Ding...Ding.
The glass and metal door at the front of 'Action Now!' Comics was pushed open and then closed, causing the small bell in the corner of its frame to chime.
The shuffling of sneakers making a beeline to the front counter was the only sound in the quiet shop about to close for the night... In about five minutes, the lights would be turned off, the doors locked with the alarm system activated, and the metal shutters drawn. The good tunes usually playing in the background were already turned off at this point.
Judging by the small, quick squeaks being made, the lack of a visible head over the 5-foot shelves, and the time left on the clock, it was clear that this was a kid who just made it to the store at the last second.
"Do you have any Radiant Black in yet?"
A pair of sneakers tilted and bent at an angle to lift their wearer's short and chubby frame just high enough to peek over the top of the counter.
This kid was wearing blue sweatpants and a Star Wars T-shirt, along with a red ball cap, the kind with snaps on the back. He had thick, dark hair styled in a bowl cut underneath the hat. His cute, round face was still flushed from the obvious running he had been doing to make it to the store on time.
Deep inhale. Big sigh. The man behind the counter had mostly finished closing down the store and was taking two minutes to relax before he left for the night. He already regretted not locking the front door and leaving through the back. It had been a long day full of catering to stinky nerds, after all, and he was tired.
He was just about to check his email to see if something important he was waiting for had arrived, but now this kid had stopped him. This was his own fault, however.
He left the front door open till the last second for this very reason normally, in case someone needed a last-minute comic, or was running late or something similar, yet he still felt compelled to stare with dead, half-closed eyes at the boy on principle for a different reason. He suddenly pursed his lips in a half grimace and looked annoyed.
The store's owner... no, that's not right. Comic Book Retailer? No... Sales Associate? Nah...
None of those were quite right. It would be best to call this man the store's shopkeeper. The owner of the store was never around much due to health complications and left things up to this extremely reliable employee completely.
The shopkeeper leaned forward and sighed again. "No... Levi... I already told you I would order it for you yesterday when you asked yesterday. When you left and the store got a little bit quiet, I made sure some issues were coming for you. I've told you before, we don't have too much Image in stock, despite them having good titles. I've sold a lot of 'Invincible' since it's come out as a TV series and have some of that, but you're the first to ask me for 'Radiant Black'. Good style for wanting to read Radiant Black, Levi, but come on—you were just here yesterday."
"Well, lots of stuff comes overnight in the mail... Just thought I'd check... Thank you for ordering it for me, Max... I'm sorry if I'm pestering you..." Levi pouted a little and half looked like he was going to cry.
Max, the shopkeeper, rolled his eyes at the crocodile tears that were about to make an appearance.
He actually lived down the hall from Levi and his parents in an apartment complex several blocks away from the comic shop.
He used to live in a decent two-level split with a detached two-car garage that had belonged to his recently deceased parents, until he received a letter in the mail two weeks after taking possession, announcing that his parents actually owed a LOT of back taxes on their properties. The house defaulted to the bank, as did the truck and the Porsche 964 that were inside of it.
Regularly seeing this kid on a day-to-day basis had created a soft spot for the little inner nerd in Max's heart, it was really sad to lose his parents and his childhood home, but some of the people living in the apartment helped make up for it a little.
"Alright, alright. You're always welcome here, buddy. You should know by now it takes 3–5 business days for most ordered comics to come in. Here, how about this?"
Max stood up, and standing at a solid 6 feet tall, was now looking down at Levi. He tilted his head toward one of the comic racks in the far corner of the shop.
"Follow me for a second. I've got something for you—to tide you over until your stuff comes in."
Max grinned, picked up a cardboard box he'd been meaning to toss from behind the counter, and headed toward the spot he'd just pointed out. Levi's eyes lit up as he trailed eagerly after him.
Max and Levi arrived at the rack of comics, and Max flipped through several random titles before pulling out issues 1–10 of 'Boom! Comics' Power Ranger run.
Levi's eyes squinted at the three heroic-looking 'Omega Rangers' on the cover of issue #1 and instantly smiled.
"Oh! Power Rangers!? Cool!"
"I figured you'd like that, buddy. You can hold onto these until your stuff comes in, okay?"
Levi shook his head up and down excitedly, really happy that he had come in to see Max.
"Alright, make sure you take care of them—I want 'em back in good shape, Levi. No snacking on greasy crap while you read them... Don't forget, I know where you live!"
Max raised his eyebrows and gave Levi a look while expertly sliding each of the ten comics into a protective, clear sleeve with a thin yet stiff cardboard backing. He definitely did not need to look at the thin comic issues while sleeving them, having done this literally thousands of times; Levi subconsciously thought this 'old dude' was the coolest and nodded in agreement, wanting to protect the comics now.
"Alright, you're all set, kid. Let me lock up, and I'll walk you home."
Levi nodded in agreement and headed to wait outside the shop while Max shut down the computer and locked everything up that needed locking. He figured that he would just check his email for the confirmation he was dreaming of when he got home after escorting Levi to the apartment building...
'Wait! That little shit could have just waited for me to get home to ask about Radiant Black... Damn!.. Finessed by a kid!'
Max suddenly realized Levi had gotten some free comics out of him once again. He thought about it and realized he didn't really care if those couple issues didn't return, if it made the kid happy.
His lips curled up, and he thought it was a shame the crafty kid wasn't older, so that he could make a business partner out of him!
After one last look around the room, Max picked up the padlock for the outside shutters from behind the front counter, made his way to the front, turned off the lights, and was just about to step out the door to get Levi when he heard the child speak.
"Sorry lady, the store is just closing. The owner is coming out now."
Max smiled when he heard Levi call him the owner. It wasn't true, but it felt pretty good to hear.
A sultry, soft-yet-husky voice called out in response.
"That's fine, little boy. I'll make sure to come by earlier next time... Oh, are there comic books inside that little box? Do you mind if I take a look, cutie?"
"Umm... yeah, Max let me have them since my stuff isn't here yet, I... I don't know..."
Warning sounds went off in Max's mind upon hearing the quick exchange. He slipped out the door lighting fast and stepped in between Levi and the voice that had made his hair stand on end.
He put his arm across Levi's chest and pulled him back behind him, away from the person who had halted in place before taking a look at her.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman with flawless white skin and long blonde hair was staring back at him, looking him up and down in interest.
She had gorgeous, almond-shaped eyes that were a bright amber color, a small, cute nose, and a perfect set of soft-looking lips.
Between that and the not-covering-very-much white dress hanging off her very curvy body, she just dripped sexiness.
She also had a fairly tall set of white high heels on, making her able to look Max in the eyes, and a white sun hat sat gracefully on her silky hair.
Max squinted at her and couldn't make up his mind if she was a supermodel he had never heard of before that was lost, or if she was the final boss of the 'Ladies of the Night' trying to proposition him.
At the moment Max had this thought, the odd beauty blushed a little, and the corners of her mouth curved up ever so slightly. Not enough that anyone would notice, however.
Max kept himself between her and Levi, while reaching backward with the shop key in his hand, locking both the primary lock and the deadbolt without looking, while asking, "Is there something I can help you with? If it's comics, models, manga, or card games and RPG tabletops, we have it or can get it for you... But as you can see, we just closed up."
He reached up and pulled down the store's metal shutters, letting them drop to the ground with a soft thud. He took the padlock from his pocket and handed it to Levi, all while keeping steady eye contact with the pale-skinned woman, who by now had Max almost convinced she might actually be a vampire or something.
"Oh, why yes! I've been a fan of comic books for a very long time! Now, tell me, does this place belong to you?.. Max, was it? I heard online that this was the 'Greatest little comic shop in all of North America!', that there was 'excitement guaranteed with every flip of the page!' to be found here."
Despite his suspicions, Max couldn't help but gulp a mouthful of saliva down and blush as the woman continued to look him up and down. Her sudden quote had also caught him off guard—especially since he was the one who had typed those exact words on Discord just days ago, boasting about 'Action Now! Comics' and slipping in a plug for the comic store during the conversation.
She leaned forward slightly, blinking a few times in a playful and alluring way, tilting her head just enough to look irresistibly charming.
And Max was indeed charmed.
He normally didn't take too much interest in women that he thought were using their looks and sex appeal to get what they wanted... In fact, he hated their type, but for some reason, he couldn't help but be attracted to her, his mind blanking out for a few moments while his heart started racing.