#and in the most condescending tone goes ‘okay. enter your birth date’

[sweetest-honeybee]

them having you chill on the side is how they lure you in with a false sense of hope of "it's really not that bad!~" DON'T FALL FOR IT--

but deadass i remember it was like that the first day i was a carhop at sonic, thought it wasn't too bad. literally the next day i had over a 100 separate orders i took out. i worked there for 2 weeks then gave a 2 weeks cause i was too scared to just quite outright LMAO (was my first job at 17)

best of luck to you, and am sending all the good vibes that you get a better opportunity elsewhere!!! 💛🏵

EXACTLY and I fuckin KNOW they’re making it look easier. I’m not quick enough yet to handle a line of people and that’s fine but they haven’t trained me for it yet

The funniest thing is is that so many people quit ALL at he time there and people would keep saying those people who quit were just too lazy and the workload was too hard and blah blah blah

It’s NOT. The “workload” is running around in the same open room or to the kitchen unless you spend your time in the cooler. The main managers just an ass and I have the strongest feeling she’s run out people by being an asshole to them because the second I saw the way she handled me accidentally letting a dude walk out without paying, I knew there and then that I wasn’t gonna be working there long be it that she fired me for the stupidest gd reason or I quit

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 17

Chapter Summary -  Danielle is introduced to one of Paul's friends, which goes down like a lead balloon. When Danielle goes home, she is exhausted, upset and has a headache to boot; and there is one person there to help her, Tom.

Previous Chapter 

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

Right so, I should explain one thing before we go any further. There are two racist terms a lot of British people called Irish people over the years, a 'Paddy' a name coming obviously derived from the nickname Patrick, a common Irish name, but also Taig, which is, according to Wikipedia is

Taig - In the context of segregation in Northern Ireland and sectarianism in Glasgow, the term "Taig" (along with Tim) is used as a racist epithet and derogatory term for a Roman Catholic, used by Northern Irish Protestants and Ulster loyalists.

So these are highly offensive and racist terms, so it should be noted, it is the same as calling a black person that 'n' word (which honestly I could never bring myself to say).

I know this seems random, but to signify the severity of what Charles says, I need to explain this for non-Irish people.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog  @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

“Danni” the paramedic winced slightly when she heard Paul call her name. She had seen him when she had admitted a patient, talking to what could only be described as a clearly privately educated pompous looking man when she entered. “Danni, come here a moment.” His tone was upbeat as he called her. She forced a smile onto her face before turning and facing the two men. Paul was walking up to her, the other man a mere pace behind. “Charles, this is the woman I was talking to you about.” Paul declared proudly as he put his arm around Danielle. “Danni, this is my friend Charles I told you about; Charles, this is my lovely girlfriend Danni.”

Inside Danielle felt awkward and irked; she was in her uniform, her leg cover covered in vomit from the small child that she had just dealt with in the ambulance. “Hi.” She waved a little at the man in front of her, noticing that he was eyeing her with more than a hint of disdain in his eyes.

“Pleasure.” He stated, though his tone stated it was anything but. “From the manner you spoke Paul, I thought she was an intern here.”

“No, Danni’s a paramedic and a good one too. She is actually second in command in her base.” The doctor stated proudly.

Danielle could see from the look on Charles’ face that she could have been the head of the paramedics in Europe and it would not have mattered. There was a snide look on his face as he glanced at her again before turning to Paul once more. “Did I mention that Lucia Hawkins has been asking for you of late, you remember her, the year below us, top of her class, she is a Registrar Obstetrician now?”

“I think I better get back to work.” Danielle stated turning to leave, “I will see you over the next few days, Paul.”

“Danni, Charles, one second,” Paul called, running after her. “Danni, what are you doing?”

“Getting back to work.” She reiterated.

“Charles is one of my closest friends, we are meeting him for lunch tomorrow for this get-together.”

“Paul, I never actually agreed to that, you never mentioned it again since that time you mentioned it at all two weeks ago, and now that I have met Charles, I am most definitely not going.” She stated in an angry whisper, not wanting to bring attention to them. “I better go, this is your workplace and I don’t want either of us getting a disciplinary.”

“How can you say something like that about him, he is my friend and you won’t even bother getting to know him?”

“I don’t need to know any more, he could not look further down his nose at me if he was standing at the top of Everest and I was at the bottom and the way he was going on about that girl you were in college with…”

“What about Lucia?”

“Are you really so blind? He is trying to imply you should call her up rather than slumming it with me.”

“You're being ridiculous Danielle.” He scoffed.

Danielle’s brows rose, “Wow, my full name, this is serious. I am not being ridiculous, I bet when you go back there and were you to discuss me, I would not be worth more than a few short words, and she would be suggested again and again.”

“I am right here,” Charles stated, walking over to them. “And I do not appreciate being spoken about like that by some Paddy paramedic.”

Danielle stared at him in shock. “What did you just call me?”

“What?” Paul looked between them.

“Do you call black people the ‘n’ word too?” she demanded, catching the attention of the nurses at the station nearby with her statement.

“Whoa, Danni, what the hell, are you calling Charles racist?” Paul seemed appalled at her.

“Calling an Irish person a ‘Paddy’ derives from the condescending and racially abusive way many British workers referred to Irish workers who came over to work here, it was used to degrade and belittle, as well as to infer to Irish as being inferior, same as that other word.” She explained, “If you’ll excuse me, I am off to see if I can keep some misfortunate people alive long enough for them to make it into the A&E for you to boost your God Complexes on.” She turned and left, shaking in anger as she did so, leaving a somewhat shocked Paul in her wake.

“She’s a bit temperamental.” Charles scoffed watching Danielle leave. “Seriously Paul, the Irish come from feral blood, and she doesn’t seem too far removed, a good, proper girl is what you want. Lucia, she heard what Julia did and wants to get talking to you.” Paul said nothing and watched his girlfriend as she walked out of the A&E without a backwards glance.

*

The following morning, after finishing her shift, Danielle sighed as she parked her car in her driveway. She had a headache that felt as though her skull was physically splitting after what Paul’s friend had said, and for the rest of the night, her partner on call simply left her stew on what was bothering her, knowing better than to say anything. She was about to get her belongings and go into the house to shower before seeing if she could sleep away the stress headache when her phone began to ring, pulling it off the charger she had in her car, she groaned at seeing Paul’s name on the caller ID. “Hello.” Her tone was neither polite nor cold.

“What the hell was that Danni?”

“I’m not interested, Paul, seriously, I have a headache.”

“That’s all you have to say, I have never been so embarrassed, I have done nothing but praise and build you up to my friends and you go off on one of my best friends in the middle of the A&E.”

“He called me a Paddy, he used a derogatory term to belittle me, and what is worse is I told you why that term is offensive and you did not defend me, you didn’t even try to.” Her voice broke as she spoke.

“Danni…” Paul seemed to catch her upset.

“Don’t, I don’t want to hear it. I told you he would look down at me and I was right.”

“Look, Charles is just from a rich background, he can be a bit pompous at times.”

“Emma is from a rich background and she is never like that, that is the worse fucking excuse yet.” She snapped.

“Look calm down.”

“I am calm, I am very calm, which is what is terrifying me really, Paul.” She admitted. “I am going to bed, I am not in the mood for bullshit today.”

“What about lunch?”

“Seriously, you think I would want to go to lunch with that asshole? I can tell already I would be belittled and humiliated for his amusement, if not for the amusement of others too. I am not going, you didn’t even give me a proper date for any of this. I am tired and in agony with my head, I am going to bed.”

“So you are going to make me seem like an idiot and not turn up?” Paul barked back angrily. “Is that what you are saying?”

“Your friends are all doctors, I am sure they’ll understand the meaning of a week on nights. You won’t look like an idiot, if they had any respect for others they would commend the fact I work hard in a similar field to them to try and help people, if they don’t see it like that, they are probably not the type of people I should associate with.”

“Danielle…”

“I am not going, I am tired and in pain Paul, so just enjoy yourself and talk to me again when your racist ass of a friend is well and truly the hell away from Suffolk.”

“He was there for me after Julia.”

In her desperation to get in home and hopefully getting some rest soon, Danielle had gotten out of the car and went to the backseat to get her bag. “And perhaps in his scale of assholeness, that might be a point in his favour, but he is still an asshole, Paul, especially for suggesting a different partner for you in my fucking presence. I was three feet away and he was talking about you going for another girl.”

“Well, I dare say Lucia would try to make an effort.” He retorted childishly.

“If she spent the night helping women give birth and then had the energy to listen to that bastard racially abuse her the next day, she would become my new idol, because fuck me, she would be Wonder Woman, but I’m not able; so I going to go into my house and get some sleep to try and shift this headache and hopefully you will cop the hell on in that time and realise the way your friend spoke about me is completely uncalled for and you will defend me from it, be I present or not.”

“Danni…”

“Goodbye, Paul.” She hung up the phone and groaned as she crashed backwards against her car for a moment in exhaustion.

“Are you okay Elle?”

“Hey, Tom.” She stated exhaustedly turning to face him. He was standing at the edge of her driveway in the same running gear the trash columns ridiculed him for in the US. “Good run?” In the two weeks, since they half began speaking again, she had shared only one other conversation with Tom, and they had only texted on one occasion when Tom was meeting friends in a pub, with regards the lunacy of the Irish sport of hurling, before he had gone back to London.

“Alright, yeah.” He nodded, sweat on his brow. “Are you alright, you seem a little upset, and well, I caught the last few sentences you said?”

Danielle shook her head, “Yeah, I’m fine, just shit I really don’t need.”

“You do realise you shook her head as you said yes?”

“Meaning?”

“Your yes was really a no.”

“Tom, I really can’t right now, my head is splitting and I’m just…” she inhaled deeply.

“Hey.” He walked over, concerned at the clear upset on her face. Cautiously he walked close to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Look, it’s none of my business, but if people are saying shit to you because you’re Irish, you have every right to be mad.”

“Thanks for the vindication.” Usually, she would be sarcastic when she would say that, but that time, she just wanted the validation. “Tom.”

“Mmm?”

“You are drenched in sweat.”

He gave off a chuckle as he pulled back. “Sorry, you just look like you needed a hug.”

“I did actually, thank you.”

“Do you really have a headache?”

“Like Animal is playing the drums on my skull.” She smiled, knowing he would get the Muppets reference.

“Go in, I’ll take your bag, take some ibuprofen, take a shower and get some rest.”

“I need to get breakfast.”

“Weetabix with honey, fruit and almond milk?”

She smiled at him, “You don’t have to.”

“Elle, please, just let me help.” She was about to argue again when he went for a threat. “If you decline, I will go home and tell mum you’re not well.” He grinned.

“Fuck you, Hiddleston.” She groaned, no longer arguing, throwing her keys on the counter as she walked in her hall.

“You’ve changed the place a bit.” He noticed.

“You should see the living room.”

Tom stretched his neck slightly to look in. “Jesus.” He looked at it, “It’s brilliant.”

“I know.” She gave a small smile, “I’ll be back in a minute.” She ran up the stairs after taking ibuprofen.

Tom looked around the living area properly while she was upstairs, scanning her new bookshelves when he heard the shower turn off, he grabbed the last few things she needed for a quick breakfast. “Here,” he handed her the bowl of breakfast.

“Thanks.” She smiled appreciatively as she took it.

“I noticed a few medical titles in your living area that I have not seen before; are you doing more exams?”

“On the table?” Tom nodded. “No, those are Paul’s, he’s studying for his next exams.”

“Right.” Tom played around from foot to foot. “Can I ask what happened, you seem really upset?”

“I met one of Paul’s friends.” Tom’s stomach twisted at the thought of her being made a bigger part of Paul’s life. “He was a complete prick, I mean, he looked at me as though I was shit on his shoe. He told Paul about a girl they knew wanting to meet him, implying she was far superior to me, he completely belittled my job and he called me a fucking Paddy, can you believe that?” Tom looked at her wide-eyed. “Why am I telling you of all people this?”

“Because I understand; after all, I am recently single again.” He shrugged.

“We are just having an argument.” Danielle corrected.

“His friend used a racial slur against you.”

“No one knows that more than me Tom.”

“From what I heard, he did not defend you.”

“No, he didn’t,” she admitted, crestfallen.

“Not that it is on a par with what I did to you Elle, but don’t sell yourself short for anyone.”

“Are you seriously making short jokes?” she could not help the slight smile on her lips.

“Is it working?”

She nodded slightly. “A little.”

“Good. Go to sleep Elle, your out on your feet. I’ll see myself out.”

“Thanks, Tom, for everything.”

“Anytime Elle, I mean it.”