Chapter 8: Burning Bridges

                                    

                                          
The Steakhouse was really something different. Sure, It served good food, but there was defiantly something different about the place. For starters, the place was run by a four year old. Not literally, but the owner insisted that he had an age less than 10. While that seemed highly unlikely, at least legally, the restaurant's interior design did give you vertigo.
                          
None of this seemed to detract Needle, as she sat a lime green beanbag chair, waiting for her shiny friend to show up. 
                          
That's a bit odd, he should be here by now, Needle thought, checking the clock on the wall. She had only sat down for a short while, but still, Coiny was running late.
                          
Just as Needle was about to pull out her phone and call the guy, Mr. Coin Creature came blasting through the door looking like he was about to drop dead. An employee ran up to him, offering a glass of water. Needle was suddenly very concerned. Had something happened?
                          
She considered walking over and checking out what was really going on, but in a few moments the employee lead Coiny over to her table. She let out a breath of relief, although it came out more like a squeak, with her unusually high voice.
                          
"Mind if I sit here?" The penny asked, flashing a charismatic smile.
                          
Needle opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  She had seen Coiny at parties, and they had talked online a lot, but one-on-one in real life? She panicked, trying to form speech that was at least comprehensible. She felt warm. Maybe a bit too warm for comfort.
                          
"I- um- su- uh-" She sputtered.
                          
Coiny's expression faded to one of concern. "Uh, you okay? I don't know much about needles, but usually when they start turning red around the edges it's generally not a good sign."
                          
"Yep! I'm most certainly fine and not tripping over my own words," Needle managed to speak.
                          
"I'll just take that as a yes," he concluded, "here, have this glass of water I just have. You look like you need it."
                          
"Thanks," Needle took the cup of water from Coiny, and drank it all in one shot.
                          
She suddenly felt a lot better. Ever since she began running. water seemed to have this magical effect on her. She suddenly felt a lot more confident to be talking to Coiny.
                          
"Woah, slow down there!" Coiny joked.
                          
"I'm fine. Now are we going to have lunch or not?"
                          
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Turns out, even in the aesthetically challenged restaurant, there was still a lot of people who thought that it was the best place to eat. By the time the waiter had arrived, Needle and Coiny had gone so far down the "Cheesy Icebreakers" list that they were talking about what they'd do on a competition for a luxury island.
                          
 "Hi, what can I get- Hey! What are you doing here?" The waiter spat.
                          
"What do you- oh. It's you." Needle grumbled, realizing who it was. "Listen Firey, whatever happened then is over. We both agreed that we'd never talk about it."
                          
"What's going on? Did you two break up or something?" Coiny asked in a confused manner.
                          
 "It's nothing, Coiny. I'll tell you later," Needle turned to Firey, "Just give me anything."
                          
"Uh, I'll have whatever she's having," Coiny added.
                          
"If you say so," Firey mumbled, scribbling something down, and walked away.