nyctophilia | dreamwastaken

two peas in a pod

MONDAY:

As soon as I pull up to the parking lot, I can already tell that today is not going to be a good day. I open the door, trying not to slam the car door before I take the steps up to the store one at a time.

When I reach the front, I can already feel Elias's smug smile from inside the building. I open the door, feeling his gaze on mine. "You're late. 2 minutes and 49 seconds exactly." He comments and I head behind the counter, setting my bag down roughly.

"Give me a break Eli. You're not even supposed to be here until 10:00 am." I scoff and his smile brightens even more. "If I can get here an hour earlier than when I'm supposed to be here, then you should be able to get here on time." He yawns, and I glare at him.

"Sorry Mr. I-have-good-time-management-skills-and-I-like-to-brag-about-it, but I actually got up on time. Besides, I got here around the time I'm supposed to." Elias only snorts and he heads back towards the door, flipping the closed sign to open.

"That's the... 10th time this month." He pauses to think about it and I get my nametag, clipping it onto my shirt. "What, you obsessed with me or something?" I snap and Elias shrugs, smoothing down his shorts. "Uh, no, more obsessed with the fact that if I tell our boss about your terrible habit of not coming in on time, then you could get in trouble."

I place a hand on my hip. "Aw, and then you won't have someone to annoy any more." I fake pout and Elias's jaw ticks, before he shrugs again and turns back towards the front, the door opening to reveal a small family of 3.

We both shut up, but by the way we're both staring at each other with fire in our eyes, it basically sums up the rest of our conversation. For some odd reason, whenever we work together, helping customers, we speak with our actions, mostly because our words would be a bit... harsh if we said it out loud.

Time rushes by fast, and I'm lost in the number of customers arriving inside the store. I guess being closed for a bit due to the weather and because of Sunday would explain why there are so many people inside the small store.

We're down to the last customers, and I glance to my side after helping a group of teens. I see Elias flashing a charming smile to these 3 elderly women, all handing him their clothes. "Oh, isn't he so charming? He would be a great fit for Nova." The tallest lady says, and the shortest one nods.

"Yes, I agree." The one holding a cane furrows her brows. "What about Juna?" She asks and the two chorus in response, nodding. Elias rolls his eyes, but he does it playfully. "Are you three really trying to set me up with someone?" "Oh come on Eli, we all know that you're in desperate need of a lady." The tallest scoffs and the two laugh.

I swear I can see red on his cheeks, and a sly smile creeps up on my face. "He does need a lady. Eli, how long has it been since you've hit up someone?" The four turn to me, and amusement flashes behind the ladies' eyes as they turn back towards him, expectant.

He rubs the back of his neck and he shrugs. "Been like... a month or two?" The elders burst out laughing, one clutching onto the counter. "Eli sweetie, I know that it has been longer than that." The short one comments, which makes the three burst into more laughter.

I laugh hesitantly, glancing at Elias. He sighs, burying his face into one hand as he scans their items. "You three are planning to kill me from embarrassment." He puts their clothes in bags and he puts them on the counter. He goes around, grabbing the bags and holding the door for the women.

As they walk out, he goes to set their things in the back of their car. I smile a bit due to Elias's kind gesture. Every time the women come to our store to shop, they're always the last ones, hanging around to kill time so that they can have a chat with us.