W O R K  F O R  M E

(I edited this but also I was really lazy so point out nay mistakes lol)

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J U N E  1 9 9 8

"Oh my god I actually hate you..." I mumble in frustration to my dad, who seems to truly have the hardest time stocking shelves.

"You have to keep certain brands together, or else when somebody goes to buy two bags of the same chips they will get one bag of Funyuns and another bag of Cheetos and then be fucking confused." I say, just beginning to fix up and scold him about his ginormous mistake which runs across the entire shelf.

"But I want it to be pretty and we don't have an equal amount of all the chips...." my dad whines, pouting sadly.

I roll my eyes.

"I get it, but you own a store. How-?"

"Stop making fun of me!!!" He complains defensively, a pout on his face as he throws a mini tantrum and I laugh. It's before our opening at 8, so it's around 7:30.

The bell on the door rings, and I don't look over to check as I restock shelves. "We're closed!" I say, leaning up to the highest shelf where we put boxes to restock, but I can't reach it, even with my height.

My dad shuffled over to another box on the ground at the edge of the aisle, planning to get those, but I don't hear the bell ring again, signaling that the man has left.

I go to turn my head to the man, but a body travels behind me, their stomach against my back as they reach up and grab the box easily.

I huff, grabbing the box of chips and quickly turning to slap the man. He growls when my hand makes contact with his cheek, and once I see him look up at me my eyebrows furrow.

"Leave. Now. That was so massively inappropriate!" I huff, holding the box of chips protectively in front of me.

His hair was hanging lowly as he growls, holding his face with his hand, his arm covered in tattoos. One tattoo is in typewriter like text, saying "bite me."

"Jesus..." he mumbles squinting his eyes at me.

My dad looks over, his eyebrows raised from my scene. "She said to leave, boy. Leave. I have the right refuse customers! Especially when I'm not even open!"

The man looks in between me and my dad with a scowl, before turning to me and roughly grabbing my jaw.

It wasn't like Royce does, where it's gentle and the feeling of his hand on my skin makes my stomach clench and my heart beat fast.

It was rough, and full of clear and pure annoyance towards me. "I'm Sebastian. Royce's only thing close to a friend, so while he's over at foster homes he told me to tell you he's picking you up at 6. While I'm here, can I please buy an energy drink and a pack of smokes?" He asks, looking around with fluffy black hair.

I furrow my brows and turn to my dad. "Deal with him." I mumble, ripping his hand off of mine and scowling at him.

He was creepy...

Why was somebody as perfect as Royce, "Close" with him....

Fuck pervs.

But... Royce is coming at 6...

Oh my god Royce is coming over again!!!

Truly on the inside I'm squealing, but since Mr. Sebastian is still here, I can't do so out loud.

He buys a pack of smokes and an energy drink, my dad crushing the cigarette box a little, which I'm assuming was purposeful. We have great customer service here if you couldn't tell...

The man leaves, staring at me through a curtain of hair before he turns when the bell on the door rings as he walks out.

I huff, walking towards my dad and placing the box of chips down on another shelf. "I hated him!" I say and my dad huffs, shaking his head.

"Trust me, I did too. Nobody messes with my daughter." He cleans off the counter a little, moving around stacks of magazines and gum containers.

"I don't see how Royce is friends with him." I shake my head a little.

"So blonde boy is named Royce?" He asks and I laugh, "Did he try to guess your name?"

My dad nods, "Yeah and he guessed names of like really strong guys who are so manly and I felt like a king!"

I laugh, "He knows what to say and when to say it."

My dad nods, "I love that kid, when he comes to pick you up imma ask if he'd mind lending a hand around here sometimes."

"He already has a job pops," I point out and he shrugs, "It's worth a try, at least sometimes he could come over and I'll pay him double."

"You really like him that much?" I ask and my dad nods heavily, "That dude is the most charismatic person I've ever met! Think of the business we would get with a handsome funny guy working here!"

I shake my head, "True.. true..."

"And also he's your friend and maybe you'd stop bailing on work to hang out with him if he were here."

My dads eyebrows are furrowed and he's looking at me with a look of discipline.

I chuckle a little, backing up and grabbing the box of chips. "I'm gonna go fix your mistakes.." I mumble nervously.

"You can never fix you!" He yells after me, and my middle finger shoots up above the counter so he can see.

He doesn't know how bad it hurts to know you ruined your parents lives... that they wished you were a false positive.

I cover up my inward pain.

"Love you too, Kel." He says, sniffing a little and walking up the stairs, "I'm gonna go annoy your mom."

"Yeah that's understandable." I mumble, messing with the chip bags and getting annoyed with the intense crinkling.

𖣔

I sit at the counter. I've been sitting here bored out of my mind since eight am, and my mom and dad are still upstairs doing god knows what. I do everything around here...

I had to deal with a wave of drunk forty year old men. It was hell, like literal hell.

I mess with the scratches on the counter, my finger running along them.

I was wearing black ripped jeans and Royce's jacket, my hair down and brushed.

And finally, as expected, he came into the shop with Aristide white smile attached to his perfect face.

"Hello, Sweetheart." He smiles, leaning against the counter with his skateboard attached to his side.

"Hey," I say, leaning on the counter as well and looking up at him so our face were close.

My eyes stare into his, his purple eyes shine brightly, especially with the pink of tonight reflecting off of them.

"I'm sorry about Sebastian, he told me he got kinda fucked here." Royce laughs, looking around.

"Yeah because he basically tried to fuck me in front of my father." I mumble, my eyes hooded and cheeks red. I can feel them growing heat, which says to me that they're red and blotchy.

"Damn, he's fucking 20. What a fucking perv." He says, his eyebrows furrowed and his dirty blonde hair laying over his forehead.

"You're 19, Royce."

"And I'm not actively trying to fuck you. You're 17..." he says with a shake of his head, "I only go for girls my age, sweetheart." He ends, grabbing my jaw lightly and running his thumb over my cheek.

Hm..

"Yea I get it." I say, rolling my eyes and walking to the skateboard he's lending me, which is leaning against the wall behind me.

"Why are even friends with him anyway?"

Royce sighs, his head shooting back as he groans. "Did he say he was my friend again? Fuck him..". He mumbles.

He turns his head slowly towards me as I walk towards him. I jump up on the counter next to him and turn my head a little in interest.

"Sebastian sucks man. He was in the foster care system here before I was, his parents put him in there until they got better but then they never did. Once he got out of foster homes he used it as a tactic to be the 'bad boy' or whatever the fuck that means. I'm not friends with him per say, he just comes over to my apartment sometimes. he did it this morning so I told him to come over here and tell you when I was comin'. But obviously he just fucked with you." He scolds with a sigh.

"I could tell he sucked." I huff and he nods, moving over so he's in between my legs.

His hands run up and down my thighs. He looks around, but his eyes set down on mine as he stares at me with need.

"You wanna head out?" He asks and I purse my lips and take a breath out, "I needa close the shop early. So basically I need to turn off the sign." I say.

I scoot forward, closing the space between our bodies and rubbing against him as I jump down.

His body tenses up, but I walk by without notice, going to the open sign and clicking both things together. It turns off with a little spark, and Royce stares at me with furrowed eyebrows.

He shakes his head and mumbles, "fuck..." under his breath.

"Pops!" I scream up the stairs.

"What Kel!?" He screams back.

Royce's eyes go a little wide, and he puts his skateboard in front of him and leans against the counter.

"I closed up shop early! And Royce is down here if you wanted to talk to him!" I hear my dad gasp and he quickly runs down the stairs, "Royce! My main man! Wassup!" My dad greets.

Now this is the time when the fact that my dad had a baby at sixteen comes into play.

"Oh Trent! Nothing much, what about you?" Royce says happily, shaking my dad's hand, but my dad quickly pulls him into a hug. "Really dad?" I quiz, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Yea! Love this guy! I'm doin pretty good but I've got a question for ya."

"Oh well what is it?" Royce asks, scratching the back of his blonde head of hair.

"Well lil Kel already told us that ya work but I was hoping a couple days a week you could come over and work for a few hours. You don't gotta do much, I've got a kid for all that labor, but I can tell the girls like ya man. You got the life I wanted before I had a kid."

I furrow my eyebrows and hood my eyes as I look at my dad, "Sorry you got a girl pregnant Dad."

"Oh no I'm not bashin' you you're a blessing hun! I'm just sayin that I know I would've been hot as fuck."

I roll my eyes, "I'm gonna tell momma-"

"NO!" My dad begs and I laugh a little as Royce turns his head to me and watches.

His eyes search over me, and though he still doesnt have a shirt on he was wearing tight black jeans that match mine, He turns back to my dad with confidence and smiles brightly, "Well thanks for the compliment, I'd love to but I'd probably just come in randomly. I work at the foster home, which isn't a real job, but he gives me most of the child support since I buy the food and take care of them, and then I've got some nanny jobs on the side."

"Oh really? Well I assume you're not gonna be doin' that forever! What's your major gonna be?" Dad asks and Royce sighs.

"Y'know I have no idea. I like to think that I can major in music so I can be a music teacher and help kids but also, I change my mind so much I never know. I mean tomorrow I may want to drop out and go to tattoo school!" He says with a laugh.

"Well i hope you don't have a hard time choosin'! And it's fine, I'd love if you'd come whenever." My dad says and I roll my eyes.

"Okay okay, stop man flirting with my friend. Me and Royce are gonna leave now!" I say and he nods, "Y'know when you're comin back?"

I shrug and Royce shrugs too, slowly backing up. "I'd assume we won't be too long, but I might end up bringing her back pretty late."

"Okay. No pregnancies." My dad says with a shake of his head as he walks upstairs.

"Jeez he's chill.." Royce mumbles, opening the door for me, but I was quite distracted.

His pants hung low on his hips, showing a Calvin Klein band on his underwear and a v-line. He was so hot oh my god...

His abs were on full display, and his hair was over his forehead, showing off his sharp nose and jaw.

I loved it...

"So where are we goin?" I ask and he smirks at me, grabbing my hand and crossing the street with me. It was again so easy for him...

"Right here." He says happily, moving my face toward the bench we met at. "What are we gonna do here?" I ask lightly, and he throws his skateboard to the ground.

"This is where I learned to skate when I was thirteen. A little old lady owned the shop you have now, and shop next to it was where my first foster dad worked. He told me to go outside and stop annoying him, so here we are."

He jumps onto it and stares at me, "Do this, ill watch and tell you what to do after."

I get on and do exactly what he does, kicking myself down the side walk, turning back and forth as he watches, doing the same sometimes and other times just sitting down.

Soon enough I can take turns without falling on my face, and I also can fall on my face in front of him without being the most embarrassed person ever. Like actually... I would get so red before...

And as we go around the sidewalk one last time, and I turn around the bench, I fall straight on my face.

I groan, laying on my back as he laughs a little. "Walk it off Princess!" He says as he skates behind me and slowly pulls up. I shake my head, standing up and groaning.

He stares at me for a second, his eyes wide and his lips parted. "What?" I ask slowly, feeling more and more self conscious with every millisecond he looked at me.

"Fuck.." He mumbles a little, getting off of his skateboard and jogging over to me.

He grabs my face, his large veiny hands easily holding onto me. "Damn you got yourself good." He says and I gasp, "Wait I did?" I ask.

And I've made it this far, so of course now my cheeks go red as a strawberry.

I groan and whine, "I don't wanna have a giant scrape on my face all of my months here, Royce!"

He chuckles, "calm down! You're such a girl... it's just a scrape. But you are bleeding..." he mumbles the end, furrowing his eyebrows and biting his lip. I dig into my pocket and hand him a small black hand towel.

"Here, I was cleaning the counters earlier and put this in my pocket in case I needed another towel."

He nods, taking it and looking me in the eyes.

"Don't scream at me if this hurts, Sweetheart. I really don't wanna see you in pain, just... this might hurt a bit." He prefaces before collecting what I assume to be is a bit of dripping blood from my forehead.

The cloth gets lightly dragged up my forehead until it hits the skin right before my hairline, where he gently dabs my wound.

My hand shoots to his chest, resting flat before I accidentally dig my nails into his soft tanned skin.

"Im so sorry- ow.." I mumble, getting interrupted by him dabbing my wound once again.

"I'm sorry," he laughs lightly, and I grab the cloth straight out of his hand. "Stop it asshole."

"Okay okay, you're so bossy!" He says, jumping behind me and onto the bench.

He stands on it, his arms out for balance as he walks easily across the top part of wood that is supposed to support your back, not your feet.

"How am I bossy, Royce?" I ask and he smirks, looking down at me with the sun blinding behind him and making me barely able to see his face.

The skies were a little bit pink, but at this point it was just a sunset, and the black of the sky was supposed to take over soon.

"Look at you demanding a reason." He laughs, smiling at me for my reaction.

I huff, "I'm not demanding one, but I am just gonna steal your wallet and leave since you're being so mean." I say, quickly grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket and trying to run off.

"Oh no you don't!" He says, jumping down from the bench and running after me. I giggle as he picks me up from behind, his chest against my back and his arms wrapped around my abdomen.

I scream, hitting his chest but it doesn't faze him as he laughs, snatching his wallet back. He puts me down after that with no need for me anymore.

"What a bad thief," he points out with a wink and I gasp, "What a bad best friend!"

Before I realize it a smile has erupted on his face, one just the same as before. It takes up so much of his face and just pictures pure joy.

It wasn't like the everyday smile you'll see when you stare at people walking down the street. It wasn't just an expression for him, it was contagious and full of actual pure emotion that just flowed out of him and into anybody near him who would take it. At this point I think I'm his number one consumer...

"Am I your best friend Kel?" He asks and I bite my lip, looking down. He grabs my jaw lightly and makes me look up at him.

I look up at him through my eyelashes and sigh, "Maybe..."

He chuckles a little, leaning in and kissing my cheek. I couldn't help but feel like I wasn't the only one who noticed that the corner of his lips touched the corner of mine...

"It's nothing to be ashamed about.... you're my best friend too Kel. In fact my only... my only real friend friend..."

I stare at him in fascination, mumbling "Me too..."

He notices and smiles lightly, pulling me in and pushing the small of my back into him as we hug. I practically melt into his arms...

I M  H I S  B E S T  F R I E N D

A N D  H E ' S  M I N E

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I know this might have been boring but the next two chapters are gonna be soooo good! 

Oh also double update lol

what did you think :) ?