The Umbrella Academy - one shots and imagines

Bowling Blues - Ben Hargreeves x Fem!reader

(characters are 16/17 because it's a cute age you know?)

*warnings – swearing*

The fluorescent lights started to give you a headache, the loud sounds of children screaming didn't help either. You glanced at the clock above the counter. You still had 3 hours left of your shift. You sighed to yourself as a pair of young kids ran up to the counter.

"My shoes are too big!" one kid cried, pulling at their hair.

"My ball is too heavy!" the other one complained.

3 more hours. Just 3. More. Hours.

"Well, let's see those shoes, shall we?" you asked, offering out your hand to take the shoes. The kid whacked them in your hands and then pouted. You quickly skimmed through other bowling shoes and pulled out a smaller pair.

"Here you go! These should fit better." You flaunted your customer smile that you'd perfected after working at bowling alley for two years. The kid ran away without so much as a thank you.

Little shit.

You stepped out behind the counter and indicated to the ball the remaining kid was holding. Before you could say anything, the kid dropped the ball on your foot and ran away. Shock over took you for a second before you regained control. You screamed out, hobbling back to behind the counter clutching your foot. You saw the two kids coming back over, followed by two adults you assumed to be their parents. Crap.

"Excuse me, miss?" one of the parents asked.

You smiled sweetly again, despite being in immense pain.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"You can help me by telling me why you can't find a shoe size that fits my child!" the other parent said. You held in profanities and made sure your smile was plastered on.

"I'm so sorry about the inconvenience, I'll find another pair if you like?" You said, ready to turn and look for more shoes.

"No, I think we're done." The first parent said, venom dripping off every word. They then all stormed out. You let out a quiet fuck as you went to the kitchen to try and find some ice. How was there no ice in the god damn kitchen? You stumbled back to the counter to be greeted by two new customers, looking around your age.

"Hi there, 2 lanes?" you asked, taking in their appearances. One had dark eyeliner around his eyes and smelled faintly of alcohol with messy hair, while the other was fidgeting with his hands, a grey hoodie covering his frame. He met your eyes and you noticed how beautiful they were.

"Oh, aren't you a cutie?" the eyeliner one said "2 lanes sounds perfect." He was clearly intoxicated, but there was no rule about not serving drunk people – this was a bowling alley, not a bar. He walked off, handing his friend a couple of notes.

"Go get 'em, tiger." He whispered incredibly loudly and then swayed away to the lanes you'd just set up. You felt a blush run up to your cheeks. Thank god for the fluorescent lights – the handsome stranger couldn't see your blush.

"Sorry about him, he's, uh..." the boy said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down.

"Drunk?" you continued, earning a laugh from the boy. What a beautiful laugh. Your eyes met again, and you felt like you could lose yourself in his honey brown eyes.

"Yeah, I guess. Oh! Um, here's the money for the lanes." He held out his hand and you took the cash from him. You looked at his hands and noticed dirt underneath his finger nails. But the dirt didn't look brown, it looked almost red. Was it blood? You decided against bringing it up.

"Thank you, and enjoy your time bowling!" you said, smiling genuinely this time. He said his goodbyes and walked off to join his friend in lane 6. He had a cute little walk. You turned to serve your next customer, occasionally sneaking looks at the pair, particularly the Asian with the caramel eyes.

Time rolled by and you realised you only had 30 minutes left of your shift. You smiled to yourself, happy that your shift was almost over. You were so caught up in yourself that you didn't realise a familiar face behind the counter.

~~Ben's POV~~

"Oh my fucking god, Ben! Just go talk to her! You're not doing yourself any favours by just standing here." Klaus said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking them. I rolled my eyes, pushing Klaus off in the process.

"Look, if you don't talk to her, I fucking will, ok?" Klaus threatened, catching my attention. I weighed out the pros and cons in my head, stomach starting to feel sick with anxiety. Or demons from underneath my skin. Maybe both.

"Ok, fine, I'll talk to her." I said, trying to calm my nerves.

"My Benny boy's all grown up now!" Klaus said, pretending to wipe away a tear. He pushed me in the direction of the counter, and I willed my feet to keep walking. As I approached the counter, I saw them smiling to themselves, doing a small fist pump. I swallowed as I stood behind them. She turned around and seemed startled to see me.

"Oh, hey!" they said, cutely smiling. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well, um," I started nervously, running my hand through my hair to help calm down. "Did you want to go on a date with me?"

I immediately regretted my words as soon as I said them. They seemed so dumb, so cliché.

"No, I don't," she said slowly. My heart started to sink, my stomach in uproar. "Not until I know your name." They finished, winking at me. My face lit up.

"My name's Ben." I said, hoping this meant she would now go out with me.

"(y/n)." She responded, her beautiful eyes staring into mine.

"Soo, is that a yes?" I asked.

"It's a yes, Ben." She blushed. "My shift finishes in half an hour, would you be free?"

For you? "Absolutely! Are you any good at bowling?" I said, indicating around me. She laughed.

"I work here. I'm the best at bowling."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, guess I'll just have to show you. I'll see you in half an hour?"

"Sounds good to me." I smiled, "Bye! Prepare to get your ass whooped!"

"Ok, sure. I'll let you think that." She laughed. I made my way back to Klaus, struggling to hide my smile.

"So?" He asked, eyes wide.

"She said yes!"