It All Started With Candy

Part 1:

This story was originally from my fanfic account on Instagram @ fanfic.express but I decided to put it here as well. Three parts on my Instagram is going to be one part on here. When the words are in italics, that means that's being said in sign language. ************************************************
Gabriel's POV:
It couldn't be that hard right? Just go out there and everything will be okay, right? I ran out of my candy, which is what I practically run on at this point in my sad life. Soooo, I need to go to the store and get some more. Doesn't seem that difficult right? People go to the store all the time for many reasons and they're all perfectly fine.

Well there's one small detail that makes this one hundred thousand times more difficult. I have social anxiety. And some people would say that not too bad. I just have to get more social...right? Wrong. It's so bad, that I'm mute, well it's selective but I'm still mute.

I hardly ever speak to my family or any friends that have decided to stay by me, only when they need an immediate answer or it's an emergency. Even then it's strained and raspy.

I decide to finally stop staring at my door as if someone is going to bust it down any second. I walk over to it, and slowly place my hand on the doorknob. I took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. Okay Gabriel, try to relax. Nothing is going to happen. I try to convince myself this but I look down at my watch that tracks my pulse so I know when I need to get out of a situation, and it's already starting to peak 100.

I take a few more deep breathes and deside to bite the bullet. I swiftly open my door and quickly step outside. I could feel the cool autumn wind blow against my hair and I see an array of yellow to red shades of leaves on the ground. Nature is so pretty, I just wish I could be alone more out here.

The scenery has slowed my pulse a bit, so I put my head down and head off to the store trying to keep my mission as my main subject. Mission get those suckers is a go.

Now most people would say that looking at the sidewalk and not paying attention to where you're going is a bad idea, and they're correct. But I've gotten used to sensing if something was too close to me and that I could dodge it effectively.

After dodging a few people and having only my nose sticking out of my scarf on that 10 minute walk, I arrived. Finally, I never thought I would make it without any sort of complications. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked in to the store. It was fairly small and you could navigate it in a few moments, or maybe it's it stereotype that gays walk faster then straight people, but I can't help that they walk at glacier speed.

The candy is at the back of the store, so I walked the quickest route there. I grabbed a few big bags of suckers so I wouldn't run out anytime soon and headed back to the front.

It wasn't until I got half way to the front until I noticed that there there was nobody in the store with me. Well maybe except the store clerk, but I didn't look at the clerk when I walked in so I haven't seen anybody.

I turned the corner and I stopped dead in my tracks. That's when I saw him. The most beautiful man that I had ever seen. His long brown hair, the way his jawline was angled, his beautiful eyes that seemed to glisten in the light of the store. They looked like the most beautiful forest anyone has ever seen.

I snapped out of my trance when my watch started beeping because my pulse was over 100 bpm. That's when his eyes flicked up and met mine. My heart skipped a beat so my watch got louder. I turned the watch off because it was getting quite annoying.

He smiled at me and that smile made the room ten times brighter. His smile seemed genuine, not like any other store clerk where you can obviously tell its fake and they would rater be in literal hell then their own job. Or maybe he's just really good at acting. If I didn't know any better, then I would say that the man was staring at me too because it took him a minute to say anything.

"Hello sir. Did you find everything okay?"

Oh boy. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I took my bags and put them on the counter then shook my head yes. I started to pull my wallet out so I could pay and he asked another question.

"So you're a candy person huh? What's your favorite kind?" Clearly he was new because A. I have never seen this man before because I would DEFINITELY remember a face like that, and B. All the clerks know not to ask me questions other than yes or no because I'm mute. That's not something you can easily forget. I gave him a sad smile and started signing to him.

"I'm sorry sir, but I am mute and can't speak. I don't know if you can sign, but to answer the question I like the red suckers the most." I saw his facial expression shift to a lighter one. His eyebrows raised and his perfect lips formed a small smile as his eyes lit up. How can someone be so cute, adorable, and hot at the same time??? I'm jealous.

He saw me staring and he smiled and blushed as he turned his head to the side and gave a little chuckle. I turned bright red and immediately looked down.

"Yes I do sign. I'm glad I learned to sign too. It gives me the opportunity to talk to hot guys like you." I immediately looked at him with a shocked expression. His eyes instantly widened as he realized what he just said. His small blush turned into a bright blush of embarrassment. He put his head in his hands and put it down in the counter and I could hear him muffling.

"I'm so so sorry sir. I didn't mean to say that. God that's so embarrassing." I chuckled and he looked up and raised and eyebrow at me. He was probably surprised at my use of my vocal chords. I started signing to him.

"Hey don't worry about it. I don't mind taking compliments from people as attractive as you. And there's no need to call me sir. My name is Gabriel. And if you're wondering why I could use my vocal chords, it's because my mute is selective from social anxiety. I hope you understand." I can't tell if he blushed more from what I signed to him or if he was still embarrassed.
*************************************************Hey thanks for giving his a read and please vote and comment if you want! It would be much appreciated!

Word count: 1208