Falling For The Bully (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter 18 - "Tell me everything."

Stephen swings open his office door to reveal a very flushed-looking Harry.

"Of all the people in the world..." Stephen mutters to himself.

"Hi, sir..." Harry begins awkwardly.

"I have to say, I'm genuinely surprised to see you standing in front of my door so soon," Stephen raises his eyebrows.

"I know," Harry blushes, "I'm sorry, I was going to call but I wasn't sure if-"

"Harry," Stephen cuts him off. "You survived a severe attack. There is no reason you should feel the need to apologise."

"Oh, I-"

"However," the man continues. "You did give us quite a fright. I'm just thankful your mum called and said you were alright. Otherwise, we would have no idea."

"My mum called?" Harry's expression drops.

"She's a nice woman. She was very concerned about you, you know."

"I know, I'm really sorry..."

"Please stop apologising, Harry."

"I can't help it," the boy chuckles softly. "But, um... the reason I came here..."

"You want to know if you still have a job or not," Stephen says more than asks.

"Yeah, just that."

"Normally, if someone were to not show up for however many shifts in a row without previous notification they would already be let go," the man hesitates, mulling over his decision. "But considering the circumstances, it's a different case."

"So am I fired, or...?"

"You're not fired, Harry," Stephen reassures him. "But you will be on probation. You've only had one shift here and from what I've seen and heard, especially from Bree, you do seem like a good asset to our establishment. But there's also the situation with your school friends."

"They're not my friends..." Harry mumbles, somewhat to himself.

"Regardless, they aren't good company," Stephen goes on, ignoring Harry's protests. "I don't want to find out that you attract that sort of guest, if you know what I mean. Being a hard worker is one thing, but if more people continue to come in here and cause you problems we might need to have another talk, okay?"

"It's just them. It's not me, I swear," Harry finds himself furrowing his brows in frustration.

How could Stephen not see that it was River and those jerks that caused everything in the first place? If Harry seems a bit put off by his bosses assumptions, that's only because he is.

"I know, Harry, but customer interaction is a huge part of this job," Stephen says calmly. "I just want to see you prove yourself... without any disruptions this time."

"I'm kind of a magnet for that stuff," Harry lowers his head in shame. "I'm not exactly a popular guy."

"Hey," Stephen stands up from his desk chair, walking over to pat Harry on his shoulder. "I believe in you. There's a reason I hired you and I know you still have potential. Just take it easy, stay focussed and do your job."

"So I'm rehired?" Harry questions with a small glint of hope in his eyes.

"You were never fired," Stephen repeats, chuckling this time.

"Thank you so much," Harry exhales a sigh of relief. "When do I continue?"

"Well, we won't be very busy tonight, considering it's a weekday, but how about you come in on Friday night. Say, at six?" Stephen voices questioningly. "We'll be in the middle of our dinner rush by then. It'll be a perfect time to show us what you've got."