Chapter Text
“Who the fuck is at Table 13?” Abi’s voice cut through the din of noise, instantly drawing the attention of everyone gathered in the hand-off area, including Ben. His heart skipped a little beat at the sight of her mad, even if he knew she wasn’t mad at him. Still, the way her eyes glittered when she was getting ready to grill someone never failed to make him swoon a little.
“Uh… me?” Tyson, one of the waiters, looked confused, “Did they complain? I thought they liked-”
“No! Busboy! Who’s bussing Table 13?” Abi clarified, hand going to her hip, “I mean, I already know, just… where the fuck is Mike?”
There was almost an audible ripple of laughter at the mere mention of his name. And at the fact he’d obviously fucked up again. It was to the point that it was almost a joke; of course it was Mike. Ben rolled his eyes. Fucking Mike. He hadn’t seen the dude in… what? Twenty minutes? Easy? He had a habit of disappearing randomly out of fucking nowhere, the void left by his absence almost as loud as his actual voice.
“Think he’s out back, smoking.” Carrie, one of the older waitresses, leaned in to join the conversation, giving herself a clear view of Abi, “At least, talking to people who’re smoking. Bet my left eye he’s outta breaks, though.”
“Guys, he works really hard. He deserves a break or three. Four tops.” Tyson chuckled, the sarcasm-soaked comment drawing a few chuckles from the gathered staff. Abi just rolled her eyes before whirling towards the back door and storming off, Ben electing to follow out of pure impulse. There was always something the slightest bit satisfying about seeing Abi tear someone a new hole, and Mike was always a worthy victim. He was about as lazy and annoying as they came; basically as useful as a giant fucking zit, and half as pretty.
Ben caught up with her as she was walking, falling into pace behind her.
“Just make sure he can still bus tables after you’re done with him, alright?” he asked.
“I’m not gonna hurt him,” Abi rolled her eyes, “I don’t get why I’m the one who has to babysit him, though! It’s not my job! I got shit to do, Ben!” she threw him a slightly wild-eyed look.
As their top waitress with the tips to prove it, Abi was nothing if not busy. Not that it was anything she couldn’t handle, but add on a three hundred-pound manbaby on top of it and anyone would get a little stressed. She paused by the backdoor, her hand on the push bar, letting her hip sway indignantly. For a moment, she just relaxed, her voice dropping a bit as she sighed.
“I get it.” she said, her words finely etched in stone, “Whatever. Nepotism. Great. But seriously?!” she grit her teeth as she spoke, “Like, bussing is the easiest job here - no offence to the busboys, just stating facts - the easiest job here, and he sucks at it! Can’t do it! Can’t fucking be bothered to do it.” she enunciated venomously, “He’s out back smoking half the time, and the other half the time he does a shitty fucking job and someone else has to clean up after him!”
“I know, Abs.” Ben sighed, “I-”
“I wanna fucking stab him, Ben!” she stared at him, pleadingly, expressing her desire for violent revenge with a surprisingly adorable expression on her face.
“There aren’t any knives around, are there?” Ben pretended to glance around, drawing a scoff from Abi, “Good, cool. Abi, just… this job doesn’t matter. A year from now, you’ll probably be somewhere else and you’ll never have to worry about Mike ever again. Just kill it while you’re here, then move on. That’s my advice.”
“I know.” Abi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, “If my fucking brain doesn’t explode before I find something better. And, I dunno... I wouldn't mind learning the bar. Fuck. Whatever. I’m gonna scream. Not literally, but I want to.” she sighed, dropping her hand to her side, “Can you back me up? I swear to god, he only listens to guys.”
“I mean,” Ben winced, “I’ll try. He’ll probably just whine and call me a dick or something.”
“Better than what he calls me.” Abi’s face went dead humorless, like a cold rock, only flared to life by a quick flick of her eyebrow, “I’ve heard plenty. Not like I care, but… whatever.”
She turned to push against the door, Ben squinting as the light from outside poured in and his eyes took a second to adjust. He held the door open for Abi as best he could as she stepped outside, though he was sure it was a little more awkward than he would’ve liked. His arms were long enough, but it wasn’t as effortless and charming as he wanted. He couldn’t help but feel like it looked just a touch… forced.
“Mike?” Abi immediately looked to the left, where people usually sat on milk crates and smoked cigarettes during break.
“Aw shit.” Mike’s voice was unmistakable, Ben rolling his eyes, “The PMS patrol’s here. Better pack it in, boys.”
“Sorry to make you do your job, Mike.” Abi smiled poisonously, adding enough toxic bite to the words to make even Ben shrivel a bit. He was pretty sure if Abi talked to him that way he’d probably blow his own brains out or something. Abi wasn’t exactly an intimidating figure - she was too short, slender, and cute for that - but she had a way with words that could reduce grown men to snivelling husks. He’d seen her lay into a waiter once after he made an inappropriate comment about her, and the dude just seemed to vanish into dust. After a solid minute-long tirade from Abi, he just left the restaurant never to be seen again.
People still talked about it.
On the other hand, Abi had probably spent a cumulative hour or two grilling Mike and he was still the same big, dumb, bald asshole he’d been from the very beginning.
Mike was deceptively short, his extreme weight making him seem taller than he really was. His gut probably weighed twice what Ben did, sagging over his pants like a dam of fat about to burst at any moment. His arms and legs were thick enough to support him, smeared with tacky, stained tattoos that had aged about as elegantly as the rest of him. His face was dopey and fat, with a black circle beard ensconcing his cracked lips and somewhat obscuring his double-chin. His head was shiny and bald, whatever light hit it bouncing off like a greasy trampoline.
He was about as unimpressive as a guy could get; a weird mix of wannabe-tough guy and overweight dweeb. He looked like he’d gotten blocked on his way down the ‘Harley Davidson Dad’ path by a massive wall of fast food and unflattering glasses. He was definitely bigger than Ben, and no doubt stronger, but he was about as intimidating as a severely overweight chihuahua.
“I was just chatting, dude.” he smiled that same, stupid, meaningless smile that he always had on, “What? Gonna hate on a guy for chilling?”
“You’re supposed to be working, dude!” Abi seethed, “You’re not getting paid to sit on your ass and smoke!”
“I wish I was!” Mike chuckled, “That job’d be badass!”
“Then quit and go find it!” Abi smiled, barely disguising her animosity, “Or don’t and get back to fucking work!”
“I’m gonna tell Chuck you’re being a bitch to me again.” Mike pretended to look scared, “Christ, you gotta fucking chill, girl. Ben,” he glanced back at Ben, who jumped a little, “you not been fucking her right? Why’s she so mouthy?”
Instantly, Ben felt his face drain of color. He wasn’t - nor had he ever - even come close to fucking Abi. He liked her. A lot. An embarrassing amount, almost, but that definitely didn’t mean they were - in any way - a ‘thing’. Obviously they were friends and were seen together a lot, but nobody really got the wrong idea about them. Abi was a complete baddie, and way out of his league. Maybe if he had a decent job or was in better shape or had a college degree or something she’d pay more attention to him, but… no.
There was nothing there to grab Abi’s attention.
But that didn’t stop guys like Mike from teasing him about it.
“I-! Uh-!” Ben stammered, lamely.
“Can you not be an asshole for five seconds, dude?” Abi sneered at the rotund man as he rolled a partially burnt-out cig between his fat fingers, “Seriously, just fucking get to work! You still need to bus Table 13!”
“What, seriously? Nobody else did it?” Mike looked vaguely irritated, “Fucking lazy, bro. The fuck’re they doing out there?”
Ben’s blush faded as Mike let out a hacking cackle, making it perfectly unclear if he genuinely thought the other busboys were lazy or if he was just talking shit again. He seemed to live in a state of perpetual joviality. Everything was a joke to him all the time for any reason, and it was impossible to get him to take anything seriously. Ever. If he hit someone with his car and killed them, he’d probably just make some dumb joke about them denting his hood or something.
“Mike!” Abi snapped, sounding every bit like a school teacher disciplining a bad student, “If you don’t bus that fucking table right now, I’ll go grab every fucking fork and knife off it and shove them up your ass.” she dictated the threat carefully, but with the brutal sincerity of a murderer, “Got it?”
“Who rubbed sand in your vagina?” Mike chuckled, completely disregarding the threat, “Ben not make you cum last night? Poor, little girl. I could make you-”
He was cut off by a stinging slap across the doughy cheek that instantly caused silence to fall so entirely that all Ben could hear was a fly buzzing nearby. For a moment, nobody could move.
Nobody except Abi.
“You wanna talk like an ass? Fine. I’ll treat you like one.” Abi growled, leaning in closer, her finger pointed directly at Mike’s downcast face, “You don’t wanna work? Fine. Why should I fucking care? See how long your little brother can actually be bothered to keep a fat, stupid fucking slob like you on the payroll. Family or not, I doubt you’re worth the hassle, Mike.” she stepped back, death in her eyes, “Do your job or get fired, violate your parole, and end up back in prison. I don’t know why I’m trying to help you, honestly. I’d love for you to fuck off back to jail.”
She left, slamming the door behind her without another word.
For a moment, there was just silence in the little break area.
Then Mike grinned.
Jared, one of the line cooks and one of few people who could be considered Mike’s friend, broke his silence and laughed, “Shit, she got you good, man! Jesus Christ! I felt that shit and she wasn’t even talkin’ to me!”
“What a bitch.” Mike chuckled, dragging a few fat fingers along his bristly cheek, “Seriously, her guy must not be giving it to her. Someone oughta fuck that attitude outta her, you know what I’m saying?”
Ben felt a prickle of irritation, “Dude, seriously?”
It was all he could think to say: the culmination of his own frustrations with Mike. After all of that, he was still stuck on Abi not being ‘satisfied’? It was fucking ridiculous.
“What? She needs it bad, bro.” Mike glanced up at him, regarding him as if it was the first time he was noticing Ben was there, “Fucking cunt. Some girls are just like that, though. Got problems. Psycho. Bet she's wild in bed, though. Probably fucks like wild, dude.”
“You should find out.” Jared grinned, perversely.
“I fuckin’ should!” Mike mirrored the grin, flicking his cigarette onto the cement floor behind a dumpster.
Ben just stared at them, baffled. How was it possible for Mike to just be so… shameless?! He'd gotten torn down to the core and he'd reacted like he was just fucking poked in the stomach! He almost seemed happier than before! It was insane to Ben that someone could be so thoroughly confident and incapable of self-reflection, and yet the proof was right in front of him. The man immune to shame: Mike Oczarzak.
What the fuck…
Ben shook his head, drawing Mike's attention once again.
“You two aren't fuckin’, are ya?” he asked, offhandedly, “She's not your girl?”
“No, she’s-” Ben grumbled a bit, “Dude, would it kill you to just-?”
“Figured. She's nuts, man. Steer clear. I been with bitches like her before. Fun for a little while, but they're psycho. Loco. The pussy ain't worth it.” he grimaced, “Don't get whipped. She'll make you her little bitch boy like that, man.”
He snapped his fingers.
That doesn't sound so bad honestly, Ben reflected for a moment.
“You get any bitches, Ben?” Mike asked, taking a drag off a new cigarette.
The question was so sudden and so blunt, Ben wasn't sure how to react. He was stunned silent for a moment as he viewed the question from a number of different angles, before finally finding one he liked:
Deflection.
“Dude, are you gonna get back to work?” Ben asked.
“Don't be a dick, bro!” Mike chuckled, finally cluing Ben into the fact he was probably stoned, “Fuck off! Little bitch!” his face swelled red as he hiss-laughed more, only interrupted by a coughing fit, “Christ! I'll be back in in a minute, bro! Just fuck off! Go help your bitch with her period cramps.”
Ben swallowed.
He was just… so disgusting.
Seriously, how could he be so absurdly unpleasant so naturally? The swearing, the slurs, the laziness and the stupidity and the immaturity; how had he turned out like this when his brother was a perfectly normal, competent manager?!
It wasn’t like Chuck was some king among men, but compared to Mike, he was practically a god or something. Chuck was fair, reasonable, and focused, whereas Mike was… well, Mike. Ben was pretty sure he’d seen the guy eat chicken out of the garbage before, insisting that it was ‘still good!’. The five-second rule didn’t really apply when the food had been in the literal trash.
Ben just shook his head.
Better not to waste any more time with the moron. If Mike wanted to fail at his job even harder that was his choice to make. He couldn’t imagine that Chuck was so charitable as to let his brother get away with never working and getting stoned for half his shift for months on end without any kind of consequence. Mike would probably get sacked sooner rather than later, and Ben sincerely hoped he and Abi were around for it. The guy definitely needed to get put in his place.
Ben left, shutting the door behind him, returning to his humble bussing work. Yeah, he was technically on even footing with Mike in terms of their jobs, but considering Mike was about twenty years older than him, Ben didn’t feel too bad. This was his first job, after all, how goddamn extravagant was it supposed to be?
He sighed.
A little more extravagant probably would’ve been nice. That might’ve caught Abi’s attention. Oh well.
The rest of his shift passed without event, Mike eventually returning to his post to do a piss-poor job of bussing tables, generally forcing Ben to pick up his slack. Crumbs and food stains on the tables, old napkins left behind, straw wrappers abandoned; it was fucking stupid. Bussing tables wasn’t hard, so how was Mike so bad at it?! Obviously he just didn’t care, but… still.
Ben threw one last fork into his bin before hauling it off towards the kitchen.
Abi was there, caught in the conversational crossfire with Mike and one of the night-shift managers, Billy. Billy was usually just in charge of bar, though it was pretty clear he was getting groomed for more than that due to his… well, his willingness to try.
Ben slowed down as he could see an obvious look of frustration on Abi’s face, taking a second to eavesdrop on the not-exactly-secret conversation.
“But I requested tomorrow off.” Abi stared at Billy, who had the look of stoic, managerial detachment on his face.
“If you wanna learn bar, you gotta learn closing eventually. Might as well be tomorrow.”
“Come on, Abs!” Mike grinned dopily, “It’ll be fun! I’ll show ya the ropes!”
“Dude, you couldn’t teach a baby how to piss itself.” Abi recoiled away from Mike, smacking him upside the head with the comment like it was nothing, “There’s nobody else who can close tomorrow?”
Ben felt his stomach twist.
Shit.
Normally, he might’ve jumped on the grenade, but he had a prior commitment. As in, a prior commitment to not working an eighth day in a row. It sucked, but his innate sense of laziness was just a bit stronger in that moment than his innate desire to please Abi. The fact she’d be closing with Mike? Not great, but shit happened. Knowing Mike, there was a solid chance he’d-
Abi met Ben’s gaze before he could slip by, an obvious plea in them: Help.
Ben swallowed.
“Uuuuuh… everything cool over here?” he asked awkwardly, interjecting into the conversation.
“Just a scheduling matter.” Billy said, sounding about as emotionally invested as a lukewarm corpse. He really was management material. “Someone called in, so we gotta improvise. Abi wants to learn how to do the bar, anyway, so I figure-”
“Dude!” Abi interrupted, obviously not caring much for formalities, “I requested it off! I-!”
“I know, I know! Look,” Billy suddenly dropped the management voice, his tone lowering, “do me this solid and I’ll throw in a bonus, alright? Fifty bucks?”
Abi froze. Bit her lip.
Rolled her eyes.
“Fine. Jesus. Fine.” she relented, “I could use the money anyway.”
“Sweet. It’ll be waiting for ya when you come in tomorrow.” Billy turned away, skirting off to his next mundane responsibility, “Thanks, Abs!”
“Fucking Christ. Awesome. I guess I could use the money, though.” Abi grumbled, “And weekends are always good for tips.”
“Sounds like we’re closing together, Abs!” Mike grinned, exposing slightly yellow teeth, “Get hype! Get pumped! Gonna be fun! I’ll play some tunes, we can smoke after, get a drink! Good ti-!”
Abi just walked away as he was mid-ramble, Ben snorting before following after her.
“You gonna be okay?” he asked, like he’d done anything to help her.
“What? With him? I don’t fucking know. No?” Abi rolled her eyes again for the umpteenth time, accentuating her perfectly applied eyeliner and mascara, “But whatever. It’s just Mike. He’ll probably dip out early, anyway. I’ve never closed but I can’t imagine he actually stays the whole time. He’s just- whatever.” she glanced at Ben, her expression softening a hint, “We should hang out sometime.”
Ben felt like he’d suddenly been run over by a train, but in… like… a good way.
“Uuuuuuuh?” he began, dumbly, “L-like… wait. Like what?”
“I dunno.” the answer was as flippant as it was coy, Abi picking up the pace to beat him to the door leading out, “Just an idea. Anyway,” she reached it, pushing it open, leaving Ben behind as she left for the day, “see ya… eventually. Don’t let Mike be a dick!”
“Uh! Right!” Ben hurriedly called after her, “S-same to…” she was gone, “you…”
His hand fell back down to his side, leaving him with a strange, strange feeling.
Had she just… flirted with him? Was that what that was? Had she hit on him? Was it a date, or did she just wanna hang out as friends? What did she even see him as? Ben wasn’t bad looking - he was definitely at least a little above average - but… Abi? Abi was gorgeous! She could’ve been a fucking model! Would she really-? Ben knew that some girls seriously ‘dated down’, but…?
He sighed.
His heart was thumping in his chest like a machine gun over just a simple, little idea. Not to mention, he was at least a little hard.
God, Abi really just… did stuff to him.
It was kind of embarrassing.
Ben ran his fingers through his hair.
Honestly, he wished he’d volunteered to take the shift tomorrow. It was probably too late now, anyway, but… maybe just that one, little extra bit would’ve been enough to get Abi interested. He had to be something to her, right? ‘Reliable’ was better than nothing, even if it wasn’t exciting. He would’ve rather been devastatingly hot and irresistible, but… well, he was lucky enough to not be buttfuck ugly.
After all, if he looked half as bad as Mike…
He shook his head.
God, I’d be fucked…