Around a quarter to one, Gen walked up to the deli, his heart pounding, and palms sweaty. He hadn’t ever come to this department before because of all the people and he was scared as hell. Quit being such a little bitch! He continuously yelled at himself. He knew if he ever planned on overcoming his social phobias and anxieties, he had to be willing to do things that were uncomfortable, like talking to the girl at the service deli.

He stood there by the meat and cheese case, almost towering over it, looking every bit the villain in an anime in his thick black hoodie and cargo pants, his mohawk slicked back and his piercings glinting in the store’s fluorescent lighting. His perpetual scowl also didn’t help. 

The girl looked up from what she was doing and, seeing him, jumped slightly. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his appearance, or because he had walked up so quietly. 

“Hi!” she said brightly. “What can I do for you?”

Ok, don’t fuck this up. First, just say hi.

Gen opened his mouth to say hello…and just one sound, a quiet “uhh” came out. He swallowed, tried again. “I–I uh…” 

The girl watched him, equal parts patient and curious. He had a name tag attached crookedly to his sweater so she figured he worked there, but she hadn’t ever seen him before. A guy his size would be hard to miss, though, wouldn’t he? 

Gen wiped his palms on the inside of hoodie pocket and took a deep breath. “Is R-Riley h-here, please?” You forgot to say hi you fucking idiot! “Hello.” He added as an afterthought, the word coming out louder than intended. He blushed and growled at himself. You are the absolute worst.

The girl giggled. “Don’t talk much to people, do you?” Mika had said the same thing when they first started talking.

Gen shook his head. “Mm-mm.”

“Don’t worry, my brother’s the same way.” She had a really pretty and friendly smile. “Riley’s in the kitchen, I’ll go get him for you, wait here.” She turned and called for Riley and Gen exhaled in relief. Okay, he managed five words, a noise, and a negative response of two throat grunts that didn’t sound like the language of the Neanderthals. Good start.

She came back a second later, Riley in tow. He was untying a slick black apron from around him when he saw Gen and he beamed.

“My dude! Is it time already?”

Gen nodded. “I think Mika and Kelly are already out by the truck,” he said smoothly in a low voice. The girl’s eyebrows went up. Yep, exactly like Brandon, she thought. She expected that once they were outside, he would be able to talk normally and at a regular volume. Because she was there, he was still uncomfortable and self-conscious. 

“Killer, give me one sec and we can clock out and go.” He headed back to the kitchen, leaving Gen alone with the girl with the big smile and freckles.

He had no clue what to do now. Stand there and wait, or move over somewhere else just in case other customers walked up? 

“I’m Beth,” the girl said.

Gen started. “Huh?” was his eloquent response.

She giggled. “I’m Beth!” she said, again. She reached a hand over the top of the case, standing on tiptoes. “It’s nice to meet you…Gen?” 

Gen’s eyes darted from her face to his nametag and back to her. “Oh, uh…yeah, I’m…Gen.” He hesitantly reached out and took her hand.

“Great! Now there’s one less person to fear.” She had such a wide open and honest face with dazzling green eyes. “Brandon, my brother, says that every time he makes one new friend, he loses one pretend foe. Doesn’t matter if it’s games or IRL.”

Gen gave a small grin. “That’s cool,” he said in that low voice. He really had never thought of it that way. This Brandon kid had an interesting perspective on life. 

“Yep! He still struggles with his anxieties, but he works hard at it every day. You have completed a quest successfully, young lord, proceed!”

Gen liked this girl. He laughed and she smiled broadly. Riley came out, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He bopped Beth on the head gently. “I’m out of here, paladin. Mind the fort, yeah?”

“Aye aye, Captain!” She wiggled her fingers at Gen. “See you around, Gen.”

“Yeah,” Gen said, running a hand through his mohawk. “See you.” He and Riley tapped knuckles as they walked to the time clock by the office. “She seems cool,” he said.

“Beth? Chick is somethin’ else,” Riley chuckled. “In a good way, though. If you could have had anyone as your first conversation attempt, it had to be her. She’s the best.”

“What’s up with her brother?” Gen punched out and Riley did the same and they turned to head for the door. 

“Severe social anxiety disorder, same as you. He’s better when he’s online because he can’t see who he’s talking to. It’s still hard, but he does okay. He’s a good kid, too. Sweet and funny, just like Beth. Once he gets to know you, he opens up.”

“Same as me,” Gen nodded.

“One more friend is one less pretend foe,” Riley agreed. “I’ve heard Brandon say that more than once. Smart for a thirteen year old.”

“I’ll say,” Gen chuckled. 

“Did I hear you say Gen made a new friend?” Kelly said, excitedly. 

“He met Beth,” Riley nodded, wrapping her in a hug and landing a kiss on the side of her head, producing a glorious smile from her painted lips.

“I like Beth, she’s really cool. Definitely a nerd, but it adds to her charm.”

“Where’s Mika?” Gen asked, not seeing him anywhere.

She thumbed behind her at the car. “He’s on the phone with someone. Did you know he spoke fluent Japanese? I thought he just knew a few phrases.”

Gen nodded. He and Mika had talked about it once during a study session. “His dad taught him when he was little and he kept up with it in secret after he died. I don’t think his mom even knows.”

“He watches dubbed anime, though,” Riley said.

“Both,” Gen said, “Mostly dubbed, yeah, but he watches some shows with the original Japanese as well. He says it keeps it fresh in his mind, plus he enjoys hearing it.” 

Mika came out of the car, the final words of a polite Japanese goodbye being heard before he ended the call and said immediately, “Okay, so I asked an old friend of my dad’s if he wouldn’t mind scoping out Seth’s place to make sure there won’t be any issues. He’s been there for a couple of hours and he said there are a couple of people there he has concerns about but that there shouldn’t be any major issues so long as we move quickly. ‘Get in, get out,’ is how he put it.”

He was walking around the car as he spoke, then went up to Gen to give him a kiss. “How was work?”

Gen shrugged. “Load it up, stock it, toss the trash, rinse, lather, repeat.”

“Nice of you to forget the part about talking to a girl,” Riley said.

Mika’s eyes widened. “You talked to someone?” he said, excitedly.

“Yeah, the girl Beth at the deli. All I did was ask if Riley was there. Barely could manage anything more than that.”

Mika threw his arms around Gen’s neck with a laugh. “But you did it! I’m proud of you, Genya.” He kissed him again. Gen smiled, and hugged him back.

“Shall we go?” Riley said. “Sooner in, sooner we get out.” He looked at Kelly. “How much is there?”

She shook her head. “Not much, just some clothes and bathroom stuff. I’m really not looking forward to having to deal with him at all, though.”

“We’ll be right there with you,” Riley said, taking her hand. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Marcus is already on his way over there,” Mika said, checking his texts. He said to Kelly, “Leave your car here, it’ll be safe.”

Kelly nodded. “Let’s do this.” She took out her phone and tapped out a message telling Seth they were on their way to get her stuff and to not cause any problems for her. She just wanted her things and she’d be gone.

As they separated, Mika and Gen to his truck, and Riley and Kelly to Riley’s SUV, Seth responded.

Just come get your shit, I won’t start anything.

With that evidence in hand should he actually decide to start anything, they all drove off down the road, Gen following close behind Riley.