thinking of JOHNNYMCTAVISH being a total creep for the young baker.
TW : stalker! soap
“hey your boyfriend’s back.”
you look at chelsea in confusion. boyfriend? as far as you knew, you were single. the lonely little flat you had on the other side of town could attest for that. it was clear it was only person living there. well, one person and a bad ass cat who did nothing but tear up your things when you weren't there.
she grins and you knowingly and you let out an immediate groan, a feeling of uneasiness filing your gut and spilling on your face. ever since you started working here at this quaint little bakery, some blue eyed scotsman, john mctavish, has been coming in almost three days out of the week and requesting you personally. the bakery didn't even wait tables which made it even all the more weird and awkward for you. you just so happened to be working the cash register the first day he came in. from then on it's been nothing but weird glances and awkward conversation.
there was something deeply unsettling about the consistency of it all. he never seemed to come at random. somehow, without fail, he arrived on your shifts and never the mornings you swapped with another coworker, never the afternoons you'd called out sick. at first you'd convinced yourself it was coincidence, but coincidences didn't repeat themselves with military precision. it was as though he knew your schedule before you did. the realization burrowed beneath your skin until you found yourself checking the front windows every time the bell over the door rang.
it even had you looking over your shoulder when you made the walk home.
you’d never seen him before, never had a conversation or a run in with him but for some vaguely unknown reason to you, it had become a freakish habit of his. chelsea gives you a funny look and you scowl at her, opening the door and peaking through the crack to see him waiting at his practical designated spot, for you.
his eyes immediately land you and you fight the shiver that runs through your body like cold water. he smiles, all teeth and gums but it’s more animalistic than boyish and it makes you feel all out of sorts. as handsome as he was, the guy had a creep aura around him, not mention just how fucking huge he was.
“i don’t know why you act that way. he’s kinda hot.”
“you serve him then.”
“i’ve tried. he only has eyes for you.” chelsea grins and pokes you in the back but you slap her hand away. besides being uncomfortable, the guy did leave a really hefty tip, one too big for some baker at a bakery. if chelsea wasn't constantly in your ear chirping about how hot and good for business he was, you would have told him to fuck off by now. you had patience, but not that much. especially for a man.
you close the door before moving pass chelsea to continue working on a fresh batch of croissants. it may have not been big deal, but this had become a continuous thing. chelsea may have seen it as a joke, but this little triad got very old very fast.
eventually, after sliding the croissants into the over and giving yourself a mental pep talk, you washed your hands and tightened your apron before walking out from the kitchen. like a moth to a flame, his eerie blue eye were on you. you've struuggled enough in life to understand the art of code switching and pretending. with the big smile you plastered on your face, you would never think that you were actually planning on just leaving out the back kitchen door as if you were never there in the first place.
"there's ma bonnie girl."
gross.
you greet him, the sweetness in your voice had you internally cringing. you pulled out the chair across from him, sitting down with the fakest smile you could muster, cheeks straining from how believable you were trying to make yourself out to be. anything not to lose this fucking job, even so, you had a cautioning fear that if you happened to piss this guy off, the thought of losing your job would be the least of your worries.
"would nae miss seeing ye for the world bon. took ye a bit long to come out, started to think ye didn't wanna see me." you let out a quiet laugh that sounded painfully forced even to your own ears, fingers smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from your apron before folding neatly in your lap.
"it's been a busy morning." a lie. not that he would know though. his eye lingered on you, studying your face in that same unnerving way he always did. like every twitch of your expression meant something.
"aye. been workin' harder lately, yeah bon?"
"comes with the job."
"naw." his voice remained gentle.
"comes with the bills."
your smile held for another second before beginning to strain.
"i think everyone's got bills." he nodded once. "but no' everyone's landlord hikes rent by three hundred dollars in the middle o' the lease."
the blood drained from your face and you stared at him. johnny rested his forearms against the table, his gaze drifting over your face before settling somewhere just beyond you. your mouth parted, but nothing came out. johnny didn't seem to notice, or maybe he did, but misunderstood the reason.
"dirty thing to do ta such sweet girl. should be illegal."
he reached for his coffee, taking an easy sip. your pulse was pounding so hard you could hear it. his words settled like rocks in your stomach. you hadn't told anyone, not even chelsea. hell, you hadn't even called your mum because you knew she'd only worry and insist on sending money she didn't have.
you'd spent the last month pretending everything was fine. buying cheaper groceries. skipping meals when you had to. walking to work whenever the fuel light came on because every gallon mattered. no one knew. not one soul. but johnny smiled to himself.
"s'why i leave ye the extra cash."
john's tone was playful but the look in his eye said otherwise.
the rest of the conversation passed in a haze you couldn't quite remember. your body stayed rooted in the chair while your mind clawed desperately for some explanation that didn't end with the same horrifying conclusion.
you found yourself nodding at things he said without actually hearing them, smiling when it seemed appropriate because years of customer service had trained your body to move on its own. every now and then he'd laugh, and you'd force one in return, all while your pulse hammered so violently you were certain he had to hear it.
when john left, he left with a a sloppy kiss on your cheek, slipping a hundred dollar bill in your back pocket.
after that it didn't take long before he started mentioning things you couldn't remember telling him. your favorite pastry, the fact you hated cinnamon in your coffee, that you always switched your rings from one hand to the other halfway through your shift because the dough made your fingers swell. tiny details that should've been invisible to anyone who wasn't deliberately paying attention. you laughed them off the first few times, assuming maybe you'd let something slip in conversation, but eventually the list grew too long to explain away. the first time should’ve been enough.
you found yourself changing little habits just to test him. wearing your hair differently. taking your break later than usual. parking around the corner instead of behind the bakery. somehow he'd notice every single change, offering casual comments with that same unnerving smile that suggested he expected you to be impressed rather than disturbed. every confirmation tightened the knot already living in your stomach.
for the first time since he'd started coming into the bakery, you had stopped wondering why he was so interested in you.
you started to wonder how long he'd been watching before you ever noticed him.
© — 𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐒 ( 2026 )












