ELECTRIC FEEL ↝ Schmidt

CHAPTER ONE

IT WAS THIRTY minutes to the opening event of Comic Planet, and frankly, Elise Stevens was a nervous mess, almost unable to drink her tea without spilling it all over her Fall Out Boy tee. She was shaking, glasses sliding closer to the tip of her nose with each second whilst she used her laptop to check out the time more often than was necessary. She feared that no one would come in, that she'd have to sit there all alone throughout the night in the hopes that at least one person would get lost and accidentally enter her small store, but mostly, she prayed for a crowd of people to literally run in and party with her. She wasn't a big people person, a huge awkward nerd to be honest, but right now, she preferred the idea of more than less, regarding people.

Somehow, Elise managed to finish her tea in time, and then found herself sitting by the desk again, with a strawberry lollipop between her lips and a Captain America comic resting on her crossed thighs. She had already put on some music, and the lights could be turned off and changed into flickering neon ones with one flick of a switch, so she considered herself to be ready. There was alcohol and snacks, so maybe, just maybe, people would be entertained and find themselves having fun, if they'd arrive. With fifteen minutes to go to 7 pm, Elise was nearly falling apart, but she tried to remain cool and calm on the outside in order to impress whoever would walk through the door first.

Outside the comic book store, beyond Elise's awareness, stood the gang from apartment 4D, waiting for the party to start and the doors to open, some of them more than others. However, the dark of the night didn't seem ideal either, so even Schmidt who hated the plan the most, yearned to find himself indoors and drowning his annoyance in senseless amounts of alcohol. He was there already, might as well party the night away, right?

"This is preposterous! My creepy guy radar is dripping red", Schmidt scoffed, still stuck on the idea of the owner being some boring, sad man who would infect him with the lack of enthusiasm and motivation in life. The reality was far from his low expectations, and soon enough he'd come face to face with the complete opposite of who he was waiting to meet inside the store — not a sad nerd, but a stunning woman, about his age, one gaze away from stealing the man's heart in an instant.

The four of them engaged in a loud argument about whatever they could think of, until the door was opened and they heard music blasting from inside, welcoming them into the shop. Each and every one of them shut their mouths immediately, and Jess ran indoors, considering she was the most excited, followed by Winston who felt his inner child come out around comic books. Meanwhile, Nick and Schmidt attempted to play it cool and walked slowly behind their friends, giving space for people who entered the store with enthusiasm equal to Jess or Winston's. Surprisingly many people were eager to visit, and it downright shocked Schmidt who had expected him and his friends to be the only one to bless the owner with their presence.

"I don't know, man. This doesn't seem too bad", Nick pointed out once he and Schmidt had entered the store, and begun walking around to observe the surroundings. And frankly, it seemed that Nick Miller was growing fond of what he was seeing, and absolutely intrigued by the swords hanging on the walls, aching to touch and buy one. However, he managed to keep calm, and strode with Schmidt around the relatively small space, stopping to check out a few comic books once in a while, yet Schmidt wasn't warming up to the experience like his best friend.

"Are you sure? Because, I mean...", Schmidt proceeded to rant about the flaws of the store, even if he was coming up with most of them, since he failed to find any negative sides about the upbeat music, the perfect atmosphere or the bar on the other side of the shop. It seemed like a nice place, but sticking to his initial opinions, Schmidt managed to make up things he, according to his own words, despised about the absolutely adorable shop. Fair enough — the place wasn't made for everyone, some people just didn't like comic books, like Schmidt for example, who was the complete opposite of Jess, as the woman was running around with hands full of stuff she would most likely end up wasting her money on.