little do you know: the december drabbles // niall horan au

day 25: work holiday party (in which mona finds an excuse to bake more cookies)

Mona decided that she'd been on break for far too long. She couldn't stay holed up in the apartment any longer, because there was absolutely nothing to do and all the television shows were pure nonsense. So, she stored the batches of chocolate chip cookies she'd baked on a whim in some disposable containers, packed the containers into a bag, and carried them down to Connemara's, the local hole-in-the-wall pub where she worked. She figured that she'd spent more than enough time off and if she wanted to be able to pay rent then she needed to stop taking personal days.

"Well look who decided to show up." Jingle, the boss, raised her brows at Mona, eyes twinkling as she walked in. "And you come bearing gifts. How sweet." Mona had long gotten used to Jingle's perpetual monotone but had rolled her eyes regardless, shrugging off her coat and draping it over an empty stool before taking a seat on the one beside it.

"Did your hair get more orange or is it just me?" Mona readily accepted the rum and coke Jingle had offered, but not before reaching over the counter to mess with Jingle's hair. As expected, she didn't do anything, just fixed her piercing gaze on Mona's until she budged, except Mona knew her too well and didn't. "It feels a bit softer too. What have you been doing?"

"First of all, stop touching my hair." Jingle's personality was anything but cheery. Why people called her Jingle was honestly beyond Mona. But the woman had taken a rare liking to her, which couldn't be said for a majority of others, so Mona didn't complain. "Second of all, these cookies are amazing." Mona grinned, despite the fact that she didn't notice that Jingle had helped herself. "Third of all, when are you coming back to work? I can only deal with Carter for so long, honestly."

As if on cue, the boy emerged from the backroom, and Mona tried to ignore the glint that appeared in his eyes when they landed on her. "Ah," Carter drawled, running his tongue over his teeth and Mona rolled her eyes. "Look who's back."

Mona ignored him, instead trying to remember what the question was that Jingle had just asked. "Um. I was going to start tomorrow if that's okay."

The corner of Jingle's lips turned upwards a little and Mona swore she almost smiled. "Of course that's okay. I'm one more night away from firing this good-for-nothing sleaze," she grumbled, gesturing towards Carter, who simply sent a smirk her way before resuming mopping the floors.

Mona didn't dignify that with a response, instead opting for a different conversation. "So how's your dad doing?" Jingle's father was the true owner of Connemara's, and she, alongside with Jingle, had been working under him for as long as Mona had been in New York, despite the fact that Mona had only been a few months away from her twenty first birthday. It wasn't as if she was paid on the books anyway, so there had been no one to question it. Connemara had fallen sick a few weeks ago, and it had apparently been so bad that he handed over the place to Jingle, his daughter.

She shrugged, brushing away the cookie crumbs from the counter. "Not the best. He's still in bed, and now he won't eat." Mona frowned. She'd always liked Connemara. He'd been one of the first few people in New York that had been nice to her, and she'd always be grateful to him for giving her a job when she was struggling. "You should go see him one day. He'd like that."

Mona nodded. "Maybe I'll come over tomorrow before my shift? And we can walk here together after."

Jingle shrugged, popping another cookie in her mouth before giving the counter another quick sweep. "Sounds good." She moved towards the door to flip the sign from closed to open, giving Carter a look so he'd stop goofing off and put the mop away before plucking her apron from the hook behind the counter and putting it on. "I'll text you then."

Mona hummed in response, gathering her coat before brushing some cookie crumbs from her jeans. "Alright, then. See you tomorrow. Save some cookies for your dad." Jingle simply nodded, and Mona took that as her cue to leave. She walked briskly back to the apartment, pulling out her phone to text Niall to ask him if he wanted anything to eat.

As she was about to enter McDonald's, she realized that he'd read her message, but didn't answer.