tratie one shots

Stranger

Molly:

I love love. For most of my life, this has been my defining characteristic. I exclusively watch rom-coms, and romanticize about every single thing in my life. My friends say I'm a hopeless romantic. But when it comes to love? I feel you can only ever be hopeful. Valentine's Day is my favorite day ever, as it's the one time everyone feels the same gushy feelings that I do when looking at a loved one. To me, there is simply no rush greater than loving those around you, even if they don't love you back.

This unwavering hope, however, does not exist when I'm working. I have been working at Dunk-O-Love, the only 24/7 open store in my town for the past two months. Because of my time spent at school and at basketball, I have pretty much exclusively worked the 9:00 pm to 3:00 am shift on weekends. Truthfully, I don't mind it. I bring a book and allow myself to enjoy the silence that comes with it.

In the town of Litchfield, Illinois, with a population of just under two thousand, there are little to no surprises. Located directly next to Route 66, the majority of my weekend customers are truckers, or exhausted families on a multi day road trip.

What they aren't, are cute, young couples. Such as the one that just walked in.

I straighten from my spot sitting on the counter, pushing my romance novel to the side as I glanced at the 2:18 staring at me on the clock.

I allow myself time to study them as they stopped in front of the entrance, talking in hushed tones. They both couldn't be over seventeen, but seemed exhausted, dark circles lining both their eyes.

The boy was tall, with chestnut curls falling over his forehead. A dark blue t-shirt made his blue eyes noticeable even from twenty feet away. He was cute cute. His energy was excited, despite the time, and he talked in a hurried, rushed way that made my adrenaline spike just watching him. One moment later, though, I spotted the way his hands by his sides twitched toward her, seemingly like without his control, brushing her wrist.

Off the table then.

The girl couldn't be more different. Dark brown hair pulled into a braid down one shoulder, though strands poked out, and others fell in front of her face. Freckles dotted her tanned skin, and compared to the boys energy, she looked exhausted, but beautiful. She listened intently to what he was saying, a focused look on her face as though he was a prophet. She suddenly turned toward him, and even from across the room I could tell she was disagreeing with him. Their brows were drawn together, and their hands moved animatedly. They argued more, quieter still, until she dropped her hands and sighed, obviously resigned to whatever they discussed.

In an instant, the boy put a hand on her arm, causing her to look up. They talked more, and his hand slid down until it fit into hers. He squeezed once, and then dropped it. Seeming to realize they were not, in fact, alone, they both looked up towards me, and took one step apart as they walked up to the cashier.

I loved them already.

"Hi!" I started, forcing cheer into my voice. "What can I get for you?"

The boy excitedly scanned the arrangement of donuts, muffins, and bagels behind me, as the girl simply stated, "Two large iced coffees please."

"Katie Kat, we have to get donuts too. Look! They have Boston cream! And strawberry sprinkle, your favorite." The boy teased Katie.

"I wish I never told you that fact." She mumbled back, elbowing him. "And no, we don't need donuts. We need actual food. Like sandwiches. We are walking after this, remember, Travis?"