Wow... I love all the power I hold... It's excellent. I could kill off a character and you would all be so devastated but you would keep reading... the is excellent...

(Relax, I'm not gonna kill of a character... Except maybe Max, because his butt-chin bugs me...)

Chapter 22

"Dammit, I'm late," Jess muttered while walking not-so-swiftly from down the stairs to behind the counter of Luke's diner. Jess looked up at his surroundings, thinking he was muttering to Luke. He wasn't.

Luke wasn't even there – and though it would be fascinating to know where he was instead of running his business, Jess just raised a brow and returned to attaching his leather cuffed watch to his wrist. "...And apparently I'm talking to myself... Great," he mumbled sarcastically, "...I'm this generation's Mr Orange."

Jess cleared his early-morning throat and started pouring coffee. He removed the lid for a donut and neglected to put it back – just like the old days. "My fist day and I'm late..." He growled at himself, assuming no one was listening.

"You know it's rude to be late," Kirk interrupted. "Especially on the first day."

"Shut up, Kirk," Jess said with a glance. Kirk looked at him with his usual blank and slightly psychopathic expression.

"And Andrew appreciates punctuality."

Jess glared at him as he readjusted his tie. "Geez, Kirk, stop."

"If it were me, I would be there early."

Jess gently closed fists knocked down on the counter and glared directly at Kirk. "What's wrong, Kirk?"

"My problem?" He asked, the same creepy expression plastered onto his face.

"Yes," he said, his head tilted to the side, irritation in his voice.

Kirk sighed. "Oh, nothing." Jess bowed his head and turned back to his coffee. "...I'm just following through with protocol of taunting the enemy."

"What?" Jess looked through squinted, sneering eyes.

"I said 'I'm just—"

Jess raised a hand. "No, I heard what you said, Kirk."

"But you looked confused..."

Jess breathed heavily through gritted teeth. "How am I your enemy?"

Kirk sat up straight, trying his best to look tough. "Andrew hired you. I was up for the same position."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Kirk, you have had every other job in town."

"I know, but I wanted this one," Kirk practically whined, then sat up straight again.

Jess cocked his head, looking all intense and threatening. "Why?"

"Because..."

"Because why?"

"Because I've never worked with books before and that... may turn out to be my calling," he said – but based on the look on his face, it seemed he was making up his sentence as he went.

Jess paused. He stared at him, opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, stared at him a little more then walked off.

"It should be me, you know!" Kirk called out after Jess as he made his way to the door. "And mark my words, you will pay!"

Jess, with the door open and his hand wrapped around the handle, turned and stared back at him for a second that said both 'are you serious' and 'Oh, Kirk... get a hobby.'

Then he walked out leaving Kirk alone with his mind to build up a storm.