Work Text:
Milo pulls an umbrella out of his backpack, shielding them from the shower of pizza. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” The waiter exclaims.
“Don’t worry about it.” Milo smiles. “Just Murphy’s Law.”
“I’ll go get you more pizza.” The waiter promises, rushing off to the kitchen.
Milo is sat between Zack and Melissa, with Amanda next to them. She is watching everything around them with a slightly bemused, slightly concerned expression.
The restaurant is in chaos, to be frank. They have been moved three times already after various table collapses, and one collapsed chunk of ceiling. The fire alarm has already gone off. Food stains the walls, like tracks from an animal, a whisper that a Murphy was here.
But everyone is cheerful anyway. Milo, Melissa and Zack joke around and laugh with each other as they wait for another attempt at their food, as waiters glance nervously at them and other patrons quietly request to be moved.
Amanda glances at her watch. This had already surpassed whatever reasonable amount of time she expected getting pizza to take. And they don’t even actually have pizza yet. “Does this happen every time you go out to eat?”
“The pizza shower?” Milo laughs, his face cheerful. “Usually only happens at restaurants that serve pizza, although once-“
“Not the pizza shower.” Amanda interrupts. “I mean, yes, the pizza shower. And the fire alarms, and broken tables, and- and the delays.”
“Well, yeah.” Milo says. “Everything takes longer for me, y’know, when everything goes wrong.”
Amanda shakes her head, her face probably shell shocked. “How do you ever get anything done, if everything takes so long? How do you live like this?”
Milo looks over at Zack. “See, this is why I wasn’t mad. People ask me that a lot.” He says. Then he looks back at Amanda. “I’m used to it! This is just how my life is. And I like how the only thing I can expect is the unexpected.”
Amanda scoffs- not so much judgmental, as confused. She just doesn’t understand how Milo can like his life. How he isn’t miserable all of the time.
Being Milo would make her miserable. How is he so happy? So satisfied? So calm, all of the time?
It just doesn’t make sense to her.
“It must frustrate you, sometimes. All of the chaos.” She says.
Zack looks worried, and Melissa looks protective. “Amanda, it’s none of your business.” She says strongly. “Would you ask anyone else that?”
“Is anyone else anything like Milo?” Amanda retorts.
“Guys, guys.” Milo interjects. “Mel, I’m ok. You know I don’t mind.”
Melissa scowls anyway. Melissa has been protective of Milo since they were kids, since they all met for the first time. Very few people are stupid enough to pick on Milo when Melissa is around.
But Milo never seems to mind anyway, even when people ask questions that would be considered horrifically rude by anyone else. He just smiles. “Yeah, it is frustrating sometimes. Sometimes I can’t do stuff that I wanna do, or stuff that everyone else gets to do. And that can be upsetting. But it’s ok! I still love my life. And I still think that I’m lucky.”
“Lucky.” Amanda quotes, raising an eyebrow despite herself.
“Lucky.” Milo confirms. “Tonight would’ve been so boring for any other kid- an opera for extra credit. But it was exciting! And going for pizza is exciting. Everything is an adventure for me. I just… I guess I have trouble understanding why you’d want to live like that. Why you’d want life to be predictable.”
Amanda’s automatic response is to bristle. Her life is normal, her life is great! Milo is the weird one, Milo is the one no one would like to live like.
But when she thinks about it, it does make sense. Milo wouldn’t like her life. She wouldn’t like his.
“I guess we agree to disagree, then.” She says, smiling. Milo blushes, for some reason. He looks a bit like a tomato. “I don’t understand why you would want to live like that, but hey- we can both live our own lives.”
“Exactly!” Milo holds up his hand, reaching across the table to her. She blinks- oh, he wants to high five her.
She high fives him, which makes him blush even more. And then her seat collapses. “Oh!”
“Sorry!” Milo exclaims, immediately squeezing out of his chair to rush around to her. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Amanda says. Milo holds out his hand, and she takes it. She is pretty sure that Milo turns scarlet, like someone set a fire inside his head. Knowing Milo and his propensity for unusual injuries and illnesses, she wouldn’t even be that surprised.
Milo stands there for a few seconds, a bright, tomato red, just holding onto her hand. “Uh, Milo? Are you ok?” She says.
Melissa and Zack giggle hysterically behind them as Milo jumps, shaking himself out of a daze. “Yeah! Sorry Amanda.” He pulls her to her feet, then pulls his hand away with a very bashful smile. “I’ll go get you a chair.”
He scurries off to fetch her a chair. She turns back to Melissa and Zack, who are still both giggling. “What was that about?” She asks, gesturing at Milo.
“He’s just embarrassed.” Zack winks. Melissa covers her face with her hands, giggling even more hysterically.
Amanda blinks a few times. “Why?” She asks.
“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Melissa manages to get out, with difficulty. “Don’t you worry about it, ‘manda.”
Amanda blinks rapidly. “What on earth are you two on about?”
Melissa and Zack just laugh. Amanda hears movement behind her, and turns around to see Milo scowling at his two friends. “You two are the worst.” He grumbles, pushing the chair towards Amanda. “I’m sorry about them.”
“You love us really.” Melissa makes Doe Eyes at Milo, who winces and covers his eyes as he shuffles to his seat.
“Not fair! That’s not fair!” He complains. “That’s dirty, Chase. That’s low.”
“You don’t win by fighting fair.” Melissa teases.
As Amanda slides into her seat, Zack leans over. “Just so you know,” he whispers, covering his mouth, “they’re not dating.”
Amanda is surprised. “Did you think that?” If there’s one thing she never pictured, it was Milo and Melissa dating.
“At first.” He admits, sheepish. “They nearly laughed me out of town when I asked them about it. But they’re not dating- just thought you’d want to know.” He winks again.
“Wha- you know, Melissa isn’t really my type.” Amanda says.
Zack barks a laugh. “That’s not what I meant.” He says. Though Amanda raises her eyebrow, he doesn’t elaborate further.
“What are you two whispering about?” Melissa says suddenly, leaning over the table to get closed to Zack.
“Oh, nothing.” Zack says, smirking.
“Hey, kids?” The waiter appears. “Your pizza’s ready.”
The pizza actually makes it to the table this time. When the waiter leaves, the pizza is still intact, and on the table. “Success!” Zack says.
Amanda glances at the time. Five minutes until the end of her scheduled enjoyment hours. She starts quickly shovelling slices of pizza down, glancing at the clock between mouthfuls.
Milo, Melissa and Zack eat more slowly, at their leisure. They talk as they eat, teasing each other, being friends. It is nice, she has to admit that. She wishes that she had more time.
But she doesn’t. She stands up. “I need to go.” She says. “It was nice to hang out with you guys.”
“Maybe we could do this again another time?” Milo suggests hopefully.
“Maybe.” Amanda says uncertainly.