Gamzee could see Tavros's small form moving further and further away from the storefront window. Small rain drops fell to the sidewalk in a steady pattern. When Tavros's narrow frame was no longer visible from the glass, Gamzee turned away to deal with the record store.

The store was old. Few people went in the store on a daily basis, so most of the records were covered with a growing layer of dust, some having accumulated more than others depending on how long they've sat untouched. The faint fragrance of mildew accompanied the the faded carpet covering the ground. The store was cluttered with boxes of unsorted records which should have been shelved ages ago, but have been sitting too long now for anyone to even care anymore; and Gamzee's extensive collection of comic books and magazines that he kept at his workplace for when boredom struck him on the job. A bottle of Faygo lay on its side behind the counter, just where he'd left it the day before.

Gamzee didn't mind the messy store. It reminded him a little of his home, which by comparison was of course a lot messier. He walked around the area of the shop for a bit in his baggy purple pajama pants, before going to take his place behind the counter as usual. His boss was never around, so he almost always had the store to himself. It was nice, the kind of silence only halfheartedly disturbed by the muffled background music the store constantly had playing over the solitary speaker near the back entrance. Settling down with his reading material, something kept clouding his consciousness of his surroundings. He was unable to focus on the comic, or anything for that matter. Maybe I had a little too much motherfuckin' faygo today, thought Gamzee, his mind certainly filled with more bubbles than the fizzy soda pop could hold.

What he realized were fogging his senses were his nerves. Before Tavros had left the store earlier Gamzee had been noticing some things about the boy that he had never acknowledged before. Not even any major occurrences, but things that he thought may have always been present, but he had just failed to recognize it. For instance the way Tavros has...freckles? Had he never noticed the freckles before? They really did suit his face. And the way he gets tongue tied is also quite endearing; attractive even. Gamzee chuckled to himself, remembering the way Tavros's face scrunched with embarrassment when he was unable to put into words what he wanted to say.

All of those things had been nagging at the back of his skull while Tavros browsed the extensive collection of records, and Gamzee couldn't shake it. That pallid freckly kid had been in and out of the store too many times to count, and Gamzee felt as though he knew him quite well, even though he hardly spoke. There wouldn't be any possibility of a friendship, or maybe something else, would there? Before his brain could grasp the concept of what was happening, there was a pen in his hand and it was moving rapidly across a sticky note on the counter. FUCK.

Tavros was approaching him with a record in hand by this point, and Gamzee decided to follow his instincts and put the sticky note in the bag with the purchase.

Now Gamzee's stomach was tied in multiple tangles, and he regretted ever putting in the note. He won't call. He'll just think you're a creepy-ass stoner who lazes around all day. He's never gonna call you. Words flew in and out of his ears as he murmured them softly to himself. He slammed his head back on the wall behind him, trying to calm himself down. Luckily he still had his bramble of hair to cushion the blow.

"FUCK I'M SO STUPID," Gamzee exclaimed, rather loudly to himself. His low voice rang loud throughout the confines of the empty store. It was only then that he realized his voice was not the only thing that was ringing.

Gamzee leapt not-so-gracefully towards the jingling of the phone, stumbling over a stray box of records in his haste to see who was calling. After righting himself from his fall, he noticed that it wasn't his cell phone ringing, but the record shop land line. His long, pale face became even longer with the growing disappointment swelling in his stomach.

"Hello," Gamzee mumbled into the receiver.

"Uh…hi…it's me uh…Tavros?"

Gamzee's mind sprung to attention when he heard the boy's faltering tone through the line. Why is he calling the store instead of my phone? Gamzee wondered to himself.

"Hey, Tavioli!" Gamzee grimaced at his attempt to make up a new nickname for Tavros on the spot like that, making a note to himself to come up with nicknames before actual conversations. "How can I help my main motha-fuckin bro?"

Tavros laughed nervously into the phone. "Uhh, heh, well you see… I'm about halfway home right now and I opened the bag to admire my new record..and um…I found a sticky note with someone's number on it…"

Gamzee's stomach lurched when he heard him say that, but he stayed silent because he could tell Tavros wasn't finished yet.

"and uhh, I was too nervous to call because I thought it might not be meant for me…" Tavros ended the sentence with a small release of air, as though he had been holding his breath before he spoke. He could feel Tavros's blush through the phone.

Gamzee almost laughed with relief, and he must have let a little air between his lips because he could hear Tavros chewing on his lip; a habit he usually had when he was nervous, he'd noticed. "Tav I put that sticky note in the bag n shit because I thought it might be mighty fuckin cool if you called me up sometime and we could talk as bros,"

Tavros was giggling now too. "Alright!" he blurted out, somewhat flustered at the offer.

"Great! Guess I'll be talkin to ya soon Nitram," Gamzee said, relieved. The line on the other end went dead, and Gamzee slumped back down to the floor, except this time it was a mirthful slump. Things had gone much better than he'd expected.