iMate

Natalie let out a long breath, pressing her face into her hands as she stood in the completely empty store. She hadn’t had a customer in three hours, but she wasn’t allowed to close up until nine, so she was stuck here. Her dark brown eyes scanned the walkway outside the skateboard and snowboarding shop, making sure no one was coming in as she slipped her game boy out of her back pocket.

Listening to the small ding of the device she plopped down in the chair behind the register, soon getting lost in the world of Pokémon. Just as she was about to catch a wild Eevee the door swung open, a bell alerting her of a potential customer. She nearly broke her game boy as she slammed it down to her lap to avoid being caught as she looked up to the open door and her breath caught in her throat.

A raven haired boy, maybe a year or two older than her with a face carved by angels chuckled as he saw her panicked expression. His dark hair was offset by a large blonde streak as his honey eyes moved to the rack of beanies. Natalie couldn’t breathe, he was too beautiful to be human, he had to be a model or something. And with the tattoos she could see she was practically drooling on the counter. He looked over to her, smiling smugly as he walked over. “Excuse me love.” He asked.

“Y-yes?”

“Are those the only colors you have?” He asked, pointing to the rack of limp hats. She couldn't even remember her name, let alone what colors of hats they had upon hearing his voice. She was having a hard time remembering the English language at all as he waited for her to answer. She found her head nodding as he leaned on the counter. “You sure you don’t have a backroom or something you can check?”

“It’s just more of the same colors.” She squeaked. He let out a long sigh, pushing himself off the counter.

“Well isn’t that just bloody brilliant?”

“I’m sorry-” His honey eyes snapped to hers, but now they weren’t playful, now they were angry.

“Well sorry doesn’t find my mate a birthday present now does it?” He snapped. “He loves this dump and I honestly don’t see why. It’s a piece of shit.” Words finally found Natalie again as she forgot all her customer first training.

“Well you know what? I don’t decide what comes in. I’m sorry.”

“Like I said, sorry doesn’t make more hats appear, does it?”

“Well if I did have more hats in the back do you know what I would tell you?”

“What?”

“I would tell you to shove them up your arse and go to Hell! Now get out of my store!” The boy was a bit taken aback, almost as if no one had ever yelled at him before, but then his eyes narrowed back into slits.

“Is that how you treat a customer?”

“A customer has to buy something, not just come in here and yell at me about what colors of bloody beanies we have!”

“You know what? I want to speak to your manager.” Natalie should have stopped there. She had no idea if maybe the handsome man was just having a bad day or what. She should have been polite, but she just saw those eyes and something in her snapped.

“Well you know what? Fuck you. He’s out of town.”

“What did you just say to me you little bitch?”

“I said FUCK YOU.” She growled. “Now get out of my store before I get you arrested for trespassing.”

“FINE!” He yelled.

“FINE!” She answered, glaring at him.

The man turned on his heels storming out of the store as Natalie held back a scream of frustration. Why the Hell did people think they could treat someone like that when all she had wanted to do was help? It wasn’t her fault that those were the only colors they were sent during the winter. She had nothing to do with what came in. She took s deep breath. That boy had gotten under her skin like no one she’d ever met before. She never got angry with a customer. Ever. With a frustrated groan she decided that was all she could handle for one day as she grabbed her jacket from the back. She flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED before going out the front door. She quickly pulled down the gate with a loud sigh before turning to her car.

She sat at a stoplight on her way home, letting out another long groan. That asshole had really pissed her off and now everything was making her angry. The grey London sky, the girl on the corner in shorts and tights in the middle of January, and this light. This goddamn light was about to make her completely lose it. Finally it turned green and just as she was about to start moving she flew forward, her head smacking the steering wheel. She heard a sick crunching sound of metal and sighed, pulling over to the side of the road as the car behind her followed.

She jumped out, pulling her jacket more tightly around her boyish frame as she looked at the back of her car and groaned. The back fender was graced with a long scratch and a few punctures and was going to have to be replaced. One of the back headlights was smashed in, another thing to be replaced. Great, a car accident, a shitty end to a shitty day. She turned to the other car, her vision red as she saw the driver get out. “What the bloody Hell were you doing? You almost pushed me into the intersection you fucking mental wanker!” Finally she calmed down enough to see the driver and both of them let out a long groan.

The beautiful man from the shop stood before her, a look of complete disgust on his face. “You’ve got to be bloody joking. Of all the bloody people in all the bloody world I hit you.”

“Well maybe you should have been paying attention!” She growled, stepping towards him. He grabbed her shoulder, probably to keep the small girl from ripping his face off, but the moment his hand made contact with her body he froze. He then blinked several times before his honey eyes fell back to Natalie’s.

“You’ve got to be joking.”