Ch. 4
A/N: I know this one is a slow ride but I appreciate everyone joining me on it. Thank you as always to everyone following, favoriting, and reviewing, I love hearing your thoughts...
Jerry had been wrong too. By the end of the first month of classes, only half of the high school sweethearts had called it quits. It was no surprise to Gail that Andy and Luke were the next to go, but that didn't mean she wanted to deal with the crying mess of McNally in her living room when she got home from classes that Monday.
"I can't be-be-believe he cheated on meeeeee." Andy sat on the couch with Traci, while Chloe stood facing them, both girls trying to comfort the weeping brunette.
Gail silently groaned as she walked through the door, trying to get to the stairs before any of the girls noticed. She had been around for the Andy-Luke drama while they were in high school. In fact, Andy had tried to get Gail to be her "break-up buddy" an innumerable amount of times. And when Gail had turned her down, Nick had volunteered and Andy had latched on, that's what had started it all in the first place. One of the perks of escaping for a year had been not having to hear McNally crow about the doomed relationship that she wouldn't let go of or watch her boyfriend pine away for the girl.
Unfortunately for her, Chloe spotted Gail sneaking in. "Oh good roomie you're home, you're good at this. Gail totally helped me get over Wes. And she makes the best margaritas!"
This is what I get for being nice, I'm going to punch Ollie the next time I see him and make him buy me a box of doughnuts. Gail rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh, she wasn't about to participate in this shitshow if she could help it, and she was already beat. "You two look like you've got this covered. I'm going to bed."
Chloe bounded over to the steps, blocking the blonde's path. "Come on Gail, she needs you."
Gail scoffed, "What Girl Guide needs is to let go of Callaghan once and for all, but chances are she's not going to. If you two want to waste your time with that mess it's on you, but it's not my job to play relationship guru every time one of you finally comes to your senses."
Chloe was used to her friend's caustic nature and knew that her and Andy had some issues, not that anyone would get into it. According to Andy there had been some kind of misunderstanding. But this would be the perfect time to mend fences. "Please Gail, Luke cheated on her with Rosati, she's devastated and you helped me."
"Yeah and now you're making me regret it. You want my special formula, get her drunk and take her out; there you have it, my secret recipe. And if Luke cheated on her then karma really does exist." Gail couldn't help it; she really had no empathy for the other girl. It might make her a frigid bitch, but at least she knew who she was.
"Seriously Gail, would it kill you to be nice for a change?" Traci had joined the two by the stairs.
"Well if you ask Price here, I'm apparently very nice. Since I haven't killed her yet and she is currently blocking the way to my room, I'd even say I was being generous."
Traci was unamused by the blonde's antics, she had really thought they were all becoming friends, she couldn't understand why Gail constantly refused to be around Andy, who had never been anything but nice to everyone. "You know she would help you out too if you needed it."
"Yeah I don't need anyone's help, least of all McNally's. Shouldn't you two be tending to the broken bird right now instead of preventing me from going to bed."
"Forget it. Leave her alone Chloe, clearly she prefers it that way."
The two moved away and Gail headed up the stairs. She got to her room on the second landing and then thought twice about it. She headed up the second flight of stairs and knocked on Frankie's door.
"What?" Frankie was in her closet looking for something to wear. She popped her head out and saw that it was Gail. "Trying to avoid the flood downstairs?"
"Yes!" Gail exclaimed wearily as she crossed the room and paused in front of Frankie's bed. "When was the last time you changed the sheets Anderson?"
"You know I prefer away games Peck." The smugness was evident in Frankie's tone.
Satisfied with the response, Gail plopped down on Frankie's bed. She was exhausted but she knew the other girls would still bother her in her room and she would be able to hear them talking. They rarely pestered Frankie, not wanting to risk her wrath, only coming up to talk to Juliet, except Chloe, but she was an exception to all normal codes of conduct.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before I got you in my bed." Frankie quipped as she continued to rummage through her closet.
"I'm still no one's conquest, and I'm still not helping you win the bet." Gail snarked.
"Actually, thanks to tequila night and your floor-mates' loose lips I've already won. Plus, the real bet was the break-up pool which Juliet and I won as of yesterday. Not that it was a surprise, we win every year." It was true, four years running, the girls had beaten the boys in their annual bet.
"Oh goodie, I just love being a part of rumors." Her comment oozed sarcasm, "So what did you win anyway?"
"The guys have to do the maintenance work around here for the rest of the year."
Gail remembered her first impression of the house and her surprise at the condition it was in, "I wondered why the yard and house were always in good shape. Lord knows you have nothing to do with it."
Ignoring the barb, "Best part is the French maid outfits they have to do it in."
"Gross, let me guess that had been their stipulation for you and Jules."
Smiling wickedly, Frankie nodded, "Of course, and we're all about equality over here."
"I still don't get why you put up with the guys, you have a low tolerance for everyone but you actually act like they're your friends." Frankie and Gail were very similar, and yet the blonde had seen firsthand how close the seniors were. Whether, Frankie admitted it or not she considered them friends.
"They're not bad guys, just idiots." The blonde still looked doubtful. Letting out a sigh, Frankie shook her head. She knew Gail wasn't big on making friends, hell she wasn't either, but she at least knew she had friends, friends who were more like family. "You know, Chris isn't the only one to grow up in a small town. Where I lived, nobody could stand anyone who was different and they made people's lives a living hell if they were. So I had to keep my mouth shut, date guys, make sure my neighbors didn't harass my parents because they caught me holding hands with a girl. When I got to college, I said fuck it; I wasn't going to hide anymore. One day I was at a frat party and some asshole didn't want to take no for an answer. When he saw me flirting with a girl, he decided to dump his beer on me and call me a dyke." Frankie could see the anger flash in Gail's eyes just at hearing the story, whether the blonde admitted it or not she cared about other people and wanted to protect them.
"Yeah, I know, I was pissed too. Before I had even gotten the chance to get up and kill the guy, Sam and Jerry already had him pinned to a wall ready to destroy him. The guy nearly shit his pants trying to apologize to me before they actually hurt him. Then they threw him out of the house. Afterwards they told your brother, who happened to be in charge of the pledges for the frat that year. Steve made the douche participate in Pride week, wearing rainbow with the words 'Proud Supporter' painted on his chest." Frankie laughed a little remembering the look on the guys face. She also remembered how the rest of the boys had shown up to support her too. "Point is, I didn't need the guys to defend me, but it doesn't hurt to know you have people watching out for you Peck."
Gail was fairly certain that was the most words the older girl had ever said to her. The blonde still wasn't convince about the merit of having friends, but she decided to change the subject, "Speaking of which, seeing as how you came out of the closet years ago, Anderson, what are you doing?"
"Ha...ha...clearly looking for something to wear." She took off another outfit and was standing in her bra and panties as she flipped through hangers. Glancing up at her bed buddy, "Like what you see Peck?"
"Eh, not bad, but I've seen better." When the two weren't snarking at each other, they were usually flirting, sometimes doing both.
"Sure you have," Frankie winked at Gail through her mirror, "Must be bad downstairs if you were willing to drag your scrawny ass up another flight of steps."
Gail let out an audible groan, "They wanted me to host the therapy session."
"Yikes, do they really not get that you hate that crap and McNally?" Frankie didn't know why the girl hated the optimistic Andy. Sure the girl was all sunshine and glass half full...eh, maybe that was all it took.
Letting out a sigh, Gail agreed, "Apparently not."
"Speaking of, want to share why you hate her so much?" She couldn't help it, Frankie was curious.
"No," Gail responded with a tone that warned the other girl not to push.
"Fine, keep your secrets Peck."
Gail closed her eyes and laid back onto Frankie's pillows. She draped her arm over her face, she knew she wouldn't actually fall asleep but her eyes hurt. Just then her phone started ringing. She didn't bother checking it; the Emporer ringtone only belonged to her mother. She waited for it to go to voicemail before listening to the message.
"Gail, sweetheart, if you continue to avoid my phone calls I will either show up to your house myself or send over a patrol car to pick you up. Your choice. Don't forget next Saturday is the party and your attendance is not optional. I have many fine young men dying to meet you." It was funny how the word sweetheart could sound so menacing.
Gail let out an audible groan as she exited out of her voicemail.
"Not that I care, but you sound like a wounded animal." Frankie was quick to point out.
"I am, hey, what are you doing next Saturday?" Gail had an idea to piss her mother off.
Frankie responded with a shrug, "Probably have a date."
"You don't know yet?"
"It's two weeks in advance, I have to meet the girl first."
Gail rolled her eyes at the other girl's self-confidence, "Want to be my date to a Peck party? You'll have plenty of opportunities to rub elbows with the bigwigs of policing." She tried to make the offer sound enticing, even if it was anything but. Gail hated the parties, the stiffness, the dresses her mother picked out, getting groped by old men, and getting set-up with their kids and grandkids. Not to mention, the fakeness emanating from her parents and their expectations of her.
"As much fun as that sounds, Steve has already warned me about those parties, and I am not going to be your date just for you to annoy your mother. You may not want a career in law enforcement but I do, and I would much rather be a detective than a traffic cop, which wont happen if I piss off the superintendent before I've even joined." Frankie wasn't stupid.
"Killjoy," Gail grumbled. She was right though; anyone she brought would have a target on them, which meant she couldn't just use Oliver as her date either. With any luck though he would be there anyway, being a friend of Steve's. Well, at least she could look forward to hanging out with them as she tried to dodge her mother. If she didn't bring a date, the Superintendent would play matchmaker all night, then again she probably would anyway, it's not like ever having Nick around had stopped her.
Just then Juliet popped in, shaking her head at her friend and her current state of undress, "Are you really still not dressed?"
"What? I have a blonde woman in my bed, it's distracting." Frankie deflected, trying to lay blame on her diversion.
"She looks like she's sleeping." Juliet pointed out.
Frankie shrugged, "Tired her out."
"You know I can hear you right?" Gail mumbled from the bed.
Changing the topic, Juliet asked, "What's all the commotion downstairs?"
"Luke cheated on Andy." Frankie replied off-handedly.
"So another one bites the dust?"
"Yep." Both girls replied.
"And you two are hiding up here, in order to not be part of the cheer committee?" Juliet connected the dots.
"Yep," They responded in unison again.
"You're both awful." And she went downstairs to check on the girl before heading to class. She knew Frankie would be at least another ten minutes.
Finally grabbing some clothes, Frankie turned to her unwanted visitor, "Get out of my room, Peck, some of us have shit to do."
"Carry me?"
"Fuck off."
Pulling out her phone, Gail shot off a quick text, "Give me a couple of minutes, so my ride can get here."
Two minutes later, Frankie could hear Chris downstairs talking to the girls and trying to cheer up Andy. "You know that boy has a crush on you. I thought I was bad making the boys do my bidding, but they know they have no shot with me."
"We're just friends, he has a girlfriend and he's not my type."
That had piqued Frankie's interest. Since meeting the puzzling blonde, she hadn't been able to get a clear answer out of her. So far, she hadn't shown any real interest in anyone, but she also flirted with almost everyone. "What is your type?"
Shrugging, Gail sent another text. Then Frankie could hear the heavy footsteps on the stairs. Knocking but not entering, Chris stood awkwardly in the doorway, "Hey Frankie, Gail said she needed my help."
"I'm going to make an exception to my 'no penis' rule and let you into my room for the next thirty seconds and that's only because I want Blondie out of here."
Chris laughed nervously, Frankie intimidated the hell out him and the girl knew it, he crossed the room quickly, easily scooping Gail up. "Alright, where to?"
"Video games." The blonde demanded.
"Sure," Chris acquiesced good-naturedly.
Frankie shook her head at the blonde's antics. Freshmen were ridiculous.
Chris had carried Gail out her house to the applause and jokes of the rest of the girls. When they got back to the boys' house, he deposited her on the couch and plopped down beside her. Lifting up his arm, Gail curled up on his side, using the big guy as a pillow. She accepted the game controller Dov tossed her, as Chris picked his back up.
"You know when you said you had to go help one of the girls out, I didn't expect you to bring back a stray." Dov jibed.
Glaring at the other boy, Gail retorted, "Listen birdbrain, I'm hardly a stray. Just because you can't stand losing to a girl doesn't mean I can't still come over here and kick your ass whenever I feel like it."
"How many times do I have to tell you my name means 'Bear' in Hebrew?" The boy was sensitive about his name, having been picked on his entire life for it.
"It's still the name of a bird in English." The blonde contended.
"Will you two ever give it a rest?" Chris was tired of his two friends constant bickering.
"No," they replied simultaneously.
"Why'd you need a rescue anyway?" Dov inquired.
Shrugging, Gail replied, "I was scared of drowning in McNally's tears. Chris is taller."
"Luke cheated on her and they broke up." Chris expanded further.
Dov cringed, "That sucks, cheating is the worse."
Gail snorted at the irony.
"What?" Both boys were wondering what the noise meant.
She wasn't looking to get into it, she would be more than happy to leave the past where it was, if people would stop trying to drudge it back up, "Nothing, are you two ready to get your asses handed to you or what?"
Dov was never one to back down from a challenge, "Bring it on Blondie." Ugh people were so original.
Gail had gone to the boys' kitchen to grab a snack. They may not have had much in the way of real food but they always had beer and junk food. What she hadn't wanted was to be accosted by her ex.
"You know he has a girlfriend right?" The tone Nick used made it sound like he was flinging an accusation.
"You really are a shit-fly Nicholas."
"Really though, he has a girlfriend, you shouldn't be playing with fire." That one sounded more like a warning.
"Wow, really, you want to play it like this, I'm not the one who ever cheated Nicholas, and I certainly don't condone it, unlike you I understand loyalty, and not that it's any of your business, but Chris and I are just friends."
"What about you and Frankie?" The boy was really pushing his luck.
"Alright, I don't know where you get off thinking you have the right to question me about anyone, but like before it's none of your business. Get it through your thick skull." Gail could feel her anger mounting.
"I know you, Gail, better than anyone here. Are you messing around with girls now because of - "
Gail cut the boy off," I swear to God, Nicholas, finish that sentence and it will be the last thing you ever say."
"Yeah, well, I've heard the rumors about you two, Gail, I'm just trying to look out for you."
Gail couldn't believe his audacity, "Seriously, now you're concerned, now you want to look out for me. It's too little too late."
The boy was quick to defend himself, "Hey, I tried to make things work, I had even asked you to marry me. You're the one that took off for Europe the next day without a word."
Gail scoffed at his recollection of the night of her high school graduation, "I had given you a word Nick, I blatantly told you no to your half-assed, drunken, guilt-ridden proposal and then I told you things were over."
Nick tried to maintain his commitment, "I had meant it, and I would've made things work."
"Yeah, while you had feelings for another girl, who by-the-way was my oldest friend at the time. You might have been willing to lie to me and to yourself, but I wasn't. Oh yeah, and in case you haven't heard McNally is single again as of today. Might want to hurry up and get your chance in with her before she goes back to Luke, or who knows maybe Swarek will swoop in." The look Gail was giving her ex was sharp enough to cut the boy in half.
Nick just shook his head, "I don't know what made me think you would've been wife material, you're so damn cold, and you were never really girlfriend material."
Chris appeared in the kitchen, interrupting the argument; he had come by to check on what was taking Gail so long. He didn't like the expression on his friend's face. He shot a look at Nick and stood taller, squaring his shoulders, but directed his comment to Gail, "Just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"Gravy." Gail pushed past Nick and headed back to the living room where the rest of the guys were.
Chris continued to glare at the other boy.
"What?"
"Leave her alone, she deserves better." He knew Gail could take care of herself but he wasn't going to stand by and let someone upset her; Chris had always had a need to protect people, it was just who he was.
"Right, better? Like you? Thought you already had a girlfriend." Nick smirked as he checked Chris with his shoulder on his way out and headed for the front door.
Thanks to her insensitivity, Gail knew she was persona non grata in her own house that night so she decided to stay even after her confrontation with Nick and play video games with the boys until 2 am before she walked her tired ass home. She had thought about getting Chris to give her a piggyback ride but she knew everyone would be talking shit about them from their actions earlier in the day. She had noticed the thumbs-up the other guys had given Chris when they saw her curled up beside the boy, who had blushed embarrassingly and shook his head. Chris had a girlfriend and really wasn't the type to cheat. She didn't need Nick to point out the obvious, Gail could tell this about the guy and it's why she didn't mind hanging out with him, plus he was the person who went out of his way the most to include her in things, well him and Chloe. But it was just a friendship. Sure, if Chris had been single it would be easy enough to date the guy, he was good-looking and nice but he wasn't her type, too naive, too sweet. Plus there was no attraction, at least on Gail's end; he was more like a brother to her.
Gail was exhausted all the way down to her bones. She knew she should have headed back earlier in the night, but for what? She couldn't sleep anyway. She was still waking from nightmares almost every time she drifted off. She didn't always go for a run in the mornings, but most of the time she did. She had noticed that in the last week and a half, since the chat at the bar, she had rarely seen Holly. Of course, Gail ran at a different time each morning, but it had been weird that she had gone from seeing her almost everyday to almost never, and when she did run past her, she had noticed the tension in Holly's run, there was something on her mind. Gail wondered about what could be sending the brunette out running so early in the morning. Maybe there's trouble in paradise, she mused. How couldn't there be when you're dating someone like McD? Maybe you're just hoping there is. Why would you hope for such a thing? Gail Peck do you have a crush on a girl you don't even know? No, that would be ridiculous. But even if she did, it's not like she was girlfriend material anyway.
Why couldn't she control where she was going? She could feel herself getting pushed through the crowd but she wasn't walking. She was sure of it, her legs were definitely not moving on their own and she could feel herself slipping, before being roughly pulled back up. There was something seriously wrong, but there was nothing she could do. She could see the ground change from frayed carpeting littered with red cups to dark grass as she was being propelled out the door. Where the hell was she going? There was a back of a car and suddenly the trunk was being opened. She felt herself getting shoved into the small space, the heavy lid slamming shut with a resounding thud and she was engulfed in darkness.
Gail woke up in her dark room and momentarily panicked, before she remembered where she was. She was safe, tucked away in her own bed, in the room she shared with Chloe. The redhead had been asleep when Gail had gotten back, and based on the empty bottles of tequila left on the living room table, she figured the girls had decided to stay in to drink that night. She could hear her roommate snoring and wished that she could just go back to sleep, but there was no way she was closing her eyes again tonight. It was 5am and Gail dragged her sleep-deprived ass out of bed to head to the park.
As tired as she was, she forced herself to keep moving. Gail was enjoying the feeling of her muscles contracting with each push off the ground. This was something she could control: where she went, how fast she ran, how long she ran for. She was focusing on that and trying to wipe all the tendrils of her nightmare away. That's when she saw her. Holly was running too, but she had a look of frustration on her face, something was bugging the brunette. Gail wondered briefly if she would even notice her when they passed by, but she wasn't disappointed, the troubled expression dropped from the other woman's face as she waved and threw a crooked smile her way as Gail nodded her head as usual. There was something about that smile that made Gail feel just a little bit lighter. She smiled to herself as she started back towards her house.
"I don't get it Peck, how the hell do you put up with the Muppet all day and night?" Frankie questioned exasperatedly from her stool at the breakfast bar, as Gail tossed her bag aside and plopped down into the stool beside her. She had just gotten back from class and even before she made her way over, Gail could hear Chloe chattering incessantly from the kitchen, while Frankie just rolled her eyes and huffed. If Gail didn't know any better she would think Anderson had a little bit of a crush based on the way that she willingly subjected herself to Chloe's presence.
"Easy, Anderson, she feeds me." Sure enough, as soon as Gail was seated, Chloe turned around beaming as she slid a plate with a sandwich on it to both Frankie and Gail. Then she plopped the package of cheese puffs next to Gail's plate, yep, Chloe Price could stay.
"So it's true what they say? The way to woman's heart is through her stomach?" Frankie pondered.
"I don't have a heart." Gail deadpanned.
"Of course you do silly, it's just covered by really thick layers of stone. But once someone digs their way through, they just stay there because they're so damn tired." Chloe replied off-handedly and she plopped down with her own food. "Same goes for you, Crankypants," Chloe added to Frankie.
Gail was fairly certain the brunette had blushed, but she was covering her face with her sandwich. Maybe, Frankie had bet on the wrong horse at the beginning of this semester, Gail mused to herself.
Gail quickly devoured her food then put her head down on her arms. She was beat and she still had a shift to get to that night. A hungover Traci eventually joined them and pleaded with Chloe for coffee. The redhead happily obliged and even supplied a sandwich and painkillers. "You're a saint, Price."
"I know." The redhead confidently responded.
Gail barely lifted her head to look at their new companion, "Do my eyes look as slitty as yours?"
"Slittier." Traci responded without missing a beat. "What time did you get back from the mancave?"
"A little after two am, you all were passed out by the time I dropped into bed. Did the tequila help?" Gail could've used some to put up with the boys all night.
Traci sighed, "She hasn't surfaced yet, but soon I'm going to have to drag her ass out of bed for classes this afternoon."
"I'm on it," Chloe said as she grabbed a coffee mug and another sandwich before bounding up the stairs.
Now that the petite redhead was gone, Frankie finished up her food and headed out the door to her classes, not even bothering to say good-bye. Once they were alone, Traci cleared her throat nervously. She needed to ask the blonde for a favor and was worried about the response she would get. Especially after the mood she had been in yesterday and Traci's admonishments. They weren't close, then again Gail wasn't close to anyone, but Chloe had encouraged her to ask anyway, especially once the bear was fed.
"What do you want Nash?" Gail grumbled without opening her eyes.
"Umm, is your manager at the bar still hiring? Money is kind of tight at home and I was hoping to pick up a few shifts to make things a little easier."
Gail thought about it, they were usually short-staffed considering how quickly Charlie burned through servers, even if they weren't she could probably convince him to hire Traci if she offered up some of her own shifts. That would mean less money for her but Charlie wouldn't fight it. "Ever been a server before?"
Traci nodded, "Yeah, in high school."
"Alright, well I have shift tonight, I'll talk to Charlie."
"Thanks Gail, I really appreciate it."
"Whatever." At that the blonde dragged her ass upstairs to change and grab her apron before heading to work.
It hadn't taken much to convince her manager to give Traci a job. In fact, as soon as Gail mentioned it, he asked if she could start that night and Gail had texted Traci to let her know. Once the girl arrived, Gail quickly showed her the ropes and gave her some tips on dealing with Charlie and some of their regulars. With Traci's smile and her gregarious personality, she was quickly popular with both the boss and the customers. Gail probably should have been jealous, hell people probably expected her to be, but she wasn't. It was actually kind of nice having someone other than Charlie to mess around with and with Traci serving the tables she was able to convince her manager to teach her how to mix drinks so that she could stay at the bar more. She liked being behind the bar it gave her a clear view of everything going on and made it easier to judge people-err, people watch; like the couple that had just walked in and grabbed a seat in the back.
Gail couldn't help but notice that Holly was nodding along absently to whatever McD was saying. She looked disinterested, even though the redhead was clearly animated about whatever she was yapping about. She also watched as Traci went over to give them some menus and to take their drink orders, and when she walked away, Gail saw McD distinctly check out her ass. It made Gail's blood boil and not because it was her friend getting oggled but because the redhead would have the audacity to do it right in front of girlfriend! When Traci came over and asked for two jack and cokes, Gail honestly contemplated spitting in the one for McD but it wasn't worth the effort, or the admonishment if Traci noticed. The waitress brought the couple their drinks and went to check on other tables.
Gail tried her best to keep her focus on the people coming up to the bar but there was plenty of down time and her eyes traveled to the far table in the corner. She watched as McD got up and started heading in the direction of the bathroom. As another girl passed by her, Gail watched the redhead turn to check her out as she continued walking, straight into Traci and a tray filled with nachos. Damn it, why don't I ever have my camera ready? Between the commotion and the clatter of the food hitting the ground, all eyes were on the new waitress and the customer wearing the food.
"What the fuck?" McD spat at the new server.
"I am so, so sorry." Traci immediately apologized.
"You should be, look at me! I'm covered in shit, what the hell were you thinking?" The redhead was growing increasingly agitated.
Traci tried to stay calm and to deescalate the situation, "I was just standing here, I'm sorry, you came out of nowhere."
"This is unbelievable, between the bitchy bartender and the incompetent waitresses this place has the worst service. Where's your manager?" McD angrily demanded.
Holly had made her way over by now and was also trying to curb her girlfriend's ire, "Hey, Jessie, calm down, it was just an accident."
"No, Holly, I'm not going to calm down, this moron dumped food all over me, she needs to be fired." The ginger bit out.
The raucous had brought Charlie out from the back, he thought that between the two girls, they could handle the front end, he had been wrong. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Look at me, can't you see the problem? My clothes are ruined and I'm covered in food, because your idiotic waitress can't watch where she's going." The incensed girl shifted her wrath to the manager.
"I already apologized, it was an accident." Even Traci was starting to lose some of her patience with the other girl, but she also really didn't want to piss off her new boss.
Gail couldn't keep quiet anymore, she had made her way over to the group when she saw McD berating Traci, she wasn't going to let her continue to get away with her shit, "Yeah one you didn't cause. Charlie, I saw the whole thing, Traci was standing right there serving her table when that girl collided with her because she wasn't watching where she was going."
This fucking blonde! McD redirected her attention towards Gail, "Really? Was anyone talking to you? Why don't you go back to not serving people and mind your own damn business."
"Well, maybe if you could keep your eyes off other women's asses, you wouldn't look like a taco right now." Gail retorted.
The redhead was flabbergasted, "How dare you?" She turned back to the manager, "Are you really going to let your employees talk to customers like that? They should both be fired."
Charlie was starting to get a headache, rubbing his temples, "No one is getting fired, you go back to the bar. And Traci go grab something to clean this up with. Ma'am I am sorry for the mess, your drinks and meals are on me."
"And my dry cleaning bill." She snottily added.
"Sure." Whatever would get this chick to calm down; Charlie was prepared to do, except fire his staff, which was up to him, and only him.
"Well I can't sit around like this, we're out of here, let's go Holly." Without waiting, McD stormed out of the bar.
Holly looked apologetically at Charlie and Traci who had just returned with a broom and towel. "I'm sorry, it really was just an accident. She overreacted but she's not usually like that."
"It's ok, there's no need for you to apologize, sorry for disturbing your night." Charlie reassured the brunette who had always been one of his nicer customers.
Holly simply nodded and headed out the bar but not before shooting a look back over her shoulder at the bar, or more specifically at the blonde who had just returned to the bar, before pushing through the door.
Charlie and Traci both made their way over to the bar. Traci apologizing along the way, she really did need this job and didn't want to lose it on her first day. That was the only reason she hadn't clobbered the bitching redhead in the first place.
"Next time Nash, keep the food on the plates, and Peck, just keep your mouth shut." Charlie didn't know what to do with the two girls; they were quite the handful.
Gail smirked, "No promises Boss."
Rolling his eyes, the manager headed back to his office.
Once she realized she was no longer in trouble, Traci let out a sigh of relief, "You didn't have to do that Gail."
"Yeah, I did, she had no right to talk to you like that. It wasn't your fault, she was the one who crashed into you and then had to be a bitch about it." Gail may have been a bitch, but she hated people who were bullies, and picked on people who weren't in a position to defend themselves.
Traci smiled her thousand-watt smile, "Well I appreciate you having my back anyway. And getting me the job in the first place."
"I am awesome." Gail confidently replied.
Laughing Traci returned to serving her tables. Gail watched as their housemates and neighbors piled into the bar. Frankie made a beeline straight for the bar.
"What happened to Jess?"
"Who?" The blonde was honestly confused.
"Redhead who walked out here covered in someone's dinner."
"You know her?" Do all lesbians know each other? That's just weird. Gail thought to herself.
"Well technically I know Holly, and I only know Jess through her. Who'd she piss off to end up looking like that?" Frankie was rather amused that someone had managed to make the harsh ginger look like she had lost a food fight. She was just bummed she had missed whatever it was.
"McD crashed into Traci then tried to get us both fired."
The brunette cocked an eyebrow, "McD?"
"Ronald McDonald," Gail explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Frankie pursed her lips before nodding, "Fitting, well I'm not surprised, she's an even bigger bitch than me...and you. I really don't get what Holly sees in her. They couldn't be more different."
"I've noticed," The blonde mumbled quietly.
There was tone there, something she hadn't heard from the blonde before, if she didn't know any better she might have thought it was reminiscent of jealousy, "You've met Holly?"
"I interacted with both of them the other night, I am a bartender Anderson, I'm forced to talk to a lot of people." That sounded awfully defensive.
Frankie decided to poke the beast a little and see if she could glean any other information. Gail hadn't shown an iota of interest in anyone since they had meet the blonde, herself included. "Yeah, but since when do you remember them?"
"What can I say? I'm an elephant." The bartender tried to brush off the conversation as unimportant.
"You certainly look like one." She had set herself up for that one.
"And just for that...no drinks for you!" Gail shouted in her best Seinfeld impression and crossing her arms.
Frankie rolled her eyes and headed back to join the others. Well, this had been an enlightening conversation.
A/N: Next chapter "friend dates" and, maybe, a Peck Party...I hope...regardless, more Gail and Holly interactions to make up for the lack of them in this chapter...I promise...