Clueless - Money and Attitude

[Otto's POV]

Four cardigans, five T-shirts, two dresses, two pants, and a straw sun hat later, Otto discovered that the budget her parents had provided her with, wasn't sufficient for the number of clothes she needed. And so she found herself standing at the cash register, with a big pile of clothes on the counter, not enough money to pay them and a long line of impatient customers queuing behind her.

Of course, she panicked.

"You're panicking again," Alex said as he placed a steady hand on the small of her back and leaned in closely to look over her shoulder.

Well, he definitely had her attention now, but instead of calming down her heart raced even more because he'd brought it to her attention how close they were standing.

"How much money do you have?" he asked as he removed his hand from her back and urged her to show him the bills she was holding.

"Hmm, that's two hundred," he quickly counted and started rummaging through the pile of clothes on the counter. "How about you pay all of those and I pay for the dresses?"

"What? No, I don't-" Otto started to complain, but Alex interrupted her.

"It's fine, don't worry. Let's just resolve it like this for now," he said as he smiled at her gently. He didn't wait for a reply, he just placed the bills on the counter and took a credit card from his wallet.

At the sight of the grey piece of plastic, the previously annoyed looking cashier, miraculously turned into the most friendly helper and even dared to ask; "Can I interest you in these trendy pins, sir? They are on sale today."

Alex gave her a stern "No." The shopkeeper got the hint and quickly wrapped up everything.

Once she was done, Alex grabbed the bags and marched outside, a gravely embarrassed Otto stumbled behind him. What had just happened?

"At least let me carry the bags I actually paid for!" she called after him as the distance between them was growing.

At her call, Alex slowed down and turned around to face her with a blank look on his face. Or maybe it wasn't blank at all. Perhaps a practised neutral expression was a better way of describing it.

"Sorry," he said to her questioning look and handed her some of the bags. He released a heavy sigh and continued: "Truly sorry. That must have surprised you. It's just that... I REALLY hate it when professionals don't do their work properly."

Otto blinked in surprise.

"You were totally panicking in there, and that wretch didn't even bother to assist you?" Alex continued his rant. "It's not that hard to suggest leaving some of the clothes behind, now is it? What was she planning on doing? Wait until you ran out crying? Not buying anything?! Jeez! No wonder the line was that long!"

He finished by childishly crossing his arms and scowling grimly. Otto couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't expected him to get this worked up about it. He'd appeared calm and level-headed the entire time.

"Why are you laughing?" Alex asked confused.

"Sorry," Otto said as she held up one hand in apology and tried to hide her smile with the other. "I just thought that I had angered you. I'm glad that's not the case."

"You?" Alex asked, looking even more confused. "Why would I be angry with you?"

"Because you had to pay for me?" she asked in return, wondering why he couldn't figure that out for himself. "Not everybody's itching to waste money on someone they barely know!"

"Waste?" he asked in surprise. "Why would the money be wasted? I thought you liked the dresses?"

"No, no. You're missing the point," she said as she tried to find the right words so he would understand. "It's not that I don't like the dresses, but... Wasn't that a lot of money? If the situation had been the other way around, I wouldn't have been able to help you even if I wanted to. In fact, I think I've spent my lunch money already..."

"No, you didn't. Here's your change," Alex said, handing her a bill and some coins as if she hadn't been explaining anything.

"Uhm, thank you," she mumbled completely caught off guard. A new awkward silence fell as she didn't know what to say anymore.

"You don't need to worry about my budget," Alex said after a while. "I'd be surprised my dad even noticed that I've used his credit card to buy dresses. He'd have a laugh, though."

Otto stared at him flabbergasted.

"You see, my dad is the lead-researcher of a corporation. It's a heavy responsibility, and it causes him to be away from home a lot, but the pay is in proportion."

Otto's mouth formed a silent "Oh."

"Please don't go blabbing that around though," Alex added as an afterthought. "People always act strangely when they know you've got money."

"Oh, ok," Otto mumbled silently again. She wished he hadn't told her either. Admitted, she'd asked him about it, but she had already been unsure of how to react around him even before she'd known he was loaded. Was he even expecting her to repay the dresses? Or were they a gift? She wasn't sure that she liked the idea of receiving such a valuable gift, even if the person who gave them didn't see it that way himself.

"I do still expect you to pay me back," Alex said suddenly. Her worries must have been visible on her face because when she looked up at him, he met her surprise with an understanding smile.

"Ahem, 1 o'clock," he hastily changed the subject when she didn't immediately answered. "Do you mind if I quickly make my purchase? The shop is close to a cheap place to eat. I promise you will be able to pay with the leftover money your parents gave you."

He nodded in the direction of the cash in her hand and smiled looking a bit nervous but hopeful.

That's when it hit her; he was just as afraid of her reaction as she was of his.

"That sounds great," she said, smiling in relief.

"Let's get going then," Alex said as a huge smile bloomed across his face. Like everything about him, his smile was truly beautiful. It shouldn't have surprised her, yet she felt her heart flutter a little at the sight of it. She shook her head and scolded her heart for the treacherous reaction.

"Do you think they'll let me change clothes?" Otto asked as she fell into step beside him.

"Hm? Oh! Sure, I guess. However, I don't see what's so wrong with the clothes you're wearing now that you need to change out of them so hastily," Alex said with a small shrug. Heat flushed her cheeks involuntary and she thanked the heavens that he wasn't looking at her. She knew he hadn't meant to compliment her and yet his words made her feel warm inside.

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A little while later, they'd arrived at the shop Alex had been referring to. It was a lot calmer than the department store they'd bought her clothes in, and it looked more stylish and clean.

"I suggest you don't look at any of the price tags," Alex whispered in her ear as they walked in.

"What?! Why?" she asked, feeling offended but already quickly realised she wouldn't be getting an answer as one of the shopkeepers came to greet them.

"Why, hello Alex! How nice to see you again," the middle-aged, slightly plump woman greeted him.

"Hello, Sabine. How are you?" Alex answered all smiles, greeting the woman with a kiss on the cheek as if he was greeting a family member. Otto had a hard time believing what she was seeing. Weren't they a little over-familiar with each other?

"Oh, I'm fine, dear boy. What brings you to our shop again so soon?"

"My dad wrecked all off his T-shirts again," Alex said looking embarrassed. "So I'm here to stock up."

Sabine giggled.

"He's lucky you have similar tastes," she said with a wink. "Well, I won't complain. It's good for business. Would you like me to pick some for you?"

"I'll be fine," Alex said. "But I'd like it if you could show my friend to the dressing room for me. She'd like to change into a dress we bought earlier."

For the first time since they'd entered the shop, Sabine looked away from Alex, to follow the direction he had pointed in and stared at Otto as if she had appeared out of thin air. "Oh! But of course! You leave this little dove to me. Come along, sweetheart."

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It didn't take Otto long to realise why Alex had gotten so upset about the lousy service earlier; It had been the exact opposite of what he'd been used to. Once Otto and Sabine arrived at the dressing booth, Sabine aided her in cleanly cutting off all the unnecessary tags, zipped her dress up and even offered to braid her hair for her.

"I used to braid my daughter's hair like this," she said. "She's got kids of her own now."

"Really?" Otto asked surprised.

"Yes, the oldest will be five in November, and she's expecting a baby any moment now," she said proudly.

"Ah, precious moments," Otto laughed, infected by the older woman's enthusiasm and kindness.

"You can say that again," Sabine laughed. "But it looks to me like you're making precious moments of your own. Lucky you, having Alex as a friend."

She winked at Otto in the mirror. Otto felt the urge to say "Not this again!" and sigh, but decided the woman was merely making conversation.

"No, honestly. We are barely even friends."

"That sounds rather downcast," Sabine remarked with a worried frown.

"Does it?" Otto asked surprised. "I meant to say we actually don't know each other that long yet. So saying we're friends might be a little early."

"I see," Sabine said with a small smile. "Is it hard for you to make friends, sweetheart?"

Otto looked up in the mirror in surprise. "Not really. But I might be a little pickier than most..."

That made Sabine laugh. "Well, no problem there! Alex is a very sweet and responsible boy, you know?"

"Still, I'm not sure we mix too well," she said honestly. It felt good to talk about it with someone on neutral ground. "He's only here because my best friend trapped him with a bet. And instead of being grateful for the fact that he is helping me, I accused him of being a playboy."

Sabine giggled in reply.

"There all done," she said as she finished tying a rubber band at the bottom of the braid. "Don't you worry about Alex, sweetheart. He's tougher than he looks. He wouldn't blame you for doing something wrong, as long as your heart is in the right place. Not to mention that he'd get quite the earful from his dad if he did something un-galant."

"Really?" Otto asked. The image Sabine had painted around Alex seemed a little unrealistic.

"Yes, really. But you did say that you didn't know each other for long yet. So maybe you haven't noticed yet."

"Maybe," Otto said doubtfully once more. It made Sabine giggle.

"Now, you hurry back to your friend. He's most likely already waiting for you."

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A little dazed, Otto left the dressing room and looked around. She saw Alex at the cash register, paying for a neatly folded pile of T-shirts. Her gaze drifted to a nearby stack of T-shirts.

"I suggest you don't look at the price tags," his words echoed in her mind.

"Why would he say that?" she mumbled to herself as she reached for the tag in one of the collars, but sucked in a breath and paled as she saw the price. She hastily placed the tag back to its rightful place and distanced herself quickly from the precious goods.

She glanced over in Alex's direction; he was chatting with the employee at the cash register. Thank God, he hadn't seen her sneak a peek. The price of that T-shirt was WAY higher than she'd expected and yet, Alex had a whole pile of them?!

"It must be nice to have a lot of money," she thought bitterly and suddenly felt strangely out of place. She decided to go wait outside as she was unable to meet Alex with a smile right now.

But even outside the shop she wasn't allowed any peace of mind. It had barely been five minutes before someone had come up to her and asked: "Otto? Is that you?"

When Otto looked up to see who had recognised her, she saw Thomas, dressed in jeans and a black heavy-metal band T-shirt. He was looking at her as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he asked, but didn't wait for her to answer, grabbed her by the wrist and started pulling her along.

"We have to get you out of here. Fast!" he mumbled more to himself than to her.

"Hey wait! What are you doing? I can't go, I'm here with Alex. He'll be worried if he won't be able to find me later. Can I at least go and tell him that you needed me to go somewhere urgently?" Otto complained as she dug her heels into the ground.

"You are here WITH him?!" Thomas asked incredulously, grumbled something under his breath that she couldn't hear, and resumed pulling her along despite her resisting. "You shouldn't be here! We need to go. Now!"

Otto felt deadly embarrassed. Was she really incapable of staying out of trouble for longer than a few minutes?

And of course, Alex had to choose that moment to return. She saw him exit the shop, clearly looking for her, still oblivious to what was going on. The second he spotted her, realisation dawned on his face and he was standing next to her so fast that she'd barely seen him move.

He grabbed Thomas firmly by the wrist and pulled in the opposite direction, relieving the stress from her wrist by doing so. For a second, Otto thought that she was going to fall backwards because of the sudden lack in counterweight, but already quickly found that Alex had wrapped a steady arm around her back.

"What do you think you're doing? Release her!" Alex said angrily. Thomas looked positively startled to see Alex.

"No need to get angry, I wasn't going to hurt her," Thomas said as he let go of Otto. Alex simultaneously let go of Thomas. Otto quickly hugged her wrist to her chest and rubbed the tender flesh. Big, angry, red marks appeared on her wrist were Thomas' hand had been seconds ago. When Otto looked up to Thomas, he looked startled to see that he had hurt her.

"Scram. Idiot!" Alex growled angrily. Thomas didn't like that. For a moment, it looked like he was about to give Alex a piece of his mind but caved under the many disapproving onlookers that had gathered, and scurried away.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked Otto as he looked at her intently.

"Why does he look so worried?" Otto wondered as she stared back into his eyes, and only then noticed she was trembling.

"Why does he even care?" she thought as she felt her lip start to quiver and her vision started to blur from unshed tears.

"Oh, Otto... It's ok," Alex said as he pulled her into his chest and hugged her tightly, shielding her from all the onlookers. "No need to keep strong, you just cry your heart out if you feel like it."

He didn't need to tell her twice. Even before her face touched the fabric of his T-shirt, her tears were already flowing. Normally, Otto would never cry in public. Yet, she felt safe in Alex's protective embrace.