Elvis One Shots/Imagines

Sweet Caroline - Elvis

A/N: request by @_mckennalynn_ probably a part 2 whenever I get the time ~

"Take the hat off," Shelby says the second you walk into the back of the little cafe. She has a little smile on her face and a playful attitude as she demands you remove the black shapeless hat from your head.

Instinctively you bring your hands down to hold onto the rim of the old fabric, shielding your face from your coworker, "no."

She pushes off from her seat on the broken little table everyone uses to sit at during their breaks, "Y/N, that's the most foul hat I've ever seen."

"Clearly you've not been paying attention to the Men's catalogs as of late," you reply, sliding your bag off and onto the rack.

Shelby gasps as you turn, and you scrunch your nose, suddenly remembering what it is you meant to hide with this silly hat. With speed unmatched, she rushes up and plucks it from your head. "I know you were not planning to hide that from me!"

The 'that' in question was the panic haircut you gave yourself at 2 in the morning that very day. A boyish cut that screamed 1920s with straight bangs and little curls on your cheeks. Granted, it hadn't looked that good when it was first cut but your Auntie Ethel was a hairdresser. This silly hat protected your dignity as you raced to her house early in the morning from what it initially was. Shelby clutched that same hat in her pink fingernails as she pointed towards the little tips of your hair that didn't even reach your jaw.

"Surprise?" You said with a small smile, raising a shoulder as though you could disappear into yourself. Shelby's dark brown eyes followed you into your abyss with a mix of shock and humor.

"What the hell?" She laughed, throwing the hat at you. "You look like a flapper!"

"Thought I'd give a new look a try," you said as nonchalantly as you could, shrugging off your jacket. You suddenly felt very naked and exposed without hair to protect you. You'd always had hair long enough to cover your breasts, once long enough to reach your buttocks. But now, your neck felt the old air conditioning as it churned up a new wave of dusty air.

Shelby contemplated that for a second, then her face took a more serious look. "What's going on, babe?"

You swallowed, turning away and grabbing your apron off the wall, "it's nothing."

"It is most certainly not nothing. We've known each other since we were freshman and you'd never make a big change like this out of the blue."

You sighed, straightening the apron against yourself. "It was a rough night."

She cocked a brow and you covered your face with your hands since you had no hair to do it with.

"It was just - hard! Nights are hard. You know?"

"I don't. Tell me."

"I don't want to burden you. I've got a lot going on. It's not fair to unload all that on you."

"It's not a burden if I ask to carry the load."

You stared at your feet. You didn't like to say this out loud, but Dr Abernale told you to start opening up and Shelby was the closest thing you had to a best friend. But what did opening up really mean? Did he mean to say tell her everything right before your 6 hour shift all without a panic attack? Time and place, there's always a time and place and this was neither the time nor the place.

Yet, your lips started to move of their own accord  with a shaky breath, "It's just, it's easy to forget about your problems where there's the sun and people. It gets really suffocating. Like during the day the other people are soldiers with you, even if they don't realize. But them being there acts as a sort of armor. It can't hurt you as bad if there are witnesses. The second the sun comes down it's a one man battle and I can assure you I don't have the proper tools. Thoughts get bad."