Lessons On Kissing Guys (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 23

LOOK AT THIS CHAPTER I LIKE THIS CHAPTER

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The first thing I notice as I walk through the door to the shop is that things are tense. It's blatantly obvious. Our shop isn't the type to have a bell that rings when you walk through the door, so Rian and Phil are completely oblivious of my presence as I enter. They seem to be caught up in their own little bubble of... anger, I guess. It surprises me, because Rian and Phil are no angry people. Okay, sometimes Rian can be a little cold, but still. 

Since they don't hear me walking in, they continue talking (or yelling) and I decide now's not the best time to interrupt. So, I try to distract myself with counting what's in the till and organising the shelves and neatening the place up a little. Still their words are so filled with emotion that even if I put on my headphones and played some music so loud that it would drown out all of my thoughts, it still wouldn't drown out their words. 

Rian sounds tired and sad. He sounds like there's a hole in his chest, and the more he speaks, the more space the hole takes up. Phil is angry. Really, really angry. And when their words catch up to me, I'm a little confused as to what the big deal is.

"Phil, calm down please. I'm just suggesting- I mean, the store is going downhill and-" I finish realigning the cameras in one of the glass cabinets.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, the store is not going downhill, for goodness' sake. Everything's fine and you're just-" Phil stops speaking for a moment, taking in a deep breath. I lock the cabinet up, pleased with how it looks.

"Just what? What am I?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's nothing." I work on putting price labels neatly next to their cameras (some of them have been switched somehow).

"That's the problem." The way he says it, I can imagine his eyes draining of colour, his hands slacking by his sides, his whole being just deflating. "Everything is nothing to you." I don't dare look up.

They're so caught up in their silence that they still don't notice me for a moment. It really is as if they've got their own bubble that blocks out the rest of the world. I feel terrible having heard what they've said. I know there's more to it, I know I must've missed half of the argument. I don't know what any of this is about really. But I wish I could unhear it all.

"Lucas." My eyes dart up so quickly that they almost roll into the back of my head. "Sorry, today is just a stressful day." Phil is trying to smile, trying to put everything that has happened in the past few minutes behind him. "We're interviewing someone for the job." Rian leaves the room, looking completely drained. "I mean, the last person who asked for a job was you, and the stress of running the store between the three of us is getting too much. Obviously you've been having to work more hours recently, and that isn't so fair to you, but even with you're help, we're not at our best. We need more people to help out. It's just a big worry for us and we're not dealing with it too well. It'll be fine soon though." He doesn't look or sound convincing in the slightest.

I nod though. That's all I do, because there's nothing else to do. Then, after a moment; "Should I open the store up now? We're running a little late but everything's in place."

"Yeah, thanks." He goes to the till as I place the 'open' sign by the door. Today is not going to be a good day, that much is already clear.

Despite the rough start to the morning, I try to keep my spirits up. Like Phil said, it's going to be okay. Everyone fights. It's healthy to fight, and they're going to sort it out.

Customers fill up the store at around midday and I put on a smile. None of them seem to pick up the strained feel in the air. Maybe it's one of those things that you have to know about to notice.