The Foreverlost

Chapter 4

It had been a particularly slow day at the shop and Kaiya was looking forward to going home and going to bed. She had worked another ten hour shift which was great for her bank account but terrible on her feet. It was fifteen minutes from closing time and she secretly hoped that no other customers would drop in. Just as the thought crossed her mind, the bell over the door rang.

Kaiya huffed a sigh, "Of course..." she muttered. When she looked up to greet the late-night customer she saw it was Ville. "Oh, hey. Your dad's not here, he took off early."

"Quite alright, I came to see you anyway." Ville smiled and leaned against the counter. Jesse warned him that Kaiya would say no, which knowing that rejection was coming before the question even came was somewhat comforting. He'd know to play it off cool and Jesse told him to "trust the process" so that's what he wanted to do.

"Me? Why's that?" Kaiya asked, arms crossed with suspicion painted across her face.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go have a drink after you get off." Ville asked and promptly bit the inside of his lip to brace himself for her answer.

Kaiya's eyebrows furrowed. "Like a date?"

"It wouldn't not be a date..." Ville shrugged.

Kaiya exhaled deeply, this was the first time she was ever officially 'asked out' for a date. Deep down, she didn't know how she felt about it, it made her stomach churn thinking about Nikko. But this was also her best friend's brother.

"Um, sorry, I don't know about that." Kaiya responded awkwardly, "Just um.. Um, you're Jesse's brother."

"Oh, do you think he'd mind?" Ville questioned.

"Um, probably yeah." Kaiya lied.

"Oh." Ville responded 'Ouch' he thought inwardly. Rejection never felt great, even if it was expected. "Well, how about not as a date? Just as a 'get to know my brother's best friend' type thing."

"Maybe another time. It's been, um, a really long day." Kaiya responded just as the bell above the door rang again. Looking up she found Jesse walking toward the counter, here to pick Kaiya up after she closed down the shop. Relief rushed over her body.

"Hey, Kai. Ville." he acknowledged the pair.

"Hey, Jesse. Give me a bit to close up, I still got a lot to do in the back." Kaiya responded, breathing a sigh of relief that she was saved from a painfully awkward situation.

"Alright, I'm gonna go have a smoke. Ville, come with?" Jesse asked his brother.

Ville nodded curtly and followed Jesse outside. They stood with their backs against the store window as Jesse smoked in silence for a few moments. "You look upset. You asked her out, right?"

Ville nodded. "Yeah, and even though I knew it was coming, the rejection still hurt."

"Don't worry, bud, I told you I got you." Jesse assured him.

Ville bit his lip, "You know what? On second thought, I don't think this is a good idea."

Jesse looked towards his brother, "What do you mean?"

Ville shrugged, "Honestly, she doesn't seem interested. I don't want a forced date, I'd rather spend my time on someone who actually has interest in me. A one sided date feels like a gentle kidnapping."

Jesse put out his cigarette, "Look, this isn't just for you. It's for me. And it's for Kaiya. She isn't interested because her life has been so catastrophically terrible that she feels like everything is a setup. She is like you, full of self-deprecation and hatred. So, honestly, you're perfect for each other. But I know she could be happy, I want her to be happy. She needs to heal, like I told you the other night, and sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone sucks big donkey balls... I'm going to make her deep throat the big donkey balls because I love her and want what's best for her. So as much as I'm not going to give Kaiya a choice, you don't have a choice either."