Heronstairs: A Fluff Collection

Day 4

The noise of the chime over the door jolted Will from his book.

"Hello," he called amicably towards the door, his view a bit obscured by flowers and plants hanging from the ceiling.

"Hi," came a voice that was drawing closer to the cash register Will was perched behind. "You're the third florist I've tried today. I'm really hoping you can help me. Do you speak flower?"

"Do I... What?" Will said, a little caught off-guard.

The owner of the voice was still not quite in sight, meandering around the store and hidden by plants until all Will could see was a tall, slender frame.

"You know, flower meanings and the like. It used to be an old courting custom, but there were a wide variety of meanings..."

"Oh, that! Yes, I can help you with that," Will said, running his fingers through his hair and wracking his brain to remember.

"Excellent," the person said, finally coming into view and nearly stopping Will's heart as they slapped a twenty dollar bill on the counter. "How do I passive-aggressively say 'fuck you' in flower?"

The stranger was beautiful, albeit clearly miffed with someone. Tall and willowy with dark eyes that seemed to drag Will's secrets out into the open, yet a softness that seemed to forgive them.

It was a very strange experience, only intensified when he saw the stranger's gaze quickly flick over him from head to toe, mouth quirking into a tiny smile that was quickly replaced by his previous intense expression.

"I'll help you, but I want at the least the basics of this story," Will said, rising from the stool behind the counter.

"Deal," Beautiful Stranger said. "I'm James."

"I'm Will."

"I know."

"You know?"

James smiled, though not unkindly. "Name tag."

"Oh," Will said, fighting back a blush. "Right. So. Flowers."

He appreciated James not laughing as he began to look around.

"Okay, so you'll need..." Will mused, eyes scanning the shelves, "Geraniums..."

"Which mean?"

"Stupidity. That work?"

James laughed. "Yeah, that works."

"Okay, then we'll add... Foxglove, for insincerity... Meadowsweet, for uselessness..."

James stifled another laugh. "You don't pull your punches, do you?"

"Hey, you're the one willing to spend twenty bucks on an elaborate 'fuck you' gesture, pal, not me."

"Fair. Continue."

"Yellow carnations mean 'You have disappointed me', and then finish it with orange lilies for hatred." Will took the bundle of flowers up to the front, wrapping them carefully and looking smugly at the beautiful and completely rude bouquet on the counter. "Quite striking, yet full of loathing. Not unlike yourself."

"Do you practice those lines in the mirror, or do they just come naturally to you?"

"Must be something about you, James," Will teased. "Now. Details. Who's getting the hate bouquet?"

"An ex-boyfriend," James said with a humorless smile. "And you can call me Jem, by the way. He was a stuck-up, pretentious asshole, and he prides himself on knowing random shit like this for no reason, so he should get the message."

"As someone who knows this 'random shit', I'm offended."

"You work at a flower shop. He's a political science major."

"Yikes. Continue."

"The relationship just sort of weakened. I tried, but there was no spark. No deeper connection beyond a fleeting attraction, you know? I kind of hinted at that, he got clingy and stopped letting me out of his sight, accused me of cheating while he was cheating on me, the whole nine yards. It was like a terrible Hallmark movie except gayer and with a lot more swearing." Jem shrugged. "No love lost, but he was kind of terrible towards the end, but I don't enjoy confrontation. Thus, passive aggressive flowers."

"If your life is a Hallmark movie, what does that make me?" Will teased, ringing up the flowers with a grin.

"Depends on two things," Jem said, leaning on his elbows on the counter.

"Oh?"

"One, on how well I'm reading this situation," Jem said with a self-deprecating smile. "And two, if you're free tomorrow night."

"And if I'm not?"

Jem shrugged. "Then you're the cute florist who lent an ear and a useful skill to my quest for sarcastic revenge."

"But if I am?"

Jem smiled, playfulness quickly being replaced by a shy blush. "Then I'm rather hoping you'll be my dinner date tomorrow."

Will smiled, grabbing a pen and scribbling his number on the back of the receipt. "That sounds like a part I'd play much better."

"I dunno, you do 'cute florist' pretty well," Jem teased, "But I suppose you could do both."

"I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"I'll text you, we'll pin down a time."

Will smiled like a schoolgirl with her first crush, willing the blush away from his cheeks. "Sounds perfect."

"Well... Bye for now, then," Jem said, looking down and smiling before leaving with a wave.

Will sighed and smiled at nothing before quickly going to put together the perfect bouquet to take to what he hoped would be the first of many dates.

A/N: Today's was pretty short, but I had so much schoolwork today wtf. Good luck to anyone else suffering through finals! Bye until tomorrow!