good old-fashioned lover boy // ben hardy

lazing on a sunday afternoon

marcel's record shop. the only place i feel at home. it's a small place made of maroon brick on greenway ave. quite far away from my humble abode, but do i care? not one bit. marcel's is filled with shelves and shelves of oldies records, kind of a hippie place. am i a hippie? no, i find them annoying. however, the music they have here is incredible.

i've never been in the record shop at the same time as another customer. it's a rather empty place. not much business. but as i'm shuffling through the 70s rock section of marcel's, the bell rings, signaling that someone else has entered. 

i glance over my shoulder to see who it could be, but another shelf is blocking it. i can't find what i'm looking for, so i try another section. just as i'm walking out of the aisle, the stranger bumps into me. he's a muscular, blonde man with green eyes. i wait for him to leave so i can continue to look for this record, but he stays. i decide that i should just ignore him and go on with what i'm doing.

the album i'm looking for is "queen ii" by queen. it'll be the cherry on top of my queen record collection, considering it's the only album i don't have of theirs. i've been a queen fan since i was little. their music has really helped me get through some tough times. 

i finally find the record and glance on the back to look at the song list. "queen fan, huh?" the man says. i silently nod my head and continue. "i've always liked their music." he states, scavenging through the aisle. i've finally found the album at the very back of the shelf.

"i'm sorry, do i know you?" i say. that might've sounded more rude than i meant it. i think to myself. the man pauses and looks down at his feet, taking a deep breath. "no, not yet." i roll my eyes and try to walk off with the record in my hand, but he's trying to make a conversation. "i've never seen you in here, do you come here a lot?" oh please, he's the one that hasn't seen me? i'm here everyday. 

"yeah, quite a bit actually." i bite my lip and twirl the record, gradually getting closer to the cashier. "you?" 

"i've been in here once or twice. i really like marcel's though. i think i might come here more often." there's a long awkward pause, and silence fills the room. "will i expect to see you here tomorrow?" his green eyes stare into my y/e/c irises. 

"yeah..." i say, drumming my fingers on the checkout counter. the cashier rings up the vinyl and gives it to me. i look to see what the stranger chose, and it's another queen album. a night at the opera, actually. i smile for a second, and catch him looking at me. he buys his album of choice and stares at me for a good five seconds. which when you think about it,  it's a pretty long time.

"looks like we'll be seeing more of each other, then" he says, as i walk towards the door.

"i guess so." and with that, i'm out of marcel's and onto the chaoitc streets of london.

a/n: sorry it's so short! i promise the other chapters will be longer, i just needed an introduction. hope you liked it!