11 New friends and new beginning! Yay!

I clung the books in my arms and stared at their Motorcycles which were getting small and smaller and a big smile appeared on my lips out of nowhere!

I knew I was batshit crazy! I knew they weren't going to stop bullying me, I knew Liam was going to be really mad but I really couldn't control myself ... I really liked them...a lot! Just like the feeling you have to a super sweet and cute but fussy and annoying kid. They are hard to bear but you cannot stop yourself and you will end up adoring them!

With the sound of Liam's car's horn, I jumped in the air like a cat and glared at him. Undoubtedly, I'll have a stroke one of these days!

"What?! You are not coming? I have been waiting for a few minutes!"

When I realized that I jumped the poor guy for no reason, I gave him a wide and stupid smile and quickly put my books in the back seat, and then I got in the car myself.

"Home or work?"

When he asked me with a smile, I felt guiltier! With all the wealth he had, he had become my personal driver! Unlike me, he didn't have much of luck when it comes to friendship!

"Work... but you really didn't have to come Lee ... I can go by bus!"

"Shut up and give yourself a break until we get there. You look like shit!"

I nodded and gave him a thumbs up!

"Great!"

Even if Liam didn't make that pleasant offer, I was too worn out and I really needed a short break without worrying about a thing so I closed my eyes and tried to take a small nap which I was quite successful in it!

I put my backpack on my shoulder and bent down a little to thank Lee but he rolled his eyes and waved his hands to shoo me away!

"You don't have to thank me so much, Louie…it wasn't that hard to drive! I wanted to give you a lift, so stop thanking me for no reason and go to your job! Um...I think your friends are waiting for you ... see you tomorrow!"

I waved at him with a smile and as I was turning around to see who is waiting for me, I said "ok ... see you, buddy!"

Seeing Ashton and another boy next to him panting in front of the store, my brows jumped up! He must be Ashton's friend...remember his name...robin has told you his name an hour ago you goldfish! His name...AHA! Michael and Mikey for short! Now you're good to go! I walked faster to reach them sooner.

"Hey, Ashton...you are early! You must be mickey right? Hi!"

When Mikey nodded his head with a smile, I was relieved that I got his name right and I wanted to say something when Ashton slapped him hard on his back with a big smile and Mikey and I jumped into the air from the loud sound of it and of course the reason behind Mikey's jump wasn't just the loud sound!

"This is him. He is the same friend that I was mentioning last night."

I wanted to laugh when Mikey glared at him and cursed him but I stopped myself and with a soft professional smile waited for him to introduce himself!

"Michael Silvius, you can call me Mikey. It’s so nice to meet you."

When Mikey offered his hand Ashton suddenly jumped between us in such a way that it was clear that he did it so he could push away Mikey's hand without making me feel awkward and his move warmed my heart. He was a kind and considerate boy and I loved him so much!

"Give them to me."

I handed him the books, thanked him with a smile, and opened the main door with my keys.

"Come on in guys ... Ashton, I told you last night that you don't have to come so early, I have to check in first but you don't!"

"No! I mean, I normally like to be early on workdays... I love it here and I had nothing else to do anyway."

He said it so quick that he seemed to have practiced this answer many times and that was a bit suspicious but I let it go!

I put my backpack on my counter and turned to them with a smile. Ashton was a very good person and his friend looked very good too ... I had just seen him but I felt that things were going to be much better than when Stan was working here!

"Well ... why are you panting? Do you love your job that much that you were in such a hurry to come to work?"

"No...I mean yes! Me and Mikey...we were...we..."

"We were jogging!"

"Definitely! We were jogging! We gained a few pounds recently and we are trying to lose it! We don't want to mess with our six-packs!"

I just nodded slowly. they were talking fast, with hurry and without a pause and it was clear that they were hiding something from me but as long as it wasn't related to me or the store, I had no right to interfere ... it was none of my business!

"Absolutely! Just one thing...if you want to jog, you better change the time of it because chief wants his employees to always be clean and scented in their shift."

They glanced at each other and then hurriedly nodded their heads in agreement!

"Definitely! Sure! Why not?"

I smiled a little when I saw their cheeks turned red. They were so cute!

"All right boys ... Robin has told me this morning that she talked to Stan last night and Mikey's interview went well, so under these circumstances, Mikey? You can start your job from today. Congrats buddy! Well... since I was a little late today, I have a lot of work to do! So? Ashton, can you explain the basics for Mikey until I get back?"

With a wide smile, he saluted me and shouted "Yes sir!"

I nodded with a smile and went towards the locker room to change my clothes. I took off my comfy clothes and changed into a black skinny jeans and a thin and loose gray top. I looked at the mirror ... my jeans was very tight But at least my top was loose and baggy and it was covering most of my butt ... Nope! It got worse!

My problem? My slim waist and big butt! They were my bold body parts and tight clothes didn't help me to cover them at all but what was my choice? Instead of this, I was getting free clothes and had no right to pout about it!

When I heard Ashton's loud and energetic voice, I picked my pager and left the locker room with a smile. This is going to be fun! I had many new sets of clothes to organize, so I left Ashton and Mikey alone and started working. Half an hour later I was done and it looked like Ashton was very successful with his mission too!

"That was all...Is there anything else that I had to say?"

I loved his kindness and his efforts to satisfy me, so much that I wanted to pinch his cheeks like I was his grandma but I just smiled and shook my head...

"Thank you, Ashton...I got the rest."

"Finally! My God ... Can't you speak in a lower voice? I'm getting deaf!"

I laughed softly and went towards the shelves to tell him a few points when I jumped with Ashton's scream!

"Louis!"

I turned to him with wide eyes and Mikey punched him in the rib!

"Stop screaming you imbecile!"

I was so shocked by his sudden scream that my heart was pounding. I was staring at him, expecting an explanation and Mikey was still glaring at him but Ashton wasn't paying attention!

"What happened to your arm? Did you fight with someone? Are you hurt?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

I asked confused and glanced at my arm and took a deep breath when I saw a large, black bruise on my left arm that extended from the top of my arm to the bottom of my elbow! It must have been because of the blow that I got from my new friends today. It was a shame that the hallways didn't have wooden flooring like lecture halls...and I fell from three steps, so it wasn't much of a surprise!

"Um...it's nothing! This sort of thing happens for everyone in college...it doesn't even hurt! Don't worry!"

The boys didn't believe that that amount of bruising wasn't painful, in fact, I couldn't believe it myself that my arm was bruised that bad because I wasn't in any pain at all!

When I saw that they were still looking at me suspiciously, I sent them to roam around in the store for a while until the other sellers arrive. I went back to the locker room and replaced my top with a long-sleeved shirt of the same material and brand and went back to them.

After a few hours, that little and annoying worry that had been on my mind since yesterday was gone. Mikey was just like Ashton but with a lower volume! A nice person and a very good replacement for Stan. He was a quick learner and he was very polite. After enduring Stan's mental and physical harassment for a long time, I finally felt that my work environment had become a safe place...

I felt that my good days were coming and they all were somehow connected to Ashton's arrival ... Ashton was a sign of a new beginning for my life ... I could feel it in my gut!