10 Days [Brallon]

I'll Just Come Back Tomorrow If I Miss Again

Monday was like leaving a weeklong Disney cruise in the dust only to return and have to directly travel back to work and responsibilities like 5 minutes after you step off the boardwalk.

It was also more commonly known as a living nightmare. But then again, that was everyday. It was worse than usual, let's say.

It's also what it felt like spending the entire day trying to successfully give pissed off people the types of flowers they wanted while being pissed off as well, and trying to drill through their dense heads that not all roses mean love. Especially the ones with the colors officially called dark crimson, which they couldn't understand meant mourning.

I'm standing there, gesturing wildly while telling them "dark crimson, the ones you want to give to your wife, means mourning. You use these at funerals. You do not want these."

They got their way and their wife is getting wilting mourning flowers. They're dying roses, probably like their marriage.

Needless to say, the mere 4 hours I'd been working had been terrible so far.

And then Brendon Urie waltzed in with his leather jacket and those stupid boots with like a billion complicated straps and zippers.

I admit he pulled them off quite nicely though. I could practically see the trail of girls standing around him all faint as soon as he passed by them.

He saw me and waved, sliding in between a couple people before he dropped his elbows on the desk and smiled up at me like I was the sun, moon, and stars.

"Heard you were having a bad day."

"How'd you know?"

"Just saw the dude with the funeral roses leave."

I'd nearly forgotten he knew most meanings behind the flowers, even though it wasn't exactly a required skill set for an up and coming botanist. It was pretty cool though. He liked to see how many he could name off in a challenge against me.

"Also I could hear him yelling at you." Brendon added quietly with an ironic smile. "He was very loud. And angry. Honestly, how do you stand some of these people?"

I laughed and leaned over the counter a little further, jus to be closer to him. "Well, you're the only person that stops by that I actually kinda like."

Brendon bit his lip and smiled at the vase to my right. "Playing favorites now, are we? I'd say you're a little biased. A botanist for the florist?"

One of the younger girls near the front accidentally kicked over a bucket of daffodils, glancing over to check if I watched her do it, which I did, and she pouted apologetically. Children were few of the only people I could forgive - except for Brendon. But I do believe I was a little biased.

"I think of my friends told me a while ago that you were studying to be a botanist. How'd that happen?" I said over my shoulder and went to pile the flowers back in the bucket before anyone slipped and I got sued (which is definitely not something I can afford at the moment considering I still don't completely have functioning air conditioning), and Brendon shrugged sheepishly while trailing behind me throughout the store.

"Plants have always kinda interested me." He sighed, the pads of his fingers dragging along the fluff of overgrown mimosas set over my head. "I still have my little leaf journal from when I reached the peak to my life changing nature obsession. It was just different color maple leaves but it's the thought that counts I guess."

"You don't seem like the type that would like plants so much."

"Well true, but you don't seem like the type that would own a flower shop either." Brendon smirked and crouched down next to me, adjusting the positions of a couple variegated tulips in their bucket. "Y'know, with the whole anti-socializing thing you've got going on."

Dang. He's got me there.

I glanced back up at him while grabbing ahold of the final stems. "I could call you the beloved botanist to my fatuous florist." [the SAT definition of fatuous is like idiotic so that is existing]

He laughed, his shoulders thrown back with his head and knees skimming the floor. Apparently that was more hilarious than I'd thought.

Finally, someone to appreciate my jokes. It's about time too.

"You're not stupid though," he sighed exasperatedly, the corners of his lips returning to a casual place "not even close."

"Well apparently neither are you, if you're going to college in a bit."

"I don't plan on it anytime soon. The whole idea about it seems pretty sweet though. Someday, I'll go check some places out."

College sounds pretty awesome. I mean like, I'd never really gotten anything back from one, but it still sounded fun. I'd heard stories about married couples meeting there and crazy things like that. Apparently it was party central too, in other words a good way to actually meet new people. For a tuition that costs that much, it'd better.

"I need, uh, another breakup basket," he muttered quietly and followed me like a lost puppy back to the front desk "I missed Ryan's window."

"Should I give you like 5 of them this time, because you either miss or it doesn't break-"

"No!" Brendon nearly shouted "I mean, nah... I'll just come back tomorrow if I miss again." He scratched the back of his neck and kept his gaze glued to the tile floor.

So I just brought back one basket and we waved goodbye to each other, and poof he was gone.

Well I thought he was poof gone, until he came sprinting back down the sidewalk and through the door like he was running for the Olympics, grabbing the attention of a couple people browsing through the arums sitting in the corner (which mean 'intense love', by the way).

I hate flowers.

Brendon stopped with his hand on the doorframe and the other hugging the vase with poison ivy stuffed down the side, and said "remember how I said I was going to take you out on a date and buy you new shoes?"

I nodded. I wanted to forget that entire day except for that single moment.

Brendon stood up to near full height, crossing the heel of one boot over the toes of the other and leaning more against the door, like he was trying to look cool and collected.

Well, it was definitely working, the smudged sunglasses balanced on top of his mess of hair adding to the effect. He still looked absolutely terrified though. His hands were trembling violently, though I wasn't sure whether it was from the cold or nerves. Probably both.

"D-do you think I could change that date to tonight? And from getting shoes to eating at a restaurant or something nice like that?" Brendon hesitated but picked up the sentence again in a matter of seconds as if I was going to reject at the simple offer "I can pick you up and everything and-"

"A date tonight sounds great."

He smiled proudly and I did too, and poof. He was gone.