Grinning at her rebuttal and acceptance of his offer, he pulled his long sleeves down further, finding how Ella fidgeted with her hands rather amusing. Like she couldn't get them warm without becoming terribly awkward.
"Hah, I guess this serves us right, not bringing coats or anything. Let's speed walk, I remember an arcade I went to once not far from here, once we get out of the residential area. An acquaintance of mine works there. Hyper arse. By the way, are you insinuating that all lesbians go to prison? Or just that all the girls in prison are lesbians? It's important that I know, my cousin is a lady-lover and I want to know if I'm in any danger." he mused, turning around the block as a police car drove by, sirens blaring.

That was lie, of course. His older cousin had already married her boyfriend of 5 years, and the other one was only four. And those were the only two women he had in his family, aside from his mother and aunt. But it wasn't like this girl knew, or even cared, about his family, and there was very little chance that she would inquire about it later. He could spin all the lies he wanted, as long as he was discreet about it. It wasn't like anyone at that school was going to find out that Alex Middleton didn't really exist, and neither did his family.

What he had described as an arcade really wasn't what one might have expected. Instead of a bunch of ping pong games and a kiddy bar, it was a dark one-room building, with several couches forming booths facing individual TV screens, equipped with different video games. Towards the back there was a bar and small dining area, dull and flickering lamps providing enough light to see what you were eating, without disturbing the guests in the darkness. Walking past the blaring sounds of gun shots and skulls smashing, all digital of course, Alex pulled up a stool at the bar, waving at the somewhat obese and heavily tattooed bartender.

"Hey, Tony. I see you've taken down the restaurant grade you were given. What was it this time, a C?" he asked snakily. The man Tony only scowled, his flabby facial skin folding in on itself, giving him the appearance of a irritated bulldog.
"Either order something or fuck off, Middleton. I'm not dealing with your shit tonight."
Alex merely shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Two chicken and fries, no sauce. And a bottle of Jack." he said, not even bothering to pick up the menu. Tony opened one beady eye at him, putting his elbow on the counter and leaning in his face.
"Got any ID?" he asked him gruffly.
"Do you care?" Alex countered.

The two stared at each other for a half minute, before the older man got up, grumbling as he wrote down the order and disappeared into the kitchen. Alex perked his eyebrows, looking over at Ella.
"Swell guy, don't you think? Probably wants to rip my head off. Hope you like chicken tenders, it's probably the least toxic thing in this place. Well, probably won't give you any more salmonella than cafeteria food does." he said, explaining briefly why he didn't even ask her preference. Not that he thought she'd care. She didn't strike him as a vegan hippy, and if she was, there were always the potatoes. They probably hadn't been murdered inhumanely... Probably.