A Sight to See

Nathaniel brushed brown, wispy bangs from his eyes, raking back the rest of his hair. He could get used to this, short hair, that is. He had been told he looked like a creeper with his longer hair, so he finally took their advice and cut it. He made sure the front of his hair was longer than the back, but the front was only long enough to keep from looking stalker-ish again. For now, he was playing with a few ideas of what his now short hair should look like from now on. He kept reading glasses in his back pocket, rarely using them though dyslexia hit him sometimes. He memorized things by color and shape when he had to avoid reading. He grabbed his key chain and headed out for his car.

He could swear they had only employed him for his British accent. He only accepted this job because he needed the money. Community college was a hefty sum of money, as it was. His parents, on vacation for the time being, didn't help pay for much anyway. He checked in, slinging the ID card around his neck. Personally, he didn't care for the picture, but customers usually preferred watching the real him. He found his accent fascinated most Americans when they didn't think he was making it up. He was a part-timer here, taking time here when his college schedule allowed. He was always busy, therefore ensuring him he wouldn't get bored with nothing to do.

Abercrombie & Fitch was fairly popular, especially among the female population of those who didn't have much to do with their lives and wanted brand name clothing when Wal-Mart could easily give them cheaper prices and sometimes better quality in clothing. He shouldn't complain though, it was these air heads that gave him his pay and tuition for schooling. Two years of this job paid him enough, well, including the multiple odd jobs he did around the neighborhood. At the moment he chose to scan the store, looking for misplaced things, or the rack of clothing that had been rejected by customers.

Work wasn't on the top of things Draylen liked to do, but he did it anyways. He needed money for everything, since his parents had decided to make him pay rent since he hadn't gotten far enough in his life, as they had said. It was harsh, but he understood, and he kept up with his payments with two part time jobs, and he was looking for something more permanent. Being fawned over by little pre-teens all day was somewhat annoying, but he dealt with it, simply tuning them out and telling himself he'd be done work soon.

Draylen leaned back on the chair sat in front of the cash register, putting his feet up on the desk. There were one or two little girls giggling in a corner and looking at some clothes, or employees, and maybe two other members of the staff working there. He had only been working in Abercrombie & Fitch for about a month now, and his shifts were irregular, so he hadn't gotten to know many of the people who worked there. But as long as he wasn't alone in the store, he was fine. That was one of the bonuses in working there. It was rarely empty, so it wasn't as creepy. He quickly took his feet off the desk as a lady walked up with her child who couldn't be older than six, and was buying her double zero sized clothing.

Holding back a roll of the eyes, Draylen plastered a smile on his face and helped with the customer, working the computer almost automatically. He sighed once they were gone, sitting back down and looking around the store. He paused for a moment in his scanning, looking curiously at one of the other employees. He was rather attractive, but that wasn't why he was looking. He stood up for a moment, walking as far as he could towards him without leaving the counter. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at him, contemplating. He took a deep breath, deciding to take his chances, even if he was labelled as a freak or something. It had happened before.

"Hey!" he spoke to grab the other man's attention before continuing to speak. "Um. . . I'm Draylen. Are you. . . uhh. . . sensitive? Like, spiritually?" he asked hesitantly, resting one elbow on the counter and leaning over it casually, biting his lip lightly. People normally ignored this question, or looked at him weird, but occasionally he found people who were in fact. It always gave him a bit of a thrill to find others like him, in any kind of way.

Looking up as he was called, almost thinking it had been a customer asking for help, Nathaniel looked over to see another employee asking him an odd question that would certainly earn looks had he not understood. Nearing him, since he wasn't ultimately doing that much anyway, Nathaniel examined him, not someone who he saw regularly. "Beg pardon?" he asked, "spiritually sensitive, hm?" He could read tarot cards, the cards spoke to him, in a sense. He even had them on him right now. All 78 cards wrapped in a handkerchief in his pocket. They made him feel calmer when he had them on his person, which was most of the time. "How could you tell?" he asked, hand going to where the cards were. He hadn't encountered anyone who had asked him before, he hadn't even considered what he had was any sort of spiritual sensitivity. He counted everything that happened to him as normal human reactions. Excessive deja vu on things he was positive didn't happen was something he believed as hallucinations, but never knew how to ask someone if they shared the same thing.

He stuck his hand out, the one that wasn't connected to the cards. "Hallo. I'm Nathaniel. I suppose to an extent I do indeed have a bit of spiritual sensitivity." He had to keep his voice low, lest customers overhear and complain or something. He understood that many didn't believe in any of that, due to some religious set back or something.

The first thing Draylen noticed about this person once he spoke was that he was British, which was rather interesting. He had alwas loved the accents, but didn't run across them very often. He felt rather self concious when his question was repeated, and he felt a bit foolish. He was about to say something to make himself sound less stupid, when he was asked how he knew. He instantly relaxed, and grinned slighly. He had caught the hand going to his pocket, and he was curious about it, but he didn't say anything. He took the hand, pretty happy about how this was going. "That's cool. I knew, well, more like guessed, but I guess I sense other people as well. It's a bit weird. I get it wrong alot" he explained, shaking back a bit of his hair, that often covered his green eyes. It was always exciting meetng somebody knew who had the Sight in some shape or form.

"Hmm, why bother wagging about it then, if you get it wrong most of the time?" he asked, eyes locking to the green ones. Did Americans usually have interesting eyes? Well, the British really didn't either, but who had interesting eyes these days? Perhaps it had something to do with whatever power Draylen held. "I could say mine is rather lacking, if I have it at all. I'm simply a reader with a few visions here and there." For all he knew, his mind conjured those up just to entertain himself, or put himself above the normal Americans that had nothing good going on. "What might you have?" he questioned him, already knowing he had some sort of sensing ability, no matter how many times he might have been wrong. Maybe he had been right, but the people themselves hadn't known.

Draylen shrugged at the question, not all too sure himself. "Well, I guess just to prove to myself I'm not the only one?" this was the solution he came up with most often when he thought that over. He smiled slightly as he listened, shaking his head and dropping his gaze for a moment before looking back up. "That's not exactly lacking. That's pretty sick. I can't read for shit. My friend tried to show me a few years back. I, ah, sense ghosts, see them, hear them, and it tends to scare the hell out of me" he explained, shrugging. Whenever he got those feelings, he tended to stiffen and forget what to do other than run the other way.

"It is rather unfortunate when one has the gift, or maybe curse, of Sight, but sees it as nothing but a cock up." Nathaniel made a face, he wasn't supposed to use some slang at work because Americans took it wrong. "Pardon. A mistake, I mean." He didn't really like having to American-ize his vocab, but keeping a job was important, and not getting kicked out of class was also important. Anywhere else had been decided as fine. Public, sure, why not. Places that were more strict with rules though were carefully treaded, unless he wasn't thinking. "Sick? Pretty sick?" he asked, confused and realizing it was more slang.

Draylen raised an eyebrow at the expression, a bit confused by it, although figuring it was British. "Yeah. I sometimes wish I didn't have it because it scares me, but it can be pretty cool sometimes. Warns me against people and such" he shrugged, straighening up from where he was leaning on the counter. He grinned when Nathaniel seemed to not understand what he had said about it being sick. "Ah, awesome. Sorry" he explained himself, and made a mental note to keep his slang to a minimum, although it was rather difficult, with it being in his everyday vocabulary.

"I see," he replied, understanding it when they put it in better terms that didn't have so many other meanings. Most people didn't do this, they just gave him a dirty look thinking he was either playing dumb, or was mentally stupid and daft in the head for not knowing what it meant. "Er, what exactly did you hope to accomplish by asking about spiritual senses?" he asked, wondering if the boss was looking that they were yakking about and not doing their work. He did a quick check to make sure no one needed any assistance.

Draylen was silent for a moment, thinking about that. "Umm. . . I honestly have no idea. Impulse I guess. Whenever I think somebody's got the Sight, I automatically ask" he shrugged, passing it off as something that wasn't a big deal, but he was in a great mood now, finding somebody else. And Nathaniel worked with him, so they would probably be around each other on whatever shifts they got. Just being around somebody like him made Draylen feel better, as if he wasn't alone, which was one of the things that scared him the most.

"Perhaps we should carry this conversation elsewhere. My shift doesn't end for a bit, and I don't know yours. How about a meet up later?" he asked, taking paper from a notepad at the register. He scribbled down his number and handed it to Draylen. "Give me a ring later on, or if we get off at the same time, keep my number." This other male seemed interested enough to call him, and he was the first American he willingly gave his phone number to. Customers sometimes asked him when he was getting off work so they could try to hook up, or when he said no, they'd ask for his phone number. That was always denied flat, he hoped none of them had seen him hand over his phone number to this other worker.

Draylen blinked for a moment before smiling, giving a nod. "Sure. Sounds good" he grinned, accepting the piece of paper and sticking it in his back pocket. He hadn't got somebody's number in a long time, and it was pleasing, to be making a new friend of sorts. Between his jobs, he didn't get to see his friends very often, most of them off at University anyways. "I'll, ah, talk to you later then" he said, glancing at the giggling girls approaching the cash with armfulls of clothing. This was going to be great. He gave a wave to Nathaniel, grinning before taking the few steps to stand in the middle of the desk, hating that he had to deal with people like this. He was in a good mood now though, so it would dull the pain these girls would be.

Nathaniel slunk off to find something to do. His job wasn't normally this eventful, and this was just meeting some new person. School was more eventful than this place, also saying something due to the fact that all the teachers did was lecture about junk that needed to be studied in their own time. He managed to help a few girls find some clothing, sort some misplaced items, and replace the rejected items that had been tried on. There was something about the idea that these clothes had been on random bodies and left there that made Nathaniel make a face for every time he had to touch them and put them back where they belonged. This was why he washed his new clothes before wearing them the first time.

Checking the clothes out for the little girls took Draylen about ten minutes, as well as them purposely being slow in paying, dropping things and fumbling, giggling the whole time. He was as patient as possible, smiling the whole time and being friendly. It was part of his job. Not soon enough, the end of his shift came, his freedom with it. He got up and stretched as a girl came to take over for him. He took his ID off and shoved it in his back pocket where Nathaniel's phone number was, wondering when he got off work, if he wasn't already.

Nathaniel removed his ID badge and put it in the pocket that his tarot cards weren't in. Three to choose from, pretty easy to decide which one to use. He looked over to the counter, looking for Draylen. Luck had it that they were getting off at the same time, rather, he didn't believe much in luck. Fate, fortune, destiny, his cards. He believed in his cards. "Hey, Draylen," he said, "ready to go?" Draylen looked more than ready to leave, not that the reader could blame him. Cashier job was a long, boring waste of day sitting in front of the box full of money, telling people how much they owed.

Draylen looked over when he heard his name being called, knowing who it was immediatly just from the accent. "Yeah, sure" he said, smiling and walking over, hands in his pockets. "Uhh, where do you wanna go? I'm fine anywhere" he shrugged, looking up at him. Nathaniel was a few inches taller than him, from what he could tell, and he looked to be a bit older, but he didn't mind. He would be glad to get out of the stupid store and it's little girls and the ghostie in the changerooms.

"I could use some coffee, actually. Statbucks, how about?" he asked, patting around for his wallet. He, like many, didn't leave home without it. It was in one of his pockets. He also wasn't getting paid until the end of the week. The last thing he bought was ramen packages from the convenience store, needing to conserve as much money as he could for his college classes. Debts were quite the blast. Starbucks was a pricey coffee place, but the coffee certainly was good.

Draylen nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Sounds good. I'm always up for some Starbucks" he grinned slightly, starting to walk out of the store, eager to leave the world of pubescent little girls. It had been a while since he went out with a friend for some coffee or something, so this would be a nice change. He headed into the mall, turning in the direction of the Starbucks, not even really needing to pay attention to where he was going. He had been navigating this mall for almost his entire life.

"After you," the reader said, following Draylen to the coffee shop. "This place is ace." Ace should be something Americans understood. Ace could at least sound like he meant cool. He could use British that sounded connectible to American speech if Draylen wanted. He didn't care to explain himself sometimes, when they had no idea what he meant. British slang sounded at least more intelligent than the Americans who sounded like they made things up on the spot.

((you know your familys weird when your mom pokes your nose, and says youre a healthy puppy because your nose is cold))

Draylen laughed slightly at the slang he used, understanding it, but it wasn't something he heard ever. "How long have you been living here for?" he asked, able to tell from the accent and words he used that it couldn't have been a very large chunk of his life. After a while people adapted, taking on slang and curses, and losing their accents as they years went by. He led the short distance to the Starbucks, avoiding certain people every once and a while on impulse, finally heading into the coffee shop and scanning for a seat.

((That's actually adorable in a sense. At least she has a sense of humor))

"Too long, I say," Nathaniel replied. "Well, four years, to be exact. I hope to go back one day." America just wasn't his thing, he had gathered. He put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. He looked around at the people, felt the atmosphere of the place. "I'm rather easy about this place. Dear prices? Certainly, but I'd say it's all good." He supposed a medium of whatever wouldn't hurt his wallet much. "Looking for a seat? Person? Seat's over there."

((XD i was thinking 'wtf are you doing. . . ?'))

Draylen nodded as he listened, interested to hear. "Really? That's pretty cool. I'd love to travel one day. I've never left the US" It was obvious that Nathaniel didn't like America very much, but he couldn't really understand why. He was content there, as awesome as it would be to travel. Maybe it was all the patriotism drilled into his brain, but he loved his birthplace. "Mhmm. I come here whenever I have money. Avoid the back corner though" he advised, always having avoided it at all costs. "Do you want to grab a seat and I'll get drinks?" he offered, tilting his head to the side.

((No one does that to me. It sounds cute anyway))

Back corner? Did someone go there often that he didn't like? Nathaniel decided to wait until they sat down to ask. "Sure, grab me something cold," he asked, not caring too much what it was. "Caramel macchiato, if you will." A classmate had introduced him to the drink, both hot and cold version of it, in an outing once. He just decided he liked the cold version better, because the hot version was a little bitter sometimes. He reached for his wallet, pulling out five dollars, change from whatever he had bought last. He handed it to Draylen. "Small, please."

((XD it was weird. Shes not normally like that))

Draylen nodded, accepting the money. "Alright. See you in a few" he said, keeping the order in mind. He got in line, shaking his hair back and shifting his weight, knowing that half the people who worked there were extremely slow, so this might or might not take a long time. Once he got to the counter, a fair amount of time later, he ordered the small caramel macchiato, and a medium double double for himself. He payed and waited for the order, taking the drinks once they were placed on the corner, and scanned the room for Nathaniel.

((Sounds fun anyway >w<))

Nathaniel looked some of the people over in the place. A lot of people liked flashing their laptops off, it would seem. Never mind the fact that it could get pinched by anyone fast enough to tug the cord and run through the door. Why couldn't they just order coffee and go home to do whatever it was they were up to on the computers? He'd bet most of them were playing solitaire. He waved a lazy hand to Draylen, holding their orders and looking for him. Now to ask him about that corner booth.