'Tis The Season For Redheads(Tatum)

[Deleted]

To say that Anthony was depressed was a large understatement. Or disappointed. Distraught. None of these words could accurately describe the boy who was rightly pushed aside(read: dumped) by the girl he'd been pining over for the past three years all due to a singular moment of weakness(read: cheating). How could he let himself be so stupid? So weak!? Wasn't Anthony supposed to be a better person than that?

Anthony wanted to do something to hopefully win her back, to tell her sincerely and effectively that he was sorry. That he would never stray again. That he was...heck, as far as Anthony knew, he was still a virgin! (unless Kodi had somehow roofied him without him knowing and had managed to do the deed completely pain free).

Ugh...why would Anthony even think of Kodi at this point in time? It was his fault that Kailin even found out about his indiscretion. He wished the worst kind of karma to befall upon the boy who used to be his roommate.

Who was he kidding? This was all Anthony's fault, no matter what Kodi did. Because Anthony couldn't say no to a pretty, topless girl. What...was he going do? Advice from a friend suggested that he buy her a gift, perhaps some jewelry or make-up, to hopefully win her heart back. Why not? Anthony would try anything at this point.

This was how Anthony ended up at the mall, browsing through the various stores for something that just popped out and said "I love you take me back!".

Yeah...like it was going to be that easy.

Anthony drooped his head as he looked through a rack of clothes that wasn't even close to what he was looking for. Male polo shirts and button-ups. T-shirts. Hey, he needed clothes for school! It was a new semester, his first one in college in fact. It was important to have a wardrobe that didn't make him look like a nerd. Anthony saw a flash of red hair and a pretty little face attached to his. Instantly his lips curled into a friendly smile as he casually plucked two shirts - a purple plaid button-up, and a red polo with orange and white horizontal stripes - and held them up to his torso. "Hey, can you help me out?" he asked of her before she passed by. "Umm...which one brings out my eyes more?" He fluttered his lashes, the average things they were.

[Tatum Reynolds]

Tatum hated shopping. She hated looking for clothes that made her look decent because she didn't believe such clothes existed. There certainly weren't many colors that didn't make her look washed out, which is why the majority of her wardrobe was navy blue. It probably still looked bad - but not possibly as bad as yellow.

Tatum wasn't that insecure about her body or appearance. She knew that she was attractive in some ways, but every girl makes judgements on herself. Tatum's were just harsher than others.

Shopping for herself was just too darn complicated, so she ventured to the mall to get her brother some clothes. As intelligent and charming Daniel Reynolds was, he sure didn't know how to dress himself and you wouldn't find him in any clothing store. At least twice a year she took on the responsibility of picking out a few new shirts and jeans so he didn't keep wearing those damned khakis that looked like they were from prehistoric times.

She shuffled through the multiple shirts, wrinkling her nose when she came across those hideous ones that somehow always found their way onto the racks. She hummed quietly and grabbed two polos from the rack, one of them was blue with navy stripes the other was the same shirt in green. She was examining the price tags when a voice that seemed directed at her caught her attention. The boy was attractive, and she stared at him for a few seconds before finally processing his words.

"Oh!" She said, tearing her gaze from his eyes and glancing at the shirts. She decided then that honesty was the best route on this one, and tugged the red polo from his hand, replacing it with the green that she held. "I'd say neither, and go with the green. That will impress a date." Well, it would at least impress her.

Tatum glanced at the two shirts in her hands and smiled, holding them up to her torso. "Okay, if I was about three years older and a male, which one would make me look the most handsome? You know, bring in the chicks." Daniel would thank her later.

[Deleted]

Well, wasn’t that just a nice-looking, bright face? Anthony’s smile brightened in response, greeting the girl with apparent friendliness.

What was apparent about it? It was genuine! Anthony was a damn charmer and friend to all! He shouldn’t be afraid to be nice to other people, much less other girls, just because of what happened with Kailin. Why should having a girlfriend(he didn’t have one anymore) keep him from talking with other girls? It was ridiculous that he should shut off being friends with an entire demographic just because he was in a relationship with one person from that demographic.

Like, if Anthony were gay, and Kailin were a guy, she wouldn’t keep him from being friends with Salem, right?

And Kailin and Anthony were three years proof that a guy and girl could be friends without there being anything between them.

Whatever, Anthony turned his thoughts back to the present, focusing on the pretty red-head. “Green? You think so?” Anthony pressed the green shirt up against his torso, and posed. “Am I a supermodel yet?” he asked playfully with an equally playful grin.

He looked over the shirts she had and tilted his head with a curious expression. “Three years older and male, is there something you’re not telling me about?” he joked. Did that mean she had a boyfriend? “Is this for a boyfriend?” he casually inquired, looking seriously between the two shirts. He held up his hands apologetically. “Sorry, I had to ask.” Anthony laughed then turned back to the shirts. “Uhmmm….I think the blue one contrasts well with your skin tone…so blue.” If only because he didn’t think red shirt with red hair worked particularly well. It was just a lot of red.

[Tatum Reynolds]

It had been a while since Tatum had met such a friendly person. She usually avoided these types of situations altogether, sticking to the solitary life she'd been living since birth. Even as an infant, she was alone in the little incubator that kept her alive. Maybe she was just destined to be alone.

She watched the attractive boy with amusement, a smile touching her painted lips. "Yes, green. It definitely brings out those eyes." She said with a reassuring nod. "Model material."

Her brown eyes widened at his assumption of her shopping for her boyfriend. Boyfriend? Tatum had never had a boyfriend, she'd hardly even dated. Of course, it must look like she was shopping for a boyfriend. She glanced at the shirts in her hands and smirked, wondering how many people looked at her and assumed she was taken. It was kind of flattering for a socially deprived girl.

"No boyfriend, unfortunately. I am on the hunt for some decent clothing for my fashion challenged older brother." She almost disappointed herself with that statement. She finished it with her thoughts. No, sir. I am far too lame to have a boyfriend. And when I'm not being too lame, I'm being far too crazy.

She examined the blue shirt, pinching the soft fabric between her fingers. "Yes, I like blue. However, I was the only one blessed with my mother's red hair, so he'd look nice in both." She considered getting both for him, but something about the red and orange was just too much. "Alright. Blue it is."

Tatum folded the polo over her forearm. "My brother once came to a formal family reunion wearing one of those t-shirts that has a tuxedo printed on them, claiming he couldn't decide what to wear. Ever since then I've taken the responsibility of helping him out." She smiled at the thought of her family, but it faltered when her mother crossed her mind. She turned away. "So what about you? What brings you to this fine clothing shop?"

[Deleted]

Yeah, she was cute. And really friendly. Could there be looove on the horizon??

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, this was just a lame trip to the mall that resulted in meeting a person.

Not that she was lame. Nope, far from it.

“Oh, why thank you, but of course.” He took in the compliment like a boss and stuck his nose even further into the air the the narcissist he was. “Vogue will be calling any minute now, I bet.” If only he’d entered that modeling contest along with Salem, he’d be a supermodel by now, no doubt.

Was it too farfetched for him to assume she was shopping for her boyfriend? She seemed to have been surprised by it. Anthony didn’t know why, a pretty girl like her ought to have a lot of boys asking for her number. “Oh…sorry for assuming…uh, gee that’s kind of awkward on my part.” Anthony chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “I thought for sure a pretty girl like you would have one.” Too cheesy a pick-up line? He was trying to go for casual.

Anthony smiled once she decided on the shirt. “Sounds good.” He was followed her lead and draped the green shirt over his arm, putting away the other one he had. “Oh no….sounds like he has one hell of a fashion sense.” Honestly, Anthony would have laughed at that sort of thing. It might even have been himself who showed up to a formal in such a shirt. If it got laughs, then it was worth it, negative opinions be damned. “The must be quite a chore. Do you ever get to just do shopping for yourself?”

Anthony shrugged. “Just doing the standard, obligatory pre-school clothes shopping. I’m starting college next month. It’s important I that don’t look like I just got out of high school, you know?” He laughed. It was a joke.