Burnt Out (Dabi X OC)

Chapter One: Healing Hands

"Another round, beautiful." His words increasingly became closer to unintelligible.

He was one of four drunk men sitting at the counter. It appeared they were celebrating one of their friends 21st birthday. She could gather they were around around her age, but their insistent flirting and gross remarks made her skin crawl all the same. Every time she tried to escape the group and pass them off to a coworker, they did what they could to pull her back in. Going as far as to physically yank on her arm to bring her attention back to them when she tried to assist somebody else. She repeatedly warned the men not to touch her, but they clearly had problems following directions. With their final grab, they poured one of their drinks onto her shirt. Though they tried to make it look like an accident, it was no mistake what their intentions were.

"Oh, oh. I'm so sorry." One of the men hiccupped, clearly lying through his teeth as his eyes scanned up and down her now damp chest. "Here. Let me wipe it off for you."

"Fuck off!" She shouted while shoving the man away from her, causing a scene in the bar that was hard to ignore. "Get out, or I'll throw you out."

"What seems to be the problem?" Her boss begrudgingly stomped his way over upon noticing the music quiet down.

"Your bartender's been a real tease tonight." The man replied whilst slurring his words, unable to walk straight as he stood up from his seat. "A fucking bitch, if you ask me."

"I'm going on my smoke break now." She merely stated as she turned her heel and walked toward the back. "If he's not gone when I get back, I'm not coming to work anymore."

Some part of her knew those words were a lie, no matter how badly she wanted them to be true. Quitting this job would be an actual miracle from whatever God was watching from above. With how much she detested coming in and surrounding herself with such a noisy and annoying crowd, you would think she'd left months ago. However, it was a little more complicated than that. She needed the money, and working here fit almost perfectly with her schedule. As much as she hated it, it worked. Tips were fucking great too. Most nights, at least.

Tonight in particular hadn't been shaping up to be anything special. Overall, it was a slow night. Despite the little showdown that broke out just seconds ago, this wasn't them at their busiest. Not feeling left overworked and exhausted was definitely going to be an added bonus with waking up early tomorrow. However, slow nights meant tips sucked. Normally, she would have been clocked out of here by now, but when one of their coworkers called out sick, she wasn't left with much of an option. It was either work it, or work it. Her boss wasn't a man of much remorse. He didn't care if she had plans going on tomorrow. He didn't care if she had to wake up early. He didn't care, period.

Club music became muffled as she slammed the door shut behind her. The "employees only" sign dropped harshly to the gravel below her. Giving a swift kick to the sign with a huff, the girl ripped her pack of cigarettes from her back pocket and popped one between her lips. Slipping her hoodie sleeves over her bare shoulders in an attempt to stop her shivering, her teeth chattered on. Cool autumn wind started to whip the flame from her lighter around wildly, blowing it out before it ever had the chance to light. A couple more flicks and soon enough only subtle sparks erupted from the lighter. It was empty.

"Fuck!" The girl muttered, shoving the lighter back into her pocket while sending another kick to the now bent sign on the ground. "Could this night get any worse?"

"Been thinking the same thing, doll."

Out of nowhere, a husky voice revealed itself in the darkness. A hunched over shadow with their back pressed against the brick building next door. She hadn't noticed them until they spoke. The dim light that hung above the club's door barely reached the crooked figure. Body not far from the dumpster, there was a pile of trash bags within arm's reach. Initially the voice had scared her, causing her to jump backwards in response to the sudden sound.