Our Walls

2. And Here We Are

After arguing with each other, Claire and Buck eventually caught up with Sen, though they proceeded to toss a few insults at each other every few minutes or so.

It was getting late, but not too late, and Sen knew that his mother would be worried sick if he didn't come home before midnight, so he planned to only spend an hour at the bar.

Surprisingly, the bar was nearly empty. Where is everyone?  Sen wondered. Glancing over at Buck, he realized that he was wondering the same thing, too. As for Claire, she was a bit distracted by the nearby bartender.

Well, at least no one will have to see me in this stupid apron. Since he worked in his mother's bakery, he was rarely allowed to take it off. Every time he tried, his mother scolded him and reminded him how many customers they'd lose due to the lack of advertisement. Ah yes, because everyone would love to go to a bakery and buy bread from a boy in a dingy apron, he thought sarcastically.

Her legs crossed, the busty maiden sat on top of the bar as she spoke to a drunk soldier, who seemed to be on duty, and his slightly less drunk friend. Her beautiful brown hair fell past her shoulders in a messy braid. Her glimmering amber eyes, however, were perhaps the most stunning feature of her face.

As usual, Sen was too occupied with wondering what he was going to drink to take note of the bartender's lovely appearance, but he assumed that Claire and Buck weren't since they practically ran to the bar. Watching them go, he let out a quiet groan and followed after them. Dragging his feet, he planned to keep his mischievous friends out of trouble.

"Heya sweetheart, mind giving us a drink or two? Or your name, possibly?" Claire greeted the bartender with a sly smile.

"Your address would work, too," Buck chimed. Grinning cheekily, he leaned on the counter in attempt to get closer to the lovely bartender. "I'm Buck, by the way," the tall blond stated bluntly, his grin fading for a moment.

"No," the redhead grumbled as she tore her gaze away from the lovely brunette and turned her attention towards her idiotic friend, "you're a dumbass."

Sitting down next to Buck, Sen remained silent and let his friends flirt with the bartender. Tapping on the counter top, he was glad that he was finally able to have a bit of free time away from work, as violent as Claire had been with her offer. Not planning to say much while he was in the pub, he glanced around and took note of his surroundings.

Despite the fact that it was a bar for old men and rowdy soldiers, the pub felt so warm and homey to Sen since it was, just like the bakery and his home, almost entirely made out of wood. That, and he'd been coming to the bar for two years now, so he'd already gotten used to whatever flaws it may or may not had. Closing his eyes, he leaned back on the bar stool he was sitting on and listened to the silence beyond the noisy chatter of his friends and the nearby soldiers.

Suddenly, Sen lost his focus and accidentally began listening in on the conversation they were having.

"Stupid kids," one muttered under his breath.

Flinching, Sen felt a tinge of anger as he listened to the soldier's insult. Stupid soldier.

"I could've gotten a date, too," the other complained.

Fuck your date, she obviously isn't into dirty pigs like you.

Opening his eyes, Sen leaned forward again. Messing with his bangs, he tried to distract himself so he could go back to ignoring everyone's conversations; He really  wanted to keep his cool.

"Those damn kids... They're just stupid thieves; All they do is steal money from everyone and act like complete assholes," the first one spat.

Dropping his hands onto the counter, Sen clenched his fists. Thieves? Thieves?! Fuck you!

Noticing Sen's sudden change in attitude, Buck turned to him and hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "Everythin' alright, lil bud?" He asked. As dumb as he usually was, he already knew the answer to that; It wasn't normal for Sen to be upset like this.

Ignoring Buck, Sen silently chewed on his bottom lip before sitting up and bursting out in anger: "And you're nothing but titan food," he barked at the soldier.

Lifting his head, the blond soldier who'd called Claire and Buck thieves stared at Sen like he had two heads. "What did you just call me?" He snarled.

Not replying, Sen immediately began to regret opening his mouth as he slowly got up from his seat. If he was going to deal with anything today, he'd deal with his annoying little sister, not some random drunk soldier. Feeling as if he were going to faint and his face pale, he hoped he'd be able to escape the bar before he got involved in something he'd regret.

"Hey!" Quickly, the soldier got up and punched Sen in the arm. "Where the fuck do you think you're goin', brat?" He growled.

The blow caused Sen to fall to the ground. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed the bruise now forming on his arm.

Everyone else in the bar went silent. Watching Sen and the blond soldier glare at each other, they all wondered the same thing: Who was going to stop them?

Standing up, Sen grit his teeth. I should kick his ass, Sen thought as he held a hateful gaze with the drunken soldier.

In that moment, the once peaceful bar had quickly become a lot colder and unsettling. Sen knew there was no avoiding this now that he'd gone and started up a fight.

Finally speaking up, Claire moved to get out of her seat: "Hey, knock it off you two!" She shouted at them.

Biting his tongue, Sen balled up his fists. Without thinking, he quickly swung at the soldier.