Flowers, Fame and Unforeseen Facades

Chapter 2

Carnation: Fascination
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Zoe's POV

After having lunch with Harley, I asked her to drop me off at the shop straight away. Most people came to the graveyard in the afternoon. I was sure that I had customers waiting to get some flowers, and visit their loved ones.

Over the years, I had gotten many customers. Not just any customers, but all kinds of them. Some came with a smile on their face, wanting to get a bouquet for their lover, while others would have red, bleary eyes, black clothes and an obvious aura of mourning around them. Some people were one's that I never saw again, and some became regular customers that I would befriend.

No matter the type of person, I had always made sure to provide them with the best services. And I already knew that Miss Johanssesn would be waiting for me to give her the yellow roses that she bought every Saturday. Hence, I was in a hurry.

As Harley sang like a chicken with lung problems, I found myself peering out of the window. This town was one that I had come to love. With it's mostly nice people, sunny weather, beach and other features, I deemed it as an escape. Not only for me, but also for people that wanted to get away from their problems.

In my previous house, I had never been able to see what my city looked like. Not because of some physical reason, but because I was too caught up in my problems to notice what was happening around me. Five years later, I was able to see what being part of a community meant, and just the thought of it made me joyful.

Harley pulled up outside my shop and said, "Well, there you go. If you see a hot guy, grab his number for either yourself or me. Also, I won't be home tonight. My dad's having a party, and he wants me to attend it. I hope I don't have to punch a flirty jerk in the face, but we'll see what happens. Talk about bad luck. Anyways, have fun! Bye!"

Chuckling at her obvious annoyance at her father, I waved back at her and walked towards my shop. Only then did I see the tall, hooded figure. With a cap, sunglasses and black hood pulled over his head, I wasn't able to see the man's face. Instantly, I felt the pit growing in my stomach, confirming my fear. No matter how many times I had seen someone in a black hoodie, I always got scared. I mean, it was a cliché criminal outfit.

Trying to calm down, I walked towards the man and asked him,"Excuse me, sir, do you need something?"

As he looked up at me, my breath instantly got caught in my throat. High cheek bones, pink lips and a defined jaw line greeted me. Why did he look so familiar? Breaking me out of my thoughts, his deep voice made it's way to my ears.

"I needed to buy some flowers. But it looks like the owner is not here.", he said.

Quickly informing him that I was the owner, I turned the keys in the lock, opening the store and walking inside. As I was hit with the scent of the flowers, a smile made it's way on my face. Turning towards the weirdly familiar, and extremely handsome customer, I asked him what kind of flowers he wanted.

Once I was told that he wanted Asphodel's, I walked towards the garden, and found the little patch growing outside. I prepared them and arranged them in a bouquet, feeling the man's intense gaze on me. Although I fought hard to keep it back, a blush eventually made it's way to my cheeks. But why was he staring at me?

Once I was satisfied with the bouquet, I walked towards the counter and took out a receipt. He handed the money to me and took the flowers. I thought that he was going to walk out of the shop, like any normal person would do.

Instead, he said, "What is your name?"

My eyes widened. Wasn't that a little too much? I mean, we would probably never see each other again, but here he was, asking me my name.

"Why do you want to know?"

His lips turned up into a small smirk and I felt my cheeks turning slightly red. He cleared his throat and said the complete opposite of what I was thinking.

"Don't worry, I'm not a stalker or a murderer. I just have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other a lot. Again, not because I'm a creepy stalker, but because I will be visiting the graveyard a lot. Now, may I know your name?"

I smiled at him and said, "Zoe. Zoe Hester. What about you?"

His smirk turned into a smile as he said, "I like your name. Nice to meet you, Zoe Hester. And you can call me Levi. Levi Jaxon."

With that, he walked out of the shop, leaving me utterly confused. Why did his name sound so familiar? Did I know him before I moved here? The thought made my face turn pale. No, I couldn't possibly have known him. I didn't talk to anyone there. As I consoled myself, I watched him walk towards the graveyard.

His steps were long and smooth, as if he had calculated the exact distance that a step should have. It was fascinating to see. His walk reminded of a model. I could picture it, him walking in a trench coat on a cat walk, making the ladies swoon. Apparently, I wasn't an exception to his charm.

I spent the rest of the day working, selling flowers to the huge amount of customers that showed up right after Levi had left, just as I'd suspected. But no matter how busy I was, the familiarity of the hooded figure kept making it's way back to my mind. Why did he look like someone I knew?

Right as I was making my way to my apartment, the realization struck me like a bolt of lightening. Holy sh*t! He was Levi Jaxon! Levi Jaxon, the famous singer, who was the biggest hit in all of the music industry!

Done! Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please comment and vote. Love you guys!