The Comic Book Store (Dreamwalker85 x THAT1AMETHYST)

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I frequented the comic book store about once a week. I loved it there, it was manga, superhero, geek galore. You didn't see a lot of girls in there, although a few did appear, mostly on the arms of boastful guys. It was for this reason I was often flirted with while in there. A lot of the time it wasn't done very smoothly, but I had picked up a few fleeting relationships over the years. The one person that never talked to me, however, was the man behind the counter.

Sure we'd said some polite banter as I'd purchased items, but I knew nothing about him other than his name-tag said "Andrew" and he'd been working there since my college years when I first started coming here. He was an attractive guy, tall and slender with hair he slicked back and those dark brown eyes that drove me crazy. What was really interesting about him, however, was the fact that he was so quiet. Why was he so reclusive? Was he hiding something?

It was one evening after purchasing the newest "Serenity" comic I decided I was going to pry information out of this guy no matter how much feminine wiles it cost me. I went up to the counter and smiled kindly at Andrew, "Hey, how are you?"

 

[Dreamwalker85]

Another day at Atomic. Like many trusted shop workers they called their second home work. It was just a matter of whether people felt chained to their home. Big Atomic Comics was my home and I loved it. So sometimes it didn't feel like work. Well, except on one Wednesday every night when I was knee deep in Diamond Orders with the boss. Those days were Slooooowwww.

Alexis was like any of the other girls that came into the place guys flocked to her, and away from her simultaneously. That was the nature with girls in any place like this. Some guys saw them as majestic creatures that were rare. Others as something unfit to nerd out with them. Honestly, it depended on the geek. It was just a matter of could they let their hormones overcome the fact a female can know something better than they do.

To me Alexis was a customer. She was cute. Really cute, but I had seen she was with some of the regulars in the past. Everyone had a right to shop here. I just didn't want to rock the boat. So, friends only. It was that simple.

Plus, I became a nerd when I fell in love with a Superman comic. It was ages ago. I couldn't even read the damned thing, but I could read the pictures. Understand what the illustrations were conveying. I was hooked. I was hooked on comics they helped nature a fondness of fictional tales that saw me preferring the company of pages to people most of my life. So, sometimes social crap just confuses me. If it wasn't for text messages I'd probably not talk to many people. Even that is questionable.

The bell chimed and Alexis was in again. I gave a friendly wave, "Welcome back. We love seeing you," then went back to Teen Titans Earth One. This trade kept alluding me. I was finally going to fucking read it.

I only made it a few pages in before Alexis came up to the counter. Setting the book down I smiled at her. All my smiles are genuine because I just try to be personal. Besides it's sucky getting fake ones from people when you're at a restaurant, or whatever. You get the feeling someone is going to half-ass their job because you wonder what else is fake if they can't give you a real smile.

"Hey. I'm good. I see you got the new Serenity. I hear it's good. As long as it's better than 'Shepard's Tale' you should be good. I mean, it was good I just felt the story undermined some of Book's history," I said without realizing it. Sometimes with nerds if you struck a nerve we could gush about things. I was a Browncoat so Serenity was a chord.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I grinned, "Of coarse you're a Browncoat. I wholeheartedly agree the Shepard's Tale didn't hit the mark. I did read the first comic in this new series and was impressed, however. I'm hoping the rest of them are just as good." I didn't mention the happy dancing I had done when Mal and Inara had gotten together. Firefly had been my entry way to the science fiction genre. At the ripe age of eleven my dad had sat me down and told me to watch it. "It's the best gorram show on the planet, you need to see it." It didn't take me very long to get into the show.

 

[Dreamwalker85]

"If you like medieval fantasy too then you should check out Star Wars if you haven't. The originals, not the new stuff. Jedis are a mix of space knights and wizards, the characterization is the same. If you have then check out Legacy by Ostrander in the old continuity. It really was like Firefly meets Star Wars," I said trying to just help her out. Would it have made the store money? Yeah, but that's not why. She liked reading.

I was smiling. My button down dark blue dickies shirt had revealed the a black Flash shirt underneath. Both had a few bits of paint I couldn't get out. A little yellow, a little white that were contrast to the dark colors.

For some reason I tried to think of her pull list to try and help her out. My gaze went to what she was wearing and the glass case I worked behind. Inside the case were an assortment of expensive comics and cards. Why was I doing this? I don't know.

"So, how are you and Ken?" I asked. Ken was another regular I think she went out to coffee with. Ken blurted about nerdy stuff more than personal stuff.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

"If you like medieval fantasy too then you should check out Star Wars if you haven't. The originals, not the new stuff. Jedis are a mix of space knights and wizards, the characterization is the same. If you have then check out Legacy by Ostrander in the old continuity. It really was like Firefly meets Star Wars," Andrew said. If I'd had paper and a pen on me I would have written what he said down, but I didn't. I stood there repeating key words over and over again in my head. Both comics sounded right up my alley.

Andrew began searching through the glass case full of expensive collectables. He glanced at what I was wearing as he was leaned over. I looked down to check myself, I wasn't one that thought to much about what I put on in the morning. I was wearing a black tight fitting V-neck with a colorful cat played across the front and old skinny jeans that weren't very blue anymore.

"So, how are you and Ken?" he asked. Ken? I thought for a second before remembering who Ken was. Two weeks ago I'd hit if off with one of the patrons. We'd gone out for lunch and talked, where I discovered we didn't agree on anything. He was a huge Trekkie and I personally like Star Wars better. He loved all of the new super hero movies while I thought they never really hit true to there origins. I'd said a polite good-bye to the guy after a decent night of sex. "Ken and I were kind of a one night thing," I replied simply.

 

[Dreamwalker85]

For some reason I blushed when finding out her and Ken were a one night thing. Also, I tried not to get my eyes wandering. Blushing I looked away and said, "I should get back to work. I'm...I'm probably keeping you," I said and didn't want to take up Alexis's time. Slicking back my shaggy hair it remained short for a second before it fell down in front of my face a little. Going back to my book I started to read. If she still had questions, or comments I wouldn't have said no. I just...It was hard talking to her. The only time I really talked to women were classmates that gave me a few words, teachers and professors, customers and subject matter. The latter I was able to disassociate a little bit. It was like talking to a wall that could talk back.

Picking up the Teen Titans Earth One Big I began reading and cringing at Cyborg's flat-top haircut. At least the writing was good. That was something I could escape in, and not look at Alexis's kitten top. I was happy the kitten went a certain way because...I could well, enjoy a different view.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

Andrew went back to the comic he was reading after I told him about Ken. I stared at him a moment before grabbing my Serenity comic off the counter and saying a pleasant, "Goodbye."

---

It took me fifteen minutes to finish my comic. I decided it would be strange to go back into the shop to get the next one now, especially after driving home, so I decided on going back the following day after work.
As I sat on my couch wondering what to do, I couldn't stop thinking about Andrew. What was his back story? How could I talk to him? I pulled out my laptop and started Googling him. I was able to found his private Facebook account but not much else. I then Googled, "How to bring shy guys out of their shells."

 

[Dreamwalker85]

The google entry brought up bringing out common interest. What the facebook entry was set to private, but a few photos were set to public. Most of them were artwork. It was his artwork with a watermark with his name and deviantart address. The photos were mostly still life. Some had an M.C. Escher quality. It was easy to tell the artist was an influence.

Andrew had drawn a piece similar to "Balcony."It featured a small magnifying glass and a castle. Around the small apparatus the castle was clearly small. Something designed for miniatures, maybe sea people, but inside the lens he had drawn people, the castle in great detail. It was kind a how the world sees it versus how the inhabitants might see it.

His deviantart page was more telling. A few of his pieces were blocked by the safety feature. After signing in it was clear why. He had done nude portraits of men and women in a variety of ways. It was clear these were for classes, but they were quite good. People could have easily surmised that naughty things were done to these pictures because of their quality if random perverts found them on searches.

A few personal photos were there too. Most of them he was standing with cosplayers. Andrew was not dressed in costume. The vast majority it was jeans, occassionally shorts, a t-shirt for either something nerdy be it his "Orphans" T-shirt for Batman's Dark Victory featuring designs by Tim Sale, a white ying-yang shirt with the Millenium Falcon and Serenity contorting to be either ying or yang, a T-shirt called Dr. Grue which featured Grue wearing a variety of Doctor Who clothing and minions dressed as various companions, or something akin. The cosplayers ranged from a batallian of Boba Fetts/Mandalores from Star Wars, various Firefly crew members, comic characters from Batman and Teen Titans which included Batman, Superboy, Terra, Starfire (well a few of them as she was popular, there could have been a nerdy crush here too), Wonder Girl and others, he posed with Venture Brother Characters and even joined in on a "Go-Venture" pose with a Hank and Dean. He had a lot of interest that were just kept to himself.

Only six photos existed where he wasn't dressed down. Three were him in a traditional black suit and tie. He was at some kind of banquet. It was hard to say for what as the only photo taken with someone was a man with short hair, glasses and the man was in his forties. If she was up to snuff on her comic art it was Tim Sale.

The other three were him dressed as the Tenth Doctor. His hair was slicked back since apparently he couldn't spike it. Andrew had on the blue pin striped suit, long light brown coat, red converse shoes and the red swirly tie in place. He was posing with various Doctor Who cosplayers. One he had out the sonic screwdriver too.

One last photo may have caught Alexis attention. It was a long brown coat, matching boots and a very familiar looking gun. The image was title "Progress." If she clicked on it the caption with it would have said, "Mal's almost ready to hop aboard." Apparently someone liked cosplaying, but lacked the sewing prowess so he went with practical costumes. Mal was the next character he was going to dress as.

----------

The next day at the shop I arrive, and open up. I try to be on time, if not early, because comic shops are nefarious for being a half-hour late. Not always, but it seems every shop owner or worker went by their own clock. I tried to be more punctual.

I turned on the lights, the television went on and I started to play Amazing Spider-Man one, as was cued up on the DVD player, and sat behind the glass case that served as a desk with the cash register atop. Setting my book bag next to me I pulled out my pad and just started to sketch from my mind's eye. Honestly, I was so lost in the sketch I wasn't sure if I would hear someone come in.

Dressed in a simple "Atomic Comic" black t-shirt with white font, blue jeans and nothing else I just was ready to tackle the day.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

A long night of internet searches had revealed that Andrew was quite the artist. I'd even stumbled upon some nude profiles, which were very well done. He was gifted. What I'd really enjoyed looking at, however, was all of the cos-players he'd posed with. I'd been to a few smaller conventions myself, San Diego was even on my bucket list. As I searched through his pictures, I found a few of him cos-playing himself. There were a few of him dressed as David ******t, my favorite doctor of the new series. The picture that I stared at for a long time, however, was Andrew dressed up as Malcolm Reynolds. He'd gotten the stance down to a t, and he hadn't forgotten the iconic gun.
The coat wasn't perfect, but I loved the picture just the same.
---
I walked into the comic store again that following day. I'd made sure to wear clothes I looked good in today, I wanted to ask Andrew out on a date. My shirt was a graphic t with an unhappy dalek and I had a pair of white cargo shorts that hugged legs well. Mike was sitting behind the counter, fully intent on his sketch book. I quickly snatched up the rest of the Serenity series for sale before browsing the Star Wars section. I was immediately surprised by how massive the section was, there were hundreds of different comics.
I turned and walked over to Andrew, "Hey, which one of these Star Wars comics would you recommend I start out with?" I asked, hoping my question wouldn't annoy him when he was in the middle of sketching.

 

[Dreamwalker85]

Hearing my name I stopped sketching. Leaving my sanctity of the counters pace behind I slipped to help Alexis. The Star Wars section of trades was overwhelming. "Well, if you haven't seen the movies before I'd go Star Wars Legacy. Well written and ummmm uhhh.." I noticed how good Alexis's hips and ass looked. My eyes were staring. Get it together Andrew.

"Sorry, lost my train of thought. Oh yeah! There's over sixty issues. The Disney Star Wars deal may have stopped more because there was a second series featuring a female solo set after Legacy volume 11. If you've seen the movies Dark Empire and The Thrawne trilogy get a lot of praise. Old Republic stuff is good too. I'd stick to Dark Horse stuff because it is technically out of print."

For some reason I lingered. Maybe it was the shorts. Maybe it was Star Wars. Probably both though.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I noticed Andrew staring at my figure and hid a smile. "I've seen all of the movies but it's been years, so I'll get... uh... Broken here. Dark Horse... I've purchased a lot of their stuff. They do the Firefly and Avatar the Last Airbender comics... uh... here we go." I grab the comics I want and turn around. Andrew is still standing there, a bit awkwardly. I smile at him, "Thanks for your help, I seriously wouldn't know how to navigate this stuff without you." I like the awkward ones. We walk back over to the counters and for the first time since walking in I notice Spider Man is playing on the television. Huh?

 

[Dreamwalker85]

For some reason I lingered again before her words about help pushed me to the counter I start to ring her up. "It's no problem. I umm you'd help me if the shoe were on the other foot, and I showed up wherever you go." I smiled at her trying to keep my gaze locked on her eyes, face or the floor. I didn't want to get caught ogling at her.

When she questioned Spider-Man I smiled, "Nerd equivalent to leaving a radio station on. Instead of good to crappie music. Good to crappy shows and movies." I smiled at her resisting the urge to hide.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I nodded and turned around to Andrew again. "Andrew, are you busy later tonight?" I asked with an encouraging smile.

 

[Dreamwalker85]

"I ummmm uhhh ummm.." I was thrown off guard by the question. Worst yet I was "Ummming" and "Uhhhhing" like an idiot. Eventually I looked up, quietly blurted out, "I ummmm 'm not doing anything tonight. Why?" After my question I looked at the floor. Was I getting asked out.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I felt a little bad at Andrew's floundering, but God was it cute. "Would you like to go on a date with me? There's a nice Italian restaurant on 48th and I always like seeing movies. What's out right now that I haven't seen... Jurassic World? I know that's not very romantic but I feel like we'd both probably have interest in it."

 

[Dreamwalker85]

"Six-thirty!" I blurted out. Pausing I held up a finger. Taking a moment I composed myself looked at her in the eyes, "Six-thirty tonight. Dinner. Movie. Whatever else you wish." I couldn't believe that worked. Well, that I said that. It wasn't too bad. I didn't know what else she could have wanted.

Alexis was attractive. It had been six months since I was with someone. So, I was single. She was single it was all good.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I smiled, "Okay, awesome. 6:30, Littly Italy." I looked down at the comics in my hands before setting them on the counter to be purchased. "Thanks again for the recommendations. I'll read these tonight before we meet up so we have something to talk about, you know, besides the usual stuff."

 

[Dreamwalker85]

"Do we meet there or do you want to be picked up?" I asked before she left. Then for the first time in ages the day went by slowly. Like painfully slow. I put on X-Men. I tried to sketch. I was overly chatty with everyone. Anything I could have done I did to make time fly by. None of it worked.

When my shift was up I ran through the door then went home to get ready. Where I lived was a simple two bedroom apartment. I tried to look nice, but decided on jeans, a nice black shirt and a matching sports coat. Just in case I put my suit in the car. God, was I nervous. I hoped Alexis was having better luck. Then a thought entered my mind: Why me?

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

"I'll meet you there," I smiled before leaving. When I reached my car I danced a little in excitement. I loved the nerdy, quiet, super sweet kind of guys, and Andrew was attractive on top of all of that. I knew I'd have to be a little more assertive with him, but that wasn't something that bothered me.

That night, I dressed in a navy blue dress that reached just above my knees and showed off just enough of my breasts to be sexy but not to revealing. I wore black flats since I couldn't walk worth a damn in high heels. Before leaving I brushed my teeth a couple of times to make sure my mouth was extremely clean. I then gave myself a smile in the mirror before hopping in my car and driving over to Little Italy.

I was excited to get to know Andrew better, especially since he was a Browncoat. I'd met a lot of Browncoats, but none that were my age. They were all my dad's friends. I parked the car outside the restaurant and walked up to the front door, where Andrew was standing. He looked nice in his dark shirt. I smiled and waved as I approached him.

 

[Dreamwalker85]

So I brushed several times. Went through half of a case of altoids that were in my car, and I was still nervous about my breathe. I saw Alexis and waved, "You look good. I feel under dressed." An arm was offered.

We were seated to our table. Deep down I was nervous, "I want to say something." This was a gambit. "I'm nervous. So, i'm going to say some stuff. One, I apologize for my nerves and if I look at your umm chest your dress flatters it. I apologize i'm not perving out, but you'really beautiful. I see people in less constantly," a hand went up rellflexively to correct myself. "I draw a bit. Still life and nudity go together like Reaves and the alliance. Eventually you can detach yourself from the sexuality. Without that pad of paper I can't detach. And you're really beautiful so i'm going to look sometimes."

"Let me pay for dinner. Equality is great, but I'm trying to impress you so I insist as a gentleman. Finally, I want to talk nerds things, but there's more to us than that. So we should tell each random things about one another from time to time." There. I laid it out on the table. Now it was time to watch her run for being too forward.

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

"You know someone likes you when they're a little nervous," I grinned at him, "You are more than welcome to look at my chest, just make sure to meet my eyes from time to time. They're pretty, too. I saw some of your nude drawings on DeviantArt, they were beautiful. You are a gifted artist, if I do say so myself. I never really took to art classes in school, although I won't say I didn't try for a few years. I was able to get pretty good at cartoons but I can't do realistic pictures for the life of me. As for dinner, I will allow you to pay if I get to pay for the next one. You don't need to pay for everything to impress me, I'm already impressed. I'd love to talk about anything you'd like to talk about."
I liked that he was upfront about his thoughts, "So, how'd do you get into comic books?"

 

[Dreamwalker85]

Hearing Alexis words made me calm down. A lot. I made a deliberate show of looking between her breaststroke and eyes trying to be humorous. Plus it gained me an eyeful so bonus. I asked playfully, "Should I be worried you're not nervous?" I hoped she liked me.

"Maybe you could model for one," I blurted our when she commented on the still life photos. My face turned cherry red a moment later. Our waiter arrived a moment later. Saved by the drink order. I picked water. I'd get something else with my meal.

"I got into comics because of an old Spider-Man cartoon. I saw reruns of it. I was like three. Then one day I was at a local drugstore. They had a spinner rack. I noticed Spidey. Cried out about it. My Mom didn't have enough for it so the clerk gave it to me. The rest is history."

"How about you and Anima or manga. Which was your first?"

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

"No, you shouldn't, years of performance in front of large crowds has sucked the nerves right out of me," I smiled playfully. "Maybe you should model for me." I might just have to hit him up on that one.

"How about you and Anima or manga. Which was your first?"
"I was three years old when Pokemon first started airing. I watched it non-stop. It's kind of the gateway Anime, if you think about it. Anyway, I became a huge fan, I bought all the games, collected the cards. When I was... seven years old, I discovered that there was entire Anime genre. Collecting manga took place pretty quickly after that, since I didn't have access to a lot of the TV shows. When did you start working at Atomic?"

 

[Dreamwalker85]

"Performances? What kind?" I asked curiously. Acting or a bad musician seemed to be on the mark. "So what Manga was your first then?" Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z did wonders for the Anime world. "And i'd love to see your cartoons."

I didn't realize my eyes were going between her breasts and eyes without being humorous. Both sets were great. Thinking on it I exentually answered, "Seven years."

 

[THAT1AMETHYST]

I smiled inwardly as Andrew's eyes kept falling to my breasts, someone appreciated them.
"Performances? What kind?" "I was an awful violist. By the time I was a senior in high school I was decent, but Jesus Christ..."
"So what Manga was your first then?" "Fruits Basket was the first one I read," I smiled.
Seven years... how old is he? "How old were you when you started there?" I asked as the waiter came out with our drinks. I smiled and thanked him before I took a long sip of water.