From the moment they walked in, she was praying to whatever god was listening that they weren't put in her section. There were at least five of them - she didn't feel like counting, and she had no way of knowing whether there were more of them coming - and they were all obnoxious. Pushing each other around, nearly falling into other customer's laps, laughing far too loud; she could immediately tell that they were the kind of guys she avoided at school. Of course, the fact that they were all in football uniforms helped her come to that conclusion.
Leaning against the kitchen door frame, she watched the hostess give her an apologetic glance as she seated the boys at the largest table she could find, which just happened to be in her section. She heaved a sigh and fixed her uniform, self-consciously pulling her shirt down a little to cover her exposed belly, but she only succeeded in showing more cleavage. With a sweet smile plastered across her face, she started toward the table.
As soon as she arrived, one of the boys whistled, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Hey guys, my name's Krissy. Welcome to Hooters!"
"Well, hey there, Krissy," one of the boys said immediately, leaning his elbows on the table and quirking an eyebrow. "My name's Michael, and this here--" He hooked an arm around another boy's neck and ruffled his hair, "this's my little brother, Dean. Say hi, Dean."
Dean rolled his eyes and shoved Michael away, fixing his hair. He looked up at Krissy and offered her a smile similar to the one the hostess had given her.
The guy next to Michael stood up, bowing in front of her and glancing not-so-secretively at her breasts. When he stood back up, he was grinning, and he stretched out a hand. "I'm Lucifer," he said.
Another, across from 'Lucifer', rolled his eyes when Krissy's widened slightly, and reached across the table to punch him in the stomach. "That's what he calls himself," he said. "His real name is Lucas."
"No it's not, it's Lucif--"
"I'm Gabriel, by the way," the boy cut in. "Hey, uh..." Gabriel looked pointedly at her chest, and his eyes slowly slid downward, scanning over her bellybutton ring and down her legs, before bouncing back up again. "Why don't you have a name tag, Kris-say?"
Krissy opened her mouth to speak, but didn't get anything out before another boy cut her off. "Because they don't give name tags to..." he said, and then glanced between Krissy and Gabriel before covering his mouth and whispering, "Whores," like Krissy couldn't hear.
The table erupted in laughter - at least, everyone but Dean. He covered his eyes as if embarrassed, and rubbed his temples.
This time, Krissy didn't resist the urge to roll her eyes; she was used to this, but it was still annoying as all hell. "Can I start you guys off with some drinks?" she asked quickly, before anyone else could interrupt her.
"I'll have a beer, sweetie," Michael said, voice sweeter than honey as he leaned forward again.
"Beer--" Gabriel started, but Krissy spoke over him.
"Don't call me sweetie." The words were defensive, but they were delivered so sweetly it was almost scary.
The boys laughed again; and again, Dean was the only one silent. "Sorry, baby," Michael chuckled, eyes sparkling.
Krissy's jaw clenched, but she ignored him. "What about the rest of you? Drinks?" she prompted.
She took down their orders, only half-listening, until she got to Dean. With a genuine smile, she asked him what he wanted.
"Just a Coke for me," he said softly.
Michael and Lucifer roared with laughter, and Dean turned bright red. "I did say he was my little brother," Michael said, grinning as he pinched Dean so hard he yelped. "Can't have a beer yet."
"Six beers and a Coke," Krissy murmured to herself, and turned on her heel before they could say anything else. As she walked away, however, their whistles still reached her, and she contemplated telling her manager there was a disturbance and having them kicked out. But, really, she knew she couldn't bring herself to do it.
And it absolutely wasn't because she wanted to see more of Dean.
She went back to the kitchen and gave the order to one of the bartenders, Claire. "Six beers and a Coke," she said, leaning against the counter top to relieve some of the pressure from her feet. "Shit, I gotta take a break soon. What time is it?"
Claire glanced at the digital clock behind the bar and replied, "6:42. Six beers? How many tables do you have?"
Krissy groaned, reaching into her pocket to get a hair tie and putting her hair up in a low bun. "Just one," she muttered. "Seven college guys. Assholes."
"God, seriously?" Claire put the beers and Coke on a tray for her, and sighed softly.
"Yup," she said, hoisting the tray onto her arm with Claire's help. "Well... they're not all assholes, I guess. There's this one."
A grin slowly stretched across Claire's face and she raised her eyebrows. "Really," she said, laughing. "Tell me about this one."
"I can't, Claire, I gotta get their drinks out," Krissy said, swatting her away when she tried to hold her back. "I will when I get back. Deal? I have a break in fifteen minutes." She didn't wait for a response before hurrying out, and back to the table.
Despite their previous teasing, she put on a smile as she arrived, and put the tray down on the table next to them. As she set his beer in front of him, she heard Michael mutter, "Thank, baby," and it took most of her willpower not to splash the drink in his face.
Once she'd finished passing out the drinks, she got out her notepad again. "You guys ready to order yet?" she asked sweetly, leaning back against the other table and fighting the urge to hiss at the ache in her feet. "Dean?"
She ignored their catcalls and laughs as Michael practically shouted, "Hey, bro, she remembered your name!" Again, she debated throwing them out, but decided against it.
"Yeah, I am," Dean said, ducking Michael's noogie. "I'll have the hot wings with a side of fries."
"What kind of dip?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she scribbled on her pad. "We have blue cheese, jalapeno, ranch--"
"Ranch," Dean said quickly.
Krissy nodded, marking it down. "Okay, ranch," she said. "What about you guys?"
"Can you tell me about your chicken breast?" Lucifer asked, raising his eyebrows.
Krissy nodded again, putting her pad down for a moment and wrapping her arms slowly around herself, to try and cover up some of her nakedness. "The breast comes with your choice of sauce, a side of fries, or baked or mashed potatoes, and a vegetable."
Lucifer seemed to think for a moment, but then nodded. "I'll have the chicken breast, then," he said. "Hold the chicken."
They all laughed, and Krissy clicked her tongue, already getting annoyed again. "Is that what you really want?" She raised her voice so they could hear her, but they just laughed louder.
"If you're willing to serve it, I think we'll all have it, baby," Michael said, grinning so widely Krissy thought his mouth might fall off.
"Guys, come on," Dean said softly, putting his Coke aside. "She's just trying to do her job." When they didn't listen to him, he spoke a little louder. "Michael. Luke. Gabriel, come on. Stop."
It was a few minutes before they ceased, and even then Michael was still chuckling, wiping the corners of his eyes like they'd started to tear up. "Awww, Dean-o's sticking up for the waitress," he said. "What, got a crush?"
Krissy blushed a light pink, but Dean turned crimson. The rest of the boys laughed again, and after a minute or two Michael spoke again.
"All right, seriously," he said, standing up. "I'll have the sixteen-ounce sirloin and fries." He was walking around Dean, toward her, and he was close, too close, but she couldn't push him away. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
Krissy raised an eyebrow at him, trying to decide whether he was serious or not, but pointed anyway. "In that corner. Labelled 'bathroom'. Can't miss it."
Michael smiled a predatory smile and walked past her, murmuring, "Thanks, baby," and accentuating the words with a slap to her ass.
Krissy tensed, eyes wide and she watched as he glanced over his shoulder at her on his way to the bathroom. She stood in shock for a moment, and then stuffed her note pad and pen in her pocket and hurried away, tears stinging behind her eyes. It wasn't necessarily Michael that had gotten to her, it was more the humiliation coupled with the fact that she hadn't been having the best day. From behind her, she could hear a hissed, "Goddamnit, Michael," and the squeak of a chair pushed back too hastily.
She didn't even bother going through the kitchen, just ran out the back door, covering her mouth to mask her quiet sobs. Before the door closed behind her, it opened again, and she could hear footsteps. "Don't be him, just don't be him," she whispered to herself, rounding the back of the building. "Please don't be him."
"Hey!" someone shouted, and she recognized the voice almost immediately.
Krissy didn't turn to face Dean, just kept her back to him and her hand over her mouth as she cried softly. She was shaking, and whether it was from the October chill or the crying, she didn't know. Dean's hand came to rest on her arm, just above her elbow, and she jerked away.
"Krissy." He sounded concerned, which actually surprised her. She didn't know how he could be related to someone so awful and still be sweet. "Hey." He went around to her front and put a hand on her other arm, gently preventing her from turning around. "You're freezing."
She barely registered what he was saying, but when she felt a jacket drape over her shoulders, she was grateful. Her vision was blurred with tears when she opened her eyes and looked at him, unconsciously pulling the coat tighter around herself. "Thank you," she whispered, careful of her makeup as she used the shoulder of her shirt to wipe at her eyes. "This uniform is fucking ridiculous."
That earned her a little laugh, and she smiled a little in return. His hands were still on her arms, and he rubbed them gently, trying to restore some of the heat. "I'm so sorry about my brother," he said quietly. "He's a dick, I know. They all are."
Krissy shook her head, blinking back more tears at just the mention of him. "It's fine," she muttered. "I'm used to it."
"Then why're you crying?" Dean's tongue poked at the inside of his cheek, and Krissy couldn't help but think that he might be nervous.
She shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. "Bad day," she said simply, her voice still a little rough. "Why did you follow me?"
"Wanted to make sure you were okay," he said immediately, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And... to ask you when you get off."
Krissy raised her eyebrows and smiled when she saw a blush creeping across his face. "Why?" she asked, stepping a little closer.
Dean seemed to hesitate before saying slowly, "I'd like to take you out. Maybe get something to eat."
"I don't get off until ten."
"I don't care."
After a moment or two, Krissy bit her lip and replied, "I'd like that."