Chapter Seven

"Adam?" The couple turned to the guy behind them, and Eli said, "If you're out here…who paid the bill?"

"That doesn't matter," Adam's eyes were wide as saucers, "You two are like, engaged!"

"Adam, you just left without paying?" Clare was aghast, "We have to go back and apologize and pay. I've never dined and dashed before, and we can't…we can't just…"

"Oh alright," Adam rolled his eyes, "We'll go back. But do you two even realize how exciting this is? You are like engaged!"

Eli pulled Clare into a hug, "No wedding yet, but we don't want to lose each other ever again. This is it. Forever, and always."

"It's about time you two become end-game," Adam chuckled as they headed back towards The Dot, "I always knew you two should get married and pump out a few beautiful babies."

"You're a creep," Eli rolled his eyes, holding the door open for the other two, "Now then, I'm going to find our waiter and apologize for this whole mess. I still can't believe you left without paying!"

"Excuse me," a man approached them, and he did not look happy at all, "Were the three of you sitting at that table over there?"

"Yes," Eli winced, "Sorry. My uh…girlfriend and I went for a walk and our friend followed without really thinking. He has a mental disability and sometimes does stuff without really thinking," Eli glared daggers at Adam, "And we'd just like to apologize and pay our bill, if that's alright."

"I'm afraid that's not how it works here," The manager folded his arms over his chest and motioned for them to follow him to the bar. He pointed to a plaque at the bar and said, "Care to read that out loud for me?"

"I will," Clare volunteered, "It says: In any instance a patron of The Dot is unable to, or fails to, pay the designated amount on their bill, said party will be held accountable to make up that loss of income by means of labor…labor? Like…washing dishes?"

"Exactly," the manager nodded.

"But we have the money," Eli began to pull out his wallet, "Really. It's no big deal. It was just a mistake."

"I'm sorry," the managers sighed, shaking his head, "Rules are rules. If you cannot pay the bill (which you failed to do) you have to make up the payment by washing dishes in the back."

"Do you know who she is?" Adam pointed a finger at Clare, "She's…"

"She could be the Queen of Sheba and I still wouldn't give a crap. Now, get to the kitchen ad start working on the dishes in the sink. Soak them in the first sink of hot soapy water, then scrub and rinse them in the other sink. Then let them dry on the rack. Understood?"

"I just don't see why we can't just pay," Clare insisted, "We have the money."

The manager just pointed to the door that said EMPLOYEES ONLY. There was no other choice; it looked as if they would have to wash the dishes after all. When they got into the kitchen, they found the set of sinks the manager had explained to them. One of them had a giant, pull-down faucet.

"I can't believe this," Eli glared at Adam, "Thanks a lot."

"It won't be so bad," Clare, as always, tried to stay positive, "Maybe it'll be fun."

They made their way over to the sink, and Eli pulled down the faucet. He smirked, an idea playing in his head, before turning on the faucet and aiming it at Adam's crotch of his jeans.

"What the hell?" Adam jerked back, "Seriously?"

"Payback for leaving us with dish duty," Eli smirked.

"You two are so immature," Clare rolled her eyes, dipping a plate into the sink she was standing over.

"Immature?" Eli raised his eyebrow, "This is immature," he turned the faucet onto her this time; and Clare shrieked, dropping the plate.

"Eli!"

"What?" Eli chuckled, "You call me immature, well then immature is what you're gonna get."

"Aww," Adam titled his head to the side, a goofy grin planted on his face, "Eli being a dick, Clare being reasonable…it's like old times again."

"Do you want me to spray you again?" Eli threatened.

"He has a point," Clare handed Adam the plate she had just washed off, "I mean, it is like old times again."

Eli nodded, his smirk being replaced with a smile, "I am glad I got dragged to your stupid book signing."

"I'm glad I left that stupid book signing." We were about to kiss, when Adam interrupted us.

"Can we just focus on the dishes? You two can make out later…after we finish our work."

"You're the one that got us into this mess," Eli reminded him.

"Yeah, but without me, you wouldn't be back together with Clare," Adam shrugged, "So you can't be too mad at me."

"He has a point," Clare nodded, "If it wasn't for Adam, I might still be at that book signing. I can't believe how much has changed in the last few hours."

"Despite all the changes," Eli reminded her, "It's still like nothing has changed at all."

"You're right," Clare kissed his cheek, "After all this time, we've picked back up where we left off."

"You're still Clare, and I'm still Eli."

"And together, it's perfect."

"You guys are so cheesy!" Adam gagged, seconds before Eli sprayed him again with the faucet.

Author's Note: I don't really like the ending, but thank you all for reading this! It was fun to write!