I'm Not Alone | Simon

Simon was worried for a split second that the customer wouldn't respond, but was quickly put back at ease when the young man came to. He had seemed to not paying attention at all, off in his own la-la land basically. Service with a smile..! Thought Simon rather sarcastically as he flashed a welcoming smile. Most of the people who came at this time were large creeps praying on the young women, the thought of having to throw a smile at them made Simon want throw up.


This customer, was obviously different from the usual swine that came through the doors of Climax. He generally seemed rather out of place in Simon's eyes. Simon couldn't imagine him partaking in drinking games, getting wasted, and ending up in the bathroom stalls making out with a complete stranger. While that seemed like the stereotypical TV scenario, it did happen more often than one would think.

Simon bit his lower lip, watching as the customer fluttered about with his words. His cheeks seemed to gain a small tint of red, but Simon dismissed it as the warmth. I doubt they even believe in air conditioning.. That or Climax was just cheap. 


"You don't know, huh?" Simon muttered, more to himself then the person sitting in front of him. Almost instantly, his mind began running through the drinks that Climax had to offer. His brows furrowed as he made his mental list. 


The drink that was most popular at the moment was the Catalina Margarita. A mixture of peach schnapps and blue curacao, giving the traditional margarita some fruity notes. People were also attracted to the gorgeous blue-green color it produced. The strongest note is citrus, but mellows into the peach. As he was running all the information through his head, he subconsciously stared at the customer, looking into the eyes that stared back at him with much innocence. Sighing, he thought to Lottie for a few moments, who often gave him a similar look whenever she had something she wanted. The soft stare was a guaranteed success every time. Simon's biggest weakness- cuteness. He never knew what it was about things that he found adorable that made him so squishy and soft. It greatly bothered him, especially since Lottie exploited it so much, but he couldn't do much about it. Grunting softly, he turned his attention to task on hand.


"How about the Catalina Margarita? It's a customer favorite at the moment. Fairly tart, peachy, and on the sweet side," 


As Simon waited for a response, he finally took the time to really get a look at whom he was serving. The man in front of him was rather adorable. Noting that he had been staring for far too long, he averted his gaze, running his hands clumsily through his hair.

Simon gave a curt nod, turning away from the customer to assemble the drink. Behind him, he could hear some of the others getting a bit rowdy. He emitted a sigh, drunk overconfident college kids could become a nuisance to handle in the near future. Hopefully the security would pitch in and do their part this time around. Whenever things went too far, they just sat back and watched the fireworks while Simon, or one of the other co-workers had to intervene. 


Last time Simon had to break up a fight, he was given a blow to the stomach. Nasty bruises.and tenderness for close to a month. Making a mental note to keep an eye on some certain people, he returned with a freshly made drink, setting it softly in front of the customer. 


Normally, Simon would probably back away and go see how others on different sides of the bar were doing, but something about this man made him want to ask the question he'd been wondering all night.


"What brings you here? Your not exactly one of my regulars, that's for certain.." Simon trailed off, leaning forward. That being said, he could easily come at a different time during the day and just not Simon's general shifts, so maybe Simon was just using mediocre, he wasn't exactly sure. Either way, he suddenly felt like it was painfully obvious that he was looking for any excuse to make conversation, making him feel a little self-cnosious as he rubbed his forehead.


For Simon, looking at the customer almost made his knees weak. Cuteness was Simon's kryptonite, and this particular man oozed it.

Simon chuckled at the reaction he strung out of the customer, only to cut off as he noticed some commotion going on. Becoming more alert, he watched them out of the corner of his eye. Working in this bar for as long as he has, Simon had a few typical warning signs to look for when it came to people getting a bit, wild, for lack of a better term. As they drew near, Simon actually backed away casually, making it appear he was going to clean up the other side of the bar, when in actuality, he had positioned himself closer to the door leading from behind the bar to the rest of Climax. 


Or, I could just vault over the counter tops like in the movies.. Simon snorted only to proceed by mentally scolding himself for thinking sarcastically in this situation. Straining to hear as he falsely wiped the already clean counters, watching things unfold out of the corner of his eyes.


Simon didn't have super sonic hearing and could only catch snippets of the conversation, if you could even call it that. Jail was one of the main words that stuck out in Simon's mind. Making sure not to make any "suspicious" movements that could arouse the boys attention towards him, he exited from behind the bar. This was escalating quickly, and Simon wanted to make sure he was close by to stop anything from happening.


Simon broke out in cold sweat. He wasn't exactly trained in fighting. Yes, he's had his share, but that was a decent sized group. If he went in with brute force, which, he would more then likely resort to if things came down to it, how would he fare? He'd end up absorbing the hits till the security came. 


As clenched fists were starting to rise into the air, Simon surged forward, overcome with adrenaline. The boy swinging the first shot had clearly had one too many drinks, giving Simon a big advantage. It wasn't too difficult to catch the man's fist within his own palm, squeezing it. 


Simon opened his mouth to say something, anything that spewed from his mouth to end the conflict now, but he could see these brutes wanted a fight, those drunken brutes wouldn't leave without sending some fists flying. 


The man in front of him seemed to be thinking along the same lines as they shot icy glares back at each other. Before he could get smacked in the face, Simon punched the man hard in the gut, only to have a sudden wave of college men on him, overpowering him. It wasn't long before the taste of blood was prominent in his mouth. Receiving various blows to the stomach and face, Simon suddenly mustered up some strength and got a few square hits to the jaw in, and stumbled backward, clutching a nearby bar stool to keep himself from falling over. Using his free hand, he grazed his lip, cut and bleeding. 


The security had taken their sweet time coming to the rescue, and helped some of the drunken slobs Simon had managed to knock down back on their feet, and the ones still standing with scowls plastered upon their faces were swept away as well. Simon dully noted eyes falling upon him.


Damn, did they damage me that bad? Simon wasn't one to be too preoccupied with his looks, but still, he liked to look presentable. He took to seating in the bar stool he was clutching, and leaned back against the counter, not really paying heed to his wounds, more focused on the events that just played out. 

Simon reached up, rubbing his forehead before glancing over at the man, looking to see how he was holding up. It didn't take a genius to see he was freaking out. 


He had to admit, he was rather curious about the whole situation, and he was dying to ask about it, learn more, but he was a mere stranger, and he wasn't one to impose on someone's troubles. Whatever those men had to do with the customer, it wasn't anything good, that was for sure. 


Simon had been drowning in his own thoughts when the man was suddenly in front of him, shaking like a scared child. The expression made Simon just want to sweep him up in a hug and tell him that it was over, but he kept the odd thought off to the side.


"I'm fine, I'm fine.." He said slowly, only now realizing his exhaustion. Luckily, his shift wasn't much longer, and he'd be able to shuffle on home, not before stopping at a nearby store to pick up some quick food for Lottie.


Rubbing his chin lightly, Simon looked upward, back at the man only to see his expression dark, it caught him by surprise. He'd been nothing but smiles all night.


"Are you...?" What, okay? He wasn't okay, anyone could see that. 


"Anything I can do to make you feel better?

Simon was taken aback when the man suddenly started to cry. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to do what he did to comfort Lottie when she was upset, though, scaled back. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, "I'm glad I got involved, no need to apologize," Simon said softly, and he was. Who knows what could have happened if he just idly sat by and let a fight break out? He retracted his hand, afraid he'd overstepped some personal boundaries, but it was the only way he could think to comfort. and didn't want to just sit there and watch him cry.


Simon took a quick peek at one of the clocks, his shift was more or less over, but at the moment, he wasn't particularly in a rush to leave. Leaving this man like this would be cruel, and Simon was determined to help fully. He got himself involved, and should now see it through till the end.


He raised a brow when the man seemed to take him up on his offer, but fell short. Simon's assumption was that he didn't want to impose on him anymore.


"Not nevermind," Simon said sternly, wanting to continue his pursuit to help. "Tell me," His voice softened as his eyes grazed the man's face, "please?"