one shots!

Steeped with Love

It was a rainy autumn day. The smell of rain wafting through the air and the pitter-patter of rain hitting the pavement and umbrellas. Ethan, as usual, was working behind the counter of the local bookstore in Lavendaire. He sliced through the thin tape, holding the box stuffed with books shut, opening it up to check if the shipment was missing anything.

Scanning over the box, he noticed one of the books was missing, one he had ordered personally, "Pixelated Hearts," one he had been looking forward to reading. With a huff, he turned around to check the computer, making sure he had, in fact, ordered the book. Logging back into the system, he went to recent orders, scanning over the titles of the purchased books. Finding the book on the list, he opened the menu to file a report that it was missing. As he began typing the report, the bell on the door jingled, informing him that a customer had entered. His head snapped up, ready to greet the customer.

"Welcome to Lavendaire books! My name is Ethan! Can I help you find anything today?" he started the greeting ingrained in his head from working there so long. The customer completely ignored him, walking past the counter into the back of the store where books were stored. He sighed and returned to writing the report of the missing book. Finishing up the report, he looked up and locked eyes with the patron from before, standing in front of him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah, uhm, I was wondering if you, by chance, had Pixelated Hearts in stock? I've been looking for it everywhere," they stumbled over their words and twisted their fingers, incredibly nervous to talk to the man they thought was attractive. "We actually just got a shipment in today that was supposed to have that in there. I've been looking forward to reading it, too! I just finished writing a report, so we should have it in by next week if you wanna come back!" he explained with confidence to the cute person standing in front of him.

"Oh, alright," the customer mumbled, walking out of the store. Ethan realized it was getting close to closing time, so he began making final purchases and cleaning up. He walked out of the store, locking the door behind him, and moved to his car. Getting in, he put the key in the ignition and drove off to the nearest Burger King. Putting the car into park, he stumbled out, too hungry to think about anything other than getting a hot burger and some salty fries.

He entered the restaurant and got into line, standing behind a familiar mop of black hair. He tapped the person in front of him on the shoulder, feeling bold, knowing it was the cute guy he saw at work. The person turned around and looked a little shocked that it was him, the guy he hadn't stopped thinking about since he walked into the bookshop. "Hey! I saw you in the bookstore earlier today while I was working and wanted to know your name and see if I could maybe get your number?" he asked. "Oh, uhm yeah! Sure! My name's Alex. Uhm, do you have a piece of paper or something I can put my number on?" Ethan shoved his hand into his messenger bag, supplying a pad of pink Post-it notes and a black pen. He handed both items to Alex, watching as they quickly scribbled down their number, noting that they were next up to put in their order.

He returned the pad and pen to Ethan, turning back around as the person in front of him finished his order. He watched as Alex placed his order and moved along. Leaving him as the next person in line. He ordered his bacon king, large fry, and large Dr. Pepper. He moved along, walking over to wait for his order. He watched as the other people in line placed their orders and moved off to the side or a table, waiting to get their food.

He heard his number called out. So he walked up to the counter, grabbed the bag of food, and double-checked to make sure everything he ordered was in there. He walked out of the restaurant. Happy with his purchase, he walked to his car, hopped in, and turned on the ignition. Pulling out of the parking lot, he drove off to his apartment, ready to eat and have a nice long rest in his bed. He walked into the house, took off his Converse, and left them by the door. He hung up his black Firealpaca hoodie on the coat rack.