Alive

“Luke, can you place these into the display?”
“Sure thing!”

I grabbed the tray of cupcakes from Romano, my boss, before walking towards the display in the front.

“Mint Chocolate Chip on the left…Butter Pecan on the right…Double Chocolate in the front...—”
“Oh dear, I forgot to ask you how your last two weeks went…!” He called from the kitchen.

I smiled as I placed the last of the cupcakes in their rightful displays.

“I did well on my finals, as far as I know. I passed two of them with an A- so far. Thank you for the time off, by the way.”

“No problem at all~! I hope that you went out and celebrated…or at least used the rest of your break to the fullest this time?”

Totally.

“Well, you see—”

Before I could verbally brush off the question, the door flew open with the sound of the bell chiming.

Platinum blonde hair.
No cherry lollipop, today.
Metal bat in hand, resting casually over his right shoulder.

Why am I not surprised?

“Luke? I didn’t know you worked here.”
“You know darn well that you knew!”

He smirked.

“Yeah, I did.”

I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Well, what do you want?”
“A kiss. A back massage. Is seeing you naked an option?”

My eyes widened and the blood rushed to my cheeks at his response.

“Kidding! I’m just kidding! Are there any cherry cupcakes left—good God your face is so red, holy shit!”

He laughed, but I couldn’t be mad.

It was the first time that I heard him laugh anyway.

“Here you go, Tyler~” – Romano comes out with the aforementioned cupcake on a plate – “A cherry cupcake, fresh out of the oven.”

His eyes light up as he takes it, and I will be honest, that was the cutest thing I’ve seen from him.

He handed Romano the money and thanked him with a small nod before taking a seat next to the wall across the room.

“Does he come here often?” I ask as I close the door to the display.
“He’s been coming here since he started high school.”

Romano sighed as he propped an elbow onto the countertop.

“To be honest, he told me about you beforehand. Ever since you two became friends, this is happiest I’ve ever seen him. Whatever you’re doing, keep up the good work.”

Romano patted me on the back before returning to the kitchen.

Tyler looks at me and sends a wink my way before biting into his cupcake.
I scoff, but still wink in return.

The door opened again, the bell chimed again, and in walked two more customers – a brunette and a ginger, both tall and young with familiar faces; probably a couple of classmates.

“Welcome to Fabio’s Cupcakes!” I greeted them with a smile, but they seemed to pay no mind as they made their way towards Tyler.

“Damn, Tyler. I knew you were a faggot, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”
‘Brunette’ spoke up as ‘Ginger’ snickered.

I frowned instantly.

Tyler ignored the statement and took another bite from his cupcake, only for it to be slapped out of his hand, landing on the floor.

“You have enough money to buy some damn cupcakes, but not enough to pay our brother back?”
“I’ve paid him his money. Fuck off.”
“Careful with your choice of words, faggot.”

I stood still and tense, not knowing how to react.

“Not you two again!” – Romano comes storming out of the kitchen – “Either order a damn cupcake or get out! Some of my regulars still haven’t come back after you two came along and started trouble!”

“Us? Starting trouble? We were just taking care of business, that’s all.”
‘Ginger’ speaks up as he grabs a handful of Tyler’s hair.

“So, where’s the money? Or are you going to have to pay in other ways again?”

It was quick.
Tyler elbows ‘Ginger’ in the stomach, quickly grabbing his bat and moving away from them.

‘Brunette’ started laughing.

“Really, Tyler? Didn’t you learn your lesson from last week?”
“Does it fucking look like I learned my lesson?”

Tyler stands guarded, both hands wrapped around the bat as the guys walk towards him.

“Come on, Tyler. Be honest with yourself. You’re not going to use that damn bat of yours.”

‘Brunette’ reaches for the bat as ‘Ginger’ punches Tyler in the jaw.

“I’m calling the police!”
Romano rushes back into the kitchen.

The bat is thrown to the side.
Tyler lands a punch on ‘Ginger’, but ‘Brunette’ lands a blow to his stomach.

I have to help him.

I looked around frantically, but no one else was here.

I have to help him.

A few more punches, and he’s pinned to the ground.

I have to help him!

I didn’t hesitate any longer to jump over the counter and grab the bat from off the floor.

And without thinking, I swung with my eyes shut.

When I opened them again, ‘Brunette’ was doubled over on the floor, holding onto his knee.

“What the fuck did you do?!”
I could only stand there, paralyzed in fear as ‘Ginger’ turned his attention towards me.

“Luke! Get out of here! Run!”

But I couldn’t find it in me to do so.

And it was only a matter of seconds before I felt a fist collide with my cheek.

The room spins, and then fades to black.

✩ | ✩ | ✩

“Rise and shine, Sweetie. How are you feeling…?”

I slowly opened my eyes to see a blurred campus nurse looking down at me.

“…My cheek hurts…”

“Figures. Go ahead and sit up. I’ll get you an ice pack and some ibuprofen.”

I did so, my head still swimming for a small moment.

Once it was clear, it quickly registered where I was, what happened, and…

“Tyler…?!”
“Your friend is asleep in that chair over there.”

I look around and finally see him – a bruised jaw, tissue in his left nostril to stop some sort of bleeding, the cut on his lip from previously has been reopened.

The metal bat was resting next to him on the floor.

His knuckles were covered in Transformers band aids again.

“He must really like the Transformers movies.”
The nurse came back with two pills, a cup of water, and an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel.

I raised an eyebrow.

“When I said I had some, he was so adamant about getting them. All of you college students are just a bunch of giant, intelligent babies. I guess that’s one of the reasons I like working here. It’s amusing.”

She handed me the pills and the cup with a small smile.

I took them and thanked her.

“I heard he took another beating from those two guys when you passed out. Got mad and went for it. He doesn't really know when to quit..."

She took the cup and handed me the ice pack.

"Look out for him, okay?”
And she walked into the back room.

I look back at Tyler, frowning slightly.

“...Will do.”