I stood behind the rickety counter of the burger joint with my head nuzzled against my palm, me digging my pen into the elderly wood harshly. The joint was empty around this time, but then again, it came to me as no surprise. Who would want a greasy hamburger at ten in the morning anyway? I never understood why my dad insisted on opening so early; lunch rush and so on after was the busiest hours of the day, so why waste two hours before the rush just standing around with our thumbs up our ass? Dad's excuse was that there could always be that 10 o'clock in the morning burger eater. Yeah, in his dreams.

As I scratched the counter top with profanity and little emoticon faces, mum came downstairs from our apartment upstairs and entered the baron restaurant. "Good morning, my little burger boys!" she greeted cheerfully. She walked behind the counter, squeezed my cheeks, and kissed my head softly. I winced at the slobbery kiss with an awkward chuckle.

"Morning, mum." My father peeked out from the window opening of the kitchen, waving his greasy spatula in her direction.

"Morning, Iz." Mum walked over to the coat rack and grabbed her apron, tying it around her waist. She pulled her hair back with a soft hum, and once she was done, she looked in my general direction with a pout.

"Oh, Lex," she grumbled, snatching the pen from my hand which snapped me from my daze, "stop fooling around on the counter. I know there's no one in here, but why don't you make yourself useful and clean the tabletops before lunch rush?" As I turned to look in mum's direction, she was waving a wash cloth in my face. I groaned. Following her orders, I took the cloth and the spray beneath the counter and began to wash the counter tops. As I scrubbed down the first table, I mumbled towards my mum,

"You think I'll be able to have a day off this week to maybe go out and hang out with Jenna without being here? I mean, it is really lame to hang out with your only friend in the only place I'm ever seen in." Mum scoffed as she wrote the specials on the chalk board behind her.

"Alex, you know this is a family business, and you are a big partner in the business. Your name is on the sign out there, you know." she giggled. "You can hang out with her on Sunday when we're closed, okay? You know how that deal works."

"Yeah, I know." I grumbled in clear annoyance.

"Why are you asking anyway, Lex?"

"Well, for one, it's my summer vacation, and I've gone out once in the month and a half I've been off already, and that just to the cafe down the street for a cup of joe with Jenna and her friend Vic. Two, the school of arts is hosting the play of Macbeth, and Jenna invited me to go with her and her family since her brother is in it. It's Friday afternoon about three." Mum laughed out loud the moment the time of the event came spurting from my mouth.

"Honey, you know that won't fly with your father. It's during lunch hour on a Friday! You know that's the biggest day of the week around that hour." I groaned, slamming the rag down.

"Gee, mom. Ever think that the biggest part of life is to adventure and not be cooped up in a smelly, grease factory known as Peter and Son's." Mum shot me a death glare, alerting me that I better shut up or I'll be the new special of the day. I just took as I should just finish the tables and get ready for lunch rush.

---

Right on cue, twelve o'clock was when the restaurant started piling with hungry people of Baltimore. Workers, teens wanting to hang out on their summer vacations -- jealous --, and families wanting to eat as an outing. I was zooming around the restaurant to take and give out orders in the nick of time before people started complaining. "One bacon cheeseburger and fry, pop!" I yelled through the window as I clipped the order to the wheel. I had become a natural over the years, not to toot my own horn. As I was taking an order of one of our regulars, Mr. Jones from the Deli across the street, Jenna came waltzing in. She plopped down at the counter and waited for me to finish. Once I was done, I walked over to the counter and leaned out in front of her. "Hey there, Jen. What's shaking?" I grinned.

"Just chilling, really. I'm about to head to the movies with Vic and his boyfriend Kellin; I'm the third wheel and slaying at it." she giggled. I scoffed, crossing my arms.

"I wish I could be third-wheeling right about now, but I have to play waiter until 10." I grumbled. Jenna rubbed my cheek with a playful pout.

"Poor burger baby. You still on for Friday?" The moment she brought up Friday, I sighed and bit my lip.

"Sadly, no. I had this discussion with mum this morning, and she went on about it's the busiest day and time -- blah, blah, blah." Jenna groaned, running a finger through her green-blond hair.

"Oh well, I'll ask someone else to go with me." It hurt to hear Jenna want to attend an event without me, but I would be fighting a loss cause asking my dad to go to it with her. This restaurant was my life and plans until I died, most likely. No reason to start fighting now.

"Order up, Alex! Table five." Pop called from the window. I gestured for Jenna to hold on while I grabbed and served the order. As I handed it to the patron, a group of boys walked in that made me stop in my tracks. It was a trio; at the tip of the pack was a tall, lanky boy with a red streak through his head of black hair. On the left of him was a muscular built kid with a mohawk, and on the right of him was a semi-muscular kid with a shaved head. The trio looked tough, but something about that head of the pack was just --

"Excuse me!" the patron I was serving shouted into my ear, causing me to leap from my daze. "My order?" they grumbled. I rolled my eyes and slammed the plate down.

"Here." I walked over to the trio with a soft smile. "H-Hi, welcome to Peter's and Sons, I'm Son -- I mean! I'm Alex!" Of course, I'd fuck up a greeting to a group of kids I may have wanted to acquaint myself with at the end of the day. Good going. The head of the pack giggled at me with a soft smile, a smile that made my stomach do flips. "I'll bring you to your table." I led them to the last available table in the building with a soft blush. "I'll give you a few minutes to order!" I hurried back over to Jenna, and as I went to go grab another order of food, Jenna yanked my shirt to pull me back over to her. I had wide eyes.

"Do you know who those kids are?" she gasped. I raised a brow.

"Should I?" I asked.

"That's Jack Barakat, Zack Merrick, and Rian Dawson! They attend Baltimore's School of Arts!" Once hearing the school they attended, my ears perked up. I leaned against the counter.

"Do tell more."

"Jack is the kid with the red hair; he's a music major. He does stuff with guitar and all that jazz. The macho kid is Zack, and he does theater. Yes, that big brick house does musical theater, sue him. The shaved haired kid is Rian, and he majors in music also, but he works with drums rather than guitars. Jack is popular, though; he's the king of school apparently." As Jenna spoke, I focused on Jack specifically. The one he talked, the way he laughed, the way he presented himself was mesmerizing. He would laugh, and his cheeks would push up against his eyes to give him a slight squint. His cheeks were covered in stumble which just added onto his beauty. God, he was like an angel. I wanted to just --

"Alex?" Ugh, again with someone yanking me from my thoughts! I looked at her with a 'hm?'. Jenna rolled her eyes and got up with a scoff. "I got to head out to meet up with Vic and Kellin. I'll text you later?" I just nodded before I watched her exit. That was my time to head over to the trio, Jack, Rian, and Zack, to take their orders. I waddled over shyly with my pad and pen.

"Um, are we ready to order?" I asked politely. Jack let the two companions order first.

"I'll have a pizza burger with onion rings and a pop." Zack ordered.

"I'll have the turkey burger, hold the lettuce and tomato, with chips and a pop, as well." Rian ordered. I turned my attention to Jack, and I squeaked when I was looking right into a cute smile and his brown eyes piercing my own.

"I'll have just a cheeseburger. No fries or anything. I would like a strawberry shake, though." Jesus, even when he talked I wanted to faint. I jotted everything down and pulled the order slip out of my notebook.

"I'll get that order for you guys!" I declared happily before hurrying back to the window. I handed my dad the order shakily. Mum could see my face, for it was flushed a deep red. She cocked a brow.

"Alexander, are you alright?" she asked in concern. I turned to her with widened eyes.

"H-Huh?"

"What's the problem, dear? You are all red." she said with a cocked brow. I took out of my phone and examined myself on the front facing mirror. She was right; I was a bloody tomato. I shrugged, trying to find an excuse.

"Just a little hot in here, I guess. Mind turning up the A/C?" I asked politely. Mum just nodded awkwardly before adjusting the thermostat.

"There..."

"Thanks!" I spat out, grabbing an order and hurrying to the table it belonged to. As I walked over to the table, I took one more glimpse at Jack who was examining his phone while Rian and Zack just chatted away. His looks were just enough to make me -- oof!

Before I knew it, I was falling flat on my face. The food went flying, and the burger splattered all over my head. Burger guts were everywhere, and fries were all stuck in my hair. The whole restaurant went quiet as they watched me splat on the floor in horror, and I heard a couple of snickers. Mum rushed over and helped peel me off the floor and brush me off. My anxiety kicked in quickly, not knowing what to do. Everyone saw me fall to the floor, even, oh no, Jack! I looked in his general direction to see him look at me in concern and surprise. I was shaking like a leaf. "Alex, do you need --" I cut my mom off by pushing away and down the aisle into the back room of the restaurant. There I slammed and locked the door. I threw my apron on the floor and yelled in anger. I kicked at the shelf of storage, but instantly regretted it as the metal bars sent pain throughout my entire foot. I hated this place. I despised this place. My only choose now was to stay in here until I felt like cleaning up. I couldn't hide from lunch rush forever; that would be a crime in itself.

Notes

Here's the first chapter! It kind of sucks and may be very boring, but it'll get better, I promise!

krys xoxo