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the door to the mystery shop slammed open, startling the working crew inside.
“drumroll please! audrey parker herself is here and she has money to spend!” an all too familiar voice yelled. one of the (temporary) employees smiled at the sound of the usual animated tone.
”audrey!! welcome and browse for as long as you like—we’re trying to restock as fast as we can so we can’t help you right at this moment though,” kalim greeted cheerfully.
the girl laughed at his comment. “it’s fine! i know what i want anyways, so i’ll just grab it and go,” she said as she made her way to the back of the store where the refrigerated and frozen food was kept. her and her dormmates decided to have ice cream cake tonight for the main dessert of new years, a treat audrey remembers having only a couple of times before. as she picked out the biggest cake sam had, she quickly walked to other sections of the shop, picking out brownies, cookies and various candies to have tonight before stuffing them in her bag.
happy with her selection of refreshments, she walked briskly to the cash register, expecting to see kalim ready to ring her up.
what she didn’t expect was deuce standing at the counter.
”oh, deuce! it’s you!”
he looked up from his phone, a look of shock washing over his face.
”audre-”
”HAPPY NEW YEARS!” she shouted suddenly.
”e-eh!? o-oh! happy new years to you too!” he shouted back with the same yet unexcepted intensity.
”woah! that heartslabyul kimono looks super good on you!” she said, her eyes wide as she set her items on the counter and fished for her wallet. deuce blushed at the sudden compliment, trying his best to ignore the fact that his heart started racing all of a sudden.
”uh, uh, thank you!” he stuttered as he struggled to find his next words. “y-you look nice... too....”
he internally groaned.
audrey wasn’t wearing a special kimono or a special dress for new years.
she was in her pajamas.
she came to the mystery shop in her pajamas.
why did i say that...? he chastised himself.
he quickly tried redeeming himself. “a-ah sorry! i didn’t mean to say that,” he told her with sincerity. unfortunately for the first year, he didn’t take the time to process his words as an awkward silence laid over the two of them.
”uh. what?” audrey said, breaking the tension. it was only at that moment deuce realized what he said exactly to his crush.
”oh shit!” he suddenly cried out, startling the girl, “i didn’t mean that either! i just thought that you were wearing something special too! n-not to say that you don’t look good in pajamas, but i don’t know if you would consider that a compliment either! i just-”
a sweet snicker interrupted his rant.
he shut up immediately, looking at the girl with confusion. “don’t worry, dude! i get what you’re trying to say! thanks for the compliment, deuce!” she said, smiling at him brightly. the boy felt his face heat up again, and he desperately hoped she wouldn’t say anything about it.
”o-oh. you’re welcome then, audrey....”
as her laughter died down, she stuck out a wad of madol in front of him. “also. not to be rude but could you, uh, ring me up? i gotta get back to ramshackle as soon as possible.”
he grabbed the money from her hands with gentleness, because he knew with all the events that just occurred he would probably want her to leave as soon as possible so he wouldn’t embarrass himself any further than he already has. not wanting to be stuck in more awkward silence, however, he did want to strike up a conversation with her.
”so, uh, do you and the girls and grim have anything planned with all this food?”
she perked up at his question, quickly explaining to him all the details. “mhm! basically we’re all gonna watch movies and eat a bunch of junk food before the fireworks get set off! first we’re watching a romance movie about a hatter girl who turns into an old woman due to a curse and her journey to get rid of it, while also falling in love with a wizard along the way! but, because grim complained about the movie being a romance, we’re also watching a really good movie about a group of outcast kids who go on an adventure to find a pirate ship right in their own town! i’m super excited.”
he nodded at her words, recognizing the two movies she was referencing. i didn’t expect audrey to like romance movies, he thought with slight bewilderment, but then again she likes anything and everything, so....
as he finished scanning her final item, he smiled at her. “i hope you all have fun tonight. tell the other girls i said hi.... and tell grim to stay out of trouble.”
she nodded at his words, her smile never fading. “i will! oh, and we’re gonna film the fireworks and our reactions to them and post it on magicam! go watch when you can, and tell kalim what i just told you!”
”yeah! my dorm and i are gonna do the same thing. make sure you watch too.”
audrey grabbed her bag when he finished putting them away, walking backwards to the exit with vigor in her steps. “totally! i’ll see you later deuce!”
he watched as the door slowly shut with a creak and the bell rang throughout the store to notify that audrey had left. he couldn’t see her through the windows from his position at the counter, and as he stood by himself in that strange yet wondrous store, something in him broke.
with a small burst of sudden confidence, he jumped over the counter and ran out the door, his face as red as a rose.
when he got outside, he already saw how far away audrey was from the shop, and wasted no more time.
”AUDREY!!! WAIT!!!”
she stopped in her tracks, turning around with confusion at the voice that just shouted at her.
when she saw deuce at the other side of the road, she was about to yell back and ask what’s wrong, but he already yelled something else, rendering her silent for once.
”I... I CAN’T WAIT TO BE WITH YOU FOR ANOTHER YEAR!!! LET’S MAKE THIS YEAR WORTHWILE TOO!!!”
audrey stared at him for a moment, thanking the stars that he was too far away to notice the blush that promptly took over her cheeks. her heart was beating faster than it ever has before, and no funny quip was brewing in her mind like usual—but, she supposed, this was no time for epigrams and jokes.
so she let her heart guide her to the words that she wanted... no. needed to say.
taking a deep breath, she yelled back with the same enthusiasm.
”ME TOO!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO BE FRIENDS FOR ANOTHER YEAR!!! LET’S HAVE FUN THIS YEAR AS WELL!!!”
hearing her response, deuce couldn’t fight back the ecstatic grin that took over his face, and he raised his hand to give her one final wave of the year.
”HAPPY NEW YEARS!”