Author's note: Hey everyone! I know it's been...forever...but there's been so much. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of things if anyone is still with me :) So in honor of getting my footing, I'm doing some "title" prompt work. Hopefully I can get my other stories *cough* Out of the Asylum *cough* back in motion soon. But for now, I hope you enjoy these. R&R please!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is all fictionalized for entertainment purposes, of course.

Graveyard Shift


"Whose idea was it anyway to make this a 24 hour joint?" Enzo groaned, slouching unbelievably low in his swivel chair.

Colin stood outside the security booth with a smirk on his face, gazing over the large mall. "You say that every night, Zo." He threw the comment back to the teen.

"Yeah and I mean it every night." Amore let out another groan and rubbed his forehead. "No one even comes here at this hour."

"Yeah." The larger security guard couldn't disagree. It was nearing two in the morning and most of the shops in the mall had been closed much earlier. Cassady was thankful, however; less people meant less work. And after finishing a day of school, he didn't mind the emptiness.

There was a much louder groan this time, Amore's frustration starting to peak. Having school and another job, Enzo probably minded that he wasn't home sleeping at such an ungodly hour. Cassady couldn't help but chuckle at the restless child. "Look, maybe it'll help if you just think about the payoff in a couple more weeks."

"Summer break can't get here quick enough." Enzo stood into a stretch, exiting the little booth. He leaned against the taller guard and yawned. "You, me, fresh beer, hot chicks, and no class. It's gonna be hype."

Colin would be surprised if Enzo lasted; heck, he was surprised the man made it this long. Cass found that the man was always overworking himself—especially when he had a self-set goal to achieve. It may have been an inferiority complex, feeling the need to make up for the things he lacked: wit in place of strength, feistiness in place of height, and street smarts in place of book smarts. Whatever the reason, Cass loved to watch the little man go. As weird as it sounded, it gave Colin his own boost of energy. There was something he admired about it. And that's what made this summer's festivities so worthwhile.

For the first time, the two would be vacationing using the money that they earned. The payoff of their labor could truly be enjoyed and appreciated. All the late nights, the early mornings, the yelling and nagging, even this graveyard shift: it would have helped them reach their goal.

Cass was brought from his thoughts as he felt Enzo burrowing his face further into Colin's side. It caused the taller man to smile. This wasn't the first time Amore was close to falling asleep on his feet. As carefully as he could, Cassady nudged his friend. "Aye, Zo?" Nothing. "Enzo? Wake up, Enzo."

Jolting, the short man looked around hastily before realizing his own tiredness. Quickly he slapped his own face and jumped around a little. "Ay man, what you falling asleep for, Cass? C'mon lets walk around to keep you up. Can't have you getting fired for that."

"You're so considerate." Colin couldn't help but roll his eyes in amusement. His compadre was so driven sometimes. It would be a little while longer but he couldn't wait for Enzo to finally rest. "I wouldn't want to be the reason you don't get your 'fresh beer and hot chicks'."

The two men walked around as per usual, peering into the store windows. It was often a quiet, reflective stroll but tonight Enzo broke the noiselessness. "I don't need that." He very bluntly said against the glass of one of the stores.

Cass stopped to walk over and gaze in the window as well but it was too dark to see any of the merchandise. "Don't need what, Zo? I don't see nothin'."

"The beer." He corrected. "I don't need that."

"Oh." Colin chuckled, moving back a bit. "Well you ain't really no heavy drinker so I think you can go without it."

"And the chicks." Enzo added the rest of his words, as if he hadn't finished his earlier declaration. Cass began to chuckle a little more, a bit confused by the conversation's direction. Finally pulling off the glass, Amore looked up at his best friend. "Alls I care about is us getting there, you know. Just you being with me."

"We'll get there. Soon we'll have the money and we can take ya sister's car and-"

"I'm not focused on us actually gettin' to the beach, Cass." The words weren't mocking but instead informative. "Like I said, I'm focused on us. The two of us working together, going out together, and reaching a goal together; just me and you."

"You and me?" Enzo didn't even look away as Cass stayed button-lipped, mentally doing backflips over what to respond with. Something about the gaze in the other man's eyes stupefied Colin further. It was so serious, so easy to misread but with so much feeling. This wasn't the first time things got this way. Recently there were more of these moments, moments where it just felt like Amore was confessing something. Something Colin could only smartly infer about. Something that got his hopes up way too high. Something that made him much more uncomfortable than he cared to admit; fore, Cass loved Enzo but not in a way he completely understood. And it felt wrong to explore the idea until he did. The drawback seemed to be that the decision pushed his friend away. "Geez," he tried to laugh away the tension. "You act like I'm gonna leave you alone when we get there or something."

Amore sighed with a forced smile. "C'mon, Cass. You gotta know what I mean."

Of course he knew. While he wasn't ready to dive in, Enzo was testing the waters. A small voice yelled at Colin to meet the test, but the louder voice commanded him to be more evasive. "Enzo, we'll be joined at the hip the whole trip. I'm not gonna blow you off for no girls or nothing." It was a stupid response but it was the first thing he thought to say.

Enzo did his best to maintain a level of cheerfulness but his demeanor read "shot down" and his attitude came across as annoyed. "Sure, whatever." Blown off again. The feigned ignorance from Cass must've been detected but instead of calling him on it, Enzo just patted his shoulder and began to walk some more. "How's about we just get back to work, huh? Our shift'a be over soon."

"Yeah," Colin sighed, "real soon."


Ah, the awkwardness of being young. Wanted to kick this off with my boys because Cassamore is too legit to quit and needs more love! And all my other works usually have naive, uneasy Enzo so I tried to switch the roles a little. I hope it went well for anyone reading.