The Streetcar (MxMxMxM)

Chapter 2

     Waiting but a second, I rushed to the rotary phone and quickly dialled my only dear employee, sitting by the window anxiously with the phone in my lap.

      "What?" He answered in a bland tone, though I acknowledged his courtesy of being slightly more hushed for the aesthetic of the store.

       "Oh-." Well I hadn't quite thought he would answer... "I was wondering, I suppose ... if you could ..." I stalled, looking around for anything, anything at all, that I could need from him. His patients growing notably thin with me which only stressed me further. "A chess board! I need that new one that just got put in displayyy, could you bring it up?"

      "Mhm, I'll be down in a moment, River."

       I blinked, biting my lip slightly, "is that a new nickname or something? It isn't much close to my actual name?"

      "Hm? It's the boy's name." He said casually, the sound of him walking up the stairs from the hallway and the phone temporarily causing me to freeze in confusion before I hung up.

      And I walked quickly out of my room and to the hall, looking down the staircase at him. "Such fast delivery," I teased, "and I'm glad you both are getting along downstairs, it must be so fun with the boss stuck upstairs."

      "How bad is the work?" He asked, tilting his head as he extended his arm up to hand me the chess board.

      I couldn't help but frown at the uselessness of it being up here, I don't even know why I lied and said I needed it... "thank you, and not too hard, just super boring. Can I get you something to drink?" I yawned, leaning on the railing.

      "No, I'm good. Did you get to sleep late?" He raised a brow, making it easier to see his eyes.

      Awwwww he cared!  "Ah no, not really. I cleaned up for a bit but that's about all..." I smiled at him happily

      "Alright. Don't overwork yourself."

      "Oh- yeah of course, thank you for caring, that's really sweet." I chuckled under my breath, skipping two steps as I began to walk past him down the staircase, a part of me unaware of what I was doing while the other part slightly hoped he didn't catch my lie about the need to bring the chess board, seeing as I held it with me...

      Vincent followed me till I got downstairs, and by my occasional glances back at him, I would assume he knew I had been lying. So instead of going to set the chess board back and coming clean with the fib, I faked a small gasp and pretended that I just simply forgot, because that would save me from the embarrassment. Turning and rushing back upstairs to silently fall to my knees in stress.

      "I'll help with your paperwork tonight, alright?" Vincent only had to slightly raise his voice for me to hear him from where I was, not sparing to be a bit more quiet with his following chuckle.

      I didn't answer him, I couldn't. So I made myself another glass of tea and took ten minutes before walking down with the chess board, smiling slightly as I set it down by the window. "How's everything going down here?"

      I found Vincent's thumbs up to be cutely reassuring. Stretching and fixing my hair as I glanced around, tilting my head at the boy I think was named River.

     " . . ? Can I ask something-  A little bit blunt?" He returned the gaze I had held for too long, setting his book down.

      "Mmmm, I don't think it could hurt, go ahead." I smiled, walking over and leaning on the bookcase beside where he sat.

      "Are you both together? Dating I mean?"

      I froze, for a second longer than I should have as I glanced at Vincent who had only shook his head and gone back to reading. "Ohh! No not at all, sorry if it came off that way, was it something I did?"

    "No! It's just you both seemed so- eh! Close and . . . You know what, I'm embarrassing myself sorry! I shouldn't have asked!" He lightly panicked, waving his hand as he looked away.

      I crouched down next to him with a smile. "Don't worry, it's honestly fine. We are close but not in any way like that."

      "UH! Right! So just friends? That's nice!" He clearly wasn't paying attention to how much his face reddened in just that one sentence.

      "Ah-! Hey, are you okay? You look ... not so well all of a sudden." I bit my lip, looking at Vincent for help with this suddenly ill kid.

      "Oh no is my face red?! I'm fine! Really! It just gets like that . . . Sometimes." He failed to make too much sense.

     Is getting this sickly really that normal for him... though I lost my train of thought as Vincent stepped over. "Can I get you anything? You really seem a bit ... feverish." I mumbled, trying to concentrate and letting out a sigh as I failed.

      I blinked and tilted my head a bit closer to this poor kid to see as Vincent rested the back of his hand gently against the boy's forehead. "Should be fine. Doesn't have a fever. He just blushed, Boss." He said casually, making it seem like I was totally in the wrong to have panicked.

      "Ah that's a relief, I'm sorry if you got a bit flustered, I could open a window?" I mumbled as I stood, looking around for any windows that were even convenient and not just for decoration.

      "Actually! I need to go home! Thanks so much anyways!" He said in SUCH an awkward tone that I didn't even know how to reply, looking up at Vincent in confusion as the boy ran out so quickly that he even left the books he was reading. "Was that my fault. .?"

      "No. Kid got flustered. Quite normal." Vincent shrugged, looking down at me as if just to remind me of how tall he was.

      "Aha ... I see then. Well hopefully he's fine, you should get ready to start going home anyways." I laughed lightly, smiling up at him.

      "I said I'd help with the paperwork. Let's get that over with."

      "Are you sure? There isn't that much, and you already work enough, so it's really fine." I stretched, groaning at how falsely tired I had become just from thinking about work, balancing my tea cup between two of my fingers in a way which didn't deserve the look Vincent gave me.