Work Text:
The night was still, just like yesterday and the night before that. Wren sat on his high top chair as he stared into nothingness. The cash register lays untouched before him as the ticking of the clock filled his mind. That clock was barely holding onto the rusty nail that was lazily nailed into the wall.
Wren looked around the gas station's interior. The fluorescent lights that hung above emitted a sickly sea green light, its buzzing spitting competition to that of the clock's ticking. Aisles upon aisles of chips, snacks, and other road trip items filled the area, with the back holding all the drinks.
He should've gone home an hour ago. However, his car decided to be the next inconvenience to Wren by breaking down, the first one being the fact he left his lighter back at home, leaving him with nothing to light his cigarettes with. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a phone surviving on 23%—no charger included—Wren slumped over on the cash register, exhaling loudly.
This night was gonna be a long one.
Every now and then, a car would pull up to one of the gas pumps, fill up, and then drive off. Wren would stare through the dirty, scratched window with envy, wishing his own car worked. But, alas, that wasn't happening for a while. He tried calling his boss, but the service there sucked.
Around two in the morning, Wren had stepped outside for some fresh air. Zipping up his black leather jacket, he stepped outside and leaned against the cracked bricked wall that made up the poor excuse of a gas station. It was clear the building was starting to be reclaimed by nature by the bits of grass and foliage that decorated the walls.
While Wren was scrolling through his photo gallery on his phone, yet another car pulled up. Wren quickly speed-walked back into the gas station behind the counter in case someone would come inside. He watched as a woman got out of her car and filled it up with gas.
Although he couldn't really see what she looked like, the crappy lighting of the sign displaying gas prices was bright enough for Wren to see she had good style. Wren looked down at his clothes. He looked homeless. It didn't help that his hair was messy. Not greasy, but unkempt and disheveled. And goodness, his face felt greasy.
Around five minutes later, the woman turned around and headed towards the gas station. Realizing she was going to come in, Wren quickly straightened his position. He watched in the corner of his eye as the woman walked in. Now that she was up close, he could see her clearly. Woah—she's beautiful. Wren thought to himself.
She was fairly shorter than him and seemed around his age. Maybe a year younger? Right off the bat, her beauty caught Wren's attention. From the way her beautiful, luscious hair ran down her back to the way she smiled at Wren when she entered—Wren was most definitely attracted to her.
Everything about her was just so perfect to Wren. Maybe he was going delusional due to lack of sleep, but no amount of craziness could convince him otherwise—that she was the most beautiful, gorgeous person he's ever laid his eyes upon. Suddenly, the night didn't feel so long.
Wren caught his reflection on the slightly-cracked mirror that was taped onto one of the walls. Apparently, a previous worker who was obsessed with make-up, taped her mirror on the wall and never took it down; it's been there ever since. Wren looked at himself and saw just how unpresentable he looked.
His face looked oily, his eyebags were apparent, and he looked as though he'd seen something otherworldly. It didn't help that Wren's breath probably stank; he hasn't opened his mouth his entire stay at his shift, which would be maybe seven hours. Compared to her, Wren was beyond a mess. He didn't feel like he deserved to be in her presence.
Wren watched from a distance as the woman walked around from aisle, looking at the many choices that lined the shelves. Just then, Wren's phone dinged a rather loud notification. It startled him as he immediately grabbed his phone to turn on 'Do Not Disturb', praying the woman didn't notice.
It was a text from one of his friends. A text that sent over three hours ago and only received now—no service things. Wren read it. "bro where are you?" it read. Wren texted back the fact he was stuck at the gas station he worked at due to his car breaking down. Of course, the message failed to send. Wren wondered why the next person meant to cover this time hadn't arrived yet, given they should've arrived a while ago. Whatever.
Just then, the woman now stood in front of him. Her sudden appearance made Wren put down his phone and look over. "Excuse me, do you know how much this costs?" she asked in a sweet, calming voice. She was holding a can of chips that had its label scratched off for whatever reason. Wren had to clear his throat before talking; her soft—and attractive—voice taking him by surprise; he'd never heard such a fitting voice for such a beautiful person.
"Oh— er— let me see." Goodness, Wren hated how his voice sounded. He took the can from her hands and scanned the faded barcode, its price showing up on the monitor. "$5.99." The woman thanked Wren as she took the can back. Usually, that'd be the end of the conversation. However, right as Wren was about to grab his phone again, he was suddenly asked another question.
"By the way, do you know any nearby motels, hotels, or anyplace I could stay the night at?" she asked. Wren wasn't expecting that. He began to think, mentally scouting the area around him.
"I'm not too familiar with the place, but..." Wren looked away from her; if he maintained eye contact any longer, he was going to fold. "There's an inn maybe two miles from here called 'Solana Motel', I think? It's cheap and clean from what I've read in the reviews..." It was blatantly obvious how nervous Wren sounded while speaking. Wren saw that she was smiling at him, which made him blush. Hard.
She let out a giggle. "Alright, thank you... um, what's your name?" Wren's heart momentarily stopped beating.
"Uh— Wren. You?" Is he supposed to ask for her name? Is he allowed to do that?
Seeing his visible flustering, the woman smiled again. She leaned forward, supporting her upper part by laying her arms on the table. "Tabitha. Also, I like your name! It's cute." It's official—Wren folded on the spot.
"Ah... t-thank you! I... I think your name is cute, too." Wren had no idea what he was saying. It was probably obvious, too. Tabitha let out another giggle; she liked talking to him.
"Aw, you think so? I'm flattered!" Tabitha looked around the gas station a bit as she twirled a part of her hair around in her finger. She could feel a bit of blood rushing to her face, too. She looked back at Wren who still refused to look her in the eyes. The blush on his face was evident.
To be fair, Wren looked beat-up; Tabitha wasn't going to lie to herself. However, she will admit he was cute, and his shy mannerisms got her own heart beating. Something about his tired look was... attractive. Maybe it's the thought that he was good-looking without really trying that got Tabitha staring. It made her feel a little self-conscious for a moment, wishing she could look as attractive without having to try as Wren did.
Tabitha brushed those thoughts aside; they should be the least of her worries. Realizing the silence was rather long, Tabitha broke it. "Are you from around here?"
Wren finally looked at Tabitha. The butterflies in his stomach were fluttering as though tomorrow was non-existant. "Well... I'm from the main city. I'm assuming you're also from there?"
"Unfortunately not." Unfortunately? What did that mean? "I've been driving for quite some time now. Maybe five hours? I'm headed to California."
"You'll be driving for a long time, then." Wren tried to smile, although it looked forced. He genuinely liked Tabitha's presence, though. He hoped she'd catch on, as he wasn't about to say that out loud; that would be embarrassing.
"Yeah... anyways, I'm gonna grab some other stuff."
"Alright. I'll be here if you need me to check any more prices." Wren watched as Tabitha walked away, an unnamed scent following her. He didn't even realize the air stopped smelling metallic until after she walked away. He was already beginning to miss her presence.
Wren watched as Tabitha continued to walk around. She really was beautiful. Wren let out a sigh as he leaned against his chair, wishing he didn't look so unhygienic right now. A part of him believed Tabitha was just bluffing. Flirting with him for the sake of flirting with him. Maybe he was overthinking.
Wren leaned forward and began to doze off. He was so tired from everything that his eyelids had given up on him. For a moment, he was resting well. Of course, for just a moment. Wren felt a tap on his shoulder, making him jolt awake. He quickly shot up, hitting his head against one of the shelves. He yelped in pain as he placed his hand on where he hit his head, rubbing it painfully.
"Oh my— I'm so sorry!" Tabitha exclaimed as she immediately reached out, holding Wren's head and ensuring he was okay. Wren's face reddened again. Her hands were cold and soft.
"H-Hey, you don't have to do that..." Wren muttered as he grabbed Tabitha's hands, gently pulling them off his head. And just like that, they were holding hands over the counter, above the chip bags and a Sprite. Almost immediately, Wren let go and looked away, his face a deep shade of red.
Tabitha pulled her hands back also, covering her face out of embarrassment. She wanted to run out of that station. But that would mean leaving behind the cute cashier without her number, and that wasn't an opportunity she was going to pass up.
Silently, Tabitha slid over the food, which Wren slowly scanned one by one, still embarrassed over the situation. Once all the items were scanned, Wren looked at Tabitha for a moment. "$15.99." he said under his breath, barely loud enough for Tabitha to hear. She nodded, paying via cash.
Wren opened the register, placed the sixteen-dollars worth of bills in their designated slots, and handed back a single penny. He bagged the items in a plastic bag and handed it over to her. By then, Wren was sure he blew any chance of ever talking to her again. How stupid he was to touch her hands so suddenly. It didn't matter that she touched his head first—everything was his fault. Once again, he'd screwed up a potential friendship. Why was he like this?
Suddenly, Tabitha's voice broke Wren's train of thought. "Could you write the address for this 'Solana Motel', by the way?"
"Y-Yes, of course. Give me a moment..." Wren reached for a pen and a post-it note and took out his phone. With the little service he had, he pulled up his digital map, searched for the motel, and wrote down the address. He slide the entire stack and pen over for Tabitha to see.
Just then, the station's phone rang, which Wren turned his chair around to answer. Meanwhile, Tabitha took the post-it note with the written address on it, placing it in her purse to refer to later. Seeing Wren was distracted, she took off the pen's cap and wrote something.
Wren watched as Tabitha exited the gas station without saying a word. She didn't even look at him one last time. Wren let out a sigh as he placed the phone back down. He was still upset at himself for what had happened.
Just then, he remembered he slid the pen and post-it notes over to Tabitha earlier. He reached out for the items, placing the pen in the pen holder alongside a bunch of other pens. He was about to put away the post-it note also, when something caught his attention.
Written on the blue post-it note, in dark blue ink, was a phone number with the words "Call me :)" written underneath. Wren's eyes lit up. He quickly whipped out his phone and typed in the phone number. He proceeded to send a text message. "Hey"
Almost instantly, his message was read, and a response was being typed up.
"Hi Wren" the response read, accompanied by a heart emoji. Wren put down his phone for a moment to slam his fist against the register. He's caught himself a crush. In that moment, all negative thoughts Wren had until now disappeared like the wind.
Wren was glad his car broke down.