Frustrated with myself, I throw myself onto my couch and groan loudly, "Why do I suck so much?!"
"Evan, I'm not going to tell you this again," Ohm says as he walks over to me. "Stop saying you suck; you don't suck."
"Though you might want to change that by the time you get a boyfriend," Smitty laughs, causing Ohm to turn to him and yell at him.
I simply groan again, wanting to bash my head against the wall with how annoyed I am with myself.
"Come on, Evan. I know it's frustrating-"
"It's not just that," I say, pushing myself up and turning off the music, which had been playing in the background. "Yeah, I'm annoyed that I can't even get pass the start of giving Smitty a fucking lap dance, but I'm still pissed about this," I say as I lift up my shirt, showing the now purple bruise on my hip. "I'm such an idiot for not paying better attention to those guys at the party. And now, I can't even go to work until it's healed."
"It's not your fault, Evan. Everyone gets grabbed at the club."
"Yeah," Smitty jumps in. "Even I've had a couple guys try to reach over to grab my ass while I was getting someone a drink. It happens."
"But no one else has a bruise on them."
"That doesn't mean it hasn't happened in the past. I can't tell you how many times I've been grabbed so hard that I've been bruised on my arms, legs, and waist. It happens, Evan. It's nothing to be upset over."
I sigh and rub my hands over my face. "Well why do I feel like I'm being punished for this."
"It's not a punishment, Evan. You're just getting some time off. Something that you honestly needed before this happened."
"And it's only until you heal. It's okay to kick back and relax for a week or whatever," Smitty adds in.
"He's right, Evan," Ohm says as he now sits next to me and starts rubbing my back. "Besides, you know you can use this time to, I don't know, look into going to school online like we talked about."
I roll my eyes and push Ohm off of me. Over the past couple of months, he's been trying to talk me into taking online classes so I could finish up high school. Something that hasn't really sparked any interest for me, but, like Brock, he won't drop it.
"I just want to work," I say, annoyed by the mention of going back to high school. Something that before, everyone told me I didn't need to do.
"I'm just saying, it's an option. I went back to high school after Panda started helping me out, and it could give you more to do when you aren't working or doing this."
"But I would much rather practice this than go back to school. I have a better future with this, and you guys told me before that I didn't need to go back to school to do this."
Ohm opens his mouth to say something, but I quickly turn the music back on and jump in front of Smitty. "Look, let's just drop this and get back to practice."
He then sighs and stands up. "Alright. From the to-" before he can finish his sentence, my phone starts ringing.
A bit confused, I walk over to my stereo, pull my phone off of the aux cord, and check to see who's calling me. My eyes widen when I see Jonathan's name on my screen. I forgot he was going to call me today!
Putting my phone behind my back, I start walking towards my bedroom as I smile to Ohm and Smitty. "I've- uh- got to take this. Give me a minute," I then quickly say before I rush into my room and lock the door.
I then answer the call and bring my phone up to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey; did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Oh no, I'm just, hanging out with some friends."
"If you want, I can call back later."
"No, it's fine. Just, one second," I say before I pull my elbow up and slamming it into the door behind me. "Get away from the fucking door, asshole!"
"Fuck you, ya bitch," Smitty yells through the door.
I sigh before I walk over to my bed and lay down. "Sorry. So, what did you call me for?"
I hear him laughing in the background before he says, "I wanted to know if you were free tonight. I was thinking about taking you out like I said I would."
Bringing in my finger up to my mouth, I gently bite it, trying to think this through. Tyler and Panda will not be happy with this idea, but, there is definitely something about this guy that just makes me want to learn more about him.
"Yeah, I'm free. What were you thinking?"
"How about dinner? I know a diner we can go to. It's not a five star restaurant, but its a nice place to relax at, the food is good, and since its a weekday, there won't be a shit ton of people there."
"You've thought this through," I laugh.
"Hey, it's better to have a place in mind rather than spending an hour trying to come up with an idea for a date."
"Awe, you don't want to be on the phone with me for an hour," I joke.
I hear him laugh again on the other end before he says, "Believe me, I would love to be on the phone with you for an hour, but from what Tyler has told me, I'm sure your friends would get a bit, uh, what's the word I'm looking for?"
As he says that, I grab one of my shoes from the floor and pull back. "Intrusive," I then say before I throw the shoe at my door, causing whoever was trying to listen in through the door to fall back with a thump.
"Protective! That was the word!"
"Wait, Tyler told you about me?"
"Well, sort of. I told him that I saw you at the cafe yesterday and he told me to stay away from you. He also told me that he would let your friends know about me so that if I were go near the apartments without him, they had to keep me away from you."
"Did you tell him I gave you my number?"
"Hell no. That piggy bastard would have destroyed my phone to make sure I lose your number."
I can't help but bounce a bit in excitement as I say, "Oh, you're a gamer too."
"How did you get that from what I said?"
"I've played GTA 5 with Tyler before. I've seen that mask."
He laughs again before saying, "Awesome. We'll have to play something together sometime."
"That sounds like another date."
"We'll talk about that after tonight. Soon, since your friends will be watching over you, how about we meet at the diner? I'll send you the address tonight and see you around six."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tonight."
"Can't wait."
Once I hang up the phone, I fall back and just smile at nothing. As I said before, there is something about Jonathan that makes me want to learn more about him. And for some reason, he wants to do the same for me. Just talking to him for a few minutes was enough to brighten my day and turn me into a stereotypical teenager in love... Then again... That's what I am.
I can feel my smile fade from my face as the fact that I'm only seventeen hits me so hard that I feel my stomach twist. I'm so close to being legal, but it can still destroy his life. It can make him listed as a pedophile for the rest of his life. As long as he doesn't know though, he should be good.
Groaning, I push myself off of my bed and walk over to my door, unlocking and opening it in one swift motion, catching both Smitty and Ohm with their hands and ears in the same position they would be in when they were trying to listen in on me.
"Fuck you both."
They smile at me before quickly turning around and walking back to our little set up. When I walk over, I end up sitting on the couch next to Ohm. "Was that the guy from yesterday," Ohm asks.
"Yeah... He wants to take me out on a date tonight."
"Does he know," Smitty quickly asks.
"No; it's against the rules for you guys to say anything about my age, and I've just met him. We haven't really had the chance to talk yet, and... I don't know if I want to tell him just yet."
"Evan, that's dangerous," Ohm scolds me.
"I know, but, who knows. This might just be a one night type of deal."
"You don't think that though, and we can tell. You've never shown interest in anyone you've met at the club until you saw him."
"Wait," Smitty jumps in. "This is a guy you've met at the club?"
"Yeah," I say, looking down at my hands. "He was one of Tyler's friends at the party. He also pulled the guy off of me."
"Dude, that's really dangerous and against the rules."
"He just went one time. He isn't a customer yet."
"Okay, but it's still dangerous."
"How?"
"Did you not know what happened to Bryce?"
"... Do you mean, that guy that stalked him two years ago?"
"Yes. That guy wouldn't leave him alone and added so much stress and fear into his life that he considered leaving the club."
"But he didn't and it stopped two years ago as well. From what everyone told me, it was something the guy did for a year, and then he slowly stopped."
"He didn't just stop out of no where, Evan," Ohm tells me. "Apparently, one of the cops, that's our customer now, saw him trying to follow Bryce from the club, and he was arrested for stalking and trespassing. It was by luck that it stopped, but he would have kept going if that cop didn't show up."
"What's the point of bringing this up now," I ask, annoyed. "Since I started working at the club, the worse I've seen is Bryce getting wasted at work, and Brock snorting coke. There hasn't been another stalking, and aside from grabbing, none of us have gotten-"
"Just because you aren't seeing it, Evan, doesn't mean it doesn't happen," Smitty suddenly shouts, causing me to jump. Ohm and I stare at him in shock and confusion. I've never heard him yell like that before. It was a lot more serious than when he and I would play together.
"Smitty-" Ohm starts, but he's quickly cut off.
"I know, but he should know the truth! You and I both know that it's wrong to keep this from him!"
"What are you guys talking about," I ask, now a little scared.
Ohm and Smitty stare at each other for what feels like hours; neither of them saying a word. After a while, Ohm sighs and says, "Fine." Before he and Smitty both turn to me.
"Evan," Ohm says, his eyes locked on his hands. "Do you know how many people have left the club since you started working?"
I look off for a second and start thinking back to when I first start, listing off all the names of the guys in my head. After a while, I answer, "About fifteen."
"Well... There's something we haven't told you, because we didn't want to scare you... Ten of the guys that left, left us because they were being stalked by customers."
My jaw instantly drops to the floor when I hear this. "What?!"
"Ten of the guys left because some jackass from the club started stalking them," Smitty repeats. "They weren't as bad as Bryce's stalker, however, they couldn't go anywhere without having someone following them."
I shake my head in disbelief. "How did I not notice this?"
"If you weren't looking for the signs, there's no way you could have known, Evan. That's the thing with stalkers. To everyone around you, they look like some random guy. Him staring at you could be him staring off into space, or he's just watching something or looking at something and you're just in the way. It's not like in the movies where the stalker is trying to hide to make sure you don't see him, but it's incredibly obvious to everyone around you."
My eyes quickly widen as I think about yesterday. I was just so happy and shocked to see him that it didn't even cross my mind. "What if Jonathan is a stalker too?! What if he's been watching me for a lot longer than I thought?! What if he tries to kill me?!"
"I knew this would fucking happen," Ohm says before he puts an arm around me. " Evan, look; I know learning about this is scary, but you shouldn't worry. You know that we would never let anything happen to you."
"That's why I wanted to tell you this," Smitty adds in as he walks over and sits beside me on the couch. He then wraps his arm around me and says, "You're like a little brother to me. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt. Hearing about this worries me."
"But as long as you know how to protect yourself, it would make us worry less."
"What do you mean," I ask, looking between them.
Ohm pulls away from me and jumps off of the couch, standing in front of Smitty and I. "Lap dancing practice is done for today. Now, its time to know 'Protecting from Weirdos 101'."
"Its so easy to tell that you wanted to be a fucking teacher man," Smitty laughs.
"Shut up. Now, the first thing you want to do is pay attention to your surroundings. This will rarely happen, but its important to drill this into your head. When you are in a parking lot late at night, and you are the only one there, you should always have your guard up. Have your keys in your hand before you leave whichever building you're in. If you think someone is following you or you just do not feel safe, take your keys and put the in between your knuckles. The second you get into your car, make sure to lock the door.
The next thing we will talk about is if you are driving. While you are driving, especially at night, keep your eyes on your mirrors. If you see a car behind you, keep it in mind. Try speeding up or slowing down. If you think that car is following you, make a random turn the second you can, but make sure you are on the main roads. Go around a random block a couple times. If the car is still following you, call the police and tell them what's happening, and what car you are driving. If you can, also let them know anything you can about the car that's following you."
"Should I be writing this down?"
"I'll type it up and print it out for ya," Smitty tells me, patting my back. "Moving onto the next big thing, how would he know if the guy is a creep?"
"That one is a bit tricky," Ohm says. "However, since you're going on a date with this guy, you'll have a little bit of an easier time getting a feel for him. The first thing you're going to look for is how different you guys are. If everything you like is what he likes, that's a red flag. You guys are different. You live in different worlds. He should like different things, but for you guys to be in a relationship, there should be a couple of things that you both like. Just keep track on how many things there are.
Another red flag would be if he knows something about you that you didn't tell him. Even if he is friends with Tyler, I don't think he would tell him something personal about you."
"Don't forget about what we've taught you at the club. Whenever you get a drink, never leave it unintended. And if, God forbid, you start to feel dizzy after having a drink, run to the bathroom, lock the door, and call us. I will jump over the bar and run out of the build if anything happened."
"And I would not hesitate to jump off the stage, even if I'm only wearing underwear."
I let out a soft sigh and smile at the two. "Thanks guys."
Before anymore words could be said however, we jump when we hear a loud pounding on my door, shaking the walls around it, and causing one of my pictures to fall off of the wall. My heart stops as a flashback of me pressed against my bedroom door comes to play. The sound of glass breaking as pictures fall around me. The sound of my door slowly starting to break, but it's trying so desperately to stay up. My dad shouting at me to stop being a little bitch.
Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry!
"EVAN!"
I look up and see Ohm grabbing onto my shoulders, a look of fear on his face as he shakes me softly. I blink and feel my body slowly st ng to stop shaking, which I didn't realize it was doing. Tears fall from my face onto my hands. I didn't even realize I was crying.
Weak.
"Holy shit," I hear another voice say, but I instantly recognize it. Looking towards my door, I see Smitty and Tyler, staring over to me.
Once Ohm sees that I had snapped back to reality, he gives me a tight hug and whispers, "You're okay. You're safe. Don't worry."
I then hug him back and take a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. "I know."
After a short while, he lets me go before he turns to Tyler. "What the fuck did we tell you?! Be careful with what you do around Evan!"
"Hey, no one told me what I couldn't do around him! How was I supposed to know pounding on a door would have done something like this to him?!"
"Stop it," I yell out, not wanting to hear anyone fighting anymore. "Look, let's just drop this for now! You guys can talk about this later!"
The room goes silent after I yell at the two to stop. Smitty simple walks over to me and wraps his arms around me, trying to calm me down. After a couple of minutes, Tyler comes over and apologizes for causing my attack. I just tell him that's it's fine, before I ask him, "Why did you come over?"
He struggles to put his mind back together for a bit, before he stands up straight and clears his throat. "Right! I needed to talk to you three!"
"About what," Smitty asks.
"About you and my friend," he then says, glaring at me, trying to intimidate me but failing.
"What," I ask.
"I heard that you ran into my friend, Delirious yesterday."
"Delirious?"
"Jonathan!"
"Oh, him! Yeah. I ran into him for a couple of minutes while Ohm and I were on our morning run. I didn't even see him until he popped up right beside me."
"Evan, stop it! I'm not going to play this game, and I'm not going to tell you again! Don't talk to my friends! Jonathan is twenty. You are three years younger than him."
"That's not a big age gap."
"When you fall under the age of consent, yes it is! I don't want him to get in trouble! It's bad enough that Brian grabbed you the way that he did! The last thing I want, is for you to get hurt, and my friend to fuck over his life."
He then turns his attention to Smitty and Ohm. "As for you guys, I want you to help me make sure these two don't talk. I'm sure you guys can understand where I'm coming from with this, right?"
"Yeah," Smitty quickly says. "And you're right. The last thing we want is to get anyone hurt."
"I saw him at the party," Ohm adds in. "So, if I see him hanging around here, I'll let you know right away."
"Thank you. Alright, I have to go talk to a couple more people."
After that, Tyler walks out of my apartment, closing the door behind him. Ohm then looks back to me and gives me a sly smile. "If things work out between you two, don't bring him around here."
"And don't get hurt if this don't work out," Smitty adds in, the same sly smile on his face. "After all, you'll have plenty of men to pick from when you get older."
I smile and guy the two. "Thanks guys."
"Alright, now, after that short break," Ohm says before jumping back in front of Smitty and I. "Let's continue our lesson on dealing with weirdos."
"We're still not done?"
He and Smitty laugh before he tells me, "Oh Evan; we've barely scratched the surface."