Where flowers bloom so does hope - Heartstopper Flowershop AU

A single red rose

Tick tock, tick tock makes the clock behind Nick's counter. No one's entered the shop yet, and the only sound he hears, besides the cars passing by, is the unbearable noise of the wooden clock his boss had put here for the clients not to look for the time on their phones. Weird marketing idea if you'd ask Nick whose only goal was to stop it.

Nick tried to entertain himself by reading but he couldn't last more than 8 minutes without looking at his phone. So he tried walking around the shop, looking for fresh ideas for his next bouquet, taking notes here and there, and changing the layout of the shop as much as he could. But nothing replaced the contact with the customers he loved more than anything here. He then went back to his counter, desperate to find a bit of activity. He went on to go through his notes and entered them in the computer to be sure not to lose them.

A bell rang as Nick was typing in his new ideas for the shop. A sound so unexpected it made him jump from his chair. When he lifted his head up, a bright smile enlightened his face. Finally, a new customer. He was standing awkwardly before him and Nick could tell he was searching for something but was too embarrassed to ask.

"Hello, looking for something?" Nick asked, still smiling.

"Yes, I'd like to offer flowers to someone that means a lot to me... But I don't know what kind of flowers."

"We'll figure it out then!" Nick pulled out his notebook and a pen ready to solve this floral mystery. "So, who's it for?"

"It's for my boyfriend."

"Oh okay, so it's love you want to share here, noted! Follow me I think I got what you need."

Nick got out of the counter and went through the aisles searching for flowers. His customer followed him around while looking at all the beautifully coloured flowers, enjoying every smell coming out of them. This place is so nice he thought, bending toward a yellow bouquet. It smelled divine. Orange and red roses with yellow fleurettes. Nick noticed he was staring at it, he asked:

"You like it?"

"Yes I do, it looks and smells so nice!"

"Oh really? That's so nice of you. I actually made it myself. My first ever bouquet without anyone telling me how to do it" Nick let out a little chuckle while walking toward his customer and the bouquet.

Nick lifted his hand to reach one of the roses.

"Red is for love, and in the bouquet, there are only three red roses do you know what it means?"

"I knew for red and love, but I didn't know a certain number of roses would mean anything."

"Well, depending on how many you give or is given to you there's kind of a hidden message. One rose is love at first sight; two roses symbolise a shared and deep love, and three roses mean I love you" While listing facts about roses Nick put the rose he had taken out, back in the bouquet. "So, are you interested in this bouquet for your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, definitely!" His enthusiasm lit up his face with a smile and Nick noticed the dimples on both his cheeks.

They headed out toward the counter, bouquet in hand. Nick went behind it and typed something into the computer. His customer handed him the bouquet, so Nick could wrap it up nicely. Nick went into the back of the store for a few seconds to take a new roll of transparent wrapping paper and his pair of scissors. Cutting out a piece of the transparent sheet, he wrapped up the bouquet. When he finished, he asked what colour ribbon his customer wanted and he wanted it yellow. Nick tied a knot around the stem of the flowers.

"do you want to write something to go with the bouquet?"

"Yes please, can you draw a heart and write For you Ben."

"Okay... done!"

"That's amazing, thank you so much! How much do I owe you?"

"Hm, it'll be £14, please."

"Card then."

Nick handed the card machine, typed the price and the customer paid. The little sound of "approved payment" rang, and Nick gave him his ticket.

"Thank you so much! I'll definitely come back for flowers or maybe home plants!"

"You're very welcome! Come around when you want!"

Nick smiled as the customer headed out, his bouquet in hand. But right before he passed the door, Nick felt the urge to ask him what his name was.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Charlie." He said while leaving, a smile on his face.