⇢ ˗ˏˋ $𝟓.𝟔𝟕, 𝐬𝐢𝐫 ࿐ྂ

i think it was fate

A⃟L⃟X⃟

Walking to the convenience store for his afternoon shift, Alex lightly swayed to the music he was listening to through the AirPods Karl's girlfriend gifted him for his birthday months ago. It was just another Thursday, working alone until the night swept across the blue sky.

From behind was Karl by himself, running and calling out to Alex breathlessly. When the brunet final put a hand on his friend's shoulder, he took a deep breath.

"What the fuck? Are you good, man?" Alex chuckled a little and paused the song that was playing, more interested in the flustered state of his friend.

"There's a band performing tonight- at- oh fuck, I can't breathe-"

"A BAND? LIKE HERE?" Alex immediately perked up, always having a knack for concerts with blaring music

"Yeah, dude! They asked the school if they could play there tonight and everyone is fucking stoked," Karl grinned from ear to ear, already excited for the event.

"Tonight? Fuck, I'm working really late. When are they expected to start?" Alex felt his heart drop to his stomach, disappointment drowning his content.

"They start at like 8 or so. When do you get off?"

"Like, around 9? I can probably catch some of it, right?" He looked for reassurance from his best friend.

"I'm sure you will! Just come immediately after, alright? I promise you can catch it!" Karl nodded and waved before taking off to his house, probably to get ready for the event.

Sighing, Alex pushed the door to the store open and waved to the owner, having a small chat before beginning his shift alone.

It was a slow afternoon, a few kids from his school moving through the aisles in search of sweet treats. Their conversation could be heard across the brightly coloured tiles, the topic agonizing to Alex.

"I heard the drummer was really cute! I can't remember what those air-headed cheerleaders said about his hair, but I heard he didn't have any."

"I heard the lead singer was hot too. He has brown hair and the cutest nose!"

"The bassist is super pretty. She has a deep voice too-"

"Shut up, loser. We know you're into girls, you don't have to tell us!"

The group of four girls were giggling and teasing each other as they walked up to the counter, dropping their bags of chips and packages of candy on the tabletop. With a huff, Alex rang the items up and told them their total, wanting to bang his head against the edge of the counter.

Watching as the girls left, the teen grew aggravated, yearning to trash the store and get fired just so he could attend the concert. He knew he wouldn't do it, but the mere thought of it was keeping him sane and entertained.

When his shift had finally ended, Alex didn't even greet his co-worker who walked through the door to take over the night shift, sprinting off to his school as fast as he could. The cold air nipped at his ears and lips gently as tears piled at his waterline, the wind irritating his opened eyes.

Slamming the door open, Alex dashed through the halls and found the gymnasium, only to be disappointed by the absence of people. Frowning, he turned back around and trudged to the back entrance, sighing heavily as he kicked at anything close to his shoe.