Nightmare // chanlix

Nine

Chan sighed as he dropped another alcohol-soaked cloth into the bucket beside him as he had finished wiping down the surface of the bar. His arm had grown tired, but now the bar was clean, and he could get back to his other duties. 

"I don't think I've seen this countertop shine this bright in years." Namseok, the manager of the bar, chuckled lightly. 

"Yeah, I put my heart and soul into cleaning this thing, so try not to spill a drop when you're serving drinks." Chan joked. 

The manager laughed, both of them knowing that would be impossible once the place got busy. It was only nine o'clock, and once the crowd picked up, the bar would be as sticky and soaked as it was prior to the cleaning. 

"Hey, is Changbin alright? This is the third shift you've covered for him in the last week." Namseok's tone changed to one of slight concern. 

"Oh yeah, he's just going through some family stuff right now and the night shifts aren't working in his favour." Chan replied, not wanting to get into his friend's newfound phobia of the night. 

"I hope everything's okay." Namseok frowned.

"It will be." Chan shrugged, getting behind the bar to set up some of the new kegs. 

Namseok nodded, "I'm going to do a cash count real quick, you can unlock the doors whenever." 

"Cool." Chan replied, already working on connecting one of the kegs to the tap. 

After finishing with the last keg, Chan walked to the doors of the bar and unlocked them, switching the neon 'open' sign on as he did so. They wouldn't expect many customers for another hour or so, but there were always the few who liked to get in early. 

It had been two weeks since his last encounter with Felix, and Chan had felt a newfound sense of relief that the vampire had not came to threaten him since. If he was honest, he just wanted to forget about the fact he had slept with a murderer moments after he had slaughtered his latest victim. 

The news had been quiet, with no new local disappearances or attacks, which Chan took as a sign that on some level, his talk with the blond had actually had an impact. Unless he was travelling further out to kill, which Chan sincerely hoped was not the case. He also didn't know how long the younger could go without feeding, though, so maybe this interval was normal for him. 

The brunet shook his head lightly, trying to get the other out of his thoughts. 

The first hour behind the bar was slow, as expected, with only a handful of customers coming in since opening. Things started to pick up sometime after ten, though, with the crowd tripling in size and more entering by the minute. It was a Friday night, after all. 

Humming to the beat of the music playing overhead, Chan finished pouring two vodka sodas before turning to his next customer, who he had not been paying attention to until after the drinks he had made were served. He did, unfortunately, immediately recognise the tuft of blond hair approaching him. 

"Oh fuck off." The brunet huffed under his breath, his brown eyes meeting the blue-lensed ones of the person standing opposite him. 

"I didn't know you worked here." Felix raised an eyebrow, leaning gently against the bar. 

"I don't." Chan stated simply. "I'm covering for someone."

"What, so you're a licensed bartender somewhere else?" The blonde's lips pulled to the side slightly, indicating he wanted to smile but was trying not to. 

"No, actually. I work in the café next door, it's owned by the same person. I used to bartend when I was in college so I have the skills needed. Are you gonna order something?" The elder asked dryly, not really in the mood for a career analysis.