Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air was chill, the sign of fall approaching soon. The beginning of September was still relatively warm, but once the sun went down, the temperature went with it. And seeing as it was only just 6 AM, Ian hugged a light jacket around him as he stepped out of the passenger side of Anthony’s car, Anthony following behind him after locking up. The pair walked up to the mall doors together, eyeing up another pair approaching from across the parking lot.

“Morning, Rhett! Morning, Link!” Anthony called out to them.

Rhett spun his ring of keys around in his fingers casually, approaching the door and unlocking it for the group. “Mornin’, y’all,” he grinned, walking into the mall and toward their shared office. “How’s everything?”

Anthony smiled. “Pretty good, you?”

“Same as usual,” Link smiled. Rhett nodded in agreement. “You guys get up to anything fun this weekend?” Link added.

“Nah,” Ian shrugged. “Mostly just sat home lonely and starved,” He pouted playfully, turning to Anthony for a reaction.

Anthony only sighed and rolled his eyes. “What my dear Ian means,” he laughed, “is that I was away for the weekend, getting a new tattoo, actually. And he has no idea how to function without me. So whatever sympathy he was hoping to get with that, don’t give it to him.”

Ian scoffed in reply. “I can take care of myself just fine,” he retorted.

“You’re the one who used the word starved,” Anthony groaned. “And besides, Kraft Mac and Cheese is hardly an impressive meal to make.”

“Now when did we say I had to be impressive?” Ian fought back.

Link awkwardly cut in, attempting to diffuse the tension with a light chuckle. “Yeah, I’d probably forget to eat too, if I didn’t have someone to remind me,” he joked.

Rhett threw back his head in laughter. “You’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached to you,” he joked. “Honestly, sometimes I’m not convinced you haven't forgotten your head. Gotta keep an eye on you.”

“Hey!” Link sputtered in reply.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Rhett laughed, reaching a hand out to Link’s shoulder, giving it a playful shake. “Although I do worry about allowing you anywhere near our knives unsupervised.” He let go just as quickly as he had grabbed on, sidling up to Anthony. “New tattoo, you say? Let me see it.”

Anthony was a canvas of tattoos at this point. Abstract lines and strange shapes were scrawled over nearly every inch of his body. Given his line of work, he supposed having bolder pieces might make him seem more intimidating, but he’d opted for delicate lines, roughly sketched designs… he was more interested in the art of it all than anything.

He raised his arm, pointing the side with the tattoo towards Rhett, who paused, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy. “Which one is it?” he asked.

Anthony shook his head with a laugh, pointing to the newest tattoo.

“That wasn’t there before?” Rhett quipped.

Anthony sighed, and Rhett sputtered in defiance. “What? They all look the same to me!”

“It’s art,” Anthony scoffed.

“I’m pretty sure I have that exact design on my fridge from when my nephew was in preschool.”

Anthony groaned, stepping back wordlessly as they approached the office to let Rhett unlock the door. They dispersed to their individual desks, and put their things down, ready to open up for the day.

Anthony sat at his desk, booting up the computer to check for any overnight activity on the security camera system. There were so many cameras to watch, it was a near impossible task to take on alone – one of the others would usually join him once the mall actually opened for the day. For now? He could scrub through each camera quickly, only pausing for any unexpected movements.

Across from Anthony, Ian set up, opening his computer to review and update their open cases. Every store’s records were meticulously filed away in their office – every theft, every belligerent customer, every medical emergency – all under the watchful eye of one small department. And it was Ian’s job to keep each and every one up to date.

Rhett twirled his keys around in his hand again as he left the office. He had to walk around the whole mall, unlock every entrance, and open the security gates in front of every store before people started arriving for the day. He pulled out his phone, putting on some music to fill the silence as he wandered the concourse by himself.

As opening time approached and the workers were all starting to arrive to start their shifts, Link left the main mall area, getting into the security truck with another set of keys. He drove until he reached a building on the outskirts of the mall. He parked, climbing out of the truck and swinging the keys. “Morning, Noah!” he called out. “Just you today?”

Across the parking lot, Noah leaned against his car, waiting for the building to be opened for him. “Morning, Link!” he hollered back, standing from his position against the car and joining Link at the door to the dispensary. “Luke is gonna be a little late, but he said I can go ahead and get started on orders while I wait for him. Keith? He’s always late, that’s not even a question anymore.”

Link laughed, fumbling through the ring of keys before landing on the one that belonged to the dispensary. “Yeah, I don’t think he’s ever been here when I open up for you guys. How’s it going?” he asked, unlocking the door and stepping aside to allow Noah in.

Noah shrugged. “Same shit, different day,” he replied, nodding his thanks to Link as he walked in. He made a sweeping gesture toward their cases of product. “Can I get you anything?”

Link shook his head. “No thanks,” he replied. “But I’ve heard around the office that Anthony is gonna stop in by you guys later. To put in his birthday order or something.”

“Noted,” Noah smiled, heading behind the counter and starting up the computer system. As soon as he had booted everything up, the printer whirred to life, starting to print out a multi-page order. Noah crossed to the printer, picking up the leading page. “Speaking of birthday orders, that would be Tommy’s,” he sighed, watching the pile of papers continue to increase. “Jesus, how much does he want?” He glanced helplessly up at Link. “Well, thanks for letting me in, I should probably get started on this before Luke shows.”

Link nodded in affirmation and left the dispensary, leaving Noah to start working.

It wasn’t long after Noah had started on Tommy’s order, when Luke finally strolled in the door.

“Morning, Luke,” Noah smiled up at his boss.

“Noah,” Luke acknowledged him with a nod. “Sorry I’m late, what have we got today?”

“You’re fine,” Noah replied with a smile. “You’re not that late, we’re not open yet. Keith, on the other hand? You know he isn’t showing up until there are already people in here.”

Luke raised an eyebrow at Noah.

“Okay, fine,” Noah relented. “Until there’s like… A person in here. Thank God mornings are slow or we’d actually need him.”

“You call it slow, but you seem awfully busy for before we even open,” Luke noted.

Noah gestured to the papers on the desk. “Tommy’s birthday order came in, I’ve already gotten started contacting the distributors. There’s a few smaller orders if you wanted to handle those, I’ve got this one.”

“We’ll let Keith handle the storefront whenever he decides to show up?”

“Yeah.”

They worked through the early hour, until some time later, the store was actually open for business. True to Luke and Noah’s prediction, Keith strolled into the dispensary more than a half hour after opening, throwing his bag into the corner unceremoniously. Noah glanced up from the mountain of papers he was behind. “Thank God you’re here,” he sighed. “I know the name of the store is ‘It’s 4:20 Somewhere’, but it’s 8:45 here, and you’re late.”

Keith scoffed loudly, dismissing Noah with a wave.

Noah groaned, picking up a handful of the papers in front of him. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have a lot of work ahead of us.” He shoved the papers at Keith. “We just got a huge order. You know that guy from the toy store?”

Keith nodded. “Tommy? Yeah, he’s in here all the time.”

“It’s his birthday soon,” Noah nodded, pointing to the stack of papers. “He wants enough for a huge party, and we have a week to get it here.”

“Man, I ain’t got time for all that,” Keith groaned, thumbing through the stack.

Noah sighed, snatching the papers back from Keith. “I already started it, and Luke took over some of the smaller orders when he got here. We need you to watch the front today while I deal with all this. When Link came by to unlock for us this morning, he said Anthony was gonna come by later. Something about his birthday coming up too, so that’s at least one customer you can expect today…”

Keith nodded, waving Noah off. Noah disappeared into the back office, laying the papers out and preparing to contact another distributor. Keith returned his attention to his phone, flopping into a seat behind the counter.

Being where it was, the dispensary was slow most days. They had tried to get a space in the mall itself, but they were warned by the owner that their presence could ‘ruin the optics’ of an otherwise wholesome gathering place, and they were placed in a separate building on the mall’s outskirts. Traffic rarely passed by their store, but they had their regulars, and that was enough to keep the place afloat.

That being said, the regular clientele weren’t exactly what you would call morning people, either. Keith knew there would be a lot of downtime – there always was. So he settled into a seat behind the counter, scrolling his phone while he waited for someone – anyone – to show up.

It was still early, so traffic was low inside the mall as well. But they would get customers far earlier than the dispensary would, so none of them had the downtime that Keith did. Instead, the concourse was bustling with people trying to get to work before any customers showed up.

Courtney and Shayne were one such pair, hustling their way through the mall to reach the bookstore. Shayne stopped halfway through, leaning against the mall’s information desk with a smile. “Morning, Selina,” he grinned. Courtney sighed, the hint of an amused smile on her face. She hung back a bit, but offered Selina a wave as well.

“Morning, guys,” Selina smiled. “How’s everything?”

Shayne shrugged. “Same as always,” he smiled.

Courtney and Shayne would deny it, but they might have been the most well-known, well-liked people in this mall. They’d been working at Birdie’s Book Nook together for longer than most people here could remember – most people assumed the store was theirs, and named after one of their cats. The truth was, the store had existed long before either Courtney or Shayne had discovered it. It was founded by an old woman named Bridget, whose friends called her Birdie. She had sold the place years before Courtney and Shayne started there, but her name remained on the store. Courtney and Shayne had met here and fallen in love here, and the store held such special memories for them, that they chose to name one of their cats after the store, and not the other way around.

But most people had only started working here in the past few years, they didn’t know half the history that Shayne and Courtney did. The couple could tell you so many stories about the history of the place – they remembered OGs Of Gaming, the old video game store that went under some years ago, before video gaming saw a resurgence and JoyStix opened up in its place. They’d been around for Will It Taco, Rhett and Link’s failed food court venture before they took their jobs with the security team. They even remembered when Damien was first hired at Nerd Planet Comics and Collectibles. A dollar store in the mall had closed a few months prior, due to the owner’s mysterious disappearance. When Damien arrived at the comic book store for the first time, Shayne had greeted him with a raised eyebrow and a “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Damien had told him no – he was new, just moved here – but Shayne would be damned if Damien didn’t look exactly like the former owner of ‘How Much Money In The World Dollars Is It Does It Cost?’.

“I’d love to stay and chat, but Kiana might kill us if we’re late,” Shayne shrugged, removing himself from the information desk as Courtney shook their head behind him. “We’ll have to catch up on our free time sometime,” he added.

A wide grin crossed Courtney’s face and she bounded up to join Shayne at Selina’s desk. “You could swing by our place this weekend!” she excitedly offered. “We’re having a couple people over for Shayne’s birthday!”

Shayne sighed, shaking his head. “Don’t feel obligated or anything, we’re not doing anything big,” he told her. “Just a simple little hangout, some cake…”

“Don’t even worry about it, I’ll be there,” Selina smiled. “You guys get out of here.” She waved them away with a smile.

The pair continued toward the bookstore, strolling in together.

“Morning!” Shayne called out to the empty store. Sure, he didn’t see her, but he knew she was there. And sure enough, the door to the back cracked open, and Kiana poked her head out.

“Morning, Shayne. Morning, Court. How are my favorite lovebirds this morning?”

Courtney rolled her eyes. “Exhausted,” she groaned. “The cats were being particularly insane last night.”

“Sounds about right,” Kiana laughed. “I’m still convinced Spencer’s cat hates me.”

Shayne laughed. “She’s probably just not used to you because you don’t live there,” he mused. “Bones has never known a house without me in it and he still has it out for me.”

“Because you antagonize him!” Courtney fought back.

“He antagonizes me!”

“He’s just mad he didn’t get a special name like Birdie did,” Kiana laughed. “I don’t think it’s a living situation thing, though. I’ve been at Spencer’s place with other people before, and she’ll warm up to them immediately. But me? It’s been years, and she refuses.”

“Other people like who?” Shayne asked.

“Alex,” Kiana replied. “She literally jumps right into his lap.”

Courtney hummed in thought. “Maybe she just prefers men?” she suggested.

Shayne chuckled to himself. “Or maybe she sees the same thing between those two that we all do, and she sees Alex as family.”

Kiana nodded. “You guys joined the betting pool already, right?” she asked with a smirk.

“Of course,” Courtney grinned. “What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t?”

“Less invasive ones?” Shayne scoffed.

“We’re not being invasive,” Kiana sighed, rolling her eyes. “We’re watching from a distance, and if it happens, we can brag about being right.”

Almost as if on cue, a voice called out to them from the main concourse. “Morning, Kiana!” he smiled. “Shayne, Courtney.”

Kiana spun around without missing a beat. “Hey, bestie!” she hollered back.

Shayne’s eyes widened, caught off guard. “Oh, hey, Spencer!” he called back. Kiana elbowed him in the ribs subtly.

Spencer walked into the bookstore, wrapping Kiana in a hug. “Great to see you guys, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Shayne replied all too quickly, turning and neatening up some books on a nearby shelf.

“Right…” Spencer replied, shaking it off with a shrug.

Kiana shook her head with a sigh. “Don’t act like you don’t see us every day,” she teased him.

“Well, you’re the one who didn’t hang out with me this weekend,” Spencer pouted.

“You didn’t ask,” Kiana deadpanned, playfully shoving him.

“It’s implied,” Spencer shot back.

“Oh sure,” Kiana scoffed. “Don’t worry, next weekend I’ll just show up unannounced.”

“Next weekend, you’ll both be by us for Shayne’s birthday,” Courtney reminded them.

“Of course,” Kiana nodded. “Then Spencer can expect me to swing by extra early to pick him up!”

Spencer beamed at her. “You’re welcome anytime.” He retorted.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Kiana laughed, shaking her head. “Go to work, Spencer,” she added, shooing him away.

“Was kind of hoping I could stay in here,” Spencer admitted. “Emily might kill me when she finds out I didn’t make time to watch the Nintendo Direct before I came in today.”

“Oh, poor you, your job is video games,” Kiana groaned, rolling her eyes at Spencer. “Can’t you just put it on the TV in the store? You could make it sound like you’re doing it for the customers.”

Spencer’s eyes widened, grabbing Kiana by the shoulders. “Kiana, you’re a genius,” he grinned, not waiting for an answer before taking off like a shot out of the bookstore.

“You’re welcome!” Kiana shouted after him, whipping around to face Shayne once Spencer was gone, and rolling her eyes. “Real smooth, Topp.”

Shayne’s mouth hung open wordlessly. “What?” he fought back. “What did I do?”

“There’s no way Spencer doesn’t know we were talking about him now,” Kiana scoffed.

“Yeah, he’ll get over it,” Courtney dismissed them. “I don’t think it was that obvious. You deflected pretty well, he probably just thinks Shayne’s being weird again.”

Shayne raised an eyebrow at Courtney. “Again?”

Courtney shrugged, skipping away with a laugh to continue their work.

Shayne turned to follow them. “No, wait, what do you mean ‘again’?”

Kiana sighed, heading back into the back office.

Across the mall, Spencer finally made it to work, shuffling into JoyStix Games unceremoniously, only to be immediately accosted by his overexcited manager.

“Did you hear the news?”

Emily leaned excitedly over the counter, bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to engage Spencer the second he walked in. She moved aside to let him join her behind the counter, tossing his bag into a corner.

Spencer sighed deeply. “Not all of us woke up at the crack of dawn for the Nintendo Direct, Emily,” he groaned. “Some of us need our beauty sleep.”

“I’ll say,” Emily joked. “You need a lot if you’re gonna catch up to me and Alex.” Spencer could hear Alex’s laugh ring out from the backroom.

“I resent that,” Spencer deadpanned. “But no, seriously, what news?”

“What isn't news?” Emily scoffed. “It’s Nintendo Direct day, Spencer, everything is news. Are you telling me you didn’t watch?”

“I am absolutely saying that,” Spencer nodded. “But we could always put it on in here,” he suggested, gesturing to their display screen. “Make a little event out of it, let the customers stand around and watch…”

“Using the customers as an excuse to watch it yourself,” Emily laughed. “You know, I almost envy the audacity.”

Spencer shrugged. “It was worth a shot,” he grinned.

“Right,” Emily sighed. “Well, I’m gonna go ahead and put it on now, start doing your research,” she teased. “You’re gonna need to be prepared, because I’m sure Tim is gonna pop in at some point to talk about the Zelda announcement. And that’s pretty late in the Direct.”

“Noted.”

Emily started the Direct, broadcasting it to the big screen in the store. Alex poked their head out from the back room as it started playing. “Ooh, we’re watching the Direct again?” they asked, emerging from the back and standing at the counter to watch.

“Some of us are watching for the first time,” Emily groaned, glaring at Spencer.

“Dude,” Alex breathed. “That’s…” Spencer raised an eyebrow at him. “Actually exactly what you would do. Never mind.” He stepped out from the back, hopping up onto the counter to sit while he watched.

“Mind if I join you?” Spencer asked, patting the spot next to Alex.

Alex shrugged in response. “Sure, why not.”

Spencer hopped up onto the counter next to Alex, knocking over a cup full of pens and pencils in the process. Emily strode over to them with a sigh. “Jesus Christ,” she groaned, bending to pick them up.

Spencer put a hand out to stop her. “You don’t have to…” he paused. “I would have done it.”

Emily shot a judging glance at Spencer, still perched on the counter. “Right. You jumped up soooooo fast.”

“That’s like, the third thing you’ve judged me for in the past five minutes,” Spencer groaned.

“Whatever,” Emily dismissed him, placing the cup back on the counter before wandering off. “Well, you guys have your fun, I’m gonna go ahead and actually do some work.”

Emily walked off and they settled into a routine quickly – as customers came in, they too stopped to watch the Direct – until a relatively decent-sized crowd had formed in the store. And true to Emily’s predictions, Tim was one of those people, poking his head into JoyStix Games as he walked past on his way to his own store. “Ooh, you guys are watching!” he grinned. “First time? I won’t spoil.”

Emily shook her head. “Alex and I watched already,” she explained. “But some people here decided to sleep through it.”

“Yeah, I’d love to talk about it, but I don’t want to spoil this guy,” Alex nudged Spencer playfully.

Tim raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll swing by later then. Be ready.” He disappeared from the crowd, heading through the rest of the mall toward Nerd Planet Comics and Collectibles.

Tim walked into his own store, still grinning. He approached his coworker at the counter, practically bouncing on his heels. “Morning, Damien!” he spoke excitedly. “Big Zelda news today.”

“And somewhere in my apartment, my cat’s ears are ringing,” Damien quipped. “Drama queen’s gonna think she’s getting so much attention today…”

“What does she do when you play?” Tim asked with a laugh. “I’m sure you say her name all the time when you’re streaming the game.”

“Oh, I wasn’t kidding. She definitely thinks I’m giving her attention,” Damien laughed. “She’s the only Zelda she knows. But the viewers love when the girls pop into stream, so it’s a win for everyone.”

“Cute,” Tim smiled.

“What’s on the docket for today?” Damien asked.

Tim grabbed a basket from the front, shoveling items from the front display into it. Once he emptied the shelf, he handed the basket off to Damien. “If you could put all this stuff back in their regular places, that would be great,” he nodded. “I think I’m gonna put our Zelda stuff on the main display today to celebrate.”

“Nice,” Damien nodded, stepping back to survey the empty area. He glanced up at the space above the display, where they would usually hang signs from the ceiling during sales. “Do you think that wire could support a Master Sword?”

Tim shrugged. “Maybe if we have a plastic one laying around,” he suggested. “Or a carboard sign. I don’t know if our actual replicas would be too heavy or not.”

A loud groan out in the concourse snapped Damien and Tim out of their conversation.

Tim laughed heartily. “Well, it sounds like our sword expert isn’t too far away, let’s see what he thinks we can do.”

Damien leaned back, peeking his head out of the store and waving at the pair coming down the concourse, bickering the whole way.

“Angela, you’re gonna make me so late,” Chanse groaned, pulling ahead of his friend as she followed behind him desperately.

“No, let me finish my story!” she begged him.

“Angela, you spent five minutes trying to remember if it happened on Tuesday or Thursday.”

“It’s important!” Angela scoffed.

“Fine, if you’re okay with being late for your own job, just follow me in,” Chanse sighed, straightening his posture and beginning to walk with a purpose toward the comic book store.

“So anyway, whatever day it was, I was talking to Erin, right? And…” Angela’s voice faded into background noise as they approached the store. Chanse was still vaguely listening – some wild story about Erin’s recent ex – he’d get all the deeper details from the source herself later.

Finally, they appeared in the entryway of Nerd Planet Comics and Collectibles, Chanse walking all the way in, slipping his bag off his shoulder and tossing it behind the counter. “Morning, Tim. Morning, Damien,” he greeted them as he passed them.

“Morning, Chanse,” Damien replied. “Angela,” he added, nodding in her direction.

Angela followed, leaning against the counter as Chanse left her side to join his coworkers. “Hey, nerds,” she teased.

Tim raised an eyebrow, and Damien’s hand shot to his chest in fake offense. “Angela!” he scolded her.

“I’m teasing,” she dismissed him with a wave, turning back to Chanse. “Anyway, so this guy, right? So unbelievably desperate. She showed me this video he sent her, and I have never gotten the ick so fast in my life.”

Chanse laughed. “I’ve gotta see this,” he grinned. “Why didn’t she show me over the weekend?”

Angela shrugged. “I’m sure Erin didn’t want to be thinking about an ex while we were out at the club,” Angela mused. “Too busy scouting new prospects.”

“Fair,” Chanse nodded. “Even if I am a little jealous of how much attention she gets when we go out.”

Angela groaned loudly. “I don’t know why you’re continuing to lie to yourself,” she scolded him. “You’d hook up with anything that breathed in your general direction if it meant ignoring what you really want.”

“Go to work, Angela,” Chanse teased her.

“I don’t wanna.”

Chanse sighed, staring pointedly at her. “Angela?”

“Ugh, fine,” Angela groaned, waving as she left the store. “Meet you for lunch, though?”

“Of course,” Chanse called after her. “I’ll invite Erin too, I really wanna see this video.”

Angela left the comic book store, Chanse shouting after her. “Oh, and tell Tommy he’d better accept our invite next time!”

Angela turned back at the last second, raising an eyebrow knowingly at Chanse. He shooed her away.

Chanse sighed, turning his attention back to Tim and Damien. “Anyway,” he groaned, rolling his eyes. “What are we doing today?”

“Wanted your opinion, actually,” Tim nodded. “We’re doing a Zelda display at the front to celebrate the latest news…”

“Of course we are,” Chanse cut him off.

Tim ignored him, continuing. “And we were thinking about hanging a Master Sword above the display. Do you think the wires we use for the signs would support one of the replicas?”

Chanse darted to the shelf with the replica swords to pull down a Master Sword. He swung it around a bit, testing its weight in his hands. He brought it to the front, handing it off to Tim. “I don’t see why not,” he grinned. “It’s still just a replica, it’s not like it’s as heavy as a real one would be.”

Meanwhile, Angela continued across the mall, finally coming to a stop at Toy Zone. Her manager glanced up as she walked in. “Nice of you to join us, Angela,” she teased.

“Sorry, Sarah,” Angela muttered. “I got lost.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow at Angela. “Ang, babe, what kind of excuse is that?” she laughed. “You’ve worked here for years, what do you mean ‘lost’?”

“Does lost in my head count?” Angela shrugged.

Her coworker barked out a laugh from beside Sarah. “You know people don’t need every detail of every story, right?” he told her.

“Shut up, Tommy,” Angela hissed, a hint of laughter in her own voice. “But yeah, that’s exactly what happened. I was telling Chanse about something Erin told me, so the details were all kind of secondhand, you know? Spent like ten minutes in the car trying to remember if she said it happened on Tuesday or Thursday… maybe it was Wednesday, what do I know?”

Tommy shook his head. “And does the day matter to the story?” He raised an eyebrow at her, a knowing smirk on his face.

“Well, no,” Angela admitted. “But I don’t wanna do her wrong by fucking it up.”

“Well, that’s honorable, but maybe we try to finish the story in the car so you’re not constantly wandering in here late because you were distracted?” he suggested, a teasing lilt in his voice.

“Sorry,” Angela muttered, staring at the floor and shuffling behind the counter sheepishly. Now that Angela was settling in, Sarah skipped off to the backroom with a smile, leaving Angela and Tommy out front. They stood in uncomfortable silence, until… “Are you mad at me?”

Tommy’s eyes widened, and he reached out to grab Angela’s shoulders. “No, no, of course not!” he reassured her. “I love that about you. God, never change that about yourself. You’re always so excited to tell a story, and so detail-oriented about it, it’s kind of endearing, actually. Just… maybe it’s better suited for a time when you don’t have to get somewhere.”

“And now you’re patronizing me,” Angela groaned, turning away from Tommy.

“What?”

“You think it’s cute that my brain gets all freaked out by trying to keep too many details straight? And lecture me when I’m late for work because of it? It’s only been…” She pulled out her phone to glance at the time. “Five minutes, anyway. I’m HARDLY late.”

Tommy sighed. “I’m not patronizing you,” he frowned. “And I’m not lecturing you, either. It’s just… light guidance. Being detail-oriented is a good thing, but maybe not necessary when you’re trying to remember what day Erin gossiped to you about her date.”

Angela sighed. “I’m still sorry,” she frowned.

Tommy reached around, pulling Angela into a half-hug. “You don’t have to be,” he smiled down at her. “I’m not mad, promise.” He released the hug, turning back to the desk. “Anyway, how was your weekend?”

“Oh, so we’re just gonna drop it now?” Angela scoffed.

“Yes, we are,” Tommy smiled. “Because nothing is wrong, and we are friends, and a friend would ask a friend how their weekend was,” he spoke matter-of-factly.

Angela shrugged. “Same as always, I guess,” she nodded. “Went out with the regular group on Saturday night.”

“Of course,” Tommy nodded.

“The regular group that I keep inviting you to be a part of, but you keep rejecting me for some reason,” Angela fought back.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I’ve told you a million times, your well established group doesn’t need some new guy fumbling his way into their hangouts and conversations.”

“You know me and Chanse just fine, we’d make sure you felt included,” Angela nodded.

Tommy sighed, combing his thoughts for a valid excuse. “Okay, but Erin scares me?”

“Really?” Angela groaned. “That’s what you landed on? If anything, Olivia’s the one who should scare you a little. And honestly, I’m not even sure how you don’t know Erin better. Aren’t you like, besties with Vida?”

“Just because they work at the salon together doesn’t mean they’re bringing her around everywhere they go,” Tommy shrugged and turned away, but Angela pressed further.

“You know I’m not the only one who wants you there, right?” she changed the subject. “Chanse told me to tell you that you had better accept our next invite.”

Tommy groaned in response. “It’s still only the two people who actually know me,” he fought.

“Mallory, Erin, and Olivia are fine,” Angela scoffed. “Besides, I told them I invited you, and Chanse wouldn’t stop telling them how much they’d love you.”

Tommy’s eyebrows raised slightly, but he quickly blinked it away, his face neutral. “Glad someone has faith in my social skills,” he joked.

“He’s not wrong,” Angela glanced pointedly at him. “Literally everyone loves you.”

“Well, now that you’re here,” Tommy quickly changed the subject. “I definitely did not eat this morning, so I’m gonna use like 5 minutes to run down to Good Mythical Morning and grab myself something.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “Dude, you need to eat,” she scolded him.

“And I plan to,” Tommy nodded. “Sarah already said I could go once you got here. I mean, what she actually said was ‘don’t you dare collapse on my watch’, but I think that means I’m allowed to eat.”

“Go,” Angela laughed, waving him off.

Tommy headed around the counter, stopping on the other side. “Want anything?” he asked her.

Angela shook her head. “Nah,” she replied.

“Hey Sarah?” Tommy called into the back. “I’m gonna go grab something to eat…”

“Good!” Sarah interrupted him.

“Did you want anything?” he asked.

“No thanks!” she hollered back, poking her head into the main area of the store to wave Tommy off.

Tommy left Toy Zone, heading straight for the food court. He approached the line for Good Mythical Morning just as Trevor arrived, sliding in the side door of the stand. “Morning, Trevor,” he smiled.

“Hey!” Trevor grinned back. “Definitely just got here, so Josh will probably take care of you,” he rushed, disappearing into the back to drop his things.

“Morning, Josh!” he hollered into the kitchen as he entered, bringing his things to the lockers before approaching Josh at his station.

“Trevor, my guy, what’s up?” Josh replied, glancing up from his prep.

Trevor shrugged in reply. “Same as usual. Did you want me out there, or…”

Josh shook his head, stepping back from the prep station. “If you take over here I can take care of it,” he smiled, bending to try to peek through the small window between the kitchen and the front. “It can’t possibly be busy yet, we just opened. The girls aren’t even here yet.”

“Tommy’s out there,” Trevor explained.

“That’s it?” Josh asked.

“Yeah,” Trevor nodded. “I could totally go out there, I don’t wanna interrupt your flow or anything. Unless you wanted the break.”

“Have fun,” Josh smiled, gesturing to the front.

Trevor reappeared at the counter, offering Tommy a shrug. “Josh is in the middle of something, so I guess you’re stuck with me,” he teased.

“I promise it’ll be an easy one,” Tommy teased back. “I’m not gonna make you work too hard when you just got here. I’m already clocked in at work and only here because my manager doesn’t want me passing out at the counter, anyway.” Trevor’s eyes widened and Tommy put a hand out to stop him. “She’s exaggerating, by the way,” he reassured him. “I promise I’m not like… seconds from collapsing right in front of you or anything. I skip breakfast all the time, and I haven’t collapsed yet.”

Trevor raised a hand to his chest in fake offense. “Skip breakfast? Tommy!”

“Yeah, just… I don’t know, I’ll take a scone or whatever,” Tommy shrugged. “Something quick I can carry back, don’t need anything hot…”

Trevor slid the display case open, reaching in and pulling out a scone. He placed it onto a small piece of parchment paper, and walked to the other side of the counter. Instead of handing the pastry to Tommy, he opened a drawer, sliding the scone in, parchment and all.

He joined Tommy back at the counter, ringing him up. “Figured we could give it, like, 30 seconds in the warming drawer while you pay,” he explained. “They’re better that way, the display lamps don’t keep them as warm as they should.”

Tommy shrugged, tapping his phone to pay. “I said I didn’t need it heated,” he replied.

“Trust me, you do,” Trevor nodded. “Pastries are always better warm. I’d do it for longer if I could, but if you need to get back, even a little bit is enough.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Tommy shrugged. “I guess you would know what you’re doing, you know, actually working here.”

“You have no idea,” Trevor laughed. “I have a background in pastry, I studied it for a bit.”

“You can study pastry?” Tommy’s eyes widened.

Trevor nodded. “Honestly didn’t think I’d be using a whole-ass degree on ‘take these corporate-sanctioned pastries and maybe warm them up sometimes’, but here we are.” Trevor reached back into the drawer, handing the scone off to Tommy. “There you go,” he smiled. “Enjoy!”

“No, no, I’m curious now,” Tommy scolded him, leaning against the counter. “What exactly does a degree in pastry entail? Do you actually bake? Or is it all just the theory and science and math of it?”

“It’s both,” Trevor shrugged. “There’s no such thing as perfect baking. If you’re even the slightest bit off, it’s gonna ruin something. You could make the same thing twice in a row and end up with insanely different results.”

“Do you have to be like… good at science and math?” Tommy asked.

Trevor scoffed loudly. “I sure as hell hope not,” he laughed. “I just… really liked baking for fun, and thought I could maybe do it professionally. And now I’m here.”

“You’ll make it eventually,” Tommy nodded. “You’ll get some big, fancy catering job, leave all of us nobodies behind…”

“Bold of someone who’s never even tried my baking to say that,” Trevor spoke, rolling his eyes.

“Well, now I guess you owe me!” Tommy grinned, skipping away with his scone in hand, leaving Trevor at the counter in stunned silence.

Once he broke out of his stupor from being volun-told to bake for Tommy, Trevor’s eyes surveyed the food court – not many people milling about at this early hour. Customers were starting to file in – most would walk right past the food court, heading straight for the rest of the mall with a coffee in hand that they had gotten somewhere else – but this technically WAS their busiest time. He watched as people descended into the food court from the escalator in the center, watching to see if any of them broke off and came his way. And then he saw her, strolling in with everyone else, her blue visor emblazoned with “Got That Dog In You?” in bright pink. His best friend.

Trevor shook his head with a laugh – that stupid slogan, that stupid accent color – he’d asked Arasha about it once, and she insisted that the bright pink was supposed to represent the hot dog itself.

“Sounds… radioactive,” he had replied. “Remind me never to eat there.”

And of course, ever loyal to both the brand and the bit, Arasha had leaned in, tipped the visor at him, and replied “You just don’t have that dog in you.”

Today, however, she didn’t look his way once as she walked in, beelining directly for the counter across the food court – Hollywood Hot Dogs. Trevor shrugged and checked the time – the mall was only just opening, Garrett must have not needed her for prep this morning. He returned to the display case, pulling out another pastry and sticking it in the warming drawer for later, before turning to greet his actual first customers of the day.

Across the food court, Arasha approached Hollywood Hot Dogs and entered through the side door, flinging her bag into a corner and calling out a “Morning, Garrett!”

“Morning, Arasha!” he replied. “I’m mostly all set up already, so if you could just go out and watch the front?”

“On it,” Arasha nodded, heading toward the counter.

The mornings weren’t exactly eventful in the food court, at least for Arasha. Truthfully, the only place that got any traffic this early was Trevor’s place across the way. Well, she supposed it was Josh’s place technically, but she was closest with Trevor. She glanced across the food court, her face breaking into a smile when she spotted him. Her best friend, working behind the counter at Good Mythical Morning today. She watched as he served his current customer with a bright grin and an energy she could only dream of having this early. As the customer walked away with her muffin in hand, Trevor glanced up, catching Arasha’s eye and acknowledging her with a shy wave.

Arasha waved back with a smile. She busied herself at the counter until the crowd around Good Mythical Morning slowly disappeared, and Trevor emerged from behind the counter, heading toward her. “Morning, ‘Rash!” he grinned, gripping a bag tightly in his hands.

“Trevor!” she exclaimed, reaching over the counter to hug him.

Trevor dropped the bag in his hands onto the counter, reaching to hug her back.

As she pulled away, Arasha glanced down onto the counter. “What’s this?” she asked.

“Brought you something,” Trevor grinned, nudging the bag toward her.

“Ooh, free stuff?” Arasha gushed. “Say less.”

“Our best stuff for my best friend,” Trevor teased.

“Your best stuff?” Arasha laughed. “So, the least stale-looking thing you could find?”

“Basically.”

“What would I ever do without you?” Arasha teased, opening the bag and peeking inside. “Wait…” she paused. “This might actually be your best stuff.” She reached into the bag, pulling the breakfast pastry out.

A smug grin spread across Trevor’s face. “Of course it is, would I lie to you?”

“You wouldn’t,” Arasha reassured him. “But the corporate bullshit you’re forced to serve might.”

“I do what I can to improve it,” Trevor shrugged. “Warmed it up a bit for you.”

“I’m honored,” Arasha teased, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

“As you should be,” he teased back. “I don’t warm up pastries for just anybody.”

“Wow, I feel special,” Arasha grinned.

“You’re my bestie,” Trevor spoke with a warm smile. “If I know you well enough, I’m gonna do a little extra for you. Warmed up Tommy’s for him this morning, too. If there’s one thing I’m gonna do, it’s take care of my friends. The random people I don’t know don’t get that honor.”

“I’m not the only one?” Arasha frowned. “I felt special.”

“Oh my God, shut up, you are special,” Trevor reassured her. “I love all my friends.”

“But I’m your best friend,” Arasha pouted playfully.

“Fine, I love you more,” Trevor teased. “Happy?”

“Very,” Arasha grinned triumphantly.

“So,” Trevor laughed. “How is my best friend today?”

“Incredible, now that I got free stuff,” Arasha laughed. “It was just another random day before you blessed me like this.”

Trevor frowned. “Oh, come on, I’m sure your morning wasn’t so bad that a shitty little corporate-sanctioned pastry is enough to turn it around completely.”

“Mornings are always bad,” Arasha quipped. “Sleeping in is a luxury no one is allowed to have anymore.”

Trevor laughed. “Try having to be here for prep,” he laughed. “I luckily wasn’t today, but I am sometimes… I definitely don’t envy Josh.” He glanced back toward Good Mythical Morning – the line was growing again. “And actually, I should probably go,” he sighed, detaching himself from where he leaned against Hollywood Hot Dogs’ counter and pointing across the food court. “Looks like the girls just got here, and they’re already swamped. Don’t want to leave them high and dry.”

“Okay, I’ll see you around,” Arasha smiled, reaching over the counter to wrap Trevor in another hug, before waving him off.

Trevor trudged back toward Good Mythical Morning, joining the others behind the counter. “Morning, Nicole. V. Lily,” he nodded to his coworkers.

“Morning, Trevor,” Nicole smiled. “Glad you could finally join us.”

“I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?” Trevor apologized.

Lily laughed, shaking her head. “You’re fine,” she reassured him. “There’s literally three of us, we can handle it. Although, now that you’re here, why don’t you go ahead and take over for Nicole so she can join Josh in prep?”

Trevor nodded, sidling over to Nicole’s register. He waited behind her until she finished her current customer, and tagged her out, stepping up to the register in her place. V leaned over from the register next to him, nudging him playfully. “I saw you,” she grinned. “I know you were over there sneaking your girlfriend free stuff.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Trevor groaned.

V laughed heartily. “I’m just teasing you,” she smiled. “But she is someone special, isn’t she? You don’t just give anyone free stuff.”

“She’s my best friend,” Trevor dismissed it. He glanced back up at his line, sighing with relief when he saw a familiar face stepping up next. She would get him out of this awkward conversation. “Morning, Olivia!” he greeted her.

“Hey,” Olivia replied, glancing up at him. “Just the usual?”

Trevor nodded. “Of course,” he smiled, ringing her up.

“You know, one of these days, I’m gonna switch it up on you,” Olivia deadpanned. “You’ll never see it coming.”

Trevor shook his head with a laugh as he turned to prepare her drink. Olivia had been coming to them for as long as he could remember, and she hadn’t changed her order once. He highly doubted she was serious about switching it up. He finished making her coffee and turned back around, handing it off to her. “There you are,” he grinned. “Enjoy!” Olivia turned to leave and Trevor called after her. “Oh, and good luck today, I’m sure it’s gonna be crazy by you.”

Olivia sighed. “You’d think people would learn to do their back to school shopping earlier, but of course not,” she groaned. “At least I’m usually running a counter, though. I pity whoever they stuck in kids’ today.”

Olivia left Good Mythical Morning, heading toward Josie’s Department Store.

Josie’s was another case where the newer additions to the mall had no idea of its source. Not even Shayne and Courtney remembered when the actual Josie worked at Josie’s. Memories of when Josie’s actually belonged to Josie were somewhere in the security team’s files – only accessible to Rhett, Link, Ian, and Anthony.

She had opened it years ago as a small boutique store. Over the years, it had grown exponentially, needing more space and eventually becoming a full department store. She had hired on Mallory as a day manager, and they worked closely together until the day Josie chose to sell the store to a larger corporate entity, who spread her locations to various other malls. She remained on board as a district manager, working an office-side job and only popping into the actual stores every now and then.

Mallory was more the face of the store than anything now – aside from the other people who worked there, nobody really knew that Josie’s was anything more than a random name.

This morning, the energy at Josie’s was frenetic. Mallory had arrived early to neaten up the shelves and racks, not that it would make any difference once the mall opened. September meant back to school, and back to school meant kids running through the aisles or hiding in the racks, parents attempting to wrangle screaming kids who would rather be at Toy Zone, and the general messiness that came with people who just assumed that they could leave merchandise everywhere, to be someone else’s problem later.

Amanda had arrived just before the store opened, disappearing into the back area to put down her things and check the daily schedule. She traced her finger down the schedule until she found her name. “Fuck,” she groaned. She was the lucky person Mallory had stuck in the kids’ department today.

Usually, they would both float around the store, checking in on different departments, but Mallory had wanted someone stationed permanently in the kids’ department during the back to school season. And Mallory was the one who took that position during their last shift, so Amanda supposed it was fair that it was her turn – but that didn’t mean she wanted any part of it.

Why couldn’t Olivia ever get a turn? Olivia was always stationed behind the perfume counter or the jewelry counter, and never really ventured out onto the floor. But she was trained for the floor, everyone had to be when they were hired. Amanda knew how to run the counters, just once she would have loved to offer Olivia a trade-off.

As Amanda left the back area to head to her place in the kids’ department, she watched as Olivia strolled in, fashionably late as usual, a coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. She waited until Olivia settled behind the jewelry counter before crossing the floor and joining her, leaning against the counter on the other side.

“You are so unbelievably lucky,” she groaned.

“Hmm?” Olivia asked, her interest piqued as she turned from fixing the displays to face Amanda.

“Mallory put me in the kids’ department today,” Amanda sighed. “Do you have any idea how insane that’s gonna be with back to school shopping? At least you always know you’re either gonna be here or the perfume counter. I never know where I’m gonna be ‘til I get here, and I guess I drew the short straw today.”

“Oof,” Olivia sympathized. “Where’s Mallory?”

“I think she’s handling all the non-clothes departments,” Amanda rolled her eyes. “Somehow, I’ll have to keep an eye on the other clothing sections while staying stationed in kids. But I hope she knows I’m calling her the second things get too crazy.”

“Fair,” Olivia nodded.

“Are you sure you don’t want to trade?” Amanda tried, already knowing the answer.

“Nah,” Olivia shrugged.

“Didn’t think so,” Amanda groaned, leaving the counter and heading toward the kids’ department.

Now that customers were starting to arrive in droves, the mall settled into a busy hum, the hectic morning giving way to the lunch hour.

Eager to partake in said lunch hour, Angela burst into the food court, glancing around in search of her best friend. Spotting him, she made her way over to his table, sitting next to him.

Chanse glanced up at Angela as she sat. “Aren’t you gonna get something first?” he asked.

Angela shook her head. “Can’t decide,” she muttered, glancing around the food court at her various options. “What did you get?”

Chanse nudged his tray toward her. “All-American from the Spud Hut,” he explained, Angela eyeing it contemplatively.

“That sounds good, actually,” she nodded. She should have expected that Chanse had gotten from the Spud Hut – it was a staple of his, and he’d found them a seat directly across from it. She glanced behind the counter of the Spud Hut, offering a smile and wave to Peter as she stood and approached him to place her order.

Once Angela was seated back down, her own All-American spud on a tray in front of her, she watched as Erin rushed in, all but throwing herself at their table.

“Insane day today,” Erin groaned, flopping into a seat across from Angela and Chanse. “So many kids getting back-to-school haircuts.”

“I still find it so wild that kids are going to whole-ass salons for their back-to-school cuts now,” Angela mused aloud. “Whatever happened to your mom putting a bowl on your head and just going to town?”

Chanse’s face screwed up in disgust. “Thank God no one’s doing that anymore,” he fought back. “People have actually developed some taste.”

“Oh, look at you, so privileged,” Erin teased. “Mr. Never Had a Bowl Cut over here.”

“And you did?” Chanse asked.

“Yes,” Erin and Angela replied in near-perfect unison.

Chanse’s eyes widened. “Okay, now I’m gonna need you both to find photo proof immediately,” he laughed. “I need more ammo to tease y’all with.”

“You absolutely do not,” Angela scoffed.

“I’ll wear you down eventually,” Chanse hummed nonchalantly, turning to Erin. “Aaaaanyway, Angela told me you got some crazy video from your ex?”

“Oh, it’s so embarrassing for him,” Erin groaned, pulling out her phone and opening the message, handing it over to Chanse. “He’s literally begging, it’s so gross. Like babe, it’s been months, please give up.”

Chanse watched the video in silent horror – the man’s desperate, begging sobs causing Chanse to immediately turn Erin’s volume down, shoving the phone back across the table at her like it had personally offended him. “Girl, you deserve so much better than that.”

“I know!” Erin snapped back.

“Literally every guy you’ve dated in the past year has been the worst,” he teased her. “You’re a disaster.”

“A HOT disaster who’s at least getting some!”

Chanse put a finger up in warning, pointing with a playfully threatening air at Erin. “Don’t you dare,” he scolded her.

“I’m not entertaining it, I swear!” Erin fought back. “I wouldn’t be showing you this if I was thinking about going back to him, I’d actually have a bit of shame.”

“Then what ‘some’ are you getting?” Chanse teased.

“More than you,” Erin fought back.

“Don’t do that…” Chanse scolded her.

Erin rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you won’t just talk to him already,” she groaned. “You literally have the easiest in of all time, and you refuse to take advantage of it!”

“Literally the only reason I haven’t said anything myself yet is because I respect you as a friend and would never undermine you like that,” Angela added. “But it is starting to drive me crazy.”

“Only reason, my ass,” Chanse challenged her. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“What’s sick is you’re right,” Angela sighed, resigned to the fact that he was speaking the complete truth. “Even if you said ‘I don’t care, go ahead, do it’ right now? I would never do that to you. You deserve to have control over it, and if I said something and it ended up hurting you in the long run, I’d never forgive myself.” Angela frowned, refusing to meet Chanse’s eyes, suddenly very interested in her spud.

“Ew, don’t do that,” Chanse teased back.

“Do what?” Angela snapped.

“Get all weird and sad because you thought about doing something you didn’t actually do,” He sighed, reaching out to put a hand over Angela’s. “I believe you.”

“Good,” Angela nodded. “Doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, though, it still drives me crazy that you refuse to say anything yourself.”

Elsewhere in the food court, Arasha nodded to Garrett, making sure he was okay to handle the counter by himself, before slipping into the main concourse for her break. She crossed over to Good Mythical Morning, finding Nicole at the counter. “Hey Nicole,” she smiled.

“Hey, Arasha,” Nicole replied. “Looking for Trevor?”

“No,” Arasha shook her head. “He brought me free stuff this morning, so I thought I’d swing by and actually buy something.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nicole smiled.

A sharp laugh came from the other side of the counter. “I wouldn’t.”

“Well, I want to,” Arasha confirmed, glancing over at the other person. “Hey, V.”

“What can I get you?” Nicole asked.

Arasha studied the menu. “I’ll do a bacon scramble,” she nodded. Nicole rang her up and she leaned in conspiratorially. “Trevor can’t know I was here,” she told her. “Here he goes through the trouble of bringing me free stuff, and I still come over here to buy something?”

Nicole laughed, shaking her head. “Your secret’s safe with me. He’s so busy with prep right now, anyway…” She headed to the window, taking the plate from Josh and placing it on a tray, handing it over to Arasha. “Enjoy!” she smiled.

Arasha took her food and headed back across the food court, slipping into the back area of Hollywood Hot Dogs to take her break in relative quiet.

Back at Good Mythical Morning, Trevor came out from the back and sidled up next to Nicole. “She thinks I don’t know, huh?” he laughed.

“Apparently,” Nicole replied.

“I think it’s nice of her to still come here and spend money sometimes, despite getting free stuff. She doesn’t have to do that at all.”

“That’s what I said!” V laughed. “Girl, you’re getting free stuff, why are you spending money?”

“It’s not like she does it every day,” Nicole replied. “Might as well let her believe she’s getting away with some big secret.”

The lunch hour passed far too quickly, and Angela was forced to return behind the counter at Toy Zone, a scowl on her face. She had promised Chanse she wouldn’t say anything outright, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t throw out some heavy-handed hints. “I hate you,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose in Tommy’s direction.

Tommy glanced up from his work sadly. “Angela,” he pouted. “I’m really sorry about chastising you for being late before, I didn’t mean it like that…”

Angela’s eyes widened. “No, no, it’s not that!” she panicked. The last thing she wanted was Tommy upset with her. “No, I’m teasing, I’m not mad, you’re totally fine.”

“Oh,” Tommy realized. “This is about the not going out with you guys over the weekend thing,” he laughed.

Angela shrugged. That hadn’t been what she was talking about, but it was close enough. “You should join us, really,” she nodded at Tommy. “I want you there, Chanse wants you there…”

Tommy sighed. “You’re not gonna stop asking, are you?”

“Not until you say yes,” Angela smirked. “Come on, it would be fun.”

“You know, if you want to hang out, we could always do something just us,” Tommy suggested. “You don’t have to keep inviting me out in big groups just to get your Tommy Time.”

“Says the person who usually loves big parties,” Angela fought back.

“Yeah,” Tommy agreed. “When it’s people I know. Speaking of, you’re coming to my birthday this weekend, right?”

“Of course,” Angela smiled.

“Chanse too?”

Angela nodded. “He said he’s gonna swing by Shayne’s for a little bit first, but yes, we’ll be spending most of the night at yours.”

“Great,” Tommy smiled. “I just put my order in with the dispensary this morning, should be ready for pickup by Friday.”

“And will you be bartending?” Angela asked excitedly.

“My own birthday party?” Tommy asked incredulously. Angela raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, maybe a little bit,” he admitted. “You know I can’t resist showing off sometimes.”

“That’s what I thought,” Angela laughed, returning her attention to her work.

Meanwhile, despite the hustle inside the mall all morning, the lonely little store on the outskirts had been virtually dead. The first time Keith heard the bell above the door jingle with the sound of a customer entering the store, he glanced at the time on his phone before setting it down – it was deep into the afternoon and he hadn’t had anyone until now. He leaped from his seat, thankful for something to do, leaning against the counter in greeting. “Hey, Anthony,” he grinned at the security officer standing before him. “What can I get ya?”

“Hey, Keith,” Anthony smiled. “Mind if I take a look around first?”

“Of course not,” Keith nodded. He stepped back as Anthony wandered the store. “Just let me know if you have any questions about anything.”

Anthony nodded wordlessly, and Keith returned to his phone until Anthony approached the counter to place his order. As Keith got Anthony’s items together, he addressed him. “Heard your birthday was coming up,” he nodded. “Link told us you might be stopping in to place an order soon. How soon is your birthday? We might need a lot of time to get any special orders in, we got a huge online order this morning we’re trying to fulfill with our distributor, we should be able to add yours on if you can get it to us.”

Anthony shook his head. “This is my birthday order,” he confirmed. “I don’t really do parties, not like Tommy does,” he shrugged. “I bet that’s who your big order is, isn’t it? I know his birthday is coming, too.”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded. “This is barely enough for two people, though.”

Anthony nodded. “Yeah, it’s just gonna be me and Ian,” he confirmed. “And he doesn’t partake nearly as much as I do. He might share one, but we don’t need a lot for just us. We’re gonna stay in, have dinner, maybe I’ll paint a little bit…”

“Makes sense,” Keith nodded. “Looks like you’ll have more than you’ll ever need at Tommy’s party, though.”

Anthony shrugged. “If I go,” he sighed. “I mean, I’ll probably stop in just to be nice or whatever, but I’m kind of the opposite of a party person.”

“It’s a birthday party, not a rager,” Keith laughed.

“Yeah, and Tommy’s all charismatic and talkative and shit,” Anthony scoffed. “I just want peace and quiet when I smoke.”

As the day came to a close, Amanda clocked out at Josie’s, and booked it straight toward Toy Zone. She busied herself in the aisles for a bit, before deciding on something and bringing it up to the counter.

“Can you guys help me?” she sighed exasperatedly. She placed the Lego set on the counter. “Do you think this Lego would be too hard for my nephew? He’s 6.”

“Legos are too hard for me, and I’m an adult,” Angela quipped. “Too many instructions.”

Amanda turned to Tommy instead, gesturing to it with a shrug.

“Wouldn’t know,” Tommy sighed. “Sorry, my only nephew is a little baby.”

“I mean, I know he likes Lego,” Amanda sighed. “But there are so many different kinds…”

“You could always just get a gift receipt,” Angela nodded. “Cover your bases, in case his mom thinks he would struggle with it too much.”

“We don’t accept returns on open packages, though,” Tommy added. “If he tries it, and can’t do it, maybe there’s an older brother or cousin he could pass it off to?”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Amanda nodded. “I have so many nephews, it’s crazy. My sisters didn’t waste any time.”

“Right, so that’s a yes on this?” Tommy asked, holding up the Lego set.

“Sure,” Amanda gave in. Tommy handed the Lego off to Angela, who was standing closer to the register. She rang her up and handed the item back to Amanda, her receipt perched on top. “There you are, and that’s your gift receipt,” she instructed her, pointing it out. “Hope he likes it!”

“Me too,” Amanda smiled, turning to leave the store.

As soon as Amanda was out of their sight, Tommy raised an eyebrow at Angela. “Good, I get to tease you now,” he laughed.

“What for?” Angela asked.

“You said you hated me because I didn’t go out with you this weekend,” Tommy nodded.

“Oh, come on, you know I didn’t mean that!” Angela fought back.

“Yes, but that means I’m allowed to tease you back,” Tommy smirked. “And it looks like the perfect opportunity just fell into my lap.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Angela deadpanned.

“Come on, Ang,” Tommy sighed. “She is in here at least once a month looking for a birthday present for a nephew. How many nephews could she possibly have?”

“You don’t believe her?” Angela spoke incredulously. “She has like, a million sisters. A ton of nephews isn’t out of the realm of possibility.”

“The fact that you know that…” Tommy smirked triumphantly.

“Don’t drag me into your bullshit!” Angela fought.

“Oh, but you’re already so involved, dear Angela,” Tommy smiled, walking out from behind the counter with a dramatic flair in his step. “Maybe she does have a million nephews, what do I know? But what I do know is that she’s definitely coming in here to see someone, and it ain’t me.”

“Shut up,” Angela groaned, grabbing her bag and stepping out from behind the counter to leave. “Don’t make me ask Sarah to lock you in overnight.”

The week progressed with the busy air of back to school season, flying by before they knew it. And when the weekend finally came, it brought with it three birthday parties. Olivia had promised Courtney she would swing by at some point to wish Shayne a happy birthday, but after that, she didn’t really have any concrete plans.

“We going out tonight?” Olivia asked, her phone pressed to her ear as she headed to Courtney and Shayne’s.

“Can’t,” Angela sighed. “Chanse and I have Tommy’s birthday party tonight. Heard he kind of overdid it with the planning if you wanted to tag along.”

Olivia shook her head. “I’m on my way to Shayne’s right now,” she explained.

“Hmm,” Angela replied. “Didn’t know you two were close.”

Olivia shrugged. “Not really,” she dismissed it. “I’m definitely closer with Court than Shayne so it’s more for her than anything. And I wasn’t gonna stay long, either. Just pop in, say happy birthday, grab some charcuterie and a drink or two, and leave. Definitely looking to afterparty though, so I’m already taking an Uber.”

“You should party hop!” Angela suggested. “Come swing by Tommy’s when you’re done at Shayne’s. Chanse said he was gonna stop by Shayne’s for a bit early on too, but spend most of the time at Tommy’s. Maybe you could catch a ride with him.”

“Are you sure Tommy’s gonna want me there?” Olivia asked. “According to you, his main excuse for never going out with us is because he’s ‘just some rando inserting himself somewhere he doesn’t belong’. Isn’t that exactly what I’d be doing?”

Angela shrugged. “I heard how much weed he ordered from the dispensary, he’s expecting a huge crowd.”

“I don’t smoke,” Olivia replied.

“There’s edibles too,” Angela nodded. “He got both. And a decent amount of both, from what I hear.”

“Fine,” Olivia gave in. “I’ll show up. But only if you and Chanse leave with me so we can afterparty.”

Angela sighed. “I love you, Liv, but I’m not leaving Tommy’s party. I’d feel awful. You do what you want, though,” she added.

“Fine, then we go late,” Olivia fought back. “When his party’s over.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Angela promised her.

“Great,” Olivia confirmed, hanging up. Her Uber pulled up outside of an unfamiliar house, and she stepped out, heading to the door. She rang the bell, shifting awkwardly until Courtney opened the door.

“Hey, Olivia!” Courtney smiled. “Glad you could make it, come on in!”

“I can’t stay long,” Olivia apologized. “Gonna hit up Tommy’s party later too.”

Courtney nodded. “Yeah, I get it,” she replied. “I don’t expect our friends to choose, of course you can enjoy both.” She led Olivia into the house, where several of Shayne’s friends were already gathered. Damien and Alex were on the couch in the corner, chatting with one each of Shayne and Courtney’s cats on their laps – Bones curled up on Damien’s lap contentedly, and Birdie a little more unsure on Alex’s. Chanse was busying himself at the minibar, and Selina and Amanda were having a conversation over the snack table.

“Hey, Olivia!” Amanda called out, waving her over to them.

“One sec,” Olivia replied. “I just got here, let me go say happy birthday to Shayne first.”

Amanda nodded, and Olivia took off in search of Shayne. She found him on another couch, currently deep in conversation with Spencer, Kiana on Spencer’s other side shaking her head at whatever ridiculous thing Spencer had just said.

“Hey. Shayne!” Olivia strode up to him all smiles. “Happy birthday!”

“Thank you, Olivia,” Shayne smiled. “Glad you could make it.”

Kiana stood from her place on the couch, gesturing for Olivia to sit. “I’m gonna go mingle a little bit, go ahead and get comfortable,” she offered her.

“Thanks, Kiana,” Olivia smiled, sitting down in her place. She turned back to Shayne and continued the conversation. “Yeah, I’m glad I could swing by for a little bit,” she nodded. “I’m sorry I can’t stay, but I have Tommy’s too, and…”

“It’s okay.” Shayne laughed. “That’s no one’s fault but Tommy’s for having a birthday so close to mine. I was born first.”

“I always feel bad about leaving parties early,” Olivia frowned.

“It’s fine,” Shayne smiled. “He’s not stealing anyone from me, it just means that we have a lot of the same friends. I think Chanse said he’s leaving for Tommy’s later too, maybe you guys could ride together?”

Olivia shrugged. “Yeah, probably,” she nodded. “I’m sure we’ll talk about it at some point.”

Meanwhile, Kiana had wandered over toward Damien and Alex. “Well, if it isn’t the Cat Whisperers,” she teased them.

Alex shrugged. “I don’t know about that,” he replied, gently petting Birdie. “She’s definitely not as comfortable as Bones over here. It’s weird, I’m usually so much better with cats. When I’m at Spencer’s, Cleo won’t leave me alone.”

“Birdie’s just a little shy,” Kiana nodded. “You’re at Spencer’s all the time, you’re practically family to Cleo. Birdie doesn’t know you like that yet.”

“No, I’m a cat whisperer, like you said,” Alex fought back teasingly. “All cats are supposed to love me.”

“And Cleo is literally your only frame of reference for that.” Kiana joked back.

The sound of the doorbell cut through the party again, and Shayne stood to answer it this time, opening the door to reveal Trevor and Josh. Trevor stood at the front carrying a tray in his hands, Josh trailing behind him.

“Hey guys, welcome in!” Shayne greeted them, gesturing past himself for Trevor and Josh to step inside.

“Happy birthday, Shayne!” Josh reached out to him for a bro-hug.

“Yeah, happy birthday!” Trevor parroted, holding the tray out to Shayne.

“Thank you guys!” Shayne exclaimed, taking the tray from Trevor’s hands. “You didn’t have to bring anything!”

“I know,” Trevor spoke shyly, putting his hands behind his back the second they were free. “You can do whatever you want with them,” he nodded. “Put them out, keep them for yourself, it is your birthday…”

Shayne opened the corner of the cover on the tray, peeking into it. “What did you bring, anyway?”

“Just some pastries,” Trevor shrugged.

“Ooh,” Shayne grinned, opening the tray fully to inspect them. “Well, these are definitely not from your store, so... what’s your bakery of choice?”

Trevor glanced at the floor shyly. “My kitchen?” he offered.

Shayne raised an eyebrow at Trevor. “Yeah, okay,” he scoffed. “These look incredible. There’s no way you bake like this and still work in a mall, getting your pastries from some random corporate entity. You could be working in catering with work like this.”

Trevor shrugged. “Well, I do,” he replied. “Believe me, Josh wishes we could make our own stuff in-house too.” Josh nodded enthusiastically behind him. “But we already make the breakfast sandwiches and the egg plates and stuff in-house, so we outsource the pastries to a supplier. I’ve… mostly been baking just for fun lately.”

“Yeah, if we could afford to make the pastries in-house too? We’d be golden,” Josh nodded.

Shayne walked the tray over to a table, opening them for everybody to take, and grabbing the first one for himself. He popped the pastry into his mouth, and his eyes widened. “Holy shit, Trevor.”

Josh grinned from behind Trevor. “I know, right?” he replied, slapping Trevor on the shoulder enthusiastically.

“Trevor, I’ve known you for years,” Shayne playfully scolded him. “How the hell did I not know you baked?” He paused. “Screw that. Baked like this?”

“Never really did it for anyone but family,” Trevor shrugged. “But I kind of let it slip to Tommy the other day, and he told me I owe him some now. So I decided to start spreading the love a little bit.”

“So why are you at my birthday party with these, and not Tommy’s?” Shayne asked.

“Because you’re the one who invited me,” Trevor deadpanned. “I’ll share with him eventually, but I figured I’d start with you.”

As the day turned into evening, Olivia bounded up to Chanse. “Whenever you’re ready to head to Tommy’s, we can head out,” she grinned.

“I still can’t believe you were invited to Tommy’s,” Chanse spoke incredulously. “Tommy’s always saying he doesn’t want to go out with us because he doesn’t know anyone in our group but me and Angela. But he invites you to his party?”

“Well, he didn’t,” Olivia admitted. “Angela did. I called her earlier to see if she wanted to afterparty when I was done here, but she said she’d feel bad leaving Tommy’s. So she told me I should party hop, and that maybe I could catch a ride over with you. There’s apparently a fully stocked bar, and weed in several forms. He’s clearly expecting a bunch of people, so she figured what’s one more, you know?”

“So this was Angela’s idea?” Chanse sighed. “She tried to make it sound like you were invited when she told me. Oh, she is definitely trying to get you two to know each other better so he finally says yes to going out with us,” Chanse laughed.

“No, I’d be thrilled to have him join us!” Olivia gushed.

“And we keep telling him that,” Chanse sighed. “Literally everyone who knows Tommy loves Tommy.”

“He’ll give in eventually,” Olivia smirked. “He won’t be able to resist us for long.”

Chanse nodded with a laugh. “Were you ready to go, or…?” he trailed off.

“If you are,” Olivia nodded. “You’re definitely closer to Shayne than I am, I don’t want to take away from your time with him.”

Chanse shook his head. “No, he knows I’m splitting my time between his party and Tommy’s, he doesn’t mind,” he explained. He wandered through the party, Olivia following, until he found Shayne. “Hey, Shayne, thanks for having us, we’re gonna head out to get over to Tommy’s. Happy birthday, alright?”

“Yeah, happy birthday!” Olivia added.

“No, thank you guys for coming,” Shayne smiled. “Tell Tommy I said happy birthday too.”

The pair left Shayne and Courtney’s, hopping into an Uber and heading toward Tommy’s.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the area, the evening crept in in a swirl of soft oranges and pinks, the sunset casting a warm glow in the westernmost window of Ian and Anthony’s place. Anthony had set up for the night in said window – his paintbrush in one hand and a joint in the other, standing at the easel he had set up facing the sunset.

Ian stepped up behind him with a plate balanced in his hands, a piece of vegan chocolate cake perched on it with a candle stuck into it. “Happy birthday, Anthony!” he grinned, wrapping his arms around Anthony, cake and all.

Anthony smiled softly back at Ian, taking the cake from his hands. “Ian, it’s not my birthday yet.”

Ian sighed. “I know,” he replied. “But would you rather celebrate when we get home from work that day and we’re too damn tired? Or today, when we have nothing but time and no one but each other?”

Anthony smiled. “God, I love you, Ian,” he smiled. “But I can think of something that’ll keep us awake after work on my birthday…”

“Daniel Anthony Padilla, you dog,” Ian teased.

“Ew, that makes it sound like you’re talking about my dad.”

Ian shrugged it off, gesturing toward the cake. “I’d ask you to blow out the candle, but you have the lighter,” Ian teased, taking it off the side table and lighting the candle. “Okay, now.”

Anthony groaned affectionately, leaning in and blowing out the candle.

“What’d you wish for?” Ian teased.

“If I told you, it won’t come true,” Anthony replied.

“What if I want to help make it happen for you?” Ian asked.

“You already are,” Anthony smiled. “All I wished for was more nights just like this.”

Finally arriving at Tommy’s apartment, Olivia and Chanse got out of their Uber, heading toward the building. They rang the bell, Tommy answering the call box. “Hello?” Tommy asked.

“Happy birthday, Tommy!” Chanse grinned. “It’s Chanse and Olivia!”

“Alright, come on up, it’s unlocked!” Tommy replied, buzzing them up to his apartment.

Tommy turned, thankful to see Angela standing nearby. He raised an eyebrow at her. “Angela…” he scolded her. “Did you invite Olivia?”

Angela shrugged. “She was going to Shayne’s party earlier, more for Courtney than anything. She said she wanted to afterparty after Shayne’s, so I suggested she come here. You’ve got the weed, you’ve got the drinks… and I would have felt awful leaving your party to go have fun somewhere else.”

Tommy waved Angela off. “Oh my God, go have fun, don’t stay on account of me,” he urged her.

“I would literally never,” Angela shook her head. “I’m here to celebrate you. Might still go out later, but after your party is done.”

As Olivia and Chanse entered Tommy’s party, they both made a beeline straight for Angela. “You guys made it!” Angela greeted them excitedly, leaping on them both in a hug.

Chanse raised an eyebrow at her, shrugging out of the hug. “Jesus, how drunk are you already?” he scoffed.

“I don’t have to be drunk to hug my best friend,” she fought back. “Not my fault you’re allergic to acts of friendship.”

“Whatever,” Chanse brushed her off. “Now, speaking of getting drunk, what’s this I was hearing about a fully stocked bar?” Angela grabbed Chanse’s hand and dragged him toward the bar, leaving Olivia to follow.

“Hey, Liv!” she heard a voice address her, turning to see Angela and Tommy’s boss, Sarah, jogging up to her.

“Hey, Sarah!” she smiled. “What’s up?”

“Didn’t think I’d see you here!” she replied. “I didn’t think you were close with Tommy!”

Olivia shrugged. “I’m not, really,” she admitted. “But Angela’s trying to convince him to start going out with us, so she invited me. I think she’s trying to force us to get to know each other better.”

“Well, there’s plenty to partake in,” Sarah nodded, gesturing around the apartment. Olivia glanced around, deciding on her next move. Angela and Chanse had headed toward the bar, also currently populated by Arasha, clutching a glass of wine. Noah, Keith, and Luke had stationed themselves around the table with the weed, promising to coach anyone who had never tried it before on proper dosages. And then she found him. In a cleared-off area, electro-pop music blaring through the speakers, dancing with Vida – the birthday boy himself.

Olivia bounded in Tommy’s direction. “Happy birthday, Tommy!” she excitedly greeted him.

“Thank you, Olivia!” Tommy grinned. “What brings you here tonight?”

“The desire to afterparty,” she nodded. “Shayne’s party was nice, but this is a party party, you know?”

“I’ve been told that before, yes,” Tommy laughed. “That I throw good parties, I mean.”

“I’m excited to really get started,” Olivia nodded excitedly.

“Right this way, then,” Tommy teasingly guided her, putting on a fancy accent and taking her arm. “Can I get you something to drink?” He led her toward the bar, Chanse and Angela looking up at them when they arrived.

“We were wondering where you went!” Chanse exclaimed, pulling up a seat for Olivia as Tommy slid behind the bar to mix something for her.

“Just thought I would go find the man of the hour first,” Olivia shrugged.

“Yeah, dude, where were you?” Chanse asked, leaning over the bar to address Tommy. “You just let us up and disappeared. Happy birthday, by the way.”

“This is a tiny apartment, I promise I wasn’t that hard to find,” Tommy laughed. “Thank you, Chanse.” He handed Olivia her drink and set about making one for Chanse as well.

The party carried on into the night, everyone flitting around the apartment with unbridled energy. As the night was drawing to a close, Angela bounded over to Tommy.

“Olivia still wants to afterparty,” Angela casually suggested, sidling up close to him. “You in?” she whispered enticingly.

Tommy sighed, slumping against his kitchen counter with exhaustion. “It’s been hours. How does she still have so much energy?” he fought. “Did she bring cocaine or some shit?”

“She holds her liquor incredibly well,” Angela nodded.

“Yeah, and so do I,” Tommy shot back. “Did she have any of the weed?” Tommy asked.

“She doesn’t smoke,” Angela nodded.

“You say that like there weren’t also edibles here,” Tommy groaned. “I meant did she partake at all.”

“I don’t think so, no,” Angela replied.

“Oof, yeah, that explains it,” Tommy groaned. “Because I’m definitely crossfaded.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Angela asked, reaching out a hand and landing it on Tommy’s shoulder. “You feeling okay? You need someone to stay tonight?” she worried.

“I know what I’m doing, I know how much I can handle,” Tommy snapped. “It’s only dangerous if you overdo it.”

Angela backed away, her hands up in surrender.

“I promise. I don’t feel sick or anything, so no, I don’t think I overdid it,” Tommy reassured her. “Just definitely crashing all of a sudden, and if Olivia didn’t have any, that might explain her comparative amount of energy. That’s all.”

“Okay, yeah, you’re definitely not afterpartying with us,” Angela scolded him. “Actually, I’m not even sure I want to go now, I don’t want to leave you like this.”

“I’m literally fine, Angela,” Tommy snapped. “Leave it. Go have your fun,” Tommy waved her off.

“Ew,” Angela scoffed. “You know what, maybe I don’t want you hanging out with us more. You just told me to ‘leave it’ like I was a damn dog, and I already hear that enough from Chanse.”

Chanse appeared behind Angela at the mention of his name. “No, she needs to hear it more!” he encouraged him.

Tommy sighed. “Alright, you guys go have your fun,” he waved them off. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for having us,” Angela grinned. “Just… let me know you’re safe, alright?”

Tommy groaned. “I’ll text you or call you in the morning, okay?” he reassured her. “Vida threatened to stay over tonight whether or not I want them to, so…”

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” Vida deadpanned from across the kitchen.

“I don’t need to be babysat,” Tommy groaned.

“And I don’t need to leave my friend alone when he’s coming down from a high,” Vida fought back. They waved the group off. “He’s in safe hands, go have fun. I’ll make him call you in the morning.”

And as the night faded into its darkest hours, three birthday boys went to sleep satisfied.

Chapter Text

One October morning, the town awoke to an overcast day. A chill was settling in the air, and every now and then, the clouds would impart a light drizzle over the area. And as such, it was the kind of day where no one wanted to get out of bed. Everyone arrived for work in various stages of ‘over it already’, trudging in like they wanted to be anywhere but there, waving their hellos to Selina at the information desk, who greeted them with a warm smile. She was the closest thing they had to a ‘bright spot’ this morning.

It was almost as if the universe was preparing them, like it knew he was coming.

Striding in through the mall’s main doors the second it opened to the public, dressed in an ill-fitting suit, a smug and stuffy air about him, was Dave Dilford.

Dave Dilford was the district lead for Defy Enterprises, the company that owned the mall. And as anyone who had worked at the mall long enough could tell you, he was exactly the kind of person who would hold that fact over you every chance he got.

He approached the information desk. “Good morning,” he addressed Selina with a nod, walking past the desk with the intent of not stopping.

“Good morning,” Selina replied back. “Can I help you?”

“Just conducting some inspections,” Dave waved her off with a sigh, stopping to lean against the desk. “How’s traffic been? Looking pretty slow today.”

“It’s early yet, I’m sure it’ll pick up eventually,” Selina shrugged. “But it’s been busy enough,” she replied. “Feels like I’m always talking to somebody.”

“There was no one here when I approached you,” Dave pointed out.

“Weather’s probably keeping people out,” she shrugged. “But the holiday season is coming, I’m sure that will more than make up for it.”

“Sure,” Dave shrugged. “I know the holiday season is busy. But this isn't the holiday season, and it’s not busy enough right now.” He rapped his fist against the desk, striding off and leaving Selina staring after him, dumbfounded.

Dave headed toward the security offices, knocking on the door. Link stood to open it. “Hello, gentlemen,” Dave greeted them, walking around Link to let himself into the office. “Just here to sign in, going to walk around and do some inspections,” he explained.

Ian reached into his desk, pulling out the huge binder where all the mall’s business-related visitors logged their time. Corporate representatives, district management, vendors, delivery truck personnel, you name it, they were in the book, every visit logged meticulously.

Ian handed the binder to Dave, who scrawled his signature into it before handing it back.

“Did you want one of us to accompany you?” Rhett asked from across the room.

“That won’t be necessary,” Dave replied, disappearing from the office without waiting for a reply.

Rhett shrugged, looking around the office. “Didn’t think so, but I figured I’d ask anyway,” he muttered. “It was worth a shot, everyone else usually takes me up on it.”

“Dave isn’t everyone else,” Anthony groaned.

Ian opened his email client, glancing around at the others. “Should I send out a warning?” he asked.

“No one’s checking their emails this early,” Rhett shook his head. “Maybe we make a text chain of it? If we text Josh, it’ll get around.”

“Yeah!” Link nodded, pulling out his phone and opening his text thread with Josh.

[Link] Heads up, Dilford’s in. Spread the word.

[Josh] Thanks, man. On it.

Meanwhile, Dave arrived at the first store on his list of inspections, Birdie’s Book Nook.

“Good morning!” Dave addressed Courtney, a forced customer service smile plastered across his face as he approached the counter. “Is everyone here?”

Courtney nodded with a “Yes sir!”

Dave nodded back curtly. “Could you round everyone up for me? Quick mall wellness check appointment.”

Courtney waved Shayne over from his place adjusting a distant shelf, and once they’d gotten his attention, stuck their head into the back doors to flag down Kiana.

Once the other two met Courtney at the counter, they stepped out into the middle of the floor to join Dave.

Dave began with a sigh. “So… bookstores aren’t what they used to be, you know,” he started.

“I’d say we’re doing pretty well, all things considered,” Kiana reported. “If you’d like to see the paperwork, I have it somewhere in the back.”

“That won’t be necessary, I have copies of all the most recent reports,” Dave confirmed. “Whose standards are you basing that statement on? Because more people are purchasing through Amazon than ever before – Amazon has actually started incorporating physical bookstores of their own. You’d do well to convert yourselves into one.”

“I’d venture to say we have more brand recognition to the local crowd than an Amazon would,” Shayne fought back. “Honestly, I remember coming here when I was younger, it’s been around for ages. Local business doesn’t NEED a name for brand loyalty. Putting a corporate name on what’s basically the same packaging isn’t going to change much of anything. And Amazon aren’t known for their storefronts.”

“You’re in a corporate owned mall, not a small town main street,” Dave retorted. “This isn’t the place for your cute little mom and pop shop stuff. This is a place for making money.”

Kiana glanced over at the counter, clearly uninterested in Dave’s ranting, only to see a line beginning to form. She attempted to quietly leave the huddle to head towards them.

“I don’t need the paperwork, thank you,” Dave stopped her.

“I’m not getting the paperwork, I’m helping our customers,” Kiana nodded.

“I don’t appreciate the disrespect,” Dave spat, waving Kiana back over. “No one leaves until we’re finished.”

“We are finished,” Kiana fought back. “I’m not selling out.”

“The discussion is not over,” Dave reprimanded her.

Kiana groaned, trudging back toward the group. She raised an eyebrow at Dave, gesturing toward the line that had formed at the counter. “You really want to keep the customers waiting so you can what, wax poetic about how our corporate overlords are so much better than us, while the literal proof that we’re doing just fine stands there and waits?”

“You wait until I’m finished speaking. Then you can do whatever you want.”

Kiana tapped her foot impatiently, challenging Dave with a glare. “Continue then,” she addressed him sharply.

“I’m just saying, it’s worth thinking about it,” Dave nodded sagely. “A recognizable name does wonders for a business. Let me know when you’ve decided, alright?”

“We’ve decided,” Kiana replied instantly. “The name stays.”

Dave strode away with a smirk, ignoring her. “Think about it,” he nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”

As soon as Dave was out of earshot, Kiana turned to Shayne and Courtney. “Court, can you go take care of the customers? I think I need to scream into the void in the backroom for a few hours.”

Courtney laughed. “On it,” she assured her. “You okay?”

“Never been more annoyed in my life,” Kiana groaned. “Who does that ungrateful asshole think he is? Disrespect, my ass. You know what’s disrespectful, is ignoring our paying customers.”

“Kiana, breathe,” Courtney laughed, dropping their hands onto Kiana’s shoulders. “He’s gone. It’ll be months before we see him again. And your answer is still gonna be the same.”

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I sell my soul to fucking Amazon,” Kiana hissed.

Shayne’s eyes widened – he was wholly unused to this energy from Kiana. “Yeah, no,” he agreed. “Don’t even worry about it, there’s three of us, and one of him. We could take him.”

Kiana raised an eyebrow. “We gonna fight Dave?” she asked. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Shayne laughed, clapping Kiana on the shoulder. “Go chill, we’ve got the front.”

Kiana returned behind the counter, her phone flashing with the warning text from Josh. She sighed – a little too late to be a warning, but it’s not like it would have changed much about the result. She snatched it off the counter and headed to the back, opening her contacts and clicking on Spencer’s name.

“Spencer, you busy?” she whispered through the phone. She paused, unsure of what she was whispering for. It’s not like there was anyone above her in the store to “catch her” on her phone. She shrugged it off, awaiting Spencer’s reply.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. “No, but this could have been a text, bestie,” he laughed.

“A text wouldn’t accurately convey how angry I am,” Kiana hissed.

“Uh oh,” Spencer laughed. “Should I be scared?”

“Of me? No, I might feel like strangling someone, but I promise, it isn’t you,” Kiana teased.

“Who hurt you, I’ll kill him too,” Spencer grinned.

“Dave is here for inspections, enough said,” Kiana sighed.

“Noted,” Spencer nodded. “But you’re okay? What did he say to you, do we have to report anything?”

Kiana shrugged. “I’m fine, Spencer,” she sighed. “Promise. He’s just being infuriating as usual.”

“Hang in there, we’ll talk later,” Spencer smiled. “I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

“Yeah,” Kiana sighed, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

“As long as you’re okay.”

Kiana nodded. “Swear it’s just stupid corporate bullshit,” she reassured him. “I’ll see you.”

“Love you, bestie,” Spencer grinned.

“Ew,” Kiana teased. “Bye.” She hung up the phone with a laugh – just talking to Spencer alone had lifted her spirits somewhat.

Meanwhile, back on the floor of the bookstore, Shayne pulled out his own phone and sent a warning text to Trevor.

[Shayne] Don’t know if he’s hit you yet, but Dave’s on the prowl today. Threatened us with an Amazon takeover.

[Trevor] yeah link gave josh the heads up. thought he sent kiana a warning tho.

[Shayne] She didn’t see it in time, I guess. We might have been first visit.

[Trevor] ugh sorry. hope he didn’t hit you guys too hard.

[Shayne] Hard to take him seriously, honestly…

[Shayne] See you at lunch?

[Trevor] ye.

As the bookstore settled back into a normal routine, Dave continued his trek through the mall, this time entering JoyStix Games. He leaned against the counter as soon as he arrived, glancing up at the person behind it. “Good morning,” he addressed Spencer, dropping a file folder onto the counter. “Just here to go over some things.”

Spencer nodded, leaning into the back to call Emily to the front. He glanced into the store looking for Alex, finding them already on their way toward the counter. Once the group was gathered around the counter, Dave opened the folder. “Just here to discuss some sales points,” he nodded. “I noticed something in the past month’s reports I wanted to address.”

Emily cut in. “I never sent you any reports,” she told him.

“I ask the security office to CC me in everything they get,” Dave nodded. “Helps me keep tabs on which stores are actually bringing me in money.”

“Right,” Emily sighed. “I didn’t notice anything particularly concerning when I sent them off…”

Dave pointed to a line in the paperwork. “Right here,” he nodded. “This inventory isn’t moving.”

Emily leaned in to inspect the paperwork. “Oh,” she confirmed. “That’s nothing, that’s older stock. The newer stuff always sells better. But that stuff hasn’t been phased out of the store’s system yet.”

“Then maybe that’s a sign to start doing that?” Dave suggested.

“Not our decision,” Emily shook her head. “Corporate takes care of all that, because we also sell through the website, and there’s a ton of other locations… we’re not a standalone store that controls its own inventory.” She pointed to a number toward the bottom of the page. “And total sales are still good.”

Alex leaned in, adjusting his glasses to read the paper. “Most of our sales numbers come from consoles and games, anyway,” he added. “The inventory marked here is our collectibles.”

“Really?” Spencer asked. Alex nodded, pointing where he was looking. “Oh, those are not even close to the bulk of our inventory,” Spencer continued. “People aren’t coming here for collectibles, they go to Nerd Planet for that.”

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Emily added, pointing to another place on the report. The stuff that sells, sells well. We’re not worried.”

“I’m not worried either,” Dave added. “It’s not about the sales, it’s about the inventory. Just… try to move that stuff, alright?”

“You got it,” Alex nodded.

Dave, seemingly satisfied, wandered from the counter and back out into the mall without another word. Alex turned to the others. “Well, if I contact Tim, that’s at least all the Zelda stuff gone,” he suggested.

“Cheat code,” Spencer laughed.

Emily shook her head. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” she shrugged. “It’s not Dave’s business what our inventory and sales look like, we have a corporate office for that. All he does is lease the space, what’s he gonna do, force us out? He’d never risk losing the money we make this place on our console sales alone.”

“But imagine the numbers when Tim buys up all our Zelda stuff,” Alex teased.

“Touché.”

Dave continued down the mall, walking into Josie’s next and snatching one of the sale signs off the display as he walked past it. He approached the jewelry counter, dropping the sign onto the counter and glancing up at Olivia. “Round up the others, would you?”
Olivia nodded, turning to the phone and paging Mallory and Amanda to meet her at the counter.

“What is this?” Dave wasted no time, launching into his spiel the second Mallory and Amanda walked up. He gestured to the sale sign.

“Where did you find that?” Mallory asked.

“On a clothing rack,” Dave replied.

“Then it’s exactly where it belongs,” Mallory nodded. “That’s our Fall Fashions sale.”

“It’s not sale season,” Dave fought back.

“What the hell is sale season?” Olivia raised an eyebrow. “We have sales year-round.”

“With the holiday season coming, it might be wise to withhold sales until then.”

“We are,” Mallory nodded. The fashion sale is on now, because the other sales will be on later. The kitchen stuff, the home decor, all the stuff people buy more around the holidays.”

“Isn’t clothing the bulk of your sales?” Dave asked.

“I mean, yes, we started as a boutique clothing store, but we didn’t get here just doing that. We grew, we expanded. And we know what sells better when.”

“I had better see that reflected in your numbers,” Dave nodded, waving his folders at them, and turning to leave.

“Oh, could you…” Mallory spoke, catching Dave’s attention. He turned back around. “Could you put the sign back?”

Dave shrugged, pushing the sign to the side and walking away. Mallory groaned, glancing at the other women. “Amanda, could you…” she gestured to the sign.

“On it.”

Amanda left the counter to put the sale sign back where it belonged, and Mallory stayed behind the counter, watching as Dave left the store. Once she was sure he was actually gone for good, she strode over to the phone behind the counter, dialing the district office. “Hey, Josie? It’s Mallory,” she spoke.

“Mallory!” Josie replied with a smile. “How is it today, crazy?”

Mallory rolled her eyes. “You have no idea,” she groaned. “We had a Random Dave Inspection today.”

“Ugh, I do not miss that,” Josie groaned. “And what unbelievably toxic lies did he feed you?”

“Trying to tell us not to have our Fall Fashion Sale,” Mallory groaned. “The same damn sale we have every year, that performs well every year… he wants us to wait until the holiday season because ‘that’s when sales are supposed to be’ and ‘it isn’t sale season.’ What the hell is sale season?”

“Yeah, no,” Josie scoffed. “What does he know about our sales?”

“He gets the reports sent to him,” Mallory shrugged. “I don’t send them, I think they get forwarded through security or something. But yeah,” she continued. “He just walked in, tore down a sign, complained about it, refused to put it back, and left. So weird.”

Josie sighed. “Yeah, he’s not one for confrontation,” she groaned. “I’d bet anything someone else pushed back, so now he’s trying to get in and out before anyone can say anything.”

“Not one for confrontation?” Mallory scoffed. “Then maybe he should stop holding these random-ass inspections nobody wants, and we wouldn’t have to push back.”

“Meh, he likes hearing his own voice,” Josie shrugged. “He’s one of those types you just have to ‘yes’ to death until he goes away, he doesn’t have the power to do anything.”

Mallory groaned. “Well, it’s exhausting,” she replied. “And a waste of our time.”

“Listen, I’ll be in within the week, alright?” Josie smiled. “Stop in to say hi, give you guys a real update. Someone actually worth listening to.”

“Thank you, Josie,” Mallory smiled.

“But I’m sure you’re fine,” Josie nodded. “In the meantime, please keep the sale going.”

“Yeah, we intend to,” Mallory reassured her. “See you soon?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you,” Josie replied. “Promise it won’t be a surprise drop-in, I don’t do that.”

“See you soon,” Mallory smiled, hanging up the phone.

The next store on Dave’s inspection tour was Nerd Planet. He approached the counter with a nod. “Quick meeting?” he asked Tim.

Tim smiled, waving Chanse and Damien over.

“Good morning, gentlemen, I won’t be long,” Dave promised. “I didn’t really have much to say here, to be honest. Your reports look good. However, I was informed of something earlier that I would like to talk about.”

“Go on,” Tim urged him.

“I had my review with JoyStix Games earlier, and noticed they were struggling to sell some of their inventory. They stated your store as direct competition?”

“Yes?” Tim questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Is that supposed to be concerning?”

Dave shrugged. “It just seems counterintuitive to have two stores with such similar inventories.”

“The only thing similar is some of the collectibles,” Tim nodded. “The collectibles they sell are game-specific ones. We have game ones, comic book ones, anime ones…”

“And they don’t have swords,” Chanse added.

“That’s another thing, have you been able to procure the weapons license I asked for last visit?” Dave asked.

“Weapons license?” Chanse scoffed. “We told you last time, they’re not real swords, they’re replicas. Nothing sharp about them.”

“Still, if you’re actively displaying things that could be used as weapons…” Dave fought back.

Damien bounced on his heels, clearly eager to say something, but Chanse cut in first. “They cannot,” he held firm, staring Dave down.

Dave waved him off, walking away. “Whatever,” he scoffed. “I’ll be watching your sales, see if this store is as necessary as you think it is.”

As Dave walked off, Damien relaxed with a laugh. “Anything’s a weapon if you’re brave enough,” he quipped.

“Damien!” Tim laughed.

“What? It’s true,” Damien shrugged. “If he wants a demonstration, I am more than happy to oblige.”

Tim sighed, shaking his head. “At least he was gone fast,” he smiled. “Means he didn’t have any real complaints and just wanted to hear himself talk for a bit. Had to make up some bullshit excuse to even be here.”

“Does that count as permission?” Damien perked up eagerly. He grabbed a pen from the counter, holding it in his hand like a dart. “Just let me practice.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Chanse nodded. “With one of the swords.”

Damien let the pen go, and it flew across the counter, hitting the corkboard and clattering to the ground. “Damn it,” he hissed.

Chanse returned behind the counter and inspected the corkboard. “No, you nailed it,” he nodded. “That’s the pen’s fault, not yours. If it was actually a sharp object, it would have gone in.” He pointed to the mark the pen had left behind. “Why didn’t you tell me you were lowkey kind of scary?”

“What if you were the one who wronged me?” Damien asked. “Then you’d know all my secrets.”

Chanse gasped with feigned horror. “I would never.”

“And I don’t know that,” Damien teased back.

Dave headed into Toy Zone next, a disgusted look on his face the second he stepped through the front entrance. He wandered the aisles, shaking his head with disapproval as he went. When he finally approached the counter, he leaned in, intimidatingly close to Angela. “This store is a disaster,” he huffed.

“I’m sorry, there’s children in here all the time,” Angela replied. “We clean as often as we can.”

“Not often enough, clearly,” Dave sneered, stepping back and gesturing for Angela to come out from behind the counter. He gestured toward an aisle. “Get on that, would you?”

Angela trudged out from behind the counter, heading toward the aisles, and bending to pick items up off the floor.

“You could look a little more enthusiastic about it,” Dave snapped. “I’m sorry, but this is your job. I don’t care how much you hate it, you have to do it.”

As Dave turned back toward the counter to wait for Sarah, Angela replied with a face of disgust.

Sarah emerged from the back, approaching Dave. “Good morning, Dave,” she grinned, all fake customer service smiles. “Didn’t know you were here or I would have been out sooner.”

“Glad you’re here,” Dave nodded. “Any reason you allow your employees to do nothing while your store looks like a tornado came through?”

“Tommy was just out there cleaning,” Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Is he not?”

From another aisle, Tommy stood from his place tidying a lower shelf, perking up at the mention of his name. “You rang?”

Sarah nodded, gesturing toward him. “Yeah, see? There he is, he’s out there.”

“And she was allowed to stand here?” Dave asked, gesturing toward Angela.

“Someone has to be on the register,” Sarah shrugged.

“For who?” Dave asked, eyeing the empty store.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “We’re a tiny store, one person can handle all the tidying up,” she retorted.

“Clearly not, or it wouldn’t look like this,” Dave shook his head.

Tommy abandoned his work to meet Sarah and Dave at the counter. “Do you have kids, Dave?” he asked.

Dave shook his head.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Tommy replied before Dave could answer. “Try cleaning up after a kid once and you’ll change your tune. You turn your head for one second and something new is on the floor.”

“And you have kids?” Dave asked incredulously.

“Oh god, no thank you,” Tommy scoffed. “But I do work here, where there are kids all the time. And I was the oldest cousin.”

“Right,” Dave sighed, clearly disinterested.

Angela wandered over to the group, and Dave glanced back into the aisle she had left. “Finished cleaning already? I find that hard to believe.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow at Dave. “Any reason you think you can tell my employees what to do?” she asked. “Last time I checked, I was their boss. Angela, you can go ahead back behind the counter, it’s fine. Tommy will finish up.”

Tommy squared up to Dave. “And any reason it was perfectly okay when I joined you, but not okay when Angela did? Does a woman have to do the cleaning?”

Sarah shook her head with a laugh. “Tommy…” she warned him.

Tommy ignored Sarah, raising an eyebrow at Dave with a challenge.

Dave sighed. “I’m clearly getting nowhere with you people,” he groaned. “Next time I show up, I expect this place to be spotless top to bottom.” He turned and left, an air of self-importance in his step.

Sarah burst out laughing. “Tommy, you’re gonna get yourself in trouble,” she sighed, leaning on him.

“With who? He can’t do anything,” Tommy scoffed. “I only answer to you. And you know I wasn’t wrong, he clearly wanted Angela cleaning because he thinks that’s her place. And thinks he can override your decisions because he thinks his place is above you, too.”

Sarah sighed. “Tommy, I love you, but it’s okay,” she smiled. “Go ahead to the back, alright? Sit down, take a drink of water, chill for a second. I’ll finish up for you.”

“Absolutely not,” Tommy scoffed. “I should be the one cleaning, I need to prove him wrong.”

“Tommy, please,” Sarah laughed. “Do not let that asshole get to you.”

“No, but…” Tommy fought back, groaning when Sarah only met him with a raised eyebrow. “He’s literally only a district manager, and he acts like the most important person to walk the planet. Fairly certain you outrank him, company-wise. As far as our corporate sees him, he’s just kind of our landlord. Isn’t there someone above him we could complain to? Either in our own company or his?”

Sarah sighed, shaking her head. “I wish,” she replied. “But as long as he’s ‘just doing business’ they won’t care. He could frame it like he saw her standing there doing nothing, he just wanted to see some productivity…”

“Makes me sick that he can get away with this shit,” Tommy spat.

“Welcome to the world,” Sarah sighed, resting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Keep your white man privilege in check,” she teased him.

“Don’t you put this on me,” Tommy laughed.

Sarah grinned. “Ha! Got you to laugh!” she cheered triumphantly. “Seriously, though. Despite what that asshole thinks, Angela and I can handle ourselves just fine.”

“I’m just saying, if anything ever happens to that man, talk to me first, because you might have to line up with my alibi.”

“Tommy…”

“I am dead serious,” Tommy fought back. “I don’t like when people disrespect my friends.”

Sarah sighed, physically turning Tommy to face the back of the store. “And I don’t like when my friends are upset about things that aren’t that serious. Go sit down, calm down, drink some water, we’re fine.”

“Ugh, fine,” Tommy groaned, trudging into the back.

Angela watched as Tommy walked past her into the back, and glanced up at Sarah as she approached the counter. “Is he okay?” she asked.

Sarah shrugged. “He will be,” she sighed. “He’s just mad at Dave on our behalf. Trying to defend us.”

Angela frowned, wandering into the back. She knocked on the wall to announce her presence. “Hey,” she greeted Tommy with a small smile. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded, turning to reassure her. “Dave just gets me heated to begin with, but then he basically insults you and Sarah? Nothing about that is okay. But he won’t be back for a while, so at least I can breathe that he’s gone for now.”

Angela crossed the room, wrapping her arms around Tommy in a hug. “Thank you,” she smiled. “I’m really glad I work with such awesome people.”

Meanwhile, Dave continued his reign of terror, heading toward the food court. Luckily for most of the employees, it was busy, so most of the counter-facing workers could continue serving customers while Dave inspected the storefront with the managers and back of house staff.

Arasha stood along the wall of Hollywood Hot Dogs, peeking through the window to the back. Her last customer had left just seconds ago, so now she was free to watch Garrett, who was currently leading Dave around the back area for his inspection. She’d always been mildly disgusted by Dave, and although Garrett was her boss, and older than her, her personality was the more abrasive one – she would fight for Garrett the second Dave tried to do him wrong. She was watching Dave like a hawk, ready to pounce if need be.

Dave eventually emerged from the back area, nodding his head and murmuring rushed goodbyes to Garrett. He stepped toward the counter, giving it a once-over. His eyes landed on a small bag tucked into the corner of the counter. “What’s this?” he asked, pointing to it.

Arasha’s eyes followed Dave’s hand, her gaze landing on the bag – a pastry Trevor had dropped off for her earlier that morning. “That’s mine, I bought it from a friend’s store,” she lied.

Dave shook his head. “Put that away,” he hissed. “Can’t have things from other stores on display if you’re not selling them. Or have your personal property out. And that counts as both.”

As Dave walked away to head toward the next counter, Arasha grumbled under her breath. “Out in the open, my ass,” she hissed, snatching the bag off the counter. “It was in the corner, literally who is gonna see that?”

She took the bag with her, wandering into the back area. “Garrett?” she asked.

Garrett breathed out. “Is he gone?”

Arasha nodded. “Thankfully, yes,” she smiled. “What did he have to say?”

“Nothing of substance,” Garrett shrugged. “If I just let him feel important for a few minutes, figured he would leave us alone quicker,” he laughed.

“How did it go, anyway?” Arasha asked.

“He was quiet,” Garrett admitted. “Not entirely sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“We’re probably fine,” Arasha shrugged. “I’m sure, if he had something to complain about, he would do it loudly and proudly. He sure as hell didn’t have any problem lecturing me about the bag Trevor gave me.” She flashed it at him for emphasis. “It was literally tucked in the corner, out of the way, I don’t even…” she trailed off.

“I mean, if you wanted to erase the evidence…” Garrett laughed, gesturing to the bag.

“Good point,” Arasha nodded, opening the bag and popping the pastry into her mouth.

“There. Easy fix,” Garrett laughed. “He made a big deal out of something that was gone in seconds, look at that.”

Arasha laughed, a puff of powdered sugar exploding from her mouth. She covered her mouth with a shake of her head. “Damn it, Garrett, you’re gonna make me choke.”

“You’re fine,” Garrett shrugged. “I’m certified.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Arasha scoffed.

Meanwhile, across the food court, Dave had already reached Good Mythical Morning. After walking the floor of the prep stations with Josh, he walked out of the back with a nod. “Everything seems to be in order,” he nodded. “And I’d recommend that you keep it that way.”

“Of course,” Josh replied, calling out to everyone on the registers. “You hear that, guys?” he asked, calling them over once their lines were quiet.

“After all,” Dave continued. “You’ll need to be on your best behavior in the coming months. This was a routine inspection today, but I received an anonymous tip some time ago that this location was engaged in inventory fraud.”

“I’m sorry?” Josh asked.

“You heard me,” Dave nodded. “But that’s a worry for another time, once I gather more information.” He glanced around at everyone with an eyes-on-you gesture. “Best. Behavior.” He turned and left the storefront, and then the food court as a whole, heading back to the security office to sign out.

The crew of Good Mythical Morning dispersed from their meeting point. Trevor took off first, the others losing track of him almost immediately, and everyone else headed back to their prep stations.

Lily glanced over at Josh, a disgusted look on her face. “Can he even do that?” she asked. “That felt like a threat.”

“Oh, it was a threat,” Nicole added.

“Does anybody have any idea what he was talking about?” Josh asked.

“Not a clue,” V shrugged.

“Nope,” Nicole and Lily both added.

“I’ll check the last reports I sent, but I promise you guys, nothing looked weird to me. I trust you, alright?” Josh reassured them. “And where the hell did Trevor run off to?” he groaned. “I need to make sure he knows too. I’ve got you guys, don’t worry about Dave. I’ll put a call in to security, see if they can swing by and look it over with me, but you guys are fine, I promise.”

Back at Hollywood Hot Dogs, Arasha bounced on her heels, watching for Dave to leave Good Mythical Morning. Garrett had let her go on break, and she wanted to spend it with Trevor as usual. As soon as she saw Dave leave, she made a beeline across the food court, coming to a rest at Good Mythical Morning’s counter. She leaned against it, glancing up at the menu with slight interest.

Josh broke off from his post-Dave meeting with the girls to greet Arasha at the counter. “You actually gonna order something today?” his voice interrupted her thoughts. “And no, I don’t know where Trevor disappeared to. You’ll have to forgive us, we’re all a little thrown off by our Dave visit, and I haven’t seen him since.”

“Hello to you too, Josh,” Arasha replied flatly. “Yeah, I’m on break, I might as well get something. I’ll just take a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, thanks.” Josh rang her up and she tapped her phone to pay, stepping to the side but continuing to lean against the counter. “But you’re right, I am here to see Trevor,” she laughed.

“Yeah, he’s not on break, so I’ve definitely lost him,” Josh sighed. “Could use his help figuring out exactly what we fucked up so bad, but…” Josh trailed off, turning red. Arasha had a feeling she wasn’t supposed to be privy to that information.

V walked from the back with Arasha’s food, and she greeted her with a wave. “Thanks, V!” she smiled. She turned back to address Josh. “Just send him my way when you find him, alright?” She took her food from the counter and crossed the aisle, ignoring Josh’s protests that it wasn’t time for Trevor’s break and settling into a table directly across from the stand. She pulled out her phone and shot Trevor a text.

[Arasha] hey i’m in our usual spot

[Trevor] hey just one sec

[Arasha] josh said he can’t find you? and something about a huge fuckup that i definitely wasn’t supposed to hear

[Trevor] it’s me im the huge fuckup

[Arasha] aww don’t say that, trev

[Trevor] i mean its probably true

[Arasha] stop it. get your ass out here wherever you are

Arasha sighed, putting the phone down and glancing back up toward the stand. V was with a customer, tapping nervously and impatiently against the counter. Once the customer finished ordering, Arasha watched as V took off into the back, heading toward the walk-in freezer.

Some moments later, Trevor emerged, stopping to talk to Josh for a minute before coming out from behind the counter and sliding into the seat across from Arasha, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Hey, you,” Arasha grinned.

“Hey,” Trevor mumbled unenthusiastically.

Arasha frowned, reaching across the table toward Trevor. “You okay? You weren’t being serious about the ‘huge fuckup’ thing, were you?”

Trevor chanced a glance up at Arasha, his eyes rimmed red.

“Were you crying?” Arasha gasped, her hand grasping his. “What did Josh say to you, I’ll kill him.”

Trevor shook his head. “No, he was… really understanding, actually,” he explained. “There was definitely a fuckup, and it probably is my fault, but once V found me crying in the freezer, Josh was definitely a little more sympathetic. He let me come out here and breathe for a minute, even though it’s definitely not my break. But hey, I promise I’ll still come visit if they fire me.”

“I don’t like seeing you upset,” Arasha sighed. “Crying in the freezer? That doesn’t sound like someone who’s okay.”

“It’s normal,” Trevor shrugged. “We’ve all done it.”

“What happened?” Arasha asked. “Did you want to talk about it?”

“You obviously know Dilford made the rounds this morning,” Trevor started.

Arasha sighed. “Don’t I know it,” she groaned. “He was weirdly quiet during ours, Garrett’s nervous.”

“You’re probably fine,” Trevor sighed. “If he had something to complain about, he would have complained about it, trust me. He definitely had something to say about us.”

“What could he possibly have to complain about?” Arasha groaned.

Trevor shrugged. “We’re not even sure what’s going on, but he was talking about launching investigations, something about inventory fraud... I’ve been slipping you free stuff, I’ve probably been screwing with the inventory this whole time, and…”

Arasha sighed, cutting Trevor off. “Fine. Then no more free pastries for me. That’s totally okay. I appreciated it, but I don’t want to get you in any trouble.”

“He said he got an anonymous tip,” Trevor continued his rant. “You haven’t said anything around him, have you?”

“Trevor,” Arasha sighed exasperatedly. “Why would I…”

“No!” Trevor exclaimed. “Of course you wouldn’t, not on purpose. I mean like, any place he could have possibly overheard you, or…”

“Trevor,” Arasha laughed. “Relax. When have Dilford’s threats ever held any weight before?”

Trevor shrugged wordlessly.

“And don’t incriminate yourself,” Arasha continued. “Did he actually say anything about you giving away free stuff?”

“No,” Trevor admitted.

“Then don’t worry about it,” Arasha smiled. “If you act like you did something wrong, he could use it against you. I don’t know who left him this tip, who would do this to you guys… but we’re not gonna give him anything to work with, okay?” she reassured him. “No more free pastries for me.”

Trevor groaned. “Fine,” he gave in. “But you’re constantly coming over for free stuff, I’m gonna miss you if I can’t do that anymore.”

Arasha rolled her eyes, standing from her place at the table and crossing to the other side, occupying the seat next to Trevor instead. She wrapped an arm around him. “You think I only come over here for the free stuff?” she frowned. “I mean, it’s a perk, sure. But I come over here to talk to my best friend. Who didn't buy my friendship with a lukewarm breakfast pastry. He just so happens to give me free stuff when I show up.”

Trevor smiled through his tears, and Arasha continued.

“And as your best friend, I don’t like seeing you upset,” she added, moving her hand to lay comfortingly on his back. “Seriously, you said you were crying in the freezer? Do you have any idea how wildly concerning that sounds?”

Trevor shrugged. “You can’t tell me you’ve never done it, it’s basically a rite of passage when you work in food.”

“I absolutely can tell you I’ve never done it,” Arasha fought back.

“You should try, it’s cathartic,” Trevor replied, a small smile crossing his face. “Not that I want you to have a reason to cry, of course. But if you ever need a minute, it’s honestly one of the best places you can find.”

Arasha shook her head. “I’ve heard horror stories,” she admitted. “People getting forgotten in freezers, found dead the next morning…”

“I always have my phone with me,” Trevor reassured her. “I’m safe, I promise. It’s never happened, but if it did, Josh is just a message away.”

“If I told Garrett I needed a ‘freezer safety person’, I’d never hear the end of it,” Arasha sighed. “Probably mostly concern about why I would lock myself in a freezer, but still.”

“I mean, it’s not like I have an arrangement with Josh or anything, I didn’t assign him a position,” Trevor laughed. “It’s more like, if I go into the freezer, my phone is always on me just in case, and I can text whoever is on. I’m not locking the door on purpose, it’s in case it gets stuck or something.”

“Yeah, I’m still not telling Garrett.”

Trevor glanced at the floor sheepishly. “I could be your ‘freezer safety person’.”

“You would do that for me?” Arasha asked incredulously.

Trevor nodded. “Well, I don’t work with you, so I’d still have to come over here and tell Garrett to let you out, but absolutely.”

“Good thing I don’t have any plans to cry in the freezer anytime soon, then,” Arasha laughed.

“Good,” Trevor agreed. “Because I don’t like seeing you upset, either.”

Arasha nodded. “Great, we agree. But the thing is, I’m seeing you upset right now, so how about we fix that?”

Trevor nodded sadly.

“Okay, well, first off,” Arasha started. “Dilford’s a dick. No one in this whole-ass mall can stand him. You can’t let yourself be afraid of what he can do.”

“He owns the whole mall, ‘Rash. He could have all of our heads.”

“With what power, Trev?” she reassured him. “He owns the building. Leases out the spaces. He literally has no power over the individual stores. If he wants to hurt you personally? He has to go through Josh.”

“And you know he would,” Trevor cried.

“Hey, hey, don’t do that,” Arasha frowned, wrapping herself around him tighter. “So what if he tries to go through Josh? You trust Josh, right?”

“Of course,” Trevor nodded.

Arasha smiled. “Then you have no reason to believe Josh wouldn’t stand up for you against him. He’d have your back.”

“Shayne told me Dilford threatened to replace them with an Amazon Books,” Trevor added. “He can do that. Just… replace us.”

Arasha scoffed. “And what’s that gonna do?” she laughed. “Changing the name and ownership of the place isn’t gonna change the staff. I’m sure even if he forced them to have new management, Kiana would stay on in a lesser position. They love that place too much. Hell, Shayne and Courtney are practically a cornerstone of this place. Does Dave really think he can scare them away with a corporate threat?”

Trevor shrugged sadly, and Arasha put a hand out to support him. “Did Shayne sound upset when he told you?” she asked.

“Nah,” Trevor confirmed. “Shayne doesn’t get upset.”

Arasha sighed. “The Shayne I know isn’t afraid to show normal emotions,” she nodded. “So if he’s not upset, I doubt he feels threatened at all. So you shouldn’t either. You’ve done nothing wrong, nothing that literally every food establishment in the world hasn’t done. Dave can’t threaten you, or Shayne for that matter, with a replacement. Just like I said Kiana would never leave the bookstore, I don’t think Josh would ever leave you guys, either. He’d make sure you were protected.”

“Still…” Trevor persisted. “You were ready to come at Josh literal minutes ago when you thought it was him that made me cry.”

“And?” Arasha shrugged. “You told me Josh was fine and that you trusted him. If you trust him, so do I.”

“This is bigger than Josh,” Trevor sighed. “If I fucked something up financially, this could go above Josh. I could be put away for this.”

“You’ll be fine,” Arasha reassured him. “You’re not gonna go to jail for giving your friends free pastries.”

Trevor sighed. “I just… I don’t want to hurt anybody else, I feel like he could do so much worse to the whole store,” he groaned.

Arasha rolled her eyes in reply. “Like I said, he has no power,” she deadpanned. “Just because he owns the mall doesn’t mean he can do anything about your employment.”

“He could… I don’t know, not renew our lease? Kick the whole store out of the mall? That would hurt Josh too. And the girls. And I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

Arasha sighed. “You said you think Josh has your back, right?” Trevor nodded, and Arasha continued, dropping a hand onto his shoulder. “Trust the process.”

“You say that like it’s easy,” Trevor groaned.

Arasha smiled. “Listen. If he tries to retaliate against the whole store, that is in no way your fault, and there are resources against retaliation. You guys could file with someone, get a decent settlement out of it.”

“I don’t want a settlement, I want to keep my job,” Trevor fought back.

“And you will,” Arasha reassured him. “It’s just a precaution, just in case. You should always know what kind of resources you have. And hey, if you do get let go, or the whole store gets nuked or whatever, I can think of a couple places that might want you.” She winked playfully at him.

“I’m not selling my soul to a Starbucks,” Trevor replied.

Arasha laughed. “No, not Starbucks,” she smiled, shoving him playfully. “Come on, you wouldn’t even have to move that far.” She gestured across the food court at Hollywood Hot Dogs. “I’d be honored to share a counter with you.”

“You’re a hot dog place, what on earth could you do with a baker?” Trevor asked.

Arasha shrugged. “It’s not like you’re actively baking where you are, either,” she spoke pointedly. “You just reheat the stuff that corporate gives you. Same as we all do. Trust me, Trev, you’re qualified,” she teased. “Overqualified, maybe, but I’ve never actually tasted your baking, so the jury’s out on that.”

“Well, we’ll have to change that, won’t we?” Trevor smiled.

“I’m holding you to that,” Arasha nodded. “You’re giving me high expectations here.”

“Don’t, you’ll be disappointed,” Trevor joked.

Arasha’s eyes narrowed. “I swear, if I hear any more self-deprecating bullshit out of you…” she sighed. “I’m supposed to be cheering you up.”

“You are,” Trevor smiled. “Honestly, just having someone to talk it out with is nice. I’m still scared, but… I’m not scared alone, you know?”

“I don’t want you to be scared at all,” Arasha frowned. “I know I keep reassuring you that Josh has your back, but I mean like… professionally and logistically. If you need someone who’ll have your back emotionally, you know where to find me.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Dilford’s a dick, but he can’t ruin this.”

“Never,” Trevor smiled, hugging Arasha back.

“I will literally drop everything to help you out, okay?” Arasha reassured him. “I’m sure Josh is handling the logistics, but if you need any leads, I’m happy to help you research any resources you could use. Let Josh know, too. If he wants to meet up to discuss how I can help…”

“Stop, you’re not getting involved in this,” Trevor fought. “It’s my fault, it’s my battle to fight, I don’t want Dave to hurt you too.”

“He can’t hurt me, I won’t let him,” Arasha shrugged it off.

“Thank you, but I can’t let you do this,” Trevor groaned. “This whole thing wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t sneaking you free stuff. It’s my own fault, I did this to myself. I need to take responsibility for what could happen, not just to me, but to Josh and the girls too.”

“You did nothing to anybody,” Arasha sighed. “You gave me a couple free pastries. I dare you to name any store that hasn’t done that for someone.”

“Have you?” Trevor asked.

“Of course,” Arasha replied. “And he didn’t say a damn thing to us about it.”

“So then why is he singling us out?” Trevor cried.

Arasha sighed. “Either someone ratted you out, which I highly doubt,” she quickly added to reassure him. “Or he’s making stuff up.”

“Why would he make stuff up?” Trevor frowned.

“Because he’s bored?” Arasha shrugged. “We weren’t giving him enough things to complain about so he had to manufacture them? He’s a dick, Trev, he doesn’t need a reason.”

Trevor shrugged, and Arasha continued. “A few little pastries unaccounted for isn’t going to bring the whole store down.” She sighed. “You’ll be fine, and so will Josh and everyone else.”

“I don’t want them to be mad at me if anything happens to them,” Trevor sighed.

Arasha sighed, taking Trevor’s hands in hers. “No one is mad at you. And no one is gonna be mad at you. I thought you said Josh was understanding? And V was concerned when she found you crying in the freezer?”

“They were,” Trevor nodded. “But you can only fuck up so many times before it isn’t forgivable anymore.”

“You won’t,” Arasha reassured him. “I mean, I don’t think you fucked anything up in the first place, so you can’t make something worse if it doesn’t even exist. But if that’s the way you want to see it, then know that you can’t fuck it up anymore, because I am no longer accepting your offers of free stuff.”

“Arasha…”

“It’s final,” she nodded. “If I can do one thing to help, it’s that. And to prove that I don’t think you did anything wrong, I’m gonna bring you a free hot dog later.”

“Arasha, please…”

“Like I said, everyone’s done it. And I always feel like I owe you when you bring me stuff anyway. So consider this your repayment for all the times you’ve brought me stuff.”

“Won’t Alex be jealous?” Trevor laughed.

Arasha rolled her eyes. “People who tease me and demand free hot dogs don’t get free hot dogs,” she scoffed. “Best friends who aren’t pushy and annoying get free hot dogs.”

“That’s not nice, I like Alex,” Trevor laughed.

“Well, maybe he’ll earn one eventually,” Arasha shrugged. “But right now, no.”

Arasha’s phone chimed to signal that her break was over, and she groaned, standing from her seat. “I don’t want to leave you like this,” she frowned, rubbing Trevor’s back comfortingly. “Promise me you’re gonna be okay?”

Trevor shrugged. “I’ll try,” he nodded.

“Good,” Arasha smiled. “I’ll check up on you later, okay?”

“That’s not necessary,” Trevor shook his head.

Arasha dismissed him with a wave. “Tough luck, I want to.”

Arasha wandered off, returning behind Hollywood Hot Dogs with a nod to Garrett. “We’re definitely in the clear,” she affirmed. “Trevor just told me their inspection didn’t go too well, so you know Dave would have said something if he wasn’t happy with us.”

“Oh, shit, is everything okay?” Garrett asked.

Arasha shrugged. “Empty threats, as far as I can tell,” she replied. “Trevor said it was something about trying to nail them for inventory fraud? He’s terrified it’s because he gives me free stuff all the time, but we do that too, and Dave didn’t nail us for anything, right? So, probably just Dave making shit up as usual.”

“I’ll talk to Josh later, see if they need help with anything,” Garrett nodded.

“Yeah, I offered myself up, too,” Arasha sighed. “Poor Trevor is so upset about it… it’s not his fault, I know it.”

While the rest of the mall was recovering from their visits, the security team watched as Dave left, springing into action once he was far enough away to not hear them. Link reached for his desk phone, dialing the information desk. “Selina?” he addressed her. “It’s Link.”

“Hey, what did you need?” Selina asked.

“Dave just signed out of the visitors log,” Link explained. “Would love some confirmation when he leaves the premises.”

“Of course,” Selina nodded. “Did you want to stay on the line with me? That way I look busy when he walks by and he doesn’t bother me and just leaves?”

“Yeah, that works,” Link agreed.

He fell into easy conversation with Selina until she cut him off with an “Oh!”

“He’s coming?” Link asked.

“Yeah,” she answered, glancing down at her map and then at the door. “If you turn your cameras to the western entrance…”

Link smiled. “Perfect. Hey Anthony?”

“Yeah?” Anthony asked, glancing up from the computer screen.

“Get the cameras on the western entrance. I want the camera to follow Dave to his car and make sure he leaves completely before I send out that the coast is clear.”

“On it,” Anthony grinned.

“Selina said he’s almost there,” Link added.

“Oh, I see him!” Anthony reported.

“Great!” Link replied. “Thanks, Selina, we can track him from here.”

“Anytime.”

Link hung up with Selina, standing to join Anthony at his computer. Anthony dragged the cursor toward where Dave stood in frame, tracing his path with it to not lose sight of him. They tracked Dave as he arrived at his car, finally getting in and driving off. “He’s out of here,” Anthony announced.

Link returned to his desk, pulling out his personal phone and reopening his text thread with Josh.

[Link] Coast is clear, spread the word.

As he was putting his phone to the side, it rang, Josh’s name appearing on the screen. “Hello?” he answered it.

“Hey, Link, it’s Josh,” Josh greeted him.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Sorry, I didn’t want to reply in the text thread, there’s… kind of a lot,” Josh mused.

“That’s fine,” Link nodded. “What did you need?”

“Now that Dave’s gone, I wanted to talk to you guys about something he said?” Josh started.

“Shoot,” Link smiled.

“Actually, I kind of wanted someone here to go over some stuff with me?” Josh asked. “I don’t care who you send, but bring our file, I want to see the reports I sent you. He accused us of some stuff but I think it’s bullshit, and I want to prove him wrong.”

“On it,” Link nodded. “Do you mind if we swing by after work?” he asked.

“Not at all, it’s about to be lunch hour anyway,” Josh nodded. “Gonna be busy here. Honestly, as long as it’s before Dave shows up again, any time is fine. But I’m sure he won’t be around for a while.”

“Great, we’ll send someone later, see you then,” Link nodded, hanging up the phone.

As the lunch hour started, Kiana found herself glancing around the food court, finally finding Spencer in the corner by the vending machines. “Please don’t tell me your lunch is a Kickstart and a bag of Funyuns,” she groaned, flopping into the seat next to him with her tray.

“Fine, I’ll lie,” Spencer grinned. “A hello would have been nice.”

Kiana whacked Spencer on the back of the head. “You’re lucky I love you,” she laughed.

“You said ‘ew’ when I said it,” Spencer fought back.

“Doesn’t mean I mean it any less,” Kiana shrugged.

Spencer dismissed Kiana with a shrug. “Whatever,” he groaned. “You okay, though?”

“Yeah,” Kiana nodded. “And on a completely unrelated note, did you want to go to a rage room this weekend?”

“Uh oh, angry Kiana,” Spencer laughed, backing away playfully and making an X with his fingers.

Kiana laughed. “No, I’m kidding, I’m fine, I promise,” she reassured him. “I’m annoyed, but I’m sure I’m no less annoyed than everyone else in this mall. What did he say to you guys?”

“Just told us to try to move the old inventory,” Spencer shrugged. “I take it he was worse by you?”

“You’re telling me,” Kiana groaned. “He was trying to convince us to sell out and become affiliated with Amazon. Apparently they have physical bookshops now? And he thinks if we were under Amazon, we’d have more name recognition or something.”

“Literally everyone local knows about Birdie’s,” Spencer scoffed.

“That’s what I told him, but he was insistent that I would change my mind,” Kiana sighed. “Sorry, but I don’t exist to line Jeff Bezos’ pockets.”

“You order from Amazon all the time,” Spencer teased.

“Wh-“ Kiana sputtered. “That’s different and you know it. You know what I meant, shut up.”

“You wound me, bestie,” Spencer pouted, his hand to his chest in fake offense.

“No, but seriously,” Kiana continued her rant. “If someone’s already here, they’re gonna go to the store that’s here regardless of whose name is on it. They’re not driving somewhere else because we aren’t Amazon.”

“Fair,” Spencer nodded.

“Ugh, I’m sorry I’m ranting,” Kiana apologized.

“No, no, it’s completely justified,” Spencer reassured her. “But I know you, and I know you’re not gonna let him touch that store. And I know Shayne and Courtney trust you… you guys will be fine.”

Kiana smiled. “Thanks,” she grinned. “Now can you fix the other thing that’s driving me crazy?”

“What would that be?” Spencer asked.

She turned her tray so the fries faced Spencer. “I’m begging you to eat something normal.”

A blur ran past them as Chanse bolted from the food court, clutching a to-go bag from the Spud Hut in his hands. He made his way across the mall, eventually throwing himself into a chair at Boho Beauty.

“Hey, I have a client coming in in a half hour!” Vida called out to him.

“Are they here now?” Chanse asked. Vida shook their head. “Then it’s my chair.” He opened his bag, taking out his lunch and spinning the chair to face Erin.

“Why are you eating in here?” Erin asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Because,” Chanse shrugged, stuffing his face with his Philly Cheesesteak Spud. “It’s gross out, and the mood in this place sucks because of the Dave inspections. You guys have the brightest lights, AND the brightest personality. Everyone else would bring my mood down.”

“Aww, you think I have a bright personality?” Erin teased.

“Shut up, Erin,” Chanse teased back. He glanced past her, shooting a friendly wave at Bailey, who answered with a huge grin.

She skipped over to join them. “I don’t believe in bad moods,” Bailey smiled, earning an eye roll from Erin.

“He won’t let you hug him, so don’t try that,” Erin deadpanned.

“Aww, that’s no fun!” Bailey fought, wrapping an arm around Chanse anyway.

“Oh, no, my mood is fantastic,” Chanse shrugged her off. “Just needed to escape everyone else. Damien’s been angrily throwing pens at our corkboard since Dave left. And his aim is getting kind of scary. He was good to begin with, but now they’re actually sticking.”

“Yeah, thankfully, we were busy with clients when he showed up here,” Vida nodded. “Just stepped away for like two seconds to show him our books and he left.”

“Oh, if only we were so lucky,” Chanse laughed. “He’s still on our asses about getting a weapons license for our replica swords… that’s what got Damien on his ‘anything is a weapon if you try hard enough’ kick… and calling us redundant and unnecessary because JoyStix sells some of the same collectibles we do.”

Erin scoffed loudly. “Is he fucking blind?” she laughed. “What about literally everything else you guys sell? The trading cards alone should be making him leave you alone with how much of that nerd shit you sell.”

“Gonna ignore that,” Chanse nodded, Erin dismissing him with a wave. “Like I said, I’m here to escape the foul moods.”

Erin flipped him off and walked away, and Chanse spun the chair away from her.

Bailey plopped backwards into the seat next to Chanse, spinning it so she was facing him, her head perched on the back of the chair. “How can I help?” she grinned.

“Oh, I don’t expect you to entertain me or anything,” Chanse reassured her. “You just keep going on with your day, I’ll try to internalize the positivity by osmosis.”

“Like I said, nerd shit!” Erin hollered from across the salon.

Bailey shook her head, standing from the chair and marching over to Chanse. “Up,” she ordered him, collapsing into giggles at herself. “I’m sorry, that felt weird.”

Chanse laughed, standing from the chair. “No, now I’m curious.”

Bailey waved a dismissive hand in Erin’s direction. “I know Erin said not to, but I have to,” Bailey smiled, leaping on Chanse in a hug.

Chanse let out a squeal of surprise, shaking himself off once Bailey let go. “Uh… yeah, thanks, Bailey,” he smiled.

Back at the food court, Shayne stepped up to the counter at Good Mythical Morning, nodding to Josh.

“What can I get ya?” Josh asked.

“Has Trevor gone on lunch yet?” he asked.

“He just got back from an unplanned break not too long ago,” Josh shrugged. “But his actual scheduled lunch should be any second, yeah. I think he’s in the back grabbing his stuff.”

“Perfect, I’ll be right out here,” Shayne nodded.

“Between you and me?” Josh caught Shayne’s attention again. “He really needed the extra break before. Dave really got to him. But don’t tell him I told you anything.”

Shayne nodded, turning to sit at a table across from Good Mythical Morning and waiting for Trevor to emerge.

Trevor trudged out from behind Good Mythical Morning, joining Shayne at his table. “Hey,” he sighed, flopping into the seat across from Shayne unenthusiastically.

“Hey, Trev,” Shayne nodded, eyeing Trevor with concern. “You okay?”

“It has been a day,” Trevor groaned. “Dave hit us pretty hard today.”

“You’re telling me,” Shayne groaned. “Inspection days suck. Can you believe he told us that we should give up because Amazon is leading in book sales right now? That we should sell to an Amazon Books storefront? Then guests actually started showing up, and Kiana tried to go help them – he actually told her to stop disrespecting him, and that she wasn’t allowed to leave the ‘meeting’ until he was done.”

“Oof,” Trevor replied. “I’m guessing Kiana didn’t take kindly to that?”

Shayne laughed heartily. “The second he left, I’m pretty sure I heard Kiana say things I’ve never heard Kiana say before in my life.”

“An angry Kiana sounds terrifying,” Trevor quipped.

“Oh, it is,” Shayne agreed. “But… god, I’m sorry for ranting like that, you seem upset. Did yours go okay?”

Trevor shook his head. “He told Josh the store looked fine, but we needed to be on our ‘best behavior’,” he groaned. “Something about an inventory fraud investigation? None of us had any idea what he was talking about.”

“That sounds serious,” Shayne whistled. “And nobody is owning up to it? Like in private after he left or anything?”

Trevor shook his head. “Josh thinks Dave’s full of shit,” he reassured Shayne. “Thinks he’s making things up. But I’m actually kind of scared that it’s me.”

Shayne sighed, reaching a hand out to comfort Trevor. “Trev, I think you would know if you were the one committing inventory fraud. I hate to say it, but if this isn't complete bullshit, someone you work with might have a pretty nasty secret.”

“I’m always sneaking Arasha free stuff,” Trevor explained. “If it happens often enough that they’re starting to realize inventory is missing…”

“Don’t you have to toss your stuff at the end of the day anyway?” Shayne asked. “Do they count that? If they don’t count what’s getting tossed, they have no way of knowing that anything is actually missing. It’s not you, Trevor.”

Trevor shrugged. “It’s whatever, she already told me she’s not gonna accept free stuff from me anymore.” He paused, sniffling back tears.

Shayne sighed, leaning in toward Trevor. “Trevor?” He paused with concern. “Oh, come on,” he groaned. “You know as well as I do that that isn’t going to change a damn thing. She cares about you, not your stupid pastries.”

Trevor shrugged, and Shayne looked up at him from his tray. “Are you eating anything?” Shayne asked. “I know you’re upset, but you can’t skip lunch.”

“I know,” Trevor snapped. “I’m… waiting for something.”

Shayne sighed. “And what would that be?” he asked.

Before Trevor could answer he was ambushed from behind by a figure approaching from across the food court.

“As promised,” Arasha grinned, placing a hot dog in front of him. “The free hot dog I owe you in return for all the times you’ve treated me.”

“I literally can’t accept this,” Trevor groaned. “After you refused to accept free stuff from me?”

“You’re part of an active investigation,” Arasha rolled her eyes. “Bullshit, but you are. And I’m not. So there. I am still perfectly within my rights to give you free stuff.”

“Fine,” Trevor groaned. “Thank you. But this is the last time.”

Arasha dismissed him with a wave. “Right. Sure.” She sat on the bench next to him. “You holding up okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Trevor managed a small smile. He gestured in Shayne’s direction. “Just debriefing Shayne on everything.”

“Alright, you promise you’ll let me know if you need anything?” Arasha asked.

“Of course,” Trevor nodded.

“Okay,” Arasha smiled, standing and skipping away. “Enjoy your hot dog!”

Shayne glanced up at Trevor silently, raising an eyebrow at him. Trevor was too busy unwrapping his hot dog to notice, and when he finally locked eyes with Shayne, he replied “What?”, his mouth full of hot dog.

“That's what you’re worried about?” Shayne scoffed.

“Hmm?” Trevor asked.

“You literally started tearing up when you told me Arasha wasn’t going to accept pastries from you anymore,” Shayne laughed. “Like it was the end of the world, like you’d never talk again or something. Looked to me like you guys were fine. More than fine.”

“It’s not…” Trevor paused. “It’s not just that, it’s kind of a lot right now,” he sighed. “If Dave does anything to the store because of me, I’ve hurt Josh, Nicole, Lily, and V. I’ve ruined their careers.”

“I’m sure they’re working on something if they think it’s bullshit,” Shayne nodded. “Josh isn’t gonna let you take the fall. And I won’t either.”

“What could you possibly do?” Trevor asked.

“I could be your fallback,” Shayne nodded. “I loved those pastries you made for my birthday, I could give you counter space in the corner of our store or something. To sell them.”

Trevor glanced at the table sheepishly. “I’m not ready for that,” he pouted. “And you can’t tell me you cleared that with Kiana.”

“Well, no,” Shayne admitted. “But she did have some of the pastries at my party. As soon as I tell her they were yours, she’ll be on board.”

“Still nowhere close to ready for that,” Trevor sighed.

“You’ve got time,” Shayne nodded. “And if it means I get to be taste-tester, I’m not complaining.”

With the threat of Dave finally behind them, the rest of the day progressed as usual. And as the day came to a close, Tommy and Angela left Toy Zone together. “Okay, now that we’re out of there,” Tommy started, “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked her.

“Am I okay? Of course I’m okay,” Angela scoffed. “If you think for a second I believed a word that asshole said today, you don’t know me at all. Now, if I know you like I think I do, are you okay? You were kinda freaking out on my behalf there. And while I love you to death, and appreciate it a ton, I’ve got this. Promise.”

Tommy stared at the floor, shuffling his feet. He stumbled backward slightly when Angela landed on him with a hug. “I mean it, I appreciate it so much. Thank you,” she smiled. “I am so lucky I get to call you a friend.”

Tommy shook his head. “I know you can handle it,” he sighed. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. You’re my friend, and I don’t like seeing you get disrespected like that.”

“Relax,” Angela grinned. “It’ll be fine. Why do I get the feeling you weren’t talking to Sarah like this?”

Tommy shrugged. “I mean, yes and no,” he admitted. “I definitely checked in on her and made sure she was okay too, but she’s the boss. She could have talked back to Dave today and she chose not to. I might have told her she absolutely should have.”

“That’s not who Sarah is,” Angela shrugged.

“But it’s within her right,” Tommy fought back. “Honestly, an angry, defensive Sarah would scare me, and I wanna see it scare him too.”

“Dude,” Angela groaned. “We probably won’t see him again for months, we should just… put him out of our minds. You need a drink or something, relax a little,” she grinned.

“I’m not going out with you guys,” Tommy immediately replied.

Angela shook her head with a laugh. “Nah, we’re not going out tonight, I was gonna go home and just break into the wine by myself,” she admitted. “But if you wanted to tag along, I wouldn’t say no.”

“Wine does sound like an incredible idea,” Tommy mused. “But I’m kind of gross right now, and…”

“Go home and shower first, then,” Angela grinned. “I have to walk Spork when I get home anyway, you can come over later. But don’t think I’m not gonna ask again when we do go out.”

“I’m aware,” Tommy groaned. “If you haven’t let up yet, you’re not going to.”

“You’re damn right,” Angela nodded. As they approached Josie’s, Angela paused, breaking from Tommy’s side. “Actually, I’m gonna slip in here for a second,” she nodded. “Wanna talk to Amanda about something. Don’t wait up, okay?”

Tommy nodded, continuing down the corridor. “I’ll see you later,” he smiled.

“Yeah,” Angela grinned, disappearing into the department store. “See you.”

She wandered the aisles, turning her head every which way in search of Amanda, before arriving at the perfume counter. “Hey, Olivia,” she greeted her. “Is Amanda around? I didn’t miss her, did I?”

“And here I thought you were here to see me,” Olivia sighed dramatically, her hand to her chest in fake offense. “Thought maybe we were going out tonight for a Fuck You Dave party.”

“Ugh, did he disrespect you guys too?” Angela asked.

“When doesn’t he?” Olivia rolled her eyes. “He tore down our signs and told us we shouldn’t be having the sale that we have literally every year, then refused to put them back up when Mallory asked. Useless sack of shit…”

Angela burst out laughing. “Yeah, you sound like you need a drink too. You down for this weekend? I’d say tonight, but I’m gonna be busy talking Tommy down from the state Dave put him in.”

“He’s welcome to tag along,” Olivia suggested.

“You say that like I haven’t told him a thousand times,” Angela groaned. “But no, we’re stuck partying with a drunk off his ass Chanse, pining over him. Maybe if Tommy was there, they’d actually do something about it.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “We could only be so lucky,” she sighed.

“But anyway,” Angela continued. “Since I, unlike those two idiots I call my best friends, am not a coward, I was actually here to talk to Amanda about something?”

“Oh my God,” Olivia suppressed a giggle behind her hand. “Are you gonna ask her out?”

Angela shrugged. “Well, it would be hypocritical of me to rag on Tommy and Chanse for not making a move when I haven’t either.”

“Thank God,” Olivia groaned. “That’s one less pining idiot in my circle.”

“I think I resent that,” Angela dismissed her. “Anyway, Amanda?”

Olivia pointed vaguely toward the back. “She was stationed in appliances today,” she nodded, barely getting the sentence out before Angela took off in the direction she was pointing.

She found her neatening up some displays. “Hey, Amanda!” she greeted her.

Amanda looked up from the table, a bright smile crossing her face when she saw Angela. “Hey, Angela!” she grinned. “What’s up?”

“I am such a fucking hypocrite,” Angela groaned.

“What?” Amanda asked, walking toward Angela and taking her shoulders in her hands. “Is something wrong?”

Angela shook out of Amanda’s grasp. “Don’t let me distract you, you were working. I can just… talk. Into the void.”

“No I need to clock out soon anyway, I was just killing time,” Amanda reassured her. “You can talk to me.”

“I just…” Angela trailed off. “My friends are idiots and they’re into each other, and neither one of them is doing a damn thing about it, and I make fun of them, like, all the time, but who the hell am I to make fun of them if I’m not doing anything about the person I like either, and it’s so stupid that this is even drama, like what am I, in high school? I’m an adult, I can use my words. I can talk to people, and…”

“Angela,” Amanda cut her off, placing her hands on her shoulders again. “Honey, breathe.”

“Oh, don’t do that,” Angela whined.

Amanda’s hands left Angela’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, are you uncomfortable with that?”

“No,” Angela spoke, her voice small.

“What’s wrong?” Amanda asked. “Talk to me.”

“It’s…” Angela paused. “Fuck. It’s you, okay?”

Amanda’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“It’s you,” Angela admitted. “And I’d look stupid if I kept making fun of Tommy and Chanse while being just as much of an idiot myself. So I guess what I’m saying is… did you want to maybe… go out sometime or something?”

Amanda laughed heartily. “Yes, I’d love to!” she replied. “Was starting to wonder when you’d catch on, I’ve been flirting for months.” Angela’s mouth gaped open. “Don’t look so surprised.”

“But I am,” Angela stuttered. “What do you mean, flirting?”

“Honey, I think Tommy caught on way before you did. Every time I came in, he would look at me with… almost pity. Like he was sorry you weren’t catching on yet.”

“So all those times you came in to buy birthday gifts for your nephews…?”

Amanda shook her head. “No, that was completely real,” she laughed. “My sisters were busy. But did you ever notice I always waited for you to be open? Never checked out with Tommy or Sarah?”

“We’re friends,” Angela shrugged.

“And?” Amanda scoffed. “So are Tommy and Sarah. And look, I adore them, but I wasn’t showing up for them.”

“Yeah, Tommy’s tried to tell me as much,” Angela sighed.

“He told you?” Amanda’s eyes widened. “And you still didn’t know?”

“I’m dense, okay?” Angela fought back.

“You’re fine,” Amanda reassured her with a laugh, pulling her into a side hug. “But it’s whatever, how does this weekend sound?”

“Going out with the usual group Saturday night, but if you’d rather do something just us, I’m free before,” Angela suggested. “Coffee or dinner or something.”

“Just us for coffee sounds nice,” Amanda smiled. “You can ‘introduce me’ to the friend group later.”

Meanwhile, Tommy entered the dispensary with a grin, approaching Noah at the counter. “Hey, Noah,” he greeted him.

“Hey, Tommy, what can I get you?” Noah asked.

“The usual,” Tommy nodded. “Definitely need it after the Random Dave Inspections today. How did yours go?”

“There was a random Dave inspection today?” Noah asked, nodding to Keith to start getting Tommy’s items together. “He didn’t come by here at all… I actually haven’t seen him in ages.” He turned back to Keith. “Dave didn’t come by while I was on break, did he?” he asked.

Keith shook his head. “Nah. I haven’t seen him in ages either.”

“Lucky you,” Tommy groaned. “I wish he forgot we existed…”

“Jesus,” Noah breathed. “Did yours go okay?”

Tommy sighed. “It’s whatever,” he replied. “Just pretending he runs shit as usual. Trying to talk over Sarah, trying to make Angela do the cleaning when I was already doing it...”

“Gross,” Noah scoffed.

“Yeah,” Tommy sighed. “Gonna head to Angela’s later and drown ourselves in wine for a bit.”

“Ooh, we getting crossfaded?” Keith laughed, walking over with Tommy’s order.

Tommy laughed. “Depends if the wine is still hitting when I get home after,” he sighed. “Last time I got crossfaded in front of Angela, she got all worried about how safe it was, as if I don’t know what I’m doing. And we’re supposed to be relaxing tonight, according to her, so I don’t want to do that to her. Only wine while I’m at Angela’s.”

“Heard,” Keith laughed. “What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

Tommy shook his head. “I’m not doing it to be secretive, I’m just enjoying my own thing on my own time. If it’s not her thing, that’s fine.”

“Respect,” Noah smiled.

“I mean, if you wanted a smoking buddy too…” Keith suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Tommy dismissed him. “I prefer smoking either alone or at parties. The one-on-one thing can get a little… much.”

“I hear that,” Keith nodded, handing Tommy his bag. Tommy paid and saluted the pair as he exited the store, Keith hollering after him with an “enjoy!”

Back inside, Rhett approached the counter at Good Mythical Morning. “Hey, Nicole,” he smiled. “Josh wanted to talk to someone in security?”

Nicole bent down to peer into the window in the back where Josh was cleaning up. “Hey, Josh, Rhett’s here to talk to you?” she asked.

“Send him back here,” Josh nodded.

Nicole nodded, turning back to Rhett and gesturing to the side door. Rhett nodded in reply, heading inside and toward the back area.

“You rang?” he asked.

“Oh, thank God,” Josh sighed, rushing to join Rhett. “We need to talk.”

“What’s going on?” Rhett asked.

“It’s Dave,” Josh groaned. “He told us we were under investigation for inventory fraud?” Rhett raised an eyebrow in reply. “Right?” Josh continued. “Like, you would know about that, right? It would be in your files?”

Rhett shrugged. “I mean, Ian’s the one who handles the files most of the time, but we all see them at least once. I don’t recall anything about your store coming through recently.” He dropped the file on the counter, opening it. “All I have here is whatever you’ve sent me.”

“And the numbers don’t look weird?” Josh asked.

“Nothing I noticed when you sent them, anyway,” Rhett shrugged.

“No anonymous tips that came through?” Josh asked.

“Not that I know of,” Rhett replied.

“Can you let me know if you find anything?” Josh asked. “I talked to everyone after he left, and no one’s owning up to anything… not that they would if they were committing inventory fraud, but it really seems like none of us know what the hell Dave is talking about. Trevor was terrified it might be his fault because he sneaks his friend free pastries sometimes. There’s no way, right?”

Rhett shook his head. “Literally every food establishment in existence does that. You could ask anyone in here and I can almost assure you they’ve done it. Hell, Link and I did it all the time when we had Will It Taco. I’m sure you’re fine, but I’ll let you know if anything comes through us.”

“Thanks, man,” Josh smiled, Rhett turning to leave.

“Literally anytime.”

He returned to the security office, handing the file back to Ian before sinking back into his chair. “Just talked to Josh,” he announced. “Guess their inspection didn’t go too well today.”

“Oh no,” Ian frowned. “What happened?”

“Josh said Dave tried to accuse the store of inventory fraud or something,” Rhett shrugged. “He didn’t seem to have any idea what Dave was talking about, though.”

Ian rifled through the papers for a bit before returning the file to his drawer. “Yeah, last file I have for them that isn’t the routine stuff is the knife incident from last year,” he replied, raising an eyebrow at Link.

“I resent that,” Link fought back. “I was doing our inspections, you know, the ones people don't hate, and I was looking at their knives.”

“You look with your eyes, Link,” Rhett groaned.

Link sputtered indignantly, and Ian continued. “Yeah, there’s nothing here.”

“Josh said that Dave told him it came through as an anonymous tip?” Rhett added.

“Yeah, that definitely would have had to come through here,” Ian nodded. “And it hasn’t, so… I wouldn’t worry too much if I was them. There’s no way the district office is getting random anonymous tips and not sending them to us.”

“Can they fight it?” Anthony asked. “Any way to prove Dave is full of it?”

“Josh was already obsessively looking through their paperwork when I talked to him,” Rhett explained. “Trying to figure out exactly where they went wrong, trying to absolve poor Trevor…”

“What did Trevor do?” Ian asked with concern.

“Josh said he got really upset,” Rhett frowned. “Convinced it’s his fault because he gives his friend free stuff sometimes.”

“Oh, come on!” Anthony fought back. “Doesn’t literally every food place ever do that? You guys used to give us free stuff all the time when you had Will It Taco!”

“And then our business model failed,” Rhett quipped.

“We should do something to help,” Link spoke up. “We owe them. They got that space in the food court when Will It Taco went under, it’s basically our spiritual successor. That’s kind of our son, in a weird way.”

“I’m gonna do you a favor and not tell Josh you called him our son,” Rhett laughed.

“Right,” Link brushed it off. “But still, we should help. Set them up with a financial advisor or something. Handle the numbers stuff that we aren’t privy to.”

“Literally on it already,” Anthony nodded, his phone to his ear as he dialed a familiar number. “Hey, Alé? It’s Anthony. I need your help with something.”

As they were closing up shop at Nerd Planet, Chanse watched as Angela ran into the store and flew through the aisles, throwing herself at the counter. “Jesus, Angela,” he spoke, wide-eyed. “Everything okay? Where’s Tommy, I thought he was coming with you.”

Angela rolled her eyes at Chanse. “He’s coming over my place for wine later, I set him free to go home and shower first,” she dismissed him.

“You didn’t invite him to go out with us this weekend?” Chanse asked.

“Of course I did,” Angela scoffed. “That’s later this weekend, there’s still a chance.” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure we’ll break him down eventually. But anyway,” she continued. “You will never believe what I just did.”

“Do I want to know, Angela?” Chanse groaned. “I can bail you out of jail, but if you make me your accomplice, who’s gonna bail us both out?”

Angela shrugged. “Olivia, probably,” she quipped. “I mean, Erin’s more likely to care, but Olivia’s more likely to have the money. But…” she cut herself off. “God, what am I talking about, look what you made me do,” she groaned. “No, I’m not in trouble.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Chanse laughed. “Okay, Angela, I’ll bite. What did you do?”

“I asked Amanda out,” Angela grinned triumphantly. “Because I, unlike you, am not a coward.”

“I resent that,” Chanse scolded her.

Angela shrugged. “You’ll get over it.”

“So,” Chanse steered the conversation back on track. “You asked Amanda out. Did she say yes?”

“Am I breaking down in your arms right now?” Angela deadpanned.

“Damn, okay,” Chanse grinned. “I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“Shut up,” Angela scoffed, swatting at him. “But yeah, apparently she’s been flirting this whole time and I’ve been stupid?”

Chanse laughed explosively. “Yeah, you’re never allowed to call me stupid again,” he replied.

“Too bad, always will.”

“Hate you.”

“Love you, stupid.” Angela stuck her tongue out at Chanse. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him from the store. “Come on, I’ve gotta get home and get my place semi-presentable,” she urged him. “I’m not making Tommy sit on a couch full of dog hair.”