“Not lazy, just selectively active,” She replied, flipping him off jokingly when he wasn’t looking. The drive did go by fast and soon she was out of the car, pulling the hood of his hoodie over her face further to try to hide her signature blue eyes. Barry parked the car while the other three of them walked into the restaurant, jogging for what must’ve been the first time in decades to catch up to them. Vanessa gave herself a whole new stride and demeanor when they neared the door, slouching more and just making herself less noticeable.
(Just a quick question, how would Vanessa react if the waitress started getting flirty with Lee?)
(Probably wouldn’t seem to mind at first, then she’d get jealous, and finally, depending on how far it went, she would start throwing insults and other not always so nice things at the waitress)
(Perfecto)
A waitress was waiting for them behind a little podium to the right of the door.
"Seating for 4, I'm guessing?" she asked, her gaze falling upon first Barry, then the director, then Vanessa, and finally Lee. Her eyes didn't leave him even as she grabbed 4 menus and led them to a booth in the far back of the restaurant, closest to the kitchen. Larry and the director, who were neck deep in a conversation still, slid in together in the left side of the booth, so Lee chose to enter the right side first, already studying the menu.
Vanessa slid in after Lee, grabbing a menu as well even though she already knew what she wanted. Her order didn’t vary much in every restaurant she went to. If they served Mexican food, it was a chicken burrito. Italian, lasagna, and so on and so forth. Even as the other two talked non stop, Vanessa didn’t say a word, seeming to know exactly how to avoid the press when she went anywhere in public with any male figure around her age.
"What can I get you guys for drinks?" the waitress asked, smiling slightly as she reached for her notepad and pen.
"I'll have a Bloody Mary," the director said, rubbing his nose on his forearm, "But with extra lime."
"Sprite, please," Barry said, and the two resumed their conversation.
"Uh…." Lee contemplated getting a soda, but finally settled on, "Just a water with lemon."
The waitress nodded and wrote down his order, glancing up at him one more time before turning to Vanessa. "And you?"
“Lemonade, please.” She said, keeping her head down and messing with the corner of her menu. Her foot bounced quietly against the floor, one of the only signs of her nervousness of being found by paparazzi. With a small glance at the waitress, she could tell she liked Lee, or at least the look of him. Already the thought of food made her happy and she couldn’t wait to order, all she had to do was wait for the waitress to come back with their drinks and for the others to decide what they wanted and she could order.
Lee tapped her arm and leaned closer so they wouldn't be heard. "There's a guy with his phone out about three booths behind us. I doubt you're recognizable from that angle, but it's just a warning."
He sat upright again and spoke loud enough to interrupt the other two's conversation, "What do you guys plan on getting?"
She gave him a thumbs up, happy for the warning as she looked around at the other three. Vanessa didn’t dare join the conversation, if someone heard her voice for more than a few moments they could probably know who she was. Normally when she was out and about she didn’t mind having fans come up and talk to her, though she did have several rules that most of her fans knew; 1. Don’t interrupt her if she was eating or talking to someone already, 2. Stay to their personal space unless you ask first, and 3. If they wanted anything signed they had to bring their own pen. They were simple rules, and she was happy to talk to fans, but if she was with someone attractive and male like Lee was she would hide her identity so no rumors would start.
About 15 minutes later, the waitress came back with the 4 drinks on a large plastic tray, handing each one to its respective owner. A light blush dusted her cheeks whenever Lee took his cup from her and their hands brushed slightly, but Lee was more focused on squeezing the lemon into his water than the woman.
"A-Alright," she said after taking a moment to regain her composure, "What would you guys like for your meal?"
“Chicken burrito, Mexican rice on the side.” Vanessa said almost immediately, her eyes going to the waitress again. She gave her just a tiny glare, one that wasn’t noticeable unless you were looking for it. Turning to her attention back to her drink, she went silent again, trying to guess what the other three were going to order and in what order they were going to say what they wanted.
Barry immediately butted in before the other two could open their mouths, taking almost 5 minutes to fully give his order. The poor girl's writing could barely keep up with the string of words. Lee was next, ordering a simple quesadilla and chips with queso. The director finished it off with two beef burritos, and the waitress walked off, taking a glance over her shoulder at Lee one last time before entering the kitchen.
Lee leaned close to Vanessa once again and asked, "What was with that look you gave her?"
Barry heard the question and asked, "What look?"
Lee answered without a hint of shame, "I was watching her. She gave the waitress the stink eye."
“Nothing,” She replied smoothly, glancing at him for only a moment before taking a sip of her lemonade. Tugging the hood of her hoodie further over her face so she wasn’t seen, she looked around the restaurant. Already impatiently waiting for her burrito.
Lee studied her for a few more seconds, trying to get a read off of her like he would an opponent in the ring. Alas, women's emotions were way more confusing than martial arts fighting styles ever will be. He gave up with a shrug and drowned out the conversation happening across from them. It took the food another 20 minutes to get to the table. The waitress was still stealing glances at Lee while she handed Vanessa her plate of rice and nearly dropped it into her lap. Lee watched this all with mild amusement, thinking it was just a slight slip on the part of the waitress.
She barely held back a curse word when she waitress almost dropped her rice in her lap, though she settled for a more noticeable glare to silently say ‘watch it’. One her food was in front of her though and she wasn’t in danger of getting rice dropped on her, she was happy, and started digging into the food like noting was wrong in the world. After the waitress had turned away to help another table, she glared at her again just for good measure.
Suddenly Barry turned to the two of them and said, "So, Vanessa, Lee-"
Lee cut him off with a look that could have shattered a diamond, but the damage had been done.
"I knew it!" the person Lee had noticed about 30 minutes ago exclaimed, hopping out of his seat and running over. "You're Lee Reddick! And you're Vanessa (You never told me a last name imao)!" the man looked about 50 and way to excited about meeting them.
A few others took notice at Vanessa's name and made their way over, giving similar reactions to the man's.
"You two are on a date, aren't you?" someone asked, and shortly after a camera flash came from someone's phone.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Lee said loudly, standing up. "Everyone take at least three steps back." He turned to Vanessa and said, "Let's get outta here."
Vanessa groaned and tugged the hood further over her face, just wanting to eat her food and keep rumors from spreading. “No, we’re not on a date,” She muttered, “We’re eating lunch and discussing music.” With not a care in the world she continued eating for a minute before realizing they probably wouldn’t leave them alone. She sighed and stood up like Lee said, her cheeks cherry red as she looked around for a to go box of some kind so she could take her food with.
"Do you want me to get the check and you can just go back to the car?" Lee asked, but Barry beat him tot it.
"You two go!" he said, already pulling out his wallet. "I'll get a to-go box for y'all's food. Just head back to the gym and we'll meet you there."
"Holy shit," Lee mumbled to Vanessa and he waited for her to walk out, "Barry did something helpful."
She pulled off her hood once people recognized her and waved to a few of them as she made her way to the door. She glanced back at her manager for a second with a look of thanks as she made her way outside amid the others who followed her and Lee out. “I know, every so often he does something crazy like that. It’s his hidden talent.” Looking around get the signature red car, she bounced on her toes and hoped this would stay out of the public eye. She didn’t want to get Lee involved with her crazy rumored relationships.
"Ay, buddy, back it up!" he said loudly as a creepy ass guy stepped forward and reached out for Vanessa hair.
Lee stepped in front of her and put an arm out, shoving the guy onto his ass like he was a toddler.
"We should probably get to the car, huh?" he asked, shooting a glance over his shoulder at Vanessa. "Follow me."
The crowd steered well clear of Lee after that particular interaction, choosing the safe option of taking pictures and videos of the two as Lee opened up the backseat door for Vanessa.
Vanessa cursed in her head the whole time she got into the backseat and closed the door behind herself, only choosing to actually let a swear word out when the door was closed. “Fuck. That sucked,” She said with a sigh, pulling the hood over her head again and pulling the drawstrings tight so just her nose was showing, “So much for a nice, peaceful meal. That burrito actually looked really good too.” All she could do was hope Barry got the food as she muttered something incoherently about creepy fans and just asking to take a picture with her instead of being asses.
Lee slipped in from the other door, slamming it shut and letting out an exasperated puff of air. "Remind me to never get as famous as you, alright? I'd have so many assault charges filed against me my lawyer would have a heart attack."
Even after the fiasco, he had a small grin on his face after glancing over at her. Everything connected in his mind while he was shoving the creep onto his ass. She was getting jealous. That waiter was getting a little flirty.
“Honestly, that’s the worst part about being famous. You can’t do anything without it being documented.” She huffed a laugh and shrugged, “Hey, if you were this famous, people would probably love being shoved over by you.” She sank down into her seat and pulled the hood off her head again, glancing at the window to try to see if there were any creeps peering through them to get a picture of her and him.
"You didn't like that waitress, did you?" he asked, his grin growing slightly. There was still a group of people on the sidewalk next to the car, but the threat of Lee stomping them out on video kept them at bay. The could see Barry and the director trying to worm their way through it, so they still had a few more moments of relative privacy.
Vanessa scowled at the back of the seat and didn’t answer for a moment, choosing her words carefully, “She was eyeing you up, and I figured you didn’t want to deal with another girl bothering you, so I just scared her away. You’re welcome.”
