──── ( chapter 003. ) real life / imessage.
✦ . ⸝⸝ ❝ WHO'S THE NEW GIRL, THEN? ❞
PUSHING AROUND THE FOOD ON her plate, deniz doesn't think she's ever been so bored in her life. even though everette is her best friend, dinners with her family are always insufferable due to their parents being probably the most insufferably dull people on the planet.
for the past hour, their mothers have been talking about everette's older brother, haydn, who joined the military last year. despite herself, deniz has been quietly listening into the conversation, mainly because she had a massive crush on haydn for the entirety of her sophomore year while he was a senior. she was convinced she was destined for the 'best friend's brother trope', though he never gave her a second look.
everette never knew about this and still doesn't, which is why she's trying to be as discrete as possible while eavesdropping. deniz is actually not even sure why she's even interested in the conversation, since she lost feelings for haydn as soon as he graduated high school and joined the army. something about being with someone who's constantly away from home and in dangerous situations wasn't exactly appealing to her.
though, he's still the only boy she's ever really liked, and her feelings for him were never even that strong. deniz has obviously been with guys before, but she's never met one who's clouded her mind with desire. she's never found that spark.
she turns her attention away from their moms and looks at her best friend, who looks positively exhausted with this night. everette sits at the table with her chin resting on her elbow, while she examines her long acrylic nails on the other hand. this month, they're an ocean blue color, perfect for the end of summer.
they're usually both very talkative at these dinners, but since her parents are mad at her tonight, deniz is afraid to even utter a word. everette doesn't seem to be in the best mood either, so the two are just sitting there wordlessly while their parents engage in boring, adult discussions and everette's two younger siblings are consumed by a coloring book of some sort.
deniz considers offering to clear the table to please her parents but mostly just so she can escape this atmosphere, but right as she's about to offer, her and everette's fathers both begin speaking in a quiet and secretive tone. this perks her interest, and she decides to remain seated so she can listen in to their conversation.
they're all the way on the opposite side of the table, so sadly all deniz gets are the words 'my boy', 'sponsor', and 'cherub'. she has no idea what any of that is supposed to mean. she furrows her eyebrows, turning back to everette, who she realizes is listening in as well. though unlike deniz, she looks interested rather than confused. overwhelmed with curiosity, she makes sure nobody is watching and takes out her phone from her pocket, switching it on under the table.
dee 💌
evie
evie
evie
evie
evie
evie <3
girl...?
what's going on 🤨
dee 💌
nothing i'm just bored
and my parents are mad at me so i'm genuinely afraid to speak 😍
evie <3
BYEEE when are they not 😭😭
but i was so fkn confused cuz you've been so quiet all night
thought you were mad at me or something
dee 💌
noooo ofc not 😭
alsooo
do you have any idea what our dads are talking abt bc i'm lost
evie <3
you mean cherub?
dee 💌
what
cherub?
evie <3
yk the boxing club downtown
dee 💌
boston has a boxing club...?
what
evie <3
deniz 😭😭😭😭
yeahh it's underneath that bar
i think it's called the sleepwalker?
dee 💌
oh i've seen that place before but i didn't know abt the boxing club
how do you know all this?
i mean ur parents actually like you buuuuut 😂
evie <3
BYEEE STOP IT
i've been there a few times cuz my dad has business there or smth
i always have to wait in the bar area tho he never lets me go downstairs w him
dee 💌
ohhh
what's he doing there?
evie <3
my dad sponsors one of the fighters there
it's like a betting system thing
dee 💌
oh that's...
strange?
evie <3
yeah idk
but all of the boxers are young asf? it's odd
my dad would literally kill me if he found out but once i was being nosy and i saw some of them training and tell me why they're all OUR AGE or younger
i think my dad deadass sponsors some 18 year old guy or smth
bc they all come from shitty homes and need the money
dee 💌
HUHH
that's so fucked
evie <3
yeah 😬
but it's not our business so i'm gonna stay out of it
dee 💌
that's probably a good idea
i can't believe they're our age tho that's crazy
evie <3
ikr
some were like 15 too i can't imagine what that's like
dee 💌
fr omg
so your dad places bets on a boxer?
and the club is called cherub?
evie <3
yeah basically
the boxers are called cherubs it's like this weird cult shit idek
why are you so interested anyway? i thought you'd be scared shitless of that kinda thing 😭
dee 💌
just bc i'm scared of horror movies it doesn't make me a complete pussy 🙄
i'm just curious idk
do yk if my dad's involved?
evie <3
okay whatever you say but i'm not forgetting how you ran out of the room crying when that nun appeared on screen ❤️
dee 💌
THAT WAS TERRIFYING STFU.
evie <3
uhh sure!
oh and ur dads not involved as far as i know
but i assume the owner of the club wants him to be
dee 💌
oh for his money
hmm
that's strange
anyway
thanks for telling me i swear i'm actually clueless ☺️
evie <3
no thank YOU for always making me feel like the smart friend ☺️
dee 💌
i'm literally a med student ☺️
evie <3
and i'm on a gap year shut up ☺️
we should go out tn
dee 💌
your family's here tho
i'm surprised my parents haven't put an ankle bracelet around my foot and put me on house arrest after i came home late from the library
evie <3
get your parents in a psych ward challenge go 🙏🏼
but if i ask i bet they'll agree
cuz they won't disagree w my parents in front of us
we can just pretend we're going on walk or attending a book club meeting
dee 💌
in what world are they gonna believe that we are going to a BOOK CLUB meeting
the closest thing to a book i've ever seen you read is a restaurant menu and you even struggled with that
evie <3
we can't all be fucking nerds like you smh 🙄
and i just assumed you'd be into dorky shit like that
then i could've just tagged along yknow
dee 💌
everette unfortunately i can't even breathe without my parents finding out
if i was in a book club they would know
and then probably force me to quit for some bullshit reason
evie <3
confession i often hope you're adopted so you don't have to be related to them bc they're actually fucking psychopaths 😊😊
dee 💌
i love you everette kendrick that's the kindest thing anyone's ever said to me ❤️
evie <3
lack of parental affection really getting to you huh
dee 💌
the way i can't even deny it byeeee
but this is reminding me how much i hate them so let's piss them off even more 🤞🏼
so what's our plan 🤔🤔
evie <3
LMFAOOOOO
i love u for this
we'll say we're going on a walk
omg wait we can say you need some sort of fancy markers or something for a class
and we don't have my car so we have to walk
dee 💌
ur so extra i'm sure "we want fresh air" would be enough
but yes good idea
evie <3
alr i don't see u coming up with anything
dee 💌
I SAID IT WAS A GOOD IDEA???
evie <3
ugh it's so fun pretending to be mad at you
makes me laugh every time
disliked by dee 💌
wait dee
ur mom is giving u the biggest death glare rn so let's clear the table and then head out?
dee 💌
ffs
i'm so dead
but sounds good we'll talk in a sec
loved by evie <3
"FOUR BEERS AND A GLASS of red wine," a man barks from the other side of the bar, and chris narrows his eyes in response. the harsh tone of voice combined with the impatient drumming of his fingertips against the wooden surface of the bar do nothing to improve chris' already terrible mood.
"what kind of wine?" he asks flatly, already beginning to pour one beer from the tap. the man rolls his eyes.
"whatever's fucking cheapest," he snaps, causing chris' eyes to widen. he presses his lips together and shrugs, before handing the man one of the beers, which has a giant head of foam. after working at this bar for years, he's become an expert at pouring drinks, but chris is feeling petty today. his shitty mood has only been worsened by this guy, so he's purposely doing his job badly. if ralph catches him, he's gonna be in trouble, though his mood is so bad that he doesn't even care.
the man gives him a weird look which chris pointedly ignores, pouring the second and third beer and then the glass of wine. he mutters, "i'll put it on your tab," hoping his annoyed tone will give the man the indication to leave, which he thankfully does.
meanwhile, matt is at the other end of the bar, smiling at a small cluster of women who are all ordering drinks. he's giving them all big smiles which chris can tell are completely fake, but the women clearly love it because they all start giggling under his stare and whisper to each other about how he's going to grow into a, quote, 'handsome young man'. chris' eyes widen, noticing the wedding rings on their fingers. most of them are probably mothers, too.
chris can't help but think that everyone in this godforsaken town is out of their minds, himself included.
"fucking hate this shit," he mutters to himself as he turns around and heads to the sink, beginning to wash up used glasses and bowls. the warm water runs lightly over his hands, wetting the gauze wrapped around them. the water runs slightly red down the drain.
"quit whining," a voice says from behind him. turning off the faucet, chris turns back around and finds a familiar face opposite him.
bryce donahue is sat at the bar, resting her elbows against the surface. she's dressed in a plain black tee and as usual, wears a frown on her lips. her eyebrows are furrowed as she looks at him, so chris mirrors her expression.
"i'm not whining," he tells her, picking up a cloth to dry the wine glass he's just cleaned. "i'm complaining."
"whatever you're doing, it's annoying as fuck, so quit it," bryce replies, and chris is desperate to roll his eyes, but doesn't. bryce is his boss' daughter, so while she's always training in boxing, she's different from the other cherubs as she doesn't have to work. she has to put up with his constant complaining, but at least she's not the one sweeping the floors and cleaning the toilets every night.
he ignores her rude comment, picking up another glass to dry off. "why aren't you out with the others right now?" chris asks. bryce huffs in frustration, shifting to now rest her chin on her palm.
"i heard celeste was going and that was enough to ruin it for me," she answers, giving chris a knowing look. he frowns, turning away from the girl and washing up another wine glass in the sink.
celeste maddison is neither a cherub nor does she work at the sleepwalker, but she's from around this area and went to high school with most of the group, so because of this, she's always hanging around at the bar and with all of the fighters at the boxing club.
chris had a sort of... thing with her for about six months until he broke it off a couple of weeks ago. it was never anything serious, with neither of them ever even staying the night. things like that were too intimate for him, and she didn't seem bothered by it.
bryce always hated the whole thing because, well, she absolutely hates celeste. that's not exactly saying much, since she isn't fond of most people, but her distaste for this particular girl is strong. chris kind of gets it, since he's noticed how celeste acts around other girls, but when it came to his relationship with her, that didn't exactly matter.
"come on, she's not that bad," chris says, earning him a scowl from bryce.
"must be pretty bad for even you to break things off with her," she replies easily.
"what's that supposed to mean?" chris asks defensively.
"oh, you know," bryce smirks. "since you'll sleep with practically anything that breathes."
chris' jaw drops open in offense, and he throws the soggy cloth at her. it hits bryce square in the face, and she lets out a small gasp before pulling it off of herself and throwing it back at him. she misses, and it hits the cupboard behind chris with a light thud, before sliding off and landing on the floor. the pair then look at each other, both pressing their lips together to stop themselves from laughing.
"we both know i don't sleep with anything that breathes," chris then informs her, his expression neutral. bryce just shrugs. "celeste was like, the first girl i've ever properly been with," he adds.
"sure," bryce hums boredly. "who's the new girl, then?"
this catches chris off guard, and he raises his eyebrows. bryce just tilts her head to the side curiously, eager for an answer.
"there is no new girl," he answers lamely. bryce rolls her eyes.
"if you ended with celeste, then there's gotta be another girl you have your eye on," she tells him. "spill."
chris is silent for a moment, a fleeting thought running through his head and disappearing as quick as it came. he then shakes his head, holding up his hands defensively.
"you're so full of shit," is all he says. bryce is about to say something else, though matt comes walking past, causing her to clamp her mouth shut.
"bryce? full of shit?" matt questions. "i thought that was common knowledge."
"shut your dumbass mouth, matt," bryce snaps in response, glaring at him. he gives her a fake smile — ever faker than the one he was giving those women earlier — before stalking off. bryce scoffs, shaking her head in dismay. chris just smiles to himself, amused.
"your brother might even be more of a dick than you," bryce then says, which causes his smile to instantly drop. he knits his eyebrows.
"i'm not a dick," he answers sincerely, though bryce bursts out laughing. she chuckles obnoxiously loudly to the point where chris knows she's being sarcastic, which causes the two of them to receive some judgmental stares from people in the bar.
"ah, that was funny," bryce sighs contently, beaming at chris.
"fuck you," he answers, rolling his eyes. bryce just laughs again.
"you're proving my point," she says, but he ignores her.
their conversation is brought to a halt as commotion is heard outside, catching both of their attention. chris cranes his head around the bar to try and get a better look at whatever's going on just outside the front door, but all he sees are blurry silhouettes.
bryce sighs, getting up from the barstool she's been sitting on. she and chris make eye contact, and he sees that her expression is annoyed, though laced with a hint of concern.
"i'll go check it out," she says, and chris nods. he knows bryce feels responsible for the bar when her parents and older brother aren't around, and it's not like she can't take care of herself. she's small and thin, but with her training, she could take down any of the men in this bar within seconds, so he doesn't worry for her safety. she would hate that, too.
chris decides to get back to work, walking back over to the sink and immediately frowning when he finds that matt has left him a whole extra stack of glasses to wash up. he doesn't know where his brother has fucked off to, so it seems that he'll be taking care of this task all by himself.
he's barely ten seconds into filling the sink up with warm, soapy water when he hears a somewhat familiar name being spoken outside. chris literally deflates, wondering what evil crime he must've committed at some point in his life to merit making him suffer this much today. it's like all the karma that's built up over his life is suddenly hitting him all at once. of course it has to be today, of all days.
chris delicately places all of the dirty glasses and bowls into the sink, leaving them to soak so that he can try and figure out what's going on outside. the name is running through his head over and over, and he silently questions what the fuck is going on.
this awful, karma-filled day somehow manages to become magically worse when a group of familiar and not so familiar faces enter the sleepwalker, and chris clenches his fists.
ⵌ ★ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ♱ ‧₊˚𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this is me realizing i was meant to publish this w 5 chaps already written but i got lazy and wanted to publish on my bday sooooo my bad 🤣🤣
- ava <3