Arsen watched closely at Onyx working, stacking up new items as needed. She looked completely dead inside, like she lost the happiness that made this type of labor fun. Like she forgot what her end goal was. As he watched her, Arsen seemed to slowly get more and more aggravated. He knew he was right to run off her partner. She was no good. Hell, he's willing to believe that Onyx is too, to some degree. What did Pyrite mean by "she had nothing to do with this"? A few differences, and she could've ended up in Pyrite's position-- straight out the door. In fact, this could have happened to both of them. Because of them, he caused Malka to cry and Alena to just completely leave him behind (not that she wouldn't have done that anyways). Why are they so intent on leaving him with the work, saying that this was his fault?! There's nothing to take the blame for! Everything he's said to everyone was right!
Arsen finally closed the magazine he was reading to watch Onyx closely-- he seemed to want to get a conversation going after all of these thoughts that kept pounding his head over and over. Maybe trying to make friends with Onyx would be a good choice-- she seemed pretty distraught right now. She didn't seem to do anything suspicious, though, that could be grounds to double-cross him later.. Ah, screw it. C'mon, Arsen, think of something lighthearted..
"...Y'know, you're lucky your Pyrite friend bailed you out." He started, gripping his arm a bit as he started. "I might have unfairly fired you when you came back had she not explained herself."
Shoot.
Onyx stopped as she was stacking a can onto one of the shelves, blinking as she began to get lost in thought for a moment. "Huh..?"
"I mean, she said that she was the one who sent that damned creature our way-- it was clearly some sort of ploy to get us to like her more since not a lot of us.. well, liked her."
Onyx widened her eyes, then turned around to Arsen, utterly shocked by what he was telling her. There's no way. "What are you.. talking about?"
"Didn't you see? I mean, shit, where were you?" Arsen shrugged as he smiled genuinely, continuing to insensitively speak to the gem about her partner. Meanwhile, he seems to think he's making progress. "She was so fucking weird-- like, c'mon, where do you think you are, the Old West? Lose the hat-- and maybe the pistol, too. I doubt she has a license for that thing to be flailing it around like that; she could have gotten arrested anyways if she hadn't quit and stayed around here." Arsen gave a small smirk. "She also had that weird southern drawl. Not sure if she's from the country or what, but she honestly couldn't drop the fact that the western age was done. But hey, good riddance, right?"
Onyx's eyes of surprise turned into slow anger. Her gaping mouth shut into clenched teeth, and the hand that let go of the product she was stacking balled up into a fist.
"Surely you gotta know what I mean, right? I mean, you hung out with her for a while, I'm assuming?"
"..Yeah. I do know." Onyx grimaced at Arsen, then pointed right at him. "You know what I also know? That she was a better person than you ever will be! In your whole entire life!"
Arsen flinched at her sudden change of emotion, but then his eyebrows turned downwards. "Excuse me?! Who the hell do you think you're speaking to?!"
"A heartless jerk!" Onyx retorted, loud enough for him to hear. "You told me that she quit because she was feeling inadequate compared to me! But.. now here you are, telling me that she sent the monster here for some.. some dumb plan that makes no sense! She would never do something like that! I know she wouldn't do something like that! Wanna know why?" Onyx bellowed louder and louder, practically overwhelming Arsen with his rant. "Because you wanna believe what only you wanna believe! You said you don't trust us, but you don't want to accept any reason to trust us! You'll dismiss our work, treat us like garbage, and instead accept anything if it means that we can't be trusted, even if it's not true!"
"Your work here was mediocre!" Arsen slammed his hands on the counter.
"It was just fine!" Onyx jabbed her finger towards him. "See? You don't want to accept that!"
"Oh, just shut the hell up!" Arsen was practically burning with irrational anger at this point. "You have a job that literally anyone else can do. And her job? Who the hell needs security in a convenience store?! I've never heard of something so fucking stupid!"
"Well, that's only because.. because.." Onyx was just so mad, she didn't know what she was saying at this point. Her feelings came out, all in one, perfectly timed, perfectly perfect, statement. "Because you're so fucking stupid!"
Arsen had had it at this point. He jumped over the counter to stare daggers directly at Onyx. "What.. What was that?!" He snapped at Onyx, who looked more bewildered that that hopped out of her mouth than anything. "I don't think you realize the situation you're in! Remember Malka? She's not running this store anymore! I am! And what I say goes!" He inched over closer to Onyx, who backed away slowly. Not only did she look as infuriated as Arsen, but she seemed this close to tearing up. "You wanna keep your job, don't you?! You want to stay here, right? I'm sure you don't want to end up like your pal did!"
"I-I'd.." She frowned deeply, screaming at him when it was her turn. "I'd much rather end up like her if this is how the store's gonna be run! You're.. you're awful, Arsen!"
"I told you not to refer to me as--"
"You don't deserve formalities!" Onyx silenced him right then and there, glaring at him with eyes more intense than his own. "I think.. I think I know why Pyrite quit.. And why Malka left the store to you." Onyx kept backing away from him. "It's.. it's just because you're an awful example of a human being, Arsen. Out of all of the people I've seen here, met here.. You're the only one here that seems to want me and Pyrite gone. And in doing that, look at this place. It's barren. People used to love coming in here. And that was when the both of us were here."
Arsen's face went blank, almost as if his anger disappeared for a moment.. then it came back again. "I.. No! Shut up..! Just shut the fuck up, okay?! You don't know me!"
"That might be true.. But what I do know is that no one wants to be around you for that reason! You just push people away!"
"Fuck you, alright?! I don't have to listen to this shit!"
"Do you enjoy doing this, Arsen..? Why're you like this? Who hurt you?!" Onyx clenched both of her hands into fists this time. "Was it us?! What did we do?!"
"Nothing! No-- Everything!"
"What does that even mean?! I'm trying to understand you-- maybe even help you! So why do you--"
"Just stop getting involved with me, Thallia!"
..Onyx stopped for a moment. Thallia? Who was that? She inched forward for a moment, raising one hand up to him. "Arsen, who's--"
Arsen flinched away from her touch, eyes wide and wild, almost as if he just experienced something traumatic. He stumbled away from her, seeming less angry and more frantic with fear. "L-look, just.. Get out of here! You're fired! Leave me the fuck alone, alright?!"
Onyx took her hand away, face filled with regret and sorrow.. but that took a backseat to anger, as she just yelled as Arsen, who was currently looking down at his reflection on the glass counter. "Fine! I'll leave! I know when I'm not wanted!" Onyx opened the entrance, and then turned around once she was out. "Have fun getting value by yourself, you miserable jerk!" With that, she slammed the door.. which made the distraught Arsen flinch a bit.
He was breathing heavy. Almost irregularly. He felt his hands tremble against the glass. She was right.
Onyx was right. Malka was right. Alena was right.
They were all right.
And he did it again to himself. The same problem that he came to terms with and decided he couldn't live with trying to change.. reared its ugly head again. He was by himself. He caused this.
No one wanted to be with him, because of him.
"I.. I still haven't changed. Even after all that's happened, I'm still an asshole. That's.. that's never going to change. I can't change that.. I never will be able to.."
Arsen repeated "never" to himself, which increased in intensity until he sounded like he was close to tears.. but before then, he at least tried to pull himself together and shakily walk back to his post behind the counter.. Until he heard noises from the storage room, which made him stop in his tracks. Something was knocking over the boxes. And it didn't sound human. "W-what..?"