blissful silence
~[|]~
It had been a somewhat quiet evening for Gerard, and he was more tired than anything. Wiping down tables wasn't such a difficult task, of course, but with the constant nagging from his beyond patronising and just general asshole-being boss, it was a lot harder.
Mr Bryar definitely had a stick up his ass, and it wasn't the pleasurable kind. If he wasn't talking down to Gerard and his coworkers for their inability to work, he was criticising their in inability to dress. He had the tendency to make everyone dress in pinks and whites to fit the diner's theme, and if that didn't make him an asshole- what did?
He was a large guy, with piercings and a tattoo. In all honesty, he looked like the kind of guy to follow you home and beat the shit out of you- not the kind of guy to own a diner with staff that attend tables in roller-skates and sing Queen religiously.
Gerard grunted in distaste when he noticed someone had stuck gum under one of the tables. He sometimes wondered if God enjoyed his misery as much as Mr Bryar did, and yes, even though Gerard worked in a family diner, it was workplace policy to call everyone Mr and Ms, even if they were younger.
That really sucked, because Gerard pretty much hated almost seventy percent of his coworkers, so calling them such formal names instead of luxuries like dumbass and cunt really had an affect on his mood. Not to mention everyone had to call him Mr Way, which, through no fault of his own, became the diner's number one pun source. It wasn't even that clever- Hell it was barley a pun, but of course that didn't matter because Gerard was a pacifist and sometimes it really came back to bite him in the ass, and not in the pleasurable way either.
Gerard carefully manifested a makeshift spoon out of napkins and a small stirring stick, using it to poke at the gum until it fell onto the small pile of napkins he had put on the ground for it to fall on. To say Gerard was a shit waiter, and frankly a bit stupid, would have been an understatement, and it wasn't as if he didn't know. He was very aware of the fact that he had the maturity and brain waves of a seven year old, he didn't need to be told.
"What the bloody fuck are you doing?" A voice asked behind Gerard, and he has to resist the urge to roll his eyes at them.
"Getting gum off the table." He said with a small grunt, feeling triumph when the gum fell according to plan.
"That's definitely not the way to do that, Mr Way." Ray said, bemused by Gerard's idiocy.
"Shouldn't you be cleaning the shitter, Toro?" Gerard asked, turning himself in his couching position to face his coworker. He wasn't in the mood to be polite at this point in time, he just wanted to get his day over with already.
"Sir said I can go home, my shift is over in like seventy seconds."
"Lucky bastard." Gerard muttered, turning back to pick up his array of paper towels and napkins off the ground.
"Yeah," Ray laughed, his eyes crinkling as he smiled, "have fun with your gum."
"I'll try." Gerard mocked with a fake cheery voice. He was almost never in a good mood towards the end of his shift, but unlike Toro, he still had an hour left.
It was only around six o'clock when Gerard started re-wiping down the counter with a used cloth. He was the only one left apart from Bryar and Pete, who was busy cleaning dishes in the kitchen to speak to anyone.
Gerard was humming a tune to himself as he skated across the diner and to the kitchen in the back. He wanted to check his sanity with some company, and make sure Pete was still alive and in function. Pete had the tendency to overwork himself, and it worked in Mr Bryar's benefit but it also came at a large cost for Pete's sleep schedule.
Though the diner wasn't characteristically large, it wasn't washed up either. It was quite busy during the weekends, but not busy to the point where the staff and costumers want to blow their brains out. The name Action Cat just had a knack for intriguing those who are unfamiliar with the place, and Gerard takes sole credit for the name since he suggested it, but of course got now reward of any form.
Gerard was actually there when it first opened, and when the diner was called "Sunny Side Up." It wasn't a exactly a bad name, it just wasn't enticing enough- it was too normal. It didn't have the same ring to it, and it certainly didn't do anything for business.
Gerard was also the one responsible for the 50's theme and the decorations. It was a lot of work, and it wasn't too worth it if he were honest- but it sure did make him happy. He loved to see the place all decorated with his ideas and creations.
"Hey, Wentz. Still wiping?" Gerard asked with a smile as he found a busy Pete in the back.
Gerard, no matter how pissy and bitchy, had always had a soft spot for Pete. He was a bit younger than the rest of the staff, still attending high school, and he had the tendency to over-talk, and really, overthink. If he wasn't speaking he was lost in thought, and that was a pretty dangerous habit when your job is working with plates and silverware. To say Pete has had money taken out of his pay check due to a few broken plates would have been a huge given.
"Hi Way, still sucking dick?" Pete laughed, putting a dried plate on one of the racks of what looked to be a thousand dishes.
"Fuck off." Gerard laughed back, leaning carelessly against the kitchen doorway. He rolled the wheels on his skates absently, letting his eyes travel across the mostly empty, and quite small kitchen.
Pete smiled a dopey smile, placing the wash cloth on top of the rack of plates. He turned to face Gerard completely, his eyes happy and almost pleased that Gerard was speaking to him.
"How was your day?" Pete asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Eh." Gerard shrugged his shoulders, "Urie ran into me and I spilled milkshake all over a customer. That got me seven bucks out of my pay check."
"Sucks." Pete giggled, a childish and immature sound. "Though, in all fairness, I'm pretty sure he was high."
"He's always high."
"Very true." Pete sucked in a breath when the two of them heard Bryar talking loudly on the phone by the register.
"You should go back out there before he kills you." Pete said with worried tone.
Pete might have been the hardest worker in the entire establishment, but he was also the one who got yelled at the most. Sometimes it was because he was a bit late or he was caught doing Biology homework on the job. It was honestly kind of sad, but no one really got involved.
Gerard nodded in a noncommittal way and skated out to where the booths were. He avoided eye contact with a more than pissy looking Bob, who Gerard was certain was glaring at him coldly.
"Way."
Gerard rolled his eyes, spinning around expertly and faced his boss with a blank face.
"You're gonna need to work a shift this weekend, Ross is gonna be in Atlantic City." Bryar sighed, running a hand down his face.
"Okay." Gerard said, groaning heavily at the notion of having to work on a perfectly fine Saturday.
"Hey, none of that attitude." Bryar said with a snappy tone, making Gerard feel like a small child.
Sometimes he really did hate his job.
~[|]~
It wasn't too late, just a tick after two in the morning.
Gerard's apartment was quiet, and he would be lying if he said he minded it. After the screaming he had endured during his day at work, he was sure he wouldn't mind anything. Gerard's intense lecturing session had begun when he had arrived late due to the lack of hot water in his apartment, and the continued on with the same amount of yelling until the end of his shift, which was around the time he accidentally fell on his skates and dropped a perfectly good milkshake on the ground.
He doesn't blame his boss though, because if he were honest, he would yell at him too.
Gerard let out a relaxed sigh as he pulled off his rollerblades, he was sure he had about seven shoe-induced blisters by now. He hoped they weren't too terminal, because God would it be a bitch if years from now his feet had like red scars on them. Yes, that was an extremely weird and irrational thought, but then again, that was Gerard's favourite kind of thought.
There wasn't much food in Gerard's fridge when he checked it later that evening, and he would be lying if he didn't say he suspected that. He was currently cutting back on a few things due to a financial situation, the situation being he was definitely in debt and definitely fucked, though maybe cutting down on essentials like food and heating would be a bit much but he couldn't afford not to. Literally.
Gerard sighed woefully as he peeled off his dirty shirt, he felt the cold air hit his pale torso and the shiver that followed suite wasn't unexpected. He avoided looking down at his abnormally skinny and fragile body, instead opting to brush his teeth in the bathroom.
It wasn't long before Gerard was safely tucked into bed and re-reading the mistake of a book he had stolen from the diner's counter one late Friday night. Gerard wasn't even sure why he took the bloody book, what he was sure of though was that it sucked more than any book he's ever read- owned, actually.
He had no clue as to why he was reading it again, for the fourth time to be exact, Gerard just liked the familiarity of it. He liked how it was about a lonely guy who falls headfirst in love with an unsuspecting girl, because as shrivelled and dick-like Gerard was, he was a sucker for romance novels. Not even just novels, he loved getting indulged in any kind of romantically-centred book or movie, because he believed it made up for the absence of his own love life.
Gerard sometimes found himself hoping for a "prince charming" or the perfect guy to come sweep him off of his feet, because as much as he hated to admit it, he was an absolute sucker for lovey-dovey things, even if sometimes he didn't show it, or more realistically, avoided it.
It wasn't too much later that his eyelids begin to droop and his book fell to the side of him, along with his head.
Little did he know that maybe his prince charming was sleeping only a few hours away from him, and would be meeting him just as soon.
♡♡♡
hey guys
i've started yet another fic. sue me. i'm kinda excited man, lets hope i don't fuck it up.
comments are always appreciated, and feel free to point out any clerical errors :)
[ oh and also, incase this wasn't mentioned, it's danger days Gerard and black parade Frank ]