night shift // l.s.

one

"do you work tonight?" liam asked his dormmate, flopping down onto louis' bed.

"yes, unfortunately," louis sighs. "but maybe you can come down and see me when you're done with your project? i know it's big for you. drinks on me."

"you're the best," liam nuzzled his head on louis' lap. he got a groan of 'get your fat ass head off of me you twat,' and a shove to his skull before he moved with a pout. his mate was a brat.

"isn't tonight supposed to be big?" liam questioned. it was friday, and of course on fridays they're busier than any work day. kids coming in to relax from school, couples coming to have good times, or people coming just to get drunk and laid. typical town, typical people.

louis nods as he shuffles through his clothes. "i don't wanna fucking deal with them. they're gonna be drunk and messy and- ugh."

"you signed up as a bartender, bub. that's on you."

louis mumbled a 'shut the fuck up' before grabbing a simple black tank to go with his jeans. he went to the bathroom and got ready, playing with his hair and retreated to get his shoes.

"have fun, i love your face," liam said as he snuggled against louis' pillow.

"that's gay," louis replied.

"you're gay," liam backfired.

"and you're a twat, but i love you too. i'll be back around three, okay?"

"'kay," his roommate mumbled before dozing off.

---

louis pulled up into his usual parking spot. he sighed, lighting a cigarette and looked at the surroundings around him. the club was called bounty, and it was a gray building with red lights along the exterior parts. it was a bar, diner, you name it. it served food, alcohol and casino games.

louis believed he was fit for a bartender -- except for when he had to use the ladder to grab the rum from the highest shelf of liquor. and that was about fifteen rows up. god damn, there are so many bottles and glasses loaded in that place that louis wouldn't have any problem as an alcoholic.

he relaxed for a few minutes as he smoked, flicking the butt across the lot as he walked inside after greeting donny, the bouncer. he was like louis' big brother. he was a bigger man but once saved louis' ass from a fight when a customer threw a drink in louis' face after he said she looked like a whore. which, she did and was most certainly acting like one. but louis doesn't bring it up because he almost lost his job over it.

thank god for people like donny, right?

louis clocked in, placing his thumb on the screen for it to detect his fingerprint and walked behind the bar. he did his usual set up; waters in the first freezer, canned and bottled beers in the second, canned drinks in the third and ice cubes for 'on the rocks' in the fourth.

he loved his job, he really did. he thought bartending was an art (especially when he could set the drinks on fire) and he's had a slight passion for it ever since he was seventeen. he was watching coyote ugly when he wondered what life would be like as a coyote, to handle all of the crazy people in a small space, to make hella money and be able to live good. bartending was fun for him, but not when the customers were piss drunk and trying to grab at him.

"hey, babes," niall greeted louis as he clocked in as well. "how has your day been?"

"shit," louis sat on the counter, swinging his now dangling legs.

niall was just a smidge taller than louis. and his hair was purple. literally two days ago it was this unruly mix of blonde and brown. his accent is completely different from everyone else's, since he's from dublin but moved to london with his dad when he was sixteen.

"you're going on break at ten thirty," niall said. "mine's at ten, do you want me to get you something to eat when i go?"

louis mumbled a 'yeah' and gave niall a twenty, requesting some subway and niall put a reminder on his alarm for break to get his friend some food.

the club didn't open until six, and it's five fifty-four. which gave louis six minutes to let his usual pre-work anxieties die down.

"i like your hair," louis teased the irish boy. niall proceeded to tell louis that it was because he lost a bet with alec, their manager. the bet was if niall could make over a thousand dollars in sales in an hour, alec had to do something along the lines of bar dancing but if he lost, he had to do whatever alec said to.

he made an $800 sale, and was forced to dye his hair purple. purple. he isn't complaining though, it could have been black or even green for fucks sake.

the bar started to get busy around seven. louis served alot of shots, niall ran out some food and the dj started playing music to get everyone in the mood.

"hey lou-" niall stopped once he saw a lad at the bar talking to his co-worker. "uh, my bad. 'm so sorry, but alec said he needs you."

"right now?" louis' eyebrows furrowed. he looked over at the man sitting at the bar. "sorry li, i gotta go. niall, can you get him a shot of heaven?"

niall nods, pouring a shot of heaven hill into a tiny glass and slid it to the brown eyed man as louis jogged to the back of the building -- where alec usually stayed.

with three knocks, louis cracked alec's door open. "you needed me?"

"ah, yes. come in, lou," alec swirled in his chair.

louis sat on the small couch in the office, biting his lip. this was the place he got hired at, will this be the place he gets fired at as well?

"i wanted to talk to you about something," the boss man spoke. "michelle and naomi agree with me on this stance."

"what?" louis asked, getting nervous. his knee started to shake and he was absentmindedly picking at his nails. force of habit.

"we want you to be our new night shift manager."

louis' jaw went slack and he looked up at alec with widened eyes. "m-me? why not niall? i don't deserve-"

"shut the hell up. yes you do. niall doesn't want to be a manager, he feels like that's too much work. fucker," alec chuckled, making louis laugh as well. "you're responsible and you take your job seriously, we think it would be best if you stepped up and took the position as bounty's new manager."

"holy shit," louis ran his hands over his face.

"c'mon louis, it's higher pay, better hours, and you can boss niall around."

"i already do that," louis said as he picked at the stray string coming out of his jeans. alec barked out a laugh at the comment and rummaged through one of his filing shelves.

"medium shirt?"

"i-uh..yeah," louis said with a confident nod. alec gave him a new uniform shirt with the bounty logo on it. he wouldn't have to wear it much because there's not really a dress code for bartenders (or any of the employees, really) but he didn't mind having a new piece of uniform to prove his higher stance.

"thank you so much, alec," louis said as he fumbled with the material in his hands.

"don't disappoint us. get back there, boss," alec said with a small smile and louis darted to change his shirt, breaking out in a smile once he returned to the bar.

---

how was this? continuation next chapter! i just don't wanna make chapters too long or too short :/