× Mercury

"Here's your check," I said with a genuine smile as I slipped the small leather binder onto the table occupied by a young couple. I moved to the next table and placed out four glossy menus to each person sitting in the booth. "I'll be right back to take your order," I told them as I continued on my way to table eight, only a few feet away. "You're food will be right out," I assured them.

I made my way back to the front of the bar to the little window that separated the kitchen and the bar to grab the multiple dishes full of food that were gathering on the ledge.

"How do you do it?" Jillian asked as I started collecting the large order in my hands. "I mean, Christ, Lynn, you only have two arms yet you manage to balance five plates."

Shrugging, I walked off and went back to table eight and started passing out their food.

Jillian had reminded me that there was an open waitress job at The Courtyard Bar, and on a whim, I applied. I needed to get some cash if I wanted to survive off something that wasn't Cup Noodles and TV dinners.

Days had turned into weeks and the next thing I knew it was already October. It had been two weeks since Niall caught me in his room looking through his things. During those two weeks, I had spoken very little to him. It occurred to me then that I had also spoken very little of him as well, only on the small occasions when Chloe would bring him up.

I shouldn't say we didn't talk, because that's not true. We had to communicate during soccer practice to achieve what we both wanted, and that was success. But that was about it for interaction. He never looked at me, he never spoke to me, and he made sure to keep a great deal away from me. I even changed seats in English to the back of the room to avoid him. It was just easier to hate him from afar.

I didn't know if he was mad at me because I had snooped through his things or because I left him after our intimate moment, or if it was something else altogether, but I was happy for the distance.

It was only the beginning of the month, but the temperature outside seemed to match mine and Niall's relationship at the moment; brittle and just plain cold.

Through the weeks, I continued on as I would normally. I did my school work, I went to practice, I went jogging, and even won the game we had played. College life seemed to bore me, but it was a welcoming change from the senseless-ness of the past two months. It felt nice to shut my brain off from reality of pointless emotions and just focus on, well, anything but Niall.

"When did you start here again?" Jillian asked once I was back behind the counter after I took an order. She was in the middle of refilling a customer's beer who looked too drunk to even form an actual sentence despite it being only three in the afternoon.

"Ten days ago," I told her as I handed one of the cooks in the back a small notepaper of an order.

She just shook her head at me. "You're a natural, really. Sometimes people only come here to be waited on you."

"Lynn," someone said from my left. I looked to see my boss, Finn, coming over to us, his flaming orange hair as bright as ever. "That band, whatever the hell they're calling themselves, is here and they're asking for you."

Jillian raised her brows like Finn just proved her point.

I looked up to see where the band was sitting. As I did, the front door opened and some of my teammates entered. Along with them was none other than Niall.

"Great," I muttered under my breath as I dug my pen and notepad from my pocket apron. "I'll go take care of the mediocre band and you can have the group of dickheads that just walked in," I told Jillian as my teammates took the large booth in the corner of the room.

She laughed at my comment as I started making my way over to the band that had seated themselves down in a booth in the center of the bar.

Their band was known as Godless Intuition and they were as good as any other garage band who had attended public high school. The guitarist, Eli Hawks, was a huge flirt in the most charming way, which only contradicted everything anyone might say about him. They had been coming to the bar every so often and ever since I waited on them that first time, they kept asking for me. I didn't mind their parsimonious attitudes and stingy come-ons - again, mainly coming from Eli - because their tips were unbelievably good.

"Ay, doll," Eli chimed when I approached them with a smile I was forced to wear. His British accent was thick so I really had to deliberate on what he was saying. "How's ta football life treatin' ya?"

"Obviously it's not keeping me busy enough if I'm working at this dump."

Eli leaned back against the booth as one of his arms went up and lay across the top. "'m not sure yur boss would be too thrilled to hear ya call this place a dump. I might have ta complain to him."

"You wouldn't dare," I flirted back, flashing him my most charming smile I could muster.

My logic with Eli was the more I flirted back to him, the bigger the tip was. So far, I hadn't been wrong.

"There is a way to shut me up, ya know," he retorted as he dug something out of his jeans pocket. He slipped the sleek looking flyer against the counter in front of me. "If ya come with me to this jazz set in London tonight, I won't say anythin' to yur boss."

I took the handout he slid to me and looked at it. "I have a morning class tomorrow," I informed him.

Eli shrugged his shoulders slothfully. "I won't keep ya out long."

I thought for a moment. I wasn't really into jazz music - or Eli at that matter - but it was a Thursday night and it beat staying inside doing school work that wasn't due until two weeks in advance.

"I might take you up on that offer," I said as I slipped the flyer into my pocket.

After I took Eli and the rest of the guy's orders, I went back behind the counter and handed the slip to one of the cooks and continued my job as I would any other day, despite the fact that I felt eyes on me everywhere I went.

I gave the band the drinks and desserts that they had ordered and attempted to attend to my other customers and their needs, but as I walked by my teammate's table, Andrew reached out and stopped me.

"I didn't know you worked here," he inquired as everyone at the booth looked at me.

"Yeah, started a week ago. Need money for a car."

Thomas leaned on the table in front of him. "Is that lad giving you a hard time?" he asked, nodding his head over at Eli who was currently looking at me with hooded eyes. He winked at me when he saw me looking. "Because if he is, we can take care of him for you."

"Oh, I don't doubt you would," I said with a small laugh. "It's cool. He was just asking me out to see a group perform."

I wasn't sure why I was even telling them this; it wasn't like they needed to know what goes on in my life outside of the field, but seeing Niall staring at Eli across the room with daggers made me want to spite him. I would do anything to make him squirm.

"Ohh, Ms. Mercury has a date tonight," Dylan teased, raising his brows up and down suggestively. "Make sure he wraps it up, we don't want you kicked off the team because you got knocked up."

"Dixon, shut the fuck up," Niall spat, speaking for the first time.

Before I could respond, someone was slipping their hand into the front pocket of my black apron. I looked up and saw Eli grinning slyly at me before he removed his hand. "See ya tonight, yeah?"

"Maybe," I responded with a grin.

I watched him as he and his bandmates left the bar. Once the door closed, I dug into the pocket and took out the tip Eli left for me and grinned. Someone cleared their throat and my focus went back to the players in front of me.

"Like I said," Dylan began, seriousness in his eyes. "Stay safe."

The rest of the day went as it normally did. My teammates stayed for about an hour chatting with each other and drinking pints. I was offered to join then, but I made up the excuse that I was too busy working even though I just didn't want to be forced to look at Niall.

I was being petty about the whole essay thing, but it wasn't like Niall was making much effort to change things, either. I would apologize to him right after he said sorry to me. He was the one who started the ordeal anyways.

By six thirty, I was pulling on my coat and heading out the front door. But I didn't get very far before someone shouted my name.

"Oh, now you're talking to me?" I asked once I saw who it was.

Niall quickly caught up and stopped in front of me. His hair was messy and his eyes were sad and tired. I almost asked him why he looked so bad, but then I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him, and therefore not care.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important," he assured me.

"What was that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I really can't understand you with that Irish twang of yours."

"I stayed back to warn you, Lynn," he said, ignoring my taunt. He stuffed his hands in his coat pocket. "That lad, Eli, is bad news. You should really think about not going out with him."

"You can't tell me what to do."

Niall's jaw twitched in frustration. "I'm not kidding. I hear stories about him all the time and they're never good. He takes advantage of woman and likes to play games."

"So, kind of like you?"

The hurt in his eyes made me want to take what I said back. I could see that Niall wanted to argue that statement and I was almost disappointed that he didn't. He obviously didn't see the need to argue on the losing side.

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

I shook my head slowly in disbelief. My blood was boiling now and I was losing my control to keep calm.

"I don't understand why you care so much one moment and then treat me like dirt the next," I said. "I don't get how someone could be so conflicting! Just tell me why, Niall. Tell me why you care so much about my wellbeing. It has more to do than that girl from your past."

Niall just stared at me. I saw his jaw clench and unclench, the internal struggle in his head beating him up. But I didn't stay long enough for him to figure out his shit. I brushed passed him and walked away.

"Fuck!" Niall finally shouted once I was a few feet away. "Jesus Christ, Lynn."

I spun on my heels at his outburst. He was facing me, his bright blue eyes radiating with the setting sun's glow.

"I care so much because I-" he stopped and stumbled over his words, cussing under his breath. I watched him try to figure out his thoughts again, but he seemed to abandon the idea all together. "The thought of you getting hurt drives me bloody mad! I treat you like shit because I'm confused on what I'm feeling. Fuck, I still don't understand it."

The silence between us was thick. I didn't dare make a move, afraid that it might set off some kind of balance. The blood boiling through my veins changed its course and shot straight to my core, my pounding heartbeat thumping faster and faster. My anger had changed to pure astonishment. I stood stock-still as Niall started closing in the space between us slowly, his eyes never leaving mine.

"You should have thought about all that when you took my essay," I said monotonously.

Niall's mouth opened to say something, but I didn't want to hear it. I spun on my feet and continued my walk back to the Aspen House to get ready for my date.

× × ×

I hated Chloe, I really did. No, that was a lie. But I hated how she could convince me to wear whatever she wanted in just a few words.

She had managed to get me into a tiny black dress that went to my upper thigh. I was thankful that it was long sleeved and the neckline was reasonable, but it hugged me in every dip and curve of my body from my waist to my shoulders to my boobs.

The 606 club was kind of a sketchy place. The cab driver pulled up to a brick building with nothing much but a couple blackened windows, but he insisted that the club was just around the corner. I paid the guy and rounded the turn; sure enough I was face-to-archway of the club, large stainless steel numbers of 606 above it.

Tediously, I walked through the doorway and made my way through the long hall, the sound of chatter and jazz music quickly filling the space around me. A door at the end of the hallway opened and a couple walked through, and inside I could see people swing dancing and drinking, and I knew I was at the right place.

Once inside, I quickly looked around in sight of Eli, and spotted him at the bar with his bandmates. I made my way over to him. When he saw me, his face lit up with a wide smile.

"I wasn't sure you were goin' to come," he said and then tried to grab the attention of the bartender behind the counter. "And now that yur here, we can get this party started. What would ya like to start off with?"

"Oh, I don't drink," I informed him which only made the men around me give me a look I was way too familiar with. "Because of my medication," I lied, not wanting to come off as a prude.

"Ah," Eli said with a nod of his head as he pulled out the stool from beside me. I gladly took it. "Good thinkin', we don't want to fuck that up."

Eli was dressed in a button up black shirt under a leather jacket. His black jeans had rips in the knees and his boots just screamed that he owned a motorcycle. He honestly looked good in that kind of rich, rock-boy kind of way.

I was quickly swallowed up in aimless chatter as I looked around the crowded place.

There was a stage at the far wall with five people playing different kinds of jazz instruments. There were rows of tables with chairs so close together that you had to stick your ass in someone's face just to get past them. The hundreds of show lights on the ceiling were dimmed and pointing in every direction, making it easy to show everyone in the room.

We pretty much stayed near the bar the whole night, although Eli insisted I dance with him a couple of times. The music was alright, but like I said, it wasn't really my style. Eli seemed like a decent guy, he didn't try to do something without consent, and even when we danced he kept his hands at a sensible spot on my back.

It was close to midnight when there was a loud shrill in between one of the sets, making every eye turn in the direction where the sound came from. A girl in a tight pink dress that clashed horribly with the brightest red hair I have ever seen came twitching her way over to us and then wrapped her arms around Eli like they knew each other.

I was about to introduce myself when suddenly she grabbed Eli's face and planted a sloppy kiss on his mouth, confirming that, yes, they really did know each other.

"Babe," Eli said as he pulled away from her. "How did ya know I was here?"

She pointed to one of the bandmates who was sitting at the bar drinking a beer. "Sam posted a picture on Instagram."

Eli shot daggers at the guy who looked sheepish by his mistake.

"Who's this?" the girl asked, finally acknowledging my presence.

"This is Lynn. Harry's date," Eli responded for me without hesitation. It was so smooth, so well-rehearsed, that I had to wonder if this was something he did often.

My brows rose in surprise. Was he serious?

The girl looked at me suspiciously, like I was the one she should be worried about and not the man she had her arms around.

To ease her nerves, I decided to play along. I took the few steps over to Harry - I believed he was the lead singer - sitting on the bar stool and sat on his lap, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to keep myself balanced.

I knew next to nothing about Harry Styles, but I did know for a fact that he was at least single. He was dressed in a nice long trench coat over a silky maroon top with the first three buttons undone and the tight skinny jeans that made me wonder if his balls could even breathe in there. His short, brown hair was clipped to perfection, with a curl falling over his forehead like Clark Kent.

There was no way in hell Eli was going to play me like that. Not a chance.

"Oh!" the girl expressed, looking at the two of us in turn. "I'm Nancy, Eli's girlfriend."

And there it was.

I knew it was coming, I mean, they obviously had something going on there, but just hearing her admit it out loud made my heart sink. Eli Hawks was trying to play me, and I was about to fall for it without the slightest idea.

I caught Eli's eye and I smiled cunningly. Too bad the joke was on him.

I didn't even give Harry a chance to catch up before I grabbed his face and kissed him. I felt nothing in the kiss, of course, it was purely a big "fuck you" to Eli for treating me like that. He needed to know that I wasn't a girl to be messed with.

When I pulled away from Harry, I saw Eli's jaw clench and I knew I had won this game.

Nancy then took Eli away from us to go dance in a dark corner. I took that opportunity to removed myself from Harry's lap and look at him and Sam.

"Why didn't you tell me that he had a girlfriend?" I demanded.

Sam shrugged. "He does this all the time."

Grabbing my jacket from the back of the stool, I tugged it on and fixed the hair out of my face, pulling it back in a ponytail. "I'm leaving. Can you please tell Eli that he's a fucking prick for me? Thanks."

I left the club and dialed the number for a cab, refusing to think about Niall's warning and admitting to myself that he was right.