Chapter 42: Chapter forty two

Arielle

One thing that became very clear as I set foot into Chuck's with Drayton after school was that, I had a lot of strange emotions fluttering inside me. Excitement, fear, anticipation, and a little bit of nervousness.

That last one was a big shocker. I have never been nervous about starting anything before nor have I been afraid. Not during my first day of school, not when I tried out for the cheer squad my first week in highschool, not even when I found out I had cancer.

Okay, scratch that. I was afraid of dying. I guess that was pretty obvious by the number of panic attacks I've had about those times.

But the fear I was currently feeling, wasn't like when I had to sit on a chemo chair for the first time. I wanted this one.

“First day, huh?” I whirled towards the voice to see Brett smiling at me.

“I knew you'd be back here, Blondie.” He added.

“Blondie? Dude, you're a blonde too.” I snorted a laugh at his ridiculous nickname.

“Oh, I mean that as a compliment. But since we're on the topic, we're both blondes and beautiful as hell, just imagine how cute our little spawns will be.” He cocked his head to the side, his sweet smile still on his face.

Honestly, Brett was kinda hot. I mean, not Drayton kinda hot, but he wasn't bad looking. On a normal day, I would definitely go out with him. But–

Oh my fucking God, I DID NOT just call Drayton King hot in my head.

Where the hell did that even come from? Maybe I shouldn't have befriended him. Our new friendship was starting to mess with my head, making me have so many unsolicited feelings.

This is bad. Like the end of the world approaching bad.

As if he didn't already invade my thoughts enough, Drayton's voice fluttered into my ears from behind,

“Dude, that's the lamest pickup line I've ever heard.”

“Hey, it's not lame. Don't ruin my game.” Brett replied, looking genuinely offended.

“You've got no game.” Drayton replied, snorting a laugh.

Brett's gaze fell on me and it seems like he was asking me to back him up against Drayton, but his facial expression was so hilarious that I found myself bursting into laughter.

“See?” Drayton said with a cocky smirk.

Brett let out an exasperated sigh and placed a hand on his chest.

“You've wound me deeply, you beautiful blonde.” He said and pretended to tear up.

The laughter rolled out of me so hard that I couldn't rein it in. He was so hilarious. Drayton didn't seem to find him funny as the frown on his face deepened.

“What are you doing here anyway? Your shift ended hours ago.”

I remembered Drayton told me that Brett only worked morning shifts so he could raise money for college. Drayton and Suzie work the afternoon shift after school.

“Seriously, man? I was covering for all your asses. Suz couldn't get here on time and Chuck has been pissy as hell. I didn't want to leave early and get your asses fired.”

Drayton released a long exhale and ran his fingers through his hair. I've figured out that a while ago that those were signs that he had something to say but didn't know how to say it.

“About Chuck's current mood…” he trailed, probably thinking about the best way to say it. “Can you hang around until our shifts are over? There's something I need to tell all of you.”

It didn't seem I was the only one who picked up on Drayton's expression. The amusement on Brett's face fell, replaced with concern.

“Is Chuck okay? Is this “one of those times” again?” Brett asked.

I wanted to ask them what the meaning of that was, but the conversation seems private and I didn't want to intrude. So I kept my questions to myself.

“No, not really. Something else is bothering him this time. I can't tell you until Suzie is here. We all need to figure out a way to help him.”

I could tell by the tightness of Drayton's voice that whatever was bothering Chuck had a big effect on him too. I couldn't help but marvel at the concern they showed each other when they weren't even real family.

“Alright, I'll hang back.” Brett nodded. “Where's Suz anyway? She was supposed to get Blondie's new apron.”

“She's here.” Suzie chipped as she walked towards us, clutching an apron in her hand. She stretched it out to me without really looking at me.

“Thanks. I'm so excited to get my first…” the rest of the words died in my mouth as spread the apron and saw the deep coffee stains on it, “...used apron?” I finished.

I get that Suzie didn't like me right from our very first encounter, but did she have to go this extreme? But as I dragged my gaze across everyone's faces, I didn't see any surprise on them.

Drayton spotted the confusion on my face and said, “Sorry, Frozen. You don't get a new apron until you've earned it.”

“Chuck's rules. “You need to learn the responsibility of serving delicious coffee and dealing with various minds so they can keep coming back”, his words.” Brett shrugged.

“Which is also code for, your job here is temporary. One small mistake and you're out.” Suzie said, pinning me with a glare.

Drayton and Brett turned to her with stern expressions on their faces.

“What? You guys shouldn't act like it isn't true.”

“Yeah, but you don't have to be a bitch about it.” Brett muttered.

Suzie's nostril flared with rage. She seem like she was going to argue about it but decided not to and walked away instead.

“I'll go find out what's wrong with her. Have a great first day, Blondie.” Brett winked at me before going after his coworker.

“What's her deal?” I asked Drayton after they've both left.

Drayton's eyes darted towards the supply room. It almost seems like he was going after them but he didn't.

“Suzie has… had a very hard life.” Drayton supplied. His nose scrunched up as he probably realized how lame his excuse was.

“Well, so have I. You don't see me bitching about it. That girl needs to fucking chill.”

“Just forget about her. She'll come around. So how are you feeling about your first day?”

“Weird.” I shrugged.

“Really?”

“Kinda. I think. I'm having so many strange feelings about this and I don't know which one to focus on.” I sighed.

Drayton gave me a nod that says he understands.

“I know what you can focus on. Choosing a fake name. What's you got?”

I stroked my chin gently, pretending I was in a deep thought. I hadn't really thought about this. I'd been too excited about getting the job.

“Nesta.” I said the first thing that came to mind.

She was a character in my favorite fantasy smut. I guess I related to her a lot because we were both often misunderstood. Our situation weren't exactly similar but the way we go about it seem to be.

“And you say “Darien” is a weird name.” He scoffed. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“Because she's a character from the bestselling fantasy book.” I said.

“Oh! ACOTAR, right?”

“You've read it?” I asked, my eyes lit up with excitement. There's a special kind of joy in meeting someone who reads the same book as you.

“Nah, I’m not a fan of fictional books or the unrealistic way they paint the men.” Drayton replied.

I scoffed and reined in the urge to defend my fictional boyfriends. Why would anyone think they're unrealistic?

“What type of books do you read then? Aside school books?” I didn't even try to hide the bite in my tone. He came after my boyfriends, he deserved my rude tone.

“Historical fiction, Greek mythology, German dictionary…”

My mouth fell open as he continued with his list of boring books. I had enough after a few seconds and was about to cut him off when the door opened. The last person I could ever expect to see walked in.