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anemoflower · 2 months

Text

Meet me in the comic store

Ship: Sophie x Elias Word Count: ~ 1.5k Warnings: lots of nerdy references. Description of social anxiety (is that a warning? idk) Not fully proofread bc this has been in my drafts for days and I want it done ;w; A/N: Okay so, I was thinking about their first meeting (I like to write these kind of stuff) and I think it turned quite cute? Anyways, here we goo... Divider by @/cafekitsune

A sudden wave of shivers went through her body, although she wasn’t sure if it was because of the chilly autumn breeze or because of her anxiety to go into a shop all on her own.

Normally she would have visited the comic book store with her best friends but due to they were busy today, Sophie had decided to be brave and go alone. Now she looked up to the sign over the entrance door, doubts climbing up her spine. On her own.

Her heart was beating fast. It shouldn't be a big deal. Just go inside, buy that one new comic and leave again. No one will look at you, no one will judge you.

Before she could proceed thinking about it, the door to the store opened and two boys ran outside. One of them was holding the newest Spider-Man issue and excitedly told his friend how he looked forward to reading it.

Sophie squeezed past them and into the realm of nerd merchandise, Mangas and Comics. Hundreds of books in the shelves, buttons and pins presented next to the checkout, Statues of popular anime characters were secured behind glass in a cabinet. Figures of characters from One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen and Spy x Family looked down on her, trying to charm her into buying them. But Sophie went straight up the stairs to the comic and graphic novel section.

She liked this way more, it wasn't so loud and crowded like the main floor and she found more joy in superhero comics than manga recently anyways.

Slowly she strolled past the shelves with the letter “E”, looking for the new published comic book she was looking for. It was the first issue of a new series from an author she admired. One of her books impressed her so much she eagerly waited for the release of this graphic novel, as soon as she heard of it. But it wasn't here. Did she miss the release date?

“Do you need any help?” a tall young man asked her and Sophie froze in her movement because she didn’t notice him before. He smiled at her and tilted his head. Dark brown hair, blue eyes like the sky, a few freckles on his cheeks, which reminded her of star constellations. Silver piercings beneath his bottom lip flared up in the light - Sophie remembered them as snake bites?

On the badge clipped to his gray shirt was his name written “E. Lindner / salesman”

She almost wanted to use the phrase she knew by heart: “No thanks. I'm just looking around.” but something stopped her. His presence calmed her fast beating heart.

“I uhm- I was looking for-” she nervously stepped to the side as soon as she noticed the shrink foiled adult comic books in front of her. “N-not for that! The- the comic book ‘Extraordinary’ by V. E. Schwab?”

“Ah, that's quite new, we didn't get to fill them in the shelves yet. Wait a sec.” As he turned around she got a glance at the tattoo on his left arm. A dragon made of black ink coiled around it.

He disappeared behind a brown door with a “staff only” sign. Sophie meanwhile peeked around the corner of Marvel comics until he came back.

“You're lucky, I saved that one from getting buried beneath tons of newly arrived One Piece Mangas.”

Sophie let out a polite quiet chuckle and thanked him for the book.

“Oh and if you're into that kind of superpower stories, I have plenty to recommend to you.”

He pulled some books out of the Marvel shelves and showed her each cover - Moon Knight, Silk, Fantastic Four.

“Do you have other favorites?” He asked. Suddenly Sophie forgot about every comic book she had read before. She frantically walked past the bookshelf in her mind until she found the right series.

“I- I love the Ms. Marvel comics” Sophie tipped on the colorful cover of Ms. Marvel Volume 1 - No Normal in the shelf next to her. “I have almost all of the stories at home!”

“Cool, I think I know her-” he tipped on the comic next to that. He was suddenly so close to her, Sophie held her breath, “I read that one. It's a team-up between her and Spider-Man.”

They kept talking about various comics and stories and Sophie felt much calmer every second she shared an interest with him. That tingling spark of excitement grew bigger and bigger in her chest.

And as soon as he smiled, she felt as if her feet wouldn't touch the floor anymore. He was so friendly. Of course he's friendly to her. It's his job to be friendly.

Then it dawned on her and she fell hard to the ground. It's his job. He just talked to her so she would buy more from him. A strategy to gain a customer's trust.

Sophie raised the “Extraordinary” book he had just given to her. “Uhm- thanks for your recommendations but I think I only want to buy this one.”

He seemed to be surprised about her sudden change of mood, but nodded in an understanding way. “Alright, then let's head over to checkout? Or do you still want to look around?”

“I... still want to look around some more”, she lied. Then walked down the aisle, further away from him and almost tripped over a box with very old DC comics. A few more minutes she acted like she would be interested in the Batman & Robin collection, embarrassed by the thought he might be interested in her as a person. Idiot. Why should someone like him ever be interested in you?

Then she went to the checkout, where he was already waiting for her with his usual smile. There were those shivers in her bones again.

She paid for the comic and put it into her backpack, the receipt disappeared into the pocket of her jacket.

“Oh and don't forget to keep a close eye on the receipt?” He said. “Sometimes the computer writes down strange stuff on it. Really weird.”

She haven't really listened to him, only nodded, wished him a nice day and walked down the stairs to the main floor. Out of here. Just out of here. As soon as she left the store, she could get some air in her lungs again and shook off the anxiety which crawled over her shoulders.

She only remembered his last sentence he told her after she arrived at home.

On the receipt which she took out the pocket of her jacket was a small handwritten message on it. “Keep that glow in your eyes, it suits you :)”

That note warmed her heart everytime it crossed her mind. Sophie wanted to wait a few days before she went back to the store. On a friday afternoon - after she left her workplace - she gathered enough courage to visit the comic book store again. But when she waited at the checkout with a new Manga and some Pokémon merchandise she lost heart again.

The young woman before her bought a sci fi comic, which Sophie didn't know. She had raven black hair, a septum piercing and a crow tattoo on her wrist. She's much more his type, she definitely will get a note on her receipt from him, Sophie thought. But when the woman left and took the receipt with her, there was nothing. No handwritten message on it.

“Hi, found something new?” The young man with stars beneath his eyes asked. Dimples formed on his face when he smiled.

Sophie squeaked out a husky “yes” and gave him the Manga and a small box with “mysterious Pokémon figure” inside.

“Oh these are nice,” he said, tapping on the illustrations on the small box. “The Flygon and Charizard ones are really cool.”

“I- I would love to get the Jirachi figure. It's pretty.” There it was again. This feeling that she could tell him everything and he wouldn’t judge her for it. No doubts. No embarrassment.

Sophie gave him the money and as their fingers touched lightly, a small spark flew over her skin.

“Then good luck.” He handed her the receipt and she already noticed the fine black pen lines on it. A scribbled phone number, again with a message: “Text me if you want. I'd love to know which Pokémon you ‘chose’ - Elias”

She looked up at him again and he grinned.

“What's your name? Now that you know mine?” Elias rubbed his neck.

“Sophie.”

“I hope to see you again, Sophie.” It sounded sincere, like he would really look forward to seeing her again. “And I mean this in a not just-as-a-customer-way, you can always come to the store of course, it's more like…” he scratched the back of his head, thinking about the right words “as a person? Like someone, I'd like to get to know better. I uh- I have noticed you here a few times already- god that sounds weird. I swear I don't mean it in a creepy way-”

Sophie slowly blinked at him in surprise. He wants to get to know me? Like a friend? She couldn't help but smile brightly at him.

“Me too," she interuppted his nervous stuttering, but tried to contain her excitement again. She coughed slightly and said with a shy smile: "I would also like to get to know you."

- -

Taglist:

@jils-things @soveriegns @huggsbury @satosara @lovinglin

#oc f/o #selfship community #selfship #oc x self insert #;my writing #;oc: elias #;s/i: sophie #;sophelias #fun fact: I struggled most to decide for a surname for him on the badge #So I chose the first that I liked #I'm bad at this xD

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