explained to Lance.
"Yeah, sure", Lance replied.
Raven quickly spun on her heel and briskly walked into the backroom, where Allison was
still trying to finish folding the monstrous pile of shirts. She snapped her head up at the
sound of Raven clomping into the room. When Allison saw who it was, she immediately
broke into a wide grin.
"Going somewhere?" Allison commented before Raven could even open her mouth. Raven
threw her a dirty look and grabbed her purse that was hanging up on the coat rack.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am", she smugly replied.
"Oh? Does it happen to involve Mr. Male Model out there?" Allison curiously asked, her
eyes traveling to the front of the store.
"Yeah, we're going out to lunch."
"Aw, how cute. A date! Are you sure you still know what one of those is? I mean maybe
from what you've told me, you rarely date. Hmm, maybe you should read a dating manual
or something. We wouldn't want you to ruin the first and last date of your sixteen years of
existence!" Allison sardonically answered. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Shut up. And besides, I don't even like the guy. Never have, never will", Raven shot back
as she started to head of the backroom. Allison smirked.
"Never say never."
*~*~*~*~*~*
"So, is this ok or do you want to go somewhere else?" Lance asked, his piercing green
eyes gazing into her's.
Raven nodded, her eyes darting around the inside of The Shack, making sure none of her
friends or Lance's friends were present. The Shack was the most popular restaurant among
Broson Alcott High School. The name certainly rang true; it was a hole in the wall, shabby
establishment that was located on the first level of the mall. When you first walked into
The Shack, you found yourself standing in front of the long, mica counter top,
accompanied with swiveling bar stools. The counter seating was wide and formed a
perfect square in the middle of the room. On each side of the counter were groups of
booths. The booths were a faded red and small, with most of its padding falling out and
meant to only fit four people, two on each side, but everyone usually could cram in eight
to ten people.
In the back of the restaurant was the cash register. If you went through a set of doors,
you'd find yourself in the kitchen. The only new thing in the entire place was the stereo
system; large speakers were mounted on the wall that were connected to a stereo that also
was in the back room, that were always tuned onto Kiss 95.7, the TRL so to speak, of
radio shows in Orlando.
The walls were a pale, peach color and were littered with posters (mainly of cars) and
pictures of many different people. One cluster of pictures was of Harold, the owner, and
his family. Others were pictures of students going to prom and graduation.
Harold was very friendly with all his customers and knew almost everyone that came into
the restaurant by a first name. He was very easy going and very rarely did he get angry.
The Shack had no limit to what it served but everyone mostly could be seen eating the
burgers and fries. It was like a Burger King, McDonald's, Subway, Wendy's, Taco Bell
and other fast food restaurants combined, minus the greasy, fried foods and infested rats
lurking in the shadows.
"No, this is fine. In fact, The Shack is my favorite restaurant", Raven honestly stated.
Lance grinned, overjoyed he had finally gotten something right about her.
"Yeah, me too I guess. So, are you ready to order?" Lance asked. Raven nodded, noticing
he hadn't even bothered to glance at the menu.
"Yeah." Then, they flagged down a waiter. Raven laughed when she heard Lance's order;
two soft shell tacos, one basket of french fries, a large vanilla milk shake and a side dish of
mozzarella sticks. Raven had ordered a cheeseburger, a basket of fries and a medium
Coca-Cola.
"Do you always eat this much? Or do you have a fifth stomach you failed to inform me
about?" Raven sarcastically asked as soon as the waiter scurried off with their order.
Lance laughed.
"It's not my fault I'm hungry." Raven rolled her eyes with a smirk plastered onto her face.
"Boys", she muttered under her breath. Suddenly, a pink sugar packet fell onto her lap.
Raven's eyes snapped upward and were greeted with Lance's laughing face.
"Hey, I heard that little comment", he replied, his eyes sparkling. Raven picked up the
packet and chucked it at him. A wide grin escaped her lips when the packet landed into
Lance's hair.
"Hey, watch the hair", Lance replied with a light chuckle as he brushed the packet out of
his hair and onto the ground. Raven's grin twisted into a smirk.
"Don't tell me that messy, I've-just-been-to-the-beach, pathetic excuse for a mildly
fashionable hair style took longer than five minutes to create", Raven challenged back.
Lance laughed.
"Actually, it took three minutes." Raven laughed.
<Ew, what is my problem? Why have I turned into another one of his brainless Barbie
dolls?> Raven disgustedly thought to herself. She abruptly cut her laugh short and began
twirling a strand of hair around her finger, a listless expression on her face.
"Could this place take any longer? By the time we get served, I'll be dead and buried",
Raven dryly replied.
"Why are you suddenly in a rush to get away from me?" Lance asked with a curious tone
of voice. Raven rolled her eyes.
"How many times do I have to say the same, exact thing? Do you need some sort of
diagram drawn out for you? I don't like you and you obviously have better things to do
than waste your precious time hanging around me, aka the Angel of Death to your
friends", Raven bitterly spat out, a smirk on her face.
Lance's eyes widened at the Angel of Death reference.
She sighed and looked away; she knew all about the little nickname Lance his group of
Abercrombie clones loved to call her. They thought she was deaf to their banter but she
knew. All the mumbled whispers, the dirty glares they tossed her way were the biggest
hint of them all.
"Look, Raven. I'm sorry about that whole Angel of Death thing. But who said I don't like
you? Just because my friends can't...tolerate you doesn't automatically mean I feel the
same way", Lance reasoned.
Raven let out a sharp, quick laugh.
"Lance, stop trying to dish out this whole Prince Charming crap because let me tell you,
it's not working. You're practically the fucking God of Bronson Alcott; all your friends are
like pathetic sheep that follow you wherever you go, copy whatever you do and whatever
you say. They're like freakin puppets! So, to sit there and blatantly confess that the
anti-Raven campaign is a total lie is bull shit", Raven snapped, her voice thick with venom.
Lance ran his hand through his hair, leaving a few pieces sticking up.
"I know, I know. But listen to yourself, you're a hypocrite! You say that the Preps judged
you guys but look at you; you think all the guys are dumb jocks who's conversations are
all about cars, football and sleeping with as many girls as they can and the girls are a bunch
of brain dead cheerleaders who care only about shopping and partying!" Lance pointed
out, his voice a little loud.
Raven's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. She had never felt as
angry as she did right now in her entire life.
"Well-"
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Broson Alcott's newest couple! We heard shouting; trouble in
paradise, eh?"
Raven and Lance immediately snapped their heads to the sound of the voice. Raven let out
an inward groan of dread at the site before her.
All in the latest fashions provided by American Eagle were Justin and his girlfriend, Amber
and JC Chasez.
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