What was that buzzing sound? It was distant, but there was a distinct rhythm to it – beep beep beep. I tried to find it, but everything was so dark. Or rather, my eyes seemed to be closed. The beeping got louder as I tried opening my eyes and I realize it’s my alarm going off. Right. I start my new job today, don’t I? I open my eyes and find my alarm, only to discover that I’ve overslept about half an hour. Panic. I can’t be late, not now, not on my first day! I throw off my bed sheet, almost leap out of bed and gather my new work attire. Once that’s been properly laid out, I run to the washroom to partake in my morning routine, albeit with extra haste. I check myself in the mirror, my feline features reflect off the surface.

There I was, all 152 cm of Terryl Weinhaus the lynx/caracal cross, light tan fur with a patch of white on my chin - also running down the front of my neck - with light copper spots ever present all over and some small amount of fluff on my cheeks and jawline, looking like a small, two-pronged beard. Over-sized black furred ears stick out of the top of my head with tufts of black fur to add to the ridiculousness of their size, medium length blond hair with some blue fringes fading from the tips on the right side tops it all off. My short, almost bob-like tail has the tip covered in black fur. 36 kg sopping wet, most people are surprised to learn that I’m actually 24 years old. I look into my reflections eyes, the left one being gunmetal blue, the right being amber in hue, and think to myself, ‘Hell, sometimes I’m surprised, too.’

After a good teeth brushing, a quick shower and fix my hair – gotta make sure the none of the blue got onto the left side of the parting - I don my new work uniform and rush to the kitchen to grab a quick bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. I haven’t seen any of my roommates yet, so they might be starting their respective jobs later than I am. Good, a few less distractions for this already horrendous morning. Once I’m finished my impromptu breakfast, I grab my messenger bag from my room, throw on my jacket and shoes and head to the bus stop.

Where was the bus? According to the transit app, it should have already been here and I would’ve been on my way. Was it late? Did it arrive early? These questions kept repeating themselves until one much louder though burst into the forefront: I’M GOING TO BE LATE. More panic. I try to control my breathing to try not to go into hysterics. Don’t want to worry the other transit riders waiting for the same bus. Wait; if there were others waiting here, that must mean the bus is late, so at least I won’t have to wait for the next one. I keep my eyes peeled down the street.

What felt like an eternity passed before the bus arrived, but it had honestly been only a few minutes. I got on the bus, moved to the back and was lucky enough to find an empty seat for some privacy. Too nervous to check the time on my phone, I sit quietly listening to my playlist (consisting mostly of symphonic and melodic metal). What time is it? I think to myself, only brushing aside the thought knowing that lingering on such a thing would only make my anxiety worse. I managed to gather my thoughts in time to look out the window and notice that my stop is coming up. I pull the cord to stop the bus, rush down to the door – almost tripping over myself - and exit the bus once it has stopped. I cross the street, head to the Top Pharmacy, rush through the front door and make my way to the employee room. I haven’t noticed any clocks to tell me whether or not I was late, but that couldn’t be helped.

There it was, a nice door in the back of the store labelled ‘Employee’s Only.’ I reach my hand down to enter the code to unlock the door, pressing the first couple of digits when I hear a voice behind me.

“Mr. Weinhaus,I presume? Do you have any idea what time it is?” I turn around to find myself eye level with a muscular chest, the buttons on his blue shirt straining under the pressure of the almost taut fabric and a tag over his left breast reading ‘Wilbur Holland,’ with ‘Manager’ just underneath. As he crosses his arms, the cinnamon brown fur barely masking the strength present in them, I lift my head up to look him in the face.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I haven’t checked the time yet…” I managed to squeak out. I could barely keep eye contact with this giant of an antelope, all bulging muscle, his suspicious dark brown eyes surrounded by dark grey fur. It made them look as though they were boring into your soul. He tilted his head, pointing his spiralling horns toward a clock that hung just above the receiving doors. I manage to peel my eyes away, knowing that I won’t get into trouble for doing so, and notice that it was 7:50. I was still 10 minutes early.

“Make sure you’re on time tomorrow. I won’t have any of my employee’s be tardy,” he huffs as he walks off, leaving me shaken and extraordinarily baffled. I stood there for a good minute when I hear yet another voice from behind me.

“You should get inside before he notices you standing around.” I let out a small yelp as I swing around to find the source of this new voice. I come spinning around to face a lusciously grey furred lynx, dark purple spots lining her arms and framing her face. She stood a good 10 cm taller than me, and quite a bit heavier, but she carried it with dignity. Her thick purple hair was pulled back into a ponytail, with her side parted bangs covering her left eye, he other eye showing through as a bright mossy green. She stood with her hands on her ample hips, a sly grin on her face. Her name tag read ‘Sadie Perkins’ with ‘Assistant Manager’ underneath.

Trying to get my composure back, I mutter a few words of apology before trying to make my way to the employee room. Sadie promptly follows me in. “Hey, sorry about startling you, I know he can be pretty intimidating but he won’t actually do anything to you if I can get to him in time,” she says to me to sound reassuring, I suppose, “I’m Sadie, the assistant manager. I’ll be the one training you,” she reaches out a hand to shake mine; I clasp it as best I can. “So your name’s Terryl, yeah? It’s pretty unique.”

“Er, yeah. My parents have an… interesting naming sense,” I look around the room to make sure there is no one around to listen, “Is he - the manage -, is he usually like that? What does he mean by ‘make sure you’re on time tomorrow’?” I ask nervously.

“Oh, that? I wouldn’t worry too much. He just thinks that anyone arriving less than 15 minutes before a shift is being ‘purposefully tardy,’” she lifts her hands and makes air quotations around the last two words. “Just make sure that you’re 15 minutes early and you’ll be just fine. But if he does give you a hassle for only being 10 minutes early, just let me know. I’ll straighten it out,” she placed one hand on her hip while pointing at herself with her other thumb, “If anyone can keep him in line, it’s this guy.” Giving herself a little nod, she looked up at the clock to check the time, “I guess we better get you clocked in, then we can get that training started.”

I nod at her, not trusting myself to speak at the moment, pull out the name tag that was given to me just a week prior and put it on my own shirt. I follow her to the time keeper and learn to punch in my code to start my shift. A few hours into learning the ropes of my position, it’s lunch break.

Sadie brings out a large Tupperware container from the fridge and puts it in the microwave. “Did you want any of this? I make lunch for the crew sometimes, and since it’s your first day here, I thought that it would be nice to make something today.”

I look up from my bag from which I was pulling out my own lunch from, “Uh, no, I’m okay. Thanks for the offer though…” I sniff the air, noticing the aroma of the reheated meal, “What is it? It smells really good.”

“Ah, it’s nothing special. Just a simple curry I whipped up.” The microwave went off and she pulled the steaming food from inside. I slip by her to use the microwave and I end up getting a peek and a mighty whiff of the curry. Damn, but did that really seem appetizing. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try some?

“I guess I can try a little bit?” I put my own lunch into the microwave and set the appliance running.

Sadie gave me a grin and started heading to the cupboards. She pulls out a small plate from inside, white with a small heart shaped pattern in the middle. She pulls open a drawer and grabs a spoon and takes a small amount of curry and rice from the plastic container and sets it on the table. “For you, kid. Go ahead and give it a try.”

I grab my lunch after it finishes heating and sit down at the table. I grab the spoon and try a mouthful of Sadie’s curry, “Wow, this is really good,” I say after finishing swallowing, “you should try to cook professionally.”

She brought one hand up to her face and turned her head bashfully, “Oh, no, I couldn’t. I’m definitely not that good at all. It’s just enough that you guys enjoy it. Though you aren’t the first one to tell me that, most of the others have said it to me at least once before. I’d rather not have some of this passion I have of cooking for others become something that I could dread, since this it’s more of a hobby than anything.” As she finished her sentence, she placed a finger on her chin and looked at me contemplatively, “Speaking of hobbies, what kind of things do you like to do? I like to get to know what my employees like.”

I took a sidelong glance at the clock, still 15 minutes left in the break. What harm could there be in telling her my incredibly nerdy interests? She seemed nice enough not to laugh at me to my face.

“I, uh, like to play… games… and listen to music, read…” Ugh, why do I always feel so nervous when talking about myself?

Sadie raised an eyebrow. “What kind of games?” she pondered.

“Um, well, various video game genres, some tabletop RPGs… board games?” I manage to stammer this very detailed list out. She rested her elbows on the table and placed her head on her open hands as I recited the expanded list.

“Tabletop games, eh?” She said to me, though I might have heard an interested tone from her. Hard to say, I’m not too good at reading tones of voice. “As it so turns out, I, too, enjoy playing tabletop RPGs. Hell, there’s even a game store nearby that I frequent that hosts some Encounters,” her eyes brighten up and she lifts her chin from her hands, “I should take you there after work today! I can introduce you to the owner, he’s an old friend of mine!” She was practically bouncing in her chair, though thankfully it seemed to be rather sturdy.

That was unexpected. I wasn’t used to having people being interested in my hobbies, let alone actually be excited about them. Maybe I could take her up on her offer, we needed a good game store to get our stuff from, and if Sadie recommended it, it shouldn’t be too bad. “That sounds like… fun. I’ll take you up on the offer.”

“Excellent! You’ll just need to hang around a bit after you clock out, just so that I can finish up my duties before I leave,” she looked at the clock just then, “Oh, looks like lunch is over. We should head back to work.” With that she stood up and walked to the time keeper, clocking in from break. I stood, grabbed my things from lunch and placed them in the sink to wash later. I, too, clocked in.

A few more hours of basic training and my first day at the new job is finally complete. Sadie complemented me on how quickly I was picking things up, but I honestly think that she’s just being nice. Positive reinforcement and junk. I head back to clock out and wash my dishes from my lunch. I check in on Sadie, and she tells me to wait out front. I grab my bag from my assigned locker and head to the exit. After about ten minutes, I see Sadie exit the store. She waves me to follow her, and I do.

“It’s not far, about a ten minute walk from here, but since I drove here, we’ll be taking my car.” She pulled out her keys from her bag and headed to her car. It was an older model sedan, maybe 6-7 years old, but kept in good condition. It was a medium blue colour, with a few bumper stickers that read, ‘Roll a D6,’ ‘Coexist’ using different video game typesets, ‘My other ride is the Millennium Falcon,’ and ‘Live Long and Prosper.’ Sadie pressed a couple buttons on her remote to unlock the doors and motioned for me to get in. “Ah, I’m so excited!” she exclaimed as she opened her door and got in, setting the key into the ignition and starting it up, “I haven’t been able to get anyone else to come along with me, the others don’t like any of the same things I do. It’s always so nice to find someone with the same nerdy hobbies, isn’t it?”

I finish putting on my seat belt and nod. It usually is, since it’s still considered bad to like such things. I clutch at my bag and grin a little bit. I made a new friend today, didn’t I? I felt absolutely bubbly at the prospect. It was something I was never good at, though the few really good friends that I have made over the years have just seemed to fall into my lap without me even trying. I glance over at Sadie, whom I’ve noticed hasn’t started driving yet. She was grinning at me. I knew that look. Oh no…

“You’re so darn cute, you know that?”

Dammit, “N-no I’m not, I’m an adult and I would prefer to be treated as one.” It didn’t help that my voiced cracked slightly as I said this. I thought I had already gone through puberty, why must you do this to me, body?

Sadie let out a little giggle and started to check if she was clear to back out of her parking spot. We make our way to the game store, just a couple minutes down the road. “Here we are!” she exclaims as she pulls into a free parking spot. Sadie puts the car in park and turns the ignition off, the engine’s low rumble dying off. I follow the lead as Sadie exits the car and heads towards the aforementioned store. She opens the door, “Welcome to The Outer Realm,” gesturing me inside.

I step through the open door, thanking Sadie as I pass her. I take a quick scan of the storefront, there are boardgames on shelves lining the wall to the right of the door, a ‘try before you buy’ section. Tables are set up just on the left of the door, for anyone to play some games on or paint their miniatures. Further back are shelves running up and down the middle of the store, filled with books, video games, boardgames, wargame miniatures and LARP gear. On the far wall left of the entrance is the checkout, on display are a multitude of dice, various gaming accessories and drinks and snacks. It being just after 4 P.M., the place wasn’t very crowded, a couple of people at the tables, one or two more amongst the shelves and one person running checkout…

I can feel my face getting warm as my eyes settle on the wolf standing behind the counter. He stood head and shoulders taller than me, with strong broad shoulders. His grey fur was thick and ruffled, with brown mixed in around his sky blue eyes, running along the top of his muzzle and down his arms to the back of his beefy hands. His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, reaching just below the nape of his thick neck. His shirt, which seemed a little too tight around his chest and profound belly, read ‘Pork Chop’ with an illustration of a pig wearing a karate gi. He reached for something on the wall behind the counter, lifting his shirt up and giving a peek at his belly. My face felt like it was burning.

“Gweh!” That was the sound that left my mouth when I felt a small jab in my side. My hand flew over my mouth and I turned to look at Sadie, who just had the most devious grin on her face...

“Oh, jeez, sorry to startle you again.” Pretty sure she wasn’t. “But you were staring for a little while. Thought we had lost you.” She took my arm and pulled me gently towards the till. “The one you were gawking at,” she starts to whisper, “is the owner, Bardolf.”

My face continues it’s journey into becoming the embodiment of the sun. “I wasn’t gawking…” My eyes wander over to where Bardolf was standing, only to notice he was looking right at us. He had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. He was looking right at me… I look up at Sadie with my most pleading expression possible. Please don’t, haven’t I already embarrassed myself enough today? Please stop please stop please stop…

“Heya, Bardolf! How’s business?”

Crap.

“Doing okay, who’s the kid?” His voice was deep and gruff, but not without kindness. Double crap.

“I’m 24 years old, I’ll have you know, so I’m not a ‘kid’!” I huff out immediately without a second thought. Triple crap. This is the part where I’m supposed to collapse into myself and blink out of existence. Definitely not happening.

“Heh, alright. Won’t make the same mistake again, sorry about that,” Bardolf replied with a shrug of his shoulders, a lopsided grin flashing on his face. “So where’d you pull this one in from?”

Sadie put on an aggravated face, “I didn’t ‘pull this one’ from anywhere, he’s the new guy I told you was starting. He’s totally gonna be our best employee, and he likes the nerdy things so I brought him with me today. This is Terryl,” she motions to me in way of greeting.

“Hey, I’m Bardolf. It’s nice to meet you,” he extends his hand, and I put mine own small hand to clasp his large one. He grips firmly, but gently. My heart skips a beat and my hand feels like a limp noodle. Quadruple crap. Why am I turning into mush after just meeting him? Sure, he seems like a nice enough guy, he apologized after calling me a kid. He has nice warm, big hands and looks like he would be immensely comfortable to cuddle with…

Geh, stop that train of thought right there, brain. Just, stop… Was I still holding that handshake? I look down at our still interlocked hands and quickly pull back with a nervous chuckle.

“Uh, heh, sorry about that. I, uh, kinda got lost in my thoughts a bit there. It… happens sometimes,” I give out a rather hast apology, trying not to make eye contact, “I’m just a bit of a scatterbrain at times.” I rub the back of my head with my hand, giving my best sorry face. “I’ll, uh… I’ll go and check out the store, if that’s okay with you two?” I start to slink away before I get an answer and rush as far away as possible once I’ve lost sight of them. Great first impression, there. My ears droop a little, just thinking about it. Maybe if I never come back here, and this can all be put behind us…

“Find anything good back here?” A cheerful, feminine voice called from behind me. I let out another small, startled noise. Could today just end already? I turn around, ears folded back in apprehension, to see Sadie standing there with the most shit eating grin I have ever seen. Why couldn’t I just get co-workers that stopped being in my life once I’ve walked out the door? I probably shouldn’t really be thinking that, Sadie really does seem like a nice person. She even brought me here, thinking that I would enjoy it. I can’t let my anxieties get the better of me all the time.

I let out a sigh, “No, didn’t really get the time to look around. Sorry about how I’m acting…”

“Hey, don’t apologize, I know what it’s like to be nervous around new people. Like, there was this really hot girl that used to come to our store to get things on a fairly frequent basis, and whenever she had asked me about anything I would tense up like crazy. It made it really awkward whenever she asked about any feminine hygiene things,” she chuckled. “Besides, even if you acted like a complete spaz, he might not even notice if there was any underlying emotions going on. He isn’t too good at noticing anything like that towards himself. He probably thinks that you’re intimidated by him, but we both now differently,” she added with a wink.

“Wh- I don’t know what you mean, I was a little intimidated by him, that’s all. I mean, he’s tall and gruff, he has broad shoulders, he looks like he can squeeze someone really hard in those big arms… and... ” I can feel my face flushing hard. I look around, trying to find some way to change the subject and what should catch my attention none other than the new Age of Mythos expansion book. I reach up to grab it, “I’ve been looking all over for this, most of the other store I’ve been to have been sold out almost as soon as it was released. I can’t believe there’s still a copy here.”

“I haven’t played Age of Mythos in years, I don’t have any friends around here that play it, and all my old friends are too busy - and in a different time zone - to really get any kind of game going.”

A spark, a chance to overcome this wall that my anxiety built, I start to wring my hands, “One of my roommates is starting a campaign… I c-could ask him if it would be okay for one more to join…?” Glad my nerves didn’t get the better of me.

Sadie looked surprised, “Wow, you don’t really have to. I mean, we did just meet today, there’s no reason for you to go out of your way for me like that.”

I wave my hands in front of me, “N-no, it’s fine, really. You’ve been pretty good to me today, and I want to return the favour. You seem like a really good person, and I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you more anyway.”

“Awww, thanks! You’re such a good kid!” She started patting my head. I start pouting, but not in an ‘I’m just a cute small child’ way. In an adult way. Cause I’m an adult. Sadie giggled and ruffled my hair. I pout more. “So what about Bardolf do you like most?”

The pouting becomes infinite.

“Can we not talk about this here? In case you hadn’t noticed, he owns the store.” There was no point in fighting on at least this one point. I seem to have developed a crush at first sight. I’ll just have to move past it in the future. “He could be back here at any time and overhear us.” I look around to make sure that the large wolf hadn’t managed to sneak up on me, too. To my utter shock and delight, he was nowhere in sight.

Sadie only grinned and gave my head a few gentle pats. She was enjoying this way too much.

“Could you stop enjoying my agony, please?” I cross my arms with a huff. I said please, so she should stop it… Right?

“Heh, yeah, sorry about all that. I tend to go a little overboard with the teasing. I’ll try to tone it down, if it’s making you uncomfortable. So, why don’t we get this book for you and get out of here and save you from more embarrassment?”

Is that a genuine smile on her face? I couldn’t help but return it in appreciation as she handed me the book I was looking at. “I’m sure I can hold it together while I pay for this, at least.” I head up to the front counter with Sadie in tow, waiting in line to pay. I get to the front of the line and place the book on the counter top.

“So you’ve managed to snag our last copy, eh?”

“Uh, yeah.” I managed to get out, not even being able to look at his face, and as to not embarrass myself any further, I try not to look at any part of him in particular.

“Right, so that’ll be 28.25. How’d you like to pay for that?”

I pull out my wallet and grab my debit card, “Debit, please.”

“Sure, go right ahead.”

I pay for the book, Bardolf puts it in a bag for me and hands it over, “Well, it was nice meeting you. Make sure you come back, a friend of Sadie’s is a friend of mine. Or rather, I think that - after a time - we could be friends.”

“Right, yeah. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind,” I say to him unintentionally non-committal. I clutch at the book and follow Sadie out of the store.

“That was a horrifying experience that I never want to partake in again,” I blurt out as soon as we get through the door. Sadie chuckled, pulled me into a side hug and let my head rest on her shoulder. She then proceeded to rub my head.

“Don’t worry, everything will be just fine. I’m sure you can keep it well together the next time you come by here. Why don’t I give you a ride back to your place? To help make up for this?”

I almost got too distracted by the comfort of the hug and almost didn’t hear her offer of a ride. I gave a little nod and she let me go. We made our way to her car and I gave her directions to my place. We chatted along the way, and when we arrived, I reminded her that I was going to ask my roommate about her joining in on our game, and she gave me a nod and a ‘see you tomorrow’ before driving off. I walk to the front door, unlock it - whether it is locked is a mystery though - and get back inside.

As I enter the foyer, I notice that there are two missing pairs of shoes - it being past 6 would mean that everyone should be off work by now - so that suggests that Ben and Shana are out for dinner tonight. Which means that I’d need to wait til they got back to ask about the game. Curt’s shoes were still here, but that wasn’t a surprise. He’s probably still sleeping, having to deal with a night shift means he has a wildly different sleeping pattern than the rest of us. Maybe he’ll be awake when I make dinner. If not, then that means I’ll have leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

I kick off my shoes, realize that they’re in a really bad spot and then place them nicely on the shoe rack. Can’t have anyone tripping on them. I pass by the kitchen and living room, both devoid of life, and go down the hall to my room. Curt’s door is closed, so I can assume he is still sleeping at this point. I quietly pass to my room, and close the door behind me.

I look around my room - only really big enough to fit my bed and computer desk - and toss my bag on the bed. I take off my work attire and slip into a fresh plain t-shirt and pyjama pants. I boot up my computer and head out to make myself some dinner. I decide on a pasta dish with some chicken and a creamy parmesan and garlic sauce. I make enough for two, just in case Curt wants any.

Finishing all the cutting, chopping, boiling, frying, and mixing, I hear a door open from down the hall. “Hey, morning, Curt! There’s some food here if you’d like any,” I call to him. A tall, rail thin otter steps into the kitchen, running his fingers through his limp brown hair, long enough to almost cover his eyes. He was wearing only a pair of pyjama pants, showing off the cream and cinnamon colour of his torso. I turned to him and motioned to the food still on the stove top, looking up at his face - and I really have to look up, as he is a head taller than I am - noticing his still tired looking brown eyes.

“Aw, sweet. It’s a good thing that I’ve gotten you mentally attuned to think of me when you make food. I mean, why else would you do it, to be a good and considerate person?”

“Yeah, that totally must be it. Who even is kind and generous?”

Curt walked over to get his share of food, and we both sit down on the couch in the living room, “Right? Thinking of other’s well being and taking them into consideration. It sounds totally fake.” I roll my eyes a bit at him, as per usual in this type of situation. “So how did you’re first day go at the new job?” He asks, turning a little bit serious.

“It actually went pretty well,” I start to tell him about my boss, the assistant boss and her interest in the same things I’m interested in, and the trip to the game store. I leave out anything that would incriminate me. If Curt went there and he knew about any slight feelings I had for Bardolf, I might not hear the end of it. In fact, I should probably keep it a secret from Ben and Shana as well. That would be a bad time. “I actually invited her to our game that Ben’s running. Of course I’ll ask him first, it would be the polite thing to do. She really seemed to want to play a game. You wouldn’t mind a new person, would you?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind. So this store is near your work, right? If I gave you some money, would you be able to pick me up some stuff? It’s a bit hard to do myself sometimes, with my work schedule and all.”

Since I was just in the middle of chewing, I give him a nod.

“Cool, would you be able to grab some tomorrow? I wanted to pick up some models but I don’t have the time until this weekend.”

I stare at him, wide eyed. I didn’t think that I would be going back there so soon. I shove some more food in my mouth and give him another quick nod. What have I gotten myself into?

“Nice, I’ll give you some cash before I leave for work tonight. I’ll just need a box of Screamers, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.” Curt takes another bite of his food, “Your food is always really good, I don’t know why you don’t cook for all of us more often.”

I try to listen for a car, but to my eternal glee I hear nothing pulling into the driveway yet, “I would, but those two are super picky about their food. I can’t really tell if they would enjoy a dish or not without running it by them both first. About the only thing I know that they like is my lasagna.” I finish my last bite and place the empty plate on the coffee table. I lean back on the couch, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to me, and I close my eyes. I sit like this for a bit, hearing Curt finish the rest of his dinner, pick up my dirty plate and put them in the dishwasher. I quickly open my eyes, not wanting to fall asleep out in the living room. After all, it was only about 7:30 now, far too soon for bed. I pull myself off the couch - damn old thing was pulling me in like quicksand, or maybe I was just too comfortable - grab a drink and drag myself to my room.

I hop onto the internet as soon as I can, checking my social media sites and laughing at the variety of posts of people who still get angry at the prospect of equality. Another hour rolls by when I hear a car pull into the driveway. My ears perk up a little, but I stay in my room until I know that my two other roommates have settled in a bit, maybe another ten minutes. Aside from asking Ben if Sadie could join his game, I should probably wash up from dinner. No reason someone else should do it.

I head out to the kitchen, see the couple on the couch and say hey to them. Ben looked up at me from the tv, “Hey, buddy. How was your first day?” the wombat asked. Shana, his ocelot girlfriend, is currently draped over his lap, scratching at his beardy face. Though both of them are sitting down, I can assure you that they are both taller than me, Shana being a bit taller than me and Ben being a bit taller than her. Both have short brown hair, his being cropped very close while hers being slightly curled. His eyes being small and gunmetal blue, her being large and brown. His figure being stocky with a short neck and a moderately sized belly, hers being a petite hippy figure. Both of them had managed to change into pyjamas, t-shirts and roomy pants.

I stop in front of the kitchen sink and lean on the counter facing them, “It went pretty well. Even made friends with one of the managers. She just so happens to be a big nerd, too. Uh, speaking of, would you mind having one more for our game? She had told me that she hadn’t played any AoM in a long time, and I told her that I would ask you if it was ok for her to join in…?” My voice trailed off at the end of the question, leaving it open for a ready answer.

“You know, it’s good that you’re making some friends on your own,” Ben replied, “I know it might not be my place to really say this, but you’ve got to have some more friends other than just us out here. Pretty sure you’ll get tired of seeing our faces all the time.” Which I guess might be true? Ever since I’ve moved out here with these guys, I haven’t really made any new friends. But then again, I don’t feel like I really need a big social circle, and sometimes it’s hard to explain it to someone who seems to need such things. “And you can tell your new friend that she’s welcome to join in. Just let her know how we’re starting stat and gear wise.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” I turn and start on the dirty pots and kitchen utensils I used to make dinner. Success, Ben had agreed to let Sadie into our game. Though I hope that she doesn’t mention anything about Bardolf in her time with them. I really don’t want to deal with any teasing. Maybe I could at least tell them about the shop, I’d feel bad if I left out an opportunity for them to find another good one to visit. I finish cleaning and turn to face them again, “So, there’s this game store that Sadie, my manager, had brought me to after work today. It’s just around the corner from my workplace, so if you ever want to check it out, I could show it to you.”

“Sounds like a neat idea, we should probably do that at some time.”

“OOO! Do they have any LARP stuff?” Shana exclaimed from her boyfriends lap.

“Yeah, I recall that they do indeed have some stuff. Some costuming and latex weapons, I think.”

“Sweet, I want something new and the only other store that sells it in the city is absolute shit.”

“Maybe we can pay them a visit this weekend? Curt has some time off then, and he’d probably want to check it out himself,” I suggest to the two. Maybe after my visit tomorrow I’ll be able to act in a proper manner, as according to society. Or maybe Bardolf won’t be in those days, he can’t be expected to be at the store all the time, just because he owns it, right?

Ben looked like he was considering it for a moment, then he looked at me and nodded, “Sounds like a plan. Neither of us has anything planned for this Saturday, so we could probably go then.”

Hey, if we went this weekend, I might not have to go back tomorrow to pick up those models for Curt. He just might be patient enough. Maybe. I should be asking him about this now, though. “I’ll go talk to Curt, see what his take on this is.” Ben nods his agreement and I slip off to Curt’s room.

I knock on his door and wait for his ‘Come in’ response, then enter his room. “Hey, I just talked to the others and we decided that we would venture to the new game shop this weekend. Would Saturday be ok with you?” I inquire when upon entering.

Curt turned around in his chair and thought about my proposal for a few seconds, “Yeah, that sounds fine. I was gonna stay up after work on Saturday, any way. Just hope you’re fine with me being super tired while we’re there.”

I give him a shrug and a smirk, “So no different than your normal self. Gotcha.”

“Nah, man, nah. I’m always totally super alert with everything cause I’m amazing.”

I squint my eyes in mock disbelief, “Riiiight, got it. So, anyway, did you still need me to go tomorrow? Since we’ll be going on Saturday, did you still need it before then?” I stood there, hoping that he would say no so that I didn’t have to make a fool of myself again so soon.

Curt gave a shrug, “I guess not. Don’t really need it before then.”

Suppressing the urge to sigh in relief, I give him a quick nod, “Cool, got it. I’ll leave you to your thing, then.” I take my leave of Curt’s room and head to mine. I spend some more time on the internet, watch some episodes of some anime that were newly released, check my social media multiple times and decide to head to bed once it gets late enough. This day was finally over, and hopefully tomorrow will be much less stressful. At least I won’t have to visit The Outer Realm. That sounds really odd, out of context. Gotta get these random thoughts out of my head, really need to get sleep. Just please, please no thoughts of HIM…. DAMMIT. Images of the massive wolf kept popping up in my head, his strong jawline, his long hair, his piercing blue eyes, his strong arms and hands, his protruding gut… My face burns at the thoughts intruding themselves into my mind. Wonderful.

I curl up into a ball, pulling the bedsheets around me as I sink further and further into the hell of my massive crush. Thoughts spiral inwards and outwards of what ifs and what may never be. Dumb brain, stop trying to predict the future, none of it’s going to happen. Nobody is going to really want to be with me, once they figure that I’m asexual. Nobody was ever interested in me anyway, so I never get my hopes up. So I’m now laying here, spiralling further into this hellscape, hoping to dive into the blissful annals of sleep....

END CHAPTER 1

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my first real attempt at writing something. Critique is welcome, as I am hoping to improve on my writing skills for future works. Thanks for reading!