Emmett
"You trust me don't you?" Elle asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"Of course…" I replied, mentally questioning her motives. She smiled.
"Then don't stop now," and with that, she pushed open the double doors that we were standing in front of us as we walked in.
"What is this place?" I asked in awe.
"It's called…..a department store," she replied. I blinked.
"It's……" I began, not quite sure of what to say, "…it's beautiful."
"Shh…"Elle whispered, "first a deep breath-" she inhaled, "-take it all in. Feel all those halogens warming your skin. Smell how they pump in pure oxygen. See, they care…." she said with almost a dreamy expression on her face. Ha, women.
"Love?" A saleswoman asked me. I turned.
"Excuse me?"
"'Love,' the new fragrance from Chanel," she said.
"Oh," I jumped back a little from the bottle that she had sprayed, "no thank you." I turned back to Elle.
"I know you're scared, nevertheless, think of the people you want to impress!"
Callahan, Ma, the judge and jury, the rest of out legal team….you… I listed in my head.
"Swallow your pride for me; just nod yes," she held out her hand, which I took in my own, "and prepare! 'Cause something's in the air!"
"I think it's 'Love,'" I said, gesturing towards the saleswoman that I'd met earlier. Elle smiled again.
"Exactly!" she beamed, looping a tie around my neck, "here you'll become what you're supposed to be; you think you can't, but you can…think of the guy you want most to be. Here's you're chance to make it, so take it like a man," she stepped back and examined her "handy-work," namely the tie she has just put on me. Then she left me to talk to some salespeople while I adjusted the tie.
"What does she want? Not really sure…why can't we leave things the way that they were?" I glanced at Elle, "why can I never say no to her?" I chucked and walked over and sniffed the air in the process. "What's that smell?"
"'Subtext,' by Calvin Klein," the same saleswoman chirped, holding a bottle of what I assumed to be "Subtext" and a perfume sampler, which she handed to me. Once again, I turned back to Elle who had salespeople showing…shirts? I mentally shrugged and went along with it.
"That I don't like-" the saleswoman took it to put back…wherever it does, "-that's kind of neat-" I took it from the salesman, "-guys who wear that…" I raised an eyebrow, "get beat up on my street." The saleswoman took it away too. Elle walked over to another saleswoman and got a suit jacket.
"Still, I've come this far, I can't retreat in my shell…I'm in the hands of Elle. What the hell?" I grinned.
"Here you'll become what you're supposed to be," Elle held up the jacket. I fingered the material and shrugged. Elle smiled and apparently took my shrug as a yes and went to find a salesperson, "you think you can't, but you can…think of the guy you want most to be," Elle saw the expression on my face and just shook her head a smiled. "Here's you're chance to make it, so take it like a man…" Then she ushered me into a dressing room.
"God I love shopping for guys!" I heard her say as I slid of my own pants to try on the suit pants Elle had picked out. I could've burst out laughing right then and there, but instead I said,
"Okay, this is strange…"
"Watching them change right before my eyes!" she turned towards me.
"Don't watch me change!" I covered my legs with the jacket. She nodded slightly and turned away.
"Look at him striking a pose, his confidence grows, he'll bloom like a rose!" The saleswomen nodded.
"It's just clothes!" I half-heartedly protested, smiling.
"God, I love shopping for men!" she ran to the other side of the store.
"Okay, this is nice," I examined the jacket a little more closely this time.
"They walk in a two, they come out a ten!" Elle explained happily. I flipped the price tag and my eyes widened.
"Is this the price?!" Elle smiled reassuringly at me.
"Don't worry, this is my treat," that calmed me and I slid the jacket on. I saw Elle smile. "There's someone I'd like you to meet!" she announced.
"Whoa," we both said in unison looking at the mirror that was in front of us.
"I look like Warner," I noted. Elle had a goofy grin on her face.
"Yeah…" I sighed.
"But it's just me," I shrugged and began loosening the tie and un-buttoning the jacket. Elle blinked.
"That's the best part…the outside is new," she turned to me, "but now it reflects what's already in you…couldn't change that if I wanted to," she nudged my shoulder playfully. "And I do not." I nodded.
"Thank you."
"No," she corrected. I raised an eyebrow and turned to her, "thank you." I was still puzzled before she explained.
"This is no gift, it's payment in kind," she took my hand in her own, "'cause you saw beyond all the blonde to my mind. Oh we've got to buy this! What are you blind?" she exclaimed.
"You look hot!" she announced. I felt my face heating up. She got behind me and practically showed me like a display board, but for some reason, I didn't mind. "is he not hot?"
"He's hot, hot, hot, hot!" the salespeople replied. Elle slid the jacket off my back and I went to the dressing room.
"Here you'll become what you're supposed to be," I saw Elle hand the salesman her credit card, "you think you can't, but you can…think of the guy you want most to be."
"Not quite the guy, I'da chose to be…but when she's standing so close to me," I felt my face heat up again and some weird feeling in my stomach, "I think I like her plan!" I broke out into a grin.
"Here's you're chance to make it!" she whirled around to face me, my corduroy jacket in hand.
"You're chance to make it!" I echoed.
"So take it like, so take it like" I stepped out of the dressing room and Elle helped me into my jacket.
"A man, a man, a man…" the salesman handed Elle her credit card back and the bag that had my new outfit in it.
"A man, a man, a man, a man…" I took the "Subtext" sampler out of my pocket and rubbed it onto my neck.
"A man, a man…" Elle turned back to face me, the bag in hand.
And then she…leaned in like she was going to kiss me. So I tilted my head slightly to the right and leaned in as well.
But instead, she threw her arms around me in a hug. It shocked…and…disappointed, me a for a second, but I mentally shrugged again.
Maybe next time…
Hiding my disappointment, I hugged her back. It was better than nothing.
"A man…."
A/n: If anyone saw the play (or at least the MTV special like I did) they would've noticed that at the end of "Take It Like a Man," Emmett was leaning in to kiss Elle! But she didn't kow and hugged him instead. So that's what inspired this oneshot.
I hate the ending...I made Emmett sound so......un-appreciative, and I don't know how to fix it. He's not appreciative, he's just a little disappointed.
