1448 words, Human AU

Howdy POV

Why did I ever think of this.

I knew this was a bad idea from the start. Yet Bijou and the others just had to convince me to get myself into this mess. Even as I stood in front of the doors of the glasses shop the regret of what I was about to do wouldn't stop seeping into my mind. I couldn't move, my whole body froze before I could even reach out for the handle. It wasn't until I felt a light tap of my shoulder when I snapped back to reality.

"Excuse me." An elderly woman stood in front of me, trying to enter the building.

"S-sorry ma'am." My face turned red as I stepped to the side, allowing her to enter the store. I quickly walked over to the window, gazing into my reflection. I stared back at myself for what seemed like ages, trying to calm myself down and prepare for the absolute disaster that may or may not be in my future.

"You can do this... you've talked to him plenty of times before... how can this be any different?" My brain spun with a thousand thoughts. I kept looking back into my own reflection, steadying my breath in an attempt to get rid of all the weird, negative ideas in my mind.

I eventually let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes. "You can do this..." I repeated once again before wiping my hands on my apron and walking back to the door. I paused yet again before reaching for the handle, but forced myself to enter. I had to get this done, no matter how much it could suck.

The familiar sound of the motion sensor bell rang in my ears as the street noise from outside turned into soft classical music. I peered around the store; thankfully the place was pretty much empty, even the woman I had embarrassed myself in front of earlier had left (how long was I standing outside for again?). All that was left was the tall, silver-haired boy standing behind the counter, and (un)luckily that was just who I was here to see.

"H-howdy Dex!" I loudly blurted out as I walked up to the counter, completely forgetting what an "indoor voice" was.

"Jeez! Howdy, you scared me!" The boy shook and dropped his book onto the ground, a loud thud echoing throughout the shop.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to scare ya." I nervously chuckled and lowered my voice a little. "What's up?"

Dexter adjusted his glasses and looked at me. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm working."

"Looks like you were reading to me."

"Shut up. It's been a slow day." Dexter frowned, not appreciating my comment. "What do you want?"

"Nothin' much, it's a slow day over at the shop too, so I just wanted to swing by and chat." I smiled.

"Mmhm..." Dexter picked his book back up and started flipping through the pages. "This is the first time you've come over here during work hours in a while... Are you sure you're just here to chat?"

Crap, he can see right through me.

"W-what? Is it so weird of me to wanna come have a chat and share some jokes with my bud?" My confidence turned to nervousness as I looked down at my hands.

"So you're here to tell me some more of your horrible jokes?" Dexter sighed. "I'd rather not hear any of those."

I bit my lip and paused for a moment, noticing the sweat beginning to form on the palms of my hands.

"Actually, I don't have any jokes for you today..."

Now this caught his attention.

"What? You always have some kinda joke for me." He remarked, looking a bit worried.

"I mean!" I fell silent for a second trying to come up with some other excuse. "I do have a few jokes they uh... just aren't finalized yet! What's the point in sharin' them with you if they ain't good yet?" I grinned again, hoping that my lies weren't blatant enough.

Dexter continued to look more concerned. "You usually tell me all your jokes even if they aren't finished. Is... is everything okay?" I didn't know if it was my mind playing tricks on me but he actually seemed hurt from what I had said.

"Y-Yeah! Everything's just dandy!"

"...You sure...?" His bright, beautiful eyes gazed right into me. He looked really upset now. Was he actually concerned for my well being?

"I uh... uh..." I looked away, my hands shakily fidgeting with each other. Even though I couldn't see him, I knew that he was still looking at me. Suddenly I shook as I felt a hand being firmly placed on my shoulder and I turned back to face him. He was leaning over the counter, his nose only inches away from now. My face flushed.

"Actually..." I finally took yet another deep breath. "I came here because I wanted to ask you something..." my voice shook quite noticeably.

This caused Dexter to back off of me a bit, looking a bit more relieved. I kinda missed him being that close to me to be honest. "Oh? What is it then? Is it something bad? You seem really worked up over it."

"Well..." I went back to messing with my hands. "I was wondering if uh..."

"Yes...? He was certainly intrigued now, his ears slightly perking up.

"Uh..." I fell silent again. Dexter continued to look at me, waiting for my reply. Silence echoed throughout the store except for the footsteps of a few people that had entered the store after I did, when did they get there? I have no idea. Dexter kept glancing nervously at me and the other customers. I had to say something before someone came up to the counter. I just had to calmly and collectively say it, right?

Nope

"Iwaswonderingifyouwantedtogooutsometime!" I blurted out, the words coming out in a quick and jumbled mess. The other customers looked at me, my sudden outburst startling them quite a bit.

"Q-quiet!" Dexter hissed, his face turning slightly red at the gaze of the customers. "Howdy, I didn't understand a word you just said..."

Crap.

I fell silent again, trying to calm myself yet again by taking a bunch of deep breaths. Eventually (emphasis on eventually) I was able to get something cohesive out.

"I... I was wondering... if you wanted to go out... with me... sometime..." My voice grew quieter with every word, becoming nearly a whisper at the end.

Dexter's face turned red again, but in a different way from before. He looked completely speechless, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. I thought at first he was just gonna take it as a silly joke, but I guess I was wrong. He wasn't gonna hate me now... was he?

"L-like a-?" He stammered.

"Yeah..." I awkwardly replied.

Silence fell between us yet again which was swiftly broken when a woman came up to the counter with a pair of glasses in her hands. I quicker stepped to the side and allowed her to make her purchase, exchanging quick awkward glances with Dexter the entire time. When she finished he turned his attention back to me, seeming more collected than before.

"So... there's that concert Friday night, the one in the park? I think it's just some small indie band performing but... It's at eight so we could stop and get pizza or something before... it could be fun." He gave me a small smile and my stomach dropped. Oh. My. Goodness. He was actually interested. My face instantly lit up and I smiled back.

"Sounds great."

Dexter looked a bit surprised at my sudden change of attitude but continued to smile at me.

"Meet you at Lovino's half past six? That's after closing for you, right? I'll bring a blanket to sit on at the concert? You bring snacks?"

I nodded. "Yup! Sounds good."

"Splendid... It's a date."

"It's a date." I repeated, my heart fluttering in my chest. I was completely love-struck until yet another customer came up to the counter. I flushed again and stepped away, giving one last wave (and a wink) to tell him that I had to leave. Dexter quickly looked away from the customer to smile back before continuing his conversation. After gazing at him for just a few more seconds I turned around and left the store, grinning ear to ear. I think I even gave a little fist pump when I stepped outside but whatever, I didn't care if I made a fool of myself. It worked! It actually worked!

Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea after all.

A/N: Yes there will be a part 2 for this one so be on the look for that :) Also sorry if it isn't too great I wrote the first half of this a year ago and decided to finish it when I randomly rediscovered it.

Edit: sorry for the random update to the same chapter a month later lol, I noticed a few grammar/ spelling mistakes and it was bothering me fksbjahfjsja