Happy World (14 page)

Kyle tried to keep focused on the task at hand, but he couldn’t stop worrying that Rory would do something stupid -- if incredibly sweet -- like confronting Charlie, or reporting the incident. He made up his mind to talk to Rory about it at length when they met after Kyle’s shift. He had to convince Rory that the best course of action was to let it go, and forget the whole thing ever happened.

***

The fast food restaurant was packed when Kyle and Rory arrived at Burger Heaven, mostly with Happy World Actors. The hamburger joint was known for its generous servings and low prices, a perfect combination for those working at or just above minimum wage and looking for a bite to eat. Especially popular was the fixings bar, where people could pile lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions on their burgers, or where people who didn’t have the cash to buy a Goliath Burger or a Cheezy Deluxe could covertly stuff themselves with the free condiments.

It took them nearly twenty minutes to get their food, fix their burgers, and snag a table for two near the windows. Kyle sighed as he took a large bite of his cheeseburger, beef juice and ketchup dribbling down his chin. His angry stomach rumbled once, almost as if chiding him for waiting so long to fill it, then settled happily down. He’d missed lunch when forced to deal with a Groundskeeping emergency -- some dumbass filled the bubble machine at the Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble Emporium with dishwashing liquid, and the sudsy mess nearly swamped the street and the nearby attractions. He didn’t know who did it, but was sure that whoever it was had a pink slip waiting for them. The mess tied up the area for hours while Groundskeeping tried to mop it up.

He swallowed his bite of burger and opened his mouth to tell Rory about it, but Rory beat him to the punch.

“We need to talk about this Charlie thing. We have to do something about it, Kyle.”

Kyle felt his stomach twist, an unfortunate occurrence since he’d so recently filled it with masticated chunks of medium-rare Cheezy Deluxe with extra onions. He had to swallow hard to keep the burger from making an unwanted reappearance. Oh, he just knew Rory wouldn’t let it go! “Rory, I told you I just want to forget it ever happened.”

Rory sat back in his chair, ignoring his food, fingers tapping on the table as he stared out the window at the crowded parking lot. His face was dark and troubled, and Kyle instantly lost his appetite, hating that they were arguing over stupid Charlie Taylor.

Again.

“Come on, what’s wrong, Rory? Don’t tell me you still don’t believe me!”

“I just don’t get it, Kyle. If Charlie forced himself on you, why don’t you want to report it? If it was me, I’d be furious. If nothing else, I’d want to make sure Charlie didn’t do it to anybody else!”

Kyle felt blood rush to his face. “You make it sound like I’m either guilty, or a selfish bastard. I don’t... I can’t... I have to think about my job, Rory! And what do you mean, ‘if’ Charlie forced me? You still don’t believe me. You think I wanted to kiss him!”

“I didn’t say that.” Something in Rory’s expression told Kyle otherwise.

“You didn’t have to!” Kyle pushed his half-eaten burger away. His appetite was gone. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Look, Rory, you don’t understand how it can be for somebody who reports something as serious as sexual harassment at Happy World. Management will think I’m not a team player. They’ll think I’m a troublemaker. I’ll never get out of Groundskeeping!” Why did this have to happen, just when he’d been so happy with Rory, and so excited about the upcoming Entertainment open call? It’s your own fault, a spiteful little voice whispered in his mind. This is what you get for breaking the rules. It’s karma, come around to take a nice big chunk out of your butt for messing around with Rory in the Park. To his horror, Kyle found himself near tears, and he turned away, rubbing his hand angrily over his eyes.

He could feel Rory’s eyes burning into the back of his neck. When he risked a peek back, Rory’s angry expression was melting into one of remorse. “Oh, man... I’m sorry, Kyle. I didn’t mean to get you all upset again. Look, it just grinds my balls that Charlie can be such an asshole and get away with it. He hurt you, and that pisses me off.”

Kyle blinked at Rory, feeling his anger washed away by a feeling of pleased warmth. “It does?”

“Of course it does! Do you know what they call Charlie behind his back? Charlie-the-Virgin-Slayer. He’s got a reputation for playing with people, for using them to get what he wants, Kyle. I don’t want that to be you. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Kyle felt his lips curve in a smile, even if tears still threatened, although for a different reason. He’d been right. Rory did have feelings for him! “Thanks, but he’ll only hurt me if I let him, right? Next time he tries anything, I’ll knee him such a good one, he’ll be singing soprano with the Christmas chorus this year.”

Rory laughed. “Okay, then.” Then the smile dropped from Rory’s face and his expression grew serious. “Listen, I promise I’ll never mention it again after today, but I have to say it now. If Charlie ever forces you to do anything you don’t want to do again, all bets are off, Kyle. I’ll find him and ram my grabby claw so far up his ass I’ll be able to pull out his spleen and feed it to him for lunch. Nobody hurts you and gets away it. Nobody.”

Does that include you? Kyle wondered, but bit his tongue and just nodded. It was weird for him, having somebody who was so protective and possessive of him, and he wasn’t entirely sure if he liked it. He liked the way Rory made him feel, but he worried that Rory would try to control him, run his life for him. He didn’t want a relationship where he had to justify himself all the time, or watch who he smiled at or talked with. “Just promise me one thing. Believe me when I tell you something, Rory. I don’t lie, not ever, and it’s insulting when you doubt my word. You’re supposed to be my friend.”

Rory blushed and looked abashed. “I guess it sounded that way, didn’t it? I promise. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have believed Darren when he told me about Charlie kissing you. I should’ve known there was more to it. And Kyle?”

“Yeah?”

“You have to know that we’re not just friends anymore, right?”

Kyle felt his cheeks flush. “Yeah, I know. It’s just that we never really talked about, you know... exclusivity or anything.”

“Well, maybe it’s time we did.”

Kyle’s eyes flashed open. Was Rory saying what it sounded like he was saying? “You mean, be a couple? You and me?”

“No, me and Happy Hamster. Of course, I mean you and me. Unless you don’t want to be with me.”

“Oh, I want to! I mean, you know, if you want to.” He tried to keep his face from splitting into a wide grin and failed. All his worries about Charlie, about possible ramifications of filing a sexual harassment suit, and Rory’s doubting him, everything vanished in an instant.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” Rory took his hand and held it, gave it a squeeze. “There, it’s all settled. Now, let’s eat. We both have early mornings tomorrow, and I have plans for you for after dinner.”

Kyle started to ask what sort of plans Rory had, but one look at the lascivious expression in Rory’s eyes told him the answer. He practically stuffed the rest of his burger in his mouth and swallowed without bothering to waste time chewing.

They never made it past the parking lot.

Kyle just opened the door of Rory’s car when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He stiffened, wondering if he was about to be mugged, and if his assailant would be satisfied with the few dollars Kyle had in his wallet. It wouldn’t be the first time somebody was held up in the parking lot of Burger Heaven.

Then he looked across the roof of Rory’s car and saw the look on Rory’s face. Rory didn’t look frightened... he looked pissed off. Rory’s face was a thunderous black cloud, his lips pulled back to show his teeth.

Kyle risked a look over his shoulder and was shocked to see Charlie standing behind him. A few of Charlie’s friends stood nearby, waiting. There wasn’t a smile among them except for Charlie’s grin, which struck Kyle as plastic and false.

“Hey, babe. Fancy meeting you here.”

Kyle tried to shrug off Charlie’s hand, but Charlie’s fingers dug into his shoulder blade. “Let go, Charlie!”

Kyle heard Rory slam his door and heard a thump. He turned his head in time to see Rory sliding over the hood of the car. “Get your fucking hands off him!”

Charlie’s friends rushed up, putting themselves between Rory and Charlie. Charlie sneered at Rory. “Aw, green just isn’t your color, shithead. I just want a few words with Kyle, here.”

“He’s got nothing to say to you!”

“He’s got a mouth. He can speak for himself,” Charlie said. “A very sweet mouth, might I add, and he knows what to do with it, too. Don’t you, babe?”

To Kyle’s horror, Charlie leaned in and flicked his tongue over Kyle’s mouth. Kyle was sorely tempted to try to bite it off. He shoved Charlie away. “Get away from me, asshole!”

“Ooh, baby’s got a dirty mouth tonight! I like it.” Charlie’s grin was icy cold and sent a shiver dancing down Kyle’s spine. What the hell was he up to?

Rory roared, trying to push past Charlie’s friends. “Get away from him, Charlie, or so help me, I’ll--”

Charlie laughed, and slung his arm around Kyle’s shoulder, despite Kyle’s efforts to keep him off. “You’ll do what? File a grievance with Happy World? We’re not on the clock, dipshit.” He gestured toward his friends. “Besides, I’ve got a ton of witnesses. You try anything, and not only will I get your sorry ass fired, but I’ll have you arrested for assault.”

He’d do it, too, Kyle knew. Charlie would get Rory fired simply because he could if Rory gave him the slightest excuse. Kyle slipped out from under Charlie’s arm. “Leave him alone. What do you want, anyway?”

“I want what we had before, Kyle, before this asshole got hired and started fucking with your head. You’re mine. You always have been. Come on, baby... don’t you remember how fucking good we are together?”

Kyle was stunned and confused. Why was Charlie pretending they’d been lovers? Charlie barely knew Kyle was alive before Rory came to work at Happy World. Then, suddenly, all the pieces fell into place, and he understood.

It was Rory Charlie wanted. Rory turned Charlie down in favor of Kyle. Charlie wanted revenge on Kyle, not Rory, and he was trying to get it by breaking them up. Evidently, if Charlie couldn’t have Rory, nobody -- especially a nobody like Kyle -- could have him. Kyle looked at Rory and with horror saw the indecision in Rory’s eyes. “Rory, don’t listen to him!”

“Hey, you can’t fuck both of us,” Charlie said. “That would just make you a whore. Are you a whore, Kyle? You know, I’m getting tired of this game you’re playing.”

“You’re a lying sack of shit, Charlie!”

“Ouch, babe, you’re hurting my feelings. Don’t say things you’ll regret.” Charlie looked at Rory. “You know my little honey is just using you, right? He does it all the time. New guy comes into Groundskeeping, and Kyle just can’t resist trying to get the guy into bed. Gets some nice dinners out of the deal and a couple of good fucks, but then he gets tired of them, and always comes back to me.”

“He’s lying, Rory!” Kyle cried. “Rory, tell me you don’t believe him!”

Rory looked from Kyle to Charlie and back again. Kyle could see uncertainty coloring Rory’s expression. “I... I... “

Charlie chuckled. “Well, I’ll leave you two to say your goodbyes. I’ll call you later, Kyle.” He nodded toward his friends, and the group swaggered off toward the entrance to Burger Heaven.

Kyle felt sorrow pierce his heart, deep and painful, followed swiftly by anger. Rory believed Charlie! Believed Kyle was a slut, a whore who fucked around and was two-timing Rory for shits and giggles. He was devastated, especially considering their conversation in Burger Heaven. Exclusive, my ass! How can I be exclusive with somebody who doesn’t trust me?

Rory shook his head, watching them go. “Kyle, I--”

“Shut up, Rory. Leave me alone,” Kyle hissed. He narrowed his eyes at Rory. “You believed him. You believed everything he said! Well, that’s it. We’re done. Goodbye.”

Rory tried to grab Kyle’s arm but Kyle shrugged him off and started walking. With a sinking heart, he realized Rory wasn’t following him.

It was over between them, for good, and it hurt that Rory would let him go so easily.

Chapter Fourteen

Well, that’s it. We’re done. Goodbye.

Over the next few days, Rory kept replaying the words in his head. For real? Who even talked like that? It was so… so… Rory wasn’t sure what word he was looking for, but it was probably something like “clichéd”. You didn’t just end relationships like that, for Christ’s sake.

It was the reason he’d just let Kyle walk away from him in the parking lot that night. Rory had been so confused by what he was hearing that it hadn’t even occurred to him to call Kyle back. He’d half expected Kyle to stop in his tracks and turn around, but by the time Rory realized that wasn’t happening, Kyle was gone.

And then Rory got mad.

Being shouted at in the parking lot of Burger Heaven was not exactly cool. Especially not when Charlie was sitting there smirking at both of them, enjoying the show. Plus, the fact that Kyle played right into Charlie’s little trap after Rory had been warning Kyle about him forever was totally fucked up. This was exactly what Charlie had wanted!

Yeah, Rory was pissed. Any ideas he’d had about calling Kyle or going over to see him to make things right had vanished. Why the hell had Kyle just flown off the handle like that?

If Rory were going to be honest with himself about the whole thing, he did have to admit that he’d let Charlie infuriate him. The way he’d talked about Kyle and the imaginary things they’d done together… well. There had been a moment where Rory had had a bit of doubt. Charlie just seemed so sure, so cocky.

Kyle belonged to Rory, goddammit. Or rather, he used to belong to Rory. Now things were all screwed up and Rory was mad, and all thanks to Charlie fucking Taylor.

Fuck everything.

He’d almost decided not to go to the casting call today. The call sheet hadn’t been specific about which characters they were looking for. It was just a general “Casting for Parade Performers and Happy World Character Look-Alikes”. “Look-alikes” were the people who most closely resembled Happy World’s animated cartoons. Happy World had very strict guidelines and regulations about their face characters, including proper eye color and height. Rory had no damn idea if he looked like any of the Happy World characters and almost decided to scrap the whole thing, but then he reconsidered.