Abandon All Hope

I feel like I should say something... I'm sure I should say something... I'm gonna say something. Before I get a chance Echo turns on her heels and returns to the back room. Okay, probably should've said something earlier.

"So..." Marie breaks the silence awkwardly. "Poppy wants the pasta, if that's relevant right now?"

Ty seems to break from his stupor and straightens up, apparently remembering he's working. "Sorry, sorry." He offers shakily. "Can I get you any drinks to start?"

What follows is a round of orders that's so uncomfortable that I genuinely do not wish to recount it, needless to say, I've had worse service, but I'd take it over everyone avoiding eye contact.

"So, you work here?" I eventually ask as Ty closes his notepad, choosing my words carefully.

"Everyone needs money." He grunts defensively. I knew their Mum wasn't in the picture, I guess I assumed they had some relative or family friend that supported them. Stupid really, they don't seem the type that would accept being looked after anyway.

Ty takes our order to the kitchen and mutters something to the barman, giving us time to process the image we just saw. "Not on the list of things I thought I'd see today." Rosie admits.

Andi hasn't said anything since Echo came out, Rosie ended up ordering for her. I guess they spent so long avoiding each other that meeting twice in a day feels shocking. "You okay?" I ask her, causing her to awaken and offer me a smile.

"'Course, we go to the same school, not like we never see each other in the hallway." She chuckles dismissively, waving off my concerns. Andi's a trooper, I doubt she'd admit if she were upset, best to keep an eye on her.

"That uniform really suits Ty, he looks cute." Poppy thinks aloud, causing all of us to turn to her in shock. Frankly, after everything the last couple of days, this is the most terrifying sentence I've heard. My sister seems confused by our reactions. "What?"

"Pops, you don't notice people being attractive, you don't notice people at all." Rosie points out.

Poppy seems offended by this evaluation. "I find people attractive! I just usually get distracted by other things..." She whines. True enough, she always gets locked on food, not sure how she manages to stay in such good shape, pretty sure she'd marry pizza if it was legal...

Which I really hope it isn't.

*

The meal's delicious, but it's hard to focus on given the tonal whiplash we experience whenever Ty comes out... Well, for most of us, I think Poppy was too focused on the pasta to notice.

We begin to divide up the bill when I notice it, the room getting smaller, the sounds fading out, my mouth going dry. Damn it, we almost got through this whole situation, why now? Air. I need air. I stand without a word and make my way outside. Thank fuck, fresh air. I begin to regain my senses, the world stops tumbling, the crowd noise returns and... What the fuck is that smell?

I wander around the corner of the building to see a familiar face. "I didn't think anyone actually smoked anymore." I admit, wandering closer.

"Only the cool kids, I hear." Echo replies, taking a drag from her cigarette. "And only when the cool kids have shit on their minds."

I lean against the wall next to her, trying to ignore the stench hanging in the air. "You sort everything out with Ty?" I ask, trying not to ask the obvious questions.

"Ehh, we did what works for us, he yelled, I punched him, eventually we got our anger out. We're fine." She answers nonchalantly. Not like I expected these two to talk it out like adults. "So... You and Andi, huh?"

"We're just friends... And I didn't know about your history." I interject. "If it helps, she already shot me down, so you've got no competition there." I add with a smirk, drawing a matching smile out of Echo, before she punches me on the arm.

"Guess she's still sticking to it... Even now." She sighs, tossing her cigarette on the ground. "I've gotta get back to work, but... Text me, yeah?" She requests.

An immediate issue springs to mind. "I would, but you took my number, I never got yours." I point out, causing an eye roll from Echo, before she takes a market pen from her pocket and writes it on my arm.

With that sorted she returns the pen to her uniform, and makes her way towards the side-door of the building before stopping for a moment. "Oh... And no one can compete with me... Not when I want something" Echo states confidently, before entering the door.

Well, not gonna argue with her.

Wait, what does that mean exactly?