extra stories to share. (tgwdlm//bf)

char & mel; embrace the interest.*

// og post date: march 2nd, 2021. sfw. word count: 1,580. //

~

as she leaned back in her work chair, melissa realized how bored she was that friday afternoon. there were only a few hours left until she got off and was able to go home, perhaps sit on the couch with her cat and eat some yogurt as a treat for another long week finished. but time was going by terribly slow, slower than it went whenever she attended high school, all those years wasted on simple education and college prep that landed her a job at an office. it wasn't the worst place to be, of course, especially when she is around the people she now considers her friends, but something about it occasionally gave her the desire to run away and desert her old life; the main character troupe that always end in some sort of tragedy, from what she remembers in old stories.

thinking about it, she really didn't have much on the agenda to do over the weekend - she wasn't the type to form plans often, she preferred to be alone with a cup of tea for certain periods of time. what she could do for the rest of the work day is fantasize about a weekend that she'd be down for if she had the money and social battery for it, though her attention from her desk shifted to her boss, who strolled over to the cubicles. a fact about mister davidson was that he is a chatter, he likes to be friendly with his employees, and the same topic melissa was going to daydream about was put on the table. oh goodie, another conversation for her to be at the sidelines for and have raise her voice in order to be heard from where she was seated.

"i hear these next two days will be pretty warm! my wife and i thought about going down to the lake with our boy, have a little picnic, that sort of thing," said mister davidson, as he used his thumbs to pull on his suspenders slightly. he had a tuneful hum in his tone, suggesting he was in a bright mood.
"that sounds like a plan, sir. alice is coming tonight and we are going to try to bake something for deb, since her birthday is sunday," replied bill, his focus on his boss rather his computer screen, which didn't display anything; he liked to finish his work early on fridays. melissa listened to the group talk about possible plans, a few dismissing the topic with a simple 'i have nothing going on', as if they couldn't at least make up something to carry on.

melissa was about to go into her own world until some voices spoke up. she looked, noticing paul had asked charlotte a question concerning her schedule, which most assumed she was going to try and fix her relationship with her husband.
"oh, well, as soon as i clock out i am heading my way to detroit," smiled charlotte, as she packed her water bottle into her purse along with her phone.
"detroit? that's a long trip! what's going on over there?" asked mister davidson with curiosity, the one person unaware of her personal hobbies. it isn't a bad hobby, just one that the rest did not know how he'd reaction to it, or if he'd react at all.

charlotte picked at her nails for a moment before getting the confidence to answer her boss, her back straightening and chest puffing out expressing this. "there is a convention going on, i bought the weekend pass and a friend of mine is meeting me there." as she spoke, melissa found herself hovering over her desk more and more, standing up from her desk to rush over to the other cubicles not too far from her.
"there's the nosy one, finally decided to join?" teased ted, who wore a shit-eating grin that would normally tick her off but she pushed that aside for now. it was time for her to investigate the older woman!

"what's the convention about? is there, like, a theme?" inquired melissa, her glasses sliding down her nose as she bounced in place.
"yes, um-" she glanced at mister davidson- "this year is some sort of magic theme, so i have to dress up as a magician along with my normal suit." the mention of suit made mister davidson cock his head to the side before letting out a dad-like laugh; he went on to say something about young people and how he was out of touch, despite the age gap being not-so-significant between all the adults (with the exception of melissa.) he left the conversation to go tidy up his office, this helping her take control of things before the men were to distract her.

melissa stole the chair besides her in order to sit down next to charlotte, who was in the middle of reviewing some sort of document that appeared way too confusing for her to process. "so! what do you do at this convention?"
"melissa..." started paul, as he noticed he didn't have his seat anymore; he never liked how she approached people discussing things that interested her, it was never subtle and painful to watch if you were a witness. that, and he didn't want the other to feel pressured to talk about her plans as she seemed a bit worried to while their boss was around. his anxious thoughts, however, were wrong about charlotte's feelings towards the sudden attention.

"i usually attend panels by creators that want to give advice about the fandom, sometimes in my free time i'll suit-up and mess around with other suiters, or just put on cat ears and a tail and go to the dance competitions. oh! and there's this parade i like to partake in every other con, so i get to do that this time," explained charlotte, a warm grin tugged at the corners of her lips. she usually never gets to talk about this, it was nice - even if a few of her friends did find it odd, she enjoyed how they didn't treat her differently due to her hobbies. "do you want to see my character? i know you like cats, and she's a cat, so..."
"of course, if that's okay!" exclaimed melissa, her eyes sparkling to get a chance to see someone else's oc; she was the last person to suspect to have an oc.

pulling out her phone, charlotte unlocked it and opened to her gallery, then promptly turned it around so the younger girl could see the screen. on it was a character reference sheet of an anthropomorphic cat, her coat a light brown with patterns of tan on her face, stomach, and paws. she wore a little pink bow near her right ear, and in the photo it showed an example of an outfit she'd wear that looked similar to how her owner's would dress. from what melissa read, the character's name was nelly and she apparently had a partner by the name of jazz. before she knew it, charlotte swiped to the left to show another picture, but this time it was of someone wearing an animal suit of nelly, standing near a very happy adult that wasn't in costume.

"and that's my fursuit, it is nelly 2.0 that was professionally made just last year. i crafted my first one a long time ago but it isn't good at all," laughed charlotte; "my sewing skills are only good for creating hand paws, tails, and cat ears that go on headbands."
"you didn't know she liked furries, melissa?" questioned bill, who looked genuinely surprised no one ever filled her in on the fact.
"no one cared to tell me!" she crossed her arms and lifted her head, trying her best to express an angry face - if anything, it looked like an ambitious bunny rabbit who was too stubborn to leave its home when in danger.

ted scoffed at the exchange and leaned against the desk, eyes down at the girl. "you had to know if you kept pressing her about it. what the hell is the deal? you also a furry?" he asked in more of an asshole way than genuine way, caught on fast by everyone and he was given glares for having his trademarked attitude.
"i am not! i just appreciate the concept and art, i mean- look at this! and cat ears are adorable!" defended melissa, as she frantically gestured to charlotte's phone, still on photos of an old convention she attended from however long ago. not furthering the debate, ted only rolled his eyes and left to go back to his desk, leaving the four to their own tasks. that signaled charlotte to put her phone away again and get back to her work.

"hey, i need to finish this. but melissa?" she looked up at her, since she gave the chair back to paul and was standing there sort of awkwardly.
"what is it, lottie?"
"would you like a pair of cat ears? i have extra material, and i'll be able to make them just as fluffy as your cat's ears," smiled charlotte as she offered this to her. her own cat ears, right on the top of her head? a pair crafted and gifted by a friend? this was surely unexpected but rewarding to have continued the chat on weekend plans. melissa returned the smile and fixed her glasses, which were previously croaked just a bit: "absolutely!"