Petunia's Tea and Cake Shop [5SOS AU] (Completed)

Michael

Over a strong pot of black tea the next morning, Michael finally opened up about what had gone wrong between he and Calum and Ashton. Or, he tried to, at least.

"Okay, it all went down on this rainy night in...was it March? Or was it still February?" He paused and took a sip of his tea while Luke listened eagerly. "Well, maybe things had started to go south earlier, but that night was when it all changed." Michael munched on his scone and still seemed confused about the timeline of events.

"Was this soon after you arrived?" Luke prompted.

Michael shook his head as he finished up his bite of scone. "No, when we arrived, everything was perfect. Well, between us, at least... We arrived in New York as planned after a long boat ride, eager to get started on our new lives. As you know, we had planned out jobs, a place to live, and saved enough money for that first week. However, when we got here, our housing situation was not quite what we thought it was, and our jobs had fallen through. We had barely enough money for that first week, so we had to find a job quickly. By the end of that first week, things were tight, and our landlord wanted rent. He was a bit of a hard-ass, and and wanted rent up front at the beginning of each week, and if you couldn't pay when he came to collect, you were out. We thought if we explained our situation to him, he'd feel bad for us and let us stay a bit longer, but..." Michael shook his head as the memory played clearly in his mind.

"We just needed a few more days to find a job, and I promise, our first paycheck goes straight to you to cover this week's rent." Ashton had promised the landlord, but old, grumpy Alfred was having none of it.

"And why would I do that, when I could kick you out and replace you with paying tenants?" Alfred replied, running a hand over his dark mustache.

"Please, we'll make it up to you. Our jobs fell through and it's taking us a bit longer to find new jobs. We're not from around here, and we're not familiar with how things work over here." Michael explained.

"Really? I thought that accent came from Brooklyn," Alfred spat sarcastically. "No rent, no rooms."

Alfred started to walk off when Calum added, "We can work it off, maybe help you out around here?"

"What could you possibly help me with around here?" Alfred was about to brush them off, but looked them over more thoroughly. "Though, I have a side business I could use some help with," he added in a lowered voice and led them into his office.

"What kind of business?" Calum asked after the door clicked shut behind them.

"It's not exactly legal..." Alfred raised an eyebrow and watched their reactions.

"I don't know, we don't exactly want to get deported back to Australia." Ashton pointed out. "We need something that looks official so we can keep our visas."

"Well, then we'll make it official. You'll work in...importing foreign goods."

"What kind of goods?" Michael asked, voicing the thought on all their minds.

"Alcohol." Alfred nearly whispered, but his face said it all; he was nearly smiling, a look that made his eyes crinkle in a way that almost seemed sinister.

"What's illegal about that?" Calum questioned.

"You boys haven't heard of prohibition?" Alfred cocked his head, and burst out laughing as they shook their heads. "To three young lads like you it's probably hell; no alcohol -none."

"Fucking hell is right," Michael swore, and waited for Alfred to tell them he was joking.

"Explains why we haven't been able to get a pint," Ashton added.