Sweeter Than Fiction | ✓

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

After Miles' cheesy ass soulmate meeting of fate that had played out so well that Rudy could have probably found the exact same story line hidden in one of the cases or sleeves on Rosie's DVD and bookshelf the kid had been insufferingly happy.

And he was actually smiling at customers and talking at a normal human octave without any mumbling. It was as if aliens had just zapped up the mumbling emo kid he had worked with for the past few months and replaced him with a new and improved model.

Rudy was just pissed that it hadn't been him that was sucked up from this hell hole instead.

Now it was only he getting glares from Lyndsey as if to say "why can't you be more like him."

And it wasn't just that but apparently the kid was some sort of bookworm. Like he actually liked to read. Every customer that came up with a book he would comment on, telling them how great it was and they were going to just love it.

So apparently fated meetings had transformed him and had helped him find some hidden confidence that was making Rudy seriously twitchy. And even though the kid was talking and smiling, he was still basically ignoring Rudy's existence.

Rudy was pissed. And he remained that way for the rest of the day; both of them did.

When the shop was finally on lock up at five Kelly came bouncing out from the cookery book corner and over to them and telling them to hurry up and the last one out was buying the first round. Rudy didn't have to be told twice.

He quickly moved to the back were the lockers were as shucked out of his work clothes and shoved on a gray, fade t-shirt, a pair of tight fitting turn up jeans and his trusty demin jacket.

He made a show of ignoring Mr.Happy beside him, doing the same and putting on a shirt that he knew for a fact Rosie owned then a hideous green cardigan.

Without waiting in him, Rudy left through the back door and found Kelly, Mark and Greg already outside.

Rudy felt the dramatic change if temperature seep through his skin and curl around his neck and out of his mouth.

"Where's Miles?" Kelly asked while swiping a cigarette out of Mark's pack and taking a pink, glittery lighter out of her green parka. Rudy gave a careless shrug to which earned him a narrowed look from Kelly as she took a draw before she let go with a sigh, smoke curling up into the fading light of the sky and passing it over to Rudy who did the same.

Kelly and Rudy had managed to smoke half of it when Miles and Denise popped out together. The kid was still smiling.

The small group started to make their way to their usual Friday night bar, knowing that they'd meet other shift workers there as always.

In all honestly it had been the only thing Rudy had been reluctant to do when he started working at the bookshop. He hated people so naturally he hated everyone he had worked with. Kelly had lured him in with the promise of free beer (now it just seemed he was the one doing the rounds). Now he tolerated everyone a little bit more. Except for Kelly. He still hated her.

"Shit," Mark hissed when they arrived," the bouncers are checking ID."

The bouncers were in fact crossing their bulging, intimidating arms squeezed into tight black shirts and staring down at those that failed to identify themselves.

Rudy didn't see the big deal, he was nearing twenty now and he knew that everyone else was near enough the same. And then he remembered.

He looked round at the kid who was trailing at the back and hadn't been contributing much in anyway seeing as he had just been tapping into his phone for most of the walk with this stupid from on his face.