Illiano's Italian Cuisine

Wallace was preoccupied with trying not to crack up at how stereotypical the restaurant's owner was. "D-Did you just see that?"

Amanda rolled her eyes in an attempt to stay mad, but gave a little smirk. "Didn't you hear what he said?"

"He said you were pretty."

"And that you're not so."

"How nice." He unwrapped his silverware.

Amanda had placed her napkin on her lap and silverware to the side, and was already after the food. After spooning an appropriate amount of paste onto her plate, she poured nearly half the sauce onto it. As she ripped of a bit of the bread and dipped it in the pool of sauce on her place, she looked at Wallace. "So do they know wwat you did?"

"They blamed you-know-who's forces." He was twirling his fork about his plate, leaving behind a range of curled, tomato-smothered mountains. "It wouldn't be too far off to assume he'd enlisted a few vampires into his league. He had a couple werewolves, apparently."

Amanda viciously tore her bread into smaller chunks, "You heard right. Specially that group Greyback led- the ones that snatched children. It would make sense for him to hire other monsters."

"You seem tense." He gingerly stuck his fork into one of the pasta hills and attempted to properly retwirl it before it was consumed.

"You could say that." Amanda stabbed her pasta, quickly twirling a mass onto her fork and sticking it into her mouth. After patting her lips with her napkin she looked back at Wallace.

"What has it been? Four months after our little incident? No owl, no phone call, at one point I was about to go to your mother! I understand you had to hide for your own safety, but even a note, a quick 'I'm alive please don't be mad' would have be appreciated!" Her cheeks were redder by the second, and her grip on her glass became tighter.

"At the very least YOU'RE alive. I don't see why I ought to matter after what I've--" Wallace cut himself short as to avoid completing the cliched image of guilt slunking crestfallen away from his throne. He cleared his throat and set his fork aside. "I mean... no. Really, my life doesn't matter in this situation."

"Your life wasn't almost snatched by a blood sucking douche. And as if a simple letter would have put you at risk! Everyone went insane that night, any witness accounts would have been waved off to the side. Also, like I said, all the monsters came out to play. They wouldn't have immediately assumed it was you."

Amanda knew she was being childish, hell, she knew this entire scenario was ridiculous. So why was it she was beet red and couldn't even look him in those half dead, gray eyes? So why was it she was about to let one more nasty stab roll off her tongue?

"You really need to realize that the only one who thinks you're that important is yourself."

"That's what I'm saying, Amanda! Are you even listening to me? I just said you shouldn't have even given me a second thought, let alone wondered about whether I was alive or not. For heaven's sake, calm down. Lower your voice, at least."

"Am I even listening to you?! I-" Amanda's glare moved from the center of the table and dared to look him dead in the eyes.

Suddenly, she shrank down like a child being reprimanded.

"... Do you want to split the check?"

He looked back at her like the teacher withholding the rod. "I'll get it," he sighed, looking over his shoulder in search of a nearby waiter.

Amanda nodded, looking around in hopes that one wasn't nearby. "I probably blew any chance i had for an answer to this question, but why did you ask me to come in the first place?"

"To... settle things, I guess." Beyond that, he held his tongue. Clearly she wasn't... ready. He would have liked to call her our for being a complete juvenile right then and there, but hello, rude much. "I mean, just so, like, we're on the same page, in a way."

Amanda chuckled, "I bet you think I'm on a whole other novel at this point."

"Seems that way."

"... At least we got to eat some good food tonight. Bella, bella."

Wallace didn't reply. He quickly signed the receipt, slipped the dues -- in full, in opposition to their plan to go dutch -- and prepared very obviously to take his leave. "I've got to get back to Uni. The curfew's rigid," he mumbled.