"Tre? Hello?"
My eyes drifted open slowly to the sight of a warehouse roof. I felt like I was sunk into something at first, but once I lifted my hand up I found out it was just one of those Sleep Digit beds. It was pretty comfortable.
"Blergh..."
I muttered something else in a hoarse tone for a few seconds, but then I stopped when Nora showed up above me with a big, surprisingly doofy smile on her face.
"Oh... hey Nor." I dunno why, but it seems like I said it both in a disbelieving and relieved tone. It was kind of weird.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said to me as I lifted myself up from the bed. "You've been away for a while."
"Um, pardon me for asking but, uh, where are we?"
"Greyson City's largest furniture store," she said, showing me a red room with lights hanging from the warehouse-styled ceiling. There were a few bookcases and a big mirror situated in front of us, with a wall-sized window on the left side and a couch display to the right.
"Hehe, Mobler. I used to love this place," I said, clearing my throat to get my normal voice back. "How long was I out?" I asked, coughing a bit.
Nora checked her watch. "It's almost 12:30, so it's been about, eh, 45 minutes." she said.
"Again with the whole knockout thing! Jeez!" I rolled my eyes, then looked down at my shirt and groaned. There was a big hole torn through the lower end of the front, and to top it off the edges were stained red. "Ugh, this shirt was one of my favorites!"
"Sorry about that. But hey, at least you're alive," Nora said. She took the bag from the desk she was at and threw it onto the bed. "Hey, try these on. As you noticed, that shirt is on its deathbed and there's a huge hole in your jeans."
I got a cold chill and started to check my pants. "I don't see any hole..."
"You're sitting on it," she replied, obviously trying not to laugh.
"Oh." I squirmed a bit and quickly decided to change the subject. "You didn't... steal these, did you?"
"No, I'd never do that. I just left a few dollar bills on top of where they were, which technically is paying for it."
"Normally I'd argue with that logic, but I don't wanna flex my brain muscle too hard. Might pull a nerve on accident or something."
"You sure you haven't done that already?"
I looked out beyond her for a second, then replied, "...shut up."
"I will not!" she said, putting her hand to her mouth afterward. "I'm appalled that you'd talk like that to a lady, mister!"
"Lady?" I looked up and down at Nora, then proceeded to crack up. I literally laughed so hard that I crashed downward into the bed.
With a sigh, I was back down to normal again, and Nora plopped herself down onto the bed next to me as we both gazed up at the warehouse roof of the Mobler. "You know, most of the girls I know would think that was offensive. Except Allison, she wouldn't really care."
"Well, I'm not most of the girls you know, am I?" she asked.
"Indeed, you are not," I said as I tucked my hands behind my head. "You live in a mall, for one."
"What, that's not a thing most girls do? Pffft," she said. I smiled as she gave me a playful poke.
She smirked, then tugged on my shirt. "Go change your clothes, boy. Any longer in those and I'll make you wish you hadn't taken that shot."
I got up from the bed and took the bag of clothes with me. "Right, then. I guess I've got to go and get pretty. You know, for the lady."
Nora laughed a bit at the statement. "The bathroom's three displays down."
"I've been here before, Nor."
I start walking away but once I noticed the giggling behind me, I turned around. Nora quickly stiffened up, and I smirked as I started to walk backwards.
I stick my tongue out and yell, "I didn't fall for that one!"
"I still saw it twice, genius!"
I rolled my eyes, then walked through the door with a thunk. Suddenly I felt really weird in the head, and I kind of got dizzy as I went into one of the stalls.
Ouch. Why would you do that, you dork? Bluh. She probably doesn't even think you're cool, she's probably just humoring you for old times' sake.
I tried to tune out the thoughts as I switched into the new pants, but they persisted.
What chance do you have? You're not even remotely cool, you're just an awkward guy with a girl that's way out of your league. Don't even bother.
Who's to say she's out of my league at all? Frak leagues. They're just stupid limitations put up by imaginary social rules. I can do this, I just have to play it cooler than usual.
Good luck with that.
Why, thanks.
I walked out of the stall and looked in the mirror. The shirt, which was one of those funny looking tuxedo ones with a green tie, fit perfectly, though the pants were a bit saggy. Being the weird stickler I am about that, I took my belt from my old pants and wrapped it around the new ones. Soon enough, they were happily around my waist, just the way I liked it.
Just remember, play it cool.
I threw my hoodie back on and swaggered out of the bathroom with a smirk. Nor raised an eyebrow and started to laugh a bit, rocking over herself on the bed in the process.
"What's cookin', good-lookin'?" I said with a slick, deep tone. I pointed toward her as I clicked my tongue with a wink.
"Well, you changed more than just your clothes, so it seems."
"You've just met a new guy." I replied as I put a hand against the plywood wall of her "room". "I'm Trevor Listman."
"Well, Mr. Listman, where ever did you get such a fresh attitude? Cuz I kinda like it."
"Babe, I was born this way," I said, dragging the "y" out as I got on the bed next to her.
"Hey, Tre, how'd you even end up here, anyway?"
"Well, I crashed into the optical section of the Straight Shot. I was kind of, uh... hyped up on... stuff."
"You're back," she said. I then noticed that my persona was starting to fade.
"Oh! Well, um, baby, I--"
"It's fine, Tre, Shhhh." She put a finger over my lips. "You don't have to pretend to be something you're not around me."
"Don't girls like guys like that though? With the slick voices and the winks and stuff?"
"Maybe, if you're a girl from the 1950s," she replied with a snicker. I turned away from her and started to go red-- well, I didn't actually turn red in the face, but the feeling was there-- as she did it, and all I felt was like I'd wasted my opportunity. The thoughts were right.
"Hey, are you alright, man?"
I perked up and swiveled back around. "It looked like you were about to cry or something," she said without a single laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said, wiping a bit of sweat from my brow. "I'm fine."
"Wait. Did you just say you were hyped up on stuff?" she questioned.
I bit my lip a little. "No, no, not that kind of stuff! It was just root beer."
"Well, alright. Still, though, that was weird, the whole crashy part."
"Sugar highs are a great and terrible thing," I replied with a whistle.
"Did you like, get taken away by Cow or something?"
"I... think so. I mean, I was knocked out so I can't really speak for what happened while I was off in Dreamland."
"That's pretty creepy. How'd you get out?"
"Well, uh, it's kind of a funny story."
"How funny we talkin'?" she said, imitating a New York-ish accent. I smiled after that.
"I'd come up with something less ridiculous, but I broke through the window in Carl's door."
"Wow. That's some hardcore stuff, man," she said, lightly punching my shoulder in the process. I faked like I was hurt by it and rubbed it with a groan, and we both laughed.
"Eh, it's no big deal," I said with a shrug before I lied down onto the bed. "I came to the mall to get away from my school-- there was this dance, you see, and I'd been invited by this girl."
"Girl?"
"Yeah. She's one of those popular girls, the ones that just... do things, y'know? Like, just jerky stuff. It's strange. I dunno why she even wanted to go with me, I'm not anyone important. I'm just... Tre."
"What happened when you went?" she asked.
"She wanted me to get punch for her, and then her ex-boyfriend showed up and threw the bowl over my head, and it just so happened that it was in front of everyone." I sighed as I said it.
She paused for a second, then whispered, "Maybe she didn't do it on purpose."
"...You think so?" I asked.
"I dunno. Maybe her ex was just being a butthead. I'm not saying it's out of the question that she did mean it, but maybe it was just a bad fox pass on his behalf."
"Fox pass?" I was confused, and it showed on my face.
"Yeah. F-a-u-x p-a-s. Fox pass."
"Uh... you mean, faux pas?" I said, pronouncing it "foe pah".
"Sure, that thing," she muttered. "Excuse me for never learning Latin."
"Actually, I think it might be French," I said, after which she gave me a glare that, if I weren't expecting it, could very well have maimed me permanently. "Oh gosh, I am so sorry."
"Calm down, dude," she said as the look faded. I let out a sigh of relief.