My employment at my uncle's music shop wasn't exactly a voluntary thing.

To "break me out of my shell", my parents decided to conspire against me and convince my uncle to take me on as apart of his small staff. They were so desperate, in fact, that they gave me my dad's old truck to get to and from the shop without help from my parents. It was silver and jacked up, definitely not my style. But I'm really complaining. At least it ran well.

Walking inside, I heard the familiar sound of the bell jingle above my head.

I'll admit, this place had really grown on me. It was filled with so many instruments, from strings and woodwinds, to brass and percussion. There was always music playing, and after a while, my uncle let me choose the records I wanted to play while I worked. Which is why the voices of Amy Lee and Queen filled the shop now rather than Frank Sinatra like before.

"Zeke!" My uncle greeted from behind the counter. I smiled and walked over, clipping my cheap name tag on to my shirt.

Lyle Evans was one of the most extroverted people I'd met, and easily the most talented. You could name nearly any instrument, and he knew how to play it. Give him a few chords to a song or a few seconds of the beginning, and he could identify it in seconds, and sell you the album all in one go.

"I have to go to the back room for a guitar lesson. You know the drill." After I nodded, he smiled and patted me on the back before disappearing in the back. As soon as he left, I went over to the record player and put in Queen's greatest hits, one of my personal favorites of the records we had. I made my way back to the counter and sat down, pulling out my phone. My face fell at the notifications.

Ally: Zeeeeeeeeekeeeeey - 2:45
Ally: Hey Zekey! - 2:58 P.M.
Ally: Z, I'm out of practice. U free? - 4:10 P.M.
3 missed calls from Ally

I sighed softly. My fingers hovered over my phone, until I jumped at the sound of the bell above the door jingling over "Bicycle Race" and dropped it. I scrambled to quickly scoop the phone up and pocket it, looking up to see who'd walked in. I tried to keep myself calm as I found myself looking right at Cyrus.

"Hello! Can I help you with something?" I asked, clasping my hands together to hide that I was fidgeting with them.

"Nah, just browsing," he replied, eyes locking with mine at first. He then walked over to the guitars and started to look them over instead.

"Got it," I said, awkwardly. I returned to my spot behind the counter, using the sticks my uncle had left over here to absentmindedly drum along to the song playing. Thanks to Lyle, I've learned quite a lot of instruments, but not nearly as many as he knows.

I glanced up just as Cyrus made his way over to me. Why did my heart keep speeding up around him? Fear? That would be understandable.

Cyrus leaned on the counter, allowing me to catch a smell of his cologne. It smelled nice, much better than Ally's sickeningly sweet perfume. "Can you hand me a pack of those guitar strings?" He asked and pointed, referring to the wall behind me, which always reminded me of the tobacco and cigarette wall in gas stations. I hurried to get the strings he was talking about and let my mind wander a bit. How could one's voice be so soft yet look like you were also kicked out of Fall Out Boy?

I felt my shirt rising up when I reached for the small box and blushed, yanking it back down and placing the strings on the counter. "Anything else?"

"Actually, Yeah. How about—" He cut himself off as the bell above the door jingled. In walked Ally and her friends. They disrupted the soft sounds of the music shop, and I couldn't even hear Freddie Mercury over them. I hid my small sigh as Ally came over behind the counter and kissed my cheek. "Hey, Z! You haven't answered my calls."

"I'm not allowed to at work . . ." I mumbled in response. "Let me check this customer out and we can talk for a bit, okay?" I looked at Cyrus apologetically, but was surprised to see he was looking between Ally and I, eyes resting on Ally a bit more though. I sighed again, taking the money he sat on the counter and making the transaction. When it was all done and paid for, I slid the strings across the counter for him. All I received was a head nod of thanks and a soft look before he slowly left the shop.

Ally's arms wrapped around my waist from behind, her head resting on my shoulder. I found it hard to concentrate, only not from what Ally was doing. My mind was currently occupied by her friends, who were wondering around the store and picking up (very pricey) things, playing with them.

"So, are you friends with Cyrus Bradshaw?" she asked me, her grip tightening around my middle.

"Huh? No, not really. More like . . ." I shrugged, unable to find the word I was looking for. "He was just a customer."

"Oh, okay. That sucks. My friend, Lindsey, has a huge crush on him. I've been trying to find a way to set them up," Ally replied, finally letting go of me. I plastered on a smile as I was spun around to face her, my back pressed into the counter. My mind flashed to our first kiss against the school, and I struggled to hide my shudder.

Ally leaned in and locked our lips, one hand in my hair. I sighed softly into it, returning it and allowing my hand to snake around her waist, but I didn't pull her any closer.

I felt her tongue try to make its way into my mouth, and I slowly pulled away under the guise of just needing to breath.

No tongue yet, I wasn't ready for that, couldn't she tell? She's had loads of boyfriends before me. Doesn't she know when someone's apprehensive to those things? Or perhaps she just wasn't used to someone not jumping her the second she let them in, romantically.

She started to lean in once more, wanting another go at it, but thankfully, Lyle was walking in with his guitar student. I managed to hack into my 'Flash abilities' and was in my chair behind the desk in seconds, evading Ally's lips. One Point to Zeke for that dodge.

I noticed the student was actually more around Lyle's age, probably somewhere in his later twenties. His hair, the colour of which I could only describe as honey, was in soft-looking, messy curls. His eyes were bright blue, and focused all on Lyle. I smirked slightly but hid it with the magazine I had picked up. I peered over the top of the magazine at Ally, who had an unreadable expression. She finally went and gathered up her friends, trotting over to me and trapping me in a hug of which I slowly returned. I shivered some as she whispered, right in my ear.

"Call me tonight . . ."

I managed a slight nod and she pulled away from me with a bright smile, as if I had just told her there's a puppy parade down the road. She gave me a beauty
queen-like wave and left the shop, her friends following behind like a line of ants.

I sighed softly, catching a questioning glance from Lyle. Ignoring it, I got up, going around and tidying up the shop in the aftermath of Ally and her friends. My mind wandered to somebody, but I tried to push the image out of my head and kept on working.

Who's this "somebody" hmmmm? *Wink wink*

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