What if... (hfjONE-shots)

...Airy Returned to Earth (Pt.9)

Hiya Edgelings!!!

THIS AU IS BEING MADE INTO A COMIC!!!! PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT ON WATTPAD, AO3, TUMBLR, OR DEVIANTART. My username is 'edgyphaze4everr' on all of these.

But yeah this is the first chapter with a full mini-chapter at the end! Enjoy!

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"Are you ready?" Amelia asked as she parked the car in front of a small strip mall in the middle of town. The store directly in front of them had a sign saying "Bradley's Electronic Repair Coming Soon!" in large print on the front door.

Aaron gulped nervously, twisting his seat belt with slightly shaking hands, that familiar yet elusive anxiety stronger than ever before. "...no..."

Amelia smiled gently, "Well at least you're honest. Don't worry, you'll do great. I'm sure of it."

A small grin tugged at the edges of Aaron's mouth, "...thanks... but I don't know if... I'll remember everything..."

Amelia laid a reassuring hand on his metal shoulder, "All you've got to do is remember what we've been practicing. Would you like to go over it one more time?"

"No... I don't think so... I... I just... I don't think I'm... good enough... for this..." Aaron admitted with a sigh, thinking back to the conversations he's had in the past, "You... You're good at talking... to people... I'm not... I just don't know what to say and people... people don't like that... People don't like... talking to me..."

"Well what about Sarrah?" Amelia reminded him, "Chaya told me that you and her were getting along quite well."

Aaron blinked. That's right... Sarrah seemed to be ok with talking to him. That gave him a little bit of a confidence boost, "...yeah... she was nice..."

"Alright well, it's five 'til four, you should probably head on in. It's never good to be late for an interview."

Aaron's newly budded confidence shriveled at the thought of going inside alone, but Amelia had explained to him several times that he had to do this interview by himself... It was just... "Will... will you wait for me?"

"What? Yeah, of course I'll wait, I mean what else would I-" Amelia's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she realized what he meant, "Oh, I'm not going to leave you here if that's what you're asking. I'll just be sitting right here in the car."

Aaron sighed, a bit of relief flowing through him, "...thanks..."

And with that, he pushed past his unsettling fear and overcame his first obstacle, getting out of the car.

With his bare feet on the rough asphalt, Aaron cautiously slid up to the curb, stepping onto the sidewalk, and approaching the glass storefront. Through the windows he could see multiple stands and shelves lined up in the middle of the floor, and a service desk located at both of the back corners of the store.

Aaron's hand hovered over the door handlebar, trembling slightly as his anxiety began to overwhelm him once again that cold, void pit dropping into his stomach. He couldn't do this. He just couldn't.

He looked back at Amelia, who gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up from inside the car. She thought he could do it... but did he trust her judgment? Nothing in his past gave him any clue that he had the ability to succeed at anything...

But...

He promised her that he would try to get a job...

So with a deep breath, Aaron shut his eyes, and pushed past his fear once again, his indecisive hand falling and making contact with the cool metal bar on the front door. Not letting himself hesitate further, he pulled the handle and entered, overcoming his second obstacle.