lmao!!! Oh god I laughed so much!!!

come on hun!! You know u want him!!!!!

:eek: :eek:
upon my word I wasn't expecting this!!!

wait.... :cry: what's wrong with me then????

this reminds me of a cutest chat convo we're having.... :lalala: :hug:

:eek: :eek:
you guys waste no time innit????????? me is jealous!!!! *pokes Viggo*

and wait...

CHRISTINAAAAA!!!! :eek:

Okies, time to put the madness on here! :) lol

Rating: (I remembered! lol) MA15+ for bad language and sexual references (I don't write graphic sex scenes, never have been able to)

Disclaimer: I do not own, or am associated in any way, with any of the celebrities mentioned in this fic. Other characters are based on actual people and are used with kind permission - please don't sue me, I'm still technically a broke performing arts student!!!

Okay, here's the "staff" of Morgan's Supermarket:
FRONT END (checkouts):
Rory Smith (The Loveable Phantom)
Ela Mitchell (DarkFairySarah)
Logan Halifax (OffTheAngel)

LIQUOR:
Christina Estradez (~Glitter~)
Gillian Taylor (Jade Stone)
Amber Brolin (Ambrosia)
Orlando Bloom

DELI:
Miranda Peterson (LizzieLij20)
Gabby Whitfield (surfingangel)
Billy Boyd
Jessica Ryan (Jaime_Lynne)

FREEZER:
Annais Valkovich (lijluver14)
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

BUTCHER:
Mena Williams (Mena)
Viggo Mortensen
Heath Ledger

DAIRY:
Liz Webb (elijah-frofo)
Violetta Mangan (paisteasDia)

FLOOR:
Cody Lafferty (frodozfan81)
Rider Strong
Johnny Depp
Bam Margera
Rob Clerk

FRESH PRODUCE:
Elijah Wood
Dominic Monaghan


The store in this fic is gonna be based on the store I work in and any other characters based on people I work with. Again, I don't own the store or the people!


Chapter 1

There were six of them in the group being escorted around the store, all a little intimidated by their new surroundings. In truth there wasn't much to be nervous about - Morgan's Supermarket was the smallest grocery store in a medium-sized Australian town. It's only claim to fame was that it attracted a more multi-cultural clientel - namely elderly people who didn't speak English too well - therefore the majority of the staff was made up of foreign-accented and bi-lingual people.
Amber Brolin glanced around at her little group as they were ushered into the huge storeroom. She was going to be working in the liquor department, which sounded fun. Sure, she hadn't met any of the other staff members yet, but she hoped it would be fun.

Speaking of other staff members, people her age were coming and going continuously through the plastic swinging doors. A guy with intense blue eyes was packing pumpkins onto a six-wheeler as a blonde girl filled up a bucket with water at the sink. They glanced curiously, almost knowingly, at the group then went back to their own hushed conversation.

A younger girl named Ela leaned over to Amber. "I feel like such an outsider," she whispered.

"I know," Amber replied. It did feel weird coming into this place. But she was sure that feeling would pass.

They were shown around the rest of the store; through the deli where a red-haired girl gave them a welcoming smile, the butchers, liquor, front end. Then they went back up the cramped little stairwell to the meeting room, where they had to fill out the rest of their forms. Then they were each given their training roster.

"When are you on?" Ela asked Amber as they left the store.

"Tuesday morning," Amber replied. "You?"

"Wednesday night. I'm really scared." Ela would be working on front end.

"You'll be fine," Amber assured her. "I'll probably see you soon - liquor's pretty close to front end."

"Yeah," Ela grinned at her. "Good luck!"

"You too!" Amber replied, heading for her car once they got outside. They were gonna need it.

Chapter 2

‘Melbourne summer, how I hate you,’ Jessica Ryan thought to herself as she climbed out of her car at two o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon. The temperature was soaring, the sun was beating down – by the end of her four hour shift her car would be a sauna. And there wasn’t even any shade to park it under. Dammit.
She thought about putting in a complaint, suggesting to the store manager that they should plant some trees out here, then thought better of it. Employees weren’t allowed to park in the store car park – the spaces were reserved for customers – and she’d get into trouble if they knew she was parking there. So she’d just have to live with it.

Checking her watch she found that she still had a couple of minutes before she needed to sign on. Lighting up a cigarette she walked around to the other side of the building, to the bench in a rare patch of shade where most people sat on their breaks. No one else was out there, so she sat in the peace by herself for a moment. It was bloody hot out here, and it would be sweltering in the deli. With so many fridges she would have thought it’d be cooler, but there was the rotissary to contend with, as well as the heat generated by the fridges. It was ridiculous.

Jess stubbed her cigarette out on the side of the bin and headed inside. Front End was nice and cool – they finally had the air-conditioning going. For a moment she almost wished she were back up here instead of down in the heat-trap. Then she remembered the nightmare customers and changed her mind. Three years of Front End was quite enough, thank you, although she still did the occassional shift when they were short-staffed.

She breezed through the store, so familiar now, and through the swinging plastic doors into the storeroom. Dominic was in produce today, she noticed, calling out a hello. He replied with a cheeky grin.

“Did you see England won the rugby against Australia?” he asked in his broad accent. He looked pleased with himself.

“Dom,” she replied. “You don’t even follow the rugby.”

“Don’t have to follow it to see that England’s better.”

“Whatever. Have you seen the cricket scores from the past, what, ten years?”

“You hate cricket.”

“Don’t have to like it to see that Australia’s better!”

This was their favourite game – proving that their homeland was better. True it was childish, but it passed the boring hours, and it was all in fun.

The temperature rose as she made her way down the fluro-lit corridor to the tea-room, where she collected her apron from her locker before doubling back, swiping her name badge through the sign-in clock as she went. She gave Dom another playful remark about cricket scores as she pushed through the plastic curtain to the bakery, and through that to the deli.

“Mornin’,” she called cheerfully to Gabby Whitfield and Miranda Peterson. “Young ones today? Where’s all the oldies?” There was usually two older ladies that worked days – Sonia the deli manager who everyone hated, and Irene, who everyone adored.

“Irene’s sick so they called me in,” Miranda replied. “And Sonia’s already gone, thank God.”

“Wicked,” Jess replied, tying her apron behind her back. “I think she’s pissed off with me.”

“She’s pissed off with all of us,” Gabby told her, moving past with a tray of shredded chicken. “I think she’s menopausal.”

Jess shrugged. “Or just a humungous bitch. Either way, she’s gone. It’s all good. What would you like me to do?”

“There’s some rods in the roto that are just about ready to come out,” Miranda told her from one of the slicers. She gave the other girl a grin. “Be a darl.”

Jess glanced doubtfully at the rotissary, where four rods of barbecue chickens were cooking. “Ah, crap.” Then she giggled. “Oh well, we can use these ones to shred tomorrow.” She fit a white mesh hat over her red hair and went to pull on the heat gloves.

“The new guy’s on today,” Gabby told her. “You’re working with him for an hour.”

“Cool,” Jess replied. “I haven’t met him yet.”

“He’s nice,” Miranda put in. “He’s funny.”

Gabby grinned. “He’s Scottish.”

Jess grinned back. “That’s exciting.”

Two hours later Miranda had gone home, and Billy Boyd walked into the deli to swap with Gabby. “Hi,” Jess said brightly, looking up from her place at the slicer. “I’m Jess.”

“I’m Billy,” the guy said with a nervous grin.

Jess showed him her gloves. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m all meaty.” She was slicing a particularly juicy ham, and was covered in the stuff.

“That’s cool.”

Gabby finished up serving the last customer and removed her own blue plastic gloves. “I’m outie,” she announced. “Have fun, guys, don’t work too hard.”

“No need to worry about that,” Jess replied with a grin. “See ya, darl.” She turned to Billy. “Okay, exactly what have you been shown so far?”

Soon she had Billy settled at the slicer as she started on the disgusting task of cleaning the rotissary. Billy looked up in disgust as she drained the chicken fat from the bottom tray.

“That’s a little gross,” he said pointedly.

“Don’t I know it. This stuff stinks! But your turn will come.”

“I look forward to it.”

At that moment Dominic breezed into the deli. “I need more gloves!” he declared, heading for a box on the back counter. Jess barely looked up.

“Dom, this is Billy Boyd, he’s new. Billy, this is Dom Monaghan, royal pain in my ass.”

Dom grinned at Billy. “Yeah, but she loves it in the ass. Welcome to hell.”

“Thanks, it’s great to be here.”

“Sarcasm, I love it.”

Jess checked her watch. “Shouldn’t you be, like, gone?”

“Lij is running a little late, so I’m covering. So it looks like you’re stuck with me for the next half hour.”

“Not if you go actually do some work.”

“Look who’s talking, she who plays in chicken fat.”

She picked up a handful in her gloved hand, and made to throw it at him. He retreated fast.

“I see your point. My pumpkin calls! Nice to meet you, Billy.”

“Likewise.”

Dom left, Billy returned to his slicing and Jess turned back to the rotissary, where a thick film of grease covered every inch of the stainless steel oven. Disgusting.
Resisting the urge to dry retch, she reached for the spray bottle of degreaser and began her attack.




Chapter 3

It was so hot the very air burned your skin, not to mention the blazing Australian sun, and Christina Estradez couldn’t wait to get into the air-conditioning of the store. Or, better yet, the coolroom...no way was Orlando hogging all the fridge duties tonight...

Her mouth practically watered at the thought of the nice cool air as she crossed the car park. Familiar cars sweltered away in the heat – Orlando’s little red Barina, Jess’ brown Corolla, Mena’s yellow Charade.

Hang on a second, Chrissy thought. Mena? Mena didn’t work nights. Maybe she’d just dropped in for a visit. The regular staff were likely to do that.

The temperature difference as she entered the store nauseated her for a moment, until she got used to it and could enjoy the freshness of the airconditioning. Heaven.

She passed through the produce department, waving hello to Elijah. “Mornin’,” she called across the deli counter to Jess, who was putting out a display of shaved ham.

“Hey darl,” the little redhead called back. “You on til close tonight?”

“Yup.”

“Me too. Try and have your break at about 7, I’ll come with.”

“Cool. I’ll grab ya as I come past.”

“Wicked.”

Chrissy passed through the swinging plastic doors into the storeroom, where she swiped her name badge through the clock, and fixed her blue tie in the mirror. It was way too hot to be wearing a tie. And shoes for that matter. And socks. And long pants. Oh well.

The liquor department at Morgan’s was seperate from the rest of the store, to stop underage people from shoplifting alcohol. It was located at the far end of the building as you walked along the front end, and the cigarette counter that formed the express lane, or Service Center as they called it, housed the two liquor registers. It meant that there could be three people serving in there at one time – one Front End person in the Service Center, and two in liquor, seperated by the smokes. It was claustraphobic and extremely squishy, but there was a certain spot that was a blind spot for the security cameras where you could stand and talk, or even eat. So it worked out well.

It seemed that liquor was pretty dead tonight – Orlando Bloom was just finishing up one customer as Chrissy entered with a change drawer, and the rest of the store was empty.

“You’re late,” Orlando said in a sing-song, extremely English voice.

“Bite me,” Chrissy replied, mimicking his tone, as she logged on to the register and placed the drawer inside. “Bags coolroom tonight.”

“Bugger off, it’s already done. Just has to be faced, and we can’t do that yet.”

Chrissy made a face at him. “Shithead. Oh well, what else has to be done?”

Orlando went through the list, but Chrissy wasn’t really paying that much attention. A familiar redhead had entered the liquor department.

“MENA!” Chrissy yelled, louder than she’d meant to. Mena Williams jumped a mile high, then grinned.

“Hey girl. You scared the hell outta me.” Her accent was richly Italian, with a sexy husky quality to it. She simply oozed class. If you didn’t know she worked in the butcher department, you’d think she was a supermodel.

“Sorry dude.”

“How’s it going, guys?” Mena leaned casually on the counter, a plastic shopping bag dangling from her right hand.

“Cool. What’re you up to tonight?” Orlando questioned, peering inside the bag.

“Barbecue at Dom’s to celebrate the hot weather. Everyone’s invited. Come around when you finish work.”

“Hey, he’s got a pool!” Chrissy said. “Sounds like a plan – I’ll be there.”

“Yeah, me too,” Orlando chimed in. “Good day for a swim.”

“Yeah man.” Chrissy turned to him. “Remind me to buy grog on my break.”

Orlando grinned. “Chrissy, remember to buy grog on your break.”

“Thanks.”

Mena laughed, pinched both of their cheeks. “You two are so cute! What do you recommend I drink tonight?”

“Well, let’s see.” Chrissy moved around the counter into the store, ushered her down the aisle to the fridge where the mixer drinks were kept. Orlando was left alone in the Service Center, staring after them.

So he and Chrissy were cute, huh? That was interesting. He loved Chrissy to bits – they always had a blast when they worked together, and at parties and stuff they were always joking around. But he’d never really looked at her in that way.

Until now.

Interesting.

Chapter 4

There’d been a note left in Logan Halifax’s locker at school that day, pushed through the grates in the door like a love letter from a secret admirer. But this was no love letter. There was no secret admirer. And this wasn’t the first note.

Derogatory terms filled the white sheet of paper. Fag. Homo. All things that he’d heard before. He was no stranger to these words. Logan had been hearing them every day for the last six years, had learned to block them out. Even written down, he could still tear up the paper, rip the words apart. He could pretend he didn’t care. It was something he’d become good at.

Somewhere inside though, it still stabbed like a red-hot knife blade.

It was no secret that he was gay. His family, while they’d been upset at first, were supportive. Why shouldn’t they be? He was a good kid – a straight A student, about to sit his final exams in high school. He didn’t smoke, didn’t do drugs, drank occasionally, but everyone did. He’d never been in trouble with the law, barely even had a detention at school. He was the perfect son, and he counted his blessings that his family could respect his sexuality.

He had friends, too. Sure, most of the “cool” kids at his school avoided him like the plague, but he didn’t need them. He had his own small group of close friends – mainly girls – that he could talk to about anything. And getting that part-time job at Morgan’s Supermarket had opened up a whole new world for him.

Most of the staff were older than him, but Logan was very mature for his seventeen years. They’d accepted him as one of their own, without judgement, without apprehension. They didn’t care that he was gay – they cared that he was a good person. That was all that mattered.

He could clearly remember the day he’d admitted to Jessica that he was gay. She’d looked at him with steady grey eyes and replied, “I thought so.”

Logan had been surprised by this. “Really?”

She grinned. “Honey, you’re gayer than Christmas. But that’s okay. You’re my friend, and as long as you’re happy, that’s all I care about.”

Even the guys were open to it. They were all notorious for taking the piss out of each other, and their gentle teasing made him feel included. To these guys, the fact that he was gay was no different to the fact that Dominic had extraordinarily large balls, or that Elijah had once fallen asleep while receieving a blow-job from a girl at a party. These guys never took anything too seriously, and Logan had approached this philosophy to life with open arms.

He’d just worked a closing shift – The Last Cashier, they dramatically called it. It was kind of weird, standing in the service center as the main store lights were turned off, looking down the deserted aisle of registers. Rory Smith had been the Front End Superviser that night, and Logan loved working with her. She was funky and outspoken, and they always had great conversation as they packed the cigarette cartons into shopping trolleys to be put away in the cash office at the end of the day. Jess had also been on ‘til close, in the deli, along with Chrissy in liquor. All in all, it had been a fun night.

Now he climbed out of Jess’ little Corolla at Dom’s house, food and beverages in hand. Technically he wasn’t allowed to buy alcohol, as he was underage, but his friends always bent the rule for him. He would choose what he wanted, take it to the liquor register, give Jess the cash and she’d pay for him, so that Chrissy wouldn’t get into trouble. It was a good plan.

The air was starting to cool off, and the party was in full swing as they entered. They passed a couple of people in the living room, but the real action was outside, where people were chilling in the pool, or just sitting around, enjoying the cool relief. One thing you could always count on in Melbourne – if it was a hot day, it was going to be a perfect night for a party. You just had to watch the chill that came around about 3am.

Elijah and Mena were cooking up a storm on the barbecue, both wearing stupid aprons. Mena’s was cow-print, with a cartoon cow and the words “Eat Me”, and Elijah’s had a huge pair of breasts. They looked ridiculous, but they were having fun. Dominic sat nearby with Bam Margera, Johnny Depp and Billy Boyd, watching some of the girls splash in the pool. The atmosphere was relaxed, fun, upbeat.

Logan thought back once again to the note he’d found in his locker. A party was exactly what he needed take his mind off things.




Chapter 5

Gillian Taylor mischievously scanned the crowded backyard, then turned to her best friend Rory Smith. "Okay," she said. "Summer is upon us. Soon we'll be finishing uni and school, working days rather than nights, and partying even more than usual..."

"If that's at all possible," Rory put in with a giggle. She loved it when her friend got all philosophical like this. Gillian grinned, and continued.

"Oh, it is. So you know what that means?"

"We need to start stocking up Dom's beer fridge now that the two of us can legally buy alcohol?"

"No," Gillian replied, then stopped. "But yes, good plan. But that's not what I was talking about."

"Then what were you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the mating season. The time of year when alcohol gets the better of us broke uni students and we start hooking up with anyone and everyone we can."

Rory gave her a strange look. "I think you're exaggerating."

"No way, dude, think about it. How many guys have you picked up this year?"

Rory thought for a second. "Five."

Gillian's train of thought was interrupted. "Five? Is that all?" Rory shrugged, and Gillian let it go as she returned to her point. "But how many of them were during the summer, before uni started?"

Rory was starting to come around to her friend's point. "Three of them," she replied. "Hey...so what you're saying is..."

"What I'm saying is, it's time for Gillian and Rory's matchmaking service to begin."

"Hmm." Rory pretended to stroke an imaginary beard. "Good plan. Matchmaking, ay..."

*

"Guess what?" Mena said, settling into a lawn chair beside Jess and Chrissy, a vodka UDL in her hand.

"You're dumb and I'm not?" Chrissy guessed.

Mena poked her tongue out at her. "Not guite. But guess who's being transferred permanently into the meatroom at our store!"

Again, Chrissy put a blank expression on her face. "Um, Sean Connery?"

Grabbing a handful of peanuts from a nearby table, Mena threw them at her. "No! Viggo! He's being transferred from the Rolling Hills store!"

"Hmm." Jess pretended to ponder over this. "The Mysterious Mr Mortensen. I think I'll have to popping into the meatroom more often...although not when there's dead things hanging up."

Mena laughed at her friend's squeamishness. "There's always dead things hanging up. It's called meat."

Jess took a mouthful of Vodka Mudshake. "Then the Mysterious Mr Mortensen can come visit me, dammit."

Chrissy was looking thoughtful. "Mysterious Mr Mortensen," she repeated like a mantra. "We need another M word to describe the sheer hotness of Viggo."

"Manly," Mena suggested.

"Magnificent," Jess put in.

"Marvellous."

"Magical."

Now Chrissy held up a hand. "You guys are crap, I'm over it. There just are no suitable M words. But I'll live."

The three laughed, then Jess decided to change the subject. "So Chrissy." She nudged her in the ribs. "Orli, ay?"

Chrissy fixed her with a stare as Mena tried to conceal her giggles. "So, Rider, ay?" was her scathing reply.

Jess just shrugged, one eyebrow raised. "Hey, I'm in no denial of the fact I like him. You, however, are."

"I am not!" She turned to Mena for support, but Mena just shrugged. Chrissy sighed. "I'm outnumbered by two frigin' redheads. And I need another beer." She stood, and stalked off to the fridge.

Mena and Jess watched her go, then exchanged a glance. "It's gonna happen," Mena announced knowingly. "It's clear as day."

*

For some reason, Jess and Mena's gentle teasing had gotten under Chrissy's skin. Truth be told, she thought she did have a thing for Orli. Maybe just a small one, but a thing all the same. But why would a guy like him - tall, gorgeous, funny, smart - like a girl like her, a girl who's current ambitions were to surf and work in a liquor store with her friends? Orlando studied medicine at Melbourne University - the toughest course to get into in the whole of the state - while Chrissy had forgone university altogether. It could never happen.

But for some reason, she wanted it to.

*

"Elijah!" Gillian called, catching his attention. "C'mere." She gestured for him to take a seat with her and Rory.

"What's up?" Elijah asked, sitting down. "Having fun?"

"Certainly are," Gillian replied with a grin. "Just a quick question for you, we need a guy's perspective."

"Okay, on what?"

Rory giggled and leaned in close. "We're trying to set people up, but we're working out who with. We've got nearly everybody, but we're just discussing Jess. We know she's got a crush on Rider...it's completely obvious...but he's a big asshole so we want to set her up with someone else. Who do you reckon?"

"Jess?" Elijah replied slowly. "Dude, I don't know. Umm..."

"We were thinking of Bam," Gillian said. "Do you think?"

"No," Elijah replied straight away. "She told me once that she thinks he's funny, but that he can get annoying after awhile."

"True," Rory replied, and the three sat in silence for a few seconds. Then Rory grinned evilly. "What about you, Lij?" she asked mischievously.

"Me?" Elijah replied, trying to be cool despite the crimson creeping into his cheeks. "No way man."

Unfortunately, both girls caught on at the same time. "Oh my god!" Gillian squealed, then quickly lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "You so like her!"

"I so do not!" He got up to leave, but Rory grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"You do!" she said. "That's so cool! Please let us set you two up!"

"No," he said firmly. "Rory, no way. Absolutely not."

"But you admit that you like her, right?"

Elijah groaned. Damn them. Damn them to hell. "Alright, I admit it. But you can't tell anyone."

"We promise," Gillian replied sincerely. "This is so cute!"

"I'm leaving," Elijah declared, standing up. "I'm leaving you two evil, evil people to your own twisted devices. May our paths never cross again."

And off he went to get another beer, to drown his now not-so-secret sorrows.

Chapter 6

Annais Valkovich sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her long legs in the water. The coolness of the night was an immesnse relief after the heat of the day - the air felt cleaner somehow, it woke you up. The perfect atmosphere for a pool party.

She glanced around at her friends. The perfect people for a pool party.

Morgan's Supermarket was like an exclusive club in the town, Annais knew. To get a job there you had to be one of the lucky ones. The staff were mostly young, mainly ambitious, and entirely beautiful. There were no pimply-faced bag boys here, not a set of braces in sight. It hadn't been planned that way, it had just happened over time. And Annais loved it that way.

There were about twenty people gathered in Dom's backyard. A good sized crowd. These were Annais' closest friends. Sure, she had her uni friends, but they were mostly bohemian arty types, and while she loved discussing the finer details of famous works with them, she also longed for the fun and frivolity of these guys.

Dom and Billy were taking turns to cannon-ball into the pool, making Ela Mitchell, Liz Webb and Violetta Mangan squeal in indignation. Fortunately Annais was far enough away that the only effects she got were a gentle lapping of water against her legs and the occassional drop on her bathing suit. Cody Lafferty sat next to her, revelling in the coolness as well as she tried not to watch Johnny Depp talking animatedly with Orlando Bloom and Rob Clerk. Amber Brolin, Mena Williams and Jessica Ryan chatted easily on the lawn, casually watching Elijah Wood, Logan Halifax and Chrissy Estradez play a half-hearted game of hacky-sack. The others were spread across the entertaining area, talking and laughing in small groups. The epitomy of a relaxing night with friends.

"Ladies." Dom had come up behind Annais and Cody and plopped himself down between them, dripping with water. "What's happening over here?"

"Bugger off," Cody complained, shifting away from him. "Now I'm all wet."

"That's what usually happens when water's involved," Dom joked.

"Gee, you're so funny, I wish I could be more like you." But Cody was in too good a mood to stay angry at him.

"Perfect night for a party," Annais commented idly, extending her long neck as she leaned back to look at the stars.

"It is nice," Dom agreed, following her lead and glancing up at the sky. Not a cloud in sight, the stars and moon shone as brightly as they ever had. If Dom were to turn off all the lights out here, it would still be bright enough to see by. "Good turn out."

"Hmm," Annais murmured.

Cody, sensing something, decided it was time to exit. "I'm gonna get another drink," she announced, toddling over to the bar fridge then joining Rory and Gillian.

Dom watched her go. "She's a nice girl," he said. Cody was new to the staff, hired in the same group as Billy and Amber. To date, she was the only female member of the floor staff in Morgans' history.

"Cody's great," Annais agreed. "I've known her for awhile - she's friends with my older sister."

"Cool." They fell into a comfortable silence, just as they always did. They'd been friends for years, since they'd been hired in the same group, even though there was nothing romantic between them.

At least, that's what Dom thought.

*

Chrissy, Elijah and Orlando stumbled through the doorway into the kitchen sometime later that night, gasping for breath through their fits of laughter. An innoncent game of three-way hacky-sack on the soft grass had resulted in an all-out war in the form of a wrestling match, that had gone on for about half an hour. In the end a winner couldn't be decided, so they'd decided to celebrate their truce with a few shots.

Chrissy lined up three shot glasses along the kitchen bench, poured Butterscotch Schnapps into each one, and finished them off with Baileys poured over a spoon. The result was three perfect Cocksucking Cowboys.

"That's awesome," Elijah said, holding his glass up to the light. "I can never get them to seperate like that."

Chrissy shrugged, grinning. "It's a gift. Bottoms up!" They clinked glasses, downed the shots, and slammed the glasses back down on the bench.

"Nature calls!" Elijah announced, leaving Chrissy and Orlando alone.

"Another one?" Chrissy offered.

Orlando grinned. "Won't say no."

She began to refill the glasses, racking her mind for a conversation starter. "You finished uni yet?" It was the most universally asked question at this time of year, but oh well.

Orlando downed the second shot, then shook his head. "Exams next week, then its over. I should probably be home studying, but I figured I deserve at least one night off."

Chrissy grinned, refilling the glasses yet again. "Fair enough." The alcohol was starting to affect her - Cowboys always went straight to her head. Not a good thing.

The door opened, and Mena entered. "Hey, Cocksucking Cowboys!" she said as she spied the Butterscotch and Baileys on the counter.

"Want one?" Orlando offered.

Mena shook her head. "No thanks. Just heading for the bathroom." She continued down the hall, and Chrissy couldn't help but notice the way Orlando stared after her.

So that was it, she thought, her heart sinking. Orli had a thing for Mena. Well, who wouldn't? She was stunning, built like a supermodel, intelligent, articulate, and generally perfect. The complete opposite of Chrissy.

Taking a deep breath and praying for Orli not to notice the tears welling in her eyes, Chrissy threw back her head and swallowed another cowboy.

*

"Check it out," Rider Strong said to Johnny Depp, pointing to the desolate figure of Chrissy sitting by herself on the back steps. Most of the party had moved inside to play pool, leaving only a few token people out here.

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Someone's had too much to drink."

"Looks like it."

Now Johnny grinned. "You're in, mate, you're in."

Rider raised his own cool eyebrow. "I reckon." With that he got up, moved to sit next to Chrissy. "What's up cutie?" he asked.

She looked up in suprise. "Nothing," she replied. Eyeliner was smudged under her slightly gazed brown eyes, a dead giveaway of someone who's had too much to drink.

"Don't give me that, you look like someone's just told you there's a severe shortage of alcohol in the world."

Chrissy fixed him with a drunken stare. "What the hell do you care?"

Rider shrugged. "I just hate to see a pretty girl upset."

She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Pretty girl? What the? And why was he even talking to her? This was the guy her best friend had been in love with for years, who knew about Jess' crush, who screwed her around whenever he could. Why was he being nice to her?

"It's a guy, isn't it?" Rider asked. "Well, whoever he is, he doesn't deserve you." He moved in closer, and before Chrissy knew what was happening his mouth was upon hers.

And she was powerless to stop it.

*

"I think someone said she was around here," Orlando said to Jess as they made their way around the side of the house. A rumour had spread through the party that Chrissy was outside, upset, and the two had come to look for her.

They came into view of the entertaining area, and Orlando stopped dead in his tracks. Jess' jaw dropped open.

There, on the steps, were Chrissy and Rider, locked in a passionate embrace. They broke apart at the sound of Jess' choked gasp, and Chrissy stared, shocked, at her two friends. After a long moment Jess turned on her heel and fled.

"Jess..." Chrissy choked out, her eyes welling with tears. She turned to Orlando, seeking comfort, but he turned away his own scandalised eyes and followed Jess back inside.

*

"Did you find her?" Elijah asked as Jess re-entered the living room.

"Yeah," Jess replied, fighting to remain calm even though the image of Chrissy and Rider still burned in her mind. "She's okay."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Are you okay? You look kind of...pale."

"Fine." Jess put on her best innocent expression, painfully aware of how high-pitched her voice sounded. "Never better. How are you?"

A confused expression crossed his features, but before he could say anything Orlando burst into the room. "Jess!" he called.

She'd not even fully turned around when he grabbed her and kissed her.

*

It had taken Chrissy awhile to pull herself to her feet and stumble inside. She didn't care about the curious glances she was receiving as she made her way through the house, searching for her best friend. She just needed to find her.

In the living room, she got the shock of her life.

The first thing she noticed was Elijah's huge blue eyes, staring in painful bewilderment. The second thing she noticed was Jess in Orlando's arms, a rough match of tonsil hockey underway. She didn't get around to noticing the crowd that was gathered.

Jess and Orlando finally pulled apart, noticing her.

The room was deadly silent. Mena, on the couch, made the only sound.

"Shit."




Chapter 7

"So Jess has liked Rider for ages, and for some reason Chrissy kissed him last night, even though she likes Orli, and I think Orli likes her, and Jess and Orli walked in on Chrissy and Rider kissing, and they were both upset, and then Orli kissed Jess to piss Chrissy off, which also upset Elijah cuz he likes Jess, so now Lij is pissed at Orli, and Jess is pissed at Chrissy for kissing Rider and Chrissy's pissed at Orli AND Jess for kissing, and everyone hates Rider." Mena took a breath, and dared to look at Heath Ledger's face.

"Whoa," Heath said blankly. "I think my brain just farted."

Mena shook her head sadly. It was clear to say that the party had pretty much turned to shit, and now the whole store was talking about the event in hushed whispers, so as not to let the emotionally-delicate participants overhear. It was incredibly screwed up, Mena thought. She couldn't even enjoy the fact that it was Viggo's first day.

Viggo - the Mysterious Mr Mortensen - was shaking his own head in quiet amusement as he listened to Mena's tale. "Kids these days," he said with a small smile. "Back in my day we just smoked pot and had unprotected sex."

Even Mena, distraught over the plight of her friends, had to laugh. "These were the days, what, last week?" she shot back, pulling a long knife from her belt.

Viggo grinned that incredibly sexy grin of his. "Something like that."

He was so hot, Mena thought to herself. She just wanted to jump him, blood-spattered though he was.

Or, she thought, she wanted to run to the deli, or to liquor, and think up more M-words with Jess or Chrissy. But that was out of the question. Not only were they not talking to each other, they weren't talking to anyone. When Mena had walked outside on her break earlier, Chrissy had been angrily cleaning up the contents of a bottle she'd dropped on the floor, while scared looking customers stayed carefully out of her way. And when Mena had come back in and headed upstairs to the bathroom, Jess had her head in the rotissary, a tear slipping unnoticed down her cheek as she scrubbed at the grease. Miranda had shrugged and given Mena a solemn smile as she passed, but Jess didn't even acknowledge her. Obviously they were all a little delicate.

Mena checked her watch. "I think I'm gonna take a smoko," she announced. She'd been about to start cutting some steaks, but suddenly she was exhausted.

"Kay," Heath replied. That was the great thing about the meatroom - as long as you got your work done, no one cared too much how many breaks you took. And Mena had done a lot of work this morning, despite the hangover - it kept her mind off things, plus it impressed Viggo.

So she headed back out into the blistering midday heat, pushing her sunglasses onto her nose, and took a seat next to Amber on the usual bench. "What time did you start?" she asked as she sat down.

"Nine," Amber replied. "Chrissy started at eight. I don't think that was a good plan."

"Probably," Mena agreed. "How'd you pull up this morning?"

"Fine, but I didn't drink that much last night."

"Me either."

They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, dragging deeply on their cigarettes. Mena had been so excited when Amber had been hired. The two had been good friends in high school, despite being a year apart. Their families were close friends, and they'd known each other for years - they even went to the same university campus, although Amber studied medicine and Mena studied language arts.

"I'm a little over this weather," Amber said, leaning back against the brick wall.

"Mmm." They were both avoiding talking about the obvious, although it was weighing heavily on both their minds.

Mena sighed. This fiasco was affecting everyone.

*

The heat was making Gabby neuseous, and the air-conditioning of the store was a huge relief. She couldn't wait to get into the deli coolroom. That would be heaven for her hangover.

Jess was slicing a disgustingly juicy ham on the bench, and Miranda was putting raw chickens onto the metal rods ready for a bake when she walked into the deli. The sight of the raw meat and the juice made her stomach churn, but Gabby resisted the urge to dry retch.

"Hey darl," Jess called to her, attempting to be cheery. She was a mere shadow of her usual happy self.

"Mornin'," Gabby replied grumpily. "Miranda, get the fuck away from me with those chickens."

Miranda grinned, not looking up as she stabbed a knife through the chicken's skin and threaded it's legs through. "Not feeling well, huh?"

"Quite." Gabby pulled the lovely green and blue striped apron over her head and pulled out a white mesh hat from the cupboard. "It was a big night for everyone, I think."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she nearly choked on them. There was no reaction from Jess, who was laying butcher's paper on the floor where ham juice had spilled, but Gabby knew she'd heard. She and Miranda exchanged a look, then Gabby noticed a customer at the other end of the deli, near the baine marie where the cooked chickens were kept hot.

"Hi, how are you?" Gabby asked brightly, pulling on a pair of blue rubber gloves as she headed down there, glad for the distraction.

"Hi, just a chicken thanks," the woman said.

"Sure." Gabby skewered one with a pair of tongs and manouvred into the bag, before punching the code into the weighing machine. The machine spat out a price sticker which she placed on the front of the bag, and handed it back to the woman. "Have a nice day."

She turned back to the girls, but they were immensed in their work. Deciding it was best not to speak, Gabby searched around for something to do. Just as she's settled herself re-displaying a tray of salami, Heath came around with a trolley stacked high with boxes.

"Got your chickens," he called.

Gabby went to inspect, and Miranda look up.

"We've already got a stack of boxes in the coolroom," Miranda said. "They'll need to be rotated."

"Fun," Gabby replied. "Moving around boxes of dead chickens. You've just made my day."

Heath grinned. "I'll gave you a hand."

They headed into the cramped coolroom, where a trolley of boxes identical to the one Heath had brought stood against the wall. Methodically they began to move the old boxes onto the new trolley, making sure the oldest ones were on top, to be used first.

"Is it me, or is it really tense out there?" Heath asked in a hushed whisper.

"No, it's tense," Gabby replied. "It's really fucken fucked up."

"I know, Mena was telling me about it."

They finished with the chickens, and Heath took the empty trolley back to the meatroom with him. Gabby watched him leave. Despite her thing about blood and meat, she would've given anything to be a butcher right now.



Hmm, that chapter makes the deli sound a little gross...well, IT IS!!!!! lol

Chapter 8

Madness. Absolute chaos. There were people everywhere, both slicers were going, all the doors to the display fridge were wide open to save the time of opening them.

"Christmas is here!" Miranda sang as she entered the coolroom. She bent down and tried to manouvre a wrapped ham into a position where she could pick up the awkward thing.

"Christmas is four fucking weeks away," Jess replied with a touch of bitterness.

"Yes, but we've had decorations and Christmas stock for at least two months now...we should've seen it coming."

"True."

Miranda finally managed to hoist the ham into her arms. "What's the difference between a normal ham and a Christmas ham?" she asked, looking at the label of the over-sized meat.

"Christmas pigs are bred in the North Pole," Jess replied. There was no humour in her voice, but Miranda was glad to see that she was at least making jokes again. That was always a good sign.

*

If the deli was bad, Front End was hell. Rory hadn't escaped the confines of her register in nearly an hour, she had a line of customers - with full trolleys - six deep, and Dom was frantically packing the bags for her.

'What the hell are you buying turkey now for?' she wondered as a customer placed the offending dead bird on the belt. 'You can't freeze it for that long!' Still, it never ceased to amaze her what some people would do when there was a special on. She'd seen people buy ten litres of milk when there was a coupon special on it. Ten litres! Who the hell was going to drink ten litres of milk in four days? It was ridiculous.

She was trying to stay happy and friendly, but was starting to lose her cool. She's started out the day with a friendly smile at every customer, happy conversations with them all. Now she barely gave them a "Hi, how are you?" and a "Have a nice day."

Then, suddenly, it was over. The store was dead. Rory had looked up and seen...no one. Not a customer in sight.

"Well," Dom said, stretching his back. "Done and done."

"Okay." Rory looked at her watch. "Well, on that note, I'm going to lunch."

"Lucky you."

"Thanks for the help."

"Not a problem."

Dom wandered off, and Rory nearly laughed out loud. Gillian had wanted to pair the two of them up, imagine it! Rory and Dom, Dom and Rory.

It was ridiculous.

*

Chrissy was tired, dog tired. Absolutely, utterly exhausted. She could barely wait for the end of her shift.

Oh wait, she thought. Yes, I can wait. Because Orli was taking over from her, which meant she would have to see him. And she never wanted to see him again.

Okay, so maybe she'd been in the wrong. Okay, maybe not maybe. She had been in the wrong. She never should have kissed Rider. It was a bad, bad idea. But Jess and Orli...mere hours after Jess had teased Chrissy about him?

Was that her idea of payback? Chrissy thought bitterly. One bad deed deserves another? An eye for an eye? At least Chrissy had the excuse of being drunk. What was Jess' excuse?

Then Chrissy sighed. Maybe she was being too hard on her friend. Jess had been hurt too.

Then she hardened again. No way was she being too hard on Jess! She hadn't meant to kiss Rider, Jess had deliberately set out to kiss Orli, in cold blood! That was it. She was right, Jess was wrong. And Orli and Rider could go to hell. End of story.

But then the end of her shift did come, and with it came Orli.

"Mornin'," he called with false brightness as he entered the service center.

"Hi," Amber replied, deliberately ignoring the tension. "Looks like you're done, Chrissy."

"Looks like it." Angrily, she pulled her drawer from the register and headed off to the cash office to count up. "See ya Amber."

Orli's shoulders slumped as soon as she was gone. "She's still mad, huh?" The whole story had come out the previous night - her feelings, and his feelings, and Jess'.

Amber nodded. "Yup." Then she turned to him, with penetrating eyes. "I think you should talk to her."

Orlando just shook his head. "No," he said. "No way. She can talk to me."

Amber sighed, watching him put his drawer in the register Chrissy had just vacated. These people were just so fucking stubborn.




Chapter 9

"Jess?" Logan called, stepping gingerly through the doorway. "Jessie?"

"Hi," came a small voice.

Jess was sitting on her bed, knees up to her chest, hugging a raggedy old Cabbage Patch doll. The room was a mess - clothes and papers and books and CD's everywhere - but that wasn't unusual. Jess' bedroom was constantly in a state of disarray.

"Hi," Logan replied, gently lowering himself onto the bed beside her. "Nice doll."

This brought a faint smile to Jess' lips. "Her name's Eleanor."

"Eleanor? She's kind of, um...bald..."

"Nervous habit, I pick at loose threads. I had a toy when I was little, and I picked at the threads so much his head fell off." Even now her fingers were working anxiously at the tight woollen strands on the doll's head.

Logan chuckled. "Brings new meaning to the term 'I love you to death', doesn't it?"

Jess giggled. "I guess it does."

Logan leaned back, made himself comfortable. They both knew what had to be talked about. "So," he said casually. "What's up?"

Jess sighed, looked away. "Am I the biggest retard on Earth?"

"Nope."

Her eyes narrowed at his short answer. "Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Explain."

"No explanation needed. You're not the biggest retard on Earth. Sure, you're up there, but don't flatter yourself. There are bigger retards than you."

"Logan, that's not quite what I want to hear right now..." Jess trailed off, then her tone became indignant. "Why am I a retard?"

"You were the one who said it in the first place!"

"Yeah, but in the 'feeling-sorry-for-myself-looking-for-a-friend-to-cheer-me-up' kinda way. You've got a lot to learn about being a girl."

Logan paused to grin at her weak joke before continuing. "You're a retard, Jessica Ryan," he said, "because you know that Rider's a fuckwit and that he's played you for ages, but you're still in love with him."

"You can't control these things. If there was an off-button for my feelings, I would've pressed it long ago."

"Okay, touchy subject. Let's talk about Chrissy."

"Sure, doctor, just let me comfortable on your couch."

"Jess, cut the sarcasm shit." He was getting serious now. "Okay, we all know that Chrissy kissed Rider. But we also know that Rider's a total sleaze bag. And Chrissy was drunk..."

"That's no excuse." There was no sarcasm left in Jess' voice, only a deep hurt. "She should've known better...God, she knows better than anyone how I felt about him!" Her voice cracked at the end of this sentence. Uh oh, Logan thought. The tears were on their way.

"She made a mistake," Logan said gently. "She's only human. And she was hurt just as much by you kissing Orli."

"Hey, Orli kissed me, I was barely involved in that!" There they came, flooding from the deep grey recesses of her eyes. "She has no right to be pissed at me about that, after what she did..."

Logan just raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Rider kissed her. Maybe she was barely involved in that."

That shut Jess up. "I thought you were on my side."

"I'm not on anyone's side...there's no sides to take! Everyone's been hurt, everyone made a mistake. The way I see it, all those mistakes combined should completely cancel each other out!"

She was starting to come around to reason, he saw. Finally.

"So maybe they do," she said softly. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Talk to Chrissy. It's as simple as that."

All at once, the tough facade was back up as Jess fixed him with a steely grey glare.

"No."

Chapter 10

"Hey hey!" Dom called as he neared the deli. "Newsflash for everyone!"

Miranda and Billy, both working late shifts, perked up their ears.

"Guess where the very kind Morgan family have decided to send all their employees for the staff Christmas party?"

"Um, Uranus?" Billy quipped. Dom grinned at the joke.

"No, but that would be cool...maybe next week. Seriously though, you won't believe this - the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne!"

Miranda's jaw dropped. "The Grand Hyatt? The one in Elizabeth Street?"

"The very one." Dom obviously shared her excitement. "Formal dinner, dancing with a live jazz band, all in their most luxurious ballroom."

"No way!" Miranda was practically jumping up and down in anticipation. "This is awesome!"

"Sorry," Billy spoke up. "But I don't know Melbourne very well. Is the Grand Hyatt good?"

"It's, like, the ritziest hotel in Melbourne," Miranda said. "It's got that valet service thing, and a huge lobby, and you always see limo's pulling up there. This is so cool!"

"Hmm," Billy replied. "Do you people ever do anything but party? This one's not gonna turn out like the last one, is it?"

"Dear God, I hope not," Dom said. "A bunch of us are starting to think about limo's and stuff, and there's a list out by the clock to write your names down if you're coming."

"Oooooh!" Miranda exclaimed. "Me! So putting my name down!"

At that moment Gillian passed by on her way to the front end. "Just for an added twist," she announced, "everyone has to have a date. You know how weird the Morgan family are...well, they've decided that everyone who attends the Christmas party has to have a partner to kiss under the mistletoe."

"A date?" came a chorus from Dom, Billy and Miranda.

"Aw, man," Dom said, crestfallen. "I was planning on picking up there, not beforehand." He glanced around. "I better get back to work. Talk to y'all later."

"Wow," Miranda said. "That little rule's gonna throw the whole place into turmoil - not that it isn't already. What a strange rule."

"Yeah, well, rumour has it that Nick Morgan is going slightly insane in his old age...getting a bit romantic and whimsical. Old people, what can you do? Good luck finding dates." With a quick grin, Gillian headed off as well.

"Dates?" Billy snorted. "What is this, some crappy American prom movie?"

"Tell me about it," Miranda replied. She headed into the coolroom, under the pretense of looking for something. When she came back out, her mind was set. "Look, Billy," she said. "I was thinking that maybe we should just not worry about this whole romance-date shit, and just go together...as friends. What do you think?"

Billy looked up from the slicer he was cleaning. "Okay," he said after a second. "Sounds good." He grinned. "It's a date."

Yes, Miranda thought. It certainly was.

*

Eight o'clock in the morning was not a good time for Elijah on a good day. On a bad day, it was hell. And there had been a lot of bad days lately.

The worst days were when Jess was doing an opening shift, because he'd have to walk past her in the deli at least forty times, and that killed him. He wasn't mad at her, exactly, just...hurt. And...something else, that he didn't have a word for. Whatever it was, it twisted his insides seeing her go about her work when they would normally talk and laugh and joke their mornings away together.

"Hey Lij," came a soft, English-accented voice behind him, breaking him out of his reverie. He turned to see Orli standing there, slowly fixing his uniform blue tie, ready to start the day.

"Hey," Elijah replied coldly, turning back to the cabbages he had the job of cutting.

"What's up? I haven't spoken to you in ages."

"Yeah, I know."

All at once, Orlando seemed to understand. "You're pissed at me because of the whole Jess thing, aren't you?"

"Well done, Sherlock, unfortunately I'm all out of cigars."

Orli sighed. The words had stung. "Lij, you know I didn't mean for it to happen. If it makes you feel any better, I got burned too."

Now Elijah did turn to look at him, fixing his former best friend with an icy blue glare. "In a perverse way, it kinda does. There's no excuse, dude."

"No there isn't, but there is an apology." Orlando waited, but there was no reaction from Elijah. "Will you accept it?"

In the pause that ensued, the swinging plastic doors were thrown open. "Morning!" Rider called enthusiastically, his own blue tie thrown casually around his neck. He stopped when he noticed who he was speaking to. "Oh. Hey guys."

"Morning," Elijah and Orlando both mumbled in reply. Rider, cocky as always, sauntered over to the clock, casually swiping his name bade through it.

"What's goin' on?"

"Nothin'."

"Oh." Rider looked from one to the other. "What were you talking about? Was I interrupting something?"

Elijah shook his head in disgust. "I think you interrupted something a long time ago." He turned back to the cabbages, but wasn't game enough to pick up the knife.

Rider took a step closer, narrowing his eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what he's fucking talking about," Orlando said, turning to push past him.

"Yeah, whatever." Rider turned also, planning on following Orli out into the store, but just as Orli reached the door, he turned back.

"You're a fucking asshole," he said, hurling his fist into Rider's face. Rider went reeling backwards, crashing into a pallet of fruit that Elijah had just stacked.

"You fuck," he spat, wiping blood from his nose. As soon as he'd regained his balance, he hurled himself back across the room, knocking Orlando to the ground. Boxes of vegetables and fruit went flying as the two men wrestled on the floor, kicking and punching. At last Elijah stepped in, pulling Orli out of the fight.

"Fucken quit it!" he yelled. "You fucking dicks!"

"Hey!" Rider yelled back. "You guys are the ones with problems here, not me!"

"You fucking started the fucking problems!" Orlando snarled, lunging for him again. Elijah pulled him back.

"Leave it alone, Orli," he said. "This bastard's not worth it."

"Bastard? Fuck, man, get over it! All this over a couple of little sluts?"

At these words Orli let out a yelp of fury, but it was Elijah who stepped in and threw the next punch. Orlando joined in, and soon all three were thrashing around on the hard concrete floor.

"Oh my god!" came a shrill scream from the door, causing all three of them to look up. Jess was standing in the entrance to the deli, white as a ghost as she looked on in horror. "What the hell are you doing? Look at the mess!"

It was true - the storeroom floor was covered in squashed fruit and vegetables, from boxes that had been overturned in the fray. The boys jumped to their feet, a little ashamed.

"Jess..." Orlando began, but she cut him off.

"Don't say a word, not a fucking word. I can't believe you guys! Here, of all places! Take it outside for Christ's sake!"

At that moment, Johnny Depp entered the storeroom from the other end. He'd heard the commotion from the other end of the store, and, as manager-on-duty, he'd run to see what was going on. He stopped short at the sight of the three dishevelled, blood-splattered men and the near-hysterical girl.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"They fucken started it," Rider muttered, dabbing at a cut on his lip.

"I don't care who started it. Clean up this god-awful mess then go home, all three of you, and come back this afternoon at three. I'll see you in my office." Johnny turned on his heel and stormed off.

Without a word, Jess started back for the deli, but Elijah caught her arm. "Jess..." he said.

"Elijah, don't," she replied softly, on the verge of tears. "Just leave it."
She pushed through the hanging plastic, and disappeared.

Elijah, Orlando and Rider began the long process of cleaning the storeroom, glowering at each other the entire time.




Chapter 12

"And I was like, screw you bitch! Who the hell does she think she is? But of course I couldn't say that to her, or she'd fail me or something," Mena related to Jess, standing in the doorway of the deli coolroom. Jess looked up from the chickens she was rodding.

"But hey, only one year to go. As soon as you get that certificate in your hand you can tell her everything you think of her."

"True," Mena replied. "God, just think of the things I can say to her. Who in God's name let that woman be a lecturer?"

Jess shrugged. "She probably slept with someone."

"Probably. Although who would touch her?" Mena shuddered at the disturbing visual that passed through her mind. "Okay, changing subject. You got a date for the Christmas party yet?"

Smirking, Jess shook her head. "A date. That's so...American. But no, I don't." She sighed. "I probably won't even go."

"What?" Mena shrieked. "You have to go! It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Mena, I'm a little fragile right now."

Mena raised an eyebrow. "She says as she rips the guts out of a chicken and sticks a metal rod up it's bum."

Jess glanced down at the work she was doing and grinned. "Yes. How's your stomach?"

"I work in the meatroom, I've seen worse."

"Really? Have you ever seen the insides of a chicken that's been left out of the fridge and has gone off?"

"Yet another visual I didn't need." Mena closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it.

"The visual is nothing. It's the smell that gets ya."

"Lovely."

Jess chuckled. "So what about you? Who do you have your sights set on for this Christmas crap?"

"Who the hell do you think?"

Jess looked up in surprise. "Viggo? The Mysterious Mr Mortensen? He's a little old for you, don't you think?"

Mena shook her head nonchalantly. "No, not at all."

Jess gave her a knowing grin. "Why Mena, you naughty girl."

Mena grinned back. "Well, you know me."

"Certainly do."

Their quiet laughter was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey Mena, has anyone asked you to cover Amber's shift in Liquor on Friday night yet?" Chrissy asked. She poked her head around the door to say hello to whoever was in there, and stopped short when she saw it was Jess.

"I'll talk to you later," she said quickly, making a retreat. But Mena grabbed her arm, pushed her into the coolroom.

"Okay," she said. "I'm over it. You guys need to talk. Do it now." And with that she closed the coolroom door, leaving the two of them locked in.

"Wha..." Chrissy began, and Jess manouvred herself around the trolley of chickens, banging on the door. When there was no answer she sat down resignedly on an overturned crate.

"She could have at least turned the fan off," Jess said grumpily. At that moment the tiny room was dropped into silence as the fans blowing cold air into the room shut down. "Thank you!" she called to Mena.

There was an awkward silence.

"So," Chrissy said.

"So," Jess echoed, looking at the floor.

"I hear Orli and Lijah and Rider got into a fight."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. Nearly got fired."

"Bugger."

"Yeah."

There was an awkward silence.

"Elijah likes you, you know," Chrissy spoke up tentatively.

"I know."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't know."

Another silence.

"Do you still have feelings for Rider?" Both girls had their arms crossed to keep out the cold. Jess finally looked up.

"I'm not sure," she said coldly. "Do you?"

"You know I never had feelings for him in the first place."

"Really? Then why did you kiss him?"

Chrissy sighed. "I don't know. But I'm sorry."

"How could you do that?" Jess' eyes were filling with tears. "You knew better than anyone how much I liked him! Friends don't do that to each other."

"Jess, I am your friend."

"Really? Well you don't see me going around kissing Orli, do you?" Jess stopped. "Oh, wait..."

Chrissy opened her mouth with a biting retort, but a giggle escaped instead. Jess pressed her lips together, a sign that she was holding back her own giggles. A snort escaped her though, and Chrissy couldn't hold back any longer. Weeks of built up tension came crashing out as the two girls laughed hysterically. They only stopped when the door opened and Mena gave them a curious glance.

"What the hell is going on in here?" she asked with a small smile.

"J-Jess...Jess kissed Orli..." Chrissy managed to choke out though her hysteria. "And...it's just....so...funny..."

"And Chrissy...kissed...Rider..." Jess chimed in. "And..." She was unable to finish her sentence, she was laughing that hard. "Chrissy, man," she giggled. "I love you, man."

Chrissy fell on top of her in a bear hug. "I love you too, man." They went back to their fit, and Mena, with a shake of her head, closed the door and let them be.

Chapter 13

"Hi, how are you today?" Rory said brightly to the young boy at the register. She quickly rang the sale - a loaf of bread and a Mars Bar - through the register. "Have a nice day," she called as the boy left. She was halfway through serving her next customer when an angry woman stormed along the front end.

"How dare you," she spat at Rory. "You gave my son the wrong change." The boy she'd just served stepped timidly from behind his fuming mother.

"Excuse me?" Rory asked in disbelief, unable to hide her contempt. The woman shoved a receipt in her face, while the elderly man she was serving looked on in bewilderment.

"My son bought a loaf of bread, and you only gave him three dollars change."

To calm her nerves, Rory flipped open the top of her register and consulted the audit roll. She quickly found the record of the sale. "Your son bought a Mars Bar as well," she told the woman, struggling to remain neutral."

The boy looked from Rory to his mother with innocent blue eyes. "I didn't," he said.

'You lying little fuck,' Rory thought as the woman glared at her accusingly.

"You're a liar, and I want to speak to the manager."

A liar? Rory nearly choked on her anger. "It says right here, that there was a Mars Bar and a loaf of bread." She pulled out the audit roll to show the woman.

"Well you must have made a mistake. I want to see the manager. How dare you rip off my son?"

Red-faced with fury, Rory called Johnny to the front end and explained the situation.

"Just refund the money for the Mars Bar," Johnny said calmly, putting the transaction through. He handed the woman the $1.20. "I don't appreciate you talking to my staff in that manner. I suggest you don't come back to this store."

"Don't worry I won't, you pack of assholes." The woman left, dragging her son behind her and muttering insults under her breath.

"Take a break, Rory," Johnny said gently, stepping in to finish the gentleman's sale. With a grateful look, Rory retreated to the storeroom, angry tears stinging her eyes.

Dom looked up from his work as Rory pushed through the plastic doors. "You okay?" he asked, for once no amusement in his eyes.

"Just an absolute whore of a customer." The effort of not bursting into tears was exhausting.

"What happened?"

As Rory related the events a slow tear rolled down her cheek. "I've never been called a liar in my life! What right does that woman have to speak to people like that? Who the fuck does she think she is?" Her voice cracked, and a sob escaped her throat. Dom engulfed her in a bear hug, letting her cry against his chest.

"Don't worry about her. Some people are just born assholes," he soothed. "Don't let her get to you."

Rory pulled away, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, embarrassed. "I'm being a total idiot. Of course I shouldn't let her get to me. I'm sorry."

"Hey," Dom said with a wry grin. "That's what I'm here for."

"Thanks." Rory was feeling awkward suddenly. "I better go get cleaned up."

"Sure." Dom gave her another grin as she headed for the tearoom. "Cheer up Charlie. No need to frown."

Rory gave him a weak smile, and disappeared up the stairs.




Chapter 14

"Hey, check it out," Gillian said to Rory as they studied the list of names for the Christmas party. "Miranda and Billy are going together. That's not right."

"What?" Rory replied in disbelief. "Of course it's right! If they want to go together, good on them!"

"Yeah, but we're matching up Billy with Amber," Gillian reminded her. "He's supposed to go to the party with her."

"And what's wrong with Miranda?"

"Nothing's wrong with Miranda - I love her, she's a great girl. But that's not part of the plan."

"I think the plan went out the window at Dom's place that night. It was only short-lived."

"Wrong." Gillian turned to her with a look of knowing triumph on her face. "Haven't you heard? Jess and Chrissy are talking again, and Orli and Lijah teamed up to beat the shit out of Rider...everything in that department is on the way to getting back on track."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered. "Look, I've had a really bad day. Can you please just promise me that whatever scheme you're cooking up you'll leave me out of?"

Studying her for a second, Gillian nodded. "Okay. But you're missing the fun."

"After the day I've had, I'm not in the mood for fun." The clock ticked over to 4:00 and Rory swiped her badge through it. "You working tomorrow?"

"Same time."

"See ya then."

Rory left, but Gillian lingered by the clock for a few seconds, studying the list. So far the only names on there were a bunch of older ladies and their husbands, and Miranda and Billy.

Okay, she'd leave those two for the moment - just because Billy was going with Miranda didn't mean he couldn't pick up Amber while he was there. But these people seriously needed to get a move on! The party was only three weeks away!

A sneaky plan flashed through Gillian's mind, and without hesitating to examine the consequences, she pulled a pen from her pocket.

"Johnny Depp and Cody Lafferty," she wrote on the list, before shoving the pen away, swiping her own badge through the clock, and hurrying out of the store.

*

Cody was always early for work - she liked to take her time getting there, wandering around, having a chat to whoever else was on. In the deli, Jess was almost back to her old perky self, and Chrissy now had time for a quick joke in the liquor department. Dom told her about the horrible customer Rory had served that day, and Cody wrote a quick, friendly note and shoved it into her locker.

Finally, at five minutes to six, Cody approached the clock with her name badge. She gave the Christmas list a wry smile, running her eyes over it to see if anyone else had put their names down. When she got to the bottom, she nearly choked.

"Johnny Depp and Cody Lafferty."

What the fuck? she thought. Who the hell had put that there? Was this supposed to be some kind of joke?

Angrily swiping her badge, she stormed back out onto the shop floor. Johnny was stacking boxes of cake mix onto a shelf when she approached him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, arms crossed angrily across her chest.

He looked up in slow surprise. "Uh, back-stock," he replied uncertainly. "There's a six-wheeler near the milk fridge you can start on."

"I'm not talking about the back-stock."

"Then what are you talking about?" Johnny wasn't angry, more bewildered that anything else.

"You know what I'm talking about. The Christmas party."

"Okay, now I know what you're talking about. So the question becomes why are you talking about it?"

Cody was getting increasingly frustrated. "Because you put our names on the list! And you didn't even ask me! What makes you think I would ever go with you in a million years?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Johnny put his hands in the air to stop her. "Okay, now I really don't know what you're talking about. I haven't put anything on the list. I didn't even go near the list today because I lost my badge and had to sign upstairs. Why would I put our names on the list?"

Cody stared at him in her own shock. "Well someone did. Our names are up there."

"You're kidding." He brushed past her, and she followed him into the store-room. "You're fucking kidding," he said again when he saw the evidence. "You got a pen?"

"Sure." Cody pulled one from her pocket and handed it over. Johnny quickly placed a thick line through their names, and handed the pen back.

"If I find the punk that did that they're dead meat," he said threateningly. "There, fixed. Start on the six-wheeler of back-stock." He once again brushed past, back out into the store. Cody stared after them, then glanced back at the list.

For some reason, the line through their names was depressing.

Chapter 15

"Did you see the list for the Christmas party?" Heath asked the next morning, an amused grin on his face. "Someone had written Johnny and Cody up as a couple then scratched them out. It's pretty funny."

"It was probably Johnny that scratched it out," Mena replied nonchalantly. "You know how he is. It's strange though..." She trailed off thoughtfully. "Cody and Johnny. That's an interesting combination."

"You mean Cody that works on the floor?" Viggo put in. He was still relatively new, and didn't know everyone yet. "The one with the great legs?"

Heath grinned. "The very one."

Viggo raised an eyebrow. "Can't see how he'd be pissed off."

"Yeah, Cody's great," Mena replied. "It's just...odd."

Heath could sense a tension in the air - he knew what was on Mena's mind, even though a word had never passed between them about her infatuation with Viggo. It was time something was done.

"So," he said casually. "Who are you guys planning on taking to this couples-only event?"

Mena shot him a dirty look behind Viggo's back. "Don't know yet," she said. "Why, you desperate? It's not gonna happen, hun."

Viggo laughed. "Dissed and dismissed," he murmured.

"Actually," Heath told them, enjoying the playful banter. "I have someone in mind. Just haven't gotten around to asking them yet."

"Ooh!" Mena was always excited at the prospect of gossip. "Who? Tell me tell me tell me!"

"Nope," he replied, covering his embarrassment with nonchalance. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Mena could see plainly that she wasn't going to get any information out of him. "I'll keep my eye on the list." She lowered her eyes to the steaks she was arranging on a foam tray as she worked up the nerve to ask the question that was on her mind. "So Viggo, who are you thinking of asking?"

"Not sure yet," came the reply. Being so "absorbed in her work", Mena couldn't catch his expression. "I'm sure I'll think of someone."

Mena caught a glimpse of her reflection in the stainless steel bench. 'Tomorrow I'm wearing more mascara,' she thought to herself.

He certainly would think of someone.




Chapter 16

It was a tradition that every Wednesday the ladies of the day-staff would have a lunch in the tearoom, and Miranda and Gabby had organised that the younger women who worked days would do the same on a Thursday. It had become a beloved tradition - something for everyone to look forward to during the week - and none of the girls ever missed one.

"I come bearing baked goods!" Amber announced as she entered the tea-room. She dropped a box of fresh, hot cinnamon donuts onto the long table and took her place on the bench seat. "How awesome do these smell? Karen baked them specially for us, and gave me a discount on them."

"That's nice of her," Mena said, picking at a plate of cheese. "She's a nice lady. I like Karen."

"Me too," Amber replied. "She's always got extra truffles that she gives out."

"Speaking of truffles..." Jess was entering, with Chrissy on her heels. They each carried a bulging brown paper bag. "We went a bit nuts."

"But they looked so good!" Chrissy put in. "Ooh, donuts! Shove, love." Mena inched a bit further down the bench seat so Chrissy could squeeze on. "Spanks."

"You certainly do," Jess quipped. Chrissy stuck out her tongue.

"You should know."

Jess grinned. "Let's not talk about that."

Evntually everyone was gathered - Mena, Amber, Gabby, Miranda, Cody, Jess, Chrissy, Annais and Violetta - and the topic, of course, was the Christmas ball. It seemed that Miranda was the only one of the group to have a date.

"I read an article in Cosmo the other day about how to get dates," Cody was saying. "It said that if you have trouble picking up guys you should just observe those around you who are good at it, and watch how they approach people and talk to guys."

"Whatever happened to just being yourself?" Annais wondered aloud.

"What, you're own identity?" Mena retorted. "In this day and age? Don't be ridiculous."

"It was fully serious," Cody told them. "It said that if someone's picking up a lot they're obviously doing something right, so those of us who are complete losers can learn something from them."

"Like how to be a slut," Chrissy said. "Let's all watch...Jess."

"A magician must never reveal his secrets," Jess replied with a grin as the others laughed.

"His? You're a man?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

"Okay, so we're observing someone successful," Violetta said, steering the conversation back on track. "That would be...Miranda."

"I don't think that counts," Miranda replied, shaking her head. ""We're just going as friends. You guys are all talking about romance dates, aren't you?"

"True," Amber said. There was silence for a few moments as they looked from one to another.

"What if we changed to observing someone who merely gets attention from guys," Mena suggested. "Like, if we know a guy who has a crush on a girl, we watch that girl."

All eyes immediately shifted to Jess, who was halfway through a mouthful of truffle.

"Fuck off," she said quickly, her mouth full. "Elijah's a totally freakish case. I'm really not a good example - come on, you've all seen firsthand what a retard I am with guys."

"No actually," Miranda said thoughtfully. "You're probably the perfect example for this little experiment. You fit into that sweet/innocent stereotype that makes men feel all masculine. You're the cute, funny Beauty-Queen type..."

Jess made a face that wasn't very beauty-queen-like at all, and Chrissy snorted.

"...so I think maybe we should think about emulating Jess' style."

"I've never been emulated before," Jess said with a serious expression. "I feel all special."

"You are special, dear," Mena told her, patting her knee. "Okay, are we seriously gonna this?" She looked around the table. "Are we really gonna act like Jess in order to get dates?"

"I think it's worth a try," Miranda said.

"How bout we give it a week," Amber suggested. "We all emulate young Jess here for a week, then next Thursday we have our post-mortem and see how we all went."

Chrissy folded her arms across her chest. "How come Jess gets to be emulated? I wanna be emulated."

"It's fun," Jess replied. "I guess I'm just very emulatable."

"I'm emulatable."

Gabby gave them a strange look. "I think we've found our word for the week."

"Okay, it's a plan then," Violetta declared. "Until next Thursday."

Chapter 17

At 6am the next morning Mena breezed into the meatroom, determined to carry out the plan. She'd spent extra time in the bathroom pulling her hair into a cute ponytail and applying thick black mascara like Jess wore it - if she was gonna do this she was gonna do it right.

"Dressing up for the meat?" Heath asked as she pushed through the plastic hangings.

What would Jess say to that? Mena quickly wondered. Jess wouldn't say anything - she wouldn't come into the meatroom. This wasn't going to work.

Viggo came out from the freezer, gave her a strange look. "Something happen to your eye?" he asked.

"Huh?" She caught a glimpse of herself in the steel benchtop - her mascara had run. "Dammit!" she muttered, wiping her eye. Then she let out a high-pitched giggle. "I had makeup adventures in the bathroom this morning." There, that was very Jess-like. But instead of the chuckles and affectionate shaking of heads Jess got at the mention of her "adventures", the two men just stared at her as if she had three heads and continued with their work.

Think, Mena, think! What would Jess do? A ha! Up on a shelf was a boc of sanitising powder. Good plan.

"Um, Viggo," she said coyly, wishing she didn't have to wear a mesh-hat so she could twirl her hair. "Could you pretty please do me a favour and reach that sanitiser for me?"

"You got arms, haven't you? Reach it yourself." Viggo was not a morning person.

For a split second Mena's eyes narrowed, but she quickly widened them again. "But I'm only little. I can't reach up there."

"Sure you can," Heath spoke up. "I've seen you reach up there millions of times."

"But it's too far back on the shelf," Mena insisted.

Obviously Heath was also having a bad morning. "So get a stool. There's one right over there."

She looked toward the offending blue stool, keeping her frustration in check. "Right," she said. She forced another giggle and cocked her head to one side. "I'm such a retard today!"

"Yes," Heath replied slowly. "Yes you are."

Mena shot him the cutest smile she could muster to cover up the scowl that was wanting to escape, and dragged the stool over the to the bench. She could reach the sanitiser no problem, but she made a show of stretching onto her toes. Neither of the guys even looked up.

Once she had the box in her hand, however, she realised the flaw in her plan. The place had already been sanitised today - the cleaners had already been in and done it. "I'm such a retard," she said again. "I don't even need the sanitiser!"

Viggo stared at her, something unrecognisable passing through his eyes, and Mena stepped down from the stool and quietly began her work. As she was cutting through a couple of stakes, a drop of blood flicked onto her apron.

"Ooh, eew!" she exclaimed. "There's blood on me!"

Both men stopped what they were doing and turned to stare incredulously at her. "You're in a butcher," Heath said. "What do you expect?"

"You get blood on you everyday," Viggo added. "You've never made a fuss of it before."

Mena found herself speechless. There was nothing she could do to cover her idiocy. "I'm gonna take smoko," she said quickly, pulling off her apron.

"You've only been here ten minutes," Viggo said.

Mena picked up her purse, finally allowed her frustration to show. "I'm having a bad day!" she practically yelled, and stormed out leaving behind two very bewildered men.

*

"What do you think?" Chrissy asked, twirling a lollipop in her mouth.

Jess thought for a moment. "Too much ditz, not enough cute," she decided. "But the adventures thing was good."

"I agree," said Chrissy. "Overall, I'm gonna give her a three out of ten. The sanister thing was good...playing on the shortness."

"Problem is, Mena's not short."

"True. Okay, make it a two."

"I give the same. Who's up next?"

"Cody's in this afternoon."

"Ooh, Cody and Johnny. This should be interesting."

"I reckon."

The two girls sat back to wait.



K, Sammi, you're up next! lol Watch this space...





Chapter 18

'Okay,' Cody silently told herself as she pushed through the plastic doors and entered the shop floor. 'Think like Jess. Think like Jess.'

Just as Mena had done, Cody had applied an incredible amount of black mascara, and pulled her thick red hair back into a cute ponytail. 'It's a good thing we're all redheads,' she thought to herself. There was Johnny, barking orders to the floor boys, and Cody sidled up to him.

"Where do you want me to start?" she said sweetly.

"The load's just come in," he replied, indicating the pallet stacked high with boxes that stood at the end of an aisle. "Start putting them out."

"Okay!" she chirped, moving to the pallet. She studied it quickly, weighing her options. Where Mena had failed this morning, she decided, she would succeed. She grabbed the smallest and lightest box she could see - cheese sauce sachets as she read on the side - and headed off to drop it in the appropriate aisle. As she passed Johnny, he stopped her.

"Hey," he said. "What's with the tiny load? We don't have time to be piss-farting around, get some more."

Cody grinned, slapping her forehead. "Oops! What was I thinking? I can carry so much more than this tiny little box!" She went back to the pallet, dropped the cheese sauce box, and attempted to lift a crate of 2 Litre Coke bottles. Normally she could have lifted it no problem - if she was feeling energetic she could have carried two - but tonight she decided to put on a show. Jess was an actress, after all.

She made a couple of attempts to lift it, finally hoisting it into an awkward position, and started again towards the right aisle. Again, Jonny stopped her.

"What's wrong with you today?" he asked, taking the box from her. "You're gonna hurt yourself carrying it like that."

"I don't know what's up," Cody replied, coyly batting her eyelashes. "I don't usually have a problem with those things, but I just don't have any strength today." To her the excuse sounded fake and stupid, but something flickered across Johnny's eyes.

"Well, take it easy," he said, his voice softer than usual. "Just take the smaller ones, and then we'll get you to start unpacking them. Let the guys do the heavy stuff."

Cody was in two minds about this statement. Firstly, she was happy that she scored - Johnny was responding to the whole weak-and-healpless thing. But secondly, he had just made an extremely sexist comment, and even Jess wouldn't stand for that! Confused, Cody headed back to the pallet and loaded her arms with all the smaller boxes she could find. She dropped them in the appropriate aisles and when the pallet was empty began the boring and sometimes arduous task of stacking the items onto the shelves. She found herself working a few bays away from Bam Margera, with Johnny at the other end of the aisle.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Bam asked her in a hushed voice. "I know you're up to something - how much black shit did you put on your eyes?"

"It's called mascara," Cody hissed back at him. "And I'm not playing at anything!"

"Sure you're not." He put on a high-pitched voice, imitating her. "I don't know what's wrong with me...I'm just all weak and helpless all of a sudden." Bam shook his head. "You've never been weak and helpless in your life."

Cody finished unpacking the box she was working on and stood up. "Maybe I have a cold!" she said firmly, and stalked off. Halfway down the aisle she practically ran straight into Johnny.

"Hey," he said, taking her arm with concern. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed? Do you want to take a break?"

Okay, Cody thought. Play on this. "I'm fine," she said sweetly, if a little weakly. "I think I just need to slow down a bit - just overexerting myself, I guess."

"Sure, whatever you want. If you want to take a break, just let me know, you can go whenever."

"That would be great, thanks." Cody forced a brave smile onto her face and started past him. He stopped her again though.

"Uh, look," he said uncomfortably. "About what happened the other day - about our names being on the list and stuff...I realise I was kinda rude, and you probably took offence. I just want to say that I didn't mean to offend you in any way. In fact..." He paused for a moment, gathering his nerve. "I was wondering if you would like to go to the Christmas ball with me." He was staring at the ground so fortunately, he didn't see Cody's jaw hit the floor.

"Um," she stammered. "I-I would love to. That would be great."

"Really?" His eyes met hers and he smiled. "Awesome. Well, I'll go write our names up."

"Okay - um, I'm actually feeling a bit tired now, do you mind if I go and sit outside for a couple of minutes?"

"Sure, go ahead."

With an awkward smile they parted ways, and Cody headed for the door, pulling her mobile phone out of her pocket.

*

"Oh my God," Jess exclaimed as she read the text message she'd just received on her phone. "It worked! It actually fucken worked!"

Chrissy leaned over and grabbed the phone off her to read what was written. "Holy shit," she muttered. "Cody and Johnny are going to the ball together..." She checked the time. "Fuck man, she's only been at work for a couple of hours. That was bloody quick!"

Mena was scowling at the phone, still mortally embarrassed and incredibly pissed off about that morning. "I hate Cody. I hate Johnny. I hate fucken Viggo!"

Jess tried to conceal her grin. "There there, love."

Mena threw a pillow at her. "I hate you! This is all your fault! Why don't I just go and emulate Chrissy!" The three of them stopped dead in whatever they were doing, looking from one to the other.

"Hey..." Jess said slowly, and Chrissy's eyes lit up with mischief.

Amber, who was sitting in an armchair on the other side of Jess' living room, shook her head slowly. "Oh dear mother of God," she muttered. "Here we go again."




And that's where we're up to!! Keep watching this space...

I had to re-read that... I was like 'WTF?'

WOO! Finally they realise! :noangel:

I'm so glad you started posting this here... I love this story.

AHAHAHA. Who is Logan going to emulate, eh?

;-)

This whole emulation thing is CRACKING ME UP, man. I love it.

I'm so glad you posted here! YAY! Now I can read Superwhat everywhere I go!!

<3,
Logan

yessss preciousss!! And I hate mena for bein such a dork!!!!!1 Whats wrong about being a crazy, goth, pulp, dark redhead???? <_<

oooohhh wait.... JAIME THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTIN THIS IN HERE!!!!!


lol, just had to do it! :wub:

Yay! I'm so glad you decided to post this here. Stupid EWFN, grumble grumble.

Hilarious chapter. At least the whole emulation thing worked for Cody.

I can just hear myself saying that. So, let the emulation of Chrissy begin! Maybe Mena should bring a chain to work. ;-)

Now, who am I going to persuade into taking me to that ball. *ponders* And, who shall I have to emulate to do it? moehahaha!

Post more, sis! I love this.

Yay! This is posted here, so I'll actually be able to keep up! Awesome!!! :)

:laugh:

I love this story.... *sigh*

hehe...emulating...

<_< I don't like being so weak...:rolleyes:

But it worked? :unsure: Wow. Maybe I'll just have to smack those sexist comments out of my hottie. :pirate:

Chapter 19

This time Mena had a plan. Gone was the ridiculous amount of mascara and the cute but too-tight ponytail, gone was the fake wide-eyed innocence. This time she meant business.

She strode through the store with purpose, with dignity. Others that passed her stepped aside to let her pass, staring after her in awe. This was a woman with a mission.

Pushing through the plastic hangings that guarded the meatroom from flies, Mena dumped her bag onto a bench and strode to where Viggo was cutting a tray of steak. "Hey," she said. "The Christmas ball is in two weeks, I was wondering if you wanted to go together?"

He glanced up at her with that cool stare of his. "Sure," he replied. "Sounds good. I wasn't gonna go, but what the hell?"

Mena grinned - not a Jess grin or a Chrissy grin, but her own grin. "Cool. I'm gonna go sign on, I'll put our names up." With that she strode through the store once again, this time triumphant.

*

Chrissy had a confused expression on her face. "But...that's not what I'd do..." she choked out as Mena related the tale as the two of them, plus Jess and Amber, sat outside on their break.

"No," Mena replied with a wise look on her face as she stood. "But that's what you SHOULD do." With that she stamped out her cigarette, turned away and headed back into the cool airconditioning of the store.

*

Amber was in a rut. She had a thing for Billy...she could admit that. There was no problem there. The problem wasn't asking him to the dance - she didn't need to emulate anyone, she was confident enough to go and ask him. No, the problem was that he already had a date. With Miranda.

Amber liked Miranda a lot. She was a genuinely nice girl and they got along really well, but Amber couldn't help but be a little jealous. And a little bitter that now she had no date. Everyone else seemed destined to go with someone...Jess and Lij would no doubt end up together, as well as Chrissy and Orli. Rory and Dom were getting closer, Gabby and Heath were acting all mysterious - then of course there was Mena and Viggo and Cody and Johnny. That ruled out every guy Amber was friends with in the store.

All except one.

Logan was sitting in the tea-room in front of a portable fan, flicking through a magazine. "Did you see the dress that Charlize Theron wore to the Golden Globes?" he asked as Amber entered. He put on a 'camp' voice. "It's fabulous, darling. Makes me feel all tingly inside."

Amber laughed, sliding onto the bench beside him. "Shove love, give me some fan." The weather was still refusing to relent - the scorching Australian sun continued to beat down, turning everything in it's path to dust. "Hey Logan," she said casually. "Have you thought about the Christmas ball?"

Logan rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "Yeah. I'm probably not gonna go. I don't think the Morgans would like a homosexual couple in their cute little pageant."

"Couple?" Amber raised her eyebrows in suprise. "When did there become a couple?"

Logan quickly fixed his attention on the magazine in front of him. "Uh...never. No couple. Never was, never will be."

"Logan!" she squealed, slapping his arm. "Tell me! Please? Tell me tell me tell me..."

"Okay!" he said, shrugging away from her bear hug. "It's way too hot for physical contact!" He looked around, lowered his voice. "You know Jon Rhys-Meyers, who works on floor?"

Amber leaned in conspiratorily, her eyes wide. "He's GORGEOUS! You mean..."

Logan nodded, a flush coming into his cheeks. "He came out last week. So far we've just been talking, hanging out and stuff, but..."

Amber let out another squeal, embraced him in another bear hug. This time he didn't pull away. "Oh my God, Logan!! This so awesome...I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah." Logan saddened again. "Problem is, we can't go to the ball together. He's going with Brittney from front end - they're friends, but I don't have anyone to go with. Everyone else has dates."

"Actually," Amber said. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. See, I don't have a date yet either, 'cuz I wanted to go with Billy but he's going with Miranda..."

"Really?" Logan replied. "So, do you want to go together? Then we can get Gillian to help us scheme a way to get with Billy and Jon!"

Amber laughed, huggung him once again. "My dear," she said. "That sounds like a plan!"

Go, Mena!!!! Woman with a mission, hell yes!!!!!!!!

Yes, I can admit that!

*giggles* Logan's funny.

Ohh! Logan's got a secret boyfriend. :yes:

*hugs Logan like crazy* I'm so glad we're going to the dance together, and plotting to get our men. Yay!


Excellent chapter, Jaime! I'm so glad you posted today, I had been wanting a new chapter. :yay:

YAY! Heehee.

*sings* "Everything's coming up roses...."

Of course, that just means there's farther to fall, doesn't it? <_<

You know what, I was thinking today when I got on the computer ' I hope there is more Superwhat?' and guess what? THERE IS!!

*huffs* My grins better anywayz... ;-)

darn, my reply got deleted!!! But I simply loved this chap sis!! Yeah, I got him... well, I at least managed to invite hiim, and I did it MY WAY!!!!

LOL!

Amber and Logan got a plan...... and sounds good!!
This ball will be a kick ass lil thing....

That reminds me of a song. Or the name of a song..

lol, I wrote it on pourpose... :tsk:

So.... which song is it?

Reminds me of Shannon Noll. Ick. :eek:

LOL Chrissy I think Mena's talking about My Way by Frank Sinatra...at least, I hope she is....lol I have been known to be wrong before...

Guess what!! I might not be working at the supermarket for much longer!!! My boss was an absolute bitch to me last night and I seriously had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't just tell her to f*** off, and she's taken me off the roster for the whole of next week just because I had to take a couple of nights off for Back to the 80's which opens next friday...so I'm quitting. I applied for a job at McDonalds today (yeah I know, McDonalds :P) but when I went in there today all the girls were really nice and I can't stand to work with that whore Sonia anymore!!!! So that's my story! But never fear, the fic will continue....hehe

Sorry, I just had to vent! lol

Jaime

The plus side of working at Maccas: Finding out how they make it will turn you off the crap for life.

Very true...I've been eating too much of it lately!! My hips are starting to hate me...anyway, new chap!!

Chapter 20

The day was a scorcher - the worst yet in the heatwave that was plagueing Melbourne. Even Jess, deathly terrified of water, was longing to splash her feet in a swimming pool. The first thing she would do when her shift was over, she decided, would be to ring Dom and see if she could go round there and hang out by his pool.

The coming of night brought a light relief from the heat and drove people out of the stuffy confinement of indoors into the partial breeze. This left the store pretty much dead except for Liquor, where slabs of beer were practically walking out the door by themselves. Jess, thinking herself behind on her work, had spent the last hour frantically slicing and filling the cabinets, and finally finished with a sigh to find the store empty and herself with nothing to do for the next hour until she had to start the close.

Shrugging her shoulders, Jess pulled a chocolate bar from her bag and began to eat it. Johnny passed by on his way to the storeroom and gave her a knowing look.

"Busy night, huh?"

Jess nodded. "I'm run off my feet," she replied in a deadpan tone. Johnny grinned.

"Well, keep up the good work."

Jess waved as he made his exit through the plastic doors and looked around. There wasn't a soul in sight. Time to go start some mischief.

For the moment Front End was just as dead as the deli, and liquor was the same. Orlando was doing the close, and he was just the person Jess wanted to see. "Or-lan-do," she sang as she entered the Service Center.

"Ah, young Jess," he said with mock-pompousness, turning to her. "How's things down your end of the store?"

"Dead. You?"

"Same."

"Good stuff."

"So," Orlando said in a sing-song voice. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothin'," Jess sang back. "What's goin' on with you?"

"Nothin'." He stared at her for a moment, an amusing acknowledgement passing between them. "Don't say it," he said quickly. "Don't even mention her name..."

"I didn't say anything!" Jess cried indignantly. "Maybe you just have a certain someone..." She lowered her voice. "...named Chrissy Estradez..." She raised it again. "...on your mind."

"Out!" Orlando said, ushering her towards the entrance to the Service Center. "Get out, out, out! Back to where you came from!"

Jess giggled, and blew him a kiss as she headed back to the deli. Mischief Managed.

*

"It's what you should do."

Mena's words echoed in Chrissy's brain like a gunshot...maybe she should talk to Orli. But on the other hand, why should she? Was there anything to talk about? She could clearly remember the events of Dom's party...she knew that he had a thing for Mena. He was probably devastated that she was going to the ball with Viggo. That was it, there was nothing to talk about. Chrissy would just boycott the ball and stay at home in front of the TV. Good plan.

But something was telling her that this wasn't a good plan. She WANTED to go to the ball with Orli...that gave them something to talk about didn't it? Should she just confess to him that she had feelings for him? At the very least it would be a huge weight off her shoulders by getting it out the open.

"Swallow your pride, dumbass," she told herself fiercely. "Just do it."

All she had to do was set it up so they were alone - but that was the hard part. Work was hardly the place - at this time of year it was rare to have a quiet moment in liquor. There weren't any parties planned with everyone preparing for the ball, and she didn't want to go out of her way to see him in case his response wasn't what she wanted. Dammit. Why was this so hard?

Her mobile rang, the screen displaying the words "Jess Mobile" as the caller. She answered it dully, hoping that something was planned for the night. She was bored.

"Hey dude," came Jess' eternally chirpy voice. "Gathering at Dom's tonight, everyone's coming. He said anyone who wants to can crash there."

"Party at Dom's?" Chrissy replied. "Uh, Jess? You do remember what happened last time there was a party at Dom's?"

"Come on man, that's all in the past. Think of the pool!"

Chrissy pondered this for a moment. "You have a point. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Good girl."

They hung up, and Chrissy headed to find her bathing suit, a thought crossing her mind. Maybe Orli would be there.

Maybe this was an opportunity.

*is shocked* More, now! Don't make me wait to know what happens!!!!!

PARTY AT DOM'SSSSSSS! My precioussss....

Damn that joke is so over-used.