Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kelly was already not enthusiastic when she got the call to cover a shift at Ozark Highlands. The last time she’d been back was to help with union stuff, and that turned out horribly. Now, though, hopefully, she would be able to avoid the tense atmosphere she always seemed to come across when she came back.

She approached Glenn and quickly apologized for being late, “Where do you want me?”

Glenn smiled at her, “Kelly this is wonderful! But… what is it?”

She was confused, clearly evident in her face, but behind her she heard someone clearing his throat. Mateo.

“Kelly is here to cover a shift from Fenton. Dina asked me to call her,” he turned to Kelly to explain quickly, “They’re co-managers now, still working out the kinks.”

Glenn seemed to suddenly remember what was going on and was quick to agree, explaining they picked Kelly because of her skill set.

Kelly could handle Glenn, and as long as Mateo was only leading the way, she could handle him too. They didn’t exactly get along most of the time, which was fine, but it meant she didn’t want to work with him.

She might have taken working with him over working with Jonah though. He seemed just as surprised as she was that they were working together, and the emphasis Mateo had explaining the situation told her that this wasn’t a coincidence. He walked away and left them alone.

“I don’t know what this is, but I’m sorry.” Jonah looked like he was having a long day.

Kelly was having a long day too, and she just got here, “Am I dead? Is that why I keep ending up here?” She wanted to leave. But she could handle this. They didn’t have to talk aside from work, so she could keep this together no problem. She walked over and stayed quiet.

That worked for a while. She wasn’t into Jonah at all anymore, thank goodness. If she was, she wasn’t sure if she would make it through the shift. But Jonah started to try and explain himself, and why he figured Kelly was here, and started talking about Amy.

Kelly just politely smiled and cut him off, “Oh, no thank you!” Her eyes went right back to her clipboard.

Jonah blinked, clearly surprised by the response, “What?”

Kelly looked up again, “I’m done getting caught up in the crazy of you people.” She was tired of being nice. They weren’t nice to her, she was going to push back, “So I’m keeping my head down and getting through this shift, because I am saving for a Roomba.” She went back to her clipboard again.

Jonah nodded, “Right. But… you should know-“

“Oh no no.” Kelly cut him off again, using her fake customer service look on him, “No thank you.”

Jonah just stopped talking. Kelly could tell that was hard for him, he was always talking after all, and awkward didn’t work for him, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to deal with it. She dealt with it enough considering she didn’t work at this location, and hadn’t for two and a half years.

Marcus and Mateo came by at some point, Kelly wasn’t sure when. She noticed Mateo kind of watching them and texting someone, but she didn’t pay too much attention. She didn’t care. It wasn’t until Marcus spoke that she was focused on anything.

“Kellbell! How’s life down below?” Marcus was trying to be pleasant, though he never seemed to know how to talk to most people.

Kelly just forced a smile, “Never liked that. Told you many times.”

Mateo, like he always did, forced his way into the conversation. He was up to something. “Did you know Kelly still lives in the place she and Jonah had when they were together? Isn’t that so crazy and spacious?” He seemed to be trying to set her back up with Jonah. That ship had sailed long ago.

Marcus looked at him for a second and got a bit upset, “Oh. So that’s why you’re here, with your shoulders all shined up and your… hands all nice and small!”

Kelly wasn’t really sure what that meant, so she was quick to clear the air, “I’m just here for a roomba, I have wood floors, it gets dusty.”

Jonah seemed as uncomfortable as Kelly was, if not more so, “Hey, Marcus, why don’t you do a lap around the floor? I’ll time you.”

Marcus wasn’t letting this go though, “Absolutely, but just a second, Kelly, how does Jonah like his peaches?”

Kelly blinked. What the hell kind of question was that? Why was Marcus so upset?

Jonah glared at Marcus, “Starting the timer right now, buddy!”

Marcus didn’t care, “The answer is unripened! Loves the crunch! Big texture guy. I’ve been Jonah’s roommate for a split second and I knew that!”

The air was thick with tension. Everyone was silent for a few seconds. A few other coworkers were staring. Mateo had tried to go back to what he was doing, but when he heard that, he joined in again, “I’m sorry. Roommate?”

Marcus nodded, “Yep! Jonah and I are roommates and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Kelly suddenly understood. Well, not all of it. She didn’t understand what Mateo’s whole issue was. But she understood why Jonah was so uncomfortable and why Marcus was so mad. When she looked at Mateo he seemed to be reevaluating what to do, “You’re living with Marcus? Oh… I had no idea it was this bad…” he seemed sympathetic, but… lost.

Jonah was exasperated, “It’s not this bad! I-I’m fine!”

Kelly probably should have stayed out of it, but she had to know, “Oh, Jonah… how did this happen?” She glanced at Marcus, seeing his face and deciding she should cut him some slack, “No offense.”

Marcus seemed confused, “None taken! You’re asking like, how did he hit the friggin’ jackpot of roommates. So… tell em, Jonah.” He smiled.

Jonah sighed, explaining that he just could use the help with the rent money, and he was a little drunk as well, so when Marcus asked, he said yes.

Marcus took offense to this, seeming shocked it was about the money, but Jonah came back with the fact that he was clear from the beginning that’s why he let Marcus move in there. Marcus just scoffed, pissed now, and he walked away.

Mateo went on his phone to call someone and walked to the back, leaving Jonah and Kelly alone.

Kelly was holding the question in. She held it in for about ten minutes. But she couldn’t keep it in. Against her better judgement, she asked, “So um… what happened with you and Amy?”

Jonah sighed, “Well, we just weren’t on the same page about our future. So… we decided to break up. It was… mutual.”

Kelly rolled her eyes affectionately, “I remember us using that word too.” They both knew damn well who ended their relationship.

Jonah blinked and stammered, “Y-yeah, but-“

Kelly stopped him, “I think people use the word mutual… because they want to feel like nobody’s the bad guy. But… I mean, come on, one person’s usually hurting more than the other.”

Jonah considered that, “You know what? You’re right… I’m sorry Kelly.”

Kelly was quick to stop him, “Oh, no, I-… I’m good now! I had a lot of rebound sex and I went to Cabo with my mom, so… I’m good now.” She saw the look on his face, truly in pain, and she suddenly worried she might have gotten too involved, “And it looks like you’re good to now with your um… situation.”

Jonah forced a smile, “Yeah! In my ex’s house with Marcus.”

Kelly really hoped she could get him to calm down, “So you’re good.”

Jonah nodded, “Yeah! This is-“ he hit the table a couple of times, “This is exactly what I was going for!”

Kelly couldn’t hold her comment in, “Oh boy, it’s coming out. On the day I’m here. Good.” She wanted to go home. She wasn’t even sure Jonah heard her.

It wasn’t immediate, but he started ranting about their breakup, and how pissed he was, and upset, and sad. He soon got to the point where he was yelling, “I mean, here’s an idea, maybe, if you’re gonna have cold feet about the future of our relationship, you tell the guy, who’s got your two year old drooling on his chest,” he changed his tone for a second, “he’s my little man by the way, and I love him to death,”

Kelly was just nodding along, regretting accepting the shift.

“But maybe- maybe you just give him… just an indication, that- you’re gonna pull the rug out from under him. Because, let me tell you something, he’s very comfortable on that rug! A lot of plans, hinging on that rug staying right where it is.”

Kelly felt bad that she had broken him to the point of spilling all of this. It would probably be for the best, she just wished she wasn’t the one that had to hear.

“Yeah, we’ve moved on. She’s moved on! She’s out living in California in what I imagine is an infinity pool, and I’m stuck here, working in her store! Living in her house! Dealing with- her neighbor’s tree that’s just over the property line. You deal with it Amy! It’s your fucking problem!” Jonah seemed like he was done.

Unfortunately, by the time he’d finished, Mateo and someone Kelly didn’t recognize both walked through the door, seeming startled. The guy was struggling to look up at Jonah for a second. Kelly noticed he looked similar to Amy, if she remembered correctly.

Jonah blinked, seeming embarrassed now, “Oh hey guys! How long were you…?”

The guy held up two keys and looked at him awkwardly, “Just bringing back your keys…”

Mateo spoke up after, “Are you okay?”

Jonah sighed, calming himself, “Yeah. Yeah. I’m good,” he looked down while Mateo and the guy stared at him, looking worried, “You know what, Eric? You can keep the keys. I’m moving out.”

Kelly watched Jonah watch away and stored away the information that this guy’s name was Eric. He casually went to put the keys in his pocket.

Jonah suddenly came back, “Obviously I’m not moving out today, so I need the keys…” he took the keys from Eric, who was nodding and agreeing, “Thank you.” He walked off again, leaving the trio alone.

Kelly watched Mateo and Eric, and by their body language, she figured out they must have been together. At this point, they both kind of ignored her, glancing in her direction, but not really acknowledging her other than that.

She figured out why Mateo was so invested with Jonah. He probably wanted to move in, and her guess was Eric was living with him, so they were going to move into the house together now.

Mateo then turned to her, “Good luck getting your Roomba, Kelly.” And before she could respond, he was pulling Eric away back through the employee door. She wasn’t sure Eric was an employee, but they didn’t seem to care.

Kelly was able to get through the rest of her shift just fine. The major part of it was done, and she just had to finish up, then she could clock out and leave, and hopefully never come back.