The Queen's Court Ch 2 (The worst night)

Lauren was devastated. The vomit was relentlessly forcing its way out of her and onto the pavement in thick projectiles. She could also feel hot and heavy tears welling up behind her eyes, but the competitive athlete in her had far too much pride to grant them access. Sadly, the same could not be said about her nose, which was flowing uncontrollably like a broken faucet.

Stupid girl! Stupid, stupid, stupid girl!

Her tear ducts swelled painfully.

All you had to do was wait. You could've ignored him, or made another joke. Shit, you could've at least walked away. But no, not you. You had to be Ms. Bigshot. Well just look at where that got you.

At this point she was on the verge of a full-on breakdown; the likes of which she hadn't experienced since junior high school. She thought she'd gotten past all of that trauma, but as she struggled to stifle her whimpers, she realized that she was wrong; dead wrong.

She wasn't a statuesque queen. She was a gawky twelve-year-old again, with hips like a boy and feet the size of scuba flippers. Only this time she wasn't in a controlled environment, and there was no Tiffany there to defend her. Instead, she was all alone crying on the side of the road, like a trashy whore in a trashier dress. However, just as things seemed like they couldn't get any more hellish, a bright light began to shine above her.

“Hey, baby,” drawled a distant male voice. “Looks like you had one too many.”

When Lauren looked up, she was once again horrified. There was someone standing there, about six feet away from her, holding up what she could only assume was the flash of a cell phone camera. She quickly threw her hand out to block it, but the man simply stepped around her to get a better profile.

“Don’t be shy, baby. You're about to go viral,” he said with a mirthful chuckle.

Lauren crouched into a ball and began to slip into catatonic a state. All of this was too much to handle. Forget school, this was easily the worst day of her life. The shame, the fear, the frustration, they all trumped everything from her early adolescence. On top of all that, she could feel the nausea inside of her about to go nuclear.

Oh no! Not now. Please, God. Not now.

But then something unexpected happened. Suddenly the blaring flash zipped away, followed by the smash of glass and plastic shattering on the sidewalk.

The man gasped and then shouted, “What the hell, buddy?”

However, shortly after that Lauren heard him hit the sidewalk as well. Then she looked up and saw the cook from earlier, Joshiro. His expression and the way he was flapping his hand seemed a little pained, but then he extended it out to her.

“You okay, miss?” he asked with a concerned look.

Relief washed over Lauren as she stared up into her savior’s eyes. His warm tone, his handsome features, even the soft glow of the street lights above him, they all gave him an aura that was downright angelic. Lauren would’ve sworn she was dreaming if not for the mistiness gathering in her nether regions.

So fuckin hot!

“Err, y-yes,” she forced out in a ragged voice. “I’m f-f-fine, sir. Th-thank you.” She swiftly tried to wipe the snot away from her face, but only managed to coalesce it with her make up. Then her eyes went to her reflection in the puddle below her. Suddenly her reality came crashing back in, and then after that a deluge of tears came crashing out.

“Hey,” said Joshiro softly. “Don’t worry. You're safe now.” He knelt down, put a curled finger under her chin, and tilted her head back up.

Lauren tried to resist, but she was too fatigued. She tried to speak, but all that came out was unintelligible sobs. However, after a few moments of mustering the little bit of wounded pride she had left, she at least managed to stop crying.

“You're just having a rough night. Believe me, I've been there,” he continued as he wiped one of her cheeks with the cuff of his shirt. Then he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a bandana. “Here. You can use this to clean yourself up.”

This finally brought a weak smile to Lauren's face. “Th-th-thank you,” she whispered. She then took it from him and blew her nose in it.

He meant your eyes, you idiot.

“S-sorry”, she said sheepishly. “I’ll go back inside and clean it for you.”

She attempted to rise, but he put a hand on her back and held her in place.

“Keep it,” he said warmly. He then looked away as she used the outer ends to wipe the rest of her face clean. “Do you have somebody you can call to pick you up?”

Lauren nodded and replied, “Uh-huh, but I don't want to bother her. I only live a few blocks away, anyway.”

“Do you mind if I walk you then?” said Joshiro.

Lauren smiled and nodded, but then she frowned, saying “Wait, aren't you still at work?”

Joshiro rolled his eyes. “Actually, they just fired me,” he retorted flatly. “Looks like it’ll be back to grilled cheese and ramen for the next couple of weeks.”

“Oh my God! I'm so sorry,” said Lauren with wide eyes.

Joshiro gave a dismissive wave and said, “I hated that job, anyway.” Then he rose to his feet and extended his feet and extended his hand to her again. “So which way do you live?”

This time Lauren accepted it. At first, she was worried that he wouldn't be able to support her, but his stance was surprisingly solid as she shifted her weight on to him. Then she rose up, and up… and up, even higher than before when she’d been wearing her heels.

Please don't freak out. Please don't freak out. Please don't freak out.

However, Joshiro didn't freak out. Instead, he actually began blushing a little. Seeing this made Lauren blush too, but through sheer will she maintained a solid poker face, despite the intense electricity crackling between them. In a way it actually helped. The feeling of high pressure was putting her back into her element.

YES!

Then Joshiro smiled and said, “So?”

“Oh, right,” sputtered Lauren. “It's about six blocks that way.”

Joshiro nodded, then he put his arm out for her. Again, Lauren's eyes shot wide open. Luckily for her though, they were interrupted just as she was on the brink of fainting.

*Ahem*

Both of their heads snapped back toward the restaurant.

“Got ya!”, shouted the old woman from before. Then she broke into a raucous laughter. They both blushed again, harder this time, but then joined in as well.

“Granna!” snapped Joshiro through stifled giggles.

“I wish I could see your faces,” cackled the old woman. “I bet If I could put that on a postcard, I’d get rich.”

Lauren was torn between embarrassment and amusement. She didn't quite know how she felt about this “Granna” yet, but she was certainly growing on her. Then something dawned on her that made her spirit fall.

“Guess, you'll have to take her instead,” she said looking down at her feet.

“Bah!” croaked the old woman abruptly. “I already called an Uber. I just wanted to give that smarmy host a piece of my mind first.” Then she turned to Joshiro. “Your next shift is on Monday. Now go and have fun, Joshy.”

Lauren was shocked. That decided it. She definitely liked this little old woman.

Then Joshiro gave a demure smile and said, “Thank you, Granna.”

“You're welcome, baby,” she replied, pulling him in for a hug and dropping to that audible whisper again. “Just be careful, and remember what I said about that one.”

“Granna!” hissed Joshiro.

However, Lauren merely grinned at him. Then her car arrived, and with one more wave over her shoulder, she departed. Lauren began to wave back, but then quickly stopped.

Right! She's blind.

“Sorry about her,” said Joshiro, turning back to her.

Lauren smiled and said, “Don't be. She's amazing.”

“You're one to talk,” quipped Joshiro. “What you did back there in the restaurant– That was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen.”

“Oh, stop it, you,” replied Lauren bashfully.

“Really,” he continued with enthusiasm. “I wanted to tell that guy off from the moment I met him, but you.” He stood on toes and brought his foot down exaggeratedly. “You did way better than I could’ve ever dreamed.”

Lauren felt like she was going to burst. It was the best compliment she'd ever gotten. She wished she could freeze the moment and make it last forever. However, that quickly changed as Joshiro offered her his arm again. Shivers spread all throughout her as she wrapped hers around it, but she was too giddy to let them stop her. Then they stepped over the unconscious stranger and went on their merry way.

As they walked, they continued to chat about this and that. Lauren told him about her scholarship and how excited she was for college, and Joshiro told old war stories about his upbringing. According to him he was one of nine siblings who all had jobs working in kitchens over the years. Lauren was amazed. Being an only child, she'd always wished that she had brothers and sisters. However, Tiffany was the closest thing she’d ever had to that. Unfortunately, although she walked as slow as she could, those six blocks seemed to fly by in seconds. With a crestfallen sigh, she stepped up onto the stoop of her building, but then she had a thought.

Seeming to sense her trepidation, Joshiro looked up and said, “What's up?”

Lauren wrinkled her nose and then smiled mischievously.

“Do you want to come up?”