<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Ito grimaced and said, “I’ll text him back after we eat. Maybe he’ll be okay if you help me; I can only hope he will be.” What Ito left out was that he knew his mother wouldn’t be...but she wouldn’t say anything. Urgh, trying to navigate his parents being this way was a pain.<br/><br/>He waved for Ryuu to order for them and pay then—he wouldn’t insist if Ryuu truly did want to pay for the meal. “Grilled chicken for me and diet soda then—I don’t think you could win me over to a burger if it were the last thing on earth. If I wanted beef, I’d probably eat some shabu shabu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabu-shabu) since I always like how thinly it’s sliced in that sort of dish and it’s a lot healthier.<br/><br/>He let Ryuu finish the order—they could probably afford a small amount of time to sit inside and eat, so Ito went to claim a table for them. This was easier said than done, because Ito’s height meant that he didn’t like having his legs squished in booths, and he certainly didn’t like tables that were too close to other tables. Something near a window…<br/><br/>He found a spot and set his bookbag there, laying claim to it and waving at Ryuu so his friend would see they got a nice spot near a window, despite the dreary weather of the day. He had other stuff to talk to Ryuu about, fun stuff or just normal friend stuff, he just didn't want to shout it across the restaurant. Ito was at times a private person for all his extroversion.</span>