sharp. : a coinpin fic

Chapter Two

It's been a week now.

Autumn leaves gusted around the bench Pin sat on. She stared at her phone screen, rereading the text messages she had sent to Coiny.

She's always been left on read.

She didn't understand what she did wrong. She told him the right thing, hadn't she? Yet still, he refuses to communicate with her. Refuses to talk to her. Refuses to see her.

In fact, she hasn't even seen him. She was starting to wonder if he was still alive. She shuddered as another gust of wind kicked up more leaf litter. Her phone screen suddenly scrambled and shut off.

This was the third time this had happened today. She inspected her cellular device, finding that it had actually run out of batteries. Guess she was staring at a text conversation for too long. Frowning, she recalled how her phone had started shutting off completely after only two hours of use. It was fucking annoying. She tucked her nose under her red scarf, stood up, and slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.

No time to think about sad things. It was her day off. No shoe store today, no complaining customers today. Might as well use this time to do something about her phone.

She had no rush to get there. Pin walked idly down the street, observing the changing colors of the trees. This is what happens when Coiny stops responding. Tree watching happens. Pin chucked lowly to herself.

This walk was mediocre at best. She kicked a pebble on the sidewalk and watched it roll into the street. She wondered what Coiny was doing. What if she saw him at the MePhone store? She secretly hoped he was there, even though it would be highly unlikely.

What would she even do if she saw him? Would she tap on his shoulder and say hi? Would she hug him? Would she duck and try to avoid being spotted?

What if he saw her? Would he greet her? Would they talk as if nothing happened, as if nothing was wrong between them? Or would he ignore her presence?

What if they never spoke again?

Pin stood still, shut her eyes, and counted to ten in an attempt to calm herself down. What if?

She clenched her teeth together and forced her eyes open. She couldn't tell if she was hyperventilating. She began walking at a faster pace now. If she walked faster than her thoughts, maybe they wouldn't be able to catch her.

Why was that thought so haunting?

It shouldn't matter if they stopped talking. Maybe he would be able to move on from her. Maybe one day she'll catch a glimpse of him with a girlfriend or something. Someone prettier. Someone nicer.

She didn't like that, but if he was happier without her, why should she intrude on that?

Was he happy right now? Was he aware of how much she was hurting her?

She was only vaguely aware she was running now.

The honk of a horn sounded in front of her, yanking her out of her cloud of thoughts.

No, someone else had pulled her backwards. By her scarf. The pressure on her neck made her gasp in surprise, her arms flailing wildly once she realized she was falling.

When her back hit the concrete, she looked up into her savior's neutral expression.

Eraser blinked at her almost lethargically. His duffel bag was slung casually over his shoulder, the end of her scarf clutched in the other. He dropped the scarf end on her face.

"Eraser!" Pin scrambled to her feet, as she repositioned her scarf. "What are you doing here?"

Eraser looked behind him, and then back at Pin. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Going to work," he replied simply.

"Oh," Pin looked away. "Where do you work?"

Eraser looked down at his uniform. Pin recognized it immediately and felt stupid for asking the question.

He was clad in a MePhone security uniform, not unlike the one he wore when he visited the shoe store the other day. His white plastic name tag was pinned almost valiantly to his chest. He looked kind of hot.

"I was just going there," Pin replied quietly. "Mind if I walk with you?"

Eraser pressed his lips together in thought before responding. "Yeah, sure."

He pivoted on his heel, leaving Pin to scurry after him.

"So Eraser," she began awkwardly. "How's the shoes?"

"Eh, you know how new shoes are," he replied. "Stiff, kind of uncomfortable. Whatever. I kept my old shoe."

"Oh did you?" Pin asked in response. "Uh, why did you?"

"It's a plant pot thing now! I put a piece of popcorn inside it with some dirt. I hope it grows into a corn tree." Eraser was beaming now. It was strange to see him with an expression on his face. He looked super proud of himself.

"A corn tree," Pin echoed.

Eraser's happy expression quickly fell back into his apathetic one. "Yes," he said. "This is my work."

Pin looked up. They were at the MePhone store already.

"I stand here and stare at people," Eraser continued as they walked, pointing a long finger towards the left side of the entrance.

Firey yawned. "Hey Eraser."

Eraser gave a curt nod. "I'm gonna drop my shit off and clock in," he told Firey.

The ginger hummed in response before realizing Pin was there. "Yo, Pin! What brings you here?"

Pin smiled at Firey. "Long time no see! I'm just here to see if I should get a new phone."

Firey tilted his head. "What's wrong with it?"

Pin pulled her dead phone out of her pocket. "It's battery life is terrible. It dies after only a couple hours."

Firey shook his head and flashed a smile. "You don't need a new phone, just a new battery. Maybe you should order one online. You can't find those here at the store, and they're much cheaper than a new phone anyways."

Eraser returned, his hands free of his duffel bag. He turned to Pin.

"Why are you still here?" He asked. "Go inside."

Pin raised her eyebrows. "First of all, that's rude. Second, Firey kind of already fixed my issue."

Eraser glanced at Firey. He looked at Pin. "That's understandable."

"Oh, I just remembered!" Firey's face lit up. "Pencil and Match have thrown a party tomorrow night and have asked me to invite as many people as possible. You two wanna come?"

Eraser squinted at Firey.

Firey laughed. "Yeah, there will be drinks. You know those two."

"Yeah sure, I'll go." Eraser ran his fingers through his pink hair.

Firey looked to Pin expectantly.

Pin looked at the floor. Maybe a party would be good. It might bring up her mood, if Coiny decides to never respond.

Coiny might be at that party.

"I'll go." Pin replied.