Morning Shift

Dora

        Jonah's day was going really well.

        Was is the keyword.

        He got a B+ on his US History exam, which was definitely something to celebrate, and he'd gotten through an entire school day without being shoved against a locker, tripped by a random foot mysteriously popping out in the hallway from the sea of students, and most importantly, without getting iced coffee poured on his head.

        Again.

        But what really made it great was that Nicky had been at Happy's since his school got out keeping Jonah company. They'd been giving Priya a taste of her own medicine, boring her with exceptionally long rants about their lives. Well, it was mostly Jonah, but Nicky didn't seem to mind. He listened intently, his chin wresting on his hand as he stared at Jonah with twinkling eyes.

        This was odd. Jonah didn't like to talk about himself, but he was alright with it when it meant he got to have Nicky's attention all to himself.

        But then, Nicky's eyes shot to the door when it opened with a little jingle, and Jonah kind of wanted to kick the guy standing by the open door in the face.

        Until he realized the guy at the door was none other than Drew Max and his posse of idiots.

        He cursed under his breath, as did Priya, who was spacing out Jonah style until Drew entered the building. "I can't do this right now," he whispered, mostly to himself. "I've got practice in an hour."

        Priya cracked her knuckles with a grimace. "I got this," she told the boys, but before she could pop up from where they were crouching in their hideout, Nicky put a hand on her shoulder and kept her down.

        "That's a bad idea."

        "I can and will kick his ass, Nicky."

        Nicky cocked an eyebrow. "I know you can, but should you?"

        She rolled her eyes and squeezed herself back into her little corner of the hideout. "Then what are we gonna do?" She hissed.

        Jonah looked over at Nicky, who looked awfully heroic as he grabbed a dirty green apron from where they hung below the counter, waiting for their owner to tie them on, and threw it over his sweatshirt with a smirk. "I got this."

        "No," Jonah whispered with a shake of his head. "This isn't your problem."

        "When someone fucks with my friends, it's my problem," he said, shooting Jonah a small smile.

        "Hello!" Drew shouted from above them, giving a little knock to the counter right above their heads. "Anyone home?"

        Nicky stood up wearing a scowl, like the little grin Jonah saw never even happened. "Hi. Welcome to Happy's. What do you want?" he deadpanned.

        Jonah heard someone let out a familiar, nasally snicker, which he knew all too well from the many nasty jokes made at his expense on and off the ice. "Is that how you treat customers at this place?" Drew questioned.

        "Yep," Nicky replied. Jonah could practically hear his tight lipped smile. "Now what do you-"

        "I know you, kid," Drew snapped, his sudden change in demeanor causing Jonah to flinch. On the other side of Nicky's legs, Priya jumped as well, which made Jonah angry. "You're the little shit with the freckles who destroyed my relationship."