First night shift (open)

[Jung Roojin]

Roo greatly appreciated AU's manager-- the comic shop was open until two in the morning most nights, and when Roo expressed interest in taking the third shift as often as she was needed her manager asked very few questions.  In fact, he asked only two:

"Do you have any guardian or parental that would oppose this?"

And

"Are you familiar with the notion of a Security Monkey?"

Roo's answer to both was no.  As it turns out, AU Comics was in fact established ten years ago.  The owner got involved in a little tussle with a small gang of magicians, who turned him into a monkey.  That Monkey still lives in (and oversees the continuing business of) AU.  

His name is Norton.

Roo blinked.  She had met with Norton, even shared her gummy snacks with him while on break.  No one has seen fit to tell her about Norton's origins.  Her manager flapped his hand at her stare, as if to wave her confusion away.  

"Norton'll handle all the money at the end of the night.  You'll just double-count the drawers, and he'll do all the closing stuff and count the safe.  Norton will take care of the deposit-- You are not to touch it.  Got it?"

Roo nodded.  Manager smiled and ruffled her hair.  "Good.  Don't worry, things get pretty slow after ten or so.  If we die down then we usually close early.  You'll have plenty of time to work on schoolwork in between customers."

Roo blushed.  So he had noticed.  And didn't seem to mind, which was a blessing.

It was now nearing eleven on Roo's first late night shift at the comic store.  She was on her knees in the Nevermore section, putting new shipment on the shelves.  These volumes were all comics based on poetry, and Roo was having a difficult time keeping herself from thumbing through each comic as she picked it up.

Off in the shelves, closer to the section of comics written solely in dead languages, a single customer shuffled along the carpet.  Roo had started to recognized the gaits of customers she saw often, but this set of footsteps was new to her and she kept her ears perked in case they called her for assistance.

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

Kemekin grinned when he heard the little bell jingle above the door when he entered the shop. He had just closed down the Inkstone next door, and was in the mood for finding something artistic to get himself lost in. Or teasing the new shop girl. Either way.

"Heyyy Freckles," he called, catching sight of the oversized hoodie the girl was so fond of wearing. "Anything new in tonight?"

[Jung Roojin]

Roo blushed when she heard the now-familiar voice of the next-door shopkeep. He was... distracting. And it wasn't just the antlers he had.

"We got some new issues in for the Nevermore stuff." She rose up a bit to wave at him. "Got a lot of stuff based on Frost, and a new one for The Kingdom by the Sea."

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

Kemekin shuffled over and knelt by her to eye the comics. He nudged her lightly with his elbow.

"How's everyone treating you? Anyone I need to beat up?"

[Jung Roojin]

Roo smirked. "At work, or school? Because there's guy that keeps coming into the shop that might need a punch or two." She pulled the last book from the box and set it on the shelf.

"You might know him. He's got blue eyes and antlers."

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

"He sounds hot. I'll keep an eye out for him and make sure to get his number for you after I sock him."

He ruffled her hair and straightened up to amble along the shelf. "I'm gonna explore around. I'll yodel really aggressively if I need your help."

[Abaddon Talbot]

Abaddon was so BOOOOOORED! No good dreams tonight so far at all! If he had to see one more kid dreaming about his/her crush kissing them he was gonna puke. Sure they were easy to mess with but meeeeehhh. So he decided to wander around town and saw a store that still had its lights on.

He looked up at the store sign and smirked at the name before walking in. He began to wander around the store and randomly handled some of the books that looked interesting.

He thought he heard some people talking deeper into the store. If he can't snoop in dreams might as well snoop in real life. He wandered around until he saw Roo with a taller man with antlers. Hmmm, interesting.

He chucked and leaned against one of the book shelves. He whispered loud enough for her to hear him. "Hey, Roo-kins! What are you doin here so late?"

[Jung Roojin]

Roo's back straightened so quickly her spine audibly popped. She winced, cheeks swiftly gaining a pink tinge, and turned her head towards the voice.

"A-Abaddon...?" She leaned back so that she could see him past the edge of the shelves she was working on and smiled. "Hey. I uh, I work here. What're you doin' here so late?"

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

Kemekin ambled to a stop just a few yards away, interested in the unmistakable flush coloring Roo's cheeks.

He decided that whatever shelf he was in front of was very interesting. What was thi-- Vikings. Vikings were interesting. And close enough that he could eavesdrop.

[Abaddon Talbot]

He had to bite his lip to keep him self from making a loud guffaw at her reaction. He wrinkled his nose at her playfully. "Oh, so you work here? That means I know where I can come to bother you."

He shrugged when she questioned why he was there. "Eh, remember that whole can't dream thing I said I had? It has it's downsides like not being able to go to sleep." He noticed that the other store patron was staying rather close. Looks like Abaddon was not the only nosey one in the shop today.

"So, I don't really read much, unless I'm forced to by school. . . Bolin mostly. Anything you would recommend for beginners?"

[Jung Roojin]

Roo nibbled thoughtfully on her fingertips. She recalled Abaddon being interested in the fear response.

"Actually..." She rose to her feet and walked towards the back corner of the store, right by an area curtained off by strands of beads. "Our horror section is right here, and we've got some stuff that's done by a guy that lives here in Lakeshore."

Roo brushed her index finger along a specific stretch of volumes, the art on their spines lining up to form the image of a screaming old Hollywood movie starlet. "It started off as an adaptation of all the old monster movies, but it sorta developed into this big mashup where the monsters start evolving and adapting to cater to new fears. It's really cool. And the art is phenomenal." She smiled up at Abaddon. "It gets pretty psychological as the plot goes on. You'll like it. There's one called the Dreamwalker and he studies nightmares to try and predict what new fears might develop."

[Abaddon Talbot]

He followed her through the store and stopped to examine the books she was reccomend. He had to admit that he did like the art and if nothing else maybe these would give him ideas on new ways and new things to tweak in his past times. He smirked and nodded. "Yeah these look cool, but why do we always go back to dreams and nightmare stuff in our conversations?"

He chuckled and rested one of her hands on her shoulder. "Speaking of which. . . Did I do something? The other day in the library? You kinda disappeared on me."

Maybe now he would get some answers.

[Jung Roojin]

Roo's brow furrowed the tiniest bit. "That-- i-it wasn't anything you did, I promise. It was m' own brain. I felt an anxiety attack building up and I had to leave."

Saying it out loud made her grumble. She felt her cheeks getting warm again. "Sorry. I didn't wanna leave so suddenly, but I also didn't wanna embarrass myself." Her lips formed the slightest moue and she gently knuckled her temple, annoyed at herself for blushing. "And then I wasn't at dinner because I went to the workout rooms instead, so..."

She wanted to add so if you looked for me, but she decided Abaddon probably hadn't. Just some classmate he'd spoken to once in the library. Toddled off in the middle of the conversation. He definitely hadn't looked for her.

Besides, the punching bag helped get the tension out of her arms, neck and shoulders.

[Abaddon Talbot]

Abaddon smiled softly and nodded. "I was just worried that it was something I maybe did." He shrugged, looking down at her. "I didn't want to scare you off more, you know? Give you your space. I know I need that sometimes."

He rolled his shoulders, relaxing a bit. He pulled the first three books of the series she recommended off the shelf. "You don't have to worry about embarassing yourself in front of me," he said with a smirk, "I've probably seen worse but if it happens again, do what makes you feel comfortable. I won't force you to do something you don't want to."

Not while you're awake.

He ruffled her hair gently and smiled. "So, are you feeling better after all that? I have to admit, I didn't see you as being one to go to the workout room." Wait that could be taken badly. "I'm not saying your weak or anything! Just it's not. . ." He trailed off and grumbled. "Nevermind, gonna shut up before I make my hole deeper."

[Jung Roojin]

Roo mewed, partly from surprise but mostly at the unexpected surge of happy she got from Abaddon ruffling her hair. She beamed, eyes squinting to slits, and brought both sleeve-covered hands to her chin to cover her smiling mouth. She looked up at him and blinked.

"Workin' out helps with my temper a bit." She quirked her lips to one side and chuckled. "I'm not sure how I would fare in a fight nowadays, but I'm def'nitely not afraid to find out."

[Abaddon Talbot]

He chucked. Yep, not many girls would be able to go from cute to admiting to being okay trying to fight someone. He felt a strange warm feeling in his chest and he had to look away from her for a moment.

"Well, as long as I'm not the one you're beating up, I think we'll be good," he chuckled softly, "I could probably take a hit or two but I would prefer to keep my jaw as perfect as possible." He playfully winked at her. "So when will you be done working here tonight? Need me to walk you back to the school?"

[Jung Roojin]

"I don't hit that hard." Roo smirked. "But I bet if I got you in a choke hold you'd have a time shaking me off. I would never hurt that glorious jawline of yours."

She flinched at the question. "Ah, I'm done at two. Or, we close at two. But if we're slow enough we close a little early." She bit her sleeve again without realizing it. "Are you okay with being out that late?"

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

"Hey."

Kemekin stood on tiptoe from behind a closer shelf, eyes glinting with a mischievous grin. "Freckles, c'mon. Flirt louder, you guys. I can barely eavesdrop from over here."

[Abaddon Talbot]

He smiled at Roo and opened his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by the other store patron. He cackled and looked to see where the horned man was.

He looked at roo and smirked before picking her up so he could put on more of a show. "I would never mind, staying up that late if it meant that I would get to walk you home by the light of the romantic stars!" He boomed in a louder that should be appropriate voice, carefully spinning while holding her in his arms. He winked at the other guy and laughed. "Can you hear us now? Is this good?"

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

Kemekin beamed and gave him a thumbs-up.

"I like this one, Roojin. Keep him, he's sassy."

[Jung Roojin]

Roo squeaked when she was lifted into the air and laughed aloud, trying not to flail her feet while holding onto Abaddon's shoulders for support.

"Starlit romance is all well and good--" she giggled when he started to spin-- "but I get the sneaking suspicion that Kemekin would follow us. Just a hunch."

[Abaddon Talbot]

Abaddon looked up at Roo and then over at the antlered male. "Ah, so you're called Kemekin," he mused to himself with a smirk. He moved, still holding Roo in his arms, to get a better look at the other boy. He looked Kemekin up and down a few times and shrugged. "I mean he looks pretty, I'd let him follow us. But he's only allowed to follow in the foot steps of our romantic starlit love!"

He threw his head back and cackled, gently setting Roo back on her feet. Yep, this was 10 times more awesome than watching the same dreams on repeat.

He playfully gasped and looked at Roo. "My darling, Roo-kins! I must ask something of you!" He ran over next to Kemekin and tipped his head just right. "Who has the better facial structure??"

[Jung Roojin]

Roo blinked, a slow smirk curling across her face. She was quite comfortable being held by Abaddon, which she hadn't expected, and was a little disappointed when he let her go.

"First Snack Pack and then Freckles and now Roo-kins," she mumbled. She was going to lose count of the number of nicknames she had soon. She shook her head and walked forward to make a show of examining their faces.

"Your jawline is much more defined, but Kemekin's nose bridge is better. Both of you have very pretty lips, and Kemekin's aegyo-sal are more prominent. But you have deadly cheekbones." She stepped back and shrugged. "Almost a tie. But Kemekin's an asshole, so I award the victory to Abaddon."

"

[Kemekin Evans-Barros]

Kemekin quirked his lips to one side and turned to regard the slightly taller boy.

"She seems to have awarded bonus points to you based solely on the fact that she wants you to ruffle her hair agai--nyaha!" He cackled and jumped away when Roo batted at him with her sleeves.

[Abaddon Talbot]

He tipped his head back allowing a loud guffaw to escape his throat. His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Is this some new kind of game we are playing?" he asked, trying to get the sleeves of his jacket over his hands. He flailed his partially covered hands at Kemekin. "Have at you!"

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