[Two years ago - Aces' lounge]
"How reckless can you get?!" The boss of the bar yelled, "Now who's going to pay for all my broken furniture?!"
Erik and Lilian stood in front of the boss, getting their own little portion of spit. Standing in front of an angry boss was not the best place to be at.
It felt as if they were the flowers at a garden, being showered by a sprinkler.
How pleasant.
"Didn't you two learnt about the dealing of drunk customers?!" The boss continued without the slightest idea of what just happened. He came just as both Erik and Lilian's shifts were over.
What a great boss.
Just then Lilian raised her hand, trying to get his attention. He turned and looked at her before yelling some more, "WHAT?!"
"Um... That guy isn't a regular drunk customer, he was actually Erik's credito-- more specifically, his dad's. Once he came in, he was already smashing things... and Erik came stopped him." Lilian corrected, "So, he wasn't a drunk customer to begin with, and we weren't taught how to deal with these peopl--"
Before Lilian could finish, his boss barked, "ERIK! YOU'RE FIRED!"
"W-wait! Sir, why? He stopped him." Lilian questioned.
"IF HE STAYS, MY BAR WILL JUST END UP BECOMING A PILE OF NOTHING BUT RUBBLE!" He yelled once more as he pointed at Erik repeatedly.
"B-Bu--"
"It's alright, Lilian." He said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He then turned to his ex-boss and bowed, "I'll be taking my leave then. Thank you for everything."
After that blaring exchange, he went to the lounge and grabbed his stuff as Lilian observed with an apologetic look on her face.
"Sorry." She forced out as she sheepishly rubbed her elbow.
"What for?" He asked as he placed his uniform on the bench, "It's not your fault."
"It is!" She protested with her voice slightly louder than usual. She quickly apologised for the loudness in her voice, before continuing, "...It is. If only I didn't say that that guy was looking for you, then you might've kept your job..."
"Don't be ridiculous." He chuckled, "I was planning to quit anyway, I knew that those creditors will come back, so the earlier I quit, the safer the bar would be."
Despite everything that he said, Lilian was still looking down in guilt, saying nothing in return.
Erik noted her silence and gave her a quick pat on the head, "Anyways, I'll see you someday, alright? Oh yeah, don't go around teasing your other co-workers, they might not be able to handle them as well as I do.
Just then, Erik heard silent sobs from Lilian
He crouched down so that he could see her pale face that was covered by her fringe, "Heeeey, don't tell you're actually cryin--" His words died on his lips when he saw huge droplets of salty water rolling down her face and onto the ground.
"She's crying... SHE'S CRYING?! What am I supposed to do?!" Erik started to panicked as he did not know what to do. He did not have much experience with girls, so seeing her crying was new to him.
There were a good few seconds of panicking before he spoke, "Um... Look, it's not your fault, it was mine. So, d-don't cry."
However, after he said that, her sobbing became louder and through it, she managed to force out some words. "I'm not crying because of that! I crying because... b-because..."
"Because what?" He asked in the nicest voice, trying his best to freak out.
"...I don't want you to leave." She muttered under her shaky breath.
Suddenly, her voice started to sound more desperate, "Who am I going to tease, now that you're gone?! Who's going to taste my sandwiches?! Who's going to be the person that I can... be myself with...?"
Those last few words made his heart ached a little. No one said those words to him before, he never thought that his presence made someone feel comfortable.
At that moment, he hated the idea of leaving...
He did not want to leave her.
"Lilian." He called out. "Listen, we can still meet anytime. It's not like I'm never going to see you again."
"You can always come by that diner across the street in the day, I'll be there." He smiled at her.
Hearing that, she wiped her tears away and nodded. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." She said as she giggled, "I guess some things are different now."
"Yeah, but life is about changes, right?" He grinned as he headed for the door, "Well, I'll see you in a few hours if you want... Or not."
"What are you talking about, I'm coming over." She proclaimed with a determined look on her face, holding her smile in.
However, she could not help, but to give in. They gave in and started laughing. They did not why, they just felt happy.
Erik walked on the quiet morning street, towards the diner that he was working at. The head chef there usually prepares two meals for him in the morning because he knew that he needed it for his two younger cousins.
However, he still got to pay despite being an employee there.
Erik took care of his two younger cousins in place of his father and he did not hate it. He enjoyed playing with them, it was like a stress-relief session for him.
Even though lost his job, he did not felt disappointed. Instead, he felt happy. As he was wondering about his strange behaviour, Lilian's face popped up. His face flushed and he covered his hands over his face, "What's wrong with me...? Erik. She's just a friend. Don't make things weird for yourself. Just don't."
He shook her face off his mind as he picked up his pace and hurried to the diner to pick up the food and delivered it to Zack and Kate.
[Erik's house, Early morning]
He unlocked the gently and crept into the house as he did not want to wake his cousins up. He placed the food on the dining table and went to the fridge to get a quick drink. Just then, a familiar voice appeared out of nowhere, scaring Erik in the process, "It's rare to see you here."
It was Zack.
He rubbed his eyes sleepily before looking at Erik.
"And... It rare to see you awake this early." Erik teased as he flashed him a grin. "Why are you up so early? Kids like you should be asleep at this hour." Erik asked as he ruffled Zack's hair.
"Hey! I'm not a kid anymore, Erik!" Zack protested irritatingly as he pushed Erik's hand away. He then grabbed the bottle of milk that Erik was holding and drank from it. "...I just can't sleep." He muttered softly.
Erik was not surprised, after all, he was there when his parents died.
"Well, if that's the case. Why don't you have breakfast first?" Erik suggested as pointed to the packed food on the table.
Zack passed the bottle of milk to Erik before he walked to the table and to sit down. He opened the container and began eating. As he was eating, he stopped and stared at Erik who was smiling at himself. "You're in a really good mood, huh?"
"Wha-What?" Erik flustered as he turned to Zack.
"I said... You. Seem. To. Be. In. A. Really. Good. Mood." Zack repeated while emphasising each word with a blank look on his face. "...You found someone you like?" He asked casually.
When Erik heard that he almost choked on the milk. He started coughing for a good few seconds before he said anything. "What?! Who taught you that stuff?" Erik asked as he tried to change the topic.
"Ah, I see. So, you do in fact have someone you like." Zack called out as he wiggled his eyebrows, making Erik's face red.
"Hey, stop that!" He said as he went over to Zack to ruffle his hair some more. Zack laughed and Erik followed along.
However, Erik stopped once he noticed a really bad bruise on Zack's left forearm. He held Zack's arm to inspect it. He then looked at the boy sternly and asked, "When did you get this?"
Zack pulled his arm away from Erik's grasp and replied, "It's nothing, Uncle Raymond just came back drunk last night he got a little violent. That's all."
Erik was not the one who gave him the bruise, but he still felt guilty.
"Sorry about that Zack." He said as he walked away from his cousin, "I'll talk to him about it when I see him next time."
Zack continued eating as he forced out a couple of words through his chewing, "There's no need." He then continued after he finished chewing, "You just got to focus on your jobs. Kate and I will be fine alone. Besides, you have a lot on your plate already. So, don't worry about the littlest things. I can handle it myself."
After hearing Zack, Erik felt somewhat touched. Although his father did not appreciate the things that he did, at least his cousins did. He patted Zack on the head and said, "Thanks, kiddo."
Erik then grabbed his bag and walked to the door, "I'll be going now. Tell Kate to eat once she wakes up. I'll be back at around nine or so." He waved at Zack over his shoulder.
Zack waved back and said goodbye to his older cousin.