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When Celes clocked in for her shift, she wasn’t really expecting anything out of the ordinary. A few newbie customers, probably a few regulars stopping by for a chat, that one person that loves to stir up issues only to walk out not buying anything.
It’s become somewhat of a hobby at this point, watching the people that come in. Most of the time, the people that come in are pretty standard, but considering the type of hobby this was… well, it was inevitable that it would attract a few characters.
Which is what the person who walked right in was.
Celes doesn’t pay much attention to them at first. She watches them, sure, her eyes following as they look through the recording equipment on display, waiting to see if they’ll get something (or worse, steal something).
And then they lock eyes.
And then he’s (she’s?) moving towards her. She straightens her posture a little, already preparing for them to ask them about the products they were looking at. But instead, she gets hit with this:
“Oh my gosh, hi!” He starts, his eyes practically sparkling as he sees the finer details of her outfit even more up close. “I couldn’t help but love your outfit! Really captures the alt girl vibe, y’know?”
Wait, what? The surprise is clear on her face. “Oh, uh… thanks.”
“The chains are such a look! Are they connected to your choker?”
Subconsciously, she reaches up to feel the chains resting on her neck, the fluster in her chest creeping up higher and higher to her shoulders. “They aren’t.”
“Oh! I don’t know if you meant it to be a statement piece, but it really screams a lot! In a good way, of course. Your jacket also really ties in with the look!”
She shifts slightly. This wasn’t how she expected any of this interaction to go. She ends up simply standing there in stunned bafflement, getting increasingly more and more flustered by the barrage of information. It
“Wait, oh my gosh! I think I have the exact same eyeliner as you! That’s from [brand], right? I love that shade so much, it’s great for a clean finish! That eyeliner with your smoky eyeshadow really makes it pop even further!”
The pause doesn’t click until there’s silence for a few seconds. Celes blinks, and she realizes that he was clearly waiting for her reply. Somehow, she manages to school her reaction into something that could be considered as neutral.
“Yeah, it… is.” She manages to say.
Despite the deadpan response, he only seems to brighten even further at her reply.
“I knew it!” He squeals. “Your makeup is so on point, you have to give me pointers sometime!”
Funny he says that; she’s pretty sure his makeup looks just as good already. But she does give him a small nod despite herself.
“Sure, sometime.” She peeks over behind him where the person he was with was starting to come closer to the counter. “Um, maybe while I’m not at work…?”
That snaps him out of it. He quickly nods, a moment of sheepish expression fleeting over his face. “Right! Yeah, of course!” He clears his throat, stepping aside just as the other man approaches the counter, allowing Celes to, well, do her job.
It doesn’t escape her notice though, how he keeps staring at her with a sense of awe in his gaze. Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel like she’s been uncomfortably ogled at—more like a kid who’s just seen the world’s biggest ball of candy.
“Cool, I think I’m good then. Ready to go?” His friend asks, and that seems to snap him out of it.
“Oh! Yeah, yeah, I’m good!”
He turns back to Celes, and he gives her a sheepish smile. “It’s really cool to meet you,” he says. “I’m Carnel, by the way.”
She takes his outstretched hand in hers. “Celes.”
It’s a lot warmer than she expects.
Since that day, Celes can’t think of a day that Carnel hasn’t been in the shop. Not that she complained; having someone to talk to during the slower times in the store has definitely made the time go by faster.
The more time they spend together, the more Celes finds herself opening up to Carnel. It starts out slow at first; Carnel’s mostly the one who talks, but he doesn’t seem to mind. But slowly, surely, his friendliness just has a way of lowering down her guard, and their friendly banter begins to shift into something more for Celes.
A crush. It’s been a while since Celes has felt these sort of feelings for someone. But she simply can’t help it; Carnel had a way of drawing out that feeling of being special, even if she knew that he acted this way with everyone else.
It’s one of those days where the minute Celes flips the open sign, Carnel is already walking through the door, smile wide as always. He’s dressed in a cropped halter top with low rise jeans, complete with the hat and boots to match, his makeup designed to match that early 2000s vibe.
“Hey!” Carnel greets, voice chipper as ever. “You are looking on point as always! Love the jacket and black lipstick today; it super brings out that fierce yet mysterious look!”
She can’t help but smile. It felt nice to be complimented, sure, but his compliments were always pointing out something specific about her outfit. She felt seen, and for once, it wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest.
“Thanks,” she says, “your Y2K makeup really brings out your eyes.”
Carnel’s eyes go wide. For a moment, Celes is worried that she’s said the wrong thing, but he quickly grins, the surprise in his eyes shining with pride. She swears she can see him blush, even.
“Aww, thank you so much!” His grin takes up half his face. “I was a little worried that it wouldn’t blend well, but hearing you say that really makes me feel better.”
He leans on the counter, hand on his chin as he looks up at her.
“So, are you free this weekend?”
If Celes had a drink, she would have spit it out in front of her. Instead, she chokes on air, and her head can’t whip around fast enough to stare at him.
“What?”
Carnel laughs, that same bright, free laugh that she’s come to enjoy hearing so much. “There’s like, a makeup sale at the mall this weekend, I was thinking we could go window shopping!”
Ah. She lets out a sigh of relief. It was just for window shopping, no big deal. It’s just a friend thing. People go out with their friends, right? Nothing to worry about.
Still, there’s just the slightest hint of disappointment that she buries deep within her before she speaks. “Really? Yeah, sure, I’d love to go.”
Somehow, Carnel’s face lights up even more. “Great! It’s a date then!”
It’s a miracle that Carnel doesn’t comment on the flush on Celes’s face as he tells her another story from before. Celes is sure it’s an interesting story, but she’s only half listening as the word date rings in her ears over and over.
Even hours later, when they both say their goodbyes, when Celes clocks out of her shift and heads home, when Celes comes home and lies on her bed, the promise of tomorrow being a date still lingers in the back of her mind.
Date.
She’s going on a date.
Don’t be stupid, she tells herself, he meant it in a friends way, right? There’s no way he’d see me as anything more. He’s just friendly. Really, really friendly. And sweet. And thoughtful. And…
God, help her. She spends the rest of the night trying desperately to calm her racing heart and mind, all until her mind finally falls asleep.
When she awakes, she spends more time than usual planning out her outfit. Should she try to look more cutesy? Cooler? Have a more edgy vibe? Outfit after outfit, she tries them on, but she soon gets frustrated that none of them are quite what she’s looking for.
A buzz from her phone distracts her from her frustration, and she finds a text from Carnel.
“Hey! I’m on my way! :D Let’s meet by the East entrance?”
Shit. She quickly types back, “Cool, that works for me. See you then.”
She looks at the pile of outfits again and she sighs. When did she care so much about what other people think? She takes a deep breath, steadying herself before she decides to go with an outfit that she herself wants to wear, and no one else.
30 minutes later, she’s just arrived at the entrance when she spots Carnel, dressed in his usual gyaru style, waving at her excitedly.
“Hey, sorry, I hope I didn’t make you wait too long.”
“Not at all!” He chirps, and she lets out an internal sigh of relief. “I just got here. Come on!” Without any sort of hesitation, he loops his arm around Celes’s, pulling her along with him.
Time passes by quickly as they stop by store after store. Clothes, jewelry, just about anything that catches their eye, they go to check it out.
When they head to the makeup section, Carnel’s eyes light up like a child at Christmas, immediately moving to check out the various items for sale.
He’s not afraid to try them out, too. When she glances over to him after a few minutes of looking around, she sees him trying out a gorgeous purple shade of eyeshadow.
She watches him expertly apply it on for a moment before he turns his head and catches her, that same grin that makes her heart skip a beat on his lips.
“Come here! I found this super cute eyeshadow and I think it’ll look great on you!”
She finds herself moving towards him before she could even really think (not that she was against it, anyway). With a gentle hand, he tilts her head upwards closer towards his.
“Hold still,” he murmurs, working on her eye. For a good two minutes, she freezes, all but holding her breath as she’s suddenly so close to him. Her heart feels like it’s about to burst out of her chest.
But all too soon, he pulls away, and though it feels like she could breathe again, she can’t help but feel a disappointment wash over her, already missing the contact.
He looks like he’s about to say something when an elderly couple suddenly shoves themselves in between them.
“The youth today,” one of them sneers, her sharp eyes glaring daggers as she looks them both up and down, “dressing so inappropriately. A young lady should dress more modestly, not look like some woman on the street.”
Here we go. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has stared at her attire, and unfortunately isn’t the first time someone has come up to her unsolicited, so Celes readies herself up to simply ignore him when she hears the rest of his words.
“Look at the way that man dresses!” The older man scoffs. “Don’t you know how a man is supposed to look, boy? You look ridiculous! You gay people are always ruining the space, looking like that in public!”
Carnel’s eyebrows raise. It’s not his first time having to deal with people like this either, but the sudden attack caught him off guard, and he’s at a loss for words.
Before he could speak, though, Celes’s voice cuts through. There’s clear fury in his eyes; who the hell does this guy think he is?
“Excuse me? And who are you, exactly?”
The older man glares at her. “I’m just a concerned citizen!”
“The only thing you should be concerned about, old man, is how close you are to death!”
That actually shocks him, flinching backwards as her words cut at him, but he quickly bounces back with his own anger.
“You kids are so damn rude nowadays!”
Celes growls. “You’re the rude one, coming up to us while we’re minding our own damn business! And who cares if we’re dressed like this, huh? We’re allowed to dress however we want, just like you! He looks amazing in his outfit; what about you two? Faceless nobodies in the crowd.”
As she finishes, there’s a silence between them as the older couple rushes away—whether it was to avoid further confrontation or out of embarrassment, it didn’t matter as long as they were out of her sight.
She’s still breathing heavily when she feels a hand on her shoulder.
“Come on,” Carnel murmurs, moving her away from their spot that’s attracted several onlookers (that are pretending to have not heard or seen anything). “Let’s get out of here.”
“I’m sorry,” she says once they’re in a more private area, “I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”
He shakes his head. “It’s alright, I was more worried about you popping a vein,” he jokes, giving a small chuckle. He pauses for a moment before he continues, his expression a mix of concern and awe.
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to do all that for me,” he says. This has probably been the most apologetic she’s ever seen him, her heart tugging at the sight.
Celes shakes her head. “No, I had to. He was so rude, saying all those things about you. You look amazing, and I couldn’t stand having someone speak about the person I like like that.”
The words make both of them freeze. Did she really just… say that? She tries to not melt in a puddle right there and then; this was not how she wanted her feelings to be known, if she even wanted it to be known at all.
“Fuck, sorry, that’s not what I—”
“You like me too?” He asks, his voice barely a whisper. The surprise is clear on his face, but it’s quickly being replaced by the giddiest grin Celes has ever seen on anyone.
“Celes, god, I’m so glad you told me,” he says, his body shaking from what Celes assumes to be excitement, “I have to be honest, I really like you too. I’ve liked you since the first moment we talked; you were just so cool, and you were so pretty, and…”
He stops, letting out a chuckle. “I’ve been hoping that you’d let me get to know you more and open yourself up to me, if you’re willing.”
Celes doesn’t know what’s stopped: her mind or the earth beneath her. “Are you asking me out?” She asks blankly, still trying to process the words to catch up to her.
Carnel laughs, and he takes her hands into his. “I’m asking you to be my partner, Celes,” he says. “If you’d like me to be yours.”
Is this a dream? It… no, it couldn’t be, right? But it all feels like a dream. Her heart is pounding in her chest, and she feels like she’s about to pass out, but she musters up the strength to nod.
“I do,” she answers, half breathless.
Carnel cheers, and he pulls her into a tight hug. “Thank you! Oh, thank you so much! I’ll take good care of you, I promise!”
Celes nods, and she returns the hug, everything slowly finally coming to her senses. “I know you will,” she murmurs back.
When they pull away, he has the goofiest grin on his lips, taking her hand into his.
“How about we keep looking around? There was this really cute lipstick I wanted to get!”
Despite the whirlwind of emotions that’s just happened, she laughs. “Sure. Maybe we can try it out later, too?”
Carnel’s eyes widen at what she’s implying, and he nods eagerly in response.
“What are we waiting for, then?! Let’s go!”
And so, as Celes is pulled along, she knows in her heart that she’s going to be pulled along for the ride even more in the future… and she’s more than willing to run along.