Sundresses. Jeans. Tank tops. Cardigans. Trench coats. All of these names made Crona's head spin. Of course they have seen people dressed in similar clothes, but seeing so much at once and named so weirdly was too much. In just a few days, they will have to go to a store to pick out some new clothing. There will be people - strangers, so many strangers - and... They will have to decide from similar pieces of clothing as there are on the pictures. To tell the truth, they didn't like any of them. It was either too fancy, too colorful or showing too much skin.

Their shaky fingers turned the page. High-heeled shoes. Polka dot skirts. Faux leather jackets. It just didn't make sense. Why was fashion such a big deal? Why did people take the time to come up with these names? Crona would gladly keep wearing their old but familiar robe, except... They promised Maka.
They promised that they will get some more clothes just because of the look on her face when she said, with concern, that handwashing the robe everyday is a lot of work and asked what would they do if it tore. Her slight pouting and slouched posture made Crona's heart melt completely and they gave in.
And now, they were dealing with the consequences.

Maka picked out a few fashion magazines for Crona to look through, just to get a general idea of what current fashion is like - and they didn't understand it much. They liked their robe. It was old-fashioned but comfortable and it didn't bring unwanted attention. In the magazines, everyone was wearing bright colors and smiling widely. This didn't speak to them at all.

However, it was just the preparation. Maybe the actual shopping will be better.

Maybe.

The only sound they could focus on was their racing heartbeat. The typical noise that's always present at the mall seemed unreal. Unreal, unimportant, in the distance.

They put their hands around their neck, eyes wide with fear. I can't breathe. The pain in their chest was too much. They were trembling. O-Oh god, I can't breathe. They didn't notice the weirded out looks passersby were giving them, nor how sweaty their palms were, nor Maka's voice as she asked if they are alright. All they could feel was the panic.

They finally gasped for air when she shook them, pulling them a little out of the trance. They started hyperventilating now, but it felt way better than not being able to breathe. Their chest still felt so, so tight, and their knees gave out on them. But they could breathe.
Maka pulled them up and pushed them towards the side of the corridor. It wasn't the best, but at least it was a little more quiet there.
,,Come on, come on. Breathe. Breathe slowly. I'm gonna count and you'll breathe with the rhythm, alright?" She put her hand on his shoulder. ,,It's gonna be alright."
They gave a weak nod. Her hand was calming, reassuring. They mechanically inhaled and exhaled to Maka's counting. It's gonna be alright.
Eventually, they have calmed down. Biting their lip, they looked up to Maka from their previous slouching, half expecting to see an annoyed expression for having to deal with them. Instead, they were greeted with a warm smile.

I could get used to this.

,,So, is everything alright now? Do you feel better?" Maka turned her head to look at Crona. She was slowly walking towards a store, holding their hand to make them feel safer (and keep them from running away, though that wasn't really needed anymore).

They turned away to hide the gray-ish tone that was creeping up to their cheeks. ,,Y-Yeah. I'm really sorry you had to go through that. It's just, there were so many people and I-I'm still not used to crowds and-"
,,It's okay, of course!" the cheerfulness in her voice got to Crona as well. They turned back to her with a shaky smile, not caring that she's gonna see the blush anymore. It didn't matter, since this was Maka, and they knew Maka would like them no matter what.