Crossed Paths

"Why do you always get in between the drunk men fighting?" Joanne shook her head, sitting in the back room at work the next night, cleaning Rey's head which had got bashed in the middle of a drunken brawl.

"Because if they want to fight, they can do it outside." Rey said.

"Well Sal threw them all out as soon as he seen you were hurt." Joanne said, "Has he ever tried it on with you?" She asked.

"Sal?" Rey asked.

"Yeah." Joanne nodded.

"No." Rey laughed, "He's like… like my dad." Rey nodded, "He gives me big bear hugs." She shrugged as Joanne laughed.

"Yeah and then one day he'll try it on with you." Joanne nodded, "That's men for you."

"Not all men are like that. Some men are… good." Rey said.

"And you've had experience with good men?" Joanne questioned as Rey stayed quiet, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"How much did you get on tips tonight?" Rey asked her.

"I've not checked yet. You?" Joanne asked, closing the first aid kit up as Rey stood up and untied her apron.

"Two hundred." Rey smirked.

"That'll be the black bra with the white t-shirt. Well done." Joanne raised her hand as Rey smacked it and nodded.

"No, I got a lot of nice families tonight actually." Rey defended herself.

"Yeah families with a lot hard dads looking at your ass." Joanne chuckled to herself as Rey shrugged.

"Their money." Rey shrugged, watching as Sal came through the door, holding Zac by the scruff of his neck.

"Rey… he wants to talk to you but if you don't want to, I can send him out?" Sal questioned.

"Babe, tell this guy to chill out, huh?" Zac nodded as Rey rolled her eyes.

"He's fine, Sal." Rey nodded as Sal let Zac go and walked back out into the bar.

"I've got my eyes on you." Joanne said, glaring at Zac on her way out of the staff break room.

"What is it?" Rey asked.

"I sold some of my shit." Zac nodded, "Got your money back." He said, sitting down the cash on the table as Rey looked at it.

"Is this drug money?" Rey raised her eyebrows.

"No. You know I don't deal." Zac scoffed, "I sold some stuff from my place." He explained, "I felt bad."

"Oh, how human of you." Rey nodded, "I already sorted the rent but I'm still taking this." She made clear, grabbing the money quickly and heading over to her locker to sit it in her purse.

"I knew you'd figure it out somehow." Zac smiled, "When you finish tonight?" He smirked.

"Oh, no." Rey laughed, "I meant what I said. We're done." Rey nodded. He was a couple of years older than her but somehow he still acted like a child. She wasn't prepared to handle that sort of guy in her life, and she didn't want to be with someone who always stole from her, no matter how desperate she was.

"C'mon, Rey." Zac sighed, "I'm sorry-"

"You do it all the time." Rey shook her head, "Plus, I thought you had another bitch you were sleeping with? Your words, not mine." She said, locking her locker back up and putting the key back down her bra.

"I… I lied." Zac shrugged, "I just wanted to get you mad."

"Fuck whoever you want, Zac. I don't care." Rey nodded.

"I know you do, though." Zac smiled, taking her hand and pulling her over to him, "C'mon, you know we're good together."

"No we're not. Are you blind?" She shoved him away, "We're terrible together. You're always high. You steal from me. You're one punch away from being the shittiest person I've ever met. And I've met shitty people."

"Look, it's not my fault that you have these issues. Mommy issues, daddy issues… whatever it is you got… that's only something you can fix-"

"So charming." Rey nodded, "I don't have issues. I just don't want to be around people who steal from me and hurt my feelings."

"When have I ever hurt your feelings?" Zac scoffed.

"Almost every time we're together." Rey said.

"But you know the sex is good." Zac smiled, grabbing her in by the ass as she pushed him away again.

"Really? I can never tell, it's over too quickly." She replied as Zac's smile faded.

"Nah…" He assured himself, "You cum all the time." He nodded as Rey laughed.

"I'm good at faking it." Rey assured him, "Can you please leave. I have work to do."

"Work? You call this work?" Zac said, "Walking around with your ass out looking for tips, serving shitty sandwiches to overweight virgins?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah. That's exactly my job description. That's what I tell people I do." She nodded, "I love me some overweight virgins." She smiled, slapping her ass on the way by him as he watched her walk away and groaned.

"Want a puff?" Joanne asked, leaving the bar and heading outside after their shift, smoking a cigarette as Rey shook her head.

"I'm good." Rey declined politely.

"Suit yourself." Joanne shrugged, walking along the busy street full of party goers and drunk youngsters. The strip that they worked on was lethal for drunken people, drug dealing, prostitution, basically anything illegal.

"So how much did you make then?" Rey asked.

"Two fifty." Joanne smiled.

"Bitch." Rey gasped, "How? Are the rumours true? Are you hotter than me?" She asked as Joanne chuckled.

"I started an hour earlier." Joanne assured her, "But yes, I am still hotter." She teased as Rey smiled, linking her arm through her friends and walking down the street, avoiding the drunk people the best they could.

"I actually made more than two hundred." Rey smirked.

"How's that?" Joanne asked.

"When Zac came by he dropped off money. He sold some of his shit to pay me back the money he took." Rey said.

"He's a prick." Joanne said as Rey nodded.

"Yeah, then he tried it on." Rey said, "I deserve a nice guy, don't I?" She asked her friend.

"Honey, we all do." Joanne said, "They're a rare breed, though. Promise me, you'll never get with Zac again. He's just trouble and you deserve better." She made clear.

"Don't worry, we are officially done." Rey nodded, coming up to a cross roads, pausing and waiting for the green light, "Oh, there's Jeanie." She noticed, walking across the road.

"Jeanie!" Joanne exclaimed as they got to the other side of the road, watching as the older woman turned around, thigh high boots and a mini-skirt on, working her usual corner.

"Hey girls." Jeanie smiled, "Looking pretty." She tapped under both their chins, "How much we making tonight?" She asked them, "Triple figures?"

"Hell yeah." Rey nodded, "What about you?" She asked, "Slow night?"

"A little. Only made about eight fifty." Jeanie shrugged as Joanne and Rey's mouth's opened.

"In the one night?" Rey questioned.

"Yeah." Jeanie chuckled, "I'm telling you girls, there's no better job in the world." She shrugged, "I mean you girls are pretty much strippers, right?"

"Hooters is not a strip club!" Rey yelled as a few people turned around on the streets staring at her, "It's not!"

"It's not." Joanne added.

"Right." Jeanie laughed a little, "Well get going out of my corner. I'm missing cars here." She told them, "Watch yourselves." She nodded.

"You too." Rey smiled, walking on down the street, "Eight fifty in one night? Are you kidding me?" She turned to Joanne.

"Her vagina must be numb at this point." Joanne shook her head.

"Yeah, no shit." Rey shook her head, "She has all that money but still wears the most ugliest clothes. Makes no sense." She said as Joanne laughed to herself.

"That is true." Joanne agreed, "What you got planned for tomorrow?"

"First day off in two weeks? I'm gonna lie in bed all day and eat chocolate." Rey nodded, "Maybe go out later. If you're up for it?" She questioned.

"You know me. I love to party." Joanne smiled, "I'm so glad Sal likes us and gives us the same days off together. I'm just scared that he'll start asking us to suck him off for it." She said as Rey rolled her eyes.

"Stop it. Sal is sweet. He knows we work hard." Rey said, "Leave him alone."

"Ok, calm down." Joanne said, "We're going out tomorrow night and we're gonna find ourselves some nice guys." She said, "I'm speaking it into existence."

"Or we'll hit the clubs, get drunk and pass out on a bench somewhere with burgers." Rey smiled as Joanne nodded.

"Maybe." Joanne said, "Either way, a great night ahead." She smiled.

"What the hell happened to you?" A heavily tattooed man scolded, standing up from the couch in his apartment as he watched his little brother stumble into the room with a cut up and bruised face, "I thought you were only going out for a couple of hours?"

"I got into a fight in hooters." The man, Dean, shook his head.

"Hooters?" His older brother, Phil, or Punk to those who knew him chuckled, "Why the hell were you in Hooters?"

"I was just out with a few friends." Dean sighed, collapsing down on the chair as Punk shook his head.

"You're a damn mess." Punk chuckled.

"Yeah? And what are you doing with your Friday night? Eating take-out and watching Bridget Jones?" Dean shook his head.

"What's wrong with Bridget Jones?" Punk shrugged as Dean groaned to himself.

"This fucking hurts." Dean sighed to himself.

"Wait there." Punk rolled his eyes, "I'll get you some ice." He told him, walking through to the kitchen and grabbing some ice in a bag, walking back in and throwing it over to Dean.

"Thanks." Dean nodded, resting it against his cheek.

"How'd you end up in a fight?" Punk shook his head, tidying up his take-out. He really did have a take-out. He wasn't watching Bridget Jones however, more like the sports highlights from earlier in the week after working the entire week in the car garage he and his brother worked in. They weren't particularly well off. They never had been. Living with each other was more of an attempt to save money rather than fondness of one another.

"I bumped into this dude at the bar and he spilled his drink. I apologised and he got all heated so I punched him. Then he smashed my head off an ashtray." Dean said.

"Nice." Punk nodded.

"Then one of the girls got involved and he ended up punching her. She took it like a champ and was ready to start fighting." He chuckled to himself.

"Sounds like a disaster." Punk nodded.

"More exciting than your night by the looks of things." Dean said, "What's that? Sports highlights?" He questioned, looking over at their small TV in the corner.

"Yeah. Cubs doing not too bad actually." Punk nodded to him.

"Won't last. Never does." Dean shook his head. They'd always been close. They'd had a tough upbringing and always leaned on one another when they had to.

"I thought you'd be bringing someone home tonight. Friday night rituals, you know?" Punk nodded.

"Didn't get a chance." Dean scoffed.

"Streets busy?" Punk asked him.

"Oh, yeah. Jumping." Dean nodded, "I don't know why you don't come out anymore. You used to be fun." He shook his head.

"Used to be?" Punk questioned.

"Yeah. Now you're a boring fart." Dean said.

"That's mature." Punk nodded, "I go out sometimes." He shrugged, "I'm not a teenager anymore." He reminded his brother.

"Yeah, I know. Because you were fun back then." Dean said.

"I'm still fun." Punk laughed, "I'd rather sat here watching TV than be out dragging you out of fights, in Hooters of all places." He chuckled.

"Whatever." Dean scoffed, "I'm going to bed. Wake me for work in the morning. My phone is still broke and I don't have an alarm." He stood up.

"Ok, man." Punk nodded, watching his brother walk out of the living and across the hall into his bedroom, shaking his head and collapsing back into the couch.

He did have a lot of fun when he was younger, but there was a lot of things that went wrong, a lot of things that scarred him, hurt him. Things that he found hard to face.