Chapter Text
You're standing behind a register at a fast food store. Your forehead is literally dripping with sweat. You go about your work like a robot, cashing in one customer after another. You're mentally counting down the seconds until you can finally finish work and get out of this madhouse. For today at least. People are pouring in en masse, leaving you no time to catch your breath. A slight headache knocks on your forehead and reminds you that you should drink something. A large glass of water. Ice cold. But you can only dream of that at the moment.
Another group of customers enters the store. You roll your eyes in annoyance. Is there anything free in your shop today? Well, you should know that better than anyone. Nothing is free. Humanity is just getting crazier. Even if the customers are paying for your living in some way, you can't understand how people can stuff themselves with this poison that is fast food. Your best friend is a case in point. She sits at a table right next to the counter and stuffs herself with a huge mountain of fries. Like she does every day. She doesn't really work. She helps out her parents, who pay for everything, from time to time. Otherwise she sits with you at work and talks to you about her crush. Day in, day out. You're already sick of it.
She waits every single day for him to show up here. He could never say no to a place like this. Fast food is his favorite. It's stuck in your mind. God knows why. You don't even know him, even though he enjoys great popularity. You only know him from your friend's stories. He's supposed to be an attractive young man with blond hair. Eyes like gold. Large, red wings adorn his back. He is a hero. A pro hero.
You don't understand the fuss about heroes any more than you understand the enthusiasm for fast food. Ironic, given that you work in a fast food store. But you're more concerned with the enthusiasm for heroes. They're just people like you and me, aren't they? Well, they have extraordinary abilities, but they're still just people. So what's so great about heroes? They protect others! Great! You mentally clap your hands. That's what the police do too. Why aren't the police celebrated like the heroes? Because they don't have any special skills? Your head is already starting to spin from all the questions you're asking yourself. That's as far as you can think about it. Your friend brings you back to the here and now.
"Oh, here he comes!", she squeals, dropping her fries and staring at the entrance to the store. You're still busy with customers and can't concentrate on HIM. The others have priority. Whether he's a hero or not. First come, first served. Your friend's squeaking gets louder. However, the squealing isn't just coming from her. Other women also join in. You're just saying goodbye to one customer and getting ready to tackle the next one.
"Hello, what would you like?", you say your routine sentence.
"I'd like your number.", you stare wide-eyed at the customer in front of you. You choke on your own spit.
"Please what?", you ask, completely absent-minded. Out of the corner of your eye, you see your friend's cell phone slam onto the tabletop. Her jaw drops. She stares at the guy in front of you just as dumbfounded as you do. With just one difference. She knows who is standing in front of you. You don't. It's her crush. The pro hero Hawks. Now you notice the big red wings. Before you can say anything, your friend speaks up. She joins you.
"She'd love to give you her number. She's just a bit shy and you took her by surprise. But don't worry! Here's her number.", she takes a napkin and scribbles your name and number on it and holds it out to the hero. He grins to himself and takes the napkin. In the meantime, you stand rooted to the spot and can't move. What's going on in front of you? She didn't just give him your number? Is this the hidden camera? Is someone about to come and tell you that it's all just a prank? Or are you still in bed and dreaming all this?
"Thank you! So, your name is (y/n). A very beautiful name for a beautiful woman.". the hero continues with a grin.
"Awww!", your friend gushes, gazing at the blonde with her eyes.
The world seems to have come to a standstill around the three of you. None of your colleagues care that you're standing around looking stupid and not doing your job. The other customers in the store don't seem to notice you either. Except for a few female ones. They look at you with envy and hatred. But you don't notice that. You don't notice anything at the moment. Your head is completely empty. No voice reaches you.
“Haha, how cute!”, Hawks laughs quietly as your cheeks turn a light pink.
"I'm telling you, she's shy. She can't handle compliments at all. She immediately blushes.", your friend smiles.
"Good to know.", Hawks smiles back.
You're slowly but surely coming back to your senses. You want to jump on your friend's neck and choke her until she runs out of breath. What the hell is she actually doing? And what kind of rubbish does she actually say? You and shy? Those are two worlds. You were just caught off guard. That's all. This is not shyness!
“Is there anything else I can do?”, you find your voice again. Unfortunately, not as confident as you would like.
"No thank you. That's all I wanted. I'll write to you. See you soon, my beautiful!", he waves you goodbye and takes off.
“Yes..”, is all you manage to say.
~*~
You almost wiped the incident at work from your mind as you collapsed onto the couch. Your phone vibrates next to you. You sigh, thinking it's your friend who just wants to talk about her crush again. You reluctantly pick up your phone and look at the screen. You almost drop it when you read a message from an unknown number. You start to sweat and you feel unintentionally warm. You feel like you're in love. You don't even know him. Why do you feel this way? You tap on the message to read it completely. You get even warmer and you curse your friend forever.