"You barely made it, Parks. Better get your act together." my boss called from behind the counter as I rushed in, scurrying past the customers to get to my name card. I sighed in relief when I saw it had accepted my card, right before the clock read 4:01. Hanging my coat up on the rack, I grabbed my uniform and quickly changed in the employee restroom.

One black polo and pair of khakis later, I was taking orders and sticking them to the window in the kitchen. I really didn't mind work, this being my preferred job of the two I worked. The other was serving as a floor-setter for a children's clothing store, where I rarely went due to not-so-often floor changed. Plus, the diner had a nice atmosphere that made me feel comfortable, almost more than my apartment. Nobody really talked to each other here, either, unless you worked in the kitchen. They're stuck in there all day, so I imagine they conversed. Being a waitress, you're always on your feet and if your lucky, you get the occasional shout from your boss to "pick it up". There was one other waitress though, who was quite sweet and probably the only person I really considered a friend, even though she was a distant one.

Her name was Jennifer, but she preferred Jen. She was probably a year younger than me and was very understanding. No matter how many times the cranky old lady-boss threatened me my job, she would always whisper some encouraging words to let me know I was doing just fine. I admired her positivity, but never took the time to learn from it. Her unforgettable little girl-like voice broke through my thought barrier.

"Hey, you seem more distant than usual. What's up?" she smiled caringly.

"Just busy at school. I hate to admit it, but I think I'm having boy troubles." I shook my head.

"Oh goodness, boys are so annoying. Do you have a boyfriend, or do you just like a guy?" she wondered aloud, from a nearby table, taking the dirty cups plates from the previous customers.

"I like a guy that's completely out of my league. For the past, I don't know... 10 years?" I chuckled at my stubborn crushes.

"Man, have you guys talked?"

"Today, I had the perfect chance to even shake his hand or something, but I just waved at him. He wasn't paying much attention anyways."

"I'm sorry. Hope everything works out well." she smiled knowingly, passing by with the stack of plates and silverware.

I felt the least bit better after her happy words, but was pulled back into reality when I heard the cranky old lady ordering me to attend to table 3. I quickly pulled my notepad out of my half-apron's pocket, and let my feet carry me to the table memorized as #3.

"Hello, I'm Em and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" I said, digging around for the pen in my pocket. I felt an A-ha expression cross my face when I pulled it out, and positioned it against the pad of paper, finally finding the moment to inspect my customers.

Just my luck.

I tried my best to smile back at the three boys who I had had talked to only hours earlier, feeling a nervous tingle run through my gut.

"Well, hello Miss Lady! I would very much like to start off with a drink... perhaps a Coke?" Louis grinned widely.

"Alrighty then. And you gentlemen?" I smiled, referencing Zayn and Harry.

"I'll have a Coke as well." Harry smirked.

"Make it three." Zayn winked, and I couldn't stop the immediate blush that skyrocketed up to my cheeks.

"No problem. I'll be back with your drinks in a few." I nodded, walking quickly back to behind the counter. I called out for 3 Cokes and bit my lip anxiously as I pulled out a tray to carry them on.

"Em, you look like you just saw a ghost. What's wrong?" Jen stopped by again, looking worried.

"Uh, those boy problems? Yeah, they found table 3." I said, loading the glasses onto the tray and lifting it up over my shoulder. Her eyes shot over to the coordinating table and quickly observed the trio.

"Which one is Mr. Right?" she asked.

"Middle man, black hair. Gotta run!" I smiled weakly before making my way over to the boys. I set down the drinks in front of them, and tucked the tray under my arm.

"Are we ready to order?"

"Yeah. We'll all share a large order of chili cheese chips, please." Louis politely replied.

"Coming right up!" I said, writing down the rest of the order. Before I turned to leave, Zayn spoke directly to me for the first time ever.

"Thanks, love." he grinned questionably, and I smiled back and turned away before they could see another embarrassing blush.

"Looked smooth to me." Jen giggled as I passed her to deliver the order to the kitchen.

"Looks can be quite deceiving."

"That's no lie. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the other two are competing for your attention." her voice trailed off as she went to attend to the new customers, and this left me wondering.

Well Louis, I can understand. He's the closest to me out of all of them. But Harry? I barely know the guy! What could he possibly be doing that looks suspicious?

I made a mental note to see if Harry was doing anything odd as I picked up their plate of fries and travelled back over to their table. I almost forgot I knew them for a second and habitually said what I was trained to say as I set the plate down in the center of them.

"Careful, they're hot. Fresh out of the fryer." I heard my robotic voice warn.

"For God's sake, Em. We aren't children." Louis chuckled and I couldn't help but laugh along. I remembered suddenly to take a peek at the other boys. Zayn had already taken a couple fries, munching down on them in what looked like pure hunger. Harry was just smiling, and somewhere down the road, he started to laugh with Louis and me.

"Enjoy your chips." I said before leaving.

"I'm telling you guys, they have the best chips here. I love them." I could barely hear Harry start going off on the greasy potatoes, but I tuned him out as I went on with business. By this time, it was getting late and the tiny place was clearing out. Nobody new came in that hadn't already been helped, so I decided I would pick up the boys' check.

"Did you guys save any room for dessert?" I asked, not bothering to pull out the notepad for lack of orders to remember.

"Nah, we're good. Thanks though, Em. You're a lovely waitress." Louis teased, and I set the bill down on the table.

"Alright, well you guys have a good one." I smiled once more before leaving them for the last time, relieved that they were finally going.

I met them up at the register and took their payment, and graciously thanked Louis for his 10-pound tip.

"It's no problem at all. Thanks for not making us wait for our food." he joked, flashing a smile before leaving. The other guys had already made their exit, and I watched as Louis caught up with them and got in the car. Looking around the diner, I noticed there were only 4 tables left, and I didn't wait on any of them, so I sat on one of the barstools and waited until my shift was over. Twenty minutes later, a family left and Jen joined me after ringing them up.

"TGIF, right?" she sighed, weakly smirking over at me. She looked exhausted, and I felt bad that someone that perky and nice had to spend every Friday night working.

"Definitely. Any plans for the weekend?" I asked, trying to make small talk. As much as I wasn't open around people, usually I just didn't care on Friday nights. I usually spent mine talking to Jen until our shifts were up, then going home and hitting the sack.

"Not really. I'm probably gonna do some shopping tomorrow. Other than that, I just plan on sleeping. How about you?"

"Absolutely nothing. My grandparents will most-likely stop by and bring some home-cooked meal, bless their hearts, but I for one do not associate myself with others." I admitted fearlessly.

"You always seemed quite shy towards the co-workers, until you just got used to us. Are you like that at school, too?"

"Yeah, I don't really put myself out there. Bad habit, I guess." I lied, not wanting to tell any unnecessary stories.

"Right... Oh! I wanted to tell you, I overheard a conversation from the table your boys were sitting at."

"No kidding?" I asked, suddenly much more interested.

"Yeah! Well, what happened was the curly one was going on and on about how good the chips were, and when the other guys finally got him to shut up, they told him they tasted like any other chili chips. He got like, really defensive and the one you like said something along the lines of 'he's just proud of his waitress-girlfriend for serving decent chips' and the one in suspenders got really confused, so the one you like told him that he noticed the curly one was making googly eyes at you when you weren't looking. His face got really red and he changed the subject so I stopped listening but wow." she took a deep breath, slowing herself down.

I took a few moments to translate "the curly one" to Harry and "the one in suspenders" to Louis before I re-processed the story.

"Are you sure that was my table?"

"There's no way that the old guy next to them was talking to himself in three different voices, so yes I'm sure." she giggled at the thought.

"I find that hard to believe. I've known him for a while and he's made himself so distant that I forgot who he was when I re-met him today. So maybe Zayn was just teasing him."

"Zayn?"

"Zayn's the one I like. Harry is the curly one and Louis is the one in suspenders."

"Yeah, what's up with Louis? He was really laying it on thick and was really the only one talking to you."

"Oh, he's the one I'm closest with. He was new on Monday and I showed him around and I guess he thinks we're buddies or something... I don't know."

"I saw you flirting back."

"I was not at all!"

"Why do you think Curly was keeping his mouth shut? He was probably a bit down that you showed an intrest in Suspenders. I know I would be." she shrugged.

"You're over-thinking this. They're just guys that are in some of my classes. I haven't talked to them before this week, and there's a high chance I won't ever again. Just being nice, that's all. Louis is a bit of a talker anyhow."

"That doesn't explain why you were flirting..." she prodded on.

"I don't ever get male attention! Maybe I was just soaking it in. I don't know how to react in those situations anyway."

"You were awful smiley. You sure you're not liking Suspenders instead of Hairgel?"

"Hairgel?!" I busted out laughing at her hilarious nicknames, then quickly shut up as I saw the heads that turned.

"Yeah! That guy was loaded! Zayn, was it? He probably takes longer to get ready than the two of us put together. Just saying!"

We laughed and talked for a few more minutes until we heard the cranky woman telling us to clock out. We slipped our cards through and grabbed our coats, ecstatic with the idea of going home to sleep. We couldn't have left fast enough, and before I knew it, I was collapsed on my bed.