took a sip of something poison but I'll hold on tight

Ash's wide eyes were almost comical, and he looked like he'd actually deflate as Sello mumbled something, before the 'just kidding' gave him a more relaxed air. Hey, at least the other kid had a sense of humor, even if he didn't talk much. He'd open up eventually, right? If there was one thing Ash was good at, it was just talking. He was the kind of person who found silence to be awkward anyway, and if Sello didn't want to fill the space with noise, well, he'd manage to, right?

"Really?" he grinned, "well that's good. First bite of pizza in a while at Marco's? It'll blow your mind." He hiked his backpack up, walking quickly in his excitement, "so what do your parents usually cook for dinner? I haven't really sat down for a family meal in a while, my fam lives uptown, ya know?"

They weren't that uptown or anything, just a train ride away, but Emeline had an apartment in the city and she was willing to rent it out to him cheaper than it took to get a train down to the city every day, and his parents probably preferred him getting his own food rather than pestering them about wanting tater tots or something stupid, so there he was.

He nodded at that. "That sounds good," he smiled almost wistfully, "I mean, my dad makes a really good barbecue but like, usually my mom cooks I guess. She makes a lot more traditional Polish food I guess? It's pretty good but yeah, not that interesting I guess. Kebabs sound cool though. Do they have that whole meat roasting over a fire like they do in the shops? Do you eat it with pita or with rice?"

Ash wasn't all that knowledgeable about other cultural foods; his adopted family, despite their interest in other cultures, weren't exactly...diverse. They were just any other all-American family. He loved them, loved his adopted siblings and parents, but part of him always wondered whether his real parents had different cultures, different lives. It was something his dad didn't really talk about, other than reassure him that they'd be fine if he wanted to find his birth mother.

"What do you mean you don't really get to try anything else?" the curious boy looked at Sello, "do you just not eat out? I mean, New York has a lot of really good food. Really expensive food, yeah, but I'm sure you can afford eating out once in a while."

A smokeless grill? "That exists?" he piped up, surprised, "I thought all grills had smoke...unless you grill it in the oven or something." Ash enjoyed cooking, if he was to be honest. It wasn't that he was absolutely amazing at it or anything, but it was fun. Not to mention, Emeline wasn't much of a cook–she always just made stir-fried broccoli or something, or made rice and kimchi–so usually he'd end up making enough for two. It was a good system; she cleaned after his mess and he made her dinner. Perfect.

Rice was nice. "My flatmate eats a lot of rice," he smiled, "but it's just the plain kind. Wish she'd make fried rice more, or you know, biryanis and stuff but she's boring." He wasn't exactly a huge fan of plain rice, but hey, that was just his own preference.

Sello seemed nervous at the answer he gave. "I mean, do you just not like food outside?" he asked, digging deeper despite the other boy's body language telling him not to, "or is it really a money thing?"

Ash's mind was always going a hundred miles an hour, so when the boy's words slowed down, he automatically began to fill in the words before his mind could even process it.

"Friends?" he spoke out of turn, as if continuing the other boy's sentence, before hesitating. Shit. What did he say that? Was that rude? To imply that the other kid didn't have any friends? He didn't seem like the extroverted popular kid, sure, but that was probably rude, to just assume someone who wasn't as talkative didn't have friends...

"Oh my god I'm so sorry," he grimaced, "sometimes I just say shit without thinking, I didn't mean to imply you didn't have friends or anything, but...high school's a bit of a bitch, isn't it? Maybe I'm just projecting or something," he laughed, trying to phase out the awkwardness that he had just created, "I mean, I'm not really in with the cool crowd either, I mean...they probably don't want to hang out with someone who's taking summer courses because they failed an important subject ya know?"

He shrugged. "I mean, I feel like my friends would like you. You don't talk a lot but my flatmate's kinda like that too sometimes. She just has her 'me time' when she locks herself in her room and watches TV shows. You'd like her, I think."

Ash almost let out a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't as awkward now. He almost turned red at the reminder his brain kept replaying, that he needed to shut up before he did something stupid, like what had just happened moments ago. Right. He'd learn from this for about four weeks before it happened again but hey, at least he saved himself from it? At least a little bit, right?

He was glad to see the bright neon sign of the pizzeria come into view, just a few shops away. "We're here!" he grinned excitedly, "okay you've gotta try the ones with the cheese crust, like, no one does it better than here let me tell you. Oh, and they do some really great spicy tomato sauce? Like, everything here is pretty good to be honest, but yeah, what kind of pizza do you want?"

The menu was on the board, the large pizzas on display at the front, people milling about and standing around, waiting for their orders. There were simple pizzas, from margarita, four cheese, and pepperoni, to some fancier ones, like a spicy sausage one called 'vesuvius,' one with mushroom salami and olives, and another with some fancy italian hams and rocket and some fancy cheese he had never tried.

"Do you know which one you wanna get? Or do you need some help?" he turned to Sello.

Ash hummed, glancing at the menu, before turning to Sello. "I mean, what kind of pizza do you usually get?" he offered. Of course he could just order for the other kid, but there was the chance that the stuff he liked wasn't the stuff others liked. He loved spicy food and olives. Most other people...did not.

"Is there anything you don't eat too?" he offered, as he took his place in the line, glancing at the three people ahead of him. He already made up his mind, but if the Sello didn't, there were always the easier pizzas to get. Just a plain pepperoni, or a cheese pizza...Ash was sure he'd find something.

"You have to have something you prefer over another, I mean seriously, I don't want to accidentally order something you hate," he practically whined. Ash was always a little dramatic, and this was no different. "Like...tomato sauce or something else? Do you like meat? Do you like a lot of cheese or just normal amounts of cheese? Pepperoni or something fancier?"

He shrugged. "I'm probably going for the Vesuvius but I really like spicy food, so it's probably not for everyone." He looked at the menu again, reading over the options. "I think Eme usually gets the one with the ham and rocket, but if you don't like a pizza that looks like it can almost be a salad, that's probably not a great idea. Their meat lovers is pretty good too, had it once."

Ash turned back to Sello. "Any of those sound good to you?" Sello might be new to this place, but he didn't want him to have a bad time or just get something to indulge in his whims; as much as he pretended not to care about anything, he genuinely wanted the other kid to have a good time. He seemed like he needed it.