AN: This is my third one-shot, and so far I think they're going pretty well. I do have a chapter story in progress called "How Far Will You Go?" If any of you are interested in reading it. I'm always looking for feedback. Obviously the story is M3, because I love M3! 3
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It was a dull Saturday afternoon for Matt Parkman in late August. He had the day off from work for once in his life, and he wasn't doing anything. Most of the other officers went away on their day off, but not Matt. When he had even suggested taking a day trip to Mohinder, Mohinder had practically bitten his head off, ranting off on how busy he was with the company. Now, Matt had to suffer for Mohinder being busy by sitting around his apartment doing nothing. If he knew being at home was going to be so boring, he would've just gone into work.
Matt saw a flash of purple out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his attention to his right to see Molly standing a few feet away from him with an aggravated look on her fair features.
"What's the matter Molly?" Matt asked.
"School starts next week and I have nothing to wear!" Molly whined dramatically.
Matt peered over Molly's small frame to see her bedroom littered with clothes and he raised one eyebrow. "What do you call that stuff covering your floor?" He asked.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Matt! I can't wear any of that." She said impatiently.
"Why not? They still fit, don't they?" Matt asked warily.
"That's not the point! I can't go to school in last year's fashion! I have to get the latest! I have to be in! Do you want me to be a social outcast with no friends because I don't have any cool clothes?" Molly asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Molly, I doubt your friends would leave you just because you're not wearing the latest fashion." Matt said exasperatedly.
"You're right. They'd throw a charity auction for me, which would be even more humiliating."
Matt grinned. "How can that be humiliating when you get free clothes?"
Molly glared at Matt and Matt's grin faded. "Sorry." He mumbled.
"You can make it up to me by taking me shopping." Molly said immediately.
"Molly…" Matt protested.
"Matt…You're the one moping around because there's nothing to do. So shopping will give you something to do."
Matt was abou t to argue when Mohinder emerged from his room, muttering to himself in irritation and Matt instantly thought of an idea.
"Hey Mohinder, you look like you could use a break. How about you escape from your computer for a couple of hours and take Molly shopping?" Matt asked cheerily.
Mohinder whirled around, his eyes blazing. "NO!" He shouted, startling both Matt and Molly. "I took her shopping last year! It's your turn this time! Take my credit card, take me wallet, and take everything you want! Just leave me OUT OF IT!" Mohinder shouted, before slamming the door to his room again.
Matt blinked at the closed door. "Wow…He really needs to relax…" He muttered.
"So will you take me shopping or not? Seeing as Mohinder has a phobia of clothes stores all of a sudden…" Molly asked impatiently.
Matt sighed. "Fine." He said exasperatedly, standing up from the couch. "But I'm taking Mohinder's wallet with me." He said, grabbing Mohinder's car keys and wallet, checking out the cash before sticking it into his back pocket.
"Thank you." Molly said, before practically bounding out the door.
Matt rolled his eyes. "This had better not be as bad as Mohinder made it sound…" He muttered before following behind the little girl.
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Matt walked beside Molly as she hurried among the many pedestrians who were out and about20on this gorgeous day. Matt followed behind at a more leisurely pace, enjoying the warm weather. It reminded him of being back in California…
"Matt! Come on! I found the first store!" Molly shouted in front of a large building.
Matt shook his head with a smile at Molly's impatience, smiling at all the pedestrians who was all thinking how adorable Molly was, and how sweet it was that her father was taking her shopping.
Matt approached the store and was surprised by the door vibrating as these god-awful pounding noises resounded from the building.
"What store is this?" Matt asked, in disbelief.
"Abercrombie and Fitch." Molly said matter-of-factly, before opening the door, and after some struggling she managed to open the heavy door enough to squeeze in.
"…What?" Matt exclaimed, hurrying after Molly, his eardrums nearly exploding by how much louder the noise was inside. Was this actually music? Or was the store under construction? There was no way in hell music could be this loud…
Matt squinted, trying to also have his eyes adjust to the dimness in the building as well as the sudden loudness. After a minute, he spotted Molly, standing on her toes in front of a rack filled with jeans. Matt sighed, and hurried over, partly to help her and partly to get away from the half naked people in the large murals all over the store that were beginning to creep h im out.
"Do you need some help Molly?" Matt asked breathlessly.
"Hold these." Molly commanded, shoving a pile of jeans at Matt making him give out a slight 'oof' before she wondered over to a t-shirt display. Matt followed closely behind, careful not to lose here in this house of horrors.
"Molly…I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news…But isn't this place a bit too expensive for our budget?" He asked.
Molly laughed. "Don't worry, Matt. The jeans are twenty dollars off. See? They always have sales here." She said, waving her hand at him dismissively.
"Oh, I see. Well that's very responsible of you to check out the clearance…ONE HUNDRED SIXTY BUCKS FOR A PAIR OF FREAKIN' JEANS?!" Matt exploded, glancing at the price tag.
"Remember, they're twenty dollars off." Molly said.
"That is the twenty dollars off! These jeans are originally one hundred eighty bucks! And they're not even in good condition! They're ripped! How the hell can people pay good money on ripped jeans?! Can't they just cut the goddamn jeans themselves?! That way they don't have to waste money on destroyed jeans, and they can probably get them for twelve bucks! This is stupid! We're not getting these jeans!" Matt exploded.
Molly glared at him. "Matt, ripped jeans are in." div"I don't give a crap if they're in! You can rip the jeans you have at home if they're so "unfashionable", and that way you'll make them fashionable!" Matt exclaimed, beginning to return the jeans.
Molly hurried after him. Oh come on Matt!" She said, carrying a pile of t-shirts with her. "Think of the bargain! You're saving twenty dollars!"
"And I'm spending one hundred sixty on jeans that aren't even in decent condition! I'd rather pay that amount for jeans that are actually in tact!" Matt snapped, beginning to pile the jeans back on the rack.
Molly sighed in annoyance. "You want me to be an outcast don't you? You want me to be unhappy, is that it?"
Matt turned away from the rack, shaking his finger at her and replied, "Now don't go pulling the guilt trip on me young lady! We're not getting those jeans and that's final."
Molly pouted. "Fine. Can I get these t-shirts?" She said, holding up the little pile she had in her arms.
Matt glared at the pile. "T-shirts? It's turning into fall! T-shirts are for summer!" He said angrily.
"I can always wear a sweater over it." Molly said with a shrug.
"THEN WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT OF GETTING A T-SHIRT IF NOBODY'S EVEN GOING TO SEE IT?" Matt shouted.
"DON'T YELL AT ME!" Molly shouted back.
Matt gave out a sigh of frustration and took the pile from her. "How much are they?"
"Twenty dollars." Molly said.
Matt stared at her expectedly and Molly frowned. "What?"
"They're twenty dollars each?" He said in disbelief.
Molly nodded. "Yeah."
Matt could feel his blood begin to boil. "I see how they do it, they take twenty bucks off the jeans and have the t-shirts be worth twenty bucks so nobody loses out. These people are scam artists, I should have them arrested the mother…"
"…Matt? Are you going to buy me the t-shirts if you're not going to get me the jeans?" Molly asked.
Matt ground his teeth together and began to look at the t-shirts. "Molly!" He exclaimed. "These all say "Abercrombie" on it! It's the same exact t-shirt except in a different color!"
"But they're cool." Molly protested.
"Cool?! Again, you could just write "Abercrombie" on all of your plain t-shirts at home." Matt said exasperatedly.
"Are you going to buy me the t-shirts or not?" Molly asked, stamping her foot impatiently.
"No! This store isn't worth it! They're ripping us off! I know what they're up to, Molly! Don't fall into their trap." He said warningly.
"You're crazy. Mohinder's expecting us to come back with somethin g, and I need new clothes, and I want something from Abercrombie, so we're getting these t-shirts."
"Oh we are now?" Matt challenged.
"Yes." Molly said firmly.
"And if I say no?" Matt asked.
"I'll scream. And if you use your powers on me I'll tell Mohinder and he'll yell at you." Molly said with a smug smile.
Matt's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."
"I would." Molly said. "One…"
"I won't give in…"
"Two…"
"Molly, knock it off…"
"Three!"
Ten minutes later Matt emerged from the store with not only the t-shirts, but also with two pairs of ripped jeans just to shut Molly up.
"OK…" Matt said. "Let's go back to the car now." He said.
"We still have to hit three other stores." Molly said.
"Three other stores?! Wasn't Abercrombie enough?" He snapped.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Matt, don't you listen? I told you that I need clothes. Besides, why do you care anyway? You have Mohinder's cash and his credit card."
Matt opened his mouth to argue and then closed it. "That's true…"
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Matt was surprised that the second store Molly had dragged him into wasn't so bad. The prices were actually reasonable, and the music wasn't unbearably loud, and the store wasn't dark. However, nothing could prepare him for their third stop…
"This is it?" Matt asked in horror.
"Yeah." Molly said with a nod. "This is Hollister."
"Hollister? It looks like a freaking beach house…" Matt said, staring at the outside of the store.
Molly looked at Matt as if he had just sprouted a second head. "Yeah…" She said slowly. "Hollister was established in California, where beaches are, hence the beach thing."
Matt screwed up his face in confusion. "If it's beach themed, then shouldn't they only sell beach stuff?"
Molly rolled her eyes and tugged on his jacket sleeve. "Come on…" She said, dragging him into the store.
"No. Let's think about this…" Matt began, but realized Molly had all ready let go of his jacket sleeve. He looked around in confusion, realizing Molly was gone.
"Molly?" He asked, panic taking over. "Dammit…" He mumbled.
"Molly?" He called, walking towards what he thought to be an entryway. It was only after walking into it that he realized it was a mirror. "Shit…" He swore.
"Good afternoon sir!" A perky saleswoman said from behind him, starling Matt into nearly ramming into the mirror again. "Can I help you find something?"
"Does it look like /I I would shop here?" Matt snapped in annoyance, rubbing his forehead, all ready beginning to feel a bruise forming.
"Well, you do seem a little lost…" The woman said, a frown etched on her face.
Matt rolled his eyes. "You're brilliant, lady. How the hell do I get into the actual store?"
The woman pointed to her right and Matt noticed an entryway that actually appeared to have clothes there. Nodding at the woman, Matt made his way towards the entrance. He looked in and spotted Molly by shelves full of shirts and he began to make his way towards her, but he didn't notice the step so he ended up bumping into a mannequin as he tripped over himself.
He heard a group of girls giggle behind him, and he looked up to see Molly glaring at him. He glared right back and wondered over next to her.
"Don't give me that look. I'll march you out of this store right now!" He hissed.
Molly nodded. "I'm sure you will." She said sarcastically. "You know, it's a good thing we're not related. If I inherited your grace genes I don't think I ever would have survived…"
"Oh very funny." Matt said sarcastically, following Molly as she made her way down the long hallway full of clothes. "Listen, you have to start cutting out some stuff because I've all ready wasted a good six hundred bucks of Mohinder's money." Mat t said.
Molly nodded. "Uh huh." She said absent-mindedly, turning to the right, plucking out pieces of clothing on the way.
"Are you even listening to me?" Matt snapped, and jumped a mile when he found himself face to face with a window displaying a beach. Matt blinked at it and then realized it was some camera recording on the beaches of California. Matt pointed at it. "Now, that is just plain freaky." He muttered, turning his attention to following Molly and ramming his shoulder into the doorway.
"Son of a…!" Matt began, rubbing his shoulder.
"I'm done!" Molly said cheerfully.
Matt raised an eyebrow. "All ready?"
Molly nodded, holding up the stack of clothes. Matt rubbed his forehead. "Don't you think you should try some of that stuff on first?"
Molly frowned. "Why? I didn't at the other two stores."
Matt sighed, realizing she was right. "Well you took forever in the other two stores, and now it doesn't feel like we've been in here long enough. Plus I want to have the comfort of knowing at least some of the clothes fit."
Molly scrunched up her face. "You're weird, Matt. You have a problem."
Matt glared at her. "You're a girl, right? Aren't you supposed to like playing dress up?" He asked haughtily.
Molly cocked her head to the side. "That's k ind of sexist don't you think?"
"Are you going to try on the clothes or not?" He snapped.
Molly rolled her eyes, moving past Matt towards what he hoped was the dressing room.
"I want to see them, too." He stated quickly.
Molly stopped and very slowly turned around. "You want to what?" She asked slowly.
"I want to see how the clothes look on you. Either I see them on you or you don't get them." He said as Molly began to open her mouth in protest.
Molly muttered something incomprehensible before pointing at a leather bench. "Sit there, and don't move." She said exasperatedly.
Matt frowned. "Shouldn't I wait in there?" He asked.
"No…Because that's a girl's dressing room." Molly said with exasperation.
"Well yeah, but it's not like I'm going into the stall with you." Matt protested.
"Matt!" Molly snapped. "Just sit there." She hissed before storming into the dressing room.
Matt sighed and sat down to wait. About five minutes later Molly came out in a pair of denim shorts that were barely covering her, and she was wearing a pink camisole.
"You're kidding right?" Matt asked.
"What?" Molly asked angrily.
"Molly, first of all, you're wearing shorts when it's turning into winter. And second, those shorts are much too short for you. You're not getting those." He said.
Molly glared at him. "But there are going to be some hot days in September…" She said through clenched teeth.
"No." Matt said firmly. "You're not going to wear something like that to school, the teachers will think we're raising you to be a hooker!" He proclaimed.
Molly inhaled deeply and let her breath out slowly. "Can I at least keep the top?" She asked, pointing to the pink camisole.
"You're flopping all over the place, no." Matt said.
Molly balled her hands up into fists. "But Matt I'll be wearing something over it…"
"I don't care. Not to mention it has something red on it…" He said, gesturing towards something at the right bottom corner of the top.
Molly looked down at where he was looking and then slowly raised her head, her eyes blazing. "Matt…That's the logo for Hollister. It's a seagull. It's not a spot." She whispered, her patience slowly beginning to diminish.
"That's a seagull? No way. I don't believe it." Matt said, standing up.
"Well believe it." Molly muttered and then took a step back when Matt crouched down and leaned forward. "What are you doing?" She asked nervously.
"I can't believe that's a seagull…I'm ta king a closer look." Matt said, squinting at it.
"Are you trying to humiliate me? Believe me, it's a seagull. Now please get up and allow me to change out of this outfit which I'm not getting…"
"So that's a seagull…" Matt murmured, standing up slowly.
"YES MATT! IT'S A SEAGULL! IT'S A RED SEAGULL! NOW WOULD YOU PLEASE ALLOW ME TO GET CHANGED? WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER TO YOU ANYWAY BECAUSE I'M NOT EVEN GETTING THE STUPID TOP?!" Molly exploded.
"Molly, I don't like your tone…" Matt scolded.
"URGH!" Molly exclaimed, whirling around and stomping back into the dressing room.
Matt smirked, feeling proud that he was beginning to get the hang of this whole shopping thing when Molly emerged with her clothes and wearing her original outfit.
"What are you doing?" Matt demanded.
"I'm going over to the checkout counter." Molly said.
"But you haven't tried everything on yet." Matt pointed out.
Molly's eyes narrowed. "Matt, you're wasting my time, and you're wasting yours. I know what fits me. We are not wasting anymore time in these stupid clothes stores. We only have one more to go and then we can go home. And then you can admire all the seagulls on my shirts and pants." Molly said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Al l of your clothes have seagulls on it?!" Matt exclaimed in amusement, before following after Molly, tripping over another step along the way. As Molly explained the history of Hollister to Matt, Matt distractedly handed the cashier Mohinder's credit card, and signed, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just spent three hundred and seventy five bucks on clothes.
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Matt looked at his watch, unable to believe that they had been shopping for nearly three hours now. Matt had never spent so much time shopping in all his life. Or at least not all at once anyway. Now Matt was beginning to grow tired and the shopping bags were beginning to grow heavier as he followed Molly around the last store, American Eagle.
"Mohinder seriously brings you to all these stores every time you need new clothes?" Matt asked, looking at the price tags in wonder. Twenty-four dollars for half-decent jeans, fifteen dollars for shirts…Still not as bad as Abercrombie, but still pretty ridiculous.
Molly nodded. "Sure. The more expensive the clothes are, the longer they last, so he's perfectly happy with splurging on clothes because he knows they'll last longer." Molly said, tossing a pair of pants over her arm.
"I think I'm all set." She said.
"You sure you don't want to try any of these on?" Matt asked.
Molly nodded. "Positive. I know my sizes. Besides, I' m getting tired. I'm sick of shopping."
"And yet you wanted to go so badly…" Matt muttered, trading the bags for the clothes so he could go pay for them at the cash register.
Matt handed the cashier Mohinder's credit card, the total amount being two hundred dollars. Much better than Abercrombie…
"You know Molly, I have to admit, I feel a lot better knowing Mohinder splurges this amount of money on you…" Matt said, turning around to find Molly not standing at the shelf where he had left her.
He looked around and sighed in relief, noticing Molly talking to a boy…A rather cute boy…An older boy…
Matt's eyes narrowed and he quickly hurried over to Molly. "Molly, time to go." He said, gently pulling on Molly's arm.
"In a minute. Can't you see I'm talking?" Molly asked, shaking off his grip.
"I thought you wanted to go home." Matt reminded her, pulling on her arm a little bit harder this time.
"In a minute." Molly said through clenched teeth before turning back to the boy. "So what were you saying?" She asked sweetly.
"My band and I are performing at the Battle of the Bands. We're pretty sure we're going to win this year." The boy bragged.
"And you play the drums?" Molly asked.
The boy nodded. "That's right."0 D
"You know, I've always wanted to learn how to play the drums. I love them." Molly said flirtatiously.
"I could teach you if you want." The boy said, leaning forward.
Molly's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Let me give you my number…" The boy began, fishing out a sheet of paper from his pocket.
"I'm sorry. We're in a rush. Goodbye." Matt said quickly, dragging Molly out of the store and down the street.
"MATT!" Molly exclaimed, shoving off of him. "What are you doing? He was in a band!"
"He's a pervert!" Matt exclaimed.
"You really are out to ruin my life and make sure I have no friends!" Molly huffed.
"No, I'm just making sure you have no boyfriends." Matt clarified.
"I have to start dating sometime." Molly said angrily.
"Well, yeah, but not now." Matt said.
"Then when?"
"When you're thirty." Matt said.
"MATT!" Molly exclaimed.
Matt shrugged. "Sorry. That's my job."
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"You took her where?!" Mohinder shouted later that night.
"For the last time: Abercrombie, Aeropastle, Hollister, and American Eagle." Matt said exasperatedly.
"Who the hell told you to take her to those stores? " Mohinder shouted.
Matt glared at him. "Mohinder, you told me to go shopping with her. You freaked out when I asked you to take a break from work to shop with her…"
"…Because she's a terror! She grabs the first thing she sees and refuses to try anything on!" Mohinder exclaimed.
"Tell me about it. But I just took her to the stores you normally take her to, so I don't know what you're getting so upset over." Matt said.
"Where I normally take her? What the hell are you talking about? I take Molly to Sears, Talbots, and occasionally Macy's. And also that new store Justice. She loves that store. Where did you ever get the idea that I take her to those ridiculously expensive stores?" Mohinder demanded.
Matt frowned. "She told me you took her there. Because you said the more expensive the clothes, the better the quality."
Mohinder rolled his eyes. "You know, you make a pretty sucky mind reader, you know that? Molly pulls that one on me every time I don't buy her a piece of clothing over twenty five bucks." He said.
Matt's eyes widened. "You mean…The little devil tricked me?"
Mohinder nodded. "Apparently so. She's always begging me to go to those stores, because everyone shops there. But I always refuse because of how ridiculous the prices are." 0 A
Matt looked at Mohinder in shock. "We're raising an evil genius…"
"So what's the damage?" Mohinder asked.
"Huh?" Matt asked.
"The damage. How much money did you waste?"
Matt gulped. Right…About that…Um…The total is somewhere in the thousands. I want to say maybe one, one hundred fifty thousand at the most." Matt said, preparing himself for Mohinder's wrath.
"You…Spent…One thousand dollars on clothes? With my credit card?" Mohinder hissed, his whole body shaking with rage.
"Remember, Molly tricked me." Matt said quickly, moving so that there was him, the couch, the kitchen table, and then Mohinder between them.
"Where are the clothes?" Mohinder hissed, whirling towards Molly's room in a blind rage. "We're returning those clothes…" He hissed, stalking towards Molly's room, ready to kill.
Molly emerged from her room at that moment, a pair of scissors raised in triumph. "Guess what? I finally removed all the tags from my new clothes!" She said happily.
Mohinder's hands turned into claws, and he whirled on Matt, waving his hands at him in a strangling motion.
"Now, Mohinder…Calm down…" Matt said, backing away slowly.
"YOU STUPID IDIOTIC GOOD FOR NOTHING MORON!" Mohinder exploded.
"It's not my fault ! I'll pay you back! I promise!" Matt exclaimed.
"Oh yeah!" Molly said, interrupting Mohinder's pursuit in murdering Matt. "You were right Matt, some of the pants have to be altered. Can we go to the tailors' tomorrow?"
"I have to work tomorrow." Matt said apologetically.
"Oh." Molly said disappointedly before perking up. "Well then, Mohinder you can take me! I have to get all of my pants altered for the most part, so I think you'll have to spend close to five hundred bucks. That's not a problem, right?" Molly asked innocently.
"MATT! START RUNNING! YOU ARE DEAD! DO YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD!"
"You don't have to tell me twice…" Matt mumbled before bolting for the door.
The End
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AN: So the ending was a little out of character for Mohinder, but seriously, don't you think he would be that livid if he found something like that out? I know I would! XD Not sure how realistic this was…But I own nothing and I have nothing against any of those stores, they just made for a good plot (I actually shop at the majority of those stores!). Although the prices for Abercrombie's clothes at least were true from what I got from their website anyway. Please leave a review on your way out! Thanks for reading!