off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ eighteen

It wasn’t unusual for Audrey to find herself wandering in clothing stores, sifting through dozens of articles in search of inspiration. It was a good way to find fresh ideas, or on the contrary, find boring pieces to give new life to. But it wasn’t common for her at all to wander in the men's aisle, looking through pairs and pairs of jeans you could hardly spot the differences between. Yet here she was today, desperately trying to figure out what the new everyday trends were for men. And apparently, just like they'd been since at least 2012, skinny jeans and slogan t-shirts were the hot stuff. Audrey sighed as she found yet another graphic tee with an uninteresting design and cut. She was looking in the wrong places.

Surrounded by such typical and average clothing, only one thought would go round and round in Audrey's head. Where in the world did Taerae find his clothes? Somehow, he always showed up with a weird coat, or an absurd t-shirt, or the type of socks you could only imagine to be a gag gift from someone who hated him. He couldn’t be finding those in the regular men's aisle in just any clothing store, could he? Audrey scrunched up her nose. Maybe thrift stores? Hand-me-downs?

There was only one way she could know. Audrey grabbed her phone from her purse and pressed on Taerae's contact. Standing near the store's window in an attempt not to bother other customers with her phone conversation, Audrey waited for Taerae to pick up.

"Hello?" Judging from his voice, he hadn’t expected her to call.

"Taerae, hi. I was wondering if I could see you. I need your help with something."

She could hear some background noise from Taerae's side, as he tried to speak quietly. "Um, alright, but I'm at a convenience store right now. I'll come see you when I'm done paying for my stuff, but where should we meet?"

"Oh, I'm at C&G, a clothing store. Would you be able to meet me there?"

In response, she was met with silence. Audrey felt her temperature rise instantly. Maybe she was asking too much? He probably was too busy to indulge her every whim. She should've taken the hint when he said he was at a convenience store. Oh, she was so stupid, always bothering everyone around her...

When Taerae chuckled suddenly, Audrey widened her eyes, confused. "There's a C&G right in front of the convenience store I'm at. I'm guessing that's where you are."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, wait just a second. I'm coming up to the front."

And just as she looked up towards the other side of the street, her eyes locked with Taerae's, who was standing behind the front window of a convenience store. A wide grin on his face, he sent her a timid wave. She waved back, still dumbfounded by the coincidence. Of all places, they'd been shopping in the same street. And if she hadn’t called him, they might have never known. It seemed fate was trying to help her with her assignment.

Taerae quickly paid for his things, before joining her right outside the clothing store. Audrey couldn’t help but take a long look at his outfit. Though none of the clothes he was wearing were particularly bad on their own, they'd been assorted in quite the strange fashion. A heavy-fabric dress shirt, paired with a visibly run down letterman jacket, and skinny red jeans rolled up slightly to reveal, you guessed it, the weirdest socks. From where she was standing, she could barely make out flowers, but she wasn’t fully convinced she was seeing it right.

"So, what's going on?" Taerae spoke up, pulling her out of her analysis. "You said you needed help with something. Is everything alright?"

Audrey nodded quickly. "Ah, yes, don't worry. I just recently got an assignment in my fashion design class. It's about making a male outfit. I was thinking of doing an everyday look with a twist."