The Pickle Chronicles (Celebrity One Shots)

Bloom (Sebastian Stan)

This is a collaboartion with @bluebell84 aka Cate Shaw.  If you don't read her stuff, then you are missing out!!  Bring on the Sebby....

Clara walked over to the front of the store, locking the heavy glass door.  She checked it twice, making sure the lock had caught and the door was secure.  She was always nervous during these overnights, and she was always careful about locking up.  She didn’t have to do this very often, usually just once every couple of months.  Her boss, Amy, kept a tightly run store, and inventory was especially important.  Clara always volunteered to do the overnight inventory, because she knew it was tough for Amy, as a single mother, to stay and do it herself.  Plus, Amy offered time and a half wages, which helped Clara out a lot.

She really didn’t mind, but it could get a little creepy once in awhile.   Being in an empty flower shop in the middle of the night sounds nice, but really it was just eerily quiet.  She had to spend most of her time in the refrigerated back rooms, where the flowers were kept, which felt like being inside a cold, windowless tomb. 

Clara walked over to the little stereo Amy kept in the shop, and hooked her iPod into it.  She flipped through a few playlists, before finding one that was fun and upbeat.  Something to keep her awake and company.  Immediately, Jack Johnson started filtering through the speakers.  Clara raised her arms in the air, waving them slowly around her head as she swung her hips lazily.  This was another reason she enjoyed the overnights.  She could dance, practicing her routines and forms, with no one else around.  This was obviously something she couldn’t do during the day.  She moved through the front of the store, lifting her legs gracefully and stretching them out as she walked.  She spun a few times, laughing softly at herself as she teetered slightly into one of the displays.  Dancing was one of her passions, and she’d just gotten into a dance group with the local theater.  It had been a big deal, and it meant a lot of practice. When she wasn’t at the flower shop, she was at the studio. That was basically it.  

She moved lithely through the shop, away from the door and made her way to the register where all the paperwork was waiting for her.  She was about to grab the stack of forms, and head into the back when a light tapping caught her attention.  She looked up quickly, like a deer in headlights.  The shop was obviously closed.  Who could be knocking?  She felt her stomach flip, worried.  Clara grabbed her phone off the counter, and held it at her side as she moved toward the front door.  

“Oh my gosh.” She broke into a relieved grin when she saw it was just Sebastian, the shop’s delivery boy.  He had his forehead pressed against the glass, and was smiling at her with his wide, open grin.  Clara rushed forward, unlocking the door.

“You scared me.” She breathed as Sebastian stepped inside.  He was dressed as he always was when he went on deliveries.  Jeans, a plain tshirtwith the words “Amy’s Blooms” on the chest and a dark denim jacket.

“Didn’t Amy tell you I would be dropping by?” He asked, turning and locking the door again behind him.

“She mentioned it but I completely forgot.” Clara nodded.  She backed up slightly, moving to the side to give Sebastian some room.  He smiled at her and shrugged out of his jacket, laying it down on the counter.

“I told her I could fix the sink in the back after my deliveries.  It was a madhouse today.  Mother’s day is a week away, but people must be getting an early start.” He runs a hand through his dark, straight hair as a stray lock falls down onto his forehead.  She’s guessing at one time it was slicked up, but a long day and the earlier rain showers must have softened it.  It’s longer than Clara has seen it before, but she often goes days or weeks without running into him.