CHAPTER TWO
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
"if i were a rose, maybe you'd pick me"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚
Reggie, Harley, Archie and Moose were all seated at Pop's.
As usual, Reggie had an arm secured safely around Harley, both of them squeezed into one booth. Across from them, Archie and Moose did the same, just not with their arms around each other.
Harley had assure Reggie that she wasn't hungry when they ordered and that a milkshake would do, but now, she was eating all his fries. Much to his annoyance.
"Har, I literally asked if you were hungry. I would've bought you your own fries." He complained, trying to pull the tray of French fries away from her. She rolled her eyes, reaching for them.
"Yeah, well I wasn't hungry when you asked. But now I am." She said, snatching the fries from his grasp. "Besides, sharing is caring."
Reggie rolled his eyes at the stubborn girl, but nonetheless gave in. Archie was watching a brow arched. He hadn't expected her and Reggie to hook up, but here they were, acting like a couple. He wasn't too sure that they weren't, actually. It wasn't that the duo was totally unexpected. The cheerleader and the jock was a tale as old as time, but for some reason Archie just figured the girl would go for someone with. . . more brain cells than a shoe.
After that, Moose and Reggie continued a conversation about football, something Harley knew little to nothing about. Archie sat in silence, his mind elsewhere. His eyes landed on Harley when she decided to speak to him.
"How's Fred?" Not long ago, Archie Andrews' father Fred was shot in the very Chocklit shoppe they were seated in. No one knew who had done it, seeing as the one had bend wearing a black mask at the time. He took no money, just entered, shot Fred and left. The thought alone made a shiver run down Harley's spine. Who would do something so cruel for no apparent reason at all? It was beyond Harley.
Archie offered her a smile, grateful that she was asking him about his father's wellbeing. Not a lot of people had. She probably just did it to make a conversation, but he still appreaciated it. "He's good. Well, as good as one can be after getting shot." He added an awkward laugh at the tail end of the sentence.
"Yeah. . . They got any idea who did it?" Harley. A cold look grazed his face. He shook his head, muttering a 'no'. Harley offered him an apologetic look, as if to apologize for brining it up. Archie was bothered by it, more so then he'd like to admit. It was normal for one to worry after such a traumatic incident, but Archie found himself awake every night, sitting at the bottom of the stairs case clutching a baseball bat just in case whoever had done it decided to come by and finish the job. For now, the man behind the dark deed had been labeled the Black Hood.
Harley let her eyes slip to the man owning the Chocklit Shoppe. Pop was cleaning off of the register counter with a damp towel within his grasp. She had been meaning to ask him something and now was a great time.
She excused herself from Reggie and the boys, squeezing her way out of the booth. She halted infront of the counter, offering Pop a friendly smile. "Harley, my favorite customer, what can I do for you?" She grinned at the compliment. She spent a hell of a lot of time here. She was unsure why, she just did. It made her feel at peace and made working on school work a whole lot easier.
"I was wondering if there's an open position." She didn't know how she hadn't thought about it sooner. She needed some cash, some self earned, and it would give her an excuse to stay away from home. She was fairly certain Jughead needed some space from her seeing as he was staying at hers for the foreseeable future. Now he could lounge at her house without feeling guilty that she was steering clear just for his sake.
"Actually, there is." She grinned widely. "And I'll make an exception. I won't interview you, on one condition." She nodded for him to go on. "You take the night shift tonight." Knowing damn straight she would be exhausted for school tomorrow, she still accepted.
"What time do I start?"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚
Her shift started in an hour. Harley had hurried home, ditching Reggie and the others. When she stumbled into her room, Jughead had a near heart attack, thinking it was one of her parents.
"You can't do that, fuck." He exclaimed, hand on his heart. She ignored him, hurrying to touch up her make up. If she was going to be there all night, she was going to at least look a slight bit presentable.
"What're you in such a rush for?" He questioned, placing the book he had been reading on the bed side table. He slipped off of the bed, tailing behind her as she rummaged through the room. "What are you looking for?"
"My DS." She replied, rummaging around for the old gaming console. Her phone had little to no games, and she never found the time to actually download any fun ones. Seeing as Pop's probably would be empty throughout the night, she decided that the small gaming device would do for a distraction. "And I'm heading over to Pop's. Geez, where's my jacket?"
She pulled open a drawer, letting out a sound of triumph as she spotted the white device. Then, she started her search for a jacket. It was impossible to find anything in this mess. Harley made a mental note to clean it up when she got back. Or sometime she didn't feel lazy.
"Here you can borrow mine." Jughead said, handing the denim jacket to her. She accepted it, quickly shrugging it on. "Why are you going to Pop's at this time, anyways? I figured we could watch a movie or something."
Harley shot him an apologetic look, placing her phone, keys and DS in the pocket of his jacket. Boy clothes always did have bigger pockets. "Pop gave me the job. You know, the one I've been going on about these last two weeks." She reminded. "Besides, you could do with some alone time. I know I'm getting tired of you." She joked, earning an eye roll and a playful jab to the ribs.
"Fine, but I'm hungry." He whined. Harley entered her bathroom for a moment, exiting with her lipgloss in hand.
"There's food downstairs. Mom's out of town for business or whatever, and I'm pretty sure my dad's already in bed. Just try not to make too much noise." He nodded.
"Fine but be careful. Call me if anything happens. Actually, I can walk you-"
"It's a ten or so minute walk, Jug, I'm sure I'll make it alive." She interrupted, knowing he was about to offer her some company along the way. "I got to go, I don't want to be late, bye." She swiftly placed a kiss to his cheek, exiting the room and then the house altogether. She was bummed that she didn't have a car, her mom had promised her one. But luckily, Elm street was pretty local, close to both the school and Pop's.
The walk went by quickly. She was listening to music the whole time, and within ten minutes she entered the Chocklit Shoppe. The bell rang when Harley opened the door, signaling her arrival. Pop looked up from behind the counter, flashing her a friendly smile.
"Just on time." He said, dropping a rag to the top of the counter. She grinned, sliding across and to where he was standing.
"Yes sir." She jokingly said. "Where's my uniform?"
"Out back. I'm only one call away if there is anything, and I mean anything, you need help with sweetie." He said as he handed her the keys to the Shoppe in case she was going to have to close up.
"Think I'll manage. Now get going, you look tired." He chuckled a she made his way out, flashing her one last grin before disappearing into the darkness outside. She sighed. This was going to be one long night.
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚
When she had asked Pop about the job and when he and told her she'd get it if she took this shift, she did not hesitate to accept. Now? Well, let's just say that Harley was beginning to regret that hasty decision.
Four hours, three milkshakes and a tray of fries had passed since her shift had started. It was currently two am, and the last customers had left at one. She wasn't surprised that the place was this empty, but she had to admit that she wished that it wasn't. At least she had something to do when she was serving someone. The Byers hadn't hesitated to play in her DS, but half an hour ago it died due to having not been charged in ages. So, she was left to her thoughts.
Her mind was a scary place. Harley's past wasn't all happy go lucky. Her parents used to fight a hell of a lot more when her mother was actually at home, which was partly the reason as to why she wasn't anymore. It had caused the girl to be locked up inside she room for most parts. When her father started drinking more, she also tried her best to isolate herself. Jug had actually been one of the few to be there for her when it had happened.
When they started at High School she was both socially awkward and struggled with social anxiety. Her feelings were overwhelming whenever she was amongst larger groups of people, and she didn't know how to control them. The anxiety never quite led ther body, but she had found a way to deal with it. She was doing a lot better now, thanks to Jughead.
She skipped over to the jukebox, popped a coin inside and pressed a random song. Then, she returned to scrubbing the counter with the same damp rag. The countertop was spotless, but she knew she'd fall asleep if she didn't do anything. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't anything remotely fun to do in an empty diner at two am. Who would've thought.
She had considered calling some friends, but seeing as it was a school night no one would answer. Well, except for one guy.
She whipped out her phone, dialing his number quickly. She hesitated slightly, letting her thumb linger over the green call buttom. Harley shrugged her shoulders, why the hell not, she pressed down. A few rings, and the other line answered.
"Hello?" A mildly confused, very tired and scruff sounding voice answered. She grinned.
"Hi, it's me." Harley answered, chewing on her buttom lip.
"Harley? What's up, something wrong?" A sliver of worry coated his voice, and unbeknownst to the girl, he was already digging around for his jeans. He pulled them up, his ear pressing his phone against his shoulder.
Harley felt a warm feeling erupt in her stomach. He was worried about her, how cute. "No nothing's wrong, well, other then the chances of me dying of boredom that is." She snickered.
"Why are you up at--" he paused, pulling his phone infront of his face to check the time before answering, "-- two am?" Then, a smirk broke out on his face. "Is this you missing me, Byers?"
Harley rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the grin now etched across her face. "This isn't a booty call, if that's what your thinking, Mantle." Reggie chuckled, already pulling a shirt over his head.
"Mhm, suure." Sarcasm was evident in his voice as he answered.
"It's true." She whined back. "I'm working a night shift at Pop's and it's really boring. Thought you might be up. I didn't wake you, did I?" The boy had a habit of staying up later then he should. Tonight was no exception. She hadn't waken him. Well, he had been lying in bed trying to sleep, but he just couldn't.
"No you didn't wake me." He assured, a grin plastered on his face. "I'm heading down there now. Won't be long." Harley didn't have to ask, he wanted to be there. "See you soon."
"Okay bye." Her feet dangled over the floor as she sat ontop of the cash register. As if on cue, the moment the call ended, the bell rung, signaling the arrival of a customer. She looked up, silently wondering who was entering at this time. Her stomach dropped slightly when her eyes landed on the leather cladded trio of teens. One was surprisingly tall, a serpent jacket secured on him with his hair messily straying in his face. Behind him was a shorter guy, dressed the same only with gelled back hair and tanner. Lastly, there was a girl, rocking the same exact leather jacket and pinkish hair. Southside serpents.
Harley quickly let her feet hit the floor as she pushed herself off of the counter, making her way behind the register. She could feel an uneasy feeling grow inside of her. She didn't want to judge them, but she had grown up to hate them. And something about their tattoos, leather and cold stares made a shiver run down her spine.
The shorter guy with his hair gelled back approached her as the others slid into a both. They immediately started a conversation, but they were too far away for Harley to eavesdrop. Instead, she plastered a friendly smile on her face. "Hi, how can I help you?" She asked, tilting her head as she took in his appearance. He was a rather handsome looking guy, with dark hair and matching dark orbs. He offered her a charming grin and a shameless wink.
"Two strawberry shakes and a chocolate." He answered. She nodded, quickly tapping the price for it. "Fangs, Fangs Fogarty." He introduced. She arched a brow at him.
"Well, Fangs, Fangs Fogarty, your shakes will be right up." She said after announcing the price and accepting his money.
"You're not gonna tell me your name?" He asked, smirking. She wasn't about to dney his good looks, but he wasn't really her cup of tea.
"That's what my name tags for." She said in a duh tone, pointing at the name tag pinned to her uniform. His eyes slipped over it.
"Harley." He read out loud, grinning at her. "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl." She almost wanted to roll her eyes and make a snarky remark about the cheesy pick up line, but decided against it seeing as he was a customer. Instead she overlooked it and started working on making the shakes. Her mind quickly began wondering why the three was at the Shoppe at two am. It wasn't the odd hours that struck her, it was the fact that serpents suddenly felt comfortable on the Northside. It was a rare sight.
The bell chimes loudly again, catching Harley's attention. She grinned widely at Reggie when he entered, planting a kiss on his lips from behind the counter. "Hey babe." He greeted. He let his eyes scan the place, eyes landing on the tree serpents seated in the far corner of the diner. "You've got to be shitting me."
Reggie Mantle had a deep seething hater for the Southsiders, as previously mentioned. He couldn't stand them, seeing them as nothing more then actual trash. He believed he was better than them and that the only reason they were there was if they wanted to stir up trouble.
He made a move to head in their direction, but Harley stopped him. "Reg, don't bother. Please." He spared a glance in her direction, reluctantly nodding. "Do you want anything to drink? On the house."
"Sure. A vanilla shake?" He asked. She nodded, turning her attention back to the shakes she was making. The three milkshakes were soon enough finished up, and she carried them over to the booth they were seated in on a tray. "Here you go." She said, handing them the shakes. Seeing as she had no idea which belonged to who, she placed them on the table and returned to make Reggie's. But not before catching another wink from Fangs.
What the hell kind of name was that anyways?
"Remind me again why you volunteered for this job?" Reggie said, trying his best to ignore the snakes. Instead, he sat on the counter top, watching Harley make his vanilla shake. She offered him a shoulder shrug.
"Why not? I figured I might as well. Extra cash won't hurt, and not all of us have a daddy who supplies it." Reggie rolled his eyes, planting his hands in her waist as he jumped down. He was taller then her, sending her a smirk.
"I could be yours." She scrunched up her nose in disgust, smacking him with the wet rag.
"Eww, you disgust me Mantle." He laughed loudly as she brushed past him, pouring the shake into a glass, adding whipped cream.
"You know, there's a lot more use to whipped cream than milkshakes."
"Fucking hell, Reg. I swear I'll beat your ass up myself if you don't stop. Geez." He laughed at her expression, accepting the drink. It was typical Reggie. "My poor innocent ears."
"You're not that innocent." He scoffed. "Or do I ne-"
"Okay!" She interrupted loudly. "That's it. Get your cheap ass out of here."
"I'm just joking around Har." Reggie laughed as the shorter girl pushed him towards the exit, his shake still on the counter.
"Well I'm not. Toodles." With that, the boy was locked outside, watching the Byers girl retreating back into the diner with a cheeky grin.
Momentarily, Harley forgot that by throwing him out, she was once again left alone in the diner with three serpents, one of them who had been watching the encounter between her and Mantle. And, it wasn't the one who had been sending her cheap winks left and right.
word count; 3118
a/n
can we talk about the fact that sweet pea has way to little screen time season four? actually, scratch that. he has way to little screen time altogether. shit, they should make a show just abt him. i'd watch that. anyways, hope u enjoyed chapter two. oh, and small disclaimer, i have taken the liberty to change up the timelines a lil so pls bare with me ! stay tuned for more, n follow me for notifications.
Follow|Vote|Comment