NOVEL WEB Forever 21
“So where did you want to go shopping?” Hunter asked.
“Eh, probably just Target,” Mel said. “A lot of the stores here aren’t remotely worth the price. I mean, I guess we could also check out Forever 21 or something.”
“Alright, sounds good.” Hunter said. “I think what I’m wearing now is from Target, actually..”
“You think?” Mel asked.
“Uh, yeah, my… my mom bought a lot of my current clothes.” Hunter felt kind of bad now. He was such a loser.
Mel noticed his now dejected expression. “Aw, it’s fine, Hunter! Sorry, I just… it’s been a while since I lived with my parents. But I know it’s super common for our generation. Not weird at all. Don’t feel bad. Also, uh, nice gender, did your parents pick it out for you?”
Hunter laughed. “Yeah, the name too. Honestly, not the biggest fan of it. It sounds like I should be out in the forest killing animals.”
“Better get you some camo then,” Mel said. “Is there a Bass Pro Shop in this mall? No, but if you ever want to try out a new name, just let me know! Always down to help pals with trying out names or pronouns. Oh, wait, a Bass Pro Noun! I'm a genius.”
Hunter laughed. “Uh, I’ll let you know if anything with names or pronouns comes up. I’ve thought about a few other names but I didn’t really feel most of them. Oh, by the way, do you want to start heading over? You’re done eating, right?”
“Yeah, let’s get going! I’ll just bring this chai with me. Oh, and what kind of names were you thinking about? If you don’t mind saying.”
“Sure, yeah,” Hunter said as he pushed himself up to his feet. “Uh… well, I guess I was thinking about names I could go by online, other than BigGoron5. Like, if I end up playing an MMO, I think I’d want to choose a more setting-appropriate name.”
“Any idea what kind of character you’d want to play?” Mel asked as they started walking.
“Probably some kind of female spellcaster,” Hunter said. “I kind of like the idea of some kind of vaguely goth, witchy character, maybe named after a plant.”
Mel muttered something that Hunter couldn’t quite make out.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s an aesthetic I can really appreciate, that’s all,” Mel said. “I’m into it. Any specific plants you were thinking of? Juniper? Sage?”
“Maybe some kind of flower? Rose or Lily or Iris or something? I’m not really sure. Sage is kind of clever. It also sounds like you’re wise.”
“Couldn’t be me,” Mel said. “Wisdom was my dump stat. So, did you have any specific kind of clothes you wanted to look for? Oh, and if you’re worried about using the changing rooms, I can help.”
“What do you mean by help?” Hunter asked.
“Oh, I can pretend that I’m trying on the clothes you pick out. And you can accompany me like you’re my partner tagging along or something. A friend did basically that for me when I was early in transition.”
“Uh–are you okay with people thinking we’re dating?” Hunter asked. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to be seen dating me if I was someone else. If that made any sense.”
“Aw, Hunter. You really need to work on your self-esteem. I’d be happy to be seen dating you! Guess I gotta tell you you’re cute several thousand more times and maybe it’ll finally sink in.”
Hunter didn’t respond.
“Hunter? You okay?”
He finally spoke. “I don’t really know how to respond, to be honest. I probably need to work on getting better at accepting compliments. Sorry. I mean, I appreciate you saying that, but I have trouble believing it.”
“Well, I believe in you,” Mel said. “I think I used to be similar and I got better over time, so hopefully the same can happen for you. Oh, so do you know what kind of clothes you wanted? Just so I know what department to navigate to.”
“Honestly, I’m not really sure?” Hunter said. “I wish I knew what I wanted, but I don’t. I’m hoping I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Like that court case about porn,” Mel said. “Vibes! Look at you, taking my advice already. Well, if you’re not sure, we can take our time and look and everything! I mean, I’m free all day.”
“That sounds good,” Hunter said. “This, uh, might take a while.”