Dreams & Disasters || Tronnor au

|| T H R E E ||

The store smelled like air freshener and denim. Bright lights lined the walls and illuminated the racks of clothing, each sorted neatly next to the plastic mannequins. It always drove me crazy how the clothing looked so much better on them. No real human could look that good in those clothes.

I scanned the neatly folded polo shirts, cringing at the price tags. A figure brushed against me, a pair of long, slender arms placing down a pile of folded shirts next to me. I looked up, smiling at the boy.

"Hi Troye."

He jumped a little, then smirked. "So, you found me?"

"It's not that far away from the bakery," I sighed. I followed Troye as he walked to the window display.

"Shouldn't you be working?" he said as he picked up some boxes and headed to the cashier.

"I have break," I replied. I sounded so casual, and he didn't find it weird that we were talking. Did this mean we were friends?

He nodded, placing the boxes behind the counter quickly. "I guess I'm done as well."

I tilted my head a little, my eyes on his pink lips. They were so . . . plump.

"What is your accent?" I asked. I didn't mean to be rude, I was just curious.

He smiled a little. "Well, I'm from Australia. I grew up there. I mean, my whole family still lives there."

"Why are you here then?"

He bit his lip a little, drumming his fingers over the countertop. "I thought there would be better job opportunities here."

He walked over to me and we both started towards the door absentmindedly. "What kind of jobs?" I stopped, shaking my head. "Sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions."

"It's fine," he said when we reached the door. He gestured towards it, "Do you mind if we leave the store? I'm kind of sick of being in here."

"Uh, sure," I said, distracted by Troye's hand brushing against mine before he reached for the handle. He opened it swiftly, waiting for me. "Thanks," I mumbled, looking down at my shoes once we were in the hallway of the mall.

"Music related things, mostly," he said, answering my question. "I can sing, play a few instruments."

"That's cool!" I said. Our footsteps blended in with the others, but my attention was still on him through the sea of strangers. I looked up at him, a glimmer of hope in my eyes. "Can I hear you sing?"

He laughed and shook his head, his curls, bouncing lightly as he let him gaze focus on the ground. "I'm not that good. I just write music, mostly."

My eyes widened. "You write music? Like songs?"

He giggled. "Yeah."

"How will people hear them if you won't sing?"

"You do ask a lot of questions."

"S-sorry," my nerves kicked in, "I guess I get a little carried away."

Troye stopped suddenly, making me practically bump into him. "I need to get a new phone case."

I followed him into the store and he scanned over a few rows carelessly. After a few minutes he slumped against the wall next to me. His eyes flickered over the store and landed on me.

"Aren't you going to get a case?"

He shook his head. "I don't really need one. I just needed an excuse to stop walking without sounding pathetic." I laughed at this, leaning against the wall next to him. I turned my head to him, resting my head back. He didn't look away from me, just like in the park.

"Your eyes are so pretty," he said. His voice was quiet, and something about his deep tone and accent made my chest squirm.

"Th-thanks," I said. I could say that his were much more pretty than mine, but I didn't. Troye's lip curled slightly at the corner.

I was the one to look away first, checking my phone and gasping. "I was supposed to pick up something from Bethany's and now I'm going to be late to work!"

"Bethany?" he asked.

"My girlfriend," I explained. He blinked at me, slowly nodding his head.

"Oh."

-

"Mr. Franta," Tyler said as soon as I arrived in his office. The way his nose scrunched up made me think he wasn't amused. "Where were you?"

I held my hands behind my back as I stood in front of his slick desk. "Um, well, I had to go home and I lost track of time as I was talking to-"

He stood up fiercely, his sharp fist coming in contact with the table. The loud noise made me flinch. "These are not excuses. This is you being lazy." His face softened for a second, but he still gave off a deadly vibe. "I'm going to be a little nice just for now, only because you're new. But soon enough you will have to learn the rules of this place. There's no slacking, no goofing off, and defiantely no excuses. If you're late again there will be consequences. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes," I squeaked, feeling like a three year old again.

"Good," he said, slowly sitting back down. "Now get back to work."

I nodded my head and slipped out of the tense air and back into the bakery. I let out a breath, shaking my head when Zoe came up to me with a worried look.

"What happened?" Zoe hissed. "What'd he say to you?? I hope he wasn't too hard on you, I mean you just came the other day and-"

"It's okay Zoe," I explained. "It was only a warning, but it was my fault completely."

"What'd you do?" she asked, dusting her hands off on her apron.

I sighed. "I was just talking to Troye and I completely lost track of time."

Her eyes widened and she grinned. "You're friends with Troye?"

"I mean, I guess," I said, biting the inside of my cheek. "I don't really know anything about him, though."

She grinned, pulling me into the corner. "Tell me what you know."

"Uh, well, he's from Australia and his family still lives there. He writes music and sings," I paused, trying to remember. "He works at Topman, and he always orders an iced coffee and a muffin. Blueberry."

Zoe's eyes were sparkling when I finished. "Well, that's not nothing."

"Okay, I guess," I admitted, "but he doesn't really know anything about me."

Zoe paused for a few seconds. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she was so excited I almost jumped. "I'm having a little Christmas party on Saturday and I'm inviting you and Troye. They'll be some other friends of mine there. Don't worry, it'll be fun." She tilted her head and stared at the ceiling innocently. "And maybe Troye will get to know you a little better."

"O-okay," I said. I hadn't been to a party in ages. It was probably about time I tried to be social again. "I'm free this weekend."

"So you'll be there?!" Zoe was squealing now, jumping around like a little mouse with a silly smile plastered on her face.

I laughed. "Yeah. See you this weekend."

~

A/N:

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