Have you ever been on a date so awkward, you cringed each time you both exchanged words?

Austin was on one of those. The girl was pretty, but the date was turning out to be one of his worst. Every time he said something, her response didn't correspond well. When he tried to be sweet or romantic, she'd either disregard it or mistake it for something else. Or worse, not get it.

Now Austin was leaning back in his seat, his fingers drumming his thigh as his minds desperately thought of what to do. Fight or flight was kicking in. Either stay and go through the horrible date to the end and have it end with a dud. Or make an excuse and run.

But Austin Moon was raised far better than that. He would never run and humiliate the other person like that.

Apparently, the other person was raised different. "I'm going to the bathroom." She said, giving a tight smile and stood up. Austin gave a brief and fake smile to her, nodding. As she turned, his eyes watched her long brown hair swish behind her and her ass sway. Looks sure did deceive the blond on this one.

He let a groan escape as he slid lower in his seat. Going to the bathroom was one of the most common ways of saying "I'm saying I'll be right back but really I'm leaving out the back door and don't plan on seeing you again".

He was running his hand over his face when a small, bright voice came from his left. "So... would you like the check?" He peeked through his fingers to see his waiter, her chestnut curls pulled in a low messy side bun, and her hands clasped together in front of her submissively. She was smiling, but he didn't miss the pity in her large doe eyes.

"You saw?"

She bit her lip. "She just went out the front door."

Front door. He groaned and just waved his hand around carelessly. "Sure, check."

"Right." She answered, turning and then stopped to look back at the blond. "And... don't take it hard on yourself. I could see you were putting effort. She just didn't appreciate any of it."

Austin lifted his eyes to see her sincere steady ones. "It's fine... thanks," His eyes went to her name tag on the left of her vest. "Ally."

Ally smiled and turned around, disappearing behind a counter.

Austin exhaled with a closed mouth, leaning back in his seat. He eyed the unfinished food across from him where his date had sat. She didn't even finish the food. Note to self: don't let a date leave before her food's done. He squinted his eyes. Scratch that: don't take a girl on a date until you can hold one decent conversation with her.

Then, the waitress was back, setting the check on the table with a "Here you go."

Austin sighed, raising his eyebrows with a 'to heck with it', prepared to see what he had to pay for his date ditcher. However, he narrowed his eyes to see if he was seeing right. Surely they ordered two meals. Only one was on here, and the price was definitely half than what it should be. "Is this the right check?" He asked the waitress who was still standing there, playing with her fingers on the table. She looked aloof, nodding. He checked again, and it definitely was the meal he ordered. "But..."

"That's your check. You can just pay that." Ally interjected breezily with a smile, swiping her hand.

A moment passed with a raised eyebrow and Austin shifted to lean on his propped arm on the chair arm. "Did you remove Brooke's meal?"

The waitress was trying to fend strong but visibly gave in as she slumped, exhaling as if the truth was spilled like that. She gestured to Brooke's plate with a disgruntled look. "She didn't even finish her food. She left in the middle of a date, and if you were a jerk, I would've understood but, it's wasn't right. I can't charge you for this."

Austin processed it and looked at her. "Then what happened to Brooke's meal?"

"I paid for it. I mean, I get a free meal once a day for break, and lucky for you I didn't have mine today since I brought my own. So I just cashed in my free meal for hers and it was gone."

"You... you're so nice." Austin didn't know what to say. After feeling lousy after that extra lousy and awkward date, this was a huge pick-me-up.

The girl smiled, averting her eyes down now. "Don't mention it. Just... go ahead and pay. I'll be back when you're done." She turned and left.

As he put in the money, he knew he had to give a large tip for her. Was twelve dollars too much? That was as much as Brooke's meal. Honestly, he felt better paying that amount to his sweet waitress than his fall out date. He stood up, his chair making a sound and stared down at the check and tip.

He was debating to leave his number- but how often is it guys do that? It might not even be what she wants. She doesn't seem like that type. She probably even has a boyfriend.

Before he could overthink it, Austin shook his head and slung his jacket over his shoulder. To the entrance, the waitress was passing him and she shot him a smile. "Thank you, have a nice evening." She chirped. It sounded routine, but he still felt the sincerity pointed at him. Before fully leaving, he spotted her picking up the cash tip and check with a surprise in her eyes.

It was a lousy date. An awkward one. His self esteem was lowered. But he left the restaurant with a smile. He didn't leave his number but he left one note. "Thank you, Ally." And thought he should aim for girls more like her: considerate, cute, and sweet. Or maybe, if possible, just her.

A/N: Sorry! I really have been wanting to write again. I actually wrote this a while back and decided to put it up in effort to help make up for my absence. I have been wanting to update though but time hasn't been agreeing with me. I'll try my best, especially now that school is ending. Anyway, thank you to all my readers, silent or not. You're great. Take care!