The lights in front of the gas station store flickered. A moth or two danced around them. A young man stood beneath them, smoking a fag as the lights illuminated his two-toned hair. Before long, the cigarette reached its limit and the man crushed it underfoot. Running a hand through his hair, he opened the store door, setting off a bell that let the red-head at the counter know she had a customer. She looked up from her magazine and they made eye contact. She flashed a smile, "Lemme know when you're ready," and turned back to her magazine.
The smoker raised a single bushy eyebrow and looked the cashier up and down. Her red ponytail fell past her hips and her denim jacket hugged her curves. He read her nametag as he walked past. She glanced at him. He looked away.
He worked his way over to the alcohol section of the store, peeking over shelves of mixed nuts and assorted candies at the cashier, who was oblivious to his affections. Her calloused yet delicate fingers turned a magazine page. He wondered what those fingers could do. She ran her tongue across her lips. His mind raced, thinking a million things at once.
She lifted her gaze to him once more. He turned away yet again.
"Can I help you?" she called to him, a smile playing at her lips. He shook his head furiously and grabbed the first six-pack he saw. Adjusting his leather jacket and smoothing his eyebrows, he made his way to the register. She was waiting for him.
She tucked a strand of bright red hair behind her ear. She asked him where he was from and where he was headed. He asked how her hands got so calloused. Shooting. She did shooting. She asked for his ID. He looked on as she inspected his identification, reading his name and complimenting his picture. She scanned his item.
As he rifled in his wallet for the exact change, she asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yeah, actually… are you fr-?" He was interrupted by the store bell. Another customer walked in, "Hey, babe."
A tall, blue-haired man walked up to the cashier and pecked her on the cheek. She laughed and shoved him away playfully, "Not now, I'm with a customer."
She turned back to the smoker, "What were you saying?"
Of course she had a boyfriend. How could he have thought otherwise?
He cleared his throat, "Uh, can I get a pack of those cigarettes?"
He paid and she handed him his bag. Their hands brushed. She gave him a smile. He returned it.
On his way out of the door, he passed her boyfriend. He flashed the smoker a crooked smile, his red eyes flashing. He couldn't help but think, 'How the hell did this brute score her?'
The store bell rang again as he left. By now, it was a familiar sound. He jumped onto his motorbike and started it up. In the store window, he saw the cashier and her blue-haired counterpart necking. He shook his head and smiled to himself. Like I ever really had a chance….
Author's Note: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this (super short) one-shot. I figured I needed to get a story up on this account, so here it is: CaptainViral's first fiction! I wrote this in a fit of boredom. My sister, Viceroy Euphemia, and I chose to write one-shots for one another and this was the result.
The scene in the music video for "S.t.a.r.S." in which Yoko and Kamina are in a store together is what inspired this one-shot. That scene always gives me feels and I really wanted to write something for it eventually... and this is that thing. If you haven't watched S.t.a.r.S. yet, get on that! Please review!