17 A Chance Encounter

Waze's eyes fluttered open as light streamed in through her window. She rolled over and tapped open her phone to check the time. 11:30. Damn, she had really slept in. She curled back into her blankets. Her bed was so comfortable... but she had to get up. She had to go see Alec at the bookstore today, though it was probably already crowded. Eh, they could use her help anyway. Waze rolled out of bed and lumbered into the kitchen. She got a glass of water and chugged it all in one go.

"Morning, Waverly." Waze cringed. When would Josh stop using that goddamn name?

"Waze. It's Waze."

"Your mother named you Waverly, so thats what I'll call you."

"Even mom doesn't call me that. Get with the times."

"What you got against Waverly, huh? It's a beautiful name."

"Nothing that concerns you." Waze walked towards him and when he didn't make any attempt to move, she scooted around him.

"Doing anything this morning, Waverly?" At this point, he did it just to annoy her. Her mother had asked him to stop, but wouldn't even make any effort to stop him. She just wanted to avoid a fight. At the price of Waze's discomfort, though.

"Actually, yeah. I'm going down to the bookstore after I wash up."

"Have you asked your mother?"

"She'll say yes. Trust me, I know her a lot better than you." Two could play this game. If he was gonna be bitter, so was she.

"Make sure you tell her before you leave." Josh scowled at Waze as she walked out of the room.

"Got it!" Waze waved her hand in the air as she walked away. Would he ever leave her alone? It was like he enjoyed making her life hellish. He probably did.

Waze took a shower and devoured some cereal before peeking into her mom's room.

"Can I go see Abbus today, Mom?" Her mother rolled over and gave her a smile. Josh glowered at her from the space next to her mother in the bed.

"Sure, honey. Stay safe and tell him I said hi."

"Will do. Love you."

"Love you too. More than anything." Waze smiled and quietly closed the door. She really did love her mother more than anything. Even if her boyfriends were annoying and she was somewhat of a drunk, she was still determined and loving. That's where Waze got it from.

Waze quietly shut the front door and started off her walk to the bookstore. It was starting to warm up outside, but was still a bit chilly. So she wore her usual hoodie and leggings. Waze had begun to wear workout leggings and a sports bra everyday, so she could just take off her hoodie and be ready to train whenever she needed. And who knew what would happen the rest of the time?

A chime came from the bell above the door as Waze entered the shop. As she had thought, there was a quite few people in there. Mostly young girls who had made a hobby of watching Alec stock shelves. Currently, he was arranging a small display near the front of the store. Waze walked forward to approach him, but a cute looking girl beat her to it.

"You're Alec, right?" For some reason, her face felt familiar. She was pretty, shoulder length straight black hair and a decent amount of makeup paired with an airy dress and sweater. Waze wondered if she was Alec's type. Thinking it might be interesting to watch, Waze leaned on a bookshelf a few feet away and watched as the conversation unfolded.

"Yeah, that's me." Alec said it with a dazzling smile, the one he always showed to customers. Especially the girls. After all, even if they only came to see him, if they bought something it was still business. So he did his best to stay charming.

"Well... I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab coffee or something sometime. Just the two of us. It'll be fun. I'm Minnie, by the way." It wasn't the first time he had gotten a request like this, but it was one of his weaknesses. Alec was bad at saying no. Quite a few times he had been roped into meeting up with girls outside of work before her quickly made excuses and did his best to fade out of their lives. You'd think he'd be used to it by now, but he still looked awkwardly pained. Maybe not to the normal eye, but Waze could see it.

"Ahaha... well that's..." Alec awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he spoke.

"Come on, it'll be fun! You wouldn't turn me down, right?" Poor Alec, he was being backed into a corner. Waze sighed and decided to step in.

"Hey pretty boy, what're you doing slacking off?" Waze strolled up and met Alec with a grin. She could see relief flood his face as she approached. She always had to wriggle him out of situations like this, though it usually ended with a flood of insults from the girls. Not that she cared. Today would probably be no different.

"Oh! Waze, you're here!"

"Thought I'd come help out, I had a feeling you guys would be pretty busy. Seems like I was right. Anyway, I have some important stuff I need your sage advice on." Waze threw him a wink. Maybe she had a bit of fun making the girls jealous. Her sense of humor was a bit twisted after all.

"You must be a friend of Alec's! I'd guess girlfriend, but you two don't really seem like a good match. No offense." Somehow, she reminded Waze of someone. Never mind that, though.

"Yep! I'm an old friend, and it's up to me to whip this guy into shape. So I'm sorry but he's really gotta get back to work." Waze gave Alec a nudge. She couldn't really refuse the girl's offer for him, he'd have to do that himself. But before he could do anything, a familiar voice called out.

"Minnie, what are you doing? Stop bothering people, we're here to shop not flirt." A boy who appeared to be the girl's brother walked up behind her before stopping to stare at Waze.

"...Waze?" he said with a pause. Waze flinched back with surprise as he spoke.

"Marco...?"