Ambivalence; 80s/90s imagines 💌

♡ Empire Records // Asking You Out ♡

In which you're a regular customer and they've noticed you're around a lot.

Corey: She knew you from school, already developing a tiny crush on you, but with her constant studies and work, she would never really have the time. The only times you were able to talk were during her shift when you'd come in, and even if you didn't realize it, you were always kind of a de-stresser when she saw you. Because she always had things running through her head, just talking to you helped her calm down, like time would stop. Gina would constantly ask her when she was going to ask you out, Corey's answer being really vague. One day when she was sweeping by the listening booths, Gina playfully pushed her into the booth you were in. From that, the both of you were laughing and talking until her shift was over. Once you got outside she asked if you'd like to get dinner and catch a movie the next night.

Gina: Always flirting with you at the cash register, she'd compliment your outfits and your hair and makeup and will always be like "You again?" with a playful wink whenever you enter the store. She would always joke around with you, talking about what kind of drama was going on with whatever rock star, sometimes even holding up a line because you two were non-stop flirting with each other. At first, it felt like that's just what she did to bring in customers, until one day she asked if you two wanted to get dinner that night with her shift being over in the next ten minutes.

Mark: Being the dork he is, it wasn't even his shift on the floor, but he practically begged that he assist the person who's always strolling through the section where all of his favorite bands are. He's convinced you two are rock'n'roll soulmates. Every time you come in, he'll play a song from one of the albums you bought, hoping you'd notice. Eventually, you did, much to his relief, and then he wanted to impress you by saying his band 'Marc' was playing a show that upcoming Saturday and he would love it if you watched them. You said you'd be there and he got all giddy and immediately gave you a big hug. Once you left he couldn't stop jumping around, the gang rolling their eyes saying he technically didn't ask you out, but he didn't care because you were gonna be there.

Debra: She'd act like she couldn't give a damn, but you knew just under that hard exterior, Debra was in fact really sweet. Coming in you were always looking around for her, and once found, you two just went on about how different your music tastes were, but could agree that radio pop music was the absolute worst. You always had a crush on how mysterious she was, so instead of her asking you, one day she slammed her palm down on the counter when you were paying for your CDs, bumping aside whoever was helping you. "Alright- I don't know if I can handle it any longer. When are you going to ask me out?"

A.J.: Upon meeting you he would make all sorts of music recommendations. This went on for a few weeks, you returning back and him asking what you thought, and from there he would make even more recommendations. One trip in particular to Empire Records, you came home with an extra CD. Thinking he must've accidentally missed it, you realized it was a personalized CD with a playlist for you. He applied his artwork, carefully and beautiful, to the cover and CD itself. You didn't return for a while, just getting super busy all of a sudden, so while you were gone he was worried he scared you off or something. The gang getting slightly annoyed with him asking their opinions. When you finally got the chance to stop by and thank him, he asked you right there on the spot if you would like to go out one night.

Lucas: The first time he asked you out was right on the spot when he met you. The first time you declined, saying you were seeing someone, and he took it as a no big deal. But over time it did become a big deal, because he couldn't get you out of his head. Every time you came in he'd be like "There they are... mocking me without even realizing it..." Gina or A.J. would be like "Maybe they forgot about that- it was a few months ago, anyway. Maybe they're not seeing anyone now" One day when you came in, someone was bothering you, getting really uncomfortably close. So Lucas stepped in immediately, pretending to be your boyfriend, causing the person to finally leave you alone. You recognized who he is, but to thank him, you let him take you out to get coffee.