little busy.. [open]

[Sync]

Friday and Saturday nights were always the busiest in any pub. It was no exception in The White Horse. They'd been open for a little over a week, and already all of the regulars had returned from their temporary post at Movie Magic, as well as many new faces. One of those new faces was the owner herself. Though known around town due to the fact that she'd been living there a year already, they had no idea that Jade Pope was to take over The White Horse. It had come as a pleasant surprise to the residents of Park, knowing Jade for her no messing approach and brisk nature. They knew that she would care for their favorite haunt accordingly, treating it with the respect it deserved. Said owner was currently sat in the back room, her dark locks spread over the table as she crouched lowly over the paper she was studying intently. Scrawling her own name into one of the boxes drawn onto the rota, she huffed in accomplishment. The rota had finally been complete, now that she had enough temporary staff to fill the gaps still needed to be filled with permanent employee's.

The young female breezed out of the room gracefully, pinning up the rota on the front of the door before sweeping out into the main bar area of the pub. "Kian, Caleb, you're both working tomorrow from 6 until closing time. Saturday's are always the worst and I need as much help as I can get. Jace will also be working with you." she told them distractedly, crouching so that she could pick up an excitable Stitch who was demanding attention. She didn't notice the frown on Kian's face as she mention Jace's name, so did not acknowledge it. Even if she had seen it, she would have chosen to ignore it. She had noticed the hostility between the two boys as soon as they started work on their first day, and had forced the situation out of them. She found the situation amusing, so hadn't told them to cool it down just yet. But if it escalated, she had no reservations at snapping at the pair. "Where is Jace?" she asked, turning toward the two boys. "Not scheduled to start his shift for another hour." Kian answered while Caleb shrugged. She rolled her eyes at Caleb's response. It was a good thing he was pretty to look at, because you sure didn't get much of an insight to his mind.

A flirtatious smile crossed her lips as she pulled a pint for the next customer. The man looked more than a little flustered, his cheeks flushing an adorable pink. Jade chose to overlook the possessive hand placed on the mans arm, blanking the daggers being shot at her by a bleach blonde bimbo. "There you go, handsome." she purred, sliding the pint and vodka and coke over to him, winking for good measure. A chuckle sounded behind her as the man and his girlfriend turned to find a table. "Are you going to cause another break-up tonight, boss?" Kian asked, amusement dripping in his words. Jade grinned at her young employee. The boys had noticed that only after a week of being open, Jade had managed to split up three couples whom had entered The White Horse during the week, and steal more than a few dates. They were keeping a tally. "Hopefully." she called in a sing song voice as she moved from behind the bar once again, causing both boys to chuckle in amusement.

There was no denying the fact that Kian was a natural behind the bar. He also worked extremely well with Caleb, the pair complimenting each other well. While Caleb was less talkative, he still managed to flirt with any female with a pulse. Kian, being able to actually hold a conversation, tended to serve the male customers and keep up with their complaining about recent football or rugby matches, and even rants about the way the government was working. Yeah, that was surprising to him too. The pair had received many compliments from customers about their service, though many hadn't expected it from Kian at all. No matter how much the boy had changed, still not everyone could overlook his past. He didn't care really though, he was pretty happy with where his life was going at the moment, so he wasn't going to complain about some peoples misguided thoughts. Well, not just yet anyway.

The flow into the pub was steady and unrelenting. Though the boys and Jade worked well, they just weren't quick enough to keep up with the demand. "Jace better hurry up. He has about five minutes until his shift starts, and if he doesn't get here soon i'll kill him." Jade growled angrily. She did manage to laugh at Kian's excited expression at her threat. "Yes Kian, you may help." she answered his unasked question, rolling her eyes as he fist pumped the air. Token sat beside Jade on the bar, his tail flickering slowly as he surveyed his territory. Stitch was currently worming her way through the crowds, accepting every fuss and cuddle she could gain. There was no doubt that her pets enjoyed the atmosphere of the pub. And even though they were run off their feet, so did Kian, Caleb and Jade.

[Onzy]

Jace had been spending his afternoon riding. His parents weren’t particularly well off and the scholarship to the College helped them a lot. It also meant that a horse that he could call his own was an impossible dream for the time being. Thankfully he had been assigned two College horses that kept his days full and afternoons busy. The fact that he had found a job at the local pub meant that he was also going to earn some of his own money, making his parent’s life that little bit easier. The move to the College had left him a little more than broke, and he needed his savings if he was going to go to Varsity and make better living for himself. Patting a sweaty Jack, he released the gelding into the pasture and made his way to the dorms. For Jace it was awkward sharing a dorm with Niall, mainly because he knew how the guy felt about his girlfriend.

Ruthie was oblivious to Niall’s feelings, and Jace was thankful for that. He did know that Kian and Ieuan were more than willing to have him out of the picture, Ruthie’s bodyguards being rather free with the words that described him. He checked the time, and saw that he had little more than an hour until his shift at The White Horse. He took a quick shower and changed into a pair of black jeans and the required polo shirt with the logo on the breast pocket. His own proper idea of styling was the leather jacket and aviators, but that was only because he didn’t have a car but a motorbike. It was the usual routine over the last week. He would go pick up Ruthie from the bookstore, go to the pub for his shift; she would stay for an hour or two and then go back to the College. He would finish his shift at whatever time and then go home and start on the pile of work that he had to do. He was considering on asking the teachers for the work a week in advance, just so that he could finish it.

The old Ducati had been sort of a project between him and his dad. The old frame had been bought as a rock bottom price, and over the course of a year, the old bike had been restored to its old glory. Now it ran as smoothly as it had when it had been dumped. Stopping outside the book shop, Jace peeled off the helmet and went inside. “Gimme a sec,” came the familiar voice from behind a shelf, and he peered around it to see the blonde hair and form of Ruthie. “Told you to give me a sec,” she scolded Jace fondly, giving him a chaste kiss. “You ready? I’m almost late,” he asked her as she went to fetch her back pack. “I still don’t know why you come and fetch me, when I need to fetch the car anyway,” she asked, her voice slightly muffled by her putting on of her helmet.
“Because I don’t see you and you in that helmet are sexy,” he whispered cheekily, only to receive a playful punch on the arm.

Jace enjoyed the closeness of having Ruthie on the bike with him, but the wind was so much better. It was only a block difference from the book shop to the pub, so there wasn’t a lot of wind. Parking the bike in the alley, he allowed himself a few moments to kiss her properly. “See you inside,” he whispered, running into the pub just on time. “Don’t get too excited Kian,” he said, as he heard the conversation. “Sorry I’m late boss. Something came up,” he apologised to Jade, a grin on his face as he caught Ruthie entering the pub.

Sometimes Jace wondered why Kian and Ieuan had such a big issue with him. After all, he and Ruthie had parted on good terms. The fact that he missed her during the summer was all that had really remained to be said, and she had admitted as much to him as well. He fell into the job quickly, always having a conversation and a smile at the ready. He didn't frequent pubs often as a patron, but the working behind the counter was interesting to him. The people provided interesting stories and there was never a boring day.

Ruthie marvelled at Jace. He knew what he wanted, and he usually got it. Like a hunter, he never gave up the chase. Two weeks he hounded her, trying to convince her to go out with him, and she had finally relented. After a month or two, she had noticed the toll it took on Niall. Why nobody liked Jace was a shock to her. Kian and Ieuan were still protective of her, but it wasn’t as if they hadn’t known about him. Correction, Ieuan had known about him, Kian not so much. Now the two were working together, and she wondered who was going to kill the other first. “Oi Kian. Tell Bella I say hi,” she said, finishing her sparkling water. Jace was busy, so she just waved goodbye. The pub was too busy for her personal liking anyway.

Jace needed the job and so only mentioned his allergies to to Jade when he started, and now just drank antihistamines when on the job. Stitch was a cutie, but he was a dog and that was his one weakness. Dog hair caused him to sniff and sneeze. Token was a better one, and Jace gave the cat a friendly scratch under the chin.