Work Text:
The dusty bookshelves shook with every step Aleks took as he made his way behind the counter. They had been stuffed to the brim with secondhand literature for as long as this shop had been open. Aleks was a recent addition to A New Chapter - a local bookstore hidden in the downtown area of a small city. It was owned by a kindly old couple who were past their prime and needed someone to run the store for them.
Aleks had jumped at the offer. He took online classes and the owners allowed him to work on school as long as no customers were in the store. Unfortunately, that was more often than not as many people did not take the time to venture into bookstores much anymore - let alone secondhand ones.
Despite their economic challenges, Aleks loved his job. He got to meet interesting people and read more books than he could have ever imagined. He had found some real gems hidden in the nooks and crannies of the store and he always wanted to share them with someone. He supposed being an avid reader helped him find enjoyment in his job, because the long hours on his feet definitely took a toll. He was a bit older than the average college student, but sometimes the job made him feel much older than that. The owners sometimes joked that he was acting as old as they were when he would stop by their office to clock out. He would always smile and bid them goodbye, unwilling to admit that he didn’t ever get enough sleep to handle his workload.
He was their only employee so he spent 8 hours six days a week at the register, practicing his smile and small talk. Saturdays had to be his favorite day though, because that’s when most of the customers came through the doors. He once met a cat lady who wore a sweater old enough to be one of his classmates. She smelled of mothballs and tobacco, but she was pleasant enough and even called him a handsome young man. The compliment carried him through the rest of the day. He didn’t think she even remembered him, but he certainly remembered her.
His musings about his past experiences were interrupted when the doorbell jangled obnoxiously. He was sure that noise haunted his dreams; it was something that plagued him. He went to put on his usual “I-Love-To-Deal-With-Customers” face, but it relaxed into something much more natural once he saw who had walked in.
At first, the man didn’t appear to be anything special. He looked like any guy in his mid-twenties walking along the street, but it wasn’t his appearance that caught Aleks’ eye. Inexplicably, it was his presence. The dreariness of the rainy Thursday spent in a tiny, dark shop vanished into thin air. Aleks felt an instantaneous pull towards him and he secretly hoped that the guy would need recommendations or buy something.
“Hi, do you need help finding anything?” Aleks asked, hoping the slight crack in his voice was not nearly as noticeable as he thought it was.
The man turned around and grinned directly at Aleks. Aleks realized he might need to go sit down after this whole exchange, but he kept the smile on his face.
“Yeah, I was wondering if you had any suggestions on what to get? I’m not exactly a huge reader,” the stranger mumbled. He almost looked like he might be blushing, but Aleks couldn’t make it out in the dim lighting.
“Oh, uh, yeah, of course! I usually keep a list of books around here somewhere,” Aleks fumbled around his counter, and managed to trip over a stray pile of books tucked away on the floor underneath the register. He righted himself before anything more embarrassing could happen.
“Are you alright, uh….?” the man asked, sounding amused at Aleks’ antics.
“Aleksandr, well, actually, people call me Aleks,” Aleks responded awkwardly. He finally found the list he was looking for and he presented it to the man with a flourish.
“I’m James, thank you for your valiant efforts at retrieving this list,” James grinned again, all traces of embarrassment gone. Aleks always felt like he needed to go dig himself a ditch when he was embarrassed. Why did this guy get to act like he wasn’t embarrassed at all after a couple of minutes?
James retreated into the maze of bookshelves, haphazardly organized by author and genre. Aleks knew the setup by heart, because he spent many Sundays working overtime to put together the system. It wasn’t perfect; customers tended to shove books wherever they fit once they no longer wanted them. The hours Aleks spent reorganizing after close really added up. He hoped James wasn’t the type to destroy those hours of work, but he had only just met the man so he couldn’t say for sure.
James spent so much amongst the shelves Aleks wasn’t sure how much time had elapsed before he finally emerged. He had a stack ten books high - a good portion of Aleks’ list - and he dropped them on the counter. A cloud of dust flew from the yellowed pages and Aleks tried to suppress the immediate coughing fit. James wasn’t as immune unfortunately and he rasped out an apology.
“Didn’t realize that would happen; they aren’t kidding when they say these are secondhand. I think it might be more like fourthhand,” James joked.
Aleks offered a shrug in reply. He was used to the condition of the books here, and he kind of appreciated the old timey charm: dog eared pages and underlined quotes that left the new reader guessing what made those words so memorable to the reader before them.
Aleks spotted Lord of the Flies in the pile and he felt personal pride at getting a customer to pick one of his favorite novels. He realized it was excessively symbolic and perfect fodder for high school English teachers, but that didn’t change his opinion.
James caught Aleks’ stare and tugged the paperback free. It was a well-loved edition, clearly evident by the worn cover and coffee stains.
“One of the few I recognized from the list. My tenth grade English teacher made me read this. I hated it then and probably only read like the first two pages out of spite, but if someone like yourself is recommending it, I’m sure it will be worth my time,” James said, flipping through the first chapter.
Aleks let the “someone like yourself” comment settle and his smile grew a bit more. He wasn’t going to allow himself to entertain the fantasy that James might find someone like him attractive, but he seemed like a nice guy who meant what he said.
The rest of the transaction went without issue and Aleks watched James leave. The doorbell somehow sounded more melodic than it usually did, and Aleks decided he was also gayer than he usually was. God, who thought shit like that?
He could only hope that James would return, but he didn’t let those hopes get too high. He was one to get crushed easily in the end.
~
Aleks was luckier than he gave himself credit for. The bell had rung again and he had resigned himself to another odd customer when he recognized curly hair and a familiar stack of books.
“James, was it?” Aleks called out, trying to play nonchalant when he knew he had probably thought about James at least once a day. He was a sad, lonely man.
“I might know someone by that name,” James answered, setting the books down this time. No one needed a repeat of last month’s incident.
“Looking for anything else or just selling these back?” Aleks asked, already calculating the time it would take him to return the books to their shelves. He had nearly missed an exam because of work last time. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake like that again.
“I’ll probably pick up a couple more, but I won’t bother you,” James replied.
Aleks didn’t know how to say that he wished James would bother him, because he’s not a bother. He made the store a bit brighter and kept Aleks from being too down on himself. Aleks came to the startling realization that he sounded a lot like the protagonist of the romance novels his middle aged female customers loved so much.
The returned pile lay abandoned as Aleks rang up another customer who had wandered in after James. The exchange had been silent as the stoic elderly man appeared to eye him critically before snatching the bag from his hands without so much as a thank you.
Aleks belatedly realized that it was probably his tattoos that caused the man to be so harsh. He knew he had a lot of ink, but it wasn’t like he woke up one day and decided to get them. They were planned and hurt like hell, so he earned the right to display them.
A resounding crash echoed from the back of the shop and Aleks jumped slightly at the noise. A bookshelf was wobbling and an entire shelf of books had upended on top of a flustered James from what he could tell.
Aleks hurried out from behind the counter, hoping James was alright. He willed away the look of worry on his face as he made his way through the maze of shelves.
He found James seated upright and with the beginnings of a profuse apology on the tip of his tongue.
“Shit, I’m sorry, dude, I was trying to get this book out of the shelf, but I guess it got stuck to the back, and I underestimated my own strength,” James explained, holding the book in question up.
Aleks, realizing the biggest casualty was the bent cover of a novel that had already been marked down several times (really, who wanted a book about 35 ways to use pickles?), offered a hand to James.
“I can’t tell if it’s funny or not that we resemble the cover of this romance novel or not,” James pointed out, gesturing to a book that had landed near him.
The cover showed a damsel in distress splayed across the ground while a too-blond man stood above her with a helping hand.
Aleks laughed at that, surprised at his own reaction. He guessed he didn’t actually spend enough time with people his own age, preferring solitude or the company of the elderly store owners.
James took Aleks’ hand and heaved himself off the ground in a rather ungraceful fashion. Aleks let his hand linger too long in James’ and he yanked it away hastily. He turned his attention to the scattered books and almost startled when a book in his line of sight was picked up.
“I, uh, got this. You don’t have to help me,” Aleks said, more quietly than he meant to.
“Don’t be stupid; I’m the one who’s trying to wreck the whole goddamn place with my clumsiness. It’s only right I help pick up my mess,” James retorted.
“So how exactly do these go back?” he continued, attempting to arrange the books he already held.
That’s how Aleks spent the rest of his shift showing his favorite customer how he arranged the shelves. He had to hurry to the front a couple of times to check out customers, but he trusted James enough to keep everything organized.
“Hey, Aleksandr! Look at this,” James called out to Aleks after Aleks finished up with his last customer.
When Aleks reached the back of the store where James was hidden, he noticed the fantasy section was noticeably different. He typically alphabetized by author’s last name under each genre, but James seemed to take matters into his own hands.
“I made them rainbow,” James announced proudly like he had accomplished something far greater than arranging a shelf of books differently.
The books were still alphabetically in order, but James had taken it upon himself to arrange them by the color of their spines which definitely increased the visual appeal.
“How long was I up there working?” Aleks asked incredulously, knowing their fantasy section was one of the largest in the store.
James shrugged, “It’s not a big deal; I just like messing with random shit when I’m bored. Hope I didn’t fuck up anything in the process.”
“No, dude, this is really cool, uh, thanks,” Aleks replied, visualizing what the store would look like if he did it for every section.
“Alright, well, I think you’re about to close, right? I don’t want to keep you after hours,” James said.
“We are, but I don’t mind if you stay longer,” Aleks tried not to sound desperate, but James smiled at him anyway.
“I appreciate the offer, but I need to go feed my dog. She’s probably chewed up another goddamn Xbox controller. I don’t know why I thought a corgi puppy was a good idea, but here I am,” James gestured generally to himself.
“Okay, well, I’ll see you around?” Aleks asked hopefully, watching James leave.
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it,” James let the door jangle noisily behind him before he pushed back inside.
“Shit, dude, I didn’t pay for these books!”
Aleks waved him off though claiming it was payment for the impromptu work he did today. He’s sure the owners won’t mind, especially seeing that he basically ensured the return of a regular customer.
~
The third time James came to the store, Aleks almost knew to expect it. They had an easygoing sort of rapport going on between them now and they exchanged smiles when James walked in. Aleks noticed James’ smile looked shyer than usual, but he brushed it off as him reading too into things. Being an avid reader meant he often read too far into situations, looking for a meaning that usually wasn’t there.
“You’ve already gone through my entire list of recommendations, James, and I didn’t have time to find any more,” Aleks exclaimed when James came up to the counter.
“That’s alright, I think they’re just not really my type after all,” James set the books down with a flourish and looked back up at Aleks.
“Really? Then what is your type?” Aleks asked, confused. He was sure his recommendations covered a large enough span of genres to keep anyone interested.
“He’s standing right in front of me,” James grinned easily, enjoying the blush that rapidly spread across Aleks’ face.
Aleks looked for something to say, but he was entirely too flustered to come up with anything.
“I think it’s time we get you out of this dusty old bookstore and into some actual sunlight for once, yeah?” James laughed.
“I would like that,” Aleks found his voice again and returned James’ smile.
“If you aren’t busy now…?” James glanced around the empty bookstore.
“Um, yeah, let me go ask. I think I can get off,” Aleks fumbled to get around the counter and make his way back to the owners’ office.
“Is it okay if I get off a little early today?” Aleks asked in a rush.
Mrs. Hollingsworth lit up, “Oh, is James back? He’s quite a handsome fellow. I’m so happy for you, dear!”
Aleks looked like he was about to say something when Mr. Hollingsworth interrupted, “Son, we could both tell. You’re horribly obvious. Go have fun. Live a little. You’re young.”
Stepping outside of the bookstore made the name seem just a little more poignant. He was starting a new chapter and he was lucky enough to have James by his side.
James offered his hand and this time Aleks let his hand linger.
Maybe acting like the protagonist of every trashy romance novel A New Chapter stocked wasn’t so bad after all.