Chapter Text
So far, so good. The young man thought as he brushed back his black hair. So it seemed.
It'd been a month for Kai since he started his new job working at a nice, little antique store. Wednesdays and Fridays, he'd work afternoons after school while on Saturday, he was trusted to open up shop at 9 AM after reviewing what was in stock that morning to sell for the day.
He mainly did inventory while in the small shopping area after looking through antique items down in the store's questionable basement. Yeah. It was a bit creepy down there.
Afterwards, he would check and place price stickers on various antiques while stocking shelves with new, yet not-so-new items when space was available. Then he assisted customers who stopped by to browse.
He thought it was a great place to work.
The store had quite a nice view of the town square where the people would wander. He would see some of the kids from his high school hang out near the gazebo in the square's center and some of the adults who either walked through the square as they went to various stores nearby or sat on benches scattered throughout area in sight.
Before continuing the few tasks he had left before working behind the counter to review store budgets for the month, he checked the time.
8:59 AM. Showtime.
He decided to unlock the front door as it was about that time and flipped the "Open" sign hanging over the door to let potential customers know they were ready for business.
He had returned to a shelf to place the last few price stickers on a few fancy plates and cups on one side of the shelf where some kitchenware sat when he heard a soft voice over his shoulder say "You marked that cup the wrong price." to which Kai jumped and quickly turned around.
Fortunately, no merchandise was harmed in the making of what the other boy thought was a hilarious jump-scare.
"Jesus, Pete! You scared the shit outta me!" He gasped. "I didn't even hear you enter."
The taller, thinner, young man with thick, wavy, chestnut hair laughed with squinted, hazel eyes. "Yeah. I'm sneaky like that." Peter proudly responded with both hands gripped at his waist.
Yeah. He was sneaky. Too sneaky for his own damned good. Kai thought to himself as he began to calm down.
"Sorry, Kai. Didn't mean to spook you that bad." Pete did feel a bit guilty for surprising his friend like that. Although he was a bit of a jokester, he really was a kind, older teen. Luckily, Kai was quick to recover.
He laughed. "Yeah. I swear, one of these days, you'll 'spook' me into an early grave." He joked.
"Awww. Don't do that, Bud." Pete responded with a pat to his friend's back. "If you die, Who will I talk to and bother all day?" He said with a fake pout.
Kai rolled his eyes at the statement, sounding so ironic. He just chuckled in response as he finished pricing while Pete looked around the store.
Even though he had only lived in Grandview, New York for a few months, it felt like he'd lived there his whole life. He couldn't really explain it. He didnt know many people, but it was home. His new home. He belonged.
Reminiscent of the the shop's name printed on the door, he felt as though it was the Same As It Never Was.
Befriending Pete when he moved there only added to the feeling. Even though Pete was Kai's friend for a short time, it was like they've been friends since the beginning of time. Pete was only friend he needed for the time being, and he was OK with that.
As Kai thought about this, he heard the bell chime as the door opened. He looked to see his boss greet him upon entering the store.
"Good Morning, Kai! Happy Saturday!" She said, with her purse in one arm and a cup carrier with two coffees cradled in the other. She wore a flowy, yellow dress which reflected the beautiful, sunny day they were having that early spring. It always brightened Kai's day when she entered the store.
She walks over to him, handing him his cup. "One Large, Medium-Roast. Five Creams and Five Sugars, Hold the Foam. Just as you like it, Sir!" The brunette says with a cheerful smile, as though she was a barista.
"Thanks, Mrs. Gordon! You're a God-Send!" He smiled as he accepted the warm beverage.
She chuckles and rolls her eyes. "Kai, I've told you before. You can call me 'Melinda.' I know I'm older, but I'm not that old." She says, teasingly.
Yes, she was older. In her later 40's, but she still maintained her youthfulness and slim form, even with her wavy, brown hair slightly graying at the sides and a few smile lines that rested on her cheeks which would hint otherwise.
"Sorry, Melinda. Uncle Ric always told me that adults always went by 'Mister,' 'Miss,' Or 'Misses.'" He replied, sheepishly.
She gave a warm smile to the response. "You're such a polite gentleman." She responds, gently patting his shoulder but pauses for a minute and frowns slightly.
She Ok? Kai thought as he observed her. She was a bit quirky, which was evident every now and again, but it didn't bother Kai at all. He knew she was a good person with a kind heart. Kind enough to hire a Sophomore part-time to work in her antique shop.
After what felt like a few minutes, she gently pulled her hand back from where it rested. "Sorry." She pauses. "Well, it seems like you did a great job with stocking the shelves." She says, looking around the store, pleased at the sight. "Inventory downstairs look OK?" She asks.
He nods. "Yep. Just gotta update the info on the inventory spreadsheets." He paused. "Also, I feel like you just need some better lighting downstairs." He jokingly pointed out to her with a chuckle. Well . . . Sorta Jokingly.
"Yeah." She laughed. "I'll get to that at some point. Well, can you man the cashier and continue looking over the budget as well, Sweetie? I parked the car out back and need to bring some more items downstairs to appraise for later." She noted, as she began to look through emails on her phone.
"Will do, Melinda! Thanks again for the cup of Joe!" He says, graciously raising his warm beverage towards her.
"You're a doll! Anytime, Dear." She looked up to reply before exiting through the back door.
Kai walked to the register with his laptop nearby, putting in one of his wireless earpods, and began to look through multiple spreadsheets of inventory and prices on his computer to update as well as other forms to review.
A few minutes after, while reviewing sales from last week as he sipped from his warm cup of deliciousness, he realized that he had completely left Pete to himself.
"Pete? Where'd you go?" He asked out loud, scanning the store for the other boy. Pete rose up from behind the shelf where he was crouching.
"Sorry. Was looking at this cool chain." He told him, pointing at the spot near where he stood.
Kai walked over to where Pete stood and observed the cool chain necklace on the bottom shelf with a dog tag hanging from it. Engraved on the tag was a small outline of spider. Huh. He didn't notice that earlier. He had also forgotten to add a price to it either.
"Yeah. It is pretty cool." He says, picking up the chain and running his finger over the dog tag's engraving. "Regardless, keep your hands off the merch, Sticky Fingers." He teased. Pete rolled his eyes and laughed.
Kai knew he would never steal. Pete was too good to do something like that. Not like a kind soul as him could steal it anyways.
He left Pete to continue browsing after he took the chain with him to get a proper price amount for later when Melinda returned.
When he returned to the counter where he continued looking through the finances, a few people walked in to shop.
He would kindly greet each customer as they entered. "Hello! Welcome to the Same As It Never Was Antiques. My name is Kai. Please feel free to look around and let me know if you need assistance!"
As the customers happily came in to view the various items in the store, Pete continued to browse around while Kai balanced between scanning and editing electronic documents of inventory records while keeping an eye on the potential patrons in case they needed help with anything.
It was just about a few minutes before the other boy walked over to Kai behind the counter. "Working hard or hardly workin'?" Pete teased in a whisper.
Without taking his focused gaze off the laptop, he replied firmly, "Dude. Not now. Trying work on this inventory list."
His tone may have be slightly above a whisper, as one of the customers looked at him as they spoke. Kai looked up and smiled, nervously reaching at his visible earpod to adjust it. Pete just stared back at the customer with a stupid grin on his face and gently waved.
Luckily, the customer just returned the smile and continued browsing. He gave a piercing glare back at Pete who was holding in a laugh before Kai returned to his work.
The remaining couple of hours of his morning shift consisted of Kai helping customers browse and complete purchase transactions while Pete wandered the store looking at each item with great focus or observing what items other people in the store were viewing. Luckily, he didn't bother the other customers.
When his shift came close to its end, Melinda returned with a box of antiques in hand and placed it on the counter.
"Well, just finished unloading the last of them." She says with a small pant. "I can't wait until Aiden comes back home from school next month to help out."
"You sure you don't need me to come in Monday afternoons to help?" Kai asked.
"I'll be fine, Kai. Just make sure you focus on school so that when college comes around, you'll be ready." She replied. "Don't worry about me. I'll manage." She reassured with a small laugh.
Kai smiled. "Speaking of which, how is NYU treating Aiden?" He asked.
"Really well, actually. His Freshman year will be over as soon as we know it. Kinda wish he stayed in Grandview and attend Rockland University, but it's hard to argue with a full-ride scholarship." She shrugs with the response. "Well, it looks like all is good here. I'll see you Wednesday, then?" She checks.
"Yes Ma'am!" He responded before a thought came to mind.
"Oh!" Kai reaches next to the cash register for the unpriced chain necklace with the Spider Dog Tag and holds it up. "Ummm . . . I didn't see any notes you left on how much you wanted to sell this for, but I kinda want to buy it. How much would you like for it?" He kindly inquired.
She glanced at the chain, then looked back at him with happy expression. "For you, you can have it." She replied.
Kai seemed hesitant to just have this item gifted to him, and Melinda sensed it.
She continued. "You've been doing such a great job with helping me maintain the store and working with the customers. Think of it as a small token of appreciation! Just don't expect the same if you end up eye-ing one of those expensive kitchen sets over there." She teases while pointing at the shelf.
He laughed in response. "Got it. Thank you so much, Melinda! I'll see you next week!" He said, waving as he approached the entrance.
Melinda gave Kai a warm smile and waved back before he turned towards the door.
She looked down to finish reviewing a few prices for the new items in her inventory before she looked back up at Kai who stood at the door, smiling at his new gift before looking up at the other boy she didn't notice, now standing next to him.
When she looked the taller boy who looked back at him with a grin, she began to feel a very familiar sensation: One that helped her to differentiate.
She could feel the other boy's joy when he was around Kai, but also felt some of his curiosity, sadness, and frustrations, regardless of how subtle it was in him.
Just as Kai left, the other boy stayed in place as his gaze met her's like he had felt her staring. He froze in that moment, mouth slightly ajar.
Her suspicions were only confirmed when the last customer in the store who had just made a purchase exited through the door . . . and through the body of the boy who stood in front of it. The boy continued to look as Melinda stared back, lost in the moment.
Before the pause of silence could be held further, Pete hesitantly spoke up.
" . . . You can see me . . . ?"