Can I Help You? (OPEN)

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina had kept busy at From The Spectrum, due to students going back to school at Hammel. A lot of kids had come and gone, with either the intention to window shop or to buy themselves a new school wardrobe. She had received a lot of hours over the summer, in preparation for the fall when university started and she would have to cut back on her hours. Today, Kristina had been floating around the various departments, helping out whoever needed a hand in getting the right size, a fitting room, or outfit ideas. It wasn't the best job match for the Czech girl, but she got by.

Straightening a cardigan on one of the mannequins, Kristina's eyes landed on someone who looked a little lost in the store. Perhaps it was their first time? Like a light, a beaming smile appeared on her face as she made her way over to the person, adjusting shorts and dresses on the rack along the way. "Hello, is everything going alright today?" She asked. Although her face didn't show it, Kristina's voice lacked the fake, overenthusiastic tone one would expect from a young woman working in a clothing store. She didn't want to annoy anyone. "If you need any help with anything, just let me know." Kristina smiled, turning to adjust and refold a pile of shirts nearby while waiting for an answer.

[Lucas Blacke]

A few days had passed since the little situation in the coffee shop with both Karalie and Marnie which he did not feel all that great about. Not only did the two girls get off on the wrong foot but Luke realized he didn't even know the birthday of Marnie. In hindsight he figured that he could have known since she wore a red dress. Luke suddenly widened his eyes. ''What if that dress was meant for me?'' This was something he would not get to know for quite some time, if ever but it did make him think on maybe getting some new clothes to impress like Marnie maybe had done.

His mind wandered from place to place when he happened upon a nice looking store and decided to go take a look, maybe he'd find something nice to surprise Karalie with. He walked in, looked around a bit and noticed a woman approaching. Luke had to hold back from making inappropriate comments right off the bat, beating himself mentally as he let out a cough. ''Everything is fine, thank you.'' He replied with a feint smile as he turned towards a rack of clothes and widened his eyes with a sigh. ''I hope..'' He added under his breath.

He turned to face the woman again who had now taken up folding shirts which already had been folded. Luke showed confusion in both the fact that the girl refolded what had already been folded and the fact that he knew nothing of clothing. He usually just took what looked funny, which mostly resulted in him wearing clothes with less than appropriate text on them.

''I think I kinda need help with something.'' He said with a smile.

[Kristina Novak]

When she approached the young man, Kristina smiled and waited for a response. He assured her that everything was okay, and she was ready to move on and find another customer who required assistance. Again, she wasn't a pushy saleperson, and preferred it that way. Why force herself on someone when it would only lead to irritability?

She turned, folding the shirts on display in the red section, her fingers smoothing out the already perfect fabrics. Kristina began humming underneath her breath, wishing that her shift would be over soon. Not that she didn't like working; her coworkers were nice and the job paid well, but on the slower days such as today, the shift seemed much longer. Then, the man admitted that he needed help.

Turning, the Czech girl faced the black haired stranger with a soft smile. "Sure thing. What are you looking for today? For yourself? Someone else?" She asked, adjusting the watch on her wrist.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke hesitated slightly, questioning if what he did was the right thing. He was just shopping for clothes, right? Surely that couldn't backfire even if you tried, right? But that question didn't need an answer, the one posed did. He didn't know for sure himself. He was technically shopping for someone else, but at the same time shopping for himself.

The boy brought a finger to his chin and let out a hummming sound. ''I'm looking for clothes for myself.'' He replied as he looked down at the shirt he was wearing. This one was pretty mild and just bore the word 'annoying' with a giant orange cross above it.

''It'd help tons if I had some variation in my wardrobe. All I have right now are these funshirts, which I realize can be pretty inappropriate at times.'' He cracked a smile and continued.

''It also wouldn't hurt if it impressed this girl I know.''
Obvbiously he and Karalie were together, and there was no need to impress her any more, but he still wanted to.

''I guess I'm looking for something you'd describe as a suit or something.''

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina could sense the younger man's hesitation, but said nothing about it. She was serious and professional, especially at work. While the company of her roommates Jade and Brooke was helping the Czech girl loosen up, she was still... serious. She stood, with a hand on her hip, nodding thoughtfully as he explained what he needed. A tight lipped twitch of a smile appeared as he joked about the shirt he was wearing (which made no sense whatsoever to Kristina. Why did it say annoying? Why was there a cross? Was it a statement of some sort?)

"Well then..." Kristina paused. "What's your name?" Another pause. "Mine is Kristina." She preferred referring to him on a first name basis. "You've come to the right place then. I'm confident we'll be able to find you something nice today, an outfit or two." Nodding, her gaze went across the store, knowing the exact first thing he needed.

"I think what we'll start with is finding essential wardrobe basics. Something you can dress up or dress down." She said with a soft smile. "I'm thinking a blazer or sports jacket paired with a nice button down shirt, and then khakis and jeans if casual or a pair of slacks to dress up." Eyeing the customer, Kristina gestured towards the men's section. "Here, follow me."

[Lucas Blacke]

''Pleased to meet ya, Kristina.'' Lucas said with a smile as she asked for his name, which struck him as a bit odd. Granted, he'd never gone to a clothing store like this before, maybe a first name basis went hand in hand with a serious clothing store or something.

He shrugged a bit. ''Lucas.'' He replied, not really feeling any need to elaborate or just introduce himself with his nickname or even his signature bow. Maybe Karalie had changed him without him even realizing. Not that he minded, not for her.

Luke snapped back as Kristina mentioned her confidence in finding something nice for him which instantly brought rise to the thought that he didn't want nice, he wanted something that fit. And something that cought the attention of.. well.. her. He mentally rolled his eyes with a smile.

Wardrobe basics..? Luke gave the woman a confused look as he was pretty sure he already owned pants and shirts. Something he could dress up or dress down..? He wanted clothes, not a mannequin! And then she mentioned what she had in mind of terms of clothing and began throwing terms around like sports jackets and khakis.

She walked towards another area of the store and told Luke to follow, whic he did as he kept a look of confusion going. He wasn't sure what to say, would it be okay for him to say he knew fuck all about clothes? He was the kind of guy who wore clothes instead of looking at them, he never quite got the need for people to look good.

It were people who made clothes work in his eyes, not the other way around.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina didn't know if being on a first name basis was part of the job description or not, but it was a personal preference of hers. She wanted to be able to talk to him one on one, and without knowing his name, it made it a little bit hard. "You as well, Lucas." She greeted in return, continuing to lead him to their destination.

The silence was either Lucas silently agreeing to whatever she was saying, or him not saying anything due to confusion. She turned around, seeing from his facial expression that it was the latter. "I was just suggesting those because they can be worn everyday or paired with the right items, fancy. They're more versatile than a suit."

Pausing in front of a rack, Kristina clasped her hands together. "But if you do want a suit, I can show you those." She offered. It was up to him, really. Gesturing to a rack of sports jackets, the Czech girl pulled out a black one with a smile. "A nice jacket like this is incredibly versatile for men, in my opinion." She hoped that Lucas wouldn't consider her opinion void since she was a female. "With a nice pair of slacks and a button up, you'll leave quite the impression."

[Lucas Blacke]

''Um.'' Luke was pretty dumbstruck as Kristina greeted him and led him through the store, he didn't know what to say, or even if he should say something. He was okay with people, that wasn't the problem. But he didn't know anything about clothes. He decided to just keep his mouth shut for the moment, until Kristina said something about it being just a suggestion and that those suggestions were more versatile than suits and.. what? Luke nodded and went with it.

They got to a rack of clothes and Luke began eyeing what was on there, quite liking what he saw he was about to say he'd take one as Kristina said she could show him suits. Wait, so this rack wasn't part of the tour? Luke plastered a smile on his face and tried to open his mouth as Kristina went on to yet another rack and this time did include it in the tour.

She pulled out a black sports jacket and smiled, saying it was versatile for men, (so, not for women?) and continued by saying he'd leave quite the impression with a nice pair of slacks and a button up to go with it.

''Listen, Kristina.'' He began hesitantly as he scratched the back of his head. ''I think ya get this quite alot with men in a clothing store, but I know shit about clothing.''

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina assumed that Lucas was doing alright, since he wasn't protesting. She figured it was the typical case of a man not knowing what to do in a clothing store. She'd encountered people just like Lucas on an almost daily basis. Their confused faces and lack of conversation said everything she needed to know. Hopefully, Kristina would be able to send him on his way with an outfit or at least an article of clothing.

She kept doing her thing, until they got to the jackets and other nicer clothes in the store. Of course, woman could also make use of a nice black blazer but it was in her experience that it was mostly men looking for the wardrobe staple. Her head snapped up when Lucas began talking, an amused smile flashing across her face. "I do get that a lot." The Czech girl tapped on her chin. "Well, if you're looking to impress this girl, I think it would help a lot." She held onto the hanger of the jacket, also picking out a pair of nice slacks and a light blue button up shirt that complimented his eyes well. She held up the outfit. "What do you think? Want to go try it on?"

[Lucas Blacke]

They walked across several other clothing racks and Luke was honestly stumped. Was he supposed to look or just follow the woman like a lapdog? Why'd he ask for her help in the first place? If it were just him he'd pick something out and went with it. But instead his one was giving him choice, he hated choice; it was so 'choice-y'.

Kristina finally came to aa full stop as she turned around and acknowledged and both confirmed Luke's comment about not knowing shit about clothes. This was both a relief and a little bit insulting. He wanted to know stuff, but the realization of his limits came at him like a train down a tunnel.

She held up a complete outfit and mentioned it might help impress this girl he was after and if he wanted to try it on. He shrugged and nodded slowly. ''I do, I think.''

He wasn't all too sure on what to say and do anymore. This was new territory for him, he wasn't used to nice people.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina figured that if she gave Lucas a choice, it would help her understand his taste and preferences better. Maybe it was her delving too deep in the job, but it was something that she enjoyed doing.

Soon after, she realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea. Instead, she decided to try and convince him to try the outfit on by bringing up the girl he briefly mentioned earlier during their conversation. Kristina offered him a small, professional smile. "Excellent. Let's head to the dressing rooms then."

A few more steps and slightly to the left, and the two were by the dressing rooms. She grabbed one of the tags that had a '3' on it, slippng it onto the door handle and unlocking it so Lucas had the chance to try the outfit out. "Let me know if you need a different size or anything." She said, letting the door fall open to a nice, well lit room with mirrors all around.

[Lucas Blacke]

As expected, as soon as Luke said he wanted to try the clothes on Kristina led him through another part of the store passing many more clothes. Slowly the boy began to see what could be a good choice for him. He simply shrugged and tried not to think too much about what he wanted, what could were the chances he could make a good choice? Might just want to leave that to the pro. And it didn't hurt that the pro in this case wasn't all that bad on the eyes, he followed her with glee and caught himself looking at what he shouldn't be looking at. For some reason it made him feel guilty as he thought about Karalie and chose to just focus on the back of Kristina's head.

They soon reached what Luke assumed were the dressing rooms. He nodded slightly with a smile as the woman opened a stall for him to enter and handed him the pile of clothes. Luke took a look around the room and saw mirrors all around. ''Yup. Because I'm not insecure enough.'' Luke sighed as he shut the door, only briefly opening it. ''Sorry, did you need to join or something?''

Luke slammed the door shut instantly and facepalmed. Why in the name of all things both holy and unholy would he go and say something like that?! Was he trying to get Karalie mad at him, make his life a living hell?

He took a deep breath and after a few minutes he hung the clothes over the door and opened the stall to step outside in his own clothes (but without shoes) and looked at Kristina.

''I uhh, think I need something a bit bigger. I like how they look, so could you maybe, I dunno, get me that in a slightly bigger size?''

[Kristina Novak]

Luckily for Lucas, Kristina was naive enough that she wouldn't catch him looking unless it was quire blatant. A lot of stuff like that flew over her head, especially from men. She hummed some radio song under her breath to the short journey to the dressing rooms. It wasn't busy in the store today, so he didn't have to wait for one to open up. His first comment got a snort out of the Czech girl; the 360 degree mirrors were awkward for the majority of customers. "Most people say that. But then you get to see every angle... I think it's quite helpful." She offered as a positive note. She waited outside, patiently, until Lucas peeked out a few seconds later.

And then came his next comment.

The usual smile that painted Kristina's face fell. She didn't know what to say, mostly because nobody had ever said that sort of thing to her. That, and the fact that she was a lesbian, meant Kristina would only be interested if Lucas was a girl... which she definitely doubted. Kristina decided it would be best just to ignore the comment and go on like it never happened.

Arms crossed in front of her body, Kristina perked up when he opened the door again. "Yeah, sure thing." She said with a smile. "I'll go one size up and you can see how that works for you. I'll be back." She told him, taking the ill fitting clothes to return them and to get the next size.

She came back a minute later. "Alright. Hopefully this works out better for you."

[Lucas Blacke]

''My god that ass is-'' Luke nearly bit off his own tongue at the thought. Was one girl not enough for him or something? Did he have to go around fawning around every woman he could find? With a silent chuckle he concluded that even if someone were to be persuaded by his comments he wouldn't know what the fuck to do.

Wait, wasn't that what the janitor bitch had said to him? Sadly enough she was right.

He turned his attention to what he was wearing. Despite not being able to close anything [he blamed muscles, not fat] he looked quite snazzy, and as Kristina had argued, the 360 mirrors did come in handy as Luke could investigate his own plump and juicy ass. And the fabric around it. He nearly jumped when the woman returned with the clothes he wanted in a slightly bigger size and nearly tripped against the door as his pants began to slide down.

He pulled them up and opened the door, consciously avoiding eye contact with the woman for now and just taking the new clothes in the hopes that they did fit and offering a silent thank you as he retreated into the dressing room. The new clothes seemed to fit alright; they closed up neatly. So now was the time to face the music.

With his new getup on and on his socks he sighed, slowly pushing the door open to look at Kristina, mustering up his most innocent smile.

''So, how do I look?''

[Kristina Novak]

When Lucas closed the door to the dressing room, Kristina allowed the blush to escape and paint the colour of her cheeks. She looked to one of the mirrors beside her, waving her hands in front of her face to try and cool it down. God, that was embarrassing. Had she been a more vocal girl, maybe Kristina would have said something snarky, like Jade would've. The thought of her roommate only made her cheeks deepen in colour and Kristina wished that she could go running out of the store front and take a break in the back.

Only, that wasn't a feasible option at the moment. She wasn't going to leave Lucas by himself in the dressing room and besides, it wouldn't be much longer. She returned with the clothes, which apparently had startled the younger man. He was avoiding eye contact with her, which was alright for the time being. Her cheeks weren't as red anymore.

A few minutes after that, and Lucas stepped out of the changing room. Her eyes lifted to meet his, a soft smile appearing on her face. "It looks good on you. I think you'll make quite the impression on that girl." She said, a genuine compliment. He did look good. "But the important thing is how do you feel in it?"