One Man Band System

Inside the mall, Eric walked into a men’s casual clothing store and headed straight for the t-shirts, button-downs, hoodies, and jackets. He began picking out several items, stacking them in his arms while Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura chimed in with their opinions. But the girls were a little taken aback; the items Eric was grabbing ranged anywhere from $200 to $500, and he was tossing them into his pile completely unbothered, without even glancing at the price tags.

Seeing this, Priya leaned in and whispered into Emma’s ear, while Heidi, who was holding a black t-shirt, edged closer as well.

"Hey... Emma, is this guy loaded?" Priya asked.

"Hmm... he owns a shop, a recording studio, and a venue... so yeah, it looks like it," Emma replied.

"Wow... handsome and rich... talk about a total package," Heidi remarked.

"Don’t get any ideas. We invited him out as a friend, don’t go chasing after him," Emma warned.

Hearing Emma’s tone, Priya and Heidi swapped looks before turning back to Emma, who had her arms crossed, giving both her friends a dead-serious look. Priya and Heidi instantly broke into teasing grins.

"What?" Emma asked, completely flustered.

"You’re so cute when you’re crushing on someone," Priya said, pinching Emma’s cheek. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Besides, you’re lecturing the wrong people. Look over there," Heidi said, pointing ahead.

Emma glanced over and saw Chloe and Monica practically competing with each other to give their input, holding up different shirts for Eric, while Laura quietly typed along right behind them. "Clack," seeing that, Emma immediately set down the clothes she was holding and marched forward, while Priya and Heidi snickered behind her back and followed along.

Noticing Emma approaching with a slight pout, Eric turned around, held up a white graphic tee, and smiled, while Priya and Heidi pulled Chloe, Monica, and Laura aside to start whispering among themselves.

"What do you think? Look good?" Eric asked casually.

Emma, caught up in whatever thoughts were racing through her head, was taken aback and went quiet. She stared at the shirt Eric was holding, then reached out to feel the fabric.

"It’s nice. Do you like it?" Emma asked.

"Yep... actually, I’m gonna change into it right now. My shirt is still damp and starting to smell kind of gross," Eric replied.

"Oh... no it doesn’t, besides, it’s already kind of dry," Emma said, reaching out to touch Eric’s shirt.

"Hey... don’t do that, you’ll get your hands wet. Let me go hit the register first," Eric said.

With that, Eric turned around with his stack of clothes and headed straight for the counter. Emma turned back to look at her friends and was startled to find Priya, Heidi, Chloe, and Monica all snicker-grinning right at her, while Laura just leaned against a rack with her arms crossed, staring intently.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Emma asked.

"Oh... no reason," they all answered in unison with goofy grins, except for Laura.

After paying with his debit card and grabbing the shopping bags full of clothes from the cashier, Eric walked over to the fitting rooms with his guitar case. Before stepping inside, he gave Emma and the others a quick nod. Once the door closed behind him, the girls waited right outside.

"He’s just changing his shirt real quick," Emma informed the group.

"Oh, gotcha, haha," Chloe teased with a massive grin.

"Wow... sounds like we’ve got some real competition here," Monica chimed in, grinning from ear to ear.

"Shut up, you guys," Emma shot back.

"Wait... Emma? What are you doing here?"

The six girls standing by the fitting rooms turned around at the sound of a male voice. The moment Emma saw who it was, she rolled her eyes so hard you’d think they were going to get stuck. Meanwhile, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, Monica, and Laura all looked like they had just bit into a lemon.

Standing in front of them was an incredibly handsome guy with a chiseled cleft chin, slicked-back blonde hair with sunglasses resting on top, and a well-built physique framed by a Hawaiian shirt left unbuttoned just enough to flash a gold chain. He was flashing a brilliant, perfectly straight white smile.

"What the hell are you doing here, Chad?" Heidi snapped.

"Yeah... leave us alone, you absolute tool," Monica added bitterly.

"I wasn’t asking you two, I was asking Emma," Chad replied, completely ignoring the both of them.

"Go away, Chad. Don’t bother me," Emma said coldly.

"Whoa... don’t be like that. If I knew I was gonna run into you today, I totally would’ve brought flowers. Hey, why don’t we go grab a bite at that upscale restaurant upstairs after this?" Chad asked, trying to lay on the charm.

"Sorry, she’s not interested. Move along," Laura said coldly, stepping right in front of Emma. It was rare for Laura to speak so bluntly.

Even though she was gorgeous, Laura, outfitted in a sleeveless denim jacket, a short-sleeve black t-shirt, and slightly faded jeans, crossed her arms and threw Chad a lethal, deadpan glare that made him visibly recoil.

"Whoa... relax, dude," Chad said, raising both hands in retreat.

"Get lost, Chad. I don’t want to look at you," Emma snapped.

"Why do you keep treating me like this? I pour my heart out to you because I’m serious about us, and you won’t even give me a chance?" Chad asked, his frustration bubbling over.

Before the girls could respond, "rustle," the fitting room curtain slid open. Emma and the others immediately whipped around. Their eyes went wide at the sight of Eric. He was wearing his new white graphic tee, plain on the front but featuring a black angel wing design on the back, layered under a sleek black jacket. Seeing Eric looking undeniably sharp, even with the price tags still dangling from his clothes, Emma’s face flushed bright red.

"What do you think?" Eric asked casually, spreading his arms.

"Amazing... you look seriously amazing," Emma gushed, flashing an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"Yeah... that outfit was made for you," Priya added.

"Wow... this is dangerous, I might actually fall for you," Heidi teased, acting playfully shy.

"Totally... but hold on... let me get this first," Priya said, stepping forward to snap off the price tag.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Laura stayed quiet, simply nodding along and raising their thumbs to signal their absolute approval. Eric adjusted his glasses and tweaked his guitar case strap so it rested perfectly against his back.

"Alright... shall we grab some food now?" Eric asked easily.

"Yeah, let’s go... there are plenty of restaurants upstairs," Emma replied.

"Hey... who the hell are you?"

Eric looked past the girls, and the six of them turned around as well, instinctively forming a shield in front of Eric. They faced Chad, who looked absolutely furious, his face red with jealousy, though his white teeth were still visibly clenched. Eric took one look at the guy, completely bewildered, and tilted his head while scratching his hair with the hand holding his baseball cap.

"Um... is he a friend of yours?" Eric asked blankly, pointing a finger at Chad.

"No idea, never seen him before," Chloe answered.

"Yeah... first time we’ve ever had a random creep hit on us like this," Monica added.

"Total loser. Let’s just go," Heidi urged.

"Yeah, let’s roll," Priya agreed.

"Move it," Laura said, immediately leading the way forward.

"Come on, Eric," Emma said, instantly wrapping her arm securely around his.

"Oh, alright then. Let’s go," Eric replied, trying to gently nudge her arm away, but Emma held on tight, completely locking him in.

Before they could even take a single step, Chad cut them off, planting himself right in front of the group. He crossed his arms, clearly trying to flex his mediocre muscles. He glared at Eric, sizing him up from head to toe, before locking his eyes onto Eric’s face.

Then, his gaze dropped to Emma’s hands wrapped tightly around Eric’s arm. His handsome face twisted into an ugly, furious scowl, while Eric remained completely unfazed and detached, looking more confused than anything.

"What is this guy’s actual problem?" Eric thought to himself.