At the end of the day [STORY]

[This really isn't all that entertaining, but I figured it's good for fleshing Bridhe out. Broke this up into three parts, sorry about the wall of text!]


It had been a long day. An eternity, it seemed, since Bridhe clocked in to try and quell the mass chaos that was a convenience store during a busy period. The people didn't seem to stop coming until it was almost time to leave, and the short red-haired teen still had yet to do his "shift duties". So, during this rare lull, he spent his time attempting to set up a cardboard and plastic candy display.

Judging by the complexity and sheer stupidity that made up the "assembly instructions", Bridhe was making up for some huge fuck up in the past.

"I thought you were supposed to get off at eleven. What are you still doing here?"

Bridhe jumped at the sudden sound of a female voice, knocking over the already precarious display he had been setting up and sending candy scattering on the floor. A silent glare was given to the heap of cardboard and packaging, his teeth grinding for a moment before he sighed and slumped over in defeat. He rubbed his tired eyes before glancing over at the origin of the voice, catching sight of Sadie's sheepish wave and apologetic expression.

"Uhm. Sorry. Need me to help you?" The girl asked, even though she was already picking up fallen treats off of the floor. "Girl" was almost appropriate, she looked like she was still in high school (probably because she was), even though she was taller than the clerk that shuffled beside her.

"Please? Jared's in the back, he said I could leave after I set up this shitty display. Candice called in, again. I just wish they'd fire that meth-head whore." That freckled face looked as tired as he sounded, shoving candy onto "shelves" before Sadie shoved him away. He barely had time to protest and she managed to get the display assembled correctly, earning an icy glare from the clerk. "I was going to do that, I almost had it."

"Almost, my ass... The shelves were backward. I would have been fifty by the time you got it together, Bridhe." Sadie gave him a mocking grin, flicking Bridhe's forehead before setting her hands on her chunky hips. Her clothes could only do so much to hide the fact that she was overweight. "Now clock out, I want to go to Aiden's. Move. Move!"

A retort from the male was silenced as the girl herded him toward the back, slapping him harshly on the ass before waving to the drooping assistant manager in the back. The older man waved back, not even looking up from the book he was reading as Bridhe clocked out. He took a drag off of his cigarette, ignoring the fact that he wasn't even supposed to be smoking in the store.

"See you tomorrow, Bridhe. Checks come in at three." Jared's voice sounded almost as dull as he looked, shooing them away before turning the page with a quiet rustle of paper. Bridhe didn't get a chance to respond, tugged almost forcefully by Sadie's incessant grip until he was outside in the dark parking lot.

"Fuck, Sadie. I was going to ask him something. Stop pushing me around! I’m not your fuckin’ dog.” The teen jerked his arm away from that hand, glaring at her before rubbing his temples once more. “I don’t want to go to Aiden’s, right now. I just want to go home and sleep, you know… That thing where you close your eyes and not be awake at Aiden’s.”

When Bridhe opened his eyes Sadie was in his face, nose almost touching his as she gave him an icy look. If she didn’t have that ridiculous cat-eared hoodie on she would have been downright terrifying, especially considering she was so close.

“What did he do to you, Bridhe? You’ve been avoiding him for the past month.”

“N-nothing! Nothing!” The ginger took a step back, voice cracking a little as he responded a little too quickly. His face was easy enough to read, not that it took much to realize he was lying in the first place. “I’m just really tired. Please. I don’t want to go over there.”
The taller girl tilted her head after stepping back, studying her friend as he looked away almost shamefully. His hands were shoved into his pockets as he slumped a little, making him look even smaller than he was. Blue and black eyes narrowed, and suddenly no amount of “kitty ear” accessories could make her less terrifying. Unfortunately, Bridhe wasn’t fast enough to avoid that black-nailed hand, only able to watch in slow motion as it shot out to snag an ear before dragging the unlucky boy closer to her face. He made a whimpering, pained noise as she once more got nose-to-nose with him.

“You fucked him.” Sadie spoke through clenched teeth, and for a moment Bridhe thought he could see the very fires of hell behind that innocent-looking face. “Damnit, Bridhe.”

He stumbled as she shoved him away, falling back on the dirty pavement as he looked at Sadie only to look away.

“He’s married. You’ve babysat his little girl before, or has your smoke-addled brain forgotten this? Damnit, Bridhe! Fuck! Do you have any morals? Any at all?” The girl sounded furious, but she didn’t yell. Instead so spoke through clenched teeth, her eyes narrowing even further as she pointed accusingly at the prone male. Her teeth were audibly grinding, bone grating against bone as the girl tried to keep from screaming.

“He cornered me in the bathroom, Sadie. It was an accident--”

“And accident? What, you slipped on bathwater? It’s a little hard to have sex on accident.”

“We were drunk, we smoked a little, Ellie was out with Eden and we just sort of…”

This did nothing to quell Sadie’s fury. If anything, it made things worse. She literally picked up Bridhe, his sneakers dragging against the cement as she lifted him to his feet before dragging him by the collar of his shirt to her car. He was tossed like a rag into the passenger’s seat before she slammed the door and got in herself. The ginger seemed to recover quickly, fastening his seatbelt as he fought back a shiver.

“Maybe I should drive?” He asked hopefully, some primitive instinct screaming at him to get out of the car while he still could. “You’re really mad and it’s--”

“No. I’m driving. You’re listening. Shut your mouth.”

Bridhe clammed up, almost trying to disappear into that seat as he looked at everything but Sadie as she sped out of the parking lot. He really hadn’t been looking forward to this, and in retrospect it probably would have been better if he had just told her right after it happened. Curly hair brushed against the car window as he rested against it, looking out at the other passing cars as the silence became stifling between them.

“What am I going to do with you…?” The male blinked, looking over at the driver after she finished her statement. His stomach bottomed out as he watched a hand come up and try to smear away tears before he would see them. “Damnit, what am I going to do with you, Cheesy? It’s not healthy. I bet you don’t even remember what all happened. He could have raped you, for all you know.”

“I remember what happened. He didn’t rape me. Honest. Look, I’m not proud of it, I really don’t even know what started it. Hell, I didn’t even know he liked guys. Maybe he was so drunk he confused me for a girl.” The joke thrown in was half-assed, a weak laugh following it before silence fell over them once more.

“Not funny. This is serious. We need to tell Ellie.”

“She knows.” The reply was quiet as Bridhe slumped in that seat, propping his knees on the glove compartment in a lazy sort of fetal position. “That’s really why I haven’t gone over there. She said if she saw me again she would cut off my balls.”
“How did she find out?” Sadie actually waited before talking, seeming to digest the information. Her anger had mostly subsided, driving was obviously helping her calm down. “She didn’t walk in on you two, did she?!”

“No. Fuck no. I think I would have lost the boys right then and there if that had happened. No, I told her. Well, after I had sobered up enough, anyway.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The girl sounded hurt, her face blank in an obvious attempt at holding back tears. “I love you, Bridhe. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bridhe looked like he had been stabbed in the chest, unfolding himself as he looked at Sadie. He was shocked, but that expression faded into remorse as he looked down at his hands. Suddenly he felt childish, stupid. It really hadn’t been worth it, not at all.

“I knew you would be mad. I mean… I didn’t know you felt like that, and all… I mean, how long? How long have you felt this way?”

“You remember that time in the seventh grade when you beat up that boy who kept making fun of me? Right after Mom died, and I was still trying to recover from the wreck. Since then. I mean, I didn’t know it at the time… I barely knew you. But you flew out of nowhere, with all those crazy curls. I thought you were rabid, to be honest. I thought you were going to eat him, and were going to eat me next.” She laughed, a honest laugh as she reached up and pulled off her hood. Purple hair was shaken out of her face as she wiped off her cheeks once more.

“Oh God. You mean Reggie? Fuck, I’d forgotten about that. I almost got expelled for beating the shit out of that dick.” He laughed too, suddenly feeling like he was doing something right for once, in spite of all the fuck ups he had just admitted to. “That long, huh? Geez. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you were gay. Even then you were kind of… I don’t know… Effeminate?”

Bridhe snorted a little, shaking his head before looking out the window once more. His fingers idly locked and unlocked the door as he looked back at Sadie with a shrug.

“We could go out, you know.”

“W-what?! So you can cheat on me with some asshole in the bathroom at a restaurant?”

“I wouldn’t do that, what do you think I am, a prostitute?” He actually looked offended, glaring at her sharply before sighing. “I said that Aiden wasn’t supposed to happen. I wouldn’t cheat on you.”

“Get tested.” Sadie responded, apparently she was more mature than she looked. “Get tested, and then we’ll talk. Okay? You need to do it, anyway.”

A look was passed between them, a momentary battle of wills before Bridhe finally slumped down and nodded. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to wear the pants in this relationship.

“You’re birthday’s coming up soon, what do you want?” Sadie leaned over the low counter of Bridhe’s small apartment, lazily coloring in a picture of a faerie for the tattoo set she was designing. It made the whole room smell like markers, even over the strong smell of Bridhe’s latest culinary experiment. Maybe Sadie had planned it that way.

“A--”

“No. I’m not giving you head. You’re still grounded.”

Bridhe’s face fell as he made a disgruntled noise. Sadie didn’t have to see it to know he was irritated, but she was going to stand firm.

“Fine. I don’t want anything then. Why even bother asking if you’re just going to shoot me down?” The short male stirred the food in his pan, watching with displeasure as he tried to keep his latest concoction from burning. He was actually pouting, the silver ring through his lip glinting in the dull light of the kitchen as that bottom lip jutted out.

“You’re such a little bitch, Cheesy. Stop pouting, it makes you look like a three year old.” The purple-haired girl didn’t look up as she set the paper aside, revealing a blank sheet under it before starting to draw a new image. “How about this: I’ll get you a tattoo. I know you’ve been wanting one, and Sava is willing to give me a discount.”

“Really?! Shit. I mean, uh, can we afford it?” He turned to look at Sadie, eyes sparkling with excitement as his cooking was momentarily forgotten. He rushed to the counter, his hands coming down as he tried to lean over Sadie’s head. The sudden jerk of the surface under the girl’s pencil earned a brief, but intense, death glare. Bridhe seemed unfazed, maybe he had grown immune.

“I think we can. You might have to pick up an extra shift if these don’t sell, though. Your food is burning.”

“Fuck!” The ginger cursed, snatching the smoking pan off of the stove before shoving it under the faucet, coughing as steam raged out around his face. Sadie moved, jerking him back before he got too scalded. “Fuckity! Fuck! Damnit.”

“You okay? What are you, stupid? You could have been seriously burned by that!” She coughed a little as well before steering the watery-eyed teen to a stool, forcing him to sit down. “We’re ordering take-out. Don’t argue, if I say we can that means we can.”

She held up her hand in front of Bridhe’s mouth, grinning a little as he leaned forward to give a quick kiss to her fingers before the hand retreated back to the paper she had been drawing on. There was a smile of her own that grew as she shoved the paper in front of the freckled boy.

“An ouroboros?” He looked confused, tilting his head a little. “Are you saying I eat my foot all the time?”

“Yes. No. Actually it is a little of that.” She laughed, shaking her head some before leaning back. “I thought you would take the imagery literally. I think… You know, everything’s starting to come full circle for you, you know.”

“No, it’s cyclical. Meaning that everything’s going to go to shit now that I’ve found something good in my life.” He retorted, looking at the picture before grabbing a marker and starting to add his own crude details. “But… Everything will be good again, I suppose.”

“I mean, if you’d stop being such a jerk, that you’ve kind of re-invented yourself. You know, rebirth and all that. The start of a new cycle, and maybe this one will be better than the last.”

“Why not a phoenix, then? You know… Or an egg or something?” He doodled, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated. Sadie watched with amusement painted on her features, her own fingers twitching in an effort not to try and correct his amateur strokes. It was his picture as well, even if she was the one that started it. He was trying his best, but even that was wobbly and uneven.

“I know, I know, you’re better than I am. I really suck at this.” He blushed for a moment, slightly embarrassed as he turned the paper so Sadie could get a better view.

“Uhm… A tentacle monster?”

“It’s a Tree of Life!” Bridhe bristled, only managing to look more irate as Sadie burst into laughter. She covered her mouth, almost guffawing into her palm before she turned around to try and catch her breath. “Hah hah hah. Let’s laugh at the short guy’s drawing. It’s fun for the whole family.”

“I don’t think the ouroboros appreciates Cthulu rape, but I’ll see what I can do. Okay?” The girl hugged Bridhe close, kissing his neck before releasing him with a pleased look on her face. “Let’s just start with the snake, and go from there. Okay?”

Bridhe’s face softened before he nodded, leaning back a little as he looked back at that picture.

“So, when are we going to order dinner?”

“Whenever you want. Looking at your picture made me hungry for lo mein.” Sadie laughed again, dodging a punch from Bridhe as she slid off of the stool and moved toward the phone. Bridhe flipped her off, sticking out his tongue before settling back on the stool to look back at the picture in front of him.

“Better than before, huh? That’d be nice.”