A/N: Hey guys! I'd like to start this author's note with an apology…but isn't that how they all begin? (Heh.) Basically, I haven't updated anything in a while. I'm very sorry about that. I've just been busy with finals and everything, and then over winter break I just couldn't motivate myself to write. But I've been working on this oneshot for the past few days and I managed to finish it up tonight! It's not my best, but I hope you guys like it anyway.

The next thing scheduled for an update is MTFBWY, but I think I might stray from my rotation and update LTF next, because I'm feeling more motivated for that story right now. It still may be a while until any new chapters are up…but I'll try! I'm taking three science classes this quarter so we'll see how that works out. Anyway, enjoy!

(This may or may not be inspired by the extremely attractive waiter at my local Red Robin. Ahem.)

xxx

It was so cold outside that I could see my breath. It was one of those typical Northwestern winter nights, where the air is so crisp it almost hurts to breathe in and you can smell the ice-cold rain coming but you can't yet feel it. My winter-boot-clad feet stomped across the cement ground below me as I shivered, making my way back to my house as quickly as I could.

It was only six fifteen, but it was already pitch black outside. But despite the darkness and the fact that I was alone, I didn't feel unsafe. Just cold. I had left the house earlier that day wearing nothing but a thin sweater to warm my torso, a mistake that I was definitely not making again if I could help it.

A couple walking a few feet in front of me clung to each other for warmth. If only, I thought with a sigh. I had no boyfriend to offer me his jacket or to wrap his arms around me. If I had, I probably would've been shivering a lot less. But I didn't really want a boyfriend, nor did I need one. What I needed was to not be freezing to death. If the couple in front of me were instead a big glowing heater or an electric blanket, I would've been looking at them with the same sense of longing.

I rubbed my own arms in a feeble attempt to raise my temperature and continued to scuff along to my house. I was nearly there, and once I arrived, I was going to collapse in front of the fireplace and demand my mother to make me some hot chocolate.

Just thinking about being warm seemed to help at least a little bit, and soon enough I was hopping up the front steps to my house. I didn't get the chance to collapse in front of the fireplace, though, because my step-sister appeared before me as soon as I walked in the door and told me we were going out to dinner.

"What?" I voiced my dislike for the statement. "I literally just got home, and now you want me to go back out there?"

My step-sister, whose name was Megan and whose age was the same as mine, rolled her eyes. "Just go grab a jacket and come back down. Dad and Madge are swinging by to pick us up any second now."

I frowned but did as Megan instructed. I definitely didn't want to be cold again; that was for sure. When I walked back down the stairs, Megan grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the freezing abyss.

"How was tutoring?" she asked me as we made our way to where our parents sat waiting in the car. I ignored the question.

"If they were going to pick us up here anyway, why couldn't they just pick me up from the study center? I walked all the way home and nearly died of hypothermia," I complained.

Megan shrugged. "It's only a mile. Stop being such a baby."

I was going to tell her that if she was the one walking a mile in the twenty degree weather without a jacket, she would never let me hear the end of it, but I knew that arguing was pointless. We were in the car now and my mother and step-father were asking me the same question Megan had asked.

"Tutoring was fine," I answered. "Rachel has a test coming up, so I had to stay a little late to help her study extra hard." I was quite good at math, so I tutored. It was boring and a little frustrating but I got paid, so it was worth it.

"Well, great," my mother, Madge, said from the front passenger seat. "I hope you're hungry, girls. Your father decided he wanted Red Robin."

At the mention of my favorite restaurant, my hands began to shake in excitement. No, I did not love Red Robin that much…it was more my love of a certain waiter that made my heart beat speed up. His name was Zach, and he was extremely attractive, and he didn't even know my name but I already knew what our children were going to be called.

Remember how I said I didn't want a boyfriend? Well, I didn't. But if I was going to have one I would want it to be Zach. The chances of that happening were pretty slim, though. Like…there was pretty much a zero percent chance that he would ever go for me.

Megan snickered, obviously noticing my change in demeanor. "Oh boy," she said. "Hopefully Zach will be our waiter this time and not that bitchy girl that waits the left side of the restaurant. She sneered at me when I asked for a refill the other day."

"You didn't ask for a refill, Meg, you 'accidently' spilled your entire drink on her as she walked past and then instead of apologizing, told her to go get you another coke on the double," my step-dad Craig said with a chuckle. Megan shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips. She never was the most kind-hearted person.

"Whatever," she said. "I was trying to do Erica a favor. I thought that maybe if all the other waiters and waitresses hated us, we'd have more of a chance to get Zach every time."

I blushed. It was a well-known fact that I had a bit of a fangirl complex for Zach. We went to Red Robin a lot, and every time I even caught a glance of him I got so excited and nervous that I had to take deep breaths so I wouldn't pass out. My parents thought it was hilarious, but Megan just thought it was pathetic. She kept trying to get me to talk to him, but I couldn't do that. Just telling him my order as he waited our table as he so often did was good enough for me.

My family and I arrived at Red Robin and the maître ds led us to a table in the back right side of the restaurant, an area I knew as one of Zach's. I smiled and Megan rolled her eyes as we were seated.

Not two minutes later the sexiest man alive came sauntering up to our table. "Hey, it's been a while!" Zach said with that charming smile of his. He looked to each member of my family, exuding friendliness like no other.

I couldn't help it. I grinned.

"As you know, my name's Zach, and I'll be your waiter for the evening," he said. "Sorry, I'm required to say that."

"Good to see you, Zach," my step-dad said. "It sure is busy tonight."

Zach nodded. "It's rough, but I get good tips, so it's worth it," he shrugged with a smile. "Anyway, need some time to look over the menu?"

He always asked us that, even though he knew that all four of us ordered the same thing every time. Craig bellowed his deep laugh and Zach smiled along with him. "No, I think we're ready. I'll have the usual, but with mayo instead of barbeque sauce this time. I feel like trying something different."

Zach nodded and then looked to Megan. "The usual," she said. My mom repeated the same. Then Zach turned to where I sat and the butterflies erupted in my tummy.

"What about you, Crispy Chicken? Ready to branch out yet?" he asked. I blushed. He always called me 'Crispy Chicken' because that was what I always ordered: a crispy chicken sandwich, with no tomatoes and no onions. My other family members sometimes switched their orders up a bit, like Craig was doing that night, but I had never done anything to change my order. Zach thought this was ridiculously funny for some reason.

"No," I mumbled.

"Why not?" Zach asked. "At least try it with cheese or something."

"I like my sandwich just fine the way it is, thank you," I said, making sure to speak slowly so he couldn't tell how shaky my voice was. Zach shook his head with a smile.

"Alright, then. Anything else I can get you guys?" he asked the whole table.

I realized that we had only been given three sets of silverware. "A napkin and some utensils?" I asked as calmly as I could.

Zach grinned and then said the one line he always answered with whenever I asked for something. I was sure he used it on other customers, too, but it still made my heart flutter.

"Anything for you," he said with a wink.

xxx

"Erica, there's someone on the – what are you doing?"

Megan burst into my bedroom, the home phone held up to her ear, one hand over the speaker so whoever was on the other line couldn't hear her yelling at me. I looked down at my cell phone, which had been vibrating but I'd been ignoring, and assumed that whoever was calling needed to speak to me. I had heard the home phone ringing too, but chose to ignore it, as well.

My step-sister moved so that she was standing behind where I sat at my desk. "Are you playing the Sims?" she asked.

I turned to face her and saw that she was wearing a very amused expression. "Yes," I said simply. I was playing the Sims after all. It was a fun game!

"Is that…? Oh, my God, you did not make a family with you as the mom and Zach as the dad," Megan said. She rolled her eyes and gave me this look that said you sad, pathetic soul.

I shrugged. "It makes it more fun if you make people you know," I said.

Megan made a disgusted face. "You are so creepy," she said. "Anyway, there's someone on the phone for you. Why aren't you answering your cell?"

"I was helping my three children with their homework," I said. Megan scoffed and thrust the home phone into my hands. I laughed and put it up to my ear, pausing the game so I wouldn't miss anything.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Erica?" an adult voice said.

"Yes," I answered.

"Oh, good. This is Rachel Daley's mother," the woman said. Rachel Daley was the girl I tutored. I sat up straight.

"Oh, hello," I said.

"Yes, hello," Rachel's mom said. "I am calling to let you know that Rachel got one hundred percent on her math exam yesterday. She wanted to thank you herself, but she is sick so I kept her in bed this morning."

"Oh, that's great!" I said in excitement. I honestly didn't think that Rachel would get an A. She had a lot of problems grasping certain concepts.

"Yes, she has been doing exceptionally well lately. But she is just about to start training for dance competitions, so she will not have time to continue being tutored. Thank you for your services, though. You've been a lot of help."

At first I said nothing. I wasn't quite sure what I was hearing. "…Rachel doesn't need me to tutor her anymore?" I finally asked, hoping it wasn't so. Rachel was my last student. I used to tutor two other kids, as well, but one of them flunked out and the other stopped needing my help a few weeks ago. If she really was done being tutored, then that meant I was out of a job.

"That's right," Mrs. Daley said. I sighed.

"Well, okay," I said uneasily. I didn't want to sound ungrateful, but I needed a job! I was trying to save up to buy my own car so I wouldn't have to walk everywhere in the stupid cold all the time, but it seemed that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Thank you," Rachel's mom said. "Have a nice day."

"You, too," I said. Then she hung up and I let out a long sigh of frustration. Megan, who was still in my room, obviously eavesdropping, gave me a look.

"Rachel doesn't need me to tutor her anymore. I basically just got fired," I said in disappointment.

"What about that Jacob kid? Or Alanna?" Megan asked.

"Jacob decided he was too good for me and Alanna gave up and failed out of the ninth grade. Rachel was my last student, and now I have no job," I complained.

Megan frowned. "Well, that sucks," she said. Then her eyes flickered to my computer screen. "You should apply for a job at Red Robin. They're hiring, you know."

I knew. I had fantasized about working there alongside Zach plenty of times. But there was no way I was actually going to apply there.

I stared at my sister. "Are you crazy?" I asked. "I can't work there."

"I'm not crazy. You made a Sims family where you're married to Zach the waiter and have three kids and a dog. That makes you the crazy one," Megan pointed out.

"But…I named one of them after you," I said, pouting.

Her eyes lit up. "Aww, really?"

"Yeah," I said. "The dog."

Megan's eyes narrowed and she punched me in the shoulder. I laughed.

"Just delete the stupid family and apply to Red Robin. You know you want to," she said.

I did want to. Well, I wanted to work at Red Robin with Zach. I didn't want to delete the Sims family; my oldest child was almost ready to go to college and I had just adopted a cute kitten. But anyway – I was too nervous to apply for the job. If I could barely function with Zach as my waiter, how could I deal with him being my coworker?

"Erica," Megan urged, sensing my hesitation. "Do it."

I sighed. "Fine," I said. Megan smiled and pulled me from my seat so we could go get an application. I let myself relax a little. Just because I applied didn't mean I'd get the job. Right?

xxx

Wrong.

I got the job.

I wasn't sure whether I should be really happy or really scared. On one hand, I was going to be coworkers with Zach. On the other…I was going to be coworkers with Zach!

On my first day of training, I was introduced to the two people that I was sure to be spending most of my time working with. They were the other part time maître ds, both seniors in high school just like me. I was told that they would show me the ropes and get me acquainted with the place before my actual first day of work.

"Alright, a newbie!" the tall blonde boy cheered. "I'm Tyler. What's your name?"

"Erica," I said. Tyler grinned at me and my other coworker rolled her eyes at him.

"You'll have to excuse him," the girl said. "He is very enthusiastic about…well…everything. It's nice to meet you, Erica, I'm Taylor."

I shook her hand and looked between the two of them curiously. They looked a lot alike – blonde curly hair, blue eyes, fair complexion – and their names even matched. I was about to ask if they were twins or something when Taylor cut me off.

"And no, we are not related," she said. Tyler shook his head vigorously. "Not even slightly."

"Oh," I said in surprise. I was sure that they were at least cousins or something. But apparently they were just two people who happened to be very similar in appearance and names.

"This is so awesome! Working the podium gets so boring sometimes. It'll be great having someone other than Taylor to entertain me," Tyler said.

"Don't go teaching her to goof off on the job," Taylor reprimanded. She turned to me. "Sometimes he tries to convince me to play these stupid games with him. Don't let him do that to you. It's best if you just ignore him, actually."

Tyler frowned. "You're no fun," he whined.

I smiled, amused by the way the two treated each other. They even bickered like siblings.

"So, for your training," Taylor said, ignoring Tyler's pouts. "We'll have you practice with a few sets of customers. I'll help you. Here comes a family now!"

Sure enough, a family of four was walking into the restaurant. Taylor put on a bright fake smile and said in a voice entirely the opposite of the one she was just using with Tyler, "Welcome to Red Robin! How many will be in your party today?"

The mother of the family replied and Taylor signaled for me to grab four menus from the front desk. I did as I was told and followed her over to the right side of the restaurant, where she seated the family and told them that their waiter, Zach, would be right with them. At the mention of Zach's name, my heartbeat instantly increased tenfold. Part of me was appalled that he was working on my first day of training…but the other part was ecstatic. I just hoped he didn't witness me screw up my first attempt at being a maître d.

Once the family was seated and I had forced myself to calm down, Taylor led me back to the front and told me to take the next group that came in. I nodded, determined, and took a deep breath. I was confident in my abilities, especially since I dined at Red Robin all too often, it was just the fact that Zach was somewhere in the same room that made me nervous. I tried to forget him and focus on the task at hand.

"Welcome to Red Robin! I hope you are all having a wonderful evening so far. How many?" I said in my most cheerful voice to the family approaching. Tyler's eyebrows shot up and Taylor grinned. Apparently, they weren't expecting me to be so friendly and personable on my first try.

"Three, thank you," a woman with a warm smile said to me. I nodded and grabbed three menus. Taylor whispered to me that table 26 was free, one in the front left of the restaurant.

"Right this way, please," I said to the family of three. I was only vaguely aware of Tyler and Taylor's stares as I led the family to table 26. "Here you are," I said with a smile. "Your waiter will be right with you. Enjoy your meal!"

I walked back to the front of the restaurant swiftly, just in case Zach was nearby. I wasn't quite ready to face him yet. I was scared that he would recognize me as the girl who always ordered a crispy chicken sandwich…or worse, that he wouldn't recognize me at all.

When I got back to Tyler and Taylor, they were both clapping enthusiastically.

"Wow, nice job!" Taylor praised as she crossed table 26 off her clipboard. I let myself smile a little.

"Thanks," I said.

"Looks like we won't be needed anymore," Tyler joked. "We can just let Erica do all the work, since she's so good at it already."

I would have laughed and said something in response, but at that moment I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure over to the right side of the restaurant, and I immediately went into freak out mode.

Worried that Zach would see me, I grabbed a menu and hid my face in it. Taylor had gone to show the family that had just arrived to their booth, so she didn't notice my change in demeanor. Tyler was still standing next to me, but he was too dense to realize that I was uneasy. He just kept jabbering on about how he'd worked there for six months and still hadn't gotten a raise.

"Oh, Zach!" Tyler suddenly stopped droning on and began waving someone – I was assuming it was Zach – over towards us. I cursed my luck and tried to hide my face deeper in the menu, even though I knew it was inevitable that he would see me now.

"Come meet our new trainee," Tyler was telling him. "Her name is Erica."

Zach was approaching now, but I was still hiding. I didn't want him to see how red my face was.

"She's a natural at this whole maître d thing," Taylor said, appearing from nowhere. I couldn't see because my face was stuffed in the menu, but judging by her next words, I'm assuming that she saw what I was doing and noticed my strange behavior. "Hey, what are you doing? Studying the menu?" she asked.

"…yes," I lied awkwardly. Zach, as wonderfully smart and infuriating as he is, saw through my lie and laughed. He pulled the menu out of my hands and bent down to take a good look at my face, which caused me to blush an even deeper red than my work shirt.

"…Crispy Chicken?" Zach said in recognition. I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"Um…hi!" I squeaked.

Tyler and Taylor watched this exchange curiously. Zach grinned at me, which made my heart do funny things, and said, "Well, look at that! I never expected one of my beloved regulars to be the new trainee."

I didn't know what to say to that, especially since he had called me his "beloved" regular, so I just stayed quiet. Taylor looked at me and then at Zach.

"Oh, you're a regular!" she said. "I thought you looked sort of familiar."

"She and her family come here all the time," Zach explained. "They're a nice bunch, but they always order the same things. I try to get Crispy Chicken here to order something different, but she won't."

"My name is Erica," I said, blushing even more. "Please don't call me Crispy Chicken."

Zach smiled at me. "Anything for you," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He then turned to my coworkers. "Well, I have to get back to work…so good luck with your trainee, TNT! See you later, CC!"

I stared at his retreating form, not quite sure what to think. "…CC?" I asked, perplexed.

"It seems to be his new nickname for you," Taylor said. "CC for Crispy Chicken, which, by the way, is an excellent choice of food. Tyler and I are TNT, or Taylor 'n Tyler, because Zach decided he needed a name for us collectively since we're always together."

"And because we're EXPLOSIVE!" Tyler shouted, startling a small child a few feet away. "Sorry…"

"You guys are always together? Do you work all the same shifts?" I asked curiously. They sure were close.

"Don't change the subject," Taylor said harshly, already treating me like a close friend rather than an acquaintance. "What was up with the way you and Zach acted around each other?"

I bit my lip. "What do you mean?" I asked as a calmly as I could.

Tyler looked like he really wanted to be a part of the conversation, but more customers were arriving and we were on the job, after all. He reluctantly went to tend to more groups while Taylor stared me down.

"He was awfully friendly and smiley and playful towards you," she said.

I blushed. "…but isn't he like that around everyone?" I asked. The Zach I knew, for the lack of a better term, was always friendly and smiley and playful. That's why I liked him so much.

"Well, yeah," Taylor continued. "But he just seemed even more charming than he normally is when he was talking to you. And as for your behavior…I would attribute the blushing and stuttering and hiding behind menus to shyness, but you were perfectly at ease with me and Tyler when you first met us ten minutes ago, and judging by what Zach said, you've known him for a while. So there goes that theory."

I shrugged. Taylor continued. "So that means you like him," she said easily.

"Wh-what?" I sputtered. "Noooo…"

I must not have sounded very convincing because Taylor just rolled her eyes. "Hey, I don't blame you," she said. "He is rather nice to look at."

"Who is? Me? Yeah, I know I am," Tyler said nonchalantly, returning from the back of the restaurant. "It's okay if you have a crush on me, Erica. Well, as long as you're alright with sharing with Taylor."

"Not you, asshole," Taylor said with a glare. "We're talking about Zach. And Erica, before you ask, no, we are not dating. Not even slightly."

"Right," I said, nodding slowly. "Not even slightly related and not even slightly dating…then what are you guys?"

Tyler looked like he was about to delve into a deep explanation of their past, but Taylor cut him off. "Coworkers," she said.

xxx

"How was your first day at your new job?" Megan asked me when I got home that night.

I shrugged and blushed, thinking of my strange encounter with Zach and what Taylor had said about him acting extra charming. "It was fine," I said. "One of the other part time workers there reminds me of you a lot. Her name is Taylor." I had noticed the similarities between my new friend and my step-sister almost immediately – they were both snarky, headstrong, and brutally honest.

Megan's eyes lit up. "Oh, really? Is she super beautiful and smart and nice?"

I stared at her, thinking that maybe she reminded me more of Tyler and not Taylor. "Don't forget modest," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, that too," Megan said. She paused. "…what does that mean exactly?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm going to play Sims," I said, ignoring her look of disapproval.

"You still won't delete that stupid family of yours? Even now that Zach knows your real name?"

"Even if he does know my real name now, he still calls me CC," I said.

"CC?"

"I told him not to call me Crispy Chicken anymore, and he thought it would be clever to call me CC instead. Apparently he's big on nicknames," I shrugged. "But whatever. I'll delete the family someday…maybe when I'm actually friends with him. If that ever happens."

It was now Megan's turn to roll her eyes. "It will, Erica. You're a cool person. Besides, I think he likes you already. He never teases me about ordering the same thing every time."

Yet another similarity between Taylor and Megan…they both seemed to think that Zach treated me differently from everyone else.

"That's because you change up your order every now and then," I protested.

"Or because he finds it cute that you get flustered every time he says something," Megan countered. "Anyway, why are you arguing with me? Don't you want him to like you?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "But I don't want to start imagining things and getting my hopes up. So just leave me alone."

"Fine," Megan scoffed. "You're not normal."

I ignored her and turned on my computer. It was almost my youngest Sim-child's birthday, and I had to buy a cake.

xxx

Megan ended up being right about at least one thing…Zach and I did become sort-of-friends after a while. I wasn't entirely sure how it happened. I probably had "TNT" to thank, because on many occasions, the two of them would invite me out for dinner after a long shift, and more than once, Zach came along as well. My twisted mind sometimes liked to imagine that these instances were double dates, but then I would remember that Zach didn't have a pathetic crush on me like I did on him, and Taylor and Tyler were "not even slightly dating." But even so, our after-work get-togethers were fun.

I almost always worked with Tyler and Taylor, but very rarely did I get a shift at the same time as Zach. This was both good and bad – if he worked at all the same times as me, then I would probably never get any actual work done, but I did wish I could see him more often. My family still loved to come to Red Robin for dinner, though, so on days where I wasn't working and he was Megan would propose a trip to the restaurant and we'd go.

It was one of these days that I realized just how hopeless my feelings for Zach were. After being seated by a very enthusiastic Tyler, who was working with two other maître ds I hadn't met yet, Zach came to take our orders. He was friendly and sociable, as usual, and he called me CC and teased me about not wanting to change my order. I was very content with this until I got up to go to the bathroom, and along the way spotted Zach waiting on another table.

"Hey, Caprese Salad! It's been a while," he was saying to the young girl seated in the booth. My heart sank. This girl was much prettier than I was, and she was batting her eyelashes at Zach instead of sputtering idiotically like I always did when he talked to me. And he was treating her the same way he treated me when my family came to eat, which meant that Megan and Taylor were wrong and I was right. He was just being a good waiter after all.

With my mood effectively dampened, I walked slowly into the bathroom and stayed in there for a good ten minutes before coming back out just so I wouldn't have to see Zach again. When I finally came out, my family was done eating and had already paid, just as I had planned. We left the restaurant and I sulked in the car, ignoring Megan's comments about me taking forever in the bathroom.

When we got home, I immediately got on my computer and started up the Sims. I hadn't deleted the family yet…much to Megan's dismay. I still didn't want to delete it, but I did want to punish Sim-Zach in some way or another. I contemplated killing him off…but I wasn't sure how to do it. In the end, I decided on locking him in a room with no food or water until he starved to death.

Sim-Zach had been locked in the concrete room for three Sim-days and was close to death when Megan burst into my room without knocking, as she so often did.

"Hey, Erica, do you have any – why haven't you deleted that family yet?"

"Shh, I'm killing Sim-Zach! He is slowly starving to death…" I said, not taking my eyes off the screen.

Megan gave me a look. "What is wrong with you? And what did Zach do to deserve starvation?"

I sighed dramatically and clutched my hair in frustration. "I can't do it! He's too sweet!" I let Sim-Zach out of the room, and he immediately ran to make pancakes. "There…he's been spared."

"…I repeat: what is wrong with you?"

"Ugh, he probably is totally in love with her because she eats salad. And she's all skinny and beautiful and flirty, while I'm just…awkward and…freakish."

"Yeah you are," Megan said.

I shot her a glare. "Not helping," I said. "Why did you and Taylor have to get me all excited about him anyway? I was perfectly happy admiring him from afar, but now that perfect vision is ruined."

"Okay, what are you talking about?" Megan asked. "I can't read minds, you know."

"Zach doesn't like me! He likes Caprese Salad girl, with her long blonde hair and salad-eat-y-ness," I complained.

Megan rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous," she said. "Did he actually say that he liked her and not you?"

"Well…no…"

"See? You're just delusional. Now listen to me and this Taylor girl – Zach likes you! Why else would he flirt with you every time he sees you?"

"Because he's super friendly and everything he says and does seems flirty, but really he's just being nice?"

"No. Now do you have any tape? I'm trying to hang up my new Johnny Depp poster." I threw my roll of tape at Megan's head. Unfortunately, she caught it. "Later, CC!"

"Hey!" I called after her. "Only Zach can call me that!"

She was already down the hall, but I could still here her shout, "See? He already has a pet name for you! You have nothing to worry about, Erica!"

xxx

The next week, while I was working, I had the misfortune of showing Caprese Salad girl to her table. I tried to be nice and friendly towards her, since I figured we were sort of the same in terms of our pathetic crushes on Zach, but she was making it difficult. When I asked how many people were in her party, she gave me this look that said, "What, can't you count?" and when the table I sat her at wasn't one of Zach's, she sneered at me, as if it was my fault.

"Enjoy your meal," I said half-heartedly before returning to the front podium. "That girl is mean," I said to Tyler, who was entertaining himself by juggling drink menus. He dropped one just as I came up behind him, causing Taylor to snicker.

"Who is?" he asked, ignoring the chuckling girl next to him.

I motioned to where Caprese Salad sat with two adults who I assumed were her parents. "She glared at me," I said.

"Oh, her," Taylor said, ceasing her laughter when she realized who I was talking about. "Yeah, she comes here a lot. None of us really like her, but we put up with her because her parents are nice and they tip a lot."

"By 'none of us' do you mean just you and Tyler, or…?" I asked, a little hesitant. Taylor rolled her eyes at me, knowing exactly what I was really asking.

"Why don't you ask Zachie what he thinks of her himself?" she said as she nodded her head behind me. I turned around and saw Zach approaching, probably coming to inform us of which tables were opening up.

"Hey, CC! The couple from table 12 just left, and Greg is working on cleaning it up so it should be ready in about five minutes," he said to me with a smile.

I nodded sheepishly, still a little unable to form coherent sentences around him, and marked table 12 on the clipboard.

"So how's the shift going? Did you get promoted to waitress yet?" Zach asked jokingly. I ignored the fact that he was blowing off his job to talk to me and shrugged.

"It's been alright…" Taylor nudged me in the side. "Except…this one girl sneered at me a few minutes ago. She looks a little familiar…is she a regular here?"

Satisfied with her work, Taylor turned to babysit Tyler, leaving me and Zach alone. Well, as "alone" as two people could be in a crowded restaurant.

Zach followed my gaze and his eyes landed on Caprese Salad girl. "Oh, yeah," he said. I noted that his voice did not sound as enthusiastic as it had when I had seen him waiting her table. "She's nice to me, but everyone else has reported acts of rudeness from her and that kind of pisses me off. Plus, she always flirts with me, even in front of her parents, and I find it kind of weird to be honest. She's like fifteen, you know?"

I looked back at the girl in question. I hadn't noticed how young she looked until that moment. "Oh," was all I could think to say.

"And anyway, she always orders the Caprese Salad. Every time. I mean, how does a salad fill her up? That's not dinner. She should eat a burger or something. She could use the extra pounds."

Even though what Zach was saying was pretty mean, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Megan had been right…again!

"I see," I said, still grinning.

"Yeah, so, she's a regular, but she's not a beloved regular, like you," he said. This comment made my legs feel like jelly, and I probably would've fallen over had our boss not appeared at that moment and yelled at Zach to get back to work, startling me back to reality.

"Sorry, sir," Zach said, that irresistible smile of his never faltering. He turned to me one last time before returning to his work. "Worth it," he said quietly, winking. "Later, CC!"

I was about to pass out from cute-Zach-overload when Taylor bumped into me. She didn't say sorry. That's when I realized she had done it on purpose.

"What?" I asked, even though I was fully aware of what had caused her to have that sly grin on her face.

"Told you none of us like her," she said. "You on the other hand… all of us like you."

xxx

I stared at the three people in front of me, appalled. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked my family in a hushed voice.

"What, we aren't allowed to come to Red Robin when you're working?" Megan asked.

"Not really, no," I said.

"Aw, is this your family?" Taylor asked, approaching. It was a Tuesday evening, so it wasn't very busy, which left the three of us very bored.

"Yes," I said bitterly. I normally would've been happy to see my family, but I knew that Megan probably wanted to come just so she could tease me about Zach. "This is my sister, Megan, and these are my parents, Craig and Madge."

Tyler stopped using the podium as a drum set and walked over to shake Megan's hand. "Well hello there," he said, blatantly checking her out. "I'm Tyler."

Taylor smacked him upside the head, causing him to whine like a little girl. "And I'm Taylor," she said with a wave. "Sorry about him, he's…well…"

"I understand," Megan said, laughing. "So, Erica, are you going to show us to our table or what?"

I scoffed. "I thought we were socializing," I said.

"But you're working. You shouldn't be socializing."

"I'll show you to your table!" Tyler said loudly. He grabbed three menus and Megan's hand and started dragging her to a free table. My parents chuckled and followed them after waving goodbye to me.

I shook my head. "Ridiculous," I said.

"No kidding," Taylor frowned. At first I wondered why she would be upset about my family coming to visit, but then I realized she was agreeing with me for a completely different reason. I thought about saying somethingabout it, but then I remembered that she and Tyler were "not even slightly dating" and decided against it. If she was anything like Megan, and she was, then she would not take my teasing lightly.

The rest of the night ended up being pretty uneventful until near the end of my shift. My family had long consumed their meals and had gone back home, but I had made Megan promise to pick me up when I was done. She said she would, but somehow I was unconvinced. I had been taking the bus home for the past few weeks.

Tyler had finished his shift about two hours before Taylor and I were scheduled to finish, so it was quiet. It was beginning to get late, so the crowds were starting to die down. It made working easy, but very boring.

While I was staring into space I noticed that the waiters were ignoring one tray of food that had to have been sitting on the pick-up counter for at least ten minutes.

"Um, Taylor," I said. The blonde jumped, surprised by my voice after standing in silence for nearly thirty minutes. "Have you noticed that nobody is picking up that tray of food? They all just keep walking past it."

Taylor looked to where I was pointing. "Oh," she said. "Well, there's nothing going on up here…so I'm sure it'd be fine if you went and checked it out. Sometimes the waiters get really busy and miss an order or two."

I shrugged. "Alright," I said. I didn't want anyone's food to get cold, after all. I walked back to the pick-up station and grabbed the tray, which was labeled as table 15's food. I briefly wondered why it was being ignored before walking towards table 15.

When I reached the table in question, I was so surprised that I had no idea what to do or say. Table 15 was occupied by one person only, and that one person was none other than Zach, the waiter.

"…Zach?"

It was strange seeing him in normal clothing. He wasn't working that night, so he was clad in a plain gray sweatshirt and jeans, and it suited him strangely well. He smiled up at me.

"Hey," he said casually.

I wrinkled my eyebrows a little, but then realized that it probably wasn't that weird that Zach came to eat at Red Robin on his night off. I did the same thing, after all. It was just a little alarming…especially since he was alone.

I grabbed the first plate of food off the tray and observed it. "Um…bacon burger of some sort?" I attempted to identify the food. I wasn't a waitress yet, so I wasn't required to know the menu, but I had a basic knowledge due to my frequent visits.

Zach laughed. "Close. It's a Bacon Cheeseburger. That's for me," he said. I nodded and placed the food down in front of him.

I looked to the other plate of food. "…what about this one?" I asked nervously.

"That's for my date," Zach said. I couldn't help it; I felt a pang of jealousy in my chest at the word date. So he wasn't alone. She must have been in the bathroom or something.

"Oh," I said quietly. Eager to get out of there as quickly as possible, I placed the basket in front of the seat across from Zach without looking to see what it was. "Well, enjoy your date," I mumbled before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Zach called before I could get very far. I turned around. "Aren't you going to ask me where my date is?"

I looked at him curiously. Was he trying to break my heart or something? I asked him anyway. "Um…where is your date?"

He grinned. "Well, she's working right now, but I'm sure if she asks her boss, he'll let her get off early," he said.

I stared. What was he saying? Curious, I looked down at the food sitting on the table and paled – it was a crispy chicken sandwich, with no tomatoes and no onions. What…?

I looked back at Zach, who was still smiling at me. "Just go ask," he said.

I didn't need to be told twice. I went into the back room and found my boss. I opened my mouth to ask him as politely as possible for the rest of the night off, expecting him to tell me to get back to work, but he spoke before I could say a word.

"Zach already talked to me," he said with an eye roll. "You're free to go."

I nodded and stumbled out of the back room. I could hardly believe what was happening. Zach had pretty much just asked me out on a date…during work. Like whoa.

When I got back to table 15, Zach told me to sit, so I sat. I still didn't know what to say, so I just stared at my chicken burger to try to hide my red face.

"I hope I got your order right," Zach said. He sounded serious, but I knew he had to be joking. Of course he got my order right. He even knew what drink I always got.

"You did," I said, finally lifting my head to look at him.

"Well, good," he answered with a smile. "So, after we eat, we're going to the movies. Cool?"

I blushed yet again, but this time I didn't even try to hide it. I was pretty sure he knew how flustered I was, anyway. It was a pretty normal occurrence for me wherever he was involved.

"Yeah, cool," I said, fighting the urge to giggle like an idiot. "What movie?"

"Harry Potter," he said. "I know you were complaining about missing the premiere, and it's going to stop playing in the theatres soon…so I thought it was a good choice. But if you want to see something else, that's cool too."

I beamed. "No, that's perfect! I still haven't had the chance to see it yet," I said.

"Great," Zach replied.

"I'm surprised you remembered that I wanted to see it," I admitted, blushing some more. I had been pretty upset about missing the premiere, but that was a few weeks before that day. I didn't think Zach paid that much attention to what I said.

"Well, I am a great waiter, after all," he said with a wink.

I didn't know how to react to that without making a fool out of myself, so I just took a bite of my burger instead. Zach laughed and followed suit.

xxx

When we finished our meal, Zach stood up. "Ready to go?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied as I followed his example by standing up. "But what about paying…?" The check hadn't been dropped off yet.

"It's already been taken out of my pay check," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh," I said. "…thanks."

Zach laughed. "It's a date. It's expected of me to pay. You don't have to thank me," he said. "Now let's go see that movie!"

"Wait!"

Zach turned around and gave me a curious look. "Yes?"

I bit my lip. "I'm still in my work uniform," I said. "I look silly."

"You look cute to me," he casually said with a shrug. The comment did not affect me casually, though. It made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. "But here, you can wear this." He took off his sweatshirt, revealing a green t-shirt that brought out his pretty hazel eyes.

"Okay," I said, blushing. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the bathroom to put this sweatshirt on," I said. Zach gave me a look. "What? Pullovers feel weird over collared shirts."

"If you say so, CC," Zach chuckled. "I'll wait here."

"Kay…"

I practically ran to the bathroom and back because I was so anxious. I was still a little star-struck at the way that Zach had asked me out, but I was adjusting. I figured he didn't ask me out so I could act like a stuttering fool the whole time, so I tried to keep my composure.

When I was ready, we got into Zach's car (a slightly crappy 1995 Toyota Corolla) and he drove us to the movie theatres. He bought me popcorn and M&Ms and a Diet Coke, and when we sat down in the theatre, he slung his arm around my shoulders. It was surreal and a little frightening, but it was perfect.

When I got home that night, I was in awe. I was so busy daydreaming (and deleting my Sims family) that I didn't even acknowledge the fact that Megan was yelling at me for not letting her know that I no longer needed a ride home from work.

xxx

I had work the very next morning. I was on winter break for the week, so I didn't have to worry about school, which made it much easier to get more shifts. However, when I went to get ready for work, I realized that I didn't have my shirt.

"Crap! Shit! Poop!" I shouted in frustration, ten minutes before I was expected to clock in at Red Robin.

"What?" Megan came running into my room, most likely alarmed by my loud outbursts.

"I left my work shirt in the back of Zach's car," I said. "What am I supposed to do now?"

I expected Megan to tell me to suck it up and just wear the next closest thing, but she was just staring at me in disbelief. Then I realized what I had said, and what it must've sounded like to her.

"Meg – "

"What is your shirt doing in the back of Zach's car?" she asked, far too loudly.

"Shhh! Mom and Craig might hear you and get the wrong idea," I protested, shutting my bedroom door. "It's not what you think."

"I wasn't even aware that you had a date with Zach last night," Megan whined. "I showed up to take you home and Taylor had to tell me that you and Zach went to the movies. When were you planning on telling me that your romance with waiter boy had blossomed?"

"I didn't even know I had a date with him, either," I said, exasperated. "It was unexpected. And anyway, my shirt is in the back of his car because I didn't want to wear my work uniform to the movies, so he lent me his sweatshirt, but pullovers feel weird over collared shirts so I took it off, and then I accidently left it in his back seat."

"Mmhmm," Megan said. "Sure."

"I'm serious!"

Megan laughed. "Okay, okay. Now just put on a red shirt and get to work before you're late."

"I don't have any red shirts!" I panicked.

"Oh my god. Calm down. I have one you can borrow," she said. She threw a shirt at me and I put it on, thanking her about a thousand times before leaving the house. When I got to Red Robin, I braced myself for my boss's wrath, but he was nowhere to be seen. Tyler and Taylor were in plain sight, though, and they both looked at my shirt with curiosity.

"What happened to your work shirt?" Taylor asked.

I shuffled around nervously. "I…couldn't find it," I said. Taylor gave me a look that said she wasn't convinced but Tyler just shrugged. I was past caring what they thought, though, because I was too busy worrying about what would happen when my boss saw me not in uniform. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to worry much longer, because Zach arrived soon after I had.

"Oh, Zach, what are you doing here? You're not working today, are you?" Taylor asked when she saw him walk in. My back was still facing the door, but at the sound of his name, I whipped around.

"I came to bring CC her shirt," he said, that ever-present smile lighting up his face. He placed the shirt in my hands and I looked up at him, grateful.

"Th-thanks," I said, stuttering a little because his fingers had brushed against mine for a fraction of a second. I started in realization. "I didn't bring back your sweatshirt."

Zach's smile grew wider. "That's okay, you can keep it," he said. And then, just when I thought he was going to leave, he bent down to whisper something in my ear.

"You know, you don't have to leave your stuff in the back of my car to get me to come visit you at work," he said. And then, with one of his signature winks, he was gone.

xxx

"What was that all about?" Tyler and Taylor asked simultaneously. I blushed and shrugged, not knowing exactly how to explain it without eliciting the same response that Megan had given me earlier.

Taylor's eyes widened. "Did you two…?"

I turned fire red. "No! W-we haven't even kissed yet! Or held hands, or anything!"

Tyler laughed at my obvious discomfort. "Well, why not?" he asked.

"I didn't even know he liked me until yesterday," I said. "And it was only our first date."

"So? On my first date with Taylor, we – "

Taylor promptly punched him in the arm, causing him to shut up. But I had heard enough.

"I thought you guys weren't dating? Not even slightly?" I asked.

"We're not," Taylor said. "We did once, but it was forever ago. And it hardly counts because we only had one date."

"It wasn't really a date," Tyler said. "We just – " Taylor punched him again. "Alright, I'll shut up!"

I gave them incriminating looks and thought about prying further, but I figured I could infer what had happened between them easily enough and it wasn't really my business anyway. I shrugged. "Whatever," I said. "I don't even know if Zach and I will have a second date, either, so…"

"Are you joking?" Taylor asked me skeptically. "You heard what he said a few minutes ago. Or did you miss the part where he whispered seductively into your ear?"

I shivered slightly at the memory. "Um," I said. "No, I didn't miss it…but that doesn't guarantee that he'll ask me out again." I was still a little in denial about the whole Zach-liking-me-back thing.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yes it does," he said. "When a guy flirts with a girl as much as Zach flirts with you, it means he likes you a lot. And that means he'll ask you out again."

"If you say so…" I mumbled. "Well, I need to go put this shirt on, so will you guys cover for me for a few?"

"Anything for you," Taylor teased. I whipped her with the shirt before walking to the bathroom to get changed, ignoring the butterflies that were going crazy in my stomach.

xxx

Of course they turned out to be right. I seemed to be thinking far too pessimistically when it came to Zach, because Megan and Taylor (and even Tyler!) were almost always right about him.

Our second date was as unexpected as the first. That Saturday, Megan and I were going to hang out at the state fair, as we did every year. But at the last minute, she "got sick" and told me she couldn't go.

I didn't suspect anything at first, but then the doorbell rang and when I answered the door, I was face to face with Zach. This was especially humiliating because I was wearing pajama shorts with puppies on them and the sweatshirt he had given me…but he didn't seem notice or care.

"Hey, CC! Ready to go to the fair?"

I stared, the heat already starting to crawl up my cheeks. "Um," I said. "I'm not dressed."

"It's cool," he said with a shrug. "I'll wait. Mind if I come in?"

I nodded and opened the door wider. "Um…I'll be right back down. Make yourself comfortable," I said before running up the stairs.

After thoroughly reprimanding Megan for pulling such a scheme, I scrambled to find a worthy outfit. I had originally planned on just wearing Zach's sweatshirt and some jeans, but that was obviously not an option now that my companion would be Zach and not Megan. I felt a lot of pressure to move quickly because Zach was downstairs waiting, so I ended up just throwing on one of my favorite shirts, a cardigan, and my cutest jeans. I grabbed my boots on the way back to the foyer and slipped them on, hoping they would suffice.

When I got back downstairs, Zach was talking to my step-dad. I was mortified…my parents didn't even know that Zach and I were sort-of-dating now. Of course they knew that I had a massive crush on him, but they didn't know anything else. I wasn't particularly put off by the fact that Craig now knew we were "involved;" I just hoped that my father wasn't telling Zach about how I've been pathetically in love with him for a year.

"Uh…I'm ready to go now," I said nervously as I approached. Both Craig and Zach turned to look at me with smiles on their faces.

"Sweetie, why didn't you tell me that you have a boyfriend? And that it's Zach, no less!" Craig said far too enthusiastically.

I blushed. "Um, he's not really my boyfriend…I mean this is only our second date…"

Zach laughed. "Come on, let's go," he said. I nodded and followed him out to the driveway, saying a quick goodbye to my dad as I left.

"I'm going to kill Megan," I said once we got in the car.

Zach looked amused. "You might want to add TNT to that list, too, because they're the ones that set this up," he said.

"Really?" I asked. "How did they get my address?"

"Tyler apparently got your sister's number, and they worked it out with her," Zach said with a shrug. "I guess he likes her or something."

"Right," I said, remembering the other day when my family had come into Red Robin and Tyler had mercilessly hit on Megan.

For the next five minutes, Zach drove and I stared out the window, not really sure what to say. I was acutely aware of the fact that Zach kept alternating his gaze between the road and me, which was making me feel very uncomfortable. I was never very fond of being the center of attention.

"So," Zach suddenly said after one particularly long gaze in my direction, "I'm not really your boyfriend?"

I turned towards him to answer, but I couldn't think of the right words to say, so instead I just mumbled. "Um, w-well…" I said incoherently.

"I guess I never really did ask you," he shrugged.

"Right," I said again, finally finding my composure. "You just keep dragging me out on these dates with no warning or anything."

"Does that mean that if I did ask you, you would say no? I just figured…"

I stared. For once, Zach was the one that seemed uncomfortable and nervous. It was weird.

"No!" I said. "That's not what I meant."

"No as in 'No, I wouldn't say no' or no as in 'No, I don't want to be your girlfriend?'" Zach asked. We had arrived at the fairgrounds, but we weren't getting out of the car. To be honest, I hadn't even realized that the car had stopped.

"No, I wouldn't say no," I said meekly.

Zach smiled. "Oh," he said. "Good. Then, will you be my girlfriend?"

I nodded a little too vigorously, then realized how eager I must've looked, and stopped. "…sure," I said.

"Cool," Zach grinned. "Now let's go ride some roller coasters!"

xxx

"Let's do the Ferris Wheel next," Zach said.

I paled. "Um, can we not?" I said, stopping dead in my tracks.

"What?" Zach laughed at me. "Are you scared?"

"…maybe," I said. "I just really don't like Ferris Wheels."

We had been at the fair for nearly four hours, and we'd ridden on almost every ride. For lunch, Zach bought me a chicken sandwich, which made me laugh, and then afterwards we played some carnival games and won a giant teddy bear. It was getting dark and cold, and as much fun as I was having with my new boyfriend (boyfriend…eep!), I was ready to go home.

"Aw, Come on," Zach pressed. "I went on that vomitron thing with you earlier."

"Gravitron," I laughed. "And I didn't know you got motion sickness. You could've said something."

"I didn't want to," he said. "Just come on the Ferris Wheel with me…please?"

Before I could protest, he grabbed my hand and started slowly dragging me towards the line to the Ferris wheel. He must've known that physical contact hinders my ability to think clearly, because I protested no longer. He didn't let go of my hand until we were seated in our little chair.

"Oh, God," I groaned when the wheel began to move. I clutched the bar of the chair tightly. I had always been afraid of heights…and these kind of swinging contraptions were the absolute worst.

"Relax," Zach said, laughing. "How is this any different from a roller coaster?"

"It's completely different!" I said, beginning to panic as we went higher and higher. "On a roller coaster, you're moving so fast that you don't have time to comprehend how high up you are. Plus, this thing swings and makes creaking noises."

Zach just continued to chuckle at me. "Don't worry," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "I'll protect you."

"You can't protect me from falling to my untimely death!" I said, maybe a little too dramatically. But I couldn't help it – I was scared!

"You just need to think about something else," Zach offered. It seemed he had finally realized just how freaked out I actually was. "Forget that you're in the air and not on the ground."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Zach grinned. "I think I've got a pretty good idea," he said, and he leaned over and kissed me.

His plan definitely worked – the kiss consumed my every thought and I was no longer afraid because I was no longer aware of what was going on. My heart was pounding and the fear I had felt from the Ferris wheel had been forgotten and replaced with a feeling of ecstasy. Unfortunately this only lasted until we broke apart and Zach said jokingly, "Mmm, tastes like chicken."

I punched him in the arm for this, but that just made the chair swing back and forth, which ended up making me even more frightened than before. I clutched the rails with one hand and Zach's hand with the other and stared at the ground below, both to make sure I wasn't falling towards it and to avoid Zach's gaze.

"Hey, I'm only joking," he said lightly.

"I know," I said as calmly as I could. I continued to stare at the ground and Zach continued to stare at me. He lifted his hand from underneath mine and tucked a flyaway strand of hair behind my ear.

"Hey," he said. "Can I kiss you again?"

I looked at him, blushing. "…can we get down from here first?" I asked, breathlessly.

He smiled and winked at me. "Anything for you," he said.