"Welcome to Sugar and Spice where a smile is guaranteed. How can I make your day sweeter?" Elizabeth mumbled; her lips on autopilot as her eye lids drooped ever lower. The chipper words that waltzed out of her mouth clashed with the bags under her eyes. With what had to be the hundredth yawn that day, she could feel the effects of another long night of studying kicking her in the ass.

The customer slightly grinned at her and let out a small chuckle, "A smile guaranteed? How am I supposed to do that when you're not even smiling?" When the man was only met with a raise of an eyebrow and a long stare, he coughed uncomfortably into his hand and muttered, "Just a raisin bagel and a coffee, please." She gathered his order and as he left she said with a lazy wave, "Have a delicious day."

With no one else in sight, her head gave way to the tug of gravity and dropped down to her crossed arms on the cold counter. She knew Moxxi would tear her up for sleeping on the job, but what Mox didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Besides, the only people who needed donuts at one in the friggin' morning were drunks, stoners, those poor bastards pulling all nighters, and kids with no self control. None of which she had to be presentable for.

Her face peeked out from above her arms; eyes fluttering open. They started bugging out as soon as she caught sight of the bright pink and magenta walls of the tiny shop; the ceiling lined with white trim resembling icing on a cake. She blinked a few times, trying to rid herself of the eye-floaties blurring her vision. To top off her headache, the agitating tune of "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" was bouncing happily around the empty room.

With each infuriating tick of the clock, her eyes grew heavier and her head followed suit, bobbing up and down as if someone had attached a string to her ponytail and was pulling on it like a hungry fish. Her gaping mouth didn't help the resemblance at all.

As she continued to struggle to keep her head from bashing the counter, she took the time to mentally kick herself for taking those extra credits at the beginning of the semester. Psychology definitely demanded satisfaction. She couldn't even sleep anymore without Ivan Pavlov haunting her nightmares. Eh, more like "psychoanalyze". A chuckle escaped her throat as she pathetically laughed at her own joke.

But she only had one more year to ride out. One more year and she was done with the late nights and the pots upon pots of coffee. She was going broke with all the java she bought.

Not to mention her social life was practically non-existent. It seemed like most of the time she lived to work rather than worked to live. Her friends had all but given up on getting her out of the workplace and she couldn't help but feel a tang of self-pity whenever she saw pictures of them at parties on her Echopic.

She quickly got over it each time, but lately it seemed harder to do what with each smiling selfie they sent her or each keg stand pic she received. She didn't even like alcohol, but she longed to be creating memories with them; hazy, nausea-inducing memories. College was supposed to be fun. Why wasn't she having fun?

Oh, right. She knew why. Failing her effing Statistics class had set her back at least half of a semester. Not to mention the year she took off to figure out what the actual hell she wanted to do with her life. And here she was a year later, still confused and broke as hell.

When she came back that following semester, she ultimately figured Psychology was a safe enough major. The money was ideal and it had a steady enough supply of jobs she could fill straight out of college, but she couldn't help but feel hollow. It was too normal. She was sick to death of feeling like another face in the crowd. She hated feeling like a statistic cause like yo screw Statistics.

She couldn't help but cringe when she thought of the inevitability of getting married to a boring man, buying a boring house in the suburbs, having boring children, and dying a boring death. Many sought that dream but it just wasn't in her repertoire. Whenever she attempted to explain these feelings to her parents, they only laughed and called her a hippy. Their suspicions were confirmed when she told them she joined the Feminism Activism Club at school.

She had to disagree. She wasn't a hippy. She was an idealist; an idealist with a dream. The only problem: she didn't know what that dream was.

But now that her parents were no longer behind her money wise, she thought it best to just stick to the road more traveled. So, like it or not, she had to buckle down and put in the extra time to get herself back on track. And that meant spending every waking moment at the Sugar and Spice or locked away in her room studying.

Adult life she had learned was just plain hard. Why couldn't her life be like one of those feel-good movies where the rich guys falls madly in love with her just because she treated him a normal human being or where her long lost grandmother turns up to tell her she's royalty? The thought of being a kid again sounded appealing too. The least she wanted was for someone to make her some Spaghettios.

Though, she had to admit her job was not rocket science. She found it hard to complain given it was pretty damn easy and paid well too. Plus, Moxxi was super sweet, albeit a little crazy. She was helpful, at least when she was around which was hardly ever. She spent most of her time at her pride and joy, Moxxi's Red Light and usually left the girl to her own devices. That meant either waking her up at the ass crack of dawn or sending her home in the pitch black. Nobody wanted donuts during the day; that would be absurd.

Not to mention they were in the heart of Pandora where all the psychos lived. Not sure what Mox was thinking when she bought the cruddy place. Elpis was so much nicer; the people were so much less murdery.

Not a day passed by without the report of another killing in Pandora flooding the news; be it a shooting or downright cannibalism. It scared the living shit out of her, so she tended to stay as far away from those points of interest as possible. She didn't want to end up on the news as another statistic. She groaned when she remembered Statistics again; what a stupid effing class.

Just as she felt the thrum of The Supremes lull her to sleep, the ring of the door's welcome bell snapped her eyes open and she was brought her back to the counter of the shop. For the shortest of seconds she was annoyed until she caught sight of the figure coming in from the dark. She blushed.

A tall man strode in; a hand running through his dark hair fixing it from the night air and the other adjusting his coat. For a brief moment she was solely transfixed on his hands. They were big, but slender and his fingers were long; they looked powerful. Her eyes then traveled up to the rest of him. He wore a dark grey suit jacket with a yellow undershirt that matched the yellow handkerchief in his suit's pocket. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows revealing strong arms; a secret weakness of hers, but by the staring anyone could tell it was no secret. His jaw line was strong and his chin held a neatly groomed soul patch. She wasn't usually a fan, but on him it just worked. He was lean but well built, tall but not lanky and he was all around…handsome.

His suave demeanor was a stark difference than that of the cheery donut shop which she graciously welcomed. His brow was firm above alert eyes as they scanned the room idly, taking in the décor with what looked to be a grimace. The grimace disappeared once their eyes locked. She noted the sly smirk that grew across his features when he noticed her gawking from behind the counter. He looked at her coyly before walking over; his stride giving him an air of confidence that made her attention perk.

As he drew closer, she estimated he was probably in his late thirties to early forties given the fine streak of gray within his locks. It looked like a waterfall between two black mountains. He approached and she drank in his height. She was by no means short and was usually taller than most of the men she knew, but compared to him she barely reached the midpoint of his long nose.

As he leaned over the counter, one arm propping him up by his elbow and the other planted firmly on his hip, his cologne overtook her senses. It was intoxicating. The scent of rum and cedar flooded her nostrils and a slight hint of something sweet. Vanilla?

When she recollected herself, she managed to look him in the eyes but instantly marveled at his heterochromia; one blue, one green. By God her knees were weak.

Although, one peculiarity that managed to catch her eye now that he was close enough to see, let alone touch, was the striking difference between the olive tone of his neck and arms and the cream color of his face. The slight scarring gave her the presumption it was surgical, but she was not one to judge. His lips drew her away from the oddity and pulled her back into his strapping good looks once again.

"Welcome to Sugar and Spice where a smile is guaranteed. How can I make your day sweeter?" She asked, her voice cracking. He gave an amused grin and furrowed his brow. "Oh, I know just how you can make me smile-" He paused, glancing down at her nametag; his eyes almost lingering, "Elizabeth." Well shit. His voice was candy too. Although, despite the increasing heat in her cheeks, the line did put her off a little.

"I'm sorry, what-" She started, but was cut off with a finger to the lips. "No words, alright pumpkin? You look great, so I don't really want to hear how dumb you sound. Just wanna know if your boss is in." It took her a moment to fully grasp what had just happened.

Oh, hell no, She thought; the finger at her lips making her blood simmer. A moment ago she believed she would have collapsed from the touch of his hands, but now all she felt was annoyed. She glared at him for a few moments trying to wrap her brain around him; his finger still shushing her. The silence was thick.

The smirk disappeared from his face and impatience took its place, "Hello, I asked you a question. Your boss. Is she in?" The Professor of her Women and Gender Studies class suddenly appeared within her brain. He looked pissed too; his shaded glasses thinly veiling immense anger and his unreal muscles almost popping out of his shirt as they so often did when he got into a heated discussion. She heard him scream in her head, "There's nothing more badass than treating a woman with respect!"

The blush from her cheeks fell away as she immediately pegged this guy for the cocky asshole he was. She knew guys like this too well. She wasn't willing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fawn over him no matter how hot he was.

The silence was obviously infuriating him. She could see his anger growing by the minute like a tea kettle ready to scream. His finger finally left her lips and he rubbed his temples in frustration. A growl shook his Adam's apple; a primal noise that made Elizabeth shudder, but it failed in breaking down her walls. She fueled the fire by putting away some stock behind the counter completely ignoring the red growing within his pupils.

Sure it was immature, but she had to admit she enjoyed seeing his façade crumble. The lack of sleep made her more daring and for the lack of a better word, mean, but she knew she'd regret it in the morning. For now she could have her fun. "No comprendo? Your boss. Got jugs out to here, can't miss 'em," He said groping the air around his chest, "Are you an idiot or just another dumb blonde, cupcake?" He snapped his fingers in her face making her glare deepen. She pursed her lips and turned her head to the side looking bored.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" He slammed his immense hand on the counter top making her jump; a few items falling off the side from the impact. She took a half step back, alarmed. Her eyes grew wide as she realized he had successfully crushed the cold front she was trying to keep up. The smirk returned to his face, but she would be damned if she didn't get one last dig in. With a spurt of audacity she remarked with a sneer, "You told me 'no words'."

At first he was pissed. Then the side of his lip curled deep into his cheek. Suddenly, he threw his head back to release a full belly laugh into the open room which managed to drown out the ending of "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch". The man's laugh was similar to that of a hyena's; feigning amusement but ready to kill. Was this guy from Pandora? He seemed crazy enough. If he was then that meant he had the lethality to back up the insanity.

As he finished he looked back down at her with a grin; his smile, or rather his baring teeth sent a chill up her back. His canines were almost animalistic as he loomed over her. That's the moment Elizabeth knew she was going to die. He was going to chop her up and throw her into Crater Lake and she would have nothing to leave behind but a goldfish and a shit ton of student loans. She would be another murder people would be angry at for about a week before continuing on with their lives as if nothing ever happened. Another statistic.

He leaned in so she could smell that enticing cologne again. It messed with her brain something fierce. He spoke quietly. It terrified her that he almost sounded sweet. She would rather have a growl or a shout. At least something she'd be able to read.

With a finger he jabbed at Elizabeth's nametag slightly then ran a thumb over the pink "S&S" embroidered on her work shirt. "I don't think you understand who I am, sweetheart, so I'll let you off this one time. Next time I know I won't be so nice. Now Moxxi. Where. Is. She?" He emphasized. The words slid through his white teeth and his fraternal eyes glowered up at her from beneath his sharp, dark eyebrows, freezing her from the inside out.

"She's not here. She's at her bar, Moxxi's Red Light," She squeaked, "I can get you the number." Elizabeth wanted nothing more than for this interaction to be over. She mentally calculated how long it would take for her to reach the phone to call the police if this guy tried anything. She determined that she would most definitely be able to call them, but she would most definitely be dead by the time they showed up. She then made note of the pepper spray at the bottom of the counter. Her fingers itched.

He threw his hands up in rage and spun on his heel. "I don't need the shitty number, I own that goddamn bar! I own this whole city!" His tone was utterly offended. He took long strides towards the door, but before exiting he turned and cocked his head mockingly, looking back at her with a pout, "In fact, I own you, kiddo." Her shoulders tensed from the look in his eye.

"This crap hole is mine too which means you work for me. Isn't that peachy?" He teased; his nose and eyes scrunching to make room for his sneer. He had taken the upper hand yet again. "Maybe next time you'll be more hospitable when serving your boss. So, it'd be wise to not forget my name; Handsome goddamn Jack, baby!"

With a flip of the middle finger, he slammed the door shut and the bell attached to it came crashing to the ground producing a metallic shriek that reverberated through Elizabeth's ears. He started walking away then stopped when he noticed an open window. She could do nothing but watch him as he put his mouth to the screen of the window and say, "I'm going to make your life hell, cupcake." She felt his words kick start one final stroke of nerve in her stomach (or maybe it was stupidity). She raised her hand to wave each individual finger at him and called out, "Have a delicious day!"

She could practically feel the daggers from his glare slice into her and she knew she was pushing her luck, but she had already dug herself this far. Why not deeper? She thought, My family won't have to pay for someone to dig my grave. Besides, the night had that kind of effect on her, or maybe it was just assholes who didn't know respect if it slugged them right in their handsome faces.

He gave her one last chilling smirk and finally her boss, Handsome goddamn Jack, slinked off into the night. The sudden quiet left her feeling she had massively effed up. At least she wouldn't be having nightmares about Pavlov anymore.

Thank you guys so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed and if you did your feedback is always appreciated!

*I took some liberties with the timeline so it won't follow the games completely but it will all work out in the end!