Work Text:
I worked in a grocery shop as a cashier part-time to pay rent. I lived in Los Angeles, so it wasn't really easy to get to the end of the month without going in debt. The work was great, of course it wasn't a fun job but it wasn't that bad too... especially because of one man.
I always greeted him with an heartfelt "Hello!" and a "Goodbye Sir, thank you for stopping by!", and he always answered with the most adorable smile I've ever seen in my entire life. I spoke to him only in that occasion, but somehow he became my crush. Every time I got to see him even for a brief moment I was the happiest person on Earth; I scanned every movement of his face, every inch of his upper body, every single feature that I could see... I loved everything about him.
A day he stopped to show up on every Sunday like he used to: I didn't see him for almost an entire month. He recently dyed his hair bright pink for some reason, and disappeared after a while. The next time he came to the shop, his face changed. He didn't smile to me anymore, he was sad and had a worn out face. The dark circles under his eyes proved that he had a lack of sleep, and his messy faded out hair looked like it was torn from his scalp. A few weeks later, as he showed up to put his stuff on the conveyor belt, I got the courage to talk to him.
"Hello Sir, is everything alright?" I didn't want to sound nosy, but I honestly cared about his well-being. "Ye-..." He stopped for a moment and sighed." Actually, no. I just need to rest..." He forced a faint smile, avoiding my gaze. I smiled as well.
"Please don't push yourself too much, Sir". He glanced at my name tag on my blue shirt and added "Thank you Y/N". He smiled again and proceeded to head out the exit. "Sir! You forgot your bag!" I shouted. He came back with an embarrassed face, and as he took the bag full of groceries in one hand, he stroked the back of his neck with the other. "I'm sorry, I don't know where my head is today." he said as he left. "Anyway, it's Mark" he added, turning around and waving at me.
That day, I was the happiest person alive. "Mark talked to me and even said my name!" I thought. I know, it's childish to think it that way, but as a teen that just finished highschool a few months prior is pretty normal.
The rest of the day at work went smoothly. At noon I picked up my bag ready to leave and close the shop, since that at Sundays I had the last shift. But something, or better said someone, surprised me. As soon as I closed the back door I turned around to see Mark right behind me. "Oh! I'm sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean to..." He said as he looked away and stoked the back of his neck like he did before "Damn... he's too cute when he does that" I thought to myself. "No don't worry, you didn't scare me, I'm just surprised to see you here at this hour... Do you need something from the shop? I'll get it for yo-" I was shortly cut off by him.
"No no it's nothing really... I just wanted to see you, that's all." I was extremely surprised and a bit dumbfounded by that sentence. "Does he like me too? How is that even possible?" I thought. I was an insecure eighteen year old girl not confident with her own appearance, only because of the many people in middle school who called me ugly and pointed out all my flaws, so I grew up to be a shy, awkward, weird, insecure girl. The few people who sticked with me since I was little always told me that I was a funny, beautiful girl, but I didn't believe them.
"Earth calls to Y/N!" Mark said waving his hand in front of me, cutting me off my thinking. "Yeah, I was just wondering why would you want to see me" " Uhm... It's complicated. See, you look like a kid I used to play with many, many years ago... And the way you greet me every week always reminds me of that child. We always used to play shopkeepers in the playground." He blurted out in a hurry. Of course! Mark! How could I ever forget about him! When I was ten he was fifteen. I never knew why would a teen like him play with a small kid like me, but I enjoyed his presence. Back in the days I didn't have such a big crush on him but I have to admit, he was pretty cute.
As I stood there overwhelmed with my thoughts tears started to flow down on my cheekbones, one after another. I threw my arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Y/N... Is it really you?" Mark said with a broken tone. I could feel wet spots on my hair, he was crying too. I slightly nodded and as soon as I realized I was getting his blue t-shirt wet, I pulled away and apologized. "I'm so so sorry, I'm getting your shirt wet..." "Don't worry Y/N, it's ok. I missed you too..." He hugged me, tighter than before. I didn't want him to ever let go, I felt so loved and protected in his strong arms.
"Please... Don't let me go." I slightly sobbed in his chest. "I'm not going to, don't worry" Mark said, gently stroking my back. His big palms were really warm, they felt so comforting... "Mark" I said, looking up at him. His eyes were puffy like mine and my E/C eyes met his chocolate irises: I was melting into his gaze. "I'm sorry for leaving you without any announcement. I didn't want to bother you with sending a letter to your college... I know I should've told you about me moving to go to highschool. You must have thought that I didn't care at all, but I did. A lot." I shyly stuttered out. "Y/N, it's fine. I know there had to be a reason for not telling me about it, and I'm totally ok with it. Yes, of course I was a little angry, but I understand now." He said as he gently stroked my hair with one hand and held me tight to his chest with the other. "Now" he said slowly parting from me "what about we go somewhere and get pizza? Does that sound good?" My eyes started to sparkle with excitement. "Yes! It does!" I said as he smiled at me. Gosh, he's way too adorable.
As we made our way to his car i stared to think about something. Why the hell is he here? I thought to myself. "Hey Mark... Why are you here in L.A.?" I shyly asked. He stopped for a moment and looked at me. "Reasons." He said in a very serious tone as he opened his car which was just a few feet away, and we got in. He didn't say a single word during the whole ride, an neither did I: I didn't want to upset him even more. Just as he parked in front of the pizza place I decided to break the thin silence between us. "Mark, listen... I'm sorry if I got you upset, I didn't mean to. I was just curious." I said in what was almost a whisper. "I'm not upset, I'm just afraid of what you could think of me if I answer you... it also brings back some memories that I don't want to remember." He said as he turned his head away from me. "Why would I judge you?" I said as I flashed and encouraging smile for him. "Thank you Y/N for understanding... It's so great to have you back in my life, and in the moment I needed someone the most too." "It's great to have you back too" I smiled. "Well... I make youtube videos for a living, or at least I did. Now I don't know if I could go back..." "Why not?" " I don't really wanna talk about it now... Anyway, we should go, the pizza won't order itself!" He said as he wiped away a tear."Ow Mark... Please don't cry" I said and patted him on the shoulder. "I won't, I won't.." He said as he got out. I took away the safety belt, I gathered up my things and proceeded to place a hand on the handle to open the door. "Nuh-huh" he said from outside and opened it for me. "Thank you" I said as I smiled. He landed out his hand for me to grab, and I accepted it. The moment I placed my small palm in his large, warm one, his fingers tangled up with mine, pulling me up with great strength but also with great kindness. My heart skipped a beat as I was tripping on the small step of the sidewalk, but Mark was quick enough to catch me in his strong arms; his motion wasn't abrupt, it was gentle and almost loving. "Y/N, are you okay?" He said with a very worried face, which was illuminated by the faint street lights. As he looked straight into my eyes, he pulled a strand of hair behind my ear. I managed to stutter a "Y-yes", still into his arms. "That's great! Now let's go, I'm starving" he said as he pulled away from me and proceeded to go into the pizzeria to order some food. I was a bit sad that nothing else happened between us... it almost looked like one of those romantic movie scenes where the girl falls but gets rescued by her prince charming. It was the perfect moment for a kiss, but that would never happen, he would never have feelings for me the way I have them for him... "Hey Y/N, are you coming or not?" "Sorry!" I said as I followed him in.