Chapter Text
On a lazy summer day in the small town of Southwood, as the leaves blew on the light summer breeze and the bees buzzed around the blooming flowers, Mei Chu, a spunky teen, worked her day job at the Willow Tree Diner, a quiet diner situated under a giant Willow tree. Or what would be a quiet diner if chaos wasn’t brewing.
She didn't have much time to react as she watched three boys burst in, all laughing amongst each other, and a fourth person quietly walking in behind them. The shortest amongst them walked over to her and leaned against the counter, grinning. He was a brown haired, pale guy with black framed glasses who's frames have obviously never been cleaned.
"Heya miss, my friend over there thinks you're cute." He jerked his thumb over to the taller person, who was trying to break up a play fight between the other two.
Mei rolled her eyes, smiling, "Ha ha, very funny, Otis."
Otis sat down on one of the stools, still grinning, "Tyler dared me to do it. Even gave me five bucks." He said, showing her the money.
Soon, the other three walked over. Tyler, a taller, slightly muscular boy with red hair that desperately needed a touch up at the black roots, slung his arm around Otis, leaning against the shorter boy, "Heya Mei, we figured we'd come and see you and Heidi at work."
Mei leaned against the counter, "It has been pretty boring here." She looked over at the other two, "Hey Dex, hey Pop."
Dex, a tall, lanky boy with dark skin and a purple baseball cap, greeted her back with a wave. Pop, the tallest of them, a bulky genderfluid teen with long black hair and brown skin, smiled.
"Hello Mei," Pop said, leaning over to give her a small kiss, "How's work?"
"Boring. Charles and Ian don't have much for us at the moment, so I've just been hanging out. I don't know where Heidi went, though."
As if on cue, a freckled, brown haired girl made her way up to the counter, propping herself by her shoulders on the counter and reaching over to flick Otis on the forehead.
"Ow! Hey what the hell Heidi?!"
She smirked, "Testing the whole "twins can feel each other's pain" theory. Just proved it to be false."
Otis stared daggers at his sister, "That's what you said the other day when you punched me in the arm, jackass."
She shrugged, "Doesn't hurt to test theories multiple times."
"It hurts me, and also, it's pointless." The short boy huffed.
Mei chuckled, shaking her head, then looked back at the others, "Were you guys looking to order something or did you just want to watch Otis get tormented by his sister?"
"The latter." Dex responded with a grin. Otis glared at him. If looks could kill, Dex would be a bloody mess on the floor.
Tyler spoke up next, "Yeah, none of us wanted anything, we were just bored and figured we'd come annoy you two."
"Doesn't your shift end soon?" Pop asked, "We could probably go to the arcade, or possibly the movie theater. Maybe even go down to the mechanic stop and see if Mr. Herschel got the van fixed up."
"It's still not repaired?" Mei raised an eyebrow.
Dex shook his head, "Nope. We checked a few hours ago. Heidi fucked it up big time. She's lucky it even had a chance to be repaired." He said, getting hit in the head with a balled up napkin a few seconds later, "Hey! I made a good point asshole!"
"No throwing napkins at the customers, Ms. Achilles." A voice said from behind the girls. Mei turned around to see Ian, a balding middle aged man wearing a polo and shorts. He was one of the owners of the Willow Tree, and close friends with the twin's dad. He walked over with a smile, "I see you four decided to show up and torment my employees."
"Heidi's tormenting us." Otis huffed.
“More like Heidi’s tormenting you,” Dex pokes fun at Otis, who returns it with a scowl.
Ian laughed at their goofy youthful banter, and made a decision based on the lack of customers. “You girls can get off early.”
“Thanks Ian!” Mei yells as her and Heidi rush to the back to change. “Tell Charles we’ll make up time later.”
“No need, you girls just enjoy yourselves,” Ian tells them, a big smile on his face.
Heidi and Mei exchanged a highfive before taking off their uniforms and heading out to go adventure with their friends.
A bright sign advertised the movies playing, as the smell of stale buttered popcorn fills the air, as the group ponders what they should do once they enter the Southwood Cineplex.
"So, do we bug Noelle and Holly, or the triplets?" Tyler asked, watching as Dex zoomed past the group on his skateboard.
Mei thought for a bit, "I don't think the ladies are working today."
"Oh, yea, so triple J it is."
"Hey guys check it!" Dex called out to them. Mei looked up right as Dex jumped in the air, his boarding flipping underneath him. The board landed upside down, and Dex landed flat on his face. The group burst into laughter as he laid there.
"That was a good attempt, Dex." Tyler said as he walked over to help his friend, "But you still need practice." He held his hand out with a smile. Mei noticed the flustered look on Dex's face and stifled a giggle. After pulling Dex onto his feet, Tyler brought him back to the others, "Alright so, we're gonna visit the triplets right?"
Mei nodded, "Yep, they should be working today."
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Otis yelled before sprinting towards the doors, Heidi and Tyler quickly gaining after him. Mei and the other two walked after them, taking their time to look at their surroundings.
The inside was what you'd expect from a movie theater. Posters hung up of movies that were showing, the overwhelming smell of the overpriced snacks, the little kids running around and squealing. Mei looked over to see Otis and Tyler yelling at each other as Heidi talked to one of the concession workers.
The worker was a tall boy with curly blonde hair and hazel eyes. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than working that day. Mei walked over, "Hey Jameson!"
Jameson stared back with a blank expression, "Shouldn't you two be working?" He asked, sounding very bored and slightly irritated.
Heidi shook her head, "Ian gave us the rest of the day off since work was slow."
Jameson sighed, "Lucky. Work has been frustrating. Those tiny kids have been driving me nuts all day, and Otis ran in yelling at Tyler about some race." He motioned over to where Otis and Tyler were arguing, Dex and Pop now standing with them trying to calm the situation down, "Not to mention that Jamie is well…. Jamie."
"You called!" An identical boy appeared behind Jameson, startling him.
"GAH! JAMIE!"
Jamie ignored his brother, looking over at the girls, "Hey Mei! Hey Heidi!" He waved, "Hello you four!" He yelled to the others. Dex, Pop, and Tyler waved at him, while Otis stood there with his arms crossed.
Dex and Tyler ran over, Otis and Pop walking after them. "Hey Jamie! Hey Jameson," Dex greeted, "Where's James?"
They both shrugged. "Beats me." Jameson said.
"Probably off clean- oh! There he is!" Jamie pointed towards where another identical boy was walking out of one of the movie rooms, carrying a broom and dustpan with him. He noticed the group and walked over to them with a smile.
"Hey guys! Did Mei and Heidi get off early? Or did you guys sneak off?" He chuckled, walking over to a nearby trash can to empty out the dustpan. James was definitely more calm than Jamie was, but less way less grumpy than Jameson. He was like a mix of his brothers.
"We got off early." Heidi responded, "Ian decided that since there were no customers that we could go."
"Man, I wish we could have a day like that. It's always busy here, though." He leaned back against the counter. He looked over at Jameson, "How much longer 'til our shift ends?"
Jameson looked at his watch, "About another hour and a half." He responded, looking oh so tired, "I'm going home and just passing out."
"Same here." James laughed.
"Not me!" Jamie piped up, "Ty, Dex, I was wondering if we could go down to that park with the skating area and baseball field later? I haven't been in ages."
The two looked at each other, thinking for a bit. Tyler then nodded, "Sure!" He threw an arm around Dex's shoulder, pulling him closer, "Little buddy here needs practice anyways."
Mei looked over at Dex. He looked like he was about to explode. He really thought he was good at hiding those feelings, but everyone except for Tyler knew.
"Great!" Jamie smiled, "I'll give you guys a call and we can meet up when I get off!"
"Sounds good." Dex said, then turned back to the others, "So where to next?"
Mei thought for a minute, "Let's go see what Hammer and Ana are up to, then we can head to your uncle's shop to check on the van.”
The group waved goodbye to the triplets and headed out, not even buying a ticket to see a movie. No time for that when there was more to do that day.