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Leah tied the laces of her boots, grabbed her vest, and headed out the door quietly. Surely this didn’t count as stalking, right?
No, it wasn’t stalking, just curiosity. Definitely. It was for her best friend, after all.
That’s what she told herself as she sat on a bench at the bus stop, innocently waiting for the vehicle to pull over and drop off the town’s newest resident for the first time.
Okay, just act normal.
Before she could cringe at the Hollywood movie humor type of situation she was in, Leah heard the bus stop in the road and open its doors. A few seconds later, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man step down from the bus’s door.
Leah looked down. Was this a silly thing for her to do? Everyone else was patient enough to wait until after he moved in to meet the new man, but Leah just could contain her curiosity. At the same time, however, she was beginning to feel nervous. What if he’s a really old man or something? What if he never comes into town? Or even worse—what if he doesn’t accept people like her and Elliott?
“Thank you for the ride, sir, have a nice afternoon.”
Leah almost jumped. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a soothing male voice before! she thought. Even she had to admit the voice was attractive—not high-pitched, but not too deep, and it sounded smooth, quiet, and calm.
Leah looked up for the first time.
Oh my god.
“Hey, It’s you!”
Leah looked behind her suddenly. Robin and Lewis walked down the path towards the bus stop, and the new man walked past her to meet them. While he did, Leah made some basic observations.
He was pretty average height for a guy, and almost as tall as Elliott. His hair was a pretty standard short male haircut with bangs, and it looked very soft, and had a nice chestnut-brown color. His eyes looked relaxed and calm, and had—Leah admitted—very gorgeous light-grey pupils. He looked very kind and gentle, but still masculine. He was a bit thinner-looking, but Leah could see that he had more toned muscles, at least on his arms. He wasn’t buff or anything by any means, but he at least looked like he could pick up some heavy stuff.
“Welcome to Pelican Town!” Lewis said enthusiastically. The new man shook both their hands and smiled.
“Thank you so much…Lewis, right? And you must be Robin?” he asked as he looked at each of them.
“That’s right, Lewis is our town’s mayor and I’m the carpenter around here.” They continued to chat for a bit, standing next to the farmland entrance. “I’ve fixed up your old grandfather’s place enough to make it livable again, but I’ve still got more work to do later on. Come on—let’s go check it out!”
The man followed them into the property. Before Leah saw them disappear into the plot of trees and stones, Lewis asked him a question.
“Wait, what’s your name? We ought to know that, right?” He and Robin laughed a bit, and the man apologized for not saying it sooner.
“Oh, my mistake,” he said as he placed a hand on his chest. “My name is Bjorn.”
“Oh! That’s a gorgeous name!” Robin said before they stepped into the dark forest.
Leah couldn’t help but stare into the forest a full minute after they had left. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. There she was minutes ago, worrying about what kind of person the new guy would be, and then out of the bus comes probably the most kind and peaceful man she had ever seen. Well, other than Elliott.
Worth it? Oh yes, this was definitely worth her time.
Leah had to have an emergency meeting with Elliott ASAP.
“Elliott! Elliott! Come out here!”
It’s no use, she thought. He was probably taking a walk through the woods near the waterfall like he did occasionally. Of all the times to finally leave your house, it’s now?
“Where were you all day?!” Leah asked rather loudly as she sat with Elliott at their table in the Stardrop that night.
“I was out on a stroll through the woods? Goodness—is something wrong?” he asked, confused.
Leah sighed. “I wanted to talk to you about—” Suddenly she paused. The saloon got quiet as a certain new customer came walking through the doors. People started saying ‘welcome’ and ‘hello’ to them, and when Elliott heard an unfamiliar voice answering them, he looked up. It was the new resident.
Elliott was afraid he wouldn’t be able to look away.
“That’s what I wanted to talk about. I saw him come into town today and got his name.”
Elliott replied, his eyes staying focused on him. “You spoke to him?”
“No, I just eavesdropped."
Elliott looked back towards her with a disappointed look. “Let me guess…for my sake?”
“Of course,” Leah said with a smile. To her surprise, a faint blush was forming on his face. He took a sip of his drink. Before he could set down his cup, Leah was screaming across the table.
“Hey! Come here!”
Elliott almost choked.
Bjorn approached the table. “Oh hey, you were the person sitting at the bus stop this morning,” he said calmly, smiling. Leah could feel Elliott's scowl, so she quickly began talking again, changing the subject.
“Haha…yeah. I’m Leah!” She held out her hand, and he shook it.
“I’m Bjorn.”
Bjorn looked down at Elliott. “Who’s this?”
Elliott seemed to be frozen, so Leah spoke up for him. “This is Elliott. He’s my closest friend in Pelican Town.” That being said, she still didn’t want to risk Bjorn thinking that she and Elliott were dating. “He is like a brother to me.”
Bjorn smiled. “That’s nice. I hope that I can make some close friends here, too.”
He looked over his shoulder at the counter. “I think Gus is done making my food. I’ll see you two around town, then!” Then he turned around and left, sitting at the bar and eating while saying hello to others.
Leah looked at the hiding and embarrassed Elliott in front of her.
“Sooooo…” she started. “What do you think? I think he’s pretty cute, and he looks nice. Hey, are you oka—”
Elliott held a hand up to stop her. “I just…wasn’t expecting him to be so stunning…”
“So he is your type! I knew it as soon as I saw him. So, when are you going to talk to him?”
“Whoa, we just met him! I was just…momentarily captivated by his beauty. Just admiring his appearance, as one does.”
“Mhmmmm,” Leah hummed as she took a drink, a smirk on her face.
Elliot looked back up, smiling. “Hmm, maybe I’ll be more inspired to talk to him If you talk to a girl that’s your type,” he said sarcastically.
“Don’t push your luck.”
“Wow, this pizza is really great,” Bjorn said happily.
Gus chuckled. “Thank you. Sam orders one of these every week I’d say, so I’ve become quite skilled by now.”
Bjorn picked up another slice. Pizza from here is way better than the pizza joints in the city, he thought. As he ate, he saw someone walking towards him. He turned towards them.
“Oh, hello Elliott,” he said smiling.
Elliott blinked a few times, a nervous look on his face. “I apologize for not properly introducing myself. Yes, I’m Elliott. I live in the cabin on the beach. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bjorn.” Bjorn could see Leah laughing at Elliott from afar, which almost made Bjorn laugh as well.
Bjorn offered to shake his hand, and Elliott accepted it. “It’s okay, Elliott.”
Elliott sighed in relief. “Thank you, really.” He paused, looking down. “I’m not very outgoing, to tell you the truth.”
“I understand.” Then Bjorn laughed quietly before he spoke again, quieter than before. “I can be the same way.”
“O-Oh! Is that so!” Bjorn smiled at Elliott’s now joyful expression. His way of speaking was nice, too. Elliott turned around a bit back towards him and Leah’s table. “Well, I’ll leave you to your meal. I’ll see you around, I suppose.”
“Yes,” Bjorn answered, waving. “Have a good night!”
Elliott waved back. “Ah, yes! Goodnight to you as well!”
Bjorn faced the counter again, picking up his slice of pizza again, and he smiled. He could’ve swore that he heard Elliott grumbling at Leah as he sat back down near her as she continued laughing.