-Your POV-
"What are you doing here?" I turned around
I looked at Ross wondering why he was even talking to me in the first place
"I need to ask you something" I rolled my eyes. I just hope it wasn't anything about Tom
"How did you know I lived here?" His eyes landed onto the ground
"I live across the street. A few weeks ago, I saw Haz and some girl on the roof. This morning when he said that you had a thing for roof tops, I put the pieces together and I presumed it was you" All you could do was nod your head
"Haz said that you guys lived in the same building so I assumed you'd be here after school."
"Why are you here?" I finally got around to saying what was on my mind
"If you're looking for Harrison, he said he had somewhere to be and-"
"Actually, I didn't come here for him. I came by to talk to you"
"About?"
"Are... are you going to look for a job?" I scoffed
"No, why the hell would I do that?"
"Because... the teacher said so" I was surprised that he was considering doing the punishment
"Why would you, out of all people listen to what the teacher says"
"Aren't you the goody-two shoes? Why aren't you listening to Chris?" He added
"Why don't you ask your friends to tag along."
"Like you said, Harisson isn't here right now, and you know that Dylan doesn't have to do it."
"Just go by yourself. I'm not in the mood to go right now, and most certainly not with you"
"I know we just met, but please." He started to beg.
"Wasn't it just this morning you were threatening me?"
"Okay, yeah but that- it's different okay." He was stuttering.
"Why do you have to do it anyways?" I started getting curious. He didn't seem like one to do punishments willingly
"He, uh, mentioned calling our parents" He started to scratch his neck. You remembered Chris's words about what would happen if we didn't do the punishment. Now you understood his intentions.
In order for us to do the punishment, he needed to make one of us give in, and then the rest would follow. It was a domino effect, and Ross was the tipping point
"Uhh, so, umm, can I go with you" His eyes moved up from the ground to meet yours.
"Fine, I do it. But we don't speak of this to anyone"
"Thought that was implied" He laughed a bit. He seemed different. He wasn't arguing with you or making himself more dominant. He was just your equal, and he liked it.
+++
-Ross's POV-
Y/N and I walked into a cafe a 10 minute walk down from the apartments. It was a small cozy place filled with lots of people since it was sorta busy.
The manager sat us down in the back corner of the store, ready to interview us. I'm not going to lie, my heart was racing and I'm not sure why. I looked over at Y/N who was also visibly nervous. Her leg was bouncing up and down
The manager finally spoke up.
"Highschoolers looking for a job.You do realise how much responsibility waiting tables is, correct." He was intimidating, he didn't seem like the nicest.
"Yes sir" Y/N says
"How much do we get paid?" I asked. Y/N snapped her head at me
"That will depend on the satisfaction of the customers. Do you have any forms of papers, or presumably a resume that will, help me better understand what type of students you two are?"
Y/N and I nervously glance at each other. We remembered the transcript papers that Chris gave us earlier and handed them to the manager.
We both knew that our school papers weren't good. Not good at all.
'Getting a job might be harder than I thought'
As we pass our papers, he stares at them in utter disbelief. Which wasn't a very good sign.
"And you two are seniors?!" He grumbled as he flipped through our papers and we both nodded our heads
"Mr Ross Lynch, you've had 5 suspensions, 1 transfer, 3 accounts of misconduct, 2 arrests and your highest grade is a 75%." It felt worse hearing it out loud, I felt my heart drop.
"Miss Y/N Y/L/N, you're no better. 3 transfers, 6 suspensions, 5 dissaperance accounts, 10 accounted acts of violences towards peers, highest grade is a 63%, 7 accounts of substance abuse, involved in street gangs- I'm sorry but I can't accept this" I looked over at Y/N, wide-eyed after hearing what was on her transcript. Her head was down, and she was fiddling with her fingers in her lap.
'Involvement in street gangs? Who is she' I thought to myself
"I'm sorry, but I can't have people like you serving my customers." He got up and walked away from the table. Y/N and I proceeded outside and walked in silence.
+++
-3rd POV-
With their transcripts in hand, the two proceeded to walk around finding places with job openings, until they stumbled upon a small bakery. The two walked in to take a small break. After getting their orders, they sat by the window and ate in silence, until one of them broke it.
"I know what you're thinking" The girl says causing the boy in front of her to look up at her.
"Please don't talk about it to anyone" She added. The boy in front of her could only nod. Afraid to say anything else about it, that might anger her.
"There's a nightclub down the road. Let's try there" He tried to say calmly. Deep down he was terrified if he didn't find a job by the end of the day.
"Sure, but if we don't get the job there I'm done looking." Y/N said, all hope in finding a job by the end of the day flushed away.
+++
The two walked into the busy night club. Tables were quite full, music blasted in the background and the smell of alcohol and freshly cooked meals filled the air.
"Can I help you two?" An employee asked.
"Yes, we were wondering if we could talk to the manager? " He nodded, and walked away after leading us to a quieter area.
For the first time, the two felt embarrassed of their past and what they've been doing with their lives.
"Hi, I'm the manager, Erin. How can I help you two." He asked with a smile.
"We were wondering if you were hiring? We're in desperate need of a job" Y/N says looking back at Ross
"Before you ask, here are our papers. We know they aren't the best, but we really need a job." Ross intervened.
"Papers? What papers?" He said leaving the pair confused.
"Our papers from school." Y/N added.
"For a job at a nightclub? Please." Ross and Y/N looked at him shocked.
"Don't you want to know if we're responsible enough?" Ross said uneasily.
"I'll look at them if I want to. Say, how many interviews did you go to before this one?"
"We umm, went to 11. This would make 12." Y/N said looking anywhere but Erin's eyes
"How do you two feel?"
"Pretty embarrassed to be honest." Y/N agreed
"You're both hired." Erin said with a smile as he looked at their shocked faces
"Really?!" Y/N squealed as Ross was still recovering from the shock.
"I believe that you both have heart in you. Look, I believe in second chances. You both are still teens, and you obviously want a job considering how many interviews you've been to today." The two were still frozen from the revelation
"I respect the determination you show to change your ways. Therefore, you're both hired."
"Thank you so, so much." Ross mustered enough strength to say.
"You're very welcome. Comeback at this time next monday to discuss your shifts, and you two should be able to start by next week." He says before walking away.
"I can't believe we got the job." Y/N said looking at Ross, smiles evident on both their faces.
"Yeah, it doesn't feel real." He replied, happiness filled his body.
What happened next was even more surprising, and didn't feel real to both of them.
Y/N jumped into Ross' arms, engulfing him in a hug. She smiled to herself. Never had she thought she'd be able to sense accomplishment in finding a job. This was new to her, and she was happy about it.
What happened to Y/N didn't reciprocate with Ross. As she leaped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, he stiffened. The feeling of her warmth against his skin was foreign. He didn't know what to do, or how to react.
Hesitantly, his arms made their way to her waist and he hugged her back. He felt her pull away after a few moments leaving him cold.
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm just really happy." He saw her smile, and it made him warm inside,
"Yeah, no worries. Me too, this is great."
They walked out of the club and headed for home. After all those interviews, they deserved to get some rest.
What they didn't know was someone was watching closely behind them as they were hugging, while jealousy stung him.