You Mocha Me Blush
Please accept this Tumblr repost of my second published DP fanfiction--or, better yet, go check it out on my AO3!
Summary: Paulina's routine weekend is interrupted by a (more or less standard) ghost fight... and she can't help but wonder if this is the chance she's been waiting for! Too bad she isn't nearly as suave around Amity's #1 celebrity crush as she is around everyone else...
(no gore, no angst, only a big dumb cheesy crush haha)
It began peacefully, for a Saturday morning at the mall. Starr wouldn’t catch up until closer to 11, but Paulina didn’t mind getting an early look at the sales. The quiet helped her to focus, and she had already been moderately successful; a bag containing a cute new pair of ankle boots and a handful of new lip gloss colors hung off one arm, and in her other hand she cradled a steaming, fragrant salted caramel mocha to-go; a treat she reserved for the weekends, as she had a figure to maintain. The sound of shoppers chatting and the smell of greasy, sugary treats from the food court permeated the air. A perky pop song played over the speakers, and she hummed and swayed her hips a little to the beat. Nothing could make this morning more perfect!
An employee darted out of a store up ahead and maniacally took off running down the hallway, face pale and eyes wide. Paulina paused to watch him go by, bemused. What was his problem? Instantly, an unnaturally echoing crash reverberated through the main hallway, causing the lights overhead to shudder and spit. Windows rattled, displays shook, and a tipsy mannequin in a store entryway toppled over. Before the ghost alarm system could instruct pedestrians to evacuate, shoppers armed with many months of routine practice were already streaming out of stores and following the established escape routes. Thankfully, it wasn’t as busy as it would be later in the day, so the crowds were relatively calm. A few young children cried, and the most daring wannabe journalist split off from the herd to find better angles to video the oncoming ghost fight.
A chilling draft tousled Paulina’s hair from a few departments over. An unfamiliar, vague silhouette of a garish green ghost swung a clothing rack through a glass display, shattering it. “Trespassers,” she shrieked. “Get out!” She reared back and haphazardly pitched the flimsy metal structure at the diminishing crowd. Paulina ducked into a nearby photo booth to hide, even though she was pretty sure she hadn’t been seen yet. She leaned against the interior wall and took a few deep breaths, trying to stop her legs from shaking. She was perfectly safe; the ghost boy would be here any minute! She was close this time, she could watch him fight! She allowed herself a giddy grin, here where no one else could see her. Maybe he’d notice her looking. Maybe he’d be close enough for her to say hello. Maybe he’d wish her a good morning, and flash her one of those dazzling smiles. She should offer to buy him a coffee! It would be quiet, because everyone else would have left, so they could sit at her favorite booth and tell each other anything. Did he have anyone else to talk to? She’d listen to anything that magical voice said, and she’d feel like the most special girl in the whole world, even if no one else ever knew—
Another crash broke through her beautiful daydream, and she gasped, dropping her shopping bag to clutch her lipstick taser. She peeked out from behind the curtain. “Thieves!” The ghost shrilled. The few workers who hadn’t already snuck out of back doors were scuttling down the hallway, heads low. “Greedy sharks! Heartless blood-sucking coin purses!”
“Actually,” a bright, buzzing voice butted in, “I think the vampire totes are a few stores that way.” There he was! The few scattered people still standing nearby cheered.
The evil ghost lady puffed up at the new intruder, semi-translucent energy particles shedding off her form like glitter. “You aren’t welcome here! Leave! This is my property!”
“Um, no? Look, I’m not a vampire, either. This is a public establishment. You have a perfectly good lair in the zone!”
The ghost keened, and the radio dissolved into static. “I will tear this house of gluttony down board by board and rebuild what is mine! Help me, or be buried in the rubble!”
She was answered with a solid beam of energy to the gut. Her somewhat corporeal form crashed loudly into the opposite wall, tearing through the advertisement poster and crumbling the plaster beneath. “Thanks for the offer, but no. The good people of amity need their local hot topic!”
It didn’t take him long to subdue the unfamiliar ghost. She managed to animate a few of the nearest mannequins, but they didn’t stand a chance against Amity’s hero. Almost too soon, the remnants of wailing vapor were sucked into that strange canister he carried.
He hooked the device onto his belt and turned, yawning and stretching his arms overhead. “Welp, sorry about the mess. Have a good weekend, everyone, and stay safe!”
Crap, he was leaving! Paulina darted out of her hiding place. “Wait!” She picked her way through the strewn debris and glass shards as quickly as she dared.
The ghost boy took a single step back, but he didn’t take off. He raised an eyebrow at her, hands still suspended in the air. “Don’t shoot?”
“What do you-” she was still holding up the lipstick taser. It fell from her hand with a clatter. “Mierda, no, no, I would never! I only meant, um.” Why was this so much harder than screaming up at him from a group of fans? She was a performer, darnit—a beautiful, charismatic, independent woman! She could do this!
But he was otherworldly, and heroic, and gorgeous, and on top of all that, he was real. Personable. She didn’t usually see his face this close. He had a great smile. The glow from his eyes effortlessly did a better job of contouring his face than she could ever hope to do… and yet, as she looked closely, she couldn’t help but notice the bags under his eyes. He was tired, she realized. It made sense—he’d been on the news just this morning for a fight late last night, just like he always was—but it was so totally unfair.
He didn’t look like he needed an impromptu date with a stranger. He looked like he needed a coffee break.
“Thirsty?” She spouted spontaneously, holding out her arm to him with all the grace and charm of a plank of wood.
He blinked twice down at the proffered disposable coffee cup, causing the green spotlight he cast on it to strobe slightly. “Huh?”
She felt her face heat, and her toes curled in her cute flats. “I mean, can ghosts drink? Because I got you a coffee,” she lied. “As a thank-you gift for protecting the mall.”
“Oh.” His smooth, gloved hand folded around hers to accept the offering. She struggled to make her fingers let go. “Thank you?”
She beamed. “My pleasure!”
Curious bystanders were starting to drift closer. The ghost drifted up and away slowly, taking an experimental sip. “Whoa, it’s really good,” he murmured. His eyes met hers one more time, and she couldn’t be sure, but his cheeks seemed to be glowing a little brighter than usual. “Uh, take care, I’ll see you around,” he chirped, before streaking off through the distant ceiling.
She stood there and stared at the spot he’d disappeared through, heart still beating fast, until a grumbling janitor shooed her aside to sweep up the rubble. As she made her way back to her abandoned purchases, she silently vowed to always carry an extra cup of coffee through the mall… just in case.
