit, that not only fell on the floor, but had fallen into the broken glass and had shards in it, and tried to serve it to customers. Then Riley told his twin to leave, which caused a whole other problem, but that's not important to the diner… and it still gets worse.”[/color] James sighed. [color=FF3030] “So shortly after Kylie left, apparently Elliot showed up, which didn't go over well with Sophi. Supposedly Sophi smacked him across the face and then went into the office. Riley and Ron were the only two working during the beginning of the breakfast rush, so Riley decided we should take a personal day, and closed the diner to prevent shit from getting worse.” [/color]

Nathan whistled, partly because he was impressed by the amount of sheer chaos the Reese family tend to be in the middle of and partly because it just felt like the only reaction to have to that. He placed an arm on James’ shoulder. [color=firebrick] “You win. Your day was infinitely more interesting. Your family never ceases to amaze me.”[/color] 

[color=firebrick]”Well at least you get a day off. What do you want to do now?”[/color] he asked. [color=firebrick] “You can choose. Though I’m not going to lie, I could really go for a drink right about now.”[/color]

Drink? It's too bad he wasn't twenty one yet, he'd certainly have a few. And then his stomach growled, loudly too, reminding him he hasn't yet had an actual meal yet all day, just the few slices of bacon he grabbed on his way out the door and the peppermint that Ami gave him earlier. [color=FF3030] “Yeah, I have to agree there, but I kinda need a meal too. I haven't had anything to eat yet, and I'm starving. How bout you? You need anything besides a drink?” [/color]

Nathan nodded in agreement. [color=firebrick]”Let’s go get dinner at the food court then,”[/color] he suggested. There were a lot of options so they wouldn’t have to go through the whole “What do you want to eat?/ No, I’m not in the mood for…” conversation. They could just get whatever they want and meet up at a table. He got up and headed towards the mall entrance. He went to the mall quite often so he knew it like the back of his hand. He quickly made his way towards the food court. 

[color=firebrick][i]”Hm… what am I in the mood for today?”[/i][/color] The most ancient and important question of all time. 

In the end, he decided to get a philly cheesesteak sandwich with a side of fries. After he ordered he got a table and waited for his food. 

James followed Nathan into the food court and walked around, trying to get a feel for what he was in the mood for. [color=FF3030][i] You haven't eaten all day, and it's so late that this probably will be your final meal of the day. Go ahead and have yourself a burger. [/i][/color] He settled on exactly that. A cheeseburger with fries, and a medium Sprite. As he paid for the food, he flipped his wallet closed and walked to the table Nathan had grabbed. His stomach growled again and he hoped that dinner wouldn't take too long to cook. And then he heard off towards the fountain, “Is that a piece of lettuce floating in there?”
 
[color=firebrick]”Your stomach sounds like it’s digesting itself,”[/color] Nathan said as he heard his friend’s stomach growling loudly. [color=firebrick]”Did you forget to eat all day again?[/color] He was concerned about James’ health. He didn’t get enough sleep, he didn’t eat enough, his past with depression,and the fact that his family situation was probably mentally and emotionally exhausting, didn’t make for a very safe combination. 

James looked away, slightly embarrassed by his friend constantly worrying about him since his parents died in the crash. He knew his friend was right to be worried, but he would always down play how bad things were. [color=FF3030] “Yeah… I had to rush out the door for class, and then afterwards, I kinda just crashed when I got home. I really needed the extra sleep today, which is why I'm even here now.” [/color] James said to his friend. [color=FF3030] “So you even had lunch with Ami and still didn't get her number? Did you screw up that bad?” [/color] James sighed.

Nathan forgot about his worries for a second when James brought up Ami. [color=firebrick]”Ah.. she’s a nice girl. She is a bit weird though. She was poking her head around different classrooms until she somehow found my class. And then she asked me if I wanted to eat lunch with her. I couldn’t say no of course,”[/color] Nathan explained, going into more detail of what happened earlier today. [color=firebrick]”I think I’m getting along fine with her but we’re better off as friends. She is waaaaayyy out of my league.”[/color]

Suddenly he heard his name called from the sandwich place. [color=firebrick]”That’s me. If your food takes a while, you can steal some of my fries.”[/color] He got up and picked up his food and then returned back to the table. After he sat down, he motioned towards his fries.

James smiled at the offer Nathan gave, to allow him to steal some of his fries to hold him off until his food was done. He looked the pile of fries over and contemplated taking a few when his name was called. His burger and fries were finally done. Sweet succulent food. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the counter where his tray was waiting for him. He picked it up and made his way back to Nathan. He laughed inside about Nathan thinking Ami was out of his league. If Ami was out of his league, James knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he had the time and tried. As he sat down, James smiled at Nathan and took a bite of his burger.