Warning, I have stopped even trying to understand timelines for this show, so I just set this late autumn because I can and I want to.
It was dark on Main Street, barely anyone out in the late autumn chill. Evie Medina knew that there would be a few stragglers, those who didn’t mind the crisp wind mostly. There wasn’t much open late along Main Street, The Crashdown and of course her own restaurant being the only places open. Nothing else would open up until the holiday season, stores staying open later to entice parents after their kids go to bed or those last minute, late night shoppers.
Evie stood at the host stand near the door. It was late for new guests, but not unreasonable. She had a pile of menus to wipe down, some utensils she could roll, so she prepared for the evening to end slowly without much excitement. She looked down to grab a new sanitizing cloth when the door opened.
“Good evening,” she said mechanically before she even looked up. “How many?” Her eyes caught on the two in front of her. Alex Manes and Michael Guerin, two guys who were a year above her in high school and two guys she had a heard a lot of rumors about over the years. No one of those rumors mentioned anything about the two of them dating. They had to be together somehow, because men in Roswell generally didn’t just hold hands with their friends. “Just the two?” She asked again, before they said anything.
They nodded and she gathered up some menus. She led them to the remaining open section, Mila had already cleaned up and left a half hour ago due to how slow they were, and walked to the beverage station.
“Hey,” she asked Carlos, her older brother who was in the same class as one of the other Manes guys, “since when are Alex Manes and Michael Guerin a thing?”
Her brother looked over at them, and then looked back. “Since when does Michael Guerin go on dates with guys?”
Liza came up behind them. “Honestly, it’s more like when does Michael Guerin ever go on dates? Even when he was with DeLuca they never really did anything. At least I never saw them outside of the Pony.” Evie nodded her agreement there.
“Oh, I’ve seen him at Planet 7 before,” Leo said from the kitchen. “Super cute but is shit at dancing.”
“Solves that one,” Evie said, “doesn’t explain the whole them together thing. I thought Alex was dating the Long cousin? The one with the bad sweaters and worse hair?”
“Oh, he was,” Leo said again. Leo was the resident gossip in the kitchen, and around Plant 7 as well. “They were not exclusive though.” He gestured towards Liza to take the finished plates. She startled, as if forgetting they were at work. Evie rolled her eyes. “I know they weren’t exclusive because Forrest would complain about it before hooking up with someone. Like, ‘my boyfriend won’t be exclusive and I hate it, so you should totally blow me’.”
“There’s no way in hell he actually said that,” Liza said as she returned to get the iced tea pitcher. “Also? It’s rude of you guys to gossip about people when I have to actually wait on them.”
“You’re just complaining because you can’t join in,” Leo said before he went further into the kitchen.
Evie knew that Liza was right, kinda. It was rude of them to gossip about their customers. It was unusual though, for a couple to pop up in town without the gossip mill spreading it first. She remembered hearing the odd thing here and there, but mostly it was about them being friends, drinking together, stuff like that. She wondered how the town didn’t catch on to it sooner. She watched as they reached across the table, hands clasped, as Guerin smiled at something Alex Manes said. She watched as Guerin played with one of Manes’ rings. They looked sweet together. And comfortable, comfortable in a way that said this wasn’t new.
“They’re cute,” she said as Liza came back with their drink order.
“They are,” she agreed. “I don’t think either of them stopped looking at each other for more than a second. I’d be annoyed if it wasn’t so endearing.” She shrugged and filled up their sodas. “Honestly, I can’t remember either of them looking so happy. I see Alex around town a lot and he always looks worried, like there’s always some catastrophe going on. It’s nice.”
Evie had to agree. It was nice. She sighed and then went back to her stand. They could gossip more after closing.
