Loner VS. Loser

Jay

"Are you nuts? Pulling on someone's arm like that. Let go!" Rin says while yanking his arm out of my hand. 

I must be nuts. I don't want him going back there alone, but why did I have to react like that? We don't know if that guy is there and if he is dangerous. I'm just being cautious, that's all. 

"Calm down. You're not so fragile that you will break after a light tug on your arm." I scoff. 

Rin audibly growls at me. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a shit personality?" 

"Did you just growl at me? Are you a dog?" I say, snapping my head around to glare at him. 

He is getting on my nerves. All I wanted was to help, and this fucker is being brutal. 

"Yup, WOOF! Careful, I might bite." Rin says while baring his teeth.

 Ok, this dude is crazy. 

"Enough, I just want answers. I am curious by nature." I say, trying to defuse the situation. 

"Ya, ya, whatever you say, Prince. Let's go. I'm sure Parker doesn't want to babysit Anon any longer than he has to." Rin says as we get into the car. 

"Right, as if Anon needs to be looked after. Parker seems more like a child than a man." I say while starting the car and driving away. 

What is even happening? Why are we being so hostile towards each other? God, this guy gets under my skin.

We arrived at the café reasonably quickly. 

"Lucky, it seems like we arrived during a lull," I say as I hold the door open for Rin. 

Of course, he passes by without a "Thank You". Rude. A tall, blonde young woman stands behind the counter cleaning coffee mugs. Another woman with green hair walks out from the back, with a man following close behind. 

"Rin! Oh my god! Are you ok? Everyone was worried about you after we saw you get taken away in an ambulance." The taller of the two women asks. 

"Oh, hello, who is this?" The other woman asks. 

"Oh, uh, can I tell them?" Rin whispers. I nod while smiling at him. 

"This is Prince Jay Fenrick. He was the owner of the car that hit me yesterday." Rin says with hesitation. 

I appreciate his cautiousness. 

"I am sorry for injuring one of your employees. I hope it didn't cause too much trouble for you." I say, putting on my business smile. 

Rin cocks his head while staring at me as if to say who are you trying to fool? Ha, this guy baffles me. 

"We were fine. Rin was ending his shift, and today was his day off. We are just glad he is ok. Sorry, let me introduce myself. I am the owner of Café Window, Jessica Lockhart. Nice to meet you, Your Highness." The smaller of the two women says while bowing. 

"This is Helen Wheeler, and this is Mike Neal," Jessica says, gesturing toward them. 

"Nice to meet you all," I say while nudging Rin, hinting at him to explain the situation. 

He clasps his hands together and lowers his head. He begins picking at his fingers again. I grab his hands and mouth, "Stop!" Rin understands and drops his hands at his side.

"So, you don't remember anything? Like people on TV shows?" Mike asks while handing Rin and my coffees. 

"Yea, not a thing. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to work for a while. I have to focus on my recovery, and I will be like a new hire to you guys as well. It'll be a burden." Rin says after taking a sip of his coffee. 

It is fantastic coffee. It's better than the stuff Anon gets me. I will have to have him come here from now on. 

"Of course, you aren't a burden, but If this is what you need, I understand." Jessica hugs Rin in hopes of comforting him. 

It seems to have failed. He looks mortified. Hahaha, this guy is so weird. 

"Oh, before I forget, do I have any personal belongings here?" Rin asks. 

"Yes, you have a locker in the break room. I will show you." Mike says, grabbing Rin's arm. 

Rin turns his head towards me and says, "Why does everyone do this?" 

I can't help but chuckle and follow them into the break room. 

"This one is yours." Mike points to the locker at the farthest end of the room. 

"I can see that. It has my name on it." Rin snaps. 

He didn't like being yanked around for the second time today. 

I looked at the lockers and noticed one of them had the name of someone who wasn't introduced to us.

"Who is Greg Lowe?" I ask without thinking. 

"Oh, Loser? He is one of our other co-workers. He didn't show up today for some reason." Mike says while brushing his hair out of his face. 

"Loser?" Rin asks, puzzled. 

"Oh right, you don't remember. Each of us has nicknames for each other based on our obvious stereotypes. I'm Nerd because I'm a genius. Helen is Tree because she's tall. Jess is Poser because she is a hipster wannabe. Rin is a Loner because he has no friends. Greg is Loser because he is a lowlife. Not very nice of us, but it is what it is." Mike shrugs his shoulders. 

"Lame," Rin says under his breath, so only I hear. 

"Do you have a picture of him? Yesterday, I saw a man arguing with Rin before he ran into the street. We are trying to find him." I ask, hoping to stay on task. 

"I do. We had a work dinner when he joined the staff, and he got so drunk that he started singing Shania Twain, haha." 

Mike pulls out his phone and shows us the video. 

"That's him! That was the guy you were arguing with!" I say with a little too much excitement. 

"Ok, great, that's a good start," Rin says as he opens his locker. 

"Huh, it's empty. Damn it, I thought my phone would be here." Rin says, discouraged. 

"Did you try using the 'find my phone' app?" Mike asks. 

"I didn't think so," Rin says, embarrassed. 

"Thank you for all your help. We will get going now. Come on, let's go to the store and see what we can do about your phone." I say, grabbing Rin's arm again. 

"You have a lot of bad habits, you know that?" Rin says while trying to pull his arm away. 

"I do. Deal with it." I snap. 

We head out of the café. I spot a cell phone store and walk towards it, still holding Rin's hand. We start to cross the road when Rin pulls me back. 

"Wait, someone is following us. Come with me." Rin says, glancing behind us. 

We started walking farther down the street away from where we parked. Rin picked up the pace; the man Rin suspected was following us did, too. No doubt now that he was tailing us. Rin starts to run, unwilling to let go of my hand. He pulls me down an alley and pushes me behind a dumpster. 

"Shh, I don't think he saw us come down here," Rin says while peeking around the dumpster. 

"Fuck! He saw me. Stay here and don't come out no matter what." Rin says, letting go of my hand. 

I can't help but nod. I don't know how to handle this situation. 

"Where is the prince?" the unknown man asks. 

"He is getting his nails done; who wants to know?" Rin asks. 

I'm getting my nails done? This asshole jumps at any opportunity to pick on me. 

"Who? Let's say it's someone who wishes to take back what's his." the man grins and pulls out a pocket knife. 

"God, just how many people do I have to fuck up in one day? I should be getting paid." Rin sighs and moves his legs into a defensive position.

"Alright, douchebag, do your worst."