17. Milkshake

"So like, are you guys together?" Casey asks Neil and I while we awkwardly sip on our milkshakes, surrounded by dumb Bryan and two of his friends.

"No" We say in unison

"Why not" Casey insists, a hint of fun in her voice

"Because dude is gay" Bryan laughs at Neil, punching him in the arm. I cringe.

"I still get more bitches than you" Neil rolls his eyes and sips on his milkshake faster, probably wanting to be done with this. I truly don't know why I agreed to this.

"We're just kidding, Jesus guys" Casey laughs off and discreetly pulls a small flask out of her bag, out of which she pours liquid into her milkshake.

I smile at the memory "Vodka?" I ask

She smirks and nods, pouring a generous amount into my drink. I quickly glance around so that servers don't notice us and laugh.

"So, you guys got any plans after graduation?" One of Bryan's friends, Josh, asks us. He seems to be more chill.

"Don't know man, I might just stay here and work at the music store or move to California with some family and do the same. What about you?" Neil answers

"I'm trying to get this football scholarship and in case it doesn't work out I think I'll do economics at college" Josh answers, surprisingly having an engaging conversation

"You'll get it bro" Says Manuel, Bryan's other friend. "You've trained so hard"

"I know but coach says it still isn't enough. I don't really know. I love football but-" His words slowly start fading away, or I simply stop listening as my sight falls on a familiar face crossing the door of the place.

Eve holding hands with Cami and Jour, Cindy following them along. They seem to be looking for a table to sit and haven't noticed me yet.

This can't happen again, okay?" She says. Her words almost feel as if they are echoing in my head.

"Why?" I ask simply

"Don't." She says more sternly "We got carried away. I cannot let this happen again and I'm not.. this type of person. You're barely legal. You should hang out with girls your age, okay? I appreciate your presence and all you've done for Cindy and... I can't pretend that I didn't enjoy the small bond we created because I feel like I know you but" she sighs again before continuing "But this can't happen again, Alex."

The flashback and her words echo in my head. We hadn't spoken since the encounter. Now we're in the same room and will most likely not speak again, especially not when her kids are here. Eve doesn't see me ; the kids don't either. I feel invisible. They find a table to sit further and disappear from my sight.

"Dude who are you staring at" Casey asks me while the boys are in a conversation.

"No one" I come back to my senses and take a sip

She turns around, looks around and doesn't notice anyone that could 'potentially' have caught my eye, and suspiciously gives up.

"So, are you still dating girls?" She spits and I almost choke on my drink.

I came out to her a while ago when we were friends. I wouldn't say she took it badly, but she definitely had some internalised homophobia, so us not being able to relate about boys and dating seemed like a dealbreaker to her at the time, although I am bisexual. She just didn't seem to understand, and I never pushed it.

"Um, yeah, I'm not dating anyone right now tho" I reply, suddenly realising that the guy's attention is on me, except Neil's.

"How is it like? To date a girl? I'm just curious" She laughs and looks at Brian, who smirks. I cringe.

"I don't know, ask your boyfriend" I reply a little coldly, being sick of these types of interactions

"I meant as a girl, silly" She rolls her eyes at me and reaches for my bracelet. She used to play with it so much.

"It's normal, don't really know" I reply

She gets the hint and stops asking questions.

Suddenly, the waiter comes to the table, he happens to be a boy from our high school, a junior I believe.

"Hey guys can I get you anything else" He says while holding a platter of drinks.

"You can start by dealing with that haircut" Manuel laughs at the nerdy, younger boy with long hair.

Brian laughs and takes off the cap off the boys head

"Hey!" The boy shouts angrily in reflex, tries to get his cap back and spills the platter with drinks all over us in the process. Most of it fell onto Brian who was closest to him, ending up in him being covered in chocolate milkshake.

The metal platter falling on the floor made a huge sound, which made everyone's heads turn in our direction.

"What the fuck is wrong with you" Brian gets up and grabs the boy by the collar

Neil gets out the table and pushes him away from the boy "It was your fault he dropped them, asshole"

Brian gets red from Neil's comeback and let's go of the boy, pushing Neil strongly.

Neil throws a punch at Brian's nose, earning a gasp from the crowd. Brian falls back and gets up with a bloody nose and angry face. Manuel stands up and gets involved. I stand up, not wanting this to go any longer. Manuel quickly throws a punch at Neil, aiming for his stomach but getting my hip since I stood in front of him.

"What the fuck Alex" Neil pushes me away tries fighting Manuel back. At this point I get angry and see workers coming towards us.

"Stop acting like that, let's go" I tell Neil hoping he lets it go. He does and Brian takes the possibility to throw a spit at him.

"Brian that's enough" Casey adds

"All of you out of my restaurant, now" comes the store manager and kicks us all out. By now all the clients are looking at us and I spot the person that I didn't want to witness this.

Eve is looking at me. Her eyes show disappointment and a hint of worry, or at least I hope. But probably mainly disappointment. She quickly stops looking at me when she sees me stare and I see that the kids noticed me as well, which makes me feel even worse. Its stupid but I'm supposed to be a model to them, not get involved in high school fights.

"NOW!" The manager yells and we all get out, Neil first, fully done with the rest of the group. I throw Casey a look and she shows sadness. I get out and follow Neil.