HOLLOW ━ klaus mikaelson × male!oc!

8.

Chapter Eight: 

“Thanks for telling me I’m a great waiter, then leaving me a shitty tip. I pay all my bills with compliments!” Zero exclaims, waving his hand in a mocking goodbye to one of the customers. They leave without even turning back and Zero sort of wishes he could drag them back inside and strangle the shit out of them. What was the point of people telling him he was the best waiter and then giving him the shittiest tip? Zero shakes his head to clear his thoughts. He was using the word shit too much today. 

He moves onto the next table and plasters on the biggest, most fakest smile he can muster. “My name is Zero and I’ll be your waiter today.” He holds a pink glitter pen over his notepad, it has a little star charm attached to it. It was another one of Sherry’s gifts to him. “Your orders?” He asks in a bland voice that only the most experienced waiters can pull off.

The brown haired female sat at the table frowns, furrowing her slim dark brows. She stares up at Zero with her wide, doe like eyes. “Waffles and um, a latte,” she says, batting her eyelashes. 

“Mhhm,” Zero hums, scribbling her order down. “And your friend?” 

The other female at the table gives a small, pained smile. She’s pretty, with her blonde hair and pale complexion and green eyes. “A slice of fudge cake,” she says quietly, staring past Zero with one of the saddest expressions he’s seen to date. She doesn’t even look at him. 

“I’ll be right back with your orders,” Zero says, tone mildly confused because the only one sat in the vicinity of the girls gaze is Klaus… and his siblings. Zero walks to the counter at the front, his stomach awkwardly twisting. Sai is stood behind the counter, chewing on the end of her pen as she flips through several thick booklets. She scrunches up her nose, her sunglasses lowering themselves down. Sai hurries to push them back up the bridge of her nose. 

Tearing the order from his notepad, Zero places it onto the counter for Sai to give to Sherry in the kitchen. He then picks up the tray filled with food at the side and makes his way towards table four. 

Holding back a smile, he settles down plates filled with pancakes and muffins, mugs filled with coffee or tea and then a large parfait that he drops in front of Kol. 

“Thank you,” Kol says, tone earnest as he wipes away a fake tear. “She’s beautiful,” he murmurs, staring at the parfait with lovey-dovey eyes. 

“Keep your hormones in check,” Rebekah makes a face as she stabs her fork menacingly into her stack of pancakes. There’s obvious tension in her shoulders. 

“You’re just jealous,” Kol snides, turning his nose up into the air. 

“Could your ego get any bigger?” Finn mutters, cradling his hands around a mug of tea. He blows against the red surface and then brings it up to his lips to take a sip. 

Klaus snorts and turns the sound into a cough when Kol shoots him a dirty look. 

It makes Elijah hide a smile behind his coffee. 

“Wow,” Zero shakes his head, holding the circular tray to his chest. “We really need to work on your confidence levels, Kol. They’re so low. And you have so much to offer. Really, so much.” 

“Right,” Sherry says from behind him. She throws an arm around Zero’s shoulder and pulls him closer into herself, taking the tray away from him, “just believe in yourself,” she smirks tauntingly. “Because no one ever will.”

It makes the occupants of table four laugh, minus Kol who sticks his tongue out childishly.

It starts a loud argument between him and Sherry, Finn throws a few jibes and Rebekah does too. Elijah mutters something that sends Rebekah into a fit of laughter. 

And when Zero’s gaze matches Klaus’s, the weird feeling in his stomach from earlier disappears instantly. It’s replaced with a fuzzy warmth that makes his cheeks flush over. His hand flies to his neck where a dark hickey lays — courtesy of Klaus — and he ducks his head, suddenly feeling shy. 

Said male gives him a crooked smirk, raising a single brow as if to say ‘it’s still there?’ 

Irritation has never sparked so fast in Zero’s life. He untangles himself from Sherry and slams his palm into Klaus’s forehead with a serious expression. 

Klaus blinks, slow and purposeful, sort like he’s been caught off guard. He licks his lips and narrows his bluey-green eyes. 

Zero darts away with a wide grin, running around tables and past the counter with a laugh, Sai raises her head with confusion when he runs past her, he’s just about to escape into the kitchen when arms wrap around his waist from behind and lift him from the ground. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Zero hurries his words between his laughter. “You just looked so proud—” He lets out a squeal when Klaus presses his nose into the crook of his neck and laughs, deep and rich. He settles him down and murmurs a quiet, “why run if you know you can’t escape?” into his hair.

It sends a shiver running down Zero’s spine and he tries not to react, but a little whine escapes his lips. It makes Klaus tighten his grip around his waist and smirk against the side of his head, like he’s pleased with himself.

Zero wants to hit him again. 

——-

Later, when all the customers have left and Zero is left to close the dinner by himself — well, not exactly by himself, Sai is trying to get into Sherry’s pants somewhere behind him — he feels someone staring at him from afar. 

He frowns and looks around, the skin on the back of his neck is prickling. 

“Those pants are nice,” Sai says, in an obviously seductive voice. 

“Thanks,” Sherry smiles, holding a handful of files to her chest, “they were fifty percent off.” 

Humming, Sai slowly looks Sherry up and down. “Well I’d like to see them a hundred percent off.” 

“Why would someone sell them for free?” Sherry asks, confusion flickering across her pale features. The piercings on her ear glitter when she pushes a lock of plum coloured hair behind said ear. “That’s just stupid,” she shakes her head and walks off. 

Sai turns to give Zero a sour look. “Why?” She cries, “Why is she so clever and yet so fucking dense?” 

Zero shrugs his shoulders and smiles when Sai gives a loud sigh and runs after Sherry with a determined face. 

Double checking all the dinner locks, Zero finds that they’re all locked and secured, except for the main one that snaps open at his touch. He hums a quiet tune to himself, fiddling with the main lock until it’s secured as well. Zero’s ears perk up when he hears the sound of footsteps, he doesn’t turn until he hears them stop a few steps away from him. 

He blinks.

It’s the blonde female from earlier today. The one that had given a pained smile and avoided looking him into the eyes. 

Clearing his throat, Zero opens his mouth, “Is something wrong?” 

The female stares at him for a long, hard minute. 

So Zero stares back. 

Her hands are shoved deep into the pockets of her jacket and her face is buried into her lilac scarf. She’s dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a sweater he can’t quite see because only a part of it peeks out from underneath her coat. 

She blinks at him, green eyes filled with something akin to longing. Her expression is miserable.

“He..,” She starts off, voice clearly hesitant. The blonde haired female closes her mouth and debates over her words internally. 

Zero patiently waits for her to get her shit together. 

When she does find her words, they are barely but a whisper, so quiet Zero wouldn’t have heard them if he was entirely human; “He looks at you the same way he used to look at me.” 

//unedited.