"Ha ha man… This dude never gets tired of wearing this same jacket for a whole month."
"You talking of a month? He wears it for months, trust me I know what I'm saying." Chloe joined the mockery team.
It hurt to see his best friend say such things to him and the girl he foolishly let himself fall for. But he ignored them, trying to be calm as a bartender should be.
"What can I get you guys?" his face was neutral.
Scott's smirk widened. "How 'bout a round of your finest? We're in the mood to celebrate."
"Yeah we're celebrating the love life of Scott and Chloe. We're so happy Chloe left the stupid church rat she was dating."
"Hey man it's the church rat that's serving us right now, be careful or he might poison us ha ha."
Everyone laughed so hard. "What's he gonna poison us with? Is it his poverty?"
"Oh man, don't be silly." Scott said, trying to control his laughter, "Aiden give us your finest drink.
Aiden ignored all the mockery and nodded, reaching for the glasses. "Comin' right up."
As he worked, he could hear them whispering and snickering. But how did it affect him? He ignored it, focusing on his job. After a short time, he set the drinks down in front of them.
Scott took his glass, raising it in a mock toast. "Cheers to you, Aiden."
One of Scott's friends asked "How does it feel servin' drinks to your ex and her rich new boyfriend?" He laughed and everyone joined him, Chloe turning her face to the other side to lose it to the humour.
"It feels good right? Serving your ex girl and her new boyfriend who is richer than you could ever be?"
Aiden looked at him calmly. "I'm a bartender. I serve everyone who wants a drink. Don't care if it's my ex or not."
"Bullshit! You fucking care and I can see it in your eyes." The guy insisted. "You look like someone who's gonna beg her to come back to you right now."
Chloe adjusted her short skirt to cover a little more of her thighs then crossed her legs.
"Hey Chloe you better not let Aiden see 'em thick thighs right there. He might wanna go to the bathroom and jerk off cos he can't get you ha ha ha."
Scott turned to Chloe and caressed her hair, "Hey baby, when you were dating this bartender guy, did you and him ever do the do on the bed?"
"Never!" Chloe said immediately. "I never give myself to 'em broke ass dudes."
Another round of laughter erupted and Scott hit the table repeating as his lungs hurt from laughing.
But Aiden ignored them. He moved down the bar to attend to another customer. As he turned back, one of Scott's friends, a guy with slicked-back hair and a smug grin, was holding his drink up high.
"What are you doing? Be careful with the glass." Aiden cautioned.
"Oops," the guy said, letting the glass slip from his fingers. It shattered on the floor, sending shards and liquid everywhere. "Looks like you'll be payin' for that."
"You punk!" Aiden mumbled, he clenched his jaw but said nothing more. He grabbed a towel and started cleaning up the mess.
"Yeah clean, clean clean. That's what you're good at boy." Scott said.
"Wait a minute," was it really Scott who was saying this? Was it his best friend suddenly changing to behave this way towards him? "After everything we've been through together?" At that point, Aiden realized there was more to friendship than just playing video games and poker.
Scott leaned over the bar, his eyes glittering with malice. "Hey Aiden there's something you should know."
Everyone knew Scott was only going to say something that would hurt him. "You know, Chloe's really sweet in bed. She's got the juice. Damn slippery."
"I don't give a shit!" Aiden dismissed.
" Am sure you do give a shit. And I Bet you still think about testin' her again, huh?"
"What?"
The bar fell silent. Aiden froze, the towel clenched in his fist. Without thinking, he straightened up and walked over to Scott.
"What' you wanna do, bar boy? Huh? What' you gonna do?" Scott asked shifting backwards. The next moment, his hand flew out and Scott got a heavy punch right on his jaw.
"What the fuck!" Some men by the bar were shocked to see that.
"Man, that's an uppercut ha ha…"
"Oh yeah, it's some Mortal Kombat shit. Dayum…"
The sound of the punch echoed in the bar. Scott stumbled back, holding his jaw, eyes wide with shock. The room was deathly quiet, all eyes on Aiden and Scott.
"You bastard!"
"Never ever speak to me like that again. You hear me?" Aiden warned firmly, pointing a finger at Scott.
"You always give the first punch, but I ain't gonna let you get away this time. Ama beat the hell outta you!" Scott rushed forward and threw a punch but Aiden was quick enough to duck, then land some heavy blows on Scott's belly.
"You're slow mother fucker. You should do better in front of your girl." Aiden mocked getting ready for some more action.
Scott was already tired and scared of going again. "He's gonna humiliate me more in front of Chloe." He thought. "Well I should show him that I ain't got the skills but I got guys." He turned to his friends, telling them "Guys you really standing there to watch this jerk hit me? Beat the shit ou' of him."
Scott's friends sprang into action. Two of them rushed Aiden, fists flying.
"Ah!" The first punch landed hard on Aiden's jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor.
"Oh yeah, who's on the floor now? Who's been knocked down now?" Scott asked with pride.
The next moments were a blur of pain as they kicked him, each blow driving him further into the ground. "Kick his balls. He's got the balls to stand up to me so kick 'em real hard!"
Aiden curled up, trying to protect his head, "Get the fuck away from me." His voice came from the ground. Then he made a desperate move to get away. Scrambling on hands and knees, he managed to slip behind the bar. "Oh look who's running now!" Scott said laughing. "Go get him again, bring him here so Chloe can slap his cheeks for punching her lovely man ha ha."
Before Scott's friends could go again,
Aiden quickly grabbed a couple of bottles, and he stood, smashing them against the counter. Shards flew everywhere, and he brandished the jagged remnants like makeshift weapons.
"Come on!" he shouted, voice raw with adrenaline and anger. "Come closer if you ain't scared!"
"Oh boy!" Scott and his friends paused, uncertainty flickering in their eyes. It was risky to approach an angry guy holding some broken bottles.
"You ain't men anymore? Come closer you bunch of arrogant morons!" He stepped forward, "Y'all scared now? Scott you're being a coward in front of your slutty girlfriend?"
The sight of Aiden, bloodied but defiant, holding broken bottles like a cornered animal, was enough to give them pause.
"Nah man I ain't going there." One of them said.
"That mother fucker looks dangerous."
Scott was the first to take a step back. "Let's get the fuck outta here." One by one, his friends followed suit, their earlier aggression dissolving into fear.
"Oh you guys 'leaving already? The fight just started." Aiden's eyes were wild, and his breath was heavy. "That's right, walk away. But you ain't goin' nowhere without payin' for those drinks."
"And who said we ain't paying?" Chloe, who had been watching the scene, came forward. "We ain't broke like you so yes we're paying."
"Shut up Chloe. Never talk about money when the rich talk." Aiden shot at her.
"Excuse me?"
"Scott might be rich. But you ain't rich. You ain't gonna be rich by following the wealthy people around giving yourself to them. Go work on yourself."
"No, you go work on yourself, I regret ever knowing you. I regret ever getting close to a loser like you."
"No you don't. You obviously just used me. You can't regret all the times you extort money from me? No way!"
"Go fuck yourself." She pulled out a wad of cash from her purse and threw it on the floor at Aiden's feet. The bills scattered across the ground exactly as she wanted, she looked at him rolling her eyes. "Pick it up, like you pick up food from the ground to eat," she sneered. "You're a pig, Aiden."
"You extorted money from a pig with no parents. And you ain't ashamed." He only said that to himself in a low voice. His grip tightened on the broken bottles, his knuckles white. He watched as they turned and walked out of the bar, their laughter echoing behind them. "We got a long life ahead. We're gonna see how that goes." The room was silent again, all eyes on Aiden.
The other people in the bar had never seen Aiden angry before. They were shocked.
Slowly, Aiden lowered the bottles, his body trembling with the aftermath of the fight. He let the glass fall from his hands, shattering on the floor, and bent down to pick up the money, his heart heavy with a mixture of anger and humiliation.
His manager just walked back in and approached, concerned about him but still frustrated by the broken bottles in the bar. "You okay, kid?"
Aiden nodded stiffly, not trusting himself to speak. He slowly shoved the money into his pocket and stood up, brushing himself off with his handkerchief.
"Get yourself cleaned up," the manager said gruffly. "And take the rest of the night off. You've done enough here."