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Chapter 7: Landon

"What do you mean you can't shut it down?" I fumed into the house phone. I'd been on the phone with the remote company for almost 3 hours, and one of those hours was spent on hold.

Long story short, I was not a happy camper.

"Sir, we're sorry, but it doesn't appear that you own a remote for us to turn off?" The woman's voice was overly patronizing, and I wanted to punch her in the face.

"Well I do own a remote," I mocked back in the same tone, "And it was just stolen. How am I supposed to continue on with life knowing that someone else has my remote?"

"Have you checked in your bedroom?"

I chuckled and threw my hands in the air. "Wow, Patrice! What a grand idea. Maybe I should check there! Maybe-- and hear me out-- maybe I should check the safe that I keep it in!"

"Sir, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do," she sharply snapped back, unappreciative of my sass. "Please feel free to call back if you do find your remote. If it even exists," she mutters under her breath.

"It does exist, you-"

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. The phone toned as the woman hung up on me.

I fell back into my chair in frustration. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just go on with life like Patrice wanted me to.

To make sure I wasn't embarrassing myself, I went into my room and checked under the pile of clothes by my bed and inside the safe.

Nothing. It was really gone. Glancing at the clock, something hit me.

"Shit! I have to be at work!" I yelled to Everest, and bolted out the door, throwing my shoes on as I got into the car. I wasn't going to lose my job and my remote on the same day.

I quickly parked my car in the lot and rushed inside. Rushing past my boss on the way to my register so as he didn't have time to stop me, I quickly tie the strings to my apron behind me. I log into the computer with my net I.D., and with the day's events still in the forefront of my mind, I call out;

"I can help the next customer."

I'm scanning some neon orange wire and a new screwdriver and placing them in a bag when something makes me want to look up. When I do, I'm greeted by the face of Barba- no... Brenda? no... Becca?

Whoever she is, she looks different than she did the last time I saw her. More... put together, I think. Although to be fair, the last time I saw her, I think I made her cry.

"Hey Becca," I say cheerfully, and her face falls a little bit.

Nope, Becca wasn't right.

"It's Braelyn," she corrects.

"My bad," I apologize, noticing a strange glint in her eye. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just stressed about... life in general, I suppose," she chuckles, and I grin, relieved that she isn't going to cry again.

"Sorry about last time you were here, by the way," I apologize again. "I wasn't saying no to going out with you."

"You weren't?" Braelyn asks, her eyes snapping up to meet mine.

"I mean, no. I hadn't thought about you that way before, but that doesn't mean I couldn't."

If I was being honest, I didn't know where this was coming from. Yeah, she was cute and all, but my game plan when I first started talking to her was just to apologize. My mouth had decided to keep going apparently.

"So... you do want to go out sometime?" She asked cautiously, pushing a piece of her dark brown hair behind her ear.

Willing my mouth to stop, but getting distracted by her hair, I kept talking. "Sure. In fact, I have an idea for our first date."

I do?

"I just recently lost my remote, and I was hoping that unlike the remote company, I could find it again. Want to help me look? We could be, like, super sleuths together."

Not a bad idea, I congratulated myself.

Braelyn seemed to think otherwise. Her face turned a pale white color and then blushed a deep red. It was a strange mix, and in the dim lighting almost matched her wire color.

"Or... not?" I ask, sounding a strange mix between hopeful and upset. It was like my mind wanted one thing and my heart wanted another. She was cute, really cute when she blushed, but I had never thought of her like this before. Why was I acting so forward?

"No- it's fine," she nods, shaking her head out of whatever weird place she was in before. "I was just shocked you'd lost your remote. That's a really big deal."

That makes sense. "You don't have to tell me twice. You'd think the remote company would be able to help too, but no, to them I never owned a remote."

"That's odd," she commented, seeming to not think it as odd as her words implied.

"Landon, could you hurry it up!" my boss called, and I pulled my focus away from Braelyn to see an extremely large, extremely unhappy line forming behind her.

"Sorry!" I turned back to Braelyn. "So Saturday? We can get dinner and get to work?"

"Pick me up at 6, Sherlock," she grins, and I feel my heart flutter a bit.

The second she walks out of the building, I feel this release of pressure from my mind. As I scan the next customer's paintbrushes and stirring stick, I can't help but wonder:

What the hell just happened?

A/N: It's starting to get interesting, yeah? :) Updating either next Saturday or the Saturday after! Thanks for sticking with me through this story!
M3ryn3