Summer in America was in its prime, the birds were singing, the sun was shining, and Alfred F. Jones was dying. Well, figuratively that is.
The heat pounded down on his head as he lay on the cool grass of Central Park, trying to absorb the cold of the dirt into his being. He groaned loudly, and rolled around on the grass. He was going to die a sweaty mess out here, he just knew it!
He pulled his phone out from his back pocket, and checked the time. Noon. He still had an hour and a half to wait for his brother Matthew!
He groaned loudly, receiving several glares from passers by, but he paid them no attention.
"Dude I'm going to die out here." he said to no one in particular. As he melted silently into the grass, he couldn't help but overhear a child talking to her mother.
"Mommy! The ice cream bus is just up ahead! Can I have some please?" she asked excitedly.
"Since you've been such a good girl today, why not?" Her mother answered kindly.
Alfred listened to the little girl's cheers as she walked away before it dawned upon him. Ice cream. Ice. Cream. A delicious and refreshing way to ensure that he doesn't die of heat stroke!
He scrambled to his feet and excitedly took his wallet out the back pocket of his baggy faded jeans, flinging it open before coming across a crumpled twenty dollar bill.
"Somebody up there is looking out for me!" he beamed. He made his way over to the ice cream bus, which had a fairly long lineup. Alfred didn't mind however, he figured that he could wait a little longer for sweet creamy relief. He bounced on his tippy toes while he scrutinized the flavor board. He quickly decided on birthday cake, for it was the clearly superior choice.
Alfred let his mind wander, barely noticing as the line moved forward until he heard somebody clear their throat expectantly.
"Can I help you?"
Alfred snapped out of his reveries and turned towards the cashier.
"Yes plea-" he said before he stuttered, completely forgetting how to talk.
Before him was the most handsome man he had ever seen. He had ruffled, but soft looking golden blond hair, and beautiful emerald green eyes. He had noticeably huge eyebrows, but Alfred thought they made his pouty face look absolutely to die for.
"Hello? I'm sorry but I can't wait all day." he said huffily, and Alfred practically swooned when he heard his English accent.
"Uhh.. Do you sell ice cream here?" Alfred asked before he could stop himself, face burning red. God, he must've sounded so stupid! Alfred wanted to face palm himself so hard he'd get a concussion.
The cashier just looked at him with a smirk before answering curtly.
"It is called the ice cream bus, I would advise you to order fast as you've been holding up the line for a while now."
Alfred turned around to see the large lineup that had accumulated behind him.
"S-sorry. Can I have a regular birthday cake please?" he stuttered, thankfull that he had managed to speak semi normally. As the cashier went to the back to retrieve his ice cream Alfred tried not to stare at his ass.
Of course today of all days he was going to run into hot foreign boys! He was probably gross looking from all the sweating and he looked like a total idiot. Alfred groaned and facepalmed loudly.
"There you go, that'll be $4.50 please." The cashier drawled, startling Alfred who still had his head in his hand.
"THANK YOU, HERE IS MONEY!" Alfred yelled, throwing the twenty dollar bill on the counter. Alfred's face went blood red and he didn't even stop to say sorry as he took off down the path, leaving a startled, but amused Brit behind. He smiled softly as he rung up the order, grateful that he could put all the extra money into tips.
Alfred ran pell-mell through the crowd, dodging his way through the afternoon traffic of the park. He made his way to the hedge maze, and dived into the bush, miraculously not losing a single drop of his precious ice cream. Fumbling through he branches, he crawled through the bushes until he was in the perfect spot to see the bus, and the cute cashier.
Trying to convince himself that he wasn't being creepy, he ate his ice cream in silence as he observed the man through the hedge. He loved the way his hair seemed to set itself on fire in the sunlight, and how his eyes were clear like water, and how he could tell exactly what the Brit thought of each customer that he served.
Alfred turned it into a little game, he enjoyed guessing about what the man felt; when a pair of loud twins made their way up, each with odd little curls, he could tell that he was annoyed by the lighter haired one, and offended by the ruder darker haired one.
Alfred couldn't help but laugh loudly when he heard the Brit yell at the dark haired one "you stow that potty talk this instant!", startling a couple walking through the maze.
After about a half an hour of stalkin- er, watching the man, Alfred finished up his ice cream, realizing that this is the longest time he has taken to eat anything in his life, and he'd eaten a twelve sliced pizza by himself in ten minutes before.
He finished the last bite of his cone before using the crumpled up napkin to wipe off his face. He stared at it for a moment before realizing that there was something written on the inside, in the folded up part. He hastily tore it open and in beautiful cursive was a phone number, and the name Arthur.
Alfred grinned and whooped loudly, rousing several birds to fly from the bushes in alarm.
Arthur looked up from the till after he heard the disruption from the bushes. It sounded just like the cute American he had served earlier. He grinned in triumph, proud that he had garnered this reaction form such an attractive boy. As subtle as possible in front of his boss, he took out his phone and turned the volume up on the ringer.
After all, he was expecting an important call later on.