Chinese Food

Nicky could see Jonah waiting for him through the window of the restaurant, playing with his straw and staring outside as Priya talked.

He could not get his legs to move.

Nicky wasn't afraid of much. He liked to think of himself as a pretty courageous person, so he couldn't figure out just why his legs wouldn't move out from under the dash. They stayed stationary on the floor like they were super glued down. He stared down at them, watching them bounce up and down against his will. He hoped that maybe if he stared hard enough, his legs would move by themselves.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't work.

When Nicky looked back up, he noticed other two hadn't seen him yet, so he had a bit of time to psych himself up before he walked in.

Maybe it was because he was so cold. He decided to ditch his puffy jacket and just wear a giant sweatshirt and joggers, which wasn't exactly Minnesota winter material. He tried on two full outfits before deciding on the one he walked out of the house with, and he was still sort of iffy on it. In his defense, he rarely wore anything besides his uniform and pajamas, so he wasn't a very fashionable guy.

He started to feel like he was able to leave the car, so peered inside again and found the two staring back at him, one with a huge smile and the other already sticking her middle finger up like she knew he'd walk inside and make some stupid comment (in her defense, he probably would).

Then, Jonah gave him a little wave.

And his feet were stuck to the ground again.

"Oh fuck you," he said to his body.

He decided not to read into it, especially after one look from Jonah basically caused him paralyzation. Honestly, he just wanted to get some egg rolls in his system before he went home and had to control the little Haddad siblings, so after a few more seconds of silently swearing at himself, he got up, locked the car, and walked inside.

"You look different without your aprons," he told them right as he slid into the booth across from Jonah.

"What the fuck does that mean, Nicky?" He thought to himself.

Jonah just shrugged, probably not realizing how awkward Nicky was feeling at that moment. In the two weeks he'd gotten to know him, Nicky got the feeling Jonah was a pretty naive guy. He didn't really seem phased by Nicky's natural standoffish nature, which, as he's been told by too many people to count, makes him "boring," and "hard to connect with."

And to those people, he would like to say a kind, "fuck off and leave me alone."

But Jonah didn't seem to have a problem with it, and Nicky sort of liked that.

"Well, we do have lives outside of our minimum wage jobs, Nicolas," Priya remarked, popping her head out from behind Jonah.

"Hey, Priya."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

After that, Nicky didn't bother including Priya in the conversation. He turned to Jonah and focused on him, genuinely wanting to talk to him this time. He regretted not taking advantage of the first time they spoke on the walk to the pharmacy, fearing he'd never have that opportunity with the other boy again. He was never much for social interaction, but Jonah made it easy.

Jonah asked him about the usual: winter break homework, family vacations, how the Lebanese Kardashian's were getting along (Nicky accidentally called them that when Jonah asked if he had any siblings the first time they talked and it didn't seem like he was going to let the nickname die). But when Nicky asked Jonah how hockey season's going, he blew it off completely.

"It's good. Anyway, what are you gonna order? I'm thinking-"

"Wait," Nicky cut him off, "you barely answered."

Jonah shrugged. "You don't care. You don't even play hockey."

"So? You like hockey."

"You really wanna hear about it?"

Nicky nodded, a little lost on why Jonah looked so confused.

Jonah paused, like he was waiting for Nicky to say 'sike!' and dance out of the restaurant or something, but after a few seconds, Nicky saw his expression change and suddenly, his brown eyes were the tiniest bit brighter, and his smile reached his eyes even more than before. "Well yesterday we had a scrimmage and I scored twice. The other guys were sort of annoyed and I think they blamed it on my stick. It's sick. I got it for my birthday last summer, and..."

Nicky was all ears. He listened when Jonah talked about his recent tournament, and all the scouts that had been coming up him, and his terrible practices that always drained him beyond belief, all of it. It wasn't the most interesting subject— Nicky only watched sports when Naveen flipped between whatever cartoon they were watching and a random game— but Jonah managed to make it fun to listen to with his wild exaggerations and funny stories. Even Priya was listening in and laughing.

He only talked about himself for a few minutes, but Nicky found himself wanting to know more about Jonah, and suddenly, being social wasn't as exhausting as he remembered.

An hour later, Jonah's phone rang and he gave it a disappointed glare before answering it and saying a few things in Hebrew before hanging up. "I gotta get home," he said as he hopped up from his chair and put some money down on the table. "See you guys later."

They waved their goodbyes and soon, it was just Priya and Nicky sitting silently across from each other, staring each other down for no reason.

At least, Nicky couldn't think of a reason. He found her annoying, but he didn't understand why she hated him so much. He didn't do anything that bad.

Nicky quickly realized he wanted out of there as soon as humanly possible, so he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his sweatshirt and sighed dramatically. "Darn. Gotta get back home. Nice seeing you, Priya."

"Liar," she mumbled under her breath.

He almost ignored it, but something about the tight lipped smile she shot him to try and play it off like she didn't say anything was making him angry. He stood next to her, arms crossed. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You called me a liar."

"Oh. I did say that, but only because it's true. I really don't trust you."

Nicky's jaw almost dropped. What was this girl's problem? "We've spoken to each other, like, five times, Priya. Isn't it a little early to be judging me?"

She shrugged before picking up her purse and slapping her part of the bill down on the table. "I don't care," she stated with a cheap smile before strutting out of the restaurant.

Nicky didn't want to talk to Priya anymore after that.

———————

Priya is the best

OKAY HEAR ME OUT

Priya is a bitch. Like a total bitch... but idk I got a soft spot for sassy characters like her and Nicky. Yk what i mean?

What are your opinions on Priya? And what about Nicky's whole momentary paralyzation thing? Wild shit.

Thanks for reading!! Love y'all tons.

~Teddy