Roles Of A Lifetime (COMPLETE)

Chapter 27

This was gonna be the day. It had been almost a month since Laura's birthday, 21 days to be exact, and he had to get the present, now or never. He was almost sure she'd already forgotten he hadn't given her anything which would make the surprise even bigger.

Wandering through the first mall he had seen, Clear Channel, he was just scanning the stores he came across, thinking about possible things Laura would like that he could buy there. Bath & Body Works? So lame. Armani? Trying too hard. Home Depot? Not trying hard enough. Toys R Us? Too weird.

Tired of crossing almost the entire mall, he sits down on one of the benches on the side. He runs his hand through his hair while looking phone to check the time. Nobody knew he was here at the moment and he only had an hour to get back to film his scene before anyone could notice he was gone.

When locking his phone, he sees something in the reflection of the screen. A classy looking building with crème walls showed itself. It looked fairly small, big windows and above the entrance, it said 'Tyffany&Co'. He had heard Laura talk about the store, that's for sure. Whenever she did wear jewellery, it was from Tyfanny's. He stands up, being pulled to the store by an intangible force and he's inside before he knows it.

The inside was even more luxurious than he thought. White walls, crème floor, big spotlights enlightening all the jewellery displays. Only a few fancy looking people were studying them and suddenly he felt very out of his comfort zone in his converse and leather jacket. He's about to turn around quickly when he hears a voice behind him.

''Can I help you?'' A nice looking girl, about 25 he estimates, politely smiles at him. She's wearing the staff's same all-black outfit but gave it a playful spin by wearing her hair in a loose bun and paired red accessories. She watches him as he studies the room in disbelief before chuckling. ''It's pretty overwhelming, isn't it.''

''Yeah, it is. I'm not sure if this is the store I'm looking for,'' he politely refuses and is about to exit the store when the girl stops him.

''Let me guess, you're looking for a present for your girlfriend. You want something nice, but not too fancy. You saw this store and was impressed, but it's a little too much for you.''

''You're right,'' he laughs as he faces her again. ''I don't want anything majorly expensive, just... Thoughtful, I guess.''

''I can help you with that, we have another part of the store for the less expensive, more fun stuff. You wanna take a look?'' Showing him a small smile, she looks like she's actually more interested in helping him find the perfect present than making sales. He nods after thinking about it for a second and walks with her. She looks over her shoulder as she walks through a door. ''So, there must be a reason you picked this store.''

''Yeah, I've heard her mention it before. She actually rarely wears jewellery,'' he admits as he walks through the door, finding a completely different part of the store. There were fewer lights, bigger displays with more colourful looking things and the customers looked less posh.

''Risky choice, then. I like that.'' She points at the space as a gesture for him to look around. ''This is the 'younger' part of the store, if you walk around the mall, you can find it on the other side of the other part. Let me know if you need any help. I'm Claire, by the way.''

Ross thanks her before walking around, studying different kinds of displays. Watches, rings, bracelets, earrings. He stops his pace in front of a big one that displays all kinds of necklaces. Like Calum said, a lot of heart shaped necklaces in silver, gold and other colours. He now knows exactly what he means, sure, she probably thinks it's pretty, but where's the originality?

''You're looking for something particular,'' Claire states, making him jump in surprise. She looks at him expectantly as she awaits his response.

''Wow, you're very observant,'' he laughs unsure as he faces her again. Claire smiles apologetic.