This Is a Wasteland

I could genuinely say I was starting to feel happy with my life again. Kellin and I were back together, I was busy looking for a new job, and Kellin surprisingly got another desk job soon after he quit with the prostitution place. I was happy for him, and happy that he decided to quit for me. The thing that made this even better, was that our goal was to eventually find an apartment and move in together. It was like a dream.

The only thing wrong was that I was having a much harder time finding another job than Kellin did. I was partly because I was fired from my first job, but mostly because I was still technically a registered sex offender. I was getting a little desperate, so for some reason I got this idea that it would be okay if I went to try and beg for my old job back.

I found myself walking into the mall- a place that I actually hadn’t even been to since that day that I got caught trying to hit Kellin while also being late for work. I took a deep breath before I headed into the store.

“What are you doing in here?” Alex scoffed when he saw me. I sighed and walked over to where he was folding shirts.

"Hey, good to see you too," I chuckled nervously.

"I'm pretty sure I fired your ass a couple of months ago," he said. I still couldn't tell if he was actually being rude to me or if he was just being really sarcastic. That was the thing with Alex- I could never tell when he was just kidding.

"Yeah, about that, I was wondering if it would be at all possible to get my old job back," I explained. It was a bit of a let down when he jst burst into a fit of laughter, though.

"Why would I do that?" he wanted to know.

"Because I finally have my head out of my ass," I told him. "I'm done with this semester, and I have a better boyfriend with his own job and everything's great."

"Why do you want to come back here?" he grumbled.

"I'm having a hard time finding a job. See, I have to save up enough money so I can get an apartment. Come on, Alex, remember the days when we'd actually get along?" I pleaded.

"Yeah, that was before you started blowing off work to mess around," he mumbled. "And to beat up innocent kids."

"He's not a kid," I groaned. "And if it means anything to you . . . he's actually the guy I'm trying to find an apartment with."

"Well then . . .why the hell were you trying to kill him then?" he wanted to know. I could see at that point that he was tryig to hide laughter, which made me a bit more at ease.

"I wasn't trying to kill him I was just . . .emotional I guess," I shrugged. Alex knew about the whole registered sex offender thing- he was really the only person that hired me that got to hear me out and explain what happened. "He's the guy whose mom had me arrested."

"Oh, okay," he said, like he was starting to understand why I had tackled Kellin to the ground that day. "That's rough, man."

"No, it's mostly fine now . . . I mean, he got disowned and is staying at my house right now, but it's all good," I sighed. "Which is why I really need a job so we can find an apartment."

"Look, Vic, you piss me off sometimes, but I know you're a good guy. But I've already replaced you, you know? I don't think I have any spots available for you," he said, sounding apologetic. I frowned, feeling a little dejected.

"Who replaced me?" I wanted to know.

"He did," he said, nodding towards the cashwrap, where my eyes fell on a very familiar face.

"Jack!" I exclaimed. I had spoken to Jack a few times throughout the school year, but we didn't hang out because he went to school all the way on the East Coast and didn't visit over breaks.

"You know Jack?" Alex asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, we were like, best friends in high school," I said, leaving Alex and marching over to the cashwrap. He looked surprised to see me as I approached him.

"Hey," He said. "Long time no see."

"Right? How are you?" I asked him. He just smiled and shrugged.

"Oh you know, just got a job here for the summer-you?"

"I'm doing well I guess," I nodded. "I actually came in to see if I could get my old job back, but Alex won't re-hire me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's . . . well, it's kind of a long story."

I let out another sigh and proceeded to tell him about how I was always late for work because I'd mess around with Jaime in between class and work- he was pretty shocked to hear this,too, since he hadn't seen Jaime since high school. And then I explained how I ran into Kellin and hit him in the face with a door and then ended up getting fired- all the way up to how Kellin and I got back together.

"Your life seems fairly eventful compared to mine," he chuckled. "Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're doing well."

"Thanks," I said, smiling.

"And hey, don't worry about the job thing. I'll talk to Alex and try to pull some strings," he offered.

"Like that'll happen," I laughed. I couldn't imagine newbie Jack trying to persuade manager Alex of anything. But then Jack had this really devious grin on his face. Huh.

"No, Alex and I get along really well, I'm sure he'll listen," he chuckled.

--

*kellin's POV*

Everything was so nerve wracking ever since I decided to tell Vic I quit the job at the prostitution agency. It made me feel so much worse that he actually trusted and believed what I said. He had no idea that I lied to him about that.

I mean, it wasn't like I wanted to work for Mr. Sykes, but it just seemed like the best option. I definitely had my eyes open for other opportunities, but they just weren't coming very often . . . or at all. It was incredibly frustrating.

The good thing about the job, though was that I didn't have to deal with anything directly. I would just have to answer phones and let people schedule appointments. I hoped that it would stay easy like that, and that whenever I found another job I'd be able to transition into it without Vic even realizing it.

The last thing I wanted to do was to disappoint Vic. I wanted to get te apartment with him, and I wanted to be able to help with things financially. He had always been there for me, so I wanted to be there for him for once.

"Hey, babe," Vic greeted me as soon as I walked into his bedroom to put my stuff away. He always greeted me like that when I came home and I loved it. He was so attractive and charming that no matter what moood I was in, I would cave and walk right over to him so he could pull me into his lap for a hug. I may have been the slightly taller one, but Vic still always held me. I felt the safest when I was in his arms.

"How was work today?" he asked me, lightly brushing his lips across my cheek.

"It was work. No fun," I sighed.

"Aw, poor thing," he cooed, kissing my neck. I smiled and just looked at him, scanning over his gorgeous face that had no idea that I wasn't telling him the truth. I wanted to just burst into tears and confess what I did, but I couldn't. I didn't want to disappoint him. I knew I was going to anyway, but it could wait.

So I guess in that moment I decided that if I was going to be dishonest about something, I owed t to him to at least be completely honest about how I felt. I bit my lip and wrapped my arms around his neck. He held his arms around my waist tight.

"I love you."