Page 8 of Solo Stan

Kai

Kai prepared to take the walk of shame back to the front of the store. He contemplated buying a plane ticket to the farthest country he could afford and starting a new life, but he knew he’d have to face Elias eventually.

Feigning nonchalance, Kai’s stride ended up seeming awkward instead of apathetic.

He expected Elias to make fun of him or, at the very least, give him a dirty look, but he was surprised when all Elias said was “For a second, I didn’t think you were coming back.

I thought you left me here high and dry. ”

Swiftly overcoming his surprise, Kai said, “High, sure. But dry? Never that.” He forced an airy laugh and cleared his throat. “Are you familiar with comics at all?”

“Unless it was made into a movie, I’ve probably never heard of it,” Elias replied, dismissively at first, but then his eyes widened, and he leaned forward.

“What I meant to say is that I’d like to know more about comics.

Maybe you could show me.” His gaze traveled slowly down Kai’s body, lingering at apparent points of interest, only returning to Kai’s eyes when Kai let out a nervous laugh.

“Why are you…?” Kai began, but then thought better of himself. “No offense, but I didn’t expect you to be so nice.”

Elias’s expression darkened. “What did you expect?”

“No, sorry—I mean, not sorry. It’s just—you’re really…um…nice.”

“Thanks, I think?”

Kai hoped that they truly were twin flames and that their etheric cord was strong enough to pull him from the hell of this painful conversation.

He fidgeted with the captive ring in his ear in an attempt to hide his face.

“I’ll have you primarily work in the café, then, since you’re not familiar with comics. ”

“What else will you have me do?” Elias asked, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Uh…I’m not sure yet. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Not used to being the boss, are you?”

“I’m not your boss.”

“Not with that attitude, you’re not.”

Is he flirting with me? Kai thought.

Elias’s lips twitched, his dimples giving away the smile he was trying to hide.

He then pivoted, resting his back against the counter to squarely face Kai.

He did that thing that boys who know they’re good-looking always do: pretend to stretch but flex their arms in the process.

Elias doubled down by going for a scratch underneath his shirt, exposing his stomach.

“Um, excuse me for just a minute,” Kai said before slipping into the staff room and settling down at the computer.

He opened up his SeatTix account to create a listing for his extra tickets to the CYPHR concert but paused before he clicked submit.

Leaning as far as he could without falling off the aluminum stool, he craned his neck to peer through the open staff room door at Elias, who was wasting time on his phone.

It had not one crack or scratch, unlike the phones of most of Kai’s friends, whose fingertips had callused over because of their spiderwebbed screens. Elias seemed above that sort of thing.

Elias glanced up and caught Kai staring. He winked, then turned his attention back to his phone, a teasing smile on his face.

Looking back at the computer screen, Kai chose “2” from the drop-down menu and watched the pinwheel spin until the page informed him that his listing for two CYPHR tickets was pending review.

He had told the universe he didn’t want to be alone, especially at this concert, and it seemed she had answered.

He’d wait for the right time to ask Elias.

Elias suddenly poked his head into the room, using the doorframe as support. “Are you going to keep hiding from me all day? I’m starting to take it personally.”

Kai clicked out of the window. “Sorry,” he said, instantly regretting the word as it left his mouth.

Elias laughed softly and shook his head before retreating to the counter.

After getting off to a rocky start that morning, Kai leaned into his role as mentor, guiding Elias through the more tedious but necessary aspects of the store’s operations. Kai felt a sense of accomplishment as Elias gradually took on more and more tasks throughout the day.

When there was a lull, Kai pulled out his sketchbook and took a seat by the staff room door, where he had a full view of the counter and the entire front of the store, but also some privacy.

This way, Elias, who was reading the coffee-maker manual, couldn’t see what, or who, he was drawing.

Finding his HB pencil, he began to lock this moment in time the same as he’d done all those years ago.

Yet, it displeased him how bold and permanent his first few strokes looked, so he quickly switched to a 4H, the lightest pencil he had.

The shop’s old factory windows were thick and wavy in the center, and how the sun shone through the panes made halos in Kai’s eyes and surrounded Elias in colorful prisms, which Kai tried to capture with gentle strokes.

The two stayed like that for a while until Elias expressed his boredom with a protracted yawn as he stretched his arms above his head.

He then set aside the manual, finally deciding to test the coffee machine itself.

He moved with purpose, and soon, the clunk of a weighty mug bearing Moodie’s face was quickly followed by the aroma of freshly brewed breakfast blend.

Elias struggled with the faulty door of the pastry case before selecting a sweet potato scone, then perched himself on the counter near Kai with casual ease.

A contented expression settled on his face as he indulged in a bite.

“Do you want to hang out after work? I don’t know anyone else in this town other than Mood,” he mused.

Kai hugged the sketchbook to his chest. “You want to hang out with me?” he replied, excitement rising as he felt his chance to ask about the concert. With a nervous laugh, he joked, “What if I just talked about NFTs the whole time, then tried to sell you my mixtape?”

Elias shrugged. “You seem like you’d have some bars.”

“I—” Kai began, but the bell above the entrance jingled. He mentally shouted into the void, frustrated by the interruption.

Elias glanced at Kai, as if seeking approval to handle this customer alone.

Kai gave his blessing with a slight nod, and Elias immediately leapt into action.

Elias leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter in anticipation of the customer.

She strolled over to him, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of the counter as she approached.

“How can I help you?” Elias asked, adding a subtle lip bite to the end of his question.

“Hi,” the girl said. Kai followed her gaze and found that it was directed straight at Elias’s lips, though he didn’t blame her.

Elias’s jaw tensed when he said certain words, exposing that perfect little dimple, and at the ends of his sentences, he wouldn’t close his mouth right away, so his tongue lingered on his teeth as though he was giving his words a chance to go back in.

“I’m looking for a comic book as a gift for my little sister, and I know absolutely nothing,” Kai heard the customer say as he walked to the back room to give them some space while he continued to sketch.

“And here I thought you came in just to talk to me,” Elias said. “I’m Elias.”

Shaking his head, Kai let out a short laugh.

“You’re cute. I’m Bri,” she replied with a warm smile. “So, can you help me?”

“You’ve come to the right place, but you’ve got the wrong guy,” Elias teased. “I don’t know anything either.”

“Then why do you work here?” Bri whispered behind her hand.

“Nepotism,” Elias replied, dropping his tone as well. “And to talk to girls.”

Kai snorted. “Corny as hell,” he muttered to himself as he set down his sketchbook and stepped out from the back room. As soon as he appeared, Bri’s eyes traveled up his entire body. The look of pure betrayal on Elias’s face made Kai burst out laughing.

“Are there any other cute boys who work here?” Bri asked, playfully trying to peer around Kai.

“Just us,” Kai said, hiding his laugh behind his hand. “Come with me. I can help you.”

“So, it’s like that?” Elias said. “You’re just going to love me and leave me?”

“Oh, it’s definitely like that,” Bri replied as Kai led her away to the stacks. Kai glanced back at Elias, giving him a triumphant eyebrow raise.

Elias pretended not to be watching, but every time Kai glanced over, their eyes met.

After some deliberation, Kai and Bri eventually settled on the criminally underrated Squirrel Girl. He expertly wrapped it and placed it carefully in a bag.

“Before you give me my receipt, can you write your number on it?” Bri asked.

Her delivery was so direct that Kai felt there was no other option but to comply. That, and the fact that Elias wasn’t even trying to hide how offended he was. Kai laughed and scribbled his number down. “I’ll see you later,” he said, sliding it over.

As Bri left, she offered a friendly wave to Kai, her voice playfully singing, “Bye, Elias,” as she stepped out the door. It shut slowly, and as it neared the frame, a vacuum effect pulled it closed with a final rattle of the bell.

“It’s the height,” Kai said, trying to reassure Elias as soon as the store was quiet again, but he knew it was coming off as gloating. “Gets them every time.”

“My dimples usually have the same effect,” Elias said, seemingly dumbfounded. He stood up. “And I’m tall too. I’m six foot,” he said indignantly. “In the morning,” he added as he rose to his tiptoes.

“How tall are you in the afternoon? Like, right now, for instance.”

“Give me a few minutes to do some stretches, and I’m pretty sure I could clear five eleven and a half, easy.”

“ You’re cute ,” Kai said with a smirk, echoing Bri’s tone.

The grin that stretched across Elias’s face was a cultural reset. He seemed to want the tension to linger a moment before he asked, “Why’d you give that girl your number?”

Kai recognized this line of questioning. He smiled inwardly. “Because she asked.”

“ I asked first, before we were interrupted,” Elias said. “I still want you to tell me about those NFTs.”

“You play entirely too much. Are you ever serious about anything?”

“All the time.”

“Then why don’t you get serious about work and go find something to do, and maybe I’ll consider it.

” Kai turned his attention back to his sketchbook, using the box he had previously used as a crying perch as a chair.

He kept his eyes down and held on to his breath until Elias finally scoffed and returned to work.

What am I doing? Kai thought. He had never done anything like that before—using people to make someone jealous. But something told him that Elias liked to play games, and Kai would be lying if he said it hadn’t been fun.

Even though it went against Kai’s normal pattern, he decided he’d see how the rest of the day went before asking Elias to go to the concert.