Falling Falling Stars

05 - Arden

AN: This entire story is 4,000 feels in a trench-coat, I don't make the rules.

*

Efnisien stared at Arden, then frowned. 'Have you just decided I'm nice or something? After I called you a fag? Forgiveness comes that easily to you? Are you like...hyper-Christian?'

Arden's smile broadened, but his eyes did that thing again. Not for long, but they still did it. The sensation was a bit like walking on a path and then missing a step because the whole slab was missing.

'My choosing to be polite and kind to you doesn't imply forgiveness or that I think you're a nice person, grumpy guts,' Arden said, and Efnisien almost swallowed at the tone that was delivered in. 'I've decided that you don't seem to be a threat to the customers in my store, but I have an alarm button behind my counter, the number for the police on speed dial, and I did spend a few minutes wondering which cocktail of hard drugs you might be addicted to before I decided it didn't matter.'

Arden turned to look at the bookshelf.

'You don't really seem like the fiction type, honestly.'

'I'm not an addict,' Efnisien said, staring at him. Arden was shorter than him, but he didn't feel shorter. And he was still kind of baby-faced, but the vibe he gave off had Efnisien on the back foot in seconds, like last time.

'Sure, sure,' Arden said, like he either didn't care, or didn't believe him.

'I'm not,' Efnisien said. 'I don't do any of that shit.'

'So you're just a homophobe?' Arden said, looking over at him. 'A gay homophobe? That's kind of passé, isn't it? I mean I'd expect it from someone who was maybe eighty, but you? Maybe you're hyper-Christian?'

'Are you gonna help me find a book or what?'

'Sure. You haven't decided to use any hate speech yet. You're being a nice, low level of rude.'

Efnisien glared at him, and Arden winked in that way that wasn't quite a proper wink and spun off towards the nonfiction shelves. As Efnisien followed, he noticed more of the shop this time. The shelves were wooden, and didn't look like they'd come from a flat pack. He saw a heavy crimson velvet curtain to what looked like a back room area, except over the curtain was a hand-painted sign that said Uncosy Book Corner in white calligraphy.

'Uncosy isn't a word,' Efnisien said, staring at it.

'Mmhm,' Arden said, as though he was unbothered. 'Hard sciences today? You don't want a self-help book? Most of them are shit. But I'm sure some might encourage you to have some manners.'

'Fuck you,' Efnisien muttered.

'A lost cause!' Arden crowed to the empty store, then spun to look at Efnisien with a kind of jagged, amped energy that he folded into himself, replacing it with the smooth brightness of before.

'Hard sciences,' Efnisien said. 'Please.'

'Good,' Arden said, and for a moment, it didn't sound like a fake customer service voice and it didn't look like weird brittle happiness and it didn't look like passive aggressive bullshit. It looked like Arden was smiling at him, his eyes were warm, and he meant it. Efnisien stared at him. 'See? You're being nicer. I like that.'

So? Efnisien thought.

Efnisien thought he liked that too, and he felt uncomfortable.

'Let's see...' Arden said, looking up at the ceiling. 'Any particular colour again today?'

'Blue,' Efnisien said automatically. 'Or yellow.'

'Narrow it down my friend, that's too many choices.'