Junna had made it a point to keep an eye on Elijah as much as she could at the soup kitchen. Seeing him even show up there had really thrown her for a loop. It was clear that his personal boundaries were sketchy at best. Every time she tried to get over to talk with Ayan, Elijah seemed to get in the way, or someone else did. Junna didn’t sense Ayan was in any immediate danger, and she knew she could message him at any time. Still, the whole day was such a blur with coming and going from the kitchen that she didn’t really have time to do anything she wanted to do. And what she wanted to do was stay close to Ayan. Physically close. She realized later the tension she held as she ran around the dining room and kitchen, never quite able to make her way back to Ayan, to reach his warm smile, his reassuring and affirmative words.

To protect him.

All too soon, it was time to go to her other job, and she didn’t even really have time to say goodbye. As she put on her scarf, she looked at Ayan, feeling the strange sudden urge to run over and give him a hug. Or something more. For the briefest moment, she imagined what it would be like to kiss him. It was a thought that popped into her head more than she cared to admit.

Then she had turned away and walked out the door, feeling uneasy as she left Ayan behind with Elijah in the building. She knew that Ayan would be fine…hopefully. Elijah was endearing himself to everyone now. She had watched him chatting up Charlie and May, who almost seemed giddy at whatever he had said to them. Then she had seen Elijah hand them an envelope, and she had a pretty good idea of what was in it. She would be looking into Elijah later that evening. She kept forgetting to do it, as she bounced back and forth between her jobs. Today, she had considered sleeping in, but missing out on seeing Ayan, on helping out at the soup kitchen, felt wrong.

It had become increasingly evident to Junna that she would do just about anything for Ayan. She had lingered in a job that paid below a living wage, but still above minimum, without feeling at any point that she was being taken advantage of, because she had believed in what he stood for. She also knew that he did everything he could to look out for those he loved. Because what Ayan really stood for, at any given time in his life, was the greater good. A genuine feeling and belief. As far as Junna was concerned, there wasn’t a mean bone in his body. Not a hint of cruelty or callousness. He was sarcastic, and dark humored, sure, but the man was incredibly genuine.

The fact that she had a job interview in two days, with a business that potentially wanted her to leave the United States behind, leave Ayan behind, had Junna feeling a certain type of way. That night, as she stood at the bar, serving her usual patrons, and a few newbies, she was deep in thought about her potential future. She barely noticed the man reaching across the bar, until he had already grabbed her wrist.

“The fuck,” Junna breathed, as she tried to pull away, but the man held on tightly.

“You shouldn’t ignore your patrons,” the man growled, “especially when they’re really thirsty.”

She glounced around, but none of her coworkers were in the vicinity to help out. Robert, the bouncer, was up front by the door. Evan had run to the back to get more supplies, and he always took his sweet time when he did that as he stopped for a vape break. It was up to her to figure this out.

“You should let go right now,” Junna said, subtly reaching into her pocket with her free hand.

“Or what?” the man asked, “You’ll ignore me some more?”

“Sir, let…go…” Junna said through gritted teeth.

The man grinned with that stupid face that so many drunks wore when they were deep into their stupor. It was a face that said consequences don’t apply to me, and I’m going to take what I want.

“I think I like where I’m at,” the man said, “so maybe I’ll just stay right-ahhhhh!” The man screamed and pulled away as Junna quickly returned the lighter to her pocket. She didn’t even smoke. She just kept it around for such occasions, and it always did the trick.

“Looks like I shocked you,” she said, walking over to pour a glass of water. “You alright? Couldn’t have hurt that bad. I barely felt a thing.”

The man looked at her with a confused scowl on his face as he rubbed his arm where she had burned him. He hadn’t seen the lighter, and she hadn’t wanted him to.

“Whatchu rubbing on back there, a bunch of sheep?” he asked, dramatically glancing behind the counter to try to see the source of the static electricity.

“Here’s your water. When you’re ready, I can cash you out. You’re done here for tonight,” Junna said.

“Why?” he frowned.

“Over the limit, my friend. My friendly bouncer out front can escort you out, or you can go yourself.” She had already sent Robert, her bouncer buddy, an SOS text, which she hadn’t been able to do when the patron was grabbing her arm. Robert was coming down the entrance hall now, making a beeline for Junna and the patron.

“I wanted another beer!” the patron whined.

“Well honey, you should have thought about that before you grabbed my arm and made some threats. Now, I’m gonna need you to pay your tab, and get out of here. And for good measure, I’m going to need you not to come back, so we don’t have to get the police involved, okay?” She held out a hand, waiting for him to hand her payment, not particularly worried that he would try to grab her again. He begrudgingly passed her his credit card as Robert, all 300 pounds of him, stood menacingly nearby.

Once she printed the receipt and handed him the card, Junna gestured toward the line at the bottom.

“I suggest you leave a nice tip for the lady, seeing as you ruined her night and all,” Robert said.

The man scribbled a number he was clearly uncomfortable putting down, and tossed the receipt across the table, before standing and scurrying away. Junna grinned at the 50% tip, even finding amusement in the creative insult he had left along with the money.

“Anything else?” Robert asked.

“Thanks, I’m good,” Junna said, turning back to the till, before she thought of something. “Wait! It’s your job to get an idea of people. How do you sus out who is safe, and who isn’t?”

“Same way you do,” Robert said, “I just use my gut, my eyes, and my sense of self-preservation.”

“And if someone is a threat, but not in the way where you can just toss them out into the street?”

Robert shrugged, “Steer clear of them, I guess? Is someone bothering you?”

“Not me,” Junna shook her head, “but someone I care about. And the sus guy hasn’t done anything really threatening yet, but there’s that gut feeling, you know, like he might?”

“Tell your friend or whoever to trust that gut feeling and stay away from the guy. Better safe than sorry,” said Robert.

“Thanks,” Junna nodded, knowing that he was right, “and thanks again for the help.”

“Of course. It’s my job.” With that, Robert turned and walked away, leaving Junna alone with her thoughts. She realized she was a little bit shaky from the interaction. It wasn’t every day that a stranger grabbed and threatened you when you were at work. Though, it wasn’t the first time it had happened to her, and if she continued to work there, she knew it probably wouldn’t be the last.