The Mechanic

TWENTY ONE

I glanced at the door when I heard it opened, expecting to see Marty and Leslie but it was Alex who came in.

"Morning, Jade," he smiled when he reached my counter. "Where are the others?"

"Out. They bought some lunch," I replied while fixing the shirts on my counter.

Alex nodded. He looked around, then stared at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Sure? You seem gloomy, did something happen to your family?"

"No, no," I said, trying my hardest to smile. "They're fine. I'm just not in the mood. You know, Monday blues."

"I feel you. I hate Mondays, too. Except if it's my day off, like today."

"Lucky you," I cooed.

The door opened again and my already blah day completely turned worse. My fists curled involuntarily upon seeing the two boys who just entered the shop.

"Alex?!" Niall exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock. "You live in this town, too?"

I glanced at Alex. He wasn't smiling and he just gave Niall a brisk nod. "Yeah," he replied thinly.

"Look who's here!" Louis said, appearing behind Niall with that annoying grin plastered on his face. "You still suck dicks, Alex?"

I scowled. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Alex held a forced smile. "You still an asshole, Louis?"

"Ha," Louis snickered. "Yup, you're still a fag," he chuckled. His eyes landed on me and his face broke to a frown, then into an evil grin. "Well, well, well. Sometimes I hate how fucking small this world is."

I swallowed thickly. His high-pitched voice would always give me chills that I couldn't explain, but I managed to keep my composure. "The feeling is mutual," I told him icily.

"You don't really know when to shut up, huh?" Louis said, cocking his head.

"Do you?" I retorted, my glares not leaving his eyes.

"Feisty," Louis grinned. "You think you're special, eh? You're just another basic bitch, miss. Get your head out of your ass."

"You sure you don't need a mirror? Coz you should be telling that to yourself," I blurted. I noticed how he bit his inner cheek.

Louis chuckled slowly, the kind of laugh that would make you feel uncomfortable. He poked his cheek with his tongue while gazing at me from head to toe. "I'll be careful if I were you, Jade," he smirked, then turned to Niall. "Let's go, Niall. This place is trash," he said.

I released the breath I was holding as soon as they left the shop. My knees were shaking, same as my hands and I didn't know why. There's something about Louis that makes me feel unsafe.

Alex touched my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I exhaled, gripping on the counter for support. What the hell is happening to me?

"How did you know them?" Alex asked, looking very curious and a bit worried.

"Louis grabbed my ass yesterday when I was talking to Harry," I spat bitterly.

He shook his head. "He's such a douche."

"Tell me about it," I agreed. "Why is Harry friends with them?" I asked. That question had been floating in my head since yesterday.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "We all went to the same high school. Harry and I were already friends that time. Louis and Niall were the cocky ones and they never talked to us, even bullied me and Harry sometimes. Harry didn't like them either. And then during our second year in college, Harry started to hang out with them after classes. Which is weird coz those two didn't even go to college. I didn't have any idea how they stayed in touch after high school."