A/N: After years of reading, I finally decided to publish something of my own. Thank you to ChasingMyDreams87 for giving me that final push to upload this. You only really meet the OC's in this chapter, but all the guys come in later. This is real-verse, so I'm using the real people and personalities. By the way, Ryan is a girl! I'm really nervous about it, but I hope y'all like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you might recognize, only the plot and my OC's
Her head shook to the beat of the soft music as she made her way around the familiar corner, her lips softly mouthing and almost whispering the lyrics. She could easily say that she spent every waking moment at that very bookstore, and she wouldn't be lying in the slightest. It had always been her home-away-from-home, but that changed sooner than she dreamed it would.
She was a regular, and every employee knew her. They found out the store was closing down not a second before her, but no one could believe it. They all saw it coming, but no one thought of what would happen when the time finally came.
Walking up and down the aisles of the store brought back memories from the past 12 years that had been buried beneath the stacks of books. Seeing everything boxed up and ready to be shipped out made it feel real. She floated along, as soft and lifeless as a ghost, but she was snapped out of her trance when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned when she heard a familiar voice.
"Never believed it would actually happen, huh?" uttered the tall man standing in front of her, taking in the sight of the bookstore.
"It's finally sinking in. Alex, we've literally grown up here! How can it just..." Her voice trailed off as she turned away from her only real friend.
"I know, Ryan, I don't want to lose it either. Hell, working here was helping me pay for living. I don't know what I'm gonna do now."
"It's more than that. This place was my escape." Ryan was never a people-person, and Hooked on Books was her hideaway. There were never more than a few people, and most of them stayed out of her way. Unfortunately, that meant that the store wasn't making much money. It was only a matter of time before it had to be shut down.
"Who knows, maybe something will happen. Maybe we won't have to lose it." It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than convince Ryan.
"We both know it's not gonna last, why try and dream?"
Alex smirked, "Always a pessimist. And you wonder why I'm your only friend!"
That earned him a slap on the arm, but before she turned back around, he saw a hint of a grin on Ryan's face. The real reason was that he was the only one that made her feel happy. No one could make her genuinely smile, much less laugh, before she met Alex.
"Aww, come on now, babe. You know you love me!" His arms wrapped her up in a bear hug as she chuckled.
"Yea, sure, whatever you say, babe," she emphasized the last word and tied it all together with a roll of her eyes, but the smile was stillShe leaned her head back against his broad chest, and he lightly kissed the top of her head. The two of them had a closer relationship than most friends, but they made it clear to each other that the feelings were not romantic in any way. Even so, they teased each other with silly pet names, and they did boyfriend/girlfriend type stuff. It was just the way they were.
"Come on," Alex tugged his friend's arm. "We need to leave. It'll still be here for a few weeks. We can come back and reminisce tomorrow."
The smile that had been present on her face from the previous exchange faded, and she simply nodded and followed behind. She knew things would always be changing, but it seemed that only the good things disappeared forever.
She woke up the next day and dragged herself out of bed. She went through her regular morning routine which consisted of brushing her teeth in the shower, getting dressed, and shooting Alex a text. She completed each thing on her checklist and made her way out the door, holding a granola bar and a bottle of Gatorade in one hand and her phone in the other.
When she reached her car, she checked her phone, only to find that Alex still hadn't replied. To anyone else, that wouldn't be a big deal, but that was completely out of the ordinary for him. He usually responded by the time she was out of the shower. Just as she started where car, she got a message.
Get over here fast. I'm already at the store.
Not knowing what was going on, she pulled away from the curb and raced off. The drive was short, and when she got there, she saw Alex standing out front. By the time she parked, he was standing right next to her car.
"What's going on? Why didn't you wait for me pick you up?" She questioned as she noted the evident gleam in his stormy gray eyes. She quickly realized that his dark brown hair wasn't as orderly as usual, and instead of his uniform shoes, he was wearing his Vans. He was always very casual, but he still looked neat wherever he went. It became obvious that he had left his apartment that morning in a hurry.
"Someone bought the store."
The moment those words slipped past his lips, he broke out into a mile-wide grin. Ryan, on the other hand, looked stunned.
"But who would buy a run-down bookstore in the middle of Weston, Florida?"
"Umm, me?" Said a new voice. It was rich and smooth, but oddly familiar. Ryan recognized it, but refused to believe it was him until she looked up to find herself face-to-face with the short Latino.
A/N: I know, not the best way to end it. The first chapter revolves entirely around the OC's, but I promise, all the guys play major roles in the story. You'll see why the bookstore means so much to them later on in the story. I'm kind of scared about this. Please review, favorite, and/or follow if you want me to continue. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!