Beca's POV
Chloe Beale... I keep saying the name over and over again in my head. I met her last week when she came into the store and bought an Ace of Base record and since then, she's been coming in every day but not buying anything. I watch her and she just flicks through records, picks them up, and reads them. I ask her if she needs help with anything and she always says that she doesn't. I do think that it's a little odd that she doesn't buy anything but when I look at her, it's like she can feel me watching so she looks at me and I quickly look away. But the weird thing is, I can feel her watching me, too and when I look, she is so what's that about?
Whenever I talk to her she goes red in the face - just like her hair - and stutters. It's like she's nervous or something but in reality, it's me who should be nervous. She's so beautiful. I've never seen anyone like her before in my life. She's got long, red hair, bright, blue eyes, and a beautiful figure. I try not to look at her, I really do but I can't help myself sometimes. Every time she comes into the store I want to talk to her and get to know her a bit better but I always chicken out. I figure if she wanted to talk to me then she would. I told her to come and get me if she needed any help but she never does. She just looks at records for about half an hour before leaving and not saying a word.
Today was more successful though because we talked! It was awkward and anyone watching would have been cringing the entire time. She finally picked out a record today - it was Queen. I never figured her as someone who likes the classic roll and roll band but people are full of surprises. She was so adorable when she told me that she didn't have any change to give me. It was only forty-two cents so I let her have it for twenty dollars. If I could have had my way, I would have just given it to her for free. I can't get her out of my head even as I walk back to my apartment after finishing my shift, she's still there. I've been wondering what her name was ever since I saw her and now that I finally know, it's time to stalk her online - something I never do with people but I think it's safe to say that Chloe is different.
I hope she's single. I hope to God that she's single. I don't have a type, I never did but I do now. I was never particularly fond of redheads but I certainly am now. She's just so beautiful. I can't wait to see her again but I'm worried now that she's got her record that she won't come back. She said "probably" when I asked her if she won't come back. I hope she was joking. I want to see her again. I want to talk to her again and just ask her out. I was going to earlier in the week but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean, what if she's taken? I don't want to look like any more of an idiot than I already do!
I finally reach my apartment where I'm greeted by smoke and the fire alarm ringing loudly.
"What the...?" I start coughing and waving the smoke out of my face. "Amy, what the Hell's going on in here?" I shout.
"Sorry! I was trying to make you a nice dinner but it kinda went up in flames..."
"Open the windows!" I hurriedly open up all of the windows to let the smoke out.
Amy is my roommate. She calls herself Fat Amy but I always shorten it to Amy since it's easier. She's overweight but she doesn't care. Her upbeat personality and her funny sense of humour never fail to make me smile. Plus, she's Australian so her accent is enough to make me smile, too.
"What were you making?" I ask, putting my bag on the couch, finally being able to hear again once the ringing stopped.
"I was trying to make you some chicken and a nice salad but it didn't go as planned..."
"Didn't you check on the chicken or something?"
"Yeah, of course!"
I look at her dubiously.
"Okay, well, probably not as much as I should have but I think the salad turned out good though," she grabs the salad and shows it to me.
"Yeah, the salad looks good." I grab a soda from the fridge and sit at the small little kitchen table.
"So?" Amy sits across from me.
"So what?"
"Did you do it?"
"No, I didn't ask her out."
"Why not?" She whines.
"Because I got scared. We did manage to have a small conversation though so that was... interesting. She bought a Queen record but didn't have enough money to pay for it all so I told her not to worry about the rest. It was only forty-two cents."
"Aww! Look at you being all sweet."
"Shut up," I scold. "She looked really nervous talking to me. She stutters and her cheeks go red. It's really cute."
"She might have a crush on you, too then if she does that."
"Oh, please!" I scoff. "Someone like her would never even THINK of being with someone like me."
"Don't sell yourself short - you never know. What else happened?"
"I finally got her name."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Chloe Beale."
She shrugs. "I've never heard of her. Have you found her online yet?"
"I just got home."
"So? Come on, find her!"
I sigh then grab my phone and type her name into Facebook. She comes up straight away and I start searching through her profile.
"She's single!" I say aloud, more excited than I intended.
"Yay! Now add her and ask her out."
"Are you insane? No way!"
"Come on, Beca. You're crushing on her hard and it sounds to me like she's crushing on you, too."
"Yeah, but-"
"But nothing! When she comes into the store tomorrow you need to ask her out."
"I don't know if she'll be there tomorrow..." I say gloomily.
"Why not?"
"Because I asked her if she wasn't going to come back now that she got her record and she said "probably" like she won't come back."
"Oh... Yeah, but that doesn't mean that she won't come back. If she really likes you then she'll come back with some excuse."
"And what if she doesn't? Does that mean that she doesn't like me?" I don't usually ask Amy for relationship advice but I don't really have anyone I can turn to and it's not like I'm comfortable asking for it in the first place.
"I don't know. Look, you can only find out tomorrow and if you're that worried then just add her on Facebook and ask her out. It's much easier that way instead of face-to-face."
"I don't know, Amy... I can't just add her then ask her out."
"Of course, you can! Why couldn't you?" She frowns as if what I've just said was utterly ridiculous.
"Because it's weird!"
"Beca, you're never going to get anywhere if you just wait. You never know, she just might be waiting for you. I mean, she gave you her full name. Who does that?"
She makes a good point. No one really gives you their full name anymore unless they're signing up for something or something like that.
"I gave her my full name, too," I say.
"She's probably finding you online right now, too, then."
"You don't know that though."
"Neither do you."
"Look, she's probably already forgotten my name by now, if she even paid attention in the first place. She's way out of my league. I mean, look at her!" I show Amy her profile picture.
"Wow." She blinks a few times in shock. "She's gorgeous!"
"I know," I look at her picture and get butterflies in my stomach.
God... How can someone be so pretty as her? It should be a crime. And how the Hell is she single? That's even more of a crime! I do want to ask her out, I really do, especially now that I know she's single but there's no way that she'd be into girls. She's too pretty for that. All of the pretty girls are straight - it's just how it is.
"Hey, lights are on but nobody's home?" Amy clicks her fingers in front of me, snapping me out of my daze.
"Huh?"
"If you don't add her and ask her out then I'll do it for you!"
She goes to grab my phone but I yank it away before she can steal it from me.
"No! I'm just going to wait and see if she comes into the store tomorrow. If she does then I'll talk to her more then ask her out. I don't want to do it online, even if it is easier and saves me a ton of embarrassment."
"Alright, well, you do you then. Just ask her out before somebody does come along and snatch her away."
Amy stands up and pulls out a packet of chips before going into her bedroom, leaving me in the kitchen by myself. She makes a good point. I can't just wait around forever for a girl who may or may not be into me. If I want to know, then I have to ask. I can't add her on Facebook though. It'll be way too weird. I'm going to see if she comes into the store tomorrow then I'll ask her out. I'm nervous just thinking about it but I'd prefer to do it in person. I want to show her that I'm serious and I know people appreciate it when you do things in person rather than online.
Right. It's settled. I'm going to ask her out tomorrow. She's single and that's all I need. I have no idea if she likes girls but if not, and I ask, then maybe she might change her mind? I don't know. It's a long shot but I can only try - I have to try. I can't get this woman out of my head. I'm going insane just thinking about her. As nervous as I am, I can't wait for tomorrow. It's going to be the biggest day of my life.
~
The biggest day of my life my ass! It's an hour until closing time and Chloe hasn't come into the store at ALL today. I haven't even seen her walk by. Every time the doorbell rings I look up and hope that it's her but it's not. I'm trying not to overthink things but it's impossible. She got her record and that's all she needed. It took her a week to find it but she got it. I'm just so confused... This has never happened to me before. No one comes in here every day to aimlessly look at records and never buy anything. Even serious collectors don't do that. The majority of them buy what they need online now.
Since I've done everything I need to do for the moment, I sit behind the counter and scroll through my phone and I end up looking through Chloe's Instagram account. God, she's so pretty... I wish she was here right now so I can look at her. Amy was right - I should have asked her out already. I should have asked her out yesterday. What if she never comes back to the store? What if I never see her again? The more I think about it the more my stomach twists. I look at her photos on Instagram then switch to Facebook where my finger hovers over the friend request button.
I would love to add her but as I said to Amy yesterday - it would be too weird. So, I remove my finger away from the button and put my phone down. What am I even doing? My mind has been in a complete daze ever since I saw the beautiful redhead walk into the store. She's the most stunning girl I've ever seen. I haven't been in many relationships before but none of the girls that I've been with have held a candle to her. Every time I look at her, I get lost and when our eyes meet... it's like time stops. Even when we look at each other for that split-second, it's enough for me to enter my own little world. What I wouldn't give to see her again today...
~
As the day ends so does my shift. I say goodbye to Luke, who's the owner of Bantam Royal Records. He's a DJ and he spends all day in the back recording. Yes, Bantam is also a recording studio but I just manage the front. When he needs me to, I sort things out in the back but I'm mainly out the front selling records and restocking the shelves. When I applied to work here I thought that I'd be able to DJ as well but it didn't turn out that way.
I grab my bag and leave the store, allowing Luke to lock up when he's done. I make my way home, feeling crap that I didn't get to see Chloe today. There could be hundreds of reasons that she didn't show but I will never know. She didn't come in and that's all there is to it. I was really prepared to ask her out today but I guess I missed my window... I don't know if she'll come back now that she's got the record that she wants. I'm hoping that she'll come back and get something else and I'll be glad if it takes her another week to find it.
I arrive home and dump my bag on the couch before collapsing on top of it.
"There's the lover girl!" I hear Amy call out from the kitchen. "How'd it go?"
"She wasn't there."
"What?"
"She didn't show up today."
"Oh..."
"She doesn't like me, Amy. She didn't return to the store and she didn't even walk by. I may never see her again."
"Okay, come on," Amy pulled me up, sat down, and held onto me tightly. "You're gonna get through this, okay? Because you have an awesome best friend."
"Is that you?"
"Yes, also. We need to pay the rent. We have to do it every month so..."
I pull away and look at her. "You could get a job, you know?"
Her eyes widen. "Beca, you're in shock. You need to eat something. Come on,"
"Ay!" She yanks me up and sits me down at the kitchen table.
"Here," she slams a packet of chips in front of me. "Eat this."
"Ah... Okay..."
"Listen, I have to go out tonight. Are you okay by yourself?"
"Where are you going?"
"To see Bumper."
Ah, yes. Bumper. Fat Amy's boyfriend but not really boyfriend. It's too complicated for me to understand so I don't even ask anymore. She does her thing and I do mine and we leave it at that.
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be okay," I nod
"Are you sure? Because I can stay if you need me to."
"No, it's fine. You go out and have fun. I'm just going to work on my music anyway."
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, make good choices!" I call out as she walks out the door with her bag over her shoulder.
"Always!"
The door shuts and I'm left alone in my apartment with nothing but Chloe on my mind. I go into my room and turn on my computer where I start working on my mixes. Working on music always takes my mind off things but recently it hasn't been very effective since my mind always drifts back to the gorgeous redhead named Chloe. It's Friday tomorrow so it'll be my last day of work before I get the weekend off. I really hope that she comes in tomorrow but after what happened today, I highly doubt that she'll come in ever again. I should have asked her out when I got the chance...
Dammit, Mitchell!