:Request: Charm Cafe: Fanfic Untitled

Lani took a glimpse in the music store, seeing Mitch working at the counter.  All right, it was her moment.  Time to go in there and show him who she was.  All she had to do was open the door.  Well, she would, if she could get her arm to move.  It was funny, she could imagine herself moving her arm and opening the door but she couldn't bring herself to follow through.

How is it that I can fight monsters no problem but, when it comes to talking to a guy, I completely freeze up? Lani asked.

Well, no more.  If she could risk her life saving the world, she could talk to Mitch no problem.  All she had to do was open the door.

"You going to open that door sometime today, or are you just going to stand outside loitering?" a voice with a Hispanic accent said.

Lani turned around to see a fully-grown mocha skinned Hispanic woman standing outside the door.  Her straight jet-black hair cut in layers, with the front part stopping at her shoulders while the back part went all the way down to her waist.  Her face was oval shaped with almond shaped brown eyes, cheeks covered in light blush, eyes surrounded by black eyeliner and dark blue eye shadow and her thick lips covered in dark red lipstick.  She wore a turquoise shirt that outlined every curve of her hourglass figure and exposed a decent amount of her large cleavage as well as a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and black high heels.  Lani swore she recognized this woman.

"I've seen you at the cafe," Lani said, trying to remember her name.  "Isabella, right?"

"Maria, actually," the woman said.  "You're that girl who rambles on and on about comic books.  Lani, right?"

"Comic books?" Lani asked, wondering if she heard this woman right.

"Yeah, those comic books with the teenage girl super heroes that wear mini-skirts," Maria said, flipping her hair.

"You mean manga," Lani said annoyed.  "And it's not super heroes, it's magical girls."

"What's the difference?" Maria asked, putting her hand on her hip.

"There are many differences," Lani began.  "For starters—,"

"Thanks, hon, but I didn't come here for a geek lecture," Maria said, brushing Lani off.  "So, what's bothering you?"

"Well, I was thinking about going in to buy a CD," Lani explained.  "I'm just not sure if I have enough money."

"It's a boy, isn't it?" Maria asked with a sly smile.

"No, of course not!" Lani defended, blushing like mad.  "Why would you even say such a thing?"

"Honey, I know a crush when I see one and you've definitely got a crush," Maria said, crossing her arms under her breasts.  "So, who's the guy?"

"Well..." Lani began; feeling like Maria backed her into a corner.

"How about we go inside and you can tell me?" Maria suggested, opening the door.

"Why can't I tell you here?" Lani asked.

"Because I really don't want to get arrested for loitering," Maria said as Lani followed her inside.

Lani followed Maria to a section of CDs and browsed through them.

"So, who's the guy?" Maria asked.

"He's no one," Lani said, browsing through CDs.  "Just a guy who likes to hang out here."

"How would you know that?" Maria asked nonchalantly as she browsed through CDs.

"I know his schedule," Lani said absentmindedly, checking to see if Mitch was approaching.

"Oh, so you're stalking him," Maria joked.

"I'm not stalking him!" Lani defended.  "I just happen to know he hangs out here."

"Really, so where is he?" Maria teased.

"If I know the guy," Lani said, picking a CD out from the shelf.  "He'll be here any minute."

Right on cue, Lani heard Mitch's voice right behind her.

"Hey, Lani," he said with all the confidence of a rock star.

Lani turned around to find herself gazing into his gray eyes.  On anyone else, gray would be the dullest color you could find.  On Mitch, they were a deceiving window into the fun rocker's soul.

"M-Mitch!" Lani said, hearing her voice go higher.

"You need any help?" he asked her.

"N-no, just browsing around," Lani said, feeling her cheeks go red.  "You know me."

"All right, let me know if you need anything," Mitch said and left to tend to the cash register.

"S-sure," Lani said, watching Mitch leave.

Lani sighed.  It seemed like that was the extent of their conversation.  If only there was some way to make Mitch see her as something more than a customer in the shop.

"So, that's the guy that captured your heart," Maria said with a teasing smile as she put the CD in her hand back on the rack.

"Was it that obvious?" Lani asked feeling a little embarrassed.

"Honey, anyone with a brain can tell you're crushing big time," Maria observed, as if it should have been obvious.

"Everyone except Mitch," Lani said bitterly.

"Guys have a harder time figuring these things out than girls do," Maria explained, putting her right hand on the music rack.  "Especially when they've got a thing for the girl that has the crush on them."

"What do you mean?" Lani asked.

"I'm saying that he likes you," Maria said putting her left hand on her hip.

"No, he doesn't," Lani said disappointed.  "He only sees me as another customer in the shop."

"Wow," Maria said, shaking her head in amusement.  "You are so naive."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lani asked, clutching the CD in her hand as if it, not Maria, had offended her.

"Sweetie, let me explain something to you," Maria said, taking her hand off the music rack.  "Guys in real life don't approach girls by checking them out and saying 'how you doin'?'  They find an excuse to come up and talk to them."

"Why would guys create a ruse just to talk to a girl they like?" Lani asked, turning her attention to Maria.

"Because guys fear rejection as much as girls do," Maria explained.  "Maybe the girl they like has a boyfriend, maybe she's a lesbian, or maybe she's at a music store just to pick out music."

"How do you know all this?" Lani asked, putting the CD back where she found it.

"Sweetie, you might be an expert on super heroes—,"

"Magical Girls," Lani corrected irritably.

"But I am an expert on guys," Maria finished proudly, ignoring Lani's correction.

Lani looked back at Mitch, trying to process all of the information Maria was giving to her.

"All right," Lani challenged.  "If you're such an expert, how about sharing some of your knowledge with me?"

"Sure," Maria said, observing Mitch put up new CDs on a far away rack.  "What's the latest CD Mitch is stocking now?"

"I don't know," Lani answered.

"Then wouldn't it be perfect for you to go up and ask him?" Maria suggested innocently.

"No!" Lani refused, turning away from Maria as if the entire concept was offensive.  "I mean, I just can't do that."

"Why not?" Maria asked, folding her arms under her breasts.

"Because...." Lani began, struggling to find a reason as she turned to face Maria.  "Because girls don't approach guys."

Maria stared at Lani as if she'd gone nuts.

"I'm sorry," she said offended.  "Is this the 1950s?"

Lani gulped.

"Well, it's still true today," Lani defended weakly.

"No, it's actually not," Maria said apathetically.

"It is for some guys," Lani said, keeping her stance.  "You come on too strong, you scare them off."

"Yeah, for some guys, but not the kind of guys you want to attract," Maria told her as if it was a universal truth.

"You're not getting it," Lani explained, taking another glance at Mitch.  "He's got groupies all over who are constantly throwing themselves at him.  If I approach Mitch, what makes me better than they are?"

"You're right," Maria said sarcastically, as she put her arms to the side.  "You wouldn't want to be strong and take the first initiative.  It's much better to stare at him from across the store like a creep."

"What?" Lani said, turning away from Mitch and facing Maria.  "I'm not being a creep.  I just love him from afar."

"Hence, stalking," Maria said.

Lani gulped.  What if Maria was right?  What if Mitch thought Lani was stalking him and it gave Mitch cause to avoid her?  If that was the case, then Lani would have to take Maria's advice.

"All right, I'll do it," Lani said confidently.

All she'd have to work out was what to say to Mitch.  Maybe something about how nice the weather is.  No, too boring.  Maybe a comment about his hair.  No, too forward.

"So, are you going up there?" Maria asked, breaking Lani's train of thought.

"I will," Lani said, running her fingers through her hair.  "Just thinking about what to say."

"Don't think," Maria advised.  "Just do."

"But what if I say the wrong thing?" Lani worried.  "What if I creep him out?  What if—"

"Just go," Maria said exasperatedly as she pushed Lani in Mitch's direction.

Lani bumped into Mitch and blushed as she looked him in the eye.

"Sorry," she said, pulling away from Mitch and standing straight up.

"That's okay," Mitch reassured her as he took some CDs from the case.

"What are you doing?" Lani asked Mitch, taking her pigtails out of her hair and straightening them.

"Just stacking up some of Paramore's greatest hits," Mitch explained.

"Yeah, Paramore," Lani said, standing confidently as she saw Maria do.  "W-who doesn't love them?"

"Actually, some people don't," Mitch informed Lani.

"Then they're complete idiots, s-sweetie," Lani said, feeling her face turn bright red.  "Am I right?"

"No, some people just have different taste in music than others do," Mitch defended, sounding insulted until something clicked in his head.  "Wait a minute, since when did you call me sweetie?"

"Since always, h-honey," Lani said, trying to imitate the way Maria talked and flipping her hair alluringly like she saw Maria do earlier.

"Lani, are you all right?" Mitch asked, looking at her concerned.

"I'm fine, h-hon," Lani said, feeling her confidence slip away little by little.  "Why do you ask?"

"You just don't seem like yourself," Mitch observed.

Before Lani could respond, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have something I really want to show Lani," Maria said innocently.

"Can it wait?" Lani asked Maria, turning her head to face her.

"No, it really can't," Maria told her.

Lani turned her attention back to Mitch.  "Sorry, I have to go."

"All right, sure," Mitch said, still in his same state of confusion.

Maria took Lani to the guitar department.

"Why'd you have to interrupt?" Lani asked annoyed as she put her pigtails back up.  "I was doing so well."

"No, you really weren't," Maria said, leaning against the wall.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lani asked insulted.

"It means you acted stupid," Maria said bluntly.

"It got Mitch's attention," Lani defended.

"Yeah, because he thought you had brain damage," Maria said sarcastically.

"You're the one who told me not to think," Lani pointed out.

"I meant that you need to take action, be yourself," Maria explained.  "Not try to imitate someone else."

"You always seem so confident and, in the cafe, the boys are all over you," Lani explained, staring at her shoes.  "I thought, if I acted like you, some of it will rub off on me."

Maria sighed.  "Do you know why that is?" she asked sympathetically.

"Because..." Lani said, struggling for the right way to say it.  "They say you look like a movie star?"

Maria shook her head.

"Then, what is it?" Lani asked, making eye contact with Maria.

"It's because I'm confident in who I am," Maria explained.  "Sure, good looks help but, if you're not sure about yourself, you fade into the woodwork."

"Are you serious?" Lani asked her disbelievingly.

"Trust me, sweetie, all it takes is confidence and you can wrap boys around your finger like that," Maria said, snapping her fingers.

"I don't want to wrap anyone around my finger," Lani said, shocked at Maria's declaration.  "I just want to get a date with Mitch."

"I'd hate to sound like an afterschool special but, for that to happen, you need to be confident in who you are," Maria explained.

"How do I do that?" Lani asked.

"Just find your comfort zone," Maria said thoughtfully.  "For instance, what all do you like?"

"Well, I like manga, I love music, especially Paramore, I want to start my own band and I'm skilled in a number of instruments," Lani explained, holding her chin thoughtfully.

"Is the guitar one of them?" Maria asked unexpectedly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because your dream boy's tuning one of them up," Maria said, pointing to Mitch doing just that.

Of course, Mitch worked at a music store and was in a band, so all Lani would have to do is show him her skills.  She'd just have to figure out how.

"Well, what are you waiting for?  Go get him," Maria told her.

"I will!" Lani said blushing.  "I'm just waiting for the right moment."

"Honey, you play the guitar and he's fixing a guitar.  I'd say that this is the right moment," Maria observed.

"All right, I'll go!" Lani told Maria exasperated.

Lani walked up to Mitch and practiced what she was going to say in her head.

"Hi, Mitch," Lani said, her voice an octave higher than usual.  "Are you playing guitar?"

"Lani," Mitch said, turning to face her.  "I was supposed to be tuning the guitars, but I ended up playing one a bit."

"Goofing off on the job?" Lani joked.

"That's one way of putting it," Mitch said laughing.  "Do you know how to play?"

"Yeah," Lani told him, maintaining eye contact.  "I think I'm decent at it."

"Really?" Mitch said interested.  "I'd love to see you play."

"Sure," Lani said, grabbing a nearby guitar.  "I mean, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Mitch said, shrugging his shoulders.  "Someone might as well get some use out of them."

"What do you mean?" Lani asked, holding the guitar steady.

"Our instruments don't sell well," Mitch explained, sounding melancholy.  "I think it's because a lot of our customers don't really know how to play them."

"How about offering lessons as well?" Lani asked, before she could stop herself.

"Lessons?" Mitch asked intrigued.

"I mean, offer to teach people how to play the instruments you sell," Lani explained, feeling a slight blush creep to her cheeks.

"That sounds like a good idea," Mitch told her.

"Really?  You think so?" Lani asked, flattered that Mitch would compliment her in such a way.

"Yeah, I think I'll tell my boss about it when he gets back in," Mitch reassured her.  "Don't worry, I'll tell him that it was your idea."

"Thank you!" Lani said, feeling proud and embarrassed at the same time.  "Sorry to say that I won't be buying them."

"Then maybe you can take a part time job as an instructor," Mitch suggested, then softened it a bit.  "I mean, if the cafe doesn't keep you too busy."

"It's definitely something to think about," Lani told him.

"Thanks, though there's no guarantee that the boss will take it," Mitch said, looking around the music store.  "Hey, I was thinking.  Since there aren't too many people here and none of them need any help, why don't we have a guitar battle?"

"A guitar battle?" Lani asked, looking at the instrument in her hand.  "You mean show each other what we've got?"

"Yeah, if you're up for it," Mitch said softly.

"I'm up for it," Lani said, strumming her guitar and singing Emergency.

Mitch strummed his own guitar, singing Wonderwall.  Lani and Mitch were playing guitar and singing for two songs that were so different from each other.  It was quite a sight to see.  Lani imagined her and Mitch on a stage, the seats packed with adoring fans and each one of them cheering more loudly than the next.  Maybe she hadn't gotten exactly what she wanted, but this was a step in the right direction.