A/N:
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Vince poured a shot of Whisky into a glass and downed it, his body quivered as the warm liquid burned his throat slightly and settled in his stomach. Quickly he checked his appearance in the mirror behind the bar and sighed. His hair had faded to its natural mousy brown colour, it had grown so it reached the bottom of his shoulder blades and he kept tied it in a scruffy ponytail at the base of his neck. He no longer wore make up and wasn't completely up to date with the fashions, not that it mattered as his life pretty much revolved around working behind the bar rather than dancing in front of it. But it couldn't be said that he'd lost his good looks. His cheeks were still sallow, his bones jutting out further than most peoples, but the look still worked, large blue eyes setting the whole thing off, although most of the spark and sunshine had faded from them. If someone was to take the time to look deep into his eyes they would easily see the years of hurt and torment that rested just below the surface of every breath. But no one ever did look hard and so no one ever noticed.
Turning his back on the mirror Vince was dragged from his world of reminiscing and dreaming, which he often found himself in, and back to the noise and flashing lights of the night club he worked in. Plastering a wide grin on his face he began to tackle the ever mounting posy that crowded the bar all waving notes in his direction, hoping to be served first.
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As the nights wore on, the club grew busier. The bands were good and the customers were dancing and laughing and rather free with their money. The takings of the night would be good, Vince mused as he closed the draw of the fit-to-burst till. He'd even managed to make himself a fair amount in tips with sexy women, and men, winking in his direction and buying him drinks. At the end of each night he'd find one, sometimes more, people waiting outside for him having spent the best part of the night standing at the bar chatting him up every free minute he got. Most nights he even ended up going home with them, waking up in the morning before them and writing a note before leaving as quietly as he could so as not to wake them. The note was always the same, thanks for a great night, call me sometime. But he never left a number. Tonight, he sighed, would be no different, although lately he found himself in bed with others just so he had someone to sleep next to at night.
Looking up at the clock he saw they had 15 minutes to closing time and scanning the crowd, which to his surprise was thinning faster than usual for a Friday night, he decided to go out the front for a cigarette, a habit he'd picked up for those long nights at work where he couldn't find time to eat and so smoked instead. As he made his way across the sweaty dance floor a large man bumped into him, almost sending him flying. Two large hands grabbed at his wrist and stopped him before he lost his footing.
"Sorry love, didn't see you there, ya'alright?" The larger man said brushing Vince off slightly. He let out a sheepish laugh and grinned.
"Yeah I'm fine, thanks anyway." and gave a slight nod before heading towards the door.
"Bravo Jeff," he heard a northern voice from behind him and couldn't help but strain his ears to listen. It reminded him of Howard, a man he missed greatly in his life, and every opportunity he got to be reminded of him he took, even if it killed him a bit more inside. "knock the poor bloke for six why don't ya? It might be your birthday but that was plain rude!" the voice giggled slightly, that drunken giggle Vince heard so often these days, and he found himself smiling a little to himself.
"Oh, coz you're such a saint? Remember that time you bashed that kid round the head with a bin bag?" Deep laughter erupted behind Vince as he pushed the double doors of the club open, a hand in his pocket reaching for his cigarettes.
"Yeah, remember the news paper?" There was the sound of a man clearing his throat and putting on a posh accent. " 'young boy violently attacked by local bin man Harold Moon, inquest to follow.' " There was the sound of more laughter but Vince had frozen in his tracks. Harold Moon? Surely they didn't mean-
"Always trust the paper to get you're name wrong, aye Harold?" More laughter, that familiar northern accent laughing sarcastically along with them.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny, the joke died 2 days after the paper was printed, and that was years ago, so drop it yeah?" The laughter died and the deep voice of this 'Jeff' returned.
"O come on Howard, we're just joking. You never could take a joke could ya?"
"I can take a joke, I just can't stand it when people drag it on." The group went quiet before Jeff spoke up again.
"Sorry mate, I know about back then and how you felt about being laughed at, we won't do it again." there was the sound on a hand clapping on someone's back. Vince couldn't stand it, he had to check, he had to.
Turning slowly on his heels his eyes were instantly met by the best sight he'd seen in years. There he stood, Howard Moon, in the most hideous pair of corduroy trousers he'd ever seen, that stupid roll neck he'd had since he was about 12, that same caterpillar moustache swamping his face, those small, beady eyes. He hadn't changed, he was still perfect, Vince's heart skipped a beat. But then the smile that had begun to work across his face faded as the initial joy of seeing his best friend faded.
Ex-best friend, he thought to himself. He has new friends now, friends who understand him, know when enough is enough, treat him right, the way he deserved back then. Vince's body began to tremble and he was confronted with the overwhelming urge to burst into tears. As Howard and his friends moved further into the club Vince ran out the front doors as fast as his legs would carry him and darted down the alley that ran next to the club. Leaning against the wall Vince gasped for breath, suddenly aware he'd been holding it in ever since he'd heard the words 'Harold Moon'. He began to cry.
From within the darkness Vince heard the shuffling of feet and for half a second he hoped it was Howard, until the dark figure of a tall man emerged from mouth of the alley, a hood pulled up over his head, the moonlight glinting in his mad looking eyes. Vince straightened himself up slightly and sniffed the tears back.
"Remember me?" The voice spoke slightly angrily with a hint of sarcasm. A hand pulled the hood down to reveal the face of the mystery man. He had short black hair spiked on top, a slightly crooked nose and deep brown eyes. Had he not been so sinister looking, not to mention scaring Vince shitless, he thought he might find him attractive, but as he slowly advanced on the smaller man any thought of attraction flew out the window. Vince shook his head slightly.
"No, sorry mate, you one of the customers in the club?" as soon as the words left his mouth he knew it was a mistake. The mans face contorted into a twisted kind of rage and before Vince could even blink he was standing over him, staring him down with those crazy brown eyes. His hand punched the wall just next to Vince's head, blocking his only escape route out of the alley. A twisted smile broke out over his face making him look even more deranged.
"Well that's what I feel like after that note you left me last week. I'm a customer, and you're a little whore." the malice in his voice would have made Vince beg for his life had he not been frozen to the spot in terror. "So I'm back to take what's mine my little whore, tonight I'm gonna give you a real reason to cry." His hand grabbed Vince's hair and he shook him violently, great chunks of his brown hair pulled from his scalp at the root causing fresh tears to form in his eyes.
This is it, he thought, his mind surprisingly calm. I deserve it I suppose, it was coming to me sooner or later, I just expected it sooner. His eyes closed and his knees went weak as he prepared himself for what was to come. He took a deep breath and began to shake all over, the sound of his assaulters quiet, manic laughter ringing through his ears.
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Hazah! Another chapter completed. Hope you liked it, mucho angst lol please review, let me know what you think. Will update soon, promise!
