all out

LOCATION: main street, the southern bean coffee shop AVAILABILITY: open, @mapleviewstarters

          ❛ WOULD YOU MIND A BIT OF COMPANY? ❜  keon ducked their head low, arms splaying wide to suggest that they’d quite like to sit in what was now the only available chair left in the coffeehouse.  ❛ no pressure. but i’m kind of in a bind & it’d be a trek and a half if i had to abandon ship now & go to the library. so. i’ll even buy you a treat for any spare generosity. ❜ they then offered a genuine smile, clutching their binder to their chest in the hopes that their pleas had won the person over.

Travis had his headphones in, deeply engrossed in a project on his laptop. He didn’t even notice Keon until they were mid-sentence, and abruptly jerked his head up and yanked out his ear buds to catch what they were saying. “Huh? No, please, sit down. I know this place fills up like fucking crazy at this time of day.” Travis grinned, gesturing to his muffin and latte. “Nah, I’m all set but thanks for the offer... What are you working on?”  

location : the fresh flower shop starter : open @mapleviewstarters·

               AS SOON AS the clock struck 7PM, oakley sprung up from behind the counter and began shutting off the lights in the shop. unfortunately, today just wasn’t a busy day and it made the hours go by agonizingly S L O W. and with the lack of customers for the past couple of hours, he had sent the other florist home early, leaving him to entertain himself until closing. on one hand, he wished that more people had come in today, but on the other hand, he knew that he should probably savor the dead hours while he could. with the holidays coming up, it was just a matter of time before people called in order after order of holiday arrangements, and he’d be knee deep in holly & poinsettias. once he felt satisfied with the state of the shop, and finished checking that everything important was locked away, he quickly headed out, turning to lock the door behind him. in his rush, he didn’t notice the person walking right behind him and as soon as he turned around, he CRASHED into the innocent passerby. eyes wide, he shoved his keys into his pocket, immediately holding out his hand. “ i- SORRY about that. i didn’t see you there. were you…- you weren’t about to head into the shop, were you? or, i mean- uh, never mind. are you alright ? ”

Travis had woken up that morning with every intention of having a productive day, but unfortunately it all just seemed to get away from him. Every attempt to crack down and chip away at the current project he was working on was futile, and by 7pm he grew so frustrated with his lack of productivity that he had to just step away from the computer. He was on an aimless walk when he came across the flower shop, which triggered a memory of his buddy recently telling him that he could really use a few plants to brighten his apartment up. Too caught up in his own thoughts to realize that the shop was clearly shutting down for the day, Travis stumbled right into the other male. “Oof,” he grunted upon impact. Travis glanced up, seeing that the store’s lights were off and chuckling at his obvious mistake. “I mean, I thought I was, but I don’t really think that’s an option right now huh? My bad, I should’ve noticed the lights were off. I’ll come back another day. I know how shitty of a feeling it is to have a customer wander in when you’re just closing up.”