The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

Chapter 1

It was a slow night in F&A's bar. Fez had taken the night off to spend some time with Lexi. Ashtray had been tired of sensing the tension between the two since Lexi's miscarriage.

He understood what that baby meant to both of them. The fact that she was ripped away from them was cruel and unjust. But it was real.

If there was anything about his family that he knew for certain was that they were resilient. There wasn't anything they couldn't overcome.

Right now it just seemed like it wasn't possible.

Ash had been in charge that night at the bar. He didn't mind working at the bar. He liked the feeling of bossing people around and making sure everything worked properly.

If there was something Ash wasn't, it was lazy. He liked working. He liked working hard for something and earning something in return.

Maybe that's why he enjoyed drug dealing so much. The thrill of working, and sometimes getting his hands dirty when a junkie tried to fuck with his brother and him.

But that lifestyle was his past. Sometimes it made him angry. He pretended like it was a good life before. The reality was that drug dealing was hard and painful. He didn't miss that part.

Fez and Lexi gave him something very different now.

At 18 years old, he learned to bartend from a bartender that worked here, teaching him every drink he knew how to make.

So far his best creation was how to serve beers.

He cleaned the bar top, the music blaring on the speakers, and a few people scattered around.

The light blue rag swiffer against the wooden top, shining as it slid across the way. It was almost cathartic how satisfying cleaning was for him.

He heard the door open, not paying any mind to whoever walked inside.

He back was facing the bar top, not catching to see who was moving a stool, and sitting right behind him.

He thought it was a business fucker passing by to grab a drink. They were regulars in this place.

When he turned around he was surprised to see a girl, looking at him with her mouth agape. He couldn't help it but stare back at her.

She was pretty. That was the best way to describe her. Everything about her was pretty. Her hair was curly and wildly unruly, falling down her shoulders. The girl's eyes were a dark green he could stare at for hours. It felt like he was doing that now.

Her lashes were long and curled even though he couldn't trace a single drop of makeup on her.

Her lips were pink and plump but jutted out just a tiny bit while she stared back at him. Her cheeks seemed to redden just a tiny bit under his cool stare.

Ash didn't like to talk much to people. But sometimes, all of his words were packed into his stares.

Someone spilled their drink on the table, the clinking of the glass making a sound, causing Ash to snap out of his staring spell.

He cleared his throat before he blushed and decided to talk.

"What can I get for you?" Ash used his bartender voice.

The girl's eyes couldn't have possibly widen more, before she fumbled into her pocket, her small hand taking out an ID.

"I'd like a beer, please." Her voice was angelic in Ash's ears. He thought he was going to melt at the sweet sound of her words coming out of her sweet lips.

Fucking hell, Ash. Stop being a bitch.

He grabbed her ID, humoring her as he could tell that she was most definitely not 21. He looked at it and then looked back at her, before he leaned his elbows on the bar top, getting close to her.

"Tell you what, tell me your real age and not whatever's on this bullshit ID and then I'll give you a beer." Ash smirked. The girl's eyes were animated as they dilated and showed a face of horror at Ash's words.

"17." She looked down at her hands, avoiding eye contact with him.

He hummed, before grabbing a beer, and opening the bottle before setting it in front of her.

"By the way, you need to find a better fake ID guy, this one here fucking sucks." Ash teased. He saw the girl still avoid his stare, but nonetheless smiled at his joke.

She grew serious again, before looking at him. It looked like it took a lot of effort to simply look at him.

"What time do you close?" She asked.

"2," Ash responded. She nodded before taking a swig of her beer. He watched her wince at the taste, slightly taking her tongue out to get rid of the remnants of the flavor.

Fuck, she was really pretty.

"Can I stay here until then?" She asked. He nodded once, watching her take something else out of her pocket.

He was suddenly called by another person on the long bar top, begrudgingly making him take his attention away from the girl.

Once he finished serving the other customer, he looked back at the girl. She was reading a book that looked like it was ran over by a car and chewed out by a dog. The cover was hanging on by a thread on the spine, and the pages were smudged and falling apart.

Her face was concentrated on the story, her eyes following every single word on the ratty page. Her dainty fingers held the book together on the front and the back.

However, it was enough to read the title: "the loneliest girl in the universe."

He knew that book. Lexi made him read it after he finished the The silence of the lambs books. It was an epic downgrade from the thriller he had read before.

Ash walked out back to the office, his eyes scanning the bookshelf he had for long night shifts at the bar. Lexi hadn't come to the bar yet but she would be proud at his collection.

His eyes stopped at the book he was looking for, pulling it out before grabbing one for him, before walking back out to the bar.

She was still enthralled in the story by the time she made it back.

He didn't say anything to her, and placed the book gently next to her beer that she hadn't touched anymore.

She looked up at him, watching him place a newer copy of the same story she was reading. She blushed, before putting the ratty one down and picking the newer copy up.

"Thanks." She almost whispered. He nodded, not saying anything.

He continued to work, only glancing at the girl reading every once in a while.

He served another customer, handing him a napkin before his body stilled at the sound of her voice again.

"Uhm, Ash?" She began.

"That's your name, right? It says it here," the girl babbled and it was the longest he's heard her speak that night.

He nodded, before standing in front of her again.

"Can I get some water?" The girl inquired. He nodded again and got her what she needed. She had been there for a couple of hours now, and sometimes he could feel her stares when he wasn't looking.

He continued to work and serve the customers without any more interruptions. His body reacted interestingly when she closed the book, slid it over to him and put some money on the bar top. She climbed off the stool, standing on her two feet on the ground.

"Thank you..." she said softly. He stood in front of her again, the bar separating them from being closer.

"I'm Penelope." She said almost gently and tenderly.

He smirked, leaning on the bar top.

"Penelope, I like that. That's a nice name."