Liar | Freddie Mercury

Chapter Thirty Seven

Here's a picture in case you guys need a visual of Anthony, I picture him as Andrew Vanwyngarden in the early 2000s :) (the cute one without sunglasses) Enjoy the chapter, and please remember to vote and comment because it makes my day. Love you guys <3  PS. sorry for any typos, it's 2 am and I have work tomorrow </3

Anthony opened the final box while I folded the skirts, placing them neatly on the empty shelves. "Keep this one, we can put it on one of the mannequins," I said and passed it to him. He tossed it over his shoulder and grabbed another pile of skirts from the box, handing them to me.

Rose was on the other side of the store, placing a customer's new clothes in a bag. "You can bring these back if they don't fit, dear," she told the woman who'd refused to use the fitting rooms.

"These are the last ones," he said when I took the last pile from his hands.

"That was way faster with an extra pair of hands," I sighed and placed them on the shelf, hopping off of the small stepping stool. It had been a long day and I'd been waiting for the hours to go by. I didn't feel well. My stomach was killing me and I was starving. Thankfully, it was a quiet day at work, and it was nice having Anthony and Rose around. They'd spent the last two hours moving around the store, helping me clean and re-stock shelves.

Anthony walked with me to the register, where Rose awaited us with a smile. For that entire day, he and I had been asking each other silly questions in an attempt to get to know each other a little better.

"Okay, I have another one," he said, "How do you feel about comic books?" he asked when we reached the large counter at the front of the stoor.

I grinned. "Comic books? I loved them as a kid, but I haven't engaged with them in forever. Why do you ask?"

"There's this comic book pop-up thing happening this weekend. Thought I'd mention it, in case you're into that sort of thing," he shrugged casually, taking a seat beside Rose while I stood on the other side of the counter.

"Are you into that?" I asked. Although I didn't know Anthony well, he was kind, and I found myself enjoying speaking to him throughout the day, despite both of us being a little shy around new people.

"Oh, he loves comic books. He's been writing his own since he was a child," Rose said.

I could tell he was slightly embarrassed about that information getting out, but I thought it was cool. "It's just a stupid hobby," he said.

"Stupid? What makes it stupid? I think any creative hobby is a cool hobby. You should bring them around sometime. I'd love to see them," I insisted. He only smiled.

"I will. But I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? I don't really know anyone else that would be remotely interested in that kind of thing, so I'm taking a chance here," he chuckled.

I thought it was charming. No one else in my life would ever want to go to something like that, and although I wasn't that interested, it was nice to be invited. He was making an effort to be my friend.

"What day is it? I would love to go," I said.

"It's on Saturday. I could pick you up. It could be fun," he said. I thought he was charming.

Rose seemed happy with the arrangement, a grin plastered across her face. "I'll give you my address." I reached for a pen on the table while he scrambled for a piece of paper in Rose's drawer, but before I could write it down, the telephone rang beside me. I reached for it quickly.