After placing the last decorations on the shelf, he headed out of the aisle, folding up the box and raising his head.
Darn it.
He stopped dead in his tracks. There, at the front of the store, just inside the doorway, stood Marcus. It was like Jon’s thinking of him had conjured him, and it gave Jon a sour taste in his mouth. He didnotwant to deal with Marcus today. Or any day, really.
Double darn it. He also didnotwant Beel to deal with Marcus. Beel was a little… bloodthirsty when it came to his ex. He’d told Jon he figured red bloodstains weren’t to his liking in the apartment, so he’d held back that night Marcus had come over.
Well, red bloodstains in the shop were not to his liking either, thank you very much. He glanced quickly to the back of the shop.The curtain was drawn on the back room, and hopefully Jon could get rid of Marcus before Beel walked out. Of course he’d tell Beel all about it, but he’d rather forgo the confrontation part.
When Jon glanced back at Marcus, he was smirking, his stance was wider, and he had his arms folded over his chest.
Triple darn it. So maybe the confrontation thing would happen no matter what. Jon put the box down on the floor and stood up straighter himself. He wasn’t going to cower in front of this jerkface.
“What do you want, Marcus?” he asked quietly.
Marcus sniffed, looking disdainfully around the shop. “Still playing with your creepy reptiles, I see,” he muttered.
“You aren’t welcome here,” Jon announced firmly. “I thought my boyfriend and I made that clear when you showed up and bullied your way into my apartment in the middle of the night.”
Marcus unclenched then, striding forward and getting up into Jon’s space. Jon refused to back up, though, and he refused to lower his head. He was done being intimidated and cowed by Marcus.
Of course, it helped knowing he had an actual demon at his call that could be here in a split second if Marcus was actually stupid enough to try anything. Not that the guy had ever gotten physically violent with him—he just liked to be an intimidating asshole.
He didn’t like that Jon wasn’t cowering, either. His face flashed in surprise before it settled back into the sneer.
What the hell had Jon ever seen in this guy? He shook his head and chuckled. “You know, I have no idea why I ever even dated you. You’re such an asshole.”
Marcus turned red, his face furious. “You dated me because I was the best you could get. I’mstillthe best you could get, you whiny bitch.” He snorted then. “And that whiny little goth boyyou had over has nothing on me,” he added, pressing his face in closer.
Jon did lean back at that, because eww, he didn’t need Marcus’s face within kissing distance. Gross.
“I seem to recall that ‘whiny little goth boy’ making you pee your pants,” Jon goaded, giggling a little bit. (Ok, so it was a half hysterical giggle, but at least Jon hadn’t devolved into a panic attack with Marcus all up in his face.) Jon did step back then, but he figured it was better for when Marcus had his inevitable blow up.
Marcus stuttered, his mouth opening and closing, surprise and fury crossing his face.
“You look like a fish,” Jon stated, which only seemed to add to the fury side of things. Whoops.
“I don’t know what the hell you two scrawny motherfuckers gave me that night, but I was drunk off my ass, which is probably the only reason I even remotely considered hitting up your sorry ass for some sex that night.” Marcus leaned in again, his arms coming down on both sides of Jon to hold the shelf and effectively trap him. “But rest assured, that was not the end of things,” he growled.
Jon panicked for half a second, his breath catching, his heart racing, but he barely had time to process the feeling before he heard a soft and very angry voice behind Marcus.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Beel growled.
Jon was calm in the next breath, and he looked around Marcus to see Beel standing there, anger hardening his features. Marcus thankfully leaned back as well, uncaging Jon and turning to face Beel.
Beel spared Jon a soft, questioning glance, and Jon nodded that he was ok. Beel then gave a raised eyebrow, which Jon was interpreting to meanCan I kill him?
“Not in the shop, please,” Jon shakily replied, and he swore Beel actually looked disappointed.
“You!” Marcus burst out. “You two are actually dating?” He laughed then, but there was no humor in it. “What a sorry pair you two make,” he mocked. “Little Mr. Pet Shop and Goth Boy.”
Beel didn’t look phased, but Jon was really starting to worry about bloodstains. And pee. And vomit. And possibly some wrecked merchandise (although he knew Beel would try to be careful about that).
Not that Jon wasn’t also secretly a little thrilled. Marcus deserved whatever was coming to him. Yes, the guy had been an asshole when they were dating, but he hadn’t ever beenthisbad. Apparently his humiliation at Beel’s hands must have been stewing in his brain for weeks. He seemed… unhinged. He looked more muscled out, too. Jon idly wondered if he’d been doing something crazy like steroids. He was always gym obsessed, and getting his ass handed to him by a “little goth boy” had to have been a hard hit to his ego.
“I thought I warned you never to come near Jon again,” Beel answered softly. “I see the lesson didn’t take last time. I suppose you’ll need to be taught another one.” Beel sighed then, like he was put out, but Jon could also feel a maniacal glee radiating from his soulmate. Beel was going to enjoy this.
“Please try not to break anything. I mean, in the shop. Go ahead and break this one,” Jon said, gesturing toward Marcus, who had turned to look at him incredulously.
