Cooper’s smile faded a bit when she shot him down, not seeming to even bat an eyelash at his obvious flirting. Where most girls would have swooned on the spot, she seemed more intent on getting him in and out. He supposed she was just playing hard to get; what other option was there? Though he was a bit thrown off at the approach — Cooper was so used to girls practically throwing themselves at him that he hadn’t actually had to work to get a girl to like him for quite some time. ”Well that’s not exactly fun,” He said as he sunk back in his booth, smirking down at his menu as he lazily glanced over it, taking his sweet time. “So what would you suggest…Lacey?” He had turned his attention back to the girl in front of him now, and was squinting at her slightly as he pretended to work to put a name to the mystery waitress. “Tori? Jennifer? No, not a Jennifer,” He mused to himself, tilting his head slightly as he mock studied her. “You know, you could make this a lot easier if you just told me your name,” He said, offering her one of his trademark grins, the one that usually made girls turn to jelly right before his eyes. And yet…nothing. Not a single thing from the waitress.
Sighing to himself, he picked back up the menu, scanning over it quickly. “Chicken tenders and fries, please.” He said, making sure to emphasize the please. Chicks dug good manners, right? “And just a glass of water with it.” Well, maybe if he pretended to at least drink right, he could overlook the fact that his publicist would have an aneurysm if she saw him with those fries. He wanted to roll his eyes about how obsessive people got over what he ate; it wasn’t like a side of fries would suddenly make him less attractive over night. So what was the big deal? Cooper didn’t see one, and yet no matter how many times he tried to reason it out, he never seemed to get through to them.
But there was no one around to watch him this time; no hawk like stare from his manager or publicist, and certainly no flashing lights from the paparazzi. It was just him, his food, and the mystery waitress. Well, at least it would be if she would just tell him her name. He put his menu down after he ordered, propping his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands as he peered over at her curiously. What was it about her that was attracting him to her so much? Her beauty? Possible. But then again, he lived in LA…he saw his fair share of beauty just going to the grocery store. Or maybe it was because she looked like she wanted nothing more than to have nothing to do with him. Yeah, because that wasn’t a weird reason to be attracted to someone at all. But then again, Cooper had always been pampered hand and foot, barely having to work to get what he wanted…well, besides his music, but he disregarded that on account it was his passion. “So am I ever going to get your name?” He asked, eyes flickering briefly around the restaurant before returning to her with a questioning gaze.
“I’d suggest fries with a side of get the hell out of this restaurant, but hey. That’s just me.” Allie bit back at him. She wasn’t appreciative of his obvious flirting to say the least, not to mention the fact he was obviously known for this kind of thing. You know, wasn’t every guy in the industry? Charming their way around girls so effortlessly, he probably doesn’t know what it feels like to be knocked down. Poor guy. His ego probably wasn’t used to this. But she wasn’t about to give in and feed his curiosity. He’d soon be gone and she wouldn’t have to face him again, so introductions really weren’t necessary. “Just call me waitress, slave, bitch in uniform. All really fitting.” She shrugged it off, taking note of his order before reading back over it and pushing the notepad into the pocket of her shirt. Folding her arms coolly, her tired eyes scanned over the brown-eyed boy. For the first time she took notice of his prominent features, and the array of soft freckles scattered on his nose. Allie squinted, her mind questioning why he was even bothered about having her attention.
“You know, if I wanted people to know my name I’d wear a name tag like I’m supposed to. But do you see a name tag anywhere on my uniform?” Allie remarked, clearly pointing out that she had no interest in getting to know Cooper and that she wasn’t fond of him getting to know her either. Allie had seen this happen too many times to be drawn into him. Although she was immediately surprised by his ability to keep trying even after she’d cut him down more than once, and had to applaud him for that. Usually boys would run straight away, but he seemed to be enduring her snide remarks for as long as he could. Which wouldn’t be for much longer, obviously. She was honestly too tired for whatever mind-games he was trying to play; clearly he’s knew around here, or he’d know not to play against the girl who is practically the reigning champion.
She knew she was an obvious target for boys. Her dainty figure, soft brown locks that fell over her shoulders and soft olive skin portrayed her as having a soft interior so easily. It came in pretty handy sometimes, for example, when she was running out of money she could pass as being sixteen and paying child’s price on public transport — that’s pretty much as far as it goes with priviliges. But you don’t need to get too attached to her before you realize that her exterior is anythig but soft. Speaking the truth and pushing people away is all she’s ever known; so whether or not Cooper was genuinely interested in her was irrelevant, she wouldn’t bring down her barrier whether he liked it or not. Realizing she had been letting herself get carried away in her thoughts again, she quickly snapped out of it. “I’ll go get your order.” She nodded, cracking a barely-there smile for the first time since she’d been in his presence.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Cooper Edwards hissed under his breath, shielding his eyes as he nearly ran into another paparazzi. He had just wanted to go for a jog, not be attacked the second he stepped away from his property; was that so much to ask for? The flashing lights were everywhere, and it didn’t help that he could barely hear himself think in the roar the paparazzi was making. He couldn’t even pick out an individual question, it was that bad. He was sure they weren’t getting many flattering pictures of him — he knew he was scowling and trying his best to cover his face so his eyes wouldn’t water from all the bright flashes. Over the past year or so, Landon had met and faced his fair deal of paparazzi. But tonight he just wasn’t in the mood; he had been forced to go to dinner with his parents, and all they had done for the whole two hours was talk about how they didn’t like his newest song. He had been so excited to share the song he had been laboring over these past few months, but of course when they had listened to it, he could tell they didn’t like it. At first they wouldn’t even come out and just outright say it, instead making vague comments of disapproval. Finally Cooper had gotten fed up of it and told them to tell him what they really thought, and from there they basically told him they thought he could do much better than that. Once again, he didn’t live up to their expectations. What did it matter that he was making millions, or was one of the most successful performers out there? What did it matter if he wrote most of his own songs and had taught himself to play the guitar while on tour? None of it seemed to ever matter to them, and it was like they constantly expected more and more from their son. He knew that him and his parents were walking a thin line with their relationship, one he was starting to grow more and more anxious about. It didn’t help to have to worry about that on top of everything else in his life. His publicist was always breathing down his back about every tiny thing he did, and the public already criticized him enough without the help of his parents. Needless to say, Cooper had left the dinner early, not in the best of moods. So when he had got home and put on his running gear, hoping to work out some of the stress, he wasn’t thrilled to see a pack of paparazzi standing outside his gates, just waiting for him to make an appearance. Oh well, Cooper decided. He had wanted to go for a run, and a run he was going to get. He waited until he was able to spot an opening through the hoard before sprinting off, ignoring the shouts of protest behind him. He fumbled with his iPod as he ran, knowing full well that at least a few of them were sure to be following after him already. Glancing over his shoulder briefly, he cursed under his breath when, sure enough, a few of them had hopped into cars or were chasing after him on foot. It wasn’t long before he reached a more reserved part of LA, one where not many people were out at this time of night. He knew it had to be an odd sight to behold; a man in running gear sprinting for what looked like his life while cars followed him, screaming questions at him and taking numerous pictures of him…not to mention the few that were stupid enough to try and follow him on foot. Cooper prided himself in being in good shape, and he wanted to laugh at the notion that they could catch up with on foot while weighed down with camera gear. It just wasn’t going to happen. But the people in the cars…they were a different story. Cooper knew he was fast, but he wasn’t that fast. So he knew he would have to think of something different to shake them.
Music blaring in his ears to drown out the shouts, he began to look around him, trying to find a way to lose them. He hadn’t really been to this part of LA much — no, Cooper stuck more to the upper part of it, parts where he knew most of the other celebrities hung out. His publicist was always reminding him that he needed to be seen to stay at the top, so he often hung out at popular spots where he knew he would be seen. But right now he wasn’t really liking that. More than anything, he wished he could just disappear and fade through some wall to get some peace and quiet. Skidding into an alley, he glanced behind him to see that they were backing up to follow him in there. It almost felt like a horror movie, though he knew they weren’t going to beat him up or try to kidnap him…just corner him and take his pictures repeatedly. A wire fence loomed ahead, and Cooper didn’t even think twice before jumping onto it and climbing his way over. When he landed on the other side, he turned around to see the paparazzi cursing and trying to reverse. He smirked proudly to himself — Cooper: 1, paparazzi: 0. But he knew it wouldn’t be long until they came back around to where he was, so he quickly looked around, trying to find a place to duck into and hide out for a while. He jogged the streets for a minute before he caught sight of a small, bland restaurant, one that he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been looking. But it looked like the perfect refugee so he quickly ducked through the doors, only letting out a sigh of relief once the doors shut behind him. Finally, some peace. Deciding that he might as well stick around while he waited for the paps to give up, he grabbed a table for one and settled himself into the booth. It was relatively quiet here, something he was thankful for. He knew it had to be around closing time, seeing as how it was about 11:40 PM, but he couldn’t have cared less. It just meant less people to deal with for him; less chance of being seen. He was still looking at the menu when he noticed someone approach him and he glanced up with a bored expression. It wasn’t until he actually saw the girl in front of him that his expression changed to one of shock; she was completely gorgeous. And not in the way he had gotten used to in LA, where it was all plastic and fake. No, she was beautiful in this natural sense, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. He briefly wondered how it was she wasn’t in modeling or gracing TVs with her face, but that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that she was here and so was he, and he certainly wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by him. “Hi,” he said, turning on the Cooper charm and offering her a wide smile, making sure to show his pearly whites. “What’s your name, beautiful?” He nearly cringed on the inside at how cheesy that was, but he made sure it didn’t show on his face. He had been hoping to be a bit smoother than that, but his mouth seemed to have a different mindset. Oh, well. It was nothing he couldn’t handle. He was Cooper Edwards, after all.
The endless hours of the days shift had begun to show in the form of Allie Tyler, her usual fresh face had been drained and replaced with fatigue. Her attention was barely-there and her vision was practically a whole blur. The relentless streams of customers that edged their way into the restaurant never seemed to give in. If it wasn’t for the bills that she was expected to pay by the end of the month, she’d have walked out the door hours ago. Usually she would give her best winning smile and bare it; but today could be considered an exception. Getting by on the best of three hours sleep, it wasn’t the greatest day to approach the young brunette. After trying her best to turn a blind eye to a waiting table in the corner, the manager who seemed to appear suddenly nudged her in the direction, causing her to lose her balance slightly. She took a deep breath in, regaining her cool and adjusting herself before throwing a glare at her back and walking in the direction of the occupied table. Allie carefully glazed the tip of her pen on her tongue, flipping open a notepad and staring at the page blankly. They began to reel off their orders, and in her mind Allie silently scowled at their choices. It was easy to tell what class they were from; pearls around the mothers neck and a Tuxedo on the father. Two silent behaved children only meant a strict upbringing. Allie automatically resented anybody with an easy life. An easy life that was also one of luxury. How could it be that a girl of eighteen is expected to live her life, barely receiving minimum wage and working like hell while people like these seem to never have to lift a single finger. In her head, it was sick but she quickly reminded herself that she shouldn’t judge them. For all she knows, they might have a hard life too. A part of her wanted to question them on so many things, such as; why are they out so late especially with children and whether they were aware that closing time was in the next fifteen to twenty minutes, but she decided that she’d leave that up to someone else to announce to them. After all, it wasn’t her problem. After taking note of everything they wanted and having the menus practically shoved at her, she smiled at them reluctantly. She paused for a moment waiting for their thank you’s and for them to show even the littlest sign of appreciation, but it was clear that nothing was coming. “Thank you.” She choked out, before walking away abruptly.
Tearing the page away from it’s base, Allie grabbed a wad of blu-tac and attached the two together, placing it on the wall where the regular orders went. “You should probably tell them that closing time’s soon and their food isn’t going to be coming.” She exclaimed snidely, crossing her arms on the counter and leaning her head on them lazily so that her face was practically out of sight. Allie could have easily slept right there and then. Her eyes had started to become heavier and heavier as time passed, and her head was spinning faster than ever. Her mind went back to he restless night she had the previous night, when she could do nothing but turn over and over again and still never get even the tiniest bit sleepy. Strangely, the wood of the counter was more comfortable than she could have estimated and so she had no intention of moving until the last customers went home and she could leave. You’d think they’d give her a break once in a while, but never once had the words “Why don’t you leave early?” Or, “You’ve worked so hard. Take some time off.” Even passed the lips of the manager of this dull place. Okay, so she knew that she wasn’t ever going to be employee of the year or anything. She often got lazy, complained more than necessary and was often seen putting customers in their places. But she did long hours and got shit done around this place, which is more than most of her co-workers could say. In her minds eye, she was the perfect person to have working in this place.
She wasn’t aware of how long it’d been before she was being awoken by a nudge, pointing in the direction of a booth nestled in the quietest part of the restaurant. She didn’t hesitate or ask any questions, she simply groaned, pulling herself up lazily and headed off into the direction of the table. About half way over she started to get a clearer image of the boy. Dark eyes to match his dark hair; she knew exactly who he was. She looked back, hoping to find someone else to wait on him during his time here, but she soon saw that everyone was occupied and she would have to just endure it. Allie cleared her throat before approaching nonchalantly. He was probably looking for some kind of satisfcation in the fact everybody knows who he is; but Allie was the last person who would ever give it to him. She flipped open her notepad when she reached him, looking intently at him, urging him to choose what he wanted so she could get it over with and leave. She shook her head at his comment, scoulding him, “How about we skip this little introduction, you tell me what you want to order, and I can leave?” She suggested, offering him a smile that was anything but genuine. Being who she was, it could have been her favorite artist in the entire world sat in the booth — she still wouldn’t treat them as though they were.
