Alluring {Irwin Au}

One: Bandana

I wake to the sound of my alarm beeping from across my room. I groan and begin to just roll over and cover my ears before I realize what today is. It's the first day of summer, which means the first day of my job at Disneyland. I jump out of bed, almost tripping as I sprint across my bedroom to turn off my alarm. My mom must have heard the thuds of my feet because she knocks on my door.

"Riley, are you alright? It sounds like you're getting attacked in here." She says as she opens the door giving me a warm smile.

I squeal and pull her into a tight hug. "Yes, I'm great! It's my first day! Do you think I'll do okay? What if I mess up? Oh gosh, do you think they'd fire me right away? I mean, it's not like I've ever done this before, they would understand that, right?" I don't realize I'm rambling until I hear my mom laugh.

"You're going to do great Riley, don't worry. But you better get a move on, I want you to come down and eat some breakfast before you go." She shuts my door again after she walks out, leaving me dancing around my room for a good five minutes.

I shower and dry my hair, then get dressed in the button up shirt I was told was my uniform and black jeans; I really don't want to wear khakis. I put on a bit more make up than I usually would, because if I'm going to be around thousands of people all day I should probably look presentable. I throw on my black ballet flats with cute little bows on them, grab my purse, and run downstairs. Remembering my mom wanted me to eat something I grab a granola bar from the kitchen. I yell bye to my mom before walking out the door.

-

I make my way inside the front doors of the hat shop and up to the girl who's standing behind the counter. She's blonde and a few inches taller than me, which is normal considering I'm only 5'3. Her name tag says 'Elizabeth'. She notices my uniform and a grin spreads across her face. "You must be Riley! Thank goodness you're here early, I can show you the ropes now instead of after opening. It gets so busy, it's hard to learn on the job. And I'm Elizabeth by the way, but call me Beth."

I smile and set my bag down under the counter. "Yeah, I figured it would be easier this way. It's great to meet you, I'm Riley."

For the next hour Beth is training me on how to customize everything, how to work the cash register, etc. She starts to go through the different prices on everything, but I've been here so many times I already have it all memorized. I'm a Disney fanatic in case you couldn't tell. Once she's sure that I've got everything down enough to do it all on my own she shows me how to clock in and we open up the store. I can barely contain my excitement.

The first couple hours are pretty slow, probably because everybody wants to start out with the rides. I finish waving goodbye to a customer as someone else walks in. He's tall, and I don't just mean tall to me because I'm so short. He's like Empire State Building tall. His hair isn't short, but it isn't too long either. It's curly and a golden color, and it compliments his tanned skin. His arms are muscular, but not to the point that it's too much. As he walks closer I make out the color of his eyes. Hazel. They're beautiful. He's beau-

A cough somewhat mixed with a chuckle interrupts my daydreaming and I notice he's standing right in front of me. Good going, Riley. Way to look like an idiot. He's grinning and I feel my cheeks get hot. "I- uh, hello. What can I, uh, get you?" I do my best to compose myself and flash him a smile like I'd done with every other customer today.

A voice speaks up from beside him and I'm startled. I was so distracted I hadn't noticed anybody walk in with him. "Can we get hats, Ash? Matching ones, all of us?" His voice is hopeful and filled with excitement.

"Sure Harry, is that okay with you Lauren?" He smiled from the younger boy to the girl on the opposite side of him. He had an accent. Australian, maybe? Whatever it was, I liked it. The girl, who I had figured to be Lauren, nodded. "Alright then, three hats with Mickey Mouse ears, please." He spoke to me now. "One with the name Harry, one with Ashton, and one with Lauren."

"Not a problem," I said with a smile. I turned to grab the hats and made my way to the machine which would stitch their names onto the back. Once finished I turned back around and walked back to the counter, handing a hat to each of them. Harry and Lauren put on their hats, but before Ashton could put his on, the younger boy stopped him.

"You have to take off your bandana, Ash." He crossed his arms and looked up at him expectantly.

Ashton sighed and took off his bandana, placing it on the counter before putting on his matching hat. Harry's eyes lit up as he looked between his older brother and sister, approving of their hats. I told the boy whose name was Ashton the total and he paid. I handed him the receipt with a smile and he took it, his eyes meeting mine a little longer than normal, before he turned to walk out.

I looked down only to be met with a bright red bandana still laying on the counter, but when I looked up again to try and yell for Ashton he was already long gone. I frowned slightly and set it beside my bag. He'd probably come back for it later.

The rest of the day went by busily, tons of the park's visitors wanting a souvenir. But the tall (and quite attractive) boy never came back for his bandana. Before I knew it, it was time to close up. The park closed fifteen minutes ago, so no more people would be coming in. I reached down to grab my bag, noticing the red cloth I had set beside it earlier. I put my purse over my shoulder and reluctantly grabbed the bandana, bringing it with me. I waved goodbye to Beth and walked out, letting her close.

I made my way through the park to the exit that was closest to my car. Before I even opened the gate I heard a voice yelling "Wait, wait!" I turned around, looking in the direction of the voice, and saw three figures running towards me. One was short, another a bit taller, and the other, well, the other was about as tall as the Empire State Building. They finally got to me, all three out of breath.

"The park closed twenty minutes ago," I said with an eyebrow raised.

"We know, but we got lost and couldn't get out in time." Said the younger boy, who I remember as Harry.

"Lost, really?" I cast my gaze up at the older sibling, who I could tell was blushing lightly, even in the dark. He shrugged and I laughed a bit. "Come on." I unlocked the gate and let them out, following behind. They all mumbled a thank you as they started to walk away.

Before they got too far I remembered I still had the oldest's bandana. "Oh! Hey, Ashton was it?" I yelled to them.

He turned back around and I walked to meet him where he was. I pulled the red old cloth out of my bag and held it out to him. "You left this earlier in the shop."

He simply nodded, a slight smirk on his face. "I know." The look of confusion on my face made him laugh. "I was hoping it would give me an excuse to come back and see you again tomorrow." He lightly pushed my hand back, hinting for me to keep it. "I best get going."

-

A/N: So, that's it for chapter one. I hope you like it! Not much really happened I guess, but I still think it's cute.