Out in the Countryside

Errands

Arturia played with the small squishy toy that sat on the cashier register. She fidgeted about with it, thinking about her parents and what they were going through. She hadn't called them since the time she'd gone out to the town and although she felt guilty, she knew it wasn't a good idea calling them with any phone from the village, she'd have to go out again. She tapped her nails on the counter and stopped upon hearing the chime of the door.

"Welcome!" She greeted with a smile. The customer walked towards her and simply paid without so much as a conversation. She also wasn't keen on having a conversation either so she wasn't really offended by the lack of attention.

"Arturia!' The door creaked open once more and her head snapped towards it.

"Diarmuid," she smiled, "what's up?"

"I wanted to go out to town, but I wanted to know what time you got off, I wanted you to tag along." He leaned on the counter, smiling at her and giving her a small and friendly wink. "Only if you'd like, that is."

It had been nearly a month since Grainne had left and they'd hung out a few times, so it wasn't a surprise that he was asking. Now that Grainne was gone, Diarmuid seemed to have more time on his hands and he wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. So, now, he was starting to hang out with Arturia and Jeanne more.

"Of course I'd like to go. I was actually thinking of going." Her smile widened and she leaned on the counter, inching slightly towards him. "I get off in two hours."

"Okay." He grinned. "I'll come to pick you up, then."

"Sounds good!" She leaned back on her seat and nodded. "I'll see you soon then."

He gave a salute before exiting the shop with a simple farewell.

Arturia hadn't wanted to think about it too much, but with the leave of Grainne, she was starting to notice that Diarmuid seemed more carefree and maybe even a little flirty with her. Of course, it was probably just her imagination. Why would he want to flirt with her when she was nothing special? Plus, she was in the countryside to get away from her problems, not create any more.

Arturia found herself staring at the clock many times, pining for the end of her shift where she could call her parents and spend some time with Diarmuid —her friend.

As soon as the clock struck five, she pulled off her uniform shirt and hurried to the backroom, seeing that Jean had arrived to take over the store. She offered a curt smile and shoved her shirt into the small locker before she ran to the bathroom.

She stared at herself for a bit, weighing her options of fixing her hair. Sadly she hadn't brought any makeup to do any touch-ups but luckily she had a tinted lip balm.

"Wait," she mumbled, "what am I doing?" She sighed. "Dia is my friend. I shouldn't —he just broke up. Why am I —?"

Arturia leaned away from the mirror, analyzing her messy hair and pale face. It was just chapstick, there wasn't anything wrong with wearing it, right?

After applying the chapstick, she walked out of the restroom and hurried out of the gas station. She fixed her jacket and looked around, she spotted Diarmuid's car near the vacuum area. Arturia couldn't suppress the smile that slid onto her face as she walked towards the parked car.

Arturia knocked on the passenger-side window and after catching his attention she waved at him.

Diarmuid immediately smiled and waved at her as she settled in the car. "How was your shift?" He asked, turning his whole body towards her.

She returned the smile and nodded. "It went well. How was your day?"

"Good." He shrugged. "Thanks for joining me, by the way, I'm glad you tagged along. I wasn't about going all by myself but Scathach was begging me to get something for her."