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MY EYES FLUTTERED OPEN AS MY PHONE BUZZED LOUDLY ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE, pulling me from my slumber. "Oh Jesus," I mumbled as I buried my head under my pillow, hoping the buzzing would stop, and whoever it was would give up calling. And for a second, it went silent, but the buzzing quickly resumed, and I knew whoever was calling wasn't planning on giving up any time soon. "Damn it." I sat up abruptly, rubbing my eyes profusely in an attempt to wake myself up quickly. The phone kept ringing, and I finally answered, a small smile forming on my lips as I read I saw the name on the caller ID. "Freds, what do you want?" I pushed my hair behind my ears, glancing at my reflection in the mirror across from my bed. Boy, was I a mess? "You remember we have to be at work at 11?" I rolled my eyes at his words, assuming that I had plenty of time before work and that I even had an alarm set so I would wake up at 9:00 am. "Yes, thank you Mr. McClair, except I'm pretty sure it's not even ten yet." I heard a small giggle through the phone as I hopped out of bed, stumbling across my room barefoot. I stopped myself in front of the mirror once more, looking myself up and down, admiring my figure, even in my oversized shorts and a baggy off-the-shoulder top. "Aurora, it's twenty minutes to ten. You haven't got as much time as you seem to believe."
"I'm sorry, what?" I moved my phone from my ear, eyes scanning the screen to see if Freddie was trying to fool me again or something. But no, to my horror, he was right. "Fuck! Fuck! Oh, Fuck!" I exclaimed, stumbling around as I searched for some clothes to throw on quickly. Freddie's laughter echoed through my room, my panicking only making him giggle more and more. "How did this happen? I had an alarm! I was trying to be god damn organized for once and somehow I still fucked it up." I was annoyed, at myself more than anything, although Freddie's smug laughter didn't help. I could hear JJ in the background, followed by a loud crashing sound and a squeal. "Oh shit. I gotta go, Rory. JJ has... well, you know what he's like. See you soon?" I mumbled in agreement before hanging up, wondering what on earth I was going to walk into when I got there. I quickly picked an outfit consisting of some baggy black jeans, a small bralette crop top, and a blue argyle cardigan, before rushing down the stairs, not even taking the time to lace up my boots. I slammed the door shut behind me, and rushed off to the bus stop, hair blowing around in the wind, messy and untamed. Catching a glimpse of my reflection in a car window, I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair in an attempt to tidy my appearance before I got on the bus.
By the time I got to work I had almost entirely fixed my hair, and even put some cute butterfly clips in to make me look presentable. And somehow, even after all the chaos of the morning, I somehow was still on time. "Morning fellas," I called out as I entered the back of the store, following the sound of the JJ's voice. "Hey, Rory, you made it!" JJ flashed me a smile as I entered the room, clearly happy to see me. "And on time too. Congratulations." He commented as he glanced at the clock, bringing a smile to my face as I clapped, pretending to celebrate my achievements. "I'm trying to work, and, you know, I kind of would like help, but someone is busy being, well, unhelpful." He nodded towards the next room, and I shook my head, knowing exactly who the lazy bum was. "I'll speak to him, two secs JJ," I muttered, before heading into the separate room where Freddie sat with a joint in his hand, spinning around on a desk chair, only noticing me once I began tutting disapprovingly. "Hello Lazy," I said with a smirk, as he wheeled himself closer to me, extending his hands out to reach me. "Come here..." He says sternly, grabbing my wrist and pulling me onto his lap. "You clearly aren't working very hard are you?" I muttered in his ear as he spun us around, smiling as he stared into my eyes. He shook his head, still smiling, although that smile quickly faded when I left his grip, heading back to the other room where JJ was working hard.
"What's up JJ, what are you looking for?" I asked, noticing he had a puzzled expression on his face. "I can't find item 47758 anywhere. It must be here!" He slammed the table with his fist, clearly frustrated. "Hey, let me help. 447? Aren't they from trains right? Maybe it's on the top shelf hidden behind something." I said, taking my cardigan off as I found the step ladder, which JJ almost backs away from in fear. "Umm, JJ, I take it that noise earlier was you falling off the ladder?" I asked, trying not to laugh as he looked to his feet awkwardly. "Don't worry JJ, I'll do it," I said, just as Freddie joined the room. "Really? You're making her do it?" He shook his head, crossing his arms, and JJ's swung round to face him, fist slightly clenched beside him. "Ah, of course, stupid old useless me." He shrugged, yet his whole body looked tense. "Come on JJ, I didn't mean that, you're not useless..." He trailed off, returning his attention to me. "What are you looking for?" He called up as I rummaged around the shelves, trying my best to reach all the way to the back with my short arms. "47758," I mumbled, head so far into the shelves I could almost taste the dust that had accumulated over the weeks that stuff had been left here. "Here! Got it!" I almost lost my balance as I held the lost object up with pride, receiving gross looks from the boys. "Ew, Rory. Ew." JJ said, holding his hand up to his mouth as if to stop himself from vomiting. "A toilet seat? Really? Who loses a toilet seat on a bus?" JJ sighed loudly, and I noticed his fists clenching once more, Freddie clearly the cause of his anger. "For christ's sake. The 447s are all from trains. It's really not that hard to remember." Freddie looks shocked as JJ continues muttering, asking himself "How stupid does someone have to be to get something like that wrong", further belittling Freddie.
"Have you got, like, some kind of problem with me?" Freddie asked, and I shake my head as he stands, knowing that now is not the time to push JJ. It's clear he's going through a tough time, and with his best mates no longer getting along, and neither of them making an effort to reconnect, things must feel really messy for JJ. He just wanted them to care. And of course, I could understand why they had given up on each other, but it was clearly throwing JJ off balance. "Freds, leave it," I said, placing his hand in mine, yet JJ kept talking. "I mean, I just wish you wouldn't smoke all the time. I mean, all the time. Even Rory comes here to work, yet you just can't spend five minutes without a smoke. It's just a bit... boring sometimes." JJ said as he scrunched his hair in his hand, clearly stressed, as Freds stood there in shock. "Wow. Boring, JJ, really? Anything else you wanna share?" Freddie said as he stepped past me, stubbing the joint out on the table. "There. Happy?" Freddie says, picking up the list of items in an attempt to show he was there to work, yet JJ wasn't done. "Come on JJ, let's carry on, yeah? Freddie promises to work so let's just get it done and then maybe we can go for lunch or something? Sounds good right?" I said, but at that point, it seemed like JJ was too far gone, and that there was no calming him. "No, Aurora, it doesn't sound good. Nothing is good. It's not good. It's not okay. It's not even fine so why do you all keep pretending like it is! It's all... smegged!" JJ's voice got louder and louder with every word he spat at us, no longer holding back his feelings. "You're really getting the hang of this swearing, huh J?" Freddie's words pushed JJ over the edge, god knows why he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "How about this, then? I mother-fucking, fanny-farting, cock-munching resign!" JJ yelled at the top of his lungs, clearly sick of everything, and all I wanted to do was give him a hug, and tell him everything would work out, but what did I know? He was right. Everything was... smegged. And I don't think the boys were planning a reunion any time soon.
"And don't try to lecture me about quitting, when I learned from the best." Freddie almost looked confused, until JJ followed up. "You, Freds. You. Now, Goodbye!" He yelled as he slammed his clipboard on the ground, his face red with anger he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Freddie slumped down against the wall, just like in the movies, and I could see by his face that he was hurt by JJ's words. I slumped down beside him and leaned my head on his shoulder as he sighed. "You know he didn't really mean all that. He's just a bit overwhelmed, with the whole you and cook situation, you know?" I said, and I could feel him shaking his head, a small laugh leaving his mouth. "We're not the only thing messed up at the moment, I think it's all too much for him. Cook and me falling out, you and your sister, your sister and half the bloody group. It's a lot for him to handle." I nodded along, having not even considered that our problems could be affecting him so much. "He sees us as a family, and having the whole family at war can't be good for him. We gotta try and figure something out, one way or another." Freddie said, and I worried what that might mean, but when he planted a small kiss on my forehead and pulled me into his arms, I almost felt like everything would be okay.
