Breakeven
Disclaimer - Emmerdale & its characters do not belong to me, they belong to ITV
I may not have the softest touch
I may not say the words as such
I know I don't fit in that much
But I'm yours
It was just after 8pm and Aaron was sat in the Woolpack. He was alone. Well he was sat alone at the bar. His Mum was in, Adam was in everyone he knew was in but he wasn't in the mood to mingle. He just wanted a quiet drink.
The pub was busy but it was Friday night, he expected it. He felt like taking a six pack and sitting at the cricket pavilion but he thought better of that and ended up in the pub.
"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked from behind him but before he could reply they were already slipping into the empty stool beside him "didn't think so"
Aaron can't help but laugh. Who would have thought they would still be friends?
"What you moping about now?" Victoria asks, nudging his arm with her shoulder as she leans on the bar "not still Jackson is it?"
Aaron scoffs "as if" he says but Victoria knows him just as well as Adam does after all he had known her longer than him.
Victoria laughs "Yeah…looks like it"
Aaron rolls his eyes "can't you annoy someone else?"
Victoria feigns a shocked look and clutches her chest "how dare you!" she exclaims in a high pitched voice "here I am, trying to cheer you up"
"You're doing a great job" Aaron sarcastically remarks
Victoria shrugs "I'm not good at cheering people up"
"Never would have guessed"
Victoria is quiet for a few minutes while she thinks things through. Aaron is watching her warily, it's not like her to be silent for so long "…Vic?" he asks after the silence has stretched on too long for his liking
"Wanna have sex?" she suddenly blurts out and Aaron spits his drink all over the bar while choking "You…what?" he manages to say while choking.
Victoria grins "that cheered you up" Aaron dips his head and laughs while wiping away the spilt drink with a napkin "Yeah…guess it did" he looks at her "thanks but uh…it was bad enough the first time"
Victoria gasps and whacks him on the shoulder as hard as she can "Pratt!" she exclaims "for that, your buying me drink all night"
Aaron shakes his head "I'll buy you one, then you buy me them. I'm the one that's just been dumped"
Victoria rolls her eyes and scoffs "whose fault it that?"
Aaron scowls. She's apparently on Team Jackson too, great. Was there anyone in this village who was on his side?
"Do you want this drink or not?" Aaron asks once Mhoira has placed it on the bar and Victoria quickly nods "I won't mention it again" she states and Aaron nods before taking his hand away from the glass "At least until you buy me another drink anyway" she adds on.
Aaron changed the subject from him and his love life onto her and hers. They were in deep conversation, complete with good natured banter when the doors to the Woolpack opened and in walked Jackson.
Aaron didn't notice as he was too busy with his conversation to notice what was going on in and around the pub. He was enjoying himself with Victoria and he hadn't enjoyed himself in a long time or at least that's what it felt like.
Jackson was in the Woolpack because he had a date. Ok, so maybe he shouldn't have invited the guy to the Woolpack but it was his local and he could do as he wanted, he didn't care what anyone else thought.
His date's name was Ross and he had met him two nights ago at a Gay bar he had gone too after his near kiss with Aaron. He wasn't his type, although after seven years with Aaron Jackson wasn't sure what his type was anymore. Where else was he likely to find an emotionally stunted, mechanic with blue eyes and shaven head? Plus Ross was blonde, kinda cute and he was just looking for a bit fun. Jackson was happy with him.
Jackson wasn't sure why he chose the Woolpack. Well actually that was a lie. He did know, he suggested they meet in the Woolpack to show Aaron that he was moving on. He needed to show him that he wasn't hung up on him anymore, that he wasn't going back to him. It may have been a lie and Jackson was still completely nuts about him but he needed to put a good front on it at least.
"Grab a seat" Jackson says to Ross as he points at an empty table in the corner "I'll get us a drink"
While at the bar Jackson's eyes are drawn to Aaron. He's with Victoria and he looks as if he's having a good time. Jackson is happy for him, really he is. He wants him to be happy and have a good time. When Aaron's happy, Jackson's happy.
"Two pints please Mhoira"
Aaron is talking to Victoria, the pub is busy and all different voices can he heard yet Aaron still manages to hear his voice, clear as day above all the rest. Just for a second, he freezes mid conversation and toys with the idea of looking around but somehow he manages to not turn at that moment and continues with his conversation.
Victoria laughs at something Aaron has just said and her eyes scan the room, she spots him, them and her eyes widen. What the hell is she gonna do? Licking her lips she looks back at Aaron and tries to restart their conversation, to keep his attention on her "where were we?" she asks, hoping to keep his attention.
Aaron shrugs "no idea, think it's your turn to buy me a drink though" he says as he stretches out his back, it's sore from being sat on the stool all night. That's when he sees them. Victoria is watching him with cautious and scared eyes. What will he do? She'll never be able to stop him if he kicks off. She scans the room once more, looking for someone who could. She finds them, Chas is sat behind her and Adam is with his Dad. They would stop him, thankfully.
Aaron's throat tightens the minute his eyes land on them and he swallows the lump that has formed. He can't believe what he's seeing. Jackson. Jackson with another guy, sitting way too close for his liking.
Aaron wanted to barge over and demand an explanation until he remembered they were over and it was his fault. Jackson could see whoever the damn hell he wanted and he couldn't do anything about it.
Glancing at Victoria he noticed she looked a little scared "I'm not going to do anything" he assures her and she nods "I'll get you that drink" she quickly orders them two more drinks, hoping to keep his mind off of Jackson.
Aaron is listening to Victoria or at least, he's trying to but he can't keep his eyes from looking over at Jackson. He couldn't quite believe that he was with someone else. How could he move on so quickly?
"He's trying to annoy you" Victoria's voice suddenly pulls him back to her and away from Jackson
"You what?" he asks "Jackson" she says nodding in his direction "he's trying to wind you up"
Aaron shrugs, trying to be casual "doesn't bother me"
Victoria snorts and laughs "Really?" she asks in a sarcastic tone "well I'd hate to see you if it did bother you"
Aaron scowls "shut up"
"You shut up!" she retorts "I'm not scared of you Livesy!" she tells him "I've seen you naked"
Aaron laughs "Yeah, I've seen you naked too. That's what made me realise I was Gay"
Victoria's eyes drifted to Jackson and she snorted "Yeah…" she says with a longing in her voice "I guess he would look better naked than me" she grins "he's hot"
Aaron shakes his head and laughs, he usually hates it when people comment on Jackson's appearance mostly because it's usually Charity or Katie but he didn't mind too much when Victoria did it, he knew she was only trying to wind him up whereas the other two actually meant it.
"Going to the bog" Aaron says swinging himself off the bar stool "classy as always" comments Victoria but he doesn't reply.
With Aaron at the toilet Victoria has a chance to stare at Jackson and his "date" without worrying that Aaron will see her. She can't actually believe he's brought his date into the Woolpack to rub it in Aaron's face. She has to say something.
"Hi" she says plastering on a huge smile as she stands by their table. Jackson and Ross both look up at the same time
"Uh…Hi" Ross says smiling at her but she scowls at him and looks at Jackson, who sighs "what do you want Victoria?"
"How about you tell me what you're playing at?"
"Victoria" Jackson says with a small, nervous laugh. He doesn't want a scene and she was the last person he expected to be causing one for him "go back to the bar" he says calmly.
Victoria's arms are crossed over her chest and she's shaking her head "I'm going nowhere" she looks Ross up and down "That his replacement? Pretty weak"
Ross looks between the two of them "Am I missing something?" he asks, looking at Jackson but before he can answer Victoria answers for him
"Yeah, you're only here to wind up his ex"
Ross looked at Jackson who shook his head "Ignore her, she's drunk"
Victoria started her tirade, telling Ross all about how Jackson was only trying to wind up Aaron just as Aaron came back from the toilets. He noticed Victoria was no longer at the bar and he immediately looked over at Jackson, there she was hands on her hips having a go.
Adam came to stand beside him "she's giving him a right earful"
Aaron laughed "I can see that" Aaron looked at his best mate "get her will you?"
"You get her" Adam says "she's your guard dog"
"Haha, very funny" Aaron says with a roll of his eyes "come on" he begs "if I go over there I'll just kick off and no one wants that"
With a nod Adam does what is asked of him and heads over to Jackson's table. Slipping his arm around Victoria's waist from behind he pulls her away "sorry boys" he says with a smile "she hasn't had her meds"
Jackson smiles gratefully at his friend "hey! Let me go!" Victoria starts to protest about being pulled away but Adam doesn't let her go. A few people are staring but nobody really cares.
Adam finally lets go of her when they are in front of Aaron, she smiles up him sheepishly "back from the toilet I see"
Aaron glares at her "what was that?" he demands and she shrugs "just sticking up for you" she says defending herself.
Aaron gives her a pointed look "I don't need you to stick up for me, I'm a big boy, I can do it myself"
Victoria rolls her eyes "yeah, whatever. Want a drink?" she says completely changing subject. Adam laughs and shakes his head "I'll get back to my dad"
"Cheers mate" Aaron says patting him on the back before turning back to Victoria "I should like…knock you out or something" he says with a small frown.
Victoria smiles because from the look on his face and the tone of his voice she knows Aaron isn't going to do anything. "Pint?" she asks with a grin and he nods "Pint" he agrees before slipping back onto the bar stool.
Victoria orders the drink and Aaron drops his head onto the bar counter, banging it against it a couple of times "what you doing?" she queries
"Trying to kill myself" he says sarcastically. Victoria scoffs "tried to once before didn't work out too well, remember?"
Aaron sighs and sits back up "Yeah" he looks over at Jackson "what's he done to me?"
"You what?" Victoria asks
"Well…I should be ripping you a new one for the stunt you just pulled but I'm letting you away with it. He's made me soft" he says shaking his head in disgust "then goes and dumps me"
Victoria can't help but laugh "You? Soft? Never in a million years" she informs him "you let me away with it because secretly your glad I did it and you really want to do something yourself but you won't cause you want him to think it's not bothering you"
Aaron didn't reply, he just took a drink of his pint and waited on Victoria changing the subject. Which she did and Aaron was grateful. He may not have wanted to hear about her love life but it was better than talking about his own, or lack of.
Back over at Jackson's table he felt he had to apologise for Victoria "I'm sorry about her"
Ross smiled and looked over at where Adam had pulled Victoria "that your ex?" he asks nodding at Adam.
Jackson laughed and quickly shook his head "Uh…no, not him" he says with a smile. Ross' eyebrows pulled together, if not him then who? He asked himself just as he noticed Adam and Victoria stop in front of Aaron.
"Him?" he asks looking at Jackson and Jackson nods.
Ross' eyes widened. He didn't look gay and his gay-dar wouldn't have picked that up "Hmm" Ross nodded "not bad"
Jackson cleared his throat "but it's not true what she said. I didn't bring you here to wind him up. We just live in the same village"
Ross looks at Jackson and grins "I don't care if you did. I'm liking it here"
Jackson laughs "Well I didn't and I'm glad she hasn't made you run for the hills, before she interrupted I was enjoying myself"
"Good" Ross smiles "another one?" he points at the empty glass and Jackson nods.
He was listening to Victoria but he was resting his arms on he bar and his head on his hands and every now and then his attention would waver, or at least his eyes would. He would look over at him, at them, just to see what was going on.
Unfortunately for Aaron he chose the wrong time to look over, it was just as Ross slid his hand over Jackson's thigh. Aaron felt his throat tighten and his heart beat increased. He couldn't believe the cheek of the guy, did he wanna be decked?
Slamming his empty glass down on the counter Aaron had enough. He couldn't sit in the pub with Jackson sat so close but so obviously not caring about him. "I'm getting off" he says abruptly, standing up
"Oh, alright" Victoria shrugs "see ya then"
"Wanna grab a few cans and go back to Smithy?"
Victoria grinned and hopped off her own bar stool "let's go then" she says hooking her hand around his arm and dragging him out of the pub.
It was after midnight and Aaron had enjoyed himself with Victoria but she was heading home now "I'll walk you" he tells her as he grabs Chuck's lead intent on taking the dog with him.
"It's like 100 yards" Victoria says rolling her eyes "I think I can get there on my own"
Aaron shrugs "You never know what weirdo's you'll find in the middle of a village at this time of night" he tells her, pushing her towards the door "plus he needs a walk" he says pointing at the dog.
Aaron had walked Victoria to the back door of the pub, she still lived there with Diane and he was now headed for the field, to give Chuck a run when the sound of a running car pulled his attention down the road.
The car was parked outside his place, well Jackson and Scarlett's place now. He moved out. It was a taxi and it was clearly waiting on someone. Aaron knew who it was waiting on and he felt a stab in his stomach. Had Jackson slept with him? He couldn't have. Jackson wouldn't sleep with someone on the first date but…was this even their first date? Aaron didn't know. He stood by the side of the pub, hidden behind some trees but he could see them perfectly.
They were stood on the door step. Jackson stood just inside the door, with the guy, Aaron didn't know his name, nor did he really want to, standing on the step outside.
What happened next made Aaron want to punch something or more accurately someone. The guy kissed Jackson and Jackson reciprocated it. A few seconds later the taxi drove past and Aaron watched it until it drove out of sight. He couldn't believe it. He was moving on and Aaron couldn't have that. He had to get him back.
There was only one thing for it he decided. He had to move back home and show Jackson that he wasn't going anywhere.
A/N - As always reviews are wanted, welcome and appreciated! Thank you!
