Ava Ire was working at a florist during the summer going into her junior year. She was a small, quiet girl with a natural green thumb. The shop was small but cared for, the owners an elderly couple. The two had taken to Ava, saying she was the spitting image of their daughter. The woman, Ruby, ran the shop most days but sometimes her arthritis would hit her hard and she'd go home early, leaving Ava to watch the shop. It was one of those days and Ava was posed on a stool, working on a particularly intricate bouquet for some woman's anniversary when she heard the chime of the bell on the door.
"Welcome to Ruby's Roses! I'll be with you in a moment," she called out. Dated music played as she slipped a few purple irises to rest amongst the bright sunflowers she was working with. Ava could hear the footsteps as the customer walked around the shop, probably taking in all the different flowers, bouquets, and arrangements the shop held. She stepped down from her stool and seemed to disappear behind the tall counter and the giant bouquet. Walking around to the front of it, she wiped her hands on the half-apron she wore around her waist. The customer was facing away from her, inspecting some calla lilies. He was definitely tall with short, dark hair. He wore a plain black shirt with dark grey jeans.
"Can I help you, sir?" He turned around quickly, looking a little lost.
"H-hey, I was wondering if you c-could help me find s-something my sisters might like." He scratched the back of his neck, blushing as if embarrassed to be asking for help.
"What's the occasion? Birthday, graduation, what? You also said 'sisters'?" Ava asked, shuffling her feet.
"O-oh yeah, th-three of them. T-triplets turning thirteen. I'm n-not even sure th-that they'd like flowers though. I've j-just sorta run out of ideas," he explained, looking defeated.
"Hm. What are they like? Maybe we can find something for each of them today," she said with a smile.
"One of th-them is s-sorta girly. She likes t-typical girl things like n-nail polish and make-up a-and perfumes but she likes to b-be different? She's weird. Then R-Raven doesn't like v-very fancy things, sh-she prefers simple things. A-and the last one is k-kind of an enigma. Oh. Th-they all love purple though." He ended with a shrug. He asked her, "What w-would you suggest?"
"Well," she replied, drawing out the word as she bounced around the shop looking for what she had in mind, "if the first likes girly things but likes to be different, I think a bundle of lavender would be a good choice. Purple carnations for the simple one, definitely. I'm not sure about the last one though. How's this sounding so far?"
"Good enough for m-me," he said, smiling, "though I-I'm not the best at gifts."
"That's two down. What about the third? That leaves her out," Ava wondered out loud. She mentally took stock of what was in the store and what was still out in the greenhouse.
"What about y-you, what's your favorite f-flower?" That caught her off guard.
"Well, um, I guess it would have to be the pansy. It's cute and small but not overly simple."
"Can p-pansies be purple?"
"Why yes they can! We carry those as well. So pansies it is?" She was blushing slightly. No one had ever asked Ava what she prefered.
"Pansies it is then," he said without stuttering. He was smiling down at her which made her blush even more when she noticed it. She rushed around to the register and starting to ring up the order.
"Not qu-quite tall enough to r-reach on your own, huh?" He joked, laughing softly to himself. "H-how old are y-you anyway?"
"You don't just ask a girl's age before even knowing her name!" She huffed.
"Al-alright then, what's your n-name?"
"...It's Ava. I'm seventeen by the way! Not that it's any of your business." At that, she stuck out her tongue in a childish gesture.
"Y-you look twelve," he taunted.
"Yeah? Well how old are you Mr. High and Mighty?" Ava scoffed.
"I'm nine-t-teen," he replied as if he had won some battle. Ava was silent for a moment.
"Why haven't I seen you around school then..." She trailed off:
"It's Odin. A-and my family just m-moved here. I'll b-be enrolling in the f-fall," he answered.
"Oh. Well. I guess that explain it." She finished up the order and he payed, both actions done in silence. "Do you want those delivered or will you pick them up here at the shop when they're ready?"
"I"ll p-pick them up. W-when should I come by?" He asked as he tucked away his wallet into some hidden pocket in his jacket.
"We'll have them ready tomorrow morning at around seven, if that's okay. I open shop alone usually but Ruby or Daniel will be here if I'm in the greenhouse. If you need anything extra we'll be happy to help!" The way she lit up with talk of work, you could tell Ava really put in her all with her job. Odin couldn't help but smiling as he noticed this.
"Al-alright, I'll see you tomorrow th-then, Ava."
And with that he was gone, the bell on the door marking his departure.