Afraid of Love

Chapter Two

Tino's P.O.V

"Thank you, is there anything else you'd like? We're having a special on the escargot this evening." I informed the customer with the brightest smile I had. My bright personality -or at least, how well I faked being nice- was one of the reasons I was hired. After the man politely declined, I zoomed off to the next table and repeated the same process with them. The same goes for the next table. As well as the next, and the next, and the next. Oh yeah, and also the next ten tables. Jeez, now I remember why we had so many tables. They were all full! And I only had to wait on the first floor's tables. Feliciano had to do the second and Roderick had to do the top floor. Not that Roderick stuck around there any way, my floor was the only one with a piano.

I half ran back to the kitchen to give the orders and catch some momentary piece. That didn't work. As usual, the kitchen was busier than a New York subway (well, I heard that they were busy). People ran back and forth like chickens with their heads chopped off, only they were a little more orderly. Someone slammed into and knocked me into the wall and just continued strutting off. I snorted. Nope, they weren't any more orderly. Roderick would be ashamed.

"Oh no, are you okay, mon ami?" My boss asked as he unnecessarily helped me stand straight with one arm around my waist. He let his arm stay there as if it wasn't invading my personal bubble at all and continued staring at me.

I squirmed a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, sir."

"No need to thank me, I wouldn't want to see you hurt."

I squirmed some more. Oh God, I'm gonna throw up. I'm gonna throw up! Stop touching me! I grimaced at the swirling feeling in my stomach. I could literally feel bile rising in my throat. "O-okay, I think I should go back to taking orders now, sir."

He finally let go of me, albeit regrettably, if I didn't know better. "Please, as I've said before, call me Francis. I do not feel as if there is any need for formalities between us."

I nodded. Of course, not unless you counted the fact that he could fire me. "Alright… Francis, I'll just go back now." I began to shuffle towards the doorway and eventually scrambled out, my boss watching me the whole time. He's so creepy!

The Creepy Boss' P.O.V

"Mathieu?" I called just after the little waiter disappeared. As always, my little brother popped out from seemingly nowhere, a clipboard in hand. I will never understand how he manages that.

"Yes?"

"You also saw that rude man smash recklessly into my little waiter?" My brother nodded. Of course Mathew had noticed; he was always watching and never missed anything. I think he got that trait from me. "Issue him a warning. If he wants a reason tell him to see me."

Mathew blinked owlishly. "M-may I ask why? You never usually make this much of a fuss over one person."

I shrugged. "I just do not think it is fair that such a little person is bullied in the work place." I brushed my hair back carefully and looked away from Mathew. When I looked back I saw him smiling at me knowingly. I sighed. Yes, as always, my brother noticed everything.

Berwald's P.O.V

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A few passer byes glared in the direction of the noise as I hammered the nails into the wood. Little kids pointed and laughed as they saw what I was building. A few older kids had tried to see if they could get past me and climb on board. They didn't get very far.

I was one of the many builders working on one of the old fashioned boats in Sydney Harbour. And by old fashioned, I meant pirate age. These ships were huge, correct down to the last detail. They looked like they had just sailed out of the Middle Ages.

Okay, so technically they weren't pirate ships. They were actually recreations of the naval officer's ships. There was even a man dressed as Captain Cook wandering around, wig and all. But still, they were close.

I smiled as I thought of the group of little kids who had come up to me and asked if I was a pirate. Who was I to shut them down? Now I have been named Captain Scary of the Cool Boat. They had really enjoyed playing pirates, and to be honest, so did I. Despite the name they had given me, those kids had liked me.

"Did you have fun slacking off?" A patronising voice asked behind me. A turned slowly to face one of the other workers. Sadly, I knew just how to handle this so I wouldn't be ridiculed.

I frowned a tiny fraction.

"Gah!" The man –or was it a woman? My eyesight wasn't helping- cried out as soon as they saw my face. "Jeez, calm down! I was only kidding! I barely do any work at all!" He/she clutched his/her chest and breathed deeply. "A guy as delicate as me can't handle a shock like that." Oh, so it was a man. Wait, what? If he was a man, why was he wearing a dress…?

The odd man flipped his neck length blonde hair out of his face and held out his hand. "I'm Felix, by the way."

I stared at the pink nails on his hand before slowly shaking it. Felix's eyes nearly fell out of his head before he snatched his hand away. "Whoa, calm down, dude. We're not having a strength battle. I think we both know who would win."

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, looking away. I really don't know how strong I am.

He shrugged and promptly sat on the ground beside me and looked up. "You're a newbie, right? I haven't seen you working here for a long time, unlike the others. And I know everyone who works here. What's your accent?"

I blinked and tried to keep up with his questions. "I moved here from Sweden a little over a month ago. Shouldn't y-"

"Swedish!? No wonder you're scary. Though, you weren't so scary when you were playing with those kids. Do you like kids?"

"Yes, I guess I-"

"Hey, can you say something in Swedish?"

"Uh, okay. You are very loud in Swedish is-"

"I'm Polish, by the way."

"Okay."

"Hey, what do you think about Australia? Do you like it? It's heaps sunny, but the seasons are so weird. Like, there is a two week delay when the seasons are supposed to start."

"…I suppose Aust-"

"And like, Mother Nature loves and hates them. Like, Australia has great sun and beaches, but it also has bush fires, hurricanes and floods. I'm not sure about earthquakes, though. What about weather in Sweden? Is it always so cold?"

"Well-"

"Ooh, what about the animals? I mean, have you seen an emu? They are the scariest things ever!"

I quickly butted in before he could launch on another tirade. "Shouldn't we be getting back to work?" Okay, maybe I was a bit blunt.

Felix blinked. "Oh yeah, you should be working." I sighed in relief and turned back to hammering in wooden planks. Five minutes later, I turned around to grab some more nails when I saw Felix was not only still there, but was also in the weirdest position I had ever seen. He was on his back rocking; I think he was imitating a turtle. Well, now I knew that he was wearing pants, they were just very short.

"Uh," I cleared my throat. I hoped he wouldn't notice my blush. "Shouldn't you be working on the ship, too?"

"Huh?" Felix said, looking at me between his legs. He unfurled himself and stood up, before bursting out laughing. "Me? Do actual work? No way, I don't even work here! I work in a hair dresser's not far away."

I frowned. So I have just been speaking to a random stranger? I suppose it makes sense that he doesn't work here, with the way he dresses… "So, why are you here?"

"Well, I always come here to spend time with my boyfriend, Toris, and annoy him." That explains everything. "But he's doing a very critical part of the boat and says that he can't be bothered. So, I just talk to my friends around here. They also work on this boat. And then I found you, the newbie. Now I have another friend!"

I felt the corners of my mouth tug. I was someone's friend. Sure, Felix was a little weird, but he was funny, in a way. At least I wouldn't have to talk much.

I tried to ease my glare-stare a little. "I suppose it's nice, having a friend."

Felix grinned. "You bet it is!" Once again, he curled into that weird turtle position and started rocking. Yes, Felix was definitely a little weird. But he was my friend. Maybe I could be friends with Toris too?

AN- I'm sorry that these chapters so meh short and crappy. It's only because I'm introducing everyone! It'll get better, I promise.

Mistakes-

-"...And then I found you, the hooker. Now I have another hooker!"

- "Felix shut the hell up!"

- I'm tired. It's 5 am. I've been up all night. NYAH!