5 Chapter 4: Restaurant Chill

"This is freakin' awesome!" Klein's mouth fell open as soon as they entered the luxurious restaurant.

Fancy tableware and flower arrangements decorated each round table, dotting the whole dining space. The red velvet chairs and two golden chandeliers suspended on the ceiling complemented the hotel's motif. On one corner, a variety of food and drinks filled the long banquet table. The smell of fried fish, grilled beef, sour soup, sweetened dishes and many more greeted their nose. A drool almost trickled down at the corner of their mouth. Everything seemed normal and appeared to be brand new.

While Daren's group branched off to the left side of the banquet table, Olwen swiftly scanned the right side. Her gaze traveled over a plate of chicken wings coated with a dark red sauce. Perfect! Something that she could happily eat. A smile curled on her lips.

"Oh! My favorite chicken is here!" She hummed while stacking a few pieces on her plate.

Kacey looked over to her when she passed by. Six pieces of chicken wings nearly took the whole space of her friend's plate, having enough room for one or two more food. Was she planning to only eat that? Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and a smirk played on her lips. "Nothing can stop you when it comes to buffalo wings."

"What?" Olwen's cheeks turned pink. "Chicken is life!"

Shortly after, Kacey averted her attention towards Faith and Theo. Her friend excitedly pulled him along the meat section, gushing about trying out a particular dish. The poor man got dragged here and there and he seemed to not care at all. He willingly obeyed like a loyal dog.

Kacey raised an eyebrow. "There goes the two. Has anyone ever thought of their chem—"

"I think you and Klein can make a great bickering couple," Judy suddenly whispered in her ear. She stepped back and threw her a silly grin.

Kacey's nose wrinkled. Mentioning that weenie collected a strong feeling of distaste. She would never date him in a million years even if humans were at the brink of extinction.

"Judy, I hope you die of hunger." She stormed over to a certain table.

"Hey, that was a joke!" Judy scrambled behind.

While the rest of them filled their own plates with a variety of dishes, Jared placed a hand on Hans' shoulder. He leaned in with a teasing grin plastered on his face. "How does it feel, eh?"

"Huh?" Hans furrowed his eyebrows and gave him a long stare.

Daren's picked up their conversation about a particular girl. It sounded like the topic that he and his boys had been thinking about while they were on their way to the restaurant. Joining in, he motioned his head towards a girl who was choosing her food along with her male friend. "We're talking about Faith!"

Hans' cheeks instantly turned red like a tomato. How could they tease him like that? More importantly, did he do something in front of them to have them believe that he was crushing on her? And here he thought that he had saved her from Jared's flirtatious attempt. Secretly, he looked back and fixed his vision on her frame to check her out.

Faith's facial feature appeared fresh and innocent as it was quite small. Her long, messy black hair cascaded down her back and her bluish-green eyes were addicting to look at. Adding to her sweet-looking face was her cute, small nose. He would love to playfully tap on that and hear her melodious giggle.

"She's . . ." Hans spaced out when she painted a sweet smile. Her eyes almost disappeared and his heart skipped a beat.

"Pretty, right?" Klein smirked. He happened to overhear the topic.

"She seems nice," Yves slid beside his younger brother, "and cute."

Meg snooped at the boys with her eyes narrowed at them. Hearing enough, she rolled her eyes and suppressed her sarcastic laughter. "I think all of you guys like her. What an innocent seductress—"

Five hands almost found their way clamped over her mouth, but she was quick enough to step back. Her eyebrows came together and she gave them a piercing glare. "What is wrong with you guys?"

'She is beautiful, huh?'

Meanwhile, Faith had finished putting food on her plate. When she scanned the mouth-watering delicacies from steaks, salmons, buffalo wings, seafood pastas, pizzas, mashed potatoes and many more, there was something strange about the menu.

Why on earth am I seeing their favorite food? Shrugging it off, she picked 2 pieces of brownies and placed it on a small plate.

She wanted to give it to someone as a thank you offering right now but the table that she had chosen to occupy with Theo was still . . . unoccupied. Where was he? Turning around, her eyes landed on his walking figure heading towards her direction. She could finally inform him about her small gesture.

Taking a step forward, she blocked his way and handed over her plate of food. "Theo!"

He stopped and stared at her with both eyebrows raised. "What am I going to do with that?"

"Will you bring my plate over to our table? I want to thank Hans for earlier with these brownies." Faith stared back at him with her lower lip jutted to act coy.

"Uh, sure?" Theo took her plate, almost reluctantly. How could he refuse her? One way or another, she would have still gotten what she wanted.

"Thank you! Don't be jealous, okay?" She flashed a teasing grin before trotting away.

"W-What!" Instantly, his ears burned up. He carefully spun around and mouthed his last words, "I won't be jealous!"

The strong urge of needing to repeat himself could no longer be done. She had gone to Daren's table, hiding the plate of brownies behind her. What made her say that to him? Was he the jealous type? Shaking his head, he let out a sharp sigh and sauntered back to their table.

At the other table, Klein's eyes were swift to land on Faith's figure. He elbowed his older brother who sat right next to him before motioning his head. Yves twisted his torso and fixed his gaze on her. She stood behind Hans with a big smile on her face.

"Yo, Faith!" Yves nodded.

"Hi, guys!" She threw a warm smile towards Yves before making eye contact with everyone. Her heart began to slightly hammer in her chest when the forest fragrant from Hans' clothes entered her nose. An electric feeling coursed down her spine. Ugh! He smells so manly.

The boys gave her a polite smile and some of them waved a hand.

"What brings you here, Faith?" Meg wore a sweet, yet, toxic smile.

"I just wanted to say hi and give something to Hans . . ."

"Me?" Hans pointed at himself and turned to face her with an eyebrow raised.

"I can't actually give you anything in my possession but I hope you like brownies." She revealed the plate and held it in front of Hans. What had gotten into her mind? To her, it was the least that she could do to appreciate his small gesture earlier. Better than nothing.

"Oh." Hans gladly took the plate and gave her a wide smile. His deep dimples appeared. "Thanks, Faith. You didn't have to get me anything."

"Woo . . . Hans gained an admirer!" Jared gave a quick pat on his shoulder before faking his tears. "A cute girl has finally showed interest in him."

Some burst out laughing but Hans calmly stared at him as if his joke was out of place. "Hey . . . Don't act like that in front of Faith."

Jared quickly zipped his mouth and raised his hands in defense. "Sorry, dude!" Then he turned to her. "I'm sorry, Faith! I was just—"

"N-No!" She eyed Hans before Jared. "It's fine. I know you're only fooling around." She chuckled softly and patted Jared's head. When her fingers brushed through his smooth hair, she rubbed a few strands in between her forefinger and thumb. "What brand of shampoo are you using? Anyway, I got to go! Theo is waiting."

"Hang on! Before you go..." Daren cleared his throat and threw a meaningful gaze towards Hans. His friend seemed to be telling him to not ask her about it based on his intense stare, but curiosity bested him. With a grin, he turned to Faith and asked, "Is Theo your boyfriend? You two seem very close. We're just, you know. Being careful?"

Faith flashed another sweet smile and shook her head. "No. He's my close friend. Best friend, to be exact." After that short explanation, she excused herself with a small dip of her head and returned to their table.

Hans and Daren threw puzzled looks. Yves and Meg glanced at each other while Jared and Klein seemed like they had seen a ghost with their blank faces on. Just best friends? Maybe they were still hiding their feelings for each other? The way how they bonded and interacted together seemed beyond the friend zone.

"She likes my hair!" Jared tried to divert the awkward atmosphere.

"Faith just wanted to say that." Wrinkles formed on Meg's forehead. "Just eat!"

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After thirty minutes, everyone stayed in their respective seats, chatting their boredom away while waiting for whoever was going to inform them about the next activity. Maxine, however, couldn't be at ease. Something about the hotel had been bugging her so she leaned in closer to the table.

"Do you girls find it weird?"

"What's weird?" Judy arched a brow.

"The fact that we're the only people in this hotel?"

"True. I find it strange. I mean . . . Who served our food? For us? How come we haven't encountered any employee!" The sound of annoyance was evident in Kacey's voice. She slumped in her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

"Maybe . . . it was during the game? They secretly prepared our food in here." Judy studied their faces.

Olwen nodded her head. "You may be right, Judy. However, I could still sense the strange feeling in this hotel. A bad feeling." She quoted with two fingers in the air.

Maxine leaned in closer and her eyes grew bigger. "Exactly!" She pointed a finger at Olwen. "I pick up that feeling, too! As if somebody would . . ."

"Die any moment?" Kacey lifted an eyebrow.

"Kacey!" Judy scowled and smacked her friend's arm. The hairs all over her arms formed circles due to that unfavorable guess. "Your frank nature is scaring the hell out of me! Look! I'm having goose bumps—"

A sudden screeching noise resounded in the restaurant.

"Oh my gosh!" Judy shot straight up from her seat with a hand placed on top of her throbbing chest. Then she stared at them for three seconds. Blank faces. Gingerly, she sat back down. "This hotel is creeping me out . . ." She held onto the table as she calmly breathed to relax.

At the other table just right behind them, Faith inched closer to Theo. She fiddled with her fingers while glancing around. "What will happen next?"

"Announcing the next game?" He shrugged his shoulders.

Later on, the same altered voice in a low, distorted pitch spoke behind the microphone. They stopped talking to listen carefully.

"Are you stuffed? Of course, you are . . . Have you guys ever wondered about your luggage and room keys?" This mysterious person briefly chuckled. "I thought so. You'll get your room keys if you win in today's last game . . . Poker! Please proceed to the 4th floor, Room 4100 by using the elevator to go directly into the casino. If you win, please take your room keys out from a red box located on top of one of the poker tables . . . Thank you!"

Theo sighed in relief but worry was written all over his face. "Gambling never came across my mind."

"Hey . . . Neither do I." A frown replaced Faith's usual sweet smile. How did people play poker? What if she were to lose?

Theo had a bright idea. How could he forget about their friend? In no doubt, she could teach them about the rules before the game would begin. He reached out for her shoulder and lightly hit it with the back of his hand. "Kay!"

"Yeah?" Kacey looked at him.

"You know how to play Poker, right? Will you show us the ropes?"

Faith shot out from her chair with her eyes twinkling. "She knows how to play?"

Kacey lifted a thumb as she smiled. "Uh-huh. I'll gladly teach you two until you get the hang of it."

"Cool! Thanks!" Theo stretched a smile, turned to Faith and gave her a high five.

Judy, on the other hand, suddenly had chills. She looped her arms around her body and quivered. The cold air from the air-condition unit must be the primary reason but she highly doubted that. Her mind must be playing games with her given the fact that their next game was fast approaching. Shrugging the feeling off, she stood from her seat and followed everyone out of the restaurant.