chapter forty two
florence thompson
song: reason to hate you - rhys lewis

When I saw Vincent on the television, I knew I needed to get over him. I knew right at that moment that I was allowing myself to care far too much about him, and it was dangerous for me and me only. I was the only one to end up burned in the end.

I promised myself I would move on, let go of the feelings I had for him. Then Aria came in, an Aria-style, get-over-someone plan in full swing. Don't get me wrong, I knew I needed to get over him but I didn't imagine it to be in the form of a blind date.

"Florence, why don't you just go?" Aria groaned as she sat behind me in my bed where I was currently wrapped up, cocoon-style, in my comforter, looking a hot mess.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ari? I'm perfectly fine in my bed, just leave me," I grumbled, trying to sink further down into my blankets as I laid on my side, facing the window where my curtains were fully closed, effectively blocking out the afternoon sunlight.

Aria was currently trying to convince me to go on a blind date after Ben told her all about his heroic act of saving me. How much I wanted to smack that boy seemed to skyrocket with each passing day lately.

She had barged herself into my apartment to find me in the exact place that I am now, in my self-pity cocoon. She's been trying to convince me for the past thirty minutes to go, but each time she was met with the same, unimpressed answer.

"Alright, that's it," Aria snapped, apparently deciding that she'd had enough.

She shoved herself up and off of my bed, stomping over to the window and yanking my curtains open, blinding me with the bright sunlight. I groaned, yanking my blanket up and over my head, surrounding myself in the darkness again.

The darkness was the only thing keeping me sane lately.

"You're not throwing a pity party today. Not on my watch," Aria ranted as I heard her walk around my room before the sound of my closet being opened met my ears. I made no effort to watch what she was doing. "You're going on this date whether you like it or not, and you're going to forget all about Vincent De Douchebag if it's the last thing I do."

If I wasn't feeling as moody as a PMSing teenager, I would've laughed at the nickname she'd sprouted off, but laughing seemed like a chore at the moment.

"Listen, Levi is a sweetheart. He's hilarious and not to mention he has killer blue eyes," she rattled off, continuing to drone on about this date that was most definitely not going to happen.

I bet his eyes aren't as killer as my favorite eyes, my traitor of a subconscious commented.

Before I could dwell in the feeling of anguish that rolled over me, my comforter was ripped off of me and left me exposed to the sunlight beating down through my window. I groaned loudly, throwing my arm over my eyes.

"Get your ass up before I call Rico and have him drag you out of bed by your ear," she threatened, and I lifted my arm slightly and cracked one eye open to find her standing above me, arms crossed over her chest.

"I hate you," I grumbled as I begrudgingly shoved myself up into a sitting position, my hair that was once in a ponytail was now just a mess, the elastic now somewhere near the bottom of my hair, effectively making my hair quite wonky.

I was in a worn out black Ramones shirt that used to belong to my father and a pair of sweatpants. I was certain that I looked absolutely ridiculous at the moment.

"I have my work cut out for me," she whistled lowly, hands on her hips as she looked over me slowly and took in my homeless appearance.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks."

After a total of four hours of our bickering and Aria trying to get me to a place where I resembled less of a zombie and more of a human being, let alone a woman, I was finally a little more put together than the way she'd found me.

I was sat on my bed in a pink spaghetti strap dress that hit a little lower than the bottom of my thighs, buttons running down the length of the front of the dress with a decorative string that tied around the waist, forming a loose bow in the front. She'd let me wear my white converse after a heated debate, realizing that the last thing I was going to do right now was walk around in heels.

Aria was now sitting behind me, braiding my hair into two french braids, much like Rico had on one of my first dates with Vincent. The thought made a sour feeling curdle at the bottom of my stomach, and I did my best to shove the thought out of my mind.

After a few more moments, Aria tied a small elastic around the end of my braid and patted my back before announcing she was done.

"I don't want to do this," I grumbled, rubbing my face with my hand, careful to avoid my eyes since she'd convinced me to swipe on a little bit of mascara.

"Florence," she sighed, climbing over to sit next to me instead of behind me. "Can you just do me a favor and at least try to have fun tonight? Just use tonight as an escape from...everything. Just have fun, for the love of God."

I released my own sigh before nodding slowly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll try," I promised quietly, hoping that maybe this awful mood would leave me anytime soon and I could just enjoy my night like Aria was asking.

"Good," she chirped happily. "Now, here is your phone. He's at that little diner we love so much, Andy's? He should be waiting for you," she informed me, making my heart beat a little faster in my chest.

We'd been going to Andy's diner, Overboard, for years now. It was our home away from home when it came to Glenn's.

I suppose it was just now really hitting me that I was about to go on a date with some complete stranger that I didn't even know.

I nodded, grabbing my phone from her grasp before she wrapped me up in a strong hug. I returned it for a fleeting moment, letting out a sigh I'd been holding in before she released me and I was on my way.

With my heart in my throat, I loaded myself into my car and took off towards the small diner that Aria and I would often frequent on our off days that had killer food and even better smoothies. Nowhere could beat Glenn's though, but I would never tell Andy that.

I made it to the familiar little diner in less than fifteen minutes, my anxiety only seeming to come to a head as I got closer. My nerves were going crazy in my body, and I was met with the familiar desire to drive straight past and back home.

I nearly chuckled at the thought. I really have a problem with committing to these things, huh?

I took my time parking my car in a spot closer to the diner now that the sun was beginning to set since it was starting to near seven in the evening. After I'd successfully parked it, I pushed myself out of the vehicle and started towards the small diner that was all lit up, you could see all the bustling people from through the big, open windows.

My eyes fell on a blonde man sitting at a booth alone, looking around before glancing at the clock on the wall.

I wondered momentarily if he was who I was here for.

He had tousled blonde hair, and even though I wasn't even inside, I could still make out his bright blue eyes from here. He had boyish features, but I could tell he was around my age. Nevertheless, though, he was handsome, even if my mind persisted to remind me that he couldn't be nearly as attractive as someone else I knew.

I pushed the thought away, ready to welcome this distraction with open arms as I sauntered into the diner, immediately greeted by Andy, the owner of the diner. Andy also happened to be one of Glenn's closest friend's and would often swing by the diner to visit us.

"Is that Florence Thompson?" Andy's loud voice immediately met my ears as I slipped into the building, a smile found itself onto my face for the first time in two days.

As soon as Andy came into my vision, I couldn't help the smile that widened into a grin.

He was just as well-kept as I remembered. His dark hair with salt and pepper littered throughout it was gelled back, leaving his bright features on display. The wrinkles on his face were hardly a sign of his age as his personality would make you think he's just a young guy in his twenties.

Andy was always the best customer, unsurprisingly though, since he owned a diner of his own.

"In the flesh." I grinned as he quickly wrapped me up into a tight, refreshing hug.

I'd been hugged so many times in the past twenty-four hours but for some reason Andy's hug made my problems dissolve for a fleeting few moments. Andy was just like Glenn in the fact that he immediately took to me when he met me when I was younger, always making sure that I knew I could always go to him for anything.

Though I saw far less of Andy than I did Glenn, I knew I always had a home at Overboard just as much as the Midnight Diner. I always wondered why it wasn't as hard as I thought it would've been when my mom left Genevieve Springs for NYC, and I've concluded that it's because I had so much family surrounding me right here, right at home.

Andy broke the hug, holding me back with a big, goofy grin on his face.

"How've ya been, kid?" He asked sincerely, honestly looking as if he wanted to hear my answer.

I smiled softly.

"I've been good. How have you been, Andy?" I asked, genuinely concerned with the answer. Glenn had mentioned that Andy's had been getting hit especially hard recently, now that a restaurant had been put in down the street.

I'd been meaning to come by and see him in the past month or so, but life had been completely and utterly hectic.

"Oh, you know, livin' the dream." He beamed brightly, and if I hadn't known the struggled he'd been going through more recently, his grin would've sold me. Nonetheless, though, I didn't press the matter further as there was a diner full of people.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Any boys I have to beat up?" He asked, teasing me slightly, throwing a wink at the end of his question.

My cheeks immediately heated up and I felt my eyes widened. Oh, did he have perfect timing.

"Oh god no," I scoffed lightly. "Boys as the last thing on my mind, trust me," I lied straight through my teeth, hoping that I could fake it till I made it.

"Good, good. You're too bright of a young woman to be dulled by the silly boys around here. Now, for here or to go?" He asked, throwing the hand towel that I hadn't even noticed in his hand over his shoulder, letting it hang there.

I nearly chuckled at the words that were about to come out of my mouth.

"Actually, I'm here to see someone. He's already here, I believe," I answered, fidgeting nervously.

"He?" He teased, giving me a pointed look. "So much for boys being the last thing on your mind, hmm, Flora?" He winked, nudging me playfully as he called me by the nickname that he had given me years ago.

I rolled my eyes, a small smile on my lips.

"Trust me, I barely had a choice in the matter," and that was the truth.

"Aria back at her match-making craft again?" Andy grinned crookedly as she spoke of my best friend. My best friend who had tried getting Andy and Ms. Taylor down the street, who owns her own bakery, together.

What a shit show that had been.

We've been banned from get pastries from Ms. Taylor's bakery, if that gives you any idea how it went over.

"Like you wouldn't believe," I mumbled, giving him eyes that made him laugh heartily.

"Andy!" A voice called from behind the counter, where an unfamiliar brunette was stood, hands on hips as she glared at him. He whipped around immediately. "The ice cream machine is down again."

He sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, it was a pleasure seeing you again, Flora. Enjoy your night, sweetheart," he spoke to me before leaning down and pressing a swift kiss on my cheek. "And tell everyone I said hello."

I smiled softly, nodding.

"Thank you, Andy. I will."

As I watched his retreating figure, he began spouting off in Italian to the brunette, waving his handtowel around animatedly before they disappeared behind the double doors leading to the kitchen.

I smiled, shaking my head at him when I suddenly realized I had momentarily forgotten the whole reason why I came here. My heart immediately found its home back in my throat and I squeezed my eyes shut momentarily, letting out a long breath before I composed myself and turned on my heel.

As I approached the table where the blonde boy was sat, I very quickly caught his attention before he shot up to his feet. It was pretty clear then that I had the right person.

"Florence?" He spoke my name to confirm who I was but for some reason, the sound of my name rolling off his tongue was foreign and slightly unwelcome.

"Guilty as charged." I smiled stiffly.

Oh, tonight was going to be long.

• • •

q: favorite horror film??