Between Ties

Chang's Restaurant

Maverick's Point of View

I swear if old man Chang rings that stupid f*****g bell one more-

Ding ding ding.

I shut my eyes in frustration at the sound pulling me from my thoughts as I pulled the sharp pencil from behind my ear and then flipped around to face the front desk where he was standing so that I could yell at his annoying ass. "I f*****g heard it the first time!"

"Then why you act deaf, stupid b***h. I don't pay you to stand and daydream! Get your little ass moving to table three! They need a waiter and I pay you for that s**t!" He said pointing a spatula at me as his tiny bald head twinkled from the down lights that hung from the ceiling of his Chinese restaurant. The warm tone of the lights and the red interior of this s**t hole had set the mood for romance,

If you consider cheap food, the smell of socks, shitty candles, moderately dirty window booths and the occasional bug or two romantic, then f**k, Chang's 24 hour restaurant in the heart of New York City is the place to propose.

"You hardly f*****g pay me at all!" I protested, c*****g my head back before I placed my pencil in my mouth to push back my floppy dark hair with both hands and pull out my notebook from the front pocket of my black apron "but you still here b***h boy!" I heard Chang yell as I walked away saying "f**k you!" As the pencil was still stuck between my teeth while strolling towards table three...

A somewhat comfy window booth in the corner, it was quiet and gave you a view of the outside life as well as the people seated inside.

My booth,

Or at least the booth you'll always find me at from 2am until 3, during my break hour.

I breathed out heavily, holding my pencil and book in my hand as I tried to keep myself calm and ready to communicate, Chang could make me promise to be calm and collected but no way was I going to f*****g fake smile at anyone,

that was pushing it.

I still don't know why I haven't gotten fired yet, I'm really s**t at customer service, but f**k it I'm here, I got this job and I ain't going to question Chang's choices.

The booth was occupied by two drunk guys at 1am. The one was kinda buff and the other was skinny and lean.

"Her ass though man." The skinny one said as he bit his lip and closed his eyes for a moment as if he was remembering something pleasant. "Yeah it was fat! She was kinda cute too." The buff one added on as I rolled my eyes approaching their table.

Great, this is going to be a long ass morning.

My expression was dead.

"Hey, I'm Maverick. What you guys wanna eat?" I asked dully as they stared at me. I felt a strand of my hair fall out of place while I cleaned my teeth with my tongue getting ready to write s**t down.

The music was soft and mellow as it buzzed lightly like buzzing bee's around the room as the two of them scanned the menu.

"Yo, can I get a beer and the chicken chow mein." The buff one said and then the lean one ordered after "yeah can I get a beer too and dumplings, maybe some Peking duck. That would be great man." He nodded as I began to write down the order in my notebook,

and then like a flash of light had caught me I was pulled by a pink object in the corner of my eye, coming from the opposite side of the window.

Wavy glossy red hair dangling in the wind as she bent low to tie her pink bicycle to a pole, I glanced at her for a moment as she struggled, causing me to narrow my eyes at how long she had taken to clip a bike lock.

"Anything else?" I asked them while I had noticed them staring at her too.

"Is she on the menu bro?" The lean one asked as I then looked at her again to notice her face, and she was...

Beautiful, but kinda stupid,

I smirked as she walked towards the restaurant pushing a door that boldly had the letters "PULL" on the front of it.

I shook my head and then focused on my notebook to make sure that I took down everything.

"Sure she's on the menu. 50 dollars and I'll convince her to go home with you tonight." I said playfully, in a joking manner as she came walking inside to notice an empty place with only table three being occupied.

She wore blue jeans and a normal white T-shirt with a backpack on her back as her legs came strolling towards us. She smiled a half smile and tucked her loose naturally red hair behind her ear. She basically f*****g chucked her bag onto the seat of booth number two and slid in with ease.

"Deal." I heard a voice pull me from staring at her and then I narrowed my eyes in confusion at the lean one who was staring at me seriously "50 dollars." He nodded.

Is he f*****g for real.

I laughed lightly in jest as I noticed her pull out her laptop and her phone and then plugged in her earphones. "You can't do it yourself? What a b***h boy." I shrugged and then began to walk away, only taking a few steps further.

"100 dollars." He said and then I stopped dead in front of her booth almost passing it, she looked at me kindly as I waved her off and instantly turned around to make my way back to booth three.

Okay, what!? I hope he's f*****g serious. Come on I f*****g need the money. I need to pay rent, I'm a month overdue and-

"You acted pretty confident man, you think you can make her go home with me? Let's see. This ain't about the money for me or me wanting to f**k her, I can get her on my own but let's see who the real b***h Is. you got skills? Show us for 100." He shrugged.

That 100 sound pretty f*****g good.

"Deal." I said confidently and then put my pencil behind my ear as I cleaned my teeth with my tongue and felt my feet prowl towards her as the two of them in booth three pretended to act natural,

Like we just didn't make a bet on a girl as if she was some object to win or lose, like she was a game...

I'm not the type to be a d**k, but

The money, I need it.

I stood in front of her booth and raised a brow as I waited for her to take her earphones out.

She smiled warmly, it was as warm as her hair. She was prettier up close. She had full naturally red lips, and big blue eyes, her eyes looked as if they were shimmering cartoon eyes.

She smells nice.

Fuck, I'm such a d**k.

I thought remembering what the f**k I had just agree too.

100 dollars man, feel guilty tomorrow.

"Hey, I'm Maverick." I smirked "welcome to this s**t hole, where dreams die, people get food poisoning, nothing interesting ever happens and the workers are underpaid." I pulled my pencil from my ear "can I get you anything Ariel?"

I referred to the cartoon Disney princess.

She laughed lightly and then said "if were going to be calling each other by our Disney look-a-likes then you're definitely Jim Hawkins From Treasure Planet."

"You agree? You think you look like Disney's stunning Ariel?" I said c*****g my head back, adding in a playful grin with an eyebrow raised to make her feel awkward.

"I mean, the red hair and blue eyes." She said, not sure of how to answer me. It worked she was awkward,

Shy-awkward,

But hey, she did though. She did look like her.

"I guess, but you're not as pretty." I shrugged playfully and then she laughed,

"And you're not as hardworking and determined as Jim Hawkins if we're getting personal, because you still didn't take my order." She rolled her eyes but in a way that was light and...

Flirtatious,

She's flirting, we flirting. This is good.

"But I didn't say I was anything like Jim Hawkins." I licked my lips as I leaned in a little closer to her to make her nervous and then I reached for the candle, I pulled out my lighter that had no gas and was just a prop and cover up for me to play with,

I then stared at the wick of the candle as I focused my energy on it, almost forcing invisible flames from my eyes as I clicked the broken lighter and then lit the candle with my powers, "Hardworking? In this dump? Not at all. You can ask Chang." I said a little loudly as Chang walked by, in order to go to the bathroom "He lazy as f**k, it's true. This one a lazy fuck." He nodded strolling as his eyes caught sight of the men's sign on the bathroom door and then she laughed.

"But determined?" I gave her the candle as her fingers touched mine. "You can decide." I winked and then I glanced through the window to see a man in scrubs climbing out of his white G Wagon as I rolled my eyes noticing this,

Noticing him,

She waved off my flirt to twist herself so she could see what I was looking at.

Fuck, did I mention she smells nice, I tried to inhale her scent a little more, by instinct.

Flirting with her made me almost forget that I have a bet to win, and rent to pay and I didn't have much time now, with him approach with full focus.

"Listen Ariel, you see the two guys sitting over there they bet me a 100 that I couldn't get you to go home with one of them and I took the bet, because I f*****g gotta pay rent." I shrugged "you can't blame ya boy." She was beginning to look furious, I knew that this had pissed he off and then I cut her emotion off "but you're cool and I would hate to see you go home with any of them, especially because-" I glanced up to see the doctor in scrubs approaching the doors as he pushed them open, keeping his eyes locked on me. "Because I don't trust them and I'm not even going to attempt to convince you that that's a good idea because it's f*****g not and I would probably fight them if they tried to convince you otherwise, So I'm about to look like a complete d**k for losing the bet, and they're probably going to call me a b***h and be mad disrespectful but know that I'm still cool and if I could, I would totally beat them the f**k up for the mad disrespect that will soon follow...but I need this job." I smiled thinly not proud of myself as I noticed the man walking towards me with disappointment leaking from his eyes.

"Excuse me." I said sheepishly as I walked off to take the s**t I'm about to get from professor Dumbledore.

"What you f*****g doing here, can you stop showing up at my job!?" I stared those dark brown eyes down as I nodded to the front desk as we both walked towards it so that we could talk privately.

"This is the only place I can find you at where we can actually talk."

At my f*****g job? I can't talk here. I have to work, the f**k he think I do? chat s**t all day and eat food?

Okay, to be fair I do, but homeboy don't know that.

"Kenzo, you have two other brothers, go f**k with them. I'm not doing this anymore." I shrugged as I gave him a dirty look trying to make my way back to Ariel,

Fuck I didn't even know her real name.

"Yo." He gripped my arm as I heated it up instantly at his touch to have his fingers burn from trying to grip me.

He should know me better.

"You really gonna play that s**t with me." He said shaking his hand from the sting.

"You and I both know you can heal yourself, there's a plant right there, nature boy." I said referring to the real succulent used for decoration. "But you won't right?" I scoffed "because we don't use our powers in public." I said as if he was ridiculous for enforcing that rule. "You'll rather suffer from the burn until you get home, close the blinds and put off the lights before you heal your wound." I looked at him as if he was stupid "you're pathetic, we have power, and they are meant to be used."

"I might be a pathetic according to you, but what I do is protect my family, and being in hiding is what's best for us!" He raised his voice in defense.

"Family? Your family is your rich mommy and step daddy, and your supermodel pregnant wife that you can go home to whenever you wanna but unlike you, Nixon who's a f*****g famous rockstar and Tusco who have both loving adoptive parents and a little f*****g dog named Shylo. I ain't got s**t to go home to." I was serious "My family is my mom who works 3 jobs and is still struggling and I hardly even see her. That's my family. That's what I got."

He's eyes hinted sadness and began to gloss over.

"Mav-" he tried to say, forcing back his sensitive side.

"Luca" I corrected him "that's my birth name." I said "look, I can't do s**t with the coven anymore. I got a f*****g job and I'm in senior year and Im working my f*****g ass off so I can go to NYU. I have s**t to do."

Honestly, my mom, my job and school was all I gave a f**k about right now

"I'll write you a check."

"I don't want your money." I refused his offer sternly.

"You're my brother. Let me help you."

"Nah." I shook my head as I felt the anger boil within me,

and then he noticed the candle on Ariel's table.

Shit,

"You're using in public?" His eyes darted around.

"I lit a f*****g candle! You out here making it sound like we do heroin." I shrugged "I used a broken lighter to cover it up!" I said trying to make the situation better.

"Get a new lighter. No using in public!"

"I have to. You know how it gets if we stop, it feels like I'll implode."

"Do it at home! Do you want the government to find us? We can't risk it! Maverick I-"

"I'm not eight anymore and you're not my hero! I don't need saving, I can take care of myself."

"And you can do that even better if you reunite with the coven so we can learn magic for protection! Just meet me at the spot. We have s**t to do, and you don't get to act like you're the only one who have it rough, we all do in our own way. I have to go into surgery in 20 minutes. Be there Maverick, at the spot." He was stern and then he glanced at the red head with her earphones in as she began to pack up her things from her table and then he narrowed his eyes at me before ending off and walking away,

"And also Elizabeth is looking for you." He said as if he was annoyed by me still seeing Beth, he was, he didn't like her. None of my brothers did.

I nodded,

And then watched him walk out into the cold after pushing the doors open and climbing into his car, as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders, he shut the door sighing.

I mean Beth and I weren't dating, we were...involved,

Yeah, involved is the right word to describe our relationship.

She's the f*****g prom queen, come on I'm f*****g the prom queen, she's the hottest girl in school and I'm...well I'm me, we look good together and...

Fuck, why am I trying to convince myself that her and I are good, I mean-

"See you around Jim Hawkins, I gotta run." I heard her voice pull me from my thoughts as a flash of red long flowing hair hurried passed me, my hand had just reached for her without me thinking about it and maybe I shouldn't have because in that moment I knew that,

This was the beginning...of something.

I pinched my brows together curiously.

"Uh.." I licked my lips as she smiled standing still from my action and then I let her arm loose from my gentle but demanding touch, "you didn't order? You leaving?" I was confused.

"Yeah, my landlord just called. Something about my cat." She seemed confused as she shook her head trying to remember what her landlord had said on the phone "I don't know, I need to go sort that out. It was nice meeting you Maverick and hey thanks for being honest with me, about...that whole thing." She tucked her hair behind her ear and then I smiled small, "yeah for sure, I hope you sort out the thing with your cat."

Really i***t, you not going to ask her what her name is.

"Me too." She said and then she shook her head as if she wanted to ask me something but waved it off before walking towards the glass door of the restaurant and pushed it open,

And then I watched her climb onto her pink bicycle as I walked towards dumb and dumber,

Shaking my head as if to shake off everything and just focus on my job, but obviously with them still being here, that would be challenging.

"b***h boy!" I heard one of them laugh as I noticed a folded sheet of paper laying on table two,

I was curious as I walked towards it and then I leaned over and picked it up before opening it slowly not knowing what to expect.

"Dear Jim Hawkins,

Thank you for being a decent person.

Ps. I'm leaving because I have something to sort out, and..I also don't want food poisoning. This place sucks, the place, not you. Just the place. You're kinda...great, and a little cute too, just a little.

X

Rhyett the mermaid"

Was written in a handwriting that looked a lot better than mine, her words were in dark pink ink and a 100 dollar bill was laying between the note.

I smiled at her words but then felt like s**t instantly, as I had realized that she had just given me a 100 dollars.

Shit, I can't accept this. I need to give this back, but I-

"b***h boy! You lost." Said the slender one and then I shrugged smirking at him "I guess what you were trying to buy, wasn't for sale anymore."