"So you're one hundred percent certain you both can't just drop out?"

"Um, Miss (Y/n)... with all due respect-"

"-which is none. Get a grip, woman. El and I can't drop out just because you're semi-internet famous for making love to a bunch of supers and you got no real applicants to work here. Check your privilege."

The high schoolers looked at your pleading form with disappointment (Tony) and pity (Eloise), but you just couldn't bring yourself to feel shame in the moment. You were desperate.

The day after James had so kindly abandoned you in the middle of the night, you'd spent hunched over your laptop in the Francesca's backroom fine-tuning an employee application form all day. It was partially to keep your mind from dwelling on what felt like a pretty significant betrayal by your best friend, but it was also because you really did need to get out an application as soon as possible, just as you'd told Angel.

After countless hours, you came up with what you felt was the perfect application. It was thorough, direct, and sprinkled with a few questions specifically intended to weed out crazed fans applying for the wrong reasons. At the time of posting the application on the shop's website, you'd felt fully confident that you would at least get a few earnest applicants- and you only needed two more. It was gonna be a breeze, and you were pretty sure you'd narrow down potential applicants within days.

Except today, about a week later, you were still pretty much exactly where you'd started. Maybe there were some solid applicants in the mix, but you wouldn't know, because any genuine forms had been drowned out by the thousands of unqualified, unserious applications you received back. You didn't even know how to begin sifting through so many responses- the amount received far surpassing your expectations even given your newfound 'fame'- and after skimming a couple hundred without seeing a single viable applicant, you just about gave up.

And that is how you got here, asking (read: pathetically begging) the teens in front of you to end their academic journeys before they even began their junior years of high school, so they could continue working part-time at your shop! You were kidding, of course. Mostly.

"Okay, okay- I get it," you sighed deeply. "I get that you guys both hate me."

"Glad to see you understand," Tony agreed shortly as he headed back towards the front when the customer bell rang, leaving you to gape indignantly at his retreating form.

"You sounded like Tony when you said that, Miss (Y/n)," Eloise commented, trying and failing miserably to suppress her giggles as she watched you deflate further. "I know you wanna give up, but I can look through the applicants if you want me to!"

"Well, there aren't any profile pictures attached, so you can't just choose the ones you think are hot or whatever," you muttered dejectedly.

"Oh, okay. So what I'm hearing is that you hate me! I'm on Tony's side this time, then," she declared as she stuck up her nose and strode out of the backroom, leaving you by yourself.

Normally Angel would be right by your side to defend your honor and hype you up to an excessive degree when the kids picked on you, but you had sent him on a coffee run down the street a few minutes ago leaving you to fend for yourself for a good fifteen minutes. It was probably the longest you'd been apart since it was decided he would be your full-time bodyguard, actually, and being away from him now felt kind of strange. When did you become so attached to the guy?

Well, Angel was a pretty good roommate, so maybe that had something to do with it. Even though he technically had to be by your side almost all the time, he went above and beyond by also actively participating in your life rather than just observing it as he protected you. Things like cooking, cleaning, and other simple day-to-day chores were no longer solitary tasks, and he was always asking you how he could make your everyday life a bit easier.

Sure, he was a bit childish at times and his clinginess to you could be a bit much, you didn't mind his presence and his quirks as much as you thought you would. You hadn't lived with a roommate since you shared the apartment with Gran Gran as a child, and having someone around consistently was nicer than you'd anticipated. You liked the soft domesticity of living alongside Angel, and wondered if this was how Sarah felt when she and James grew up since their parents largely left the two to their own devices.

All that being said, you were slightly relieved to have fifteen minutes of alone time, and you were quite content to let the kids handle the many customers out front while you reveled in the bliss of the empty backroom. You sat on one of the break stools and took a deep breath, allowing your mind to go perfectly still and-

"Miss (Y/n), can you come out here?! There's a ton of customers all of the sudden again and some require your plant knowledge or something... I don't know, I wasn't really listening!"

You sent a blank stare at the pink-haired girl who'd rudely interrupted your peacetime, and groaned. Maybe you needed more than two new employees, 'cause keeping these clueless kids on your staff was starting to feel like a liability.

You stood and followed her to the front, trying to bite back a frown when you found the shop packed by people wearing gaudy hero merch yet again. The buzz surrounding your store dying down couldn't come soon enough. And honestly? These superfans were kind of dimwitted, in your opinion. Megistos hadn't made a single appearance at Francesca's during store hours since this whole trending situation began, so why they dutifully showed up every day in waves still- almost two weeks later- was entirely beyond you.

"And would you look at that- it's (Y/n)!" a man you'd never met with a small megaphone cheerily exclaimed, speaking to the dozen or so people surrounding him, rather than to you. It made you feel a bit like an animal at a zoo, but he didn't seem to mind your discomfort at all, continuing on. "This is my friend (Y/n) (L/n)- the keeper of your favorite hero's heart! Not much is known to the public about our lovely lady, but today all your questions can..."

His friend? Really? The man you were pretty certain you'd never seen before in your life? Right.

He steadily yapped on and on about you even more, rattling off multiple untrue facts about your private personal life, and you finally understood. This was another goddamn tour group- one of many that had begun frequenting the shop. Superhero tours weren't uncommon in your city since it was one of the largest in the country as well as a major hub for many villains and subsequently heroes, but your shop being added to so many groups' routes these past few weeks took a lot of getting used to. Usually, Angel was right there with you- warding such nuisances off and helping prevent you from losing your mind- but you had at least hoped that in his absence Eloise and Tony might've stepped up instead and turned away the intrusive guests at the door.

Yet here you were: grumpy, harassed, and Angel-less. You narrowed your eyes at the two teens, your abnormal coldness prompting them each to quickly avert their gazes from yours. Unfortunately for them, they weren't getting off that easily.

"You're both so fucking done," you whispered to them harshly outside of the tour group's earshot. "Both of you go make sure our actual customers are being attended to and think about your actions, you little shits!"

Tony faltered only for a moment before he laughed sardonically. "I wish I could say I felt bad, but you were trying to guilt me into becoming a druggie-high-school-dropout-loser like five minutes ago, so I'm gonna call this karma."

Eloise wasn't nearly as shameless, having the decency to look at least a little bit guilty as she dragged Tony away to fulfill your orders. Reluctantly, you returned your attention back to the superfan tourists. Sighing at the number of phones pointed your way, you pointedly side-eyed the tour guide who was standing beside you, gesturing exaggeratedly at your entire body as if you were some prize on a game show.

"Now's that time you've been waiting for! Ask any and all questions you have for our-"

"Uh... no," you cut in, turning to address the crowd which was reeling over the mere sound of your voice- what a bunch of creeps. "I don't do questions, so if you aren't here to purchase anything then I'll have to kindly ask you to respect my other patrons and exit the shop. So sorry."

You were as not sorry as you could possibly be. The crowd grumbled out their frustrations, most of which were actually directed towards the tour guide for not delivering on his promises rather than at you, much to your unexpected satisfaction, and they began perusing the shop to find the least expensive things to buy in order to stick around a bit longer. Once again, you knew not what they wanted to wait around for- Megistos was very much not coming- but business was business so you didn't press the issue.

The issue you struggled more not to press, however, was the wide array of obscene questions, each somehow managing to drain you more than the last.

"What's Megistos' true identity?"

"Are you really just friends with him?"

"Wanna be with me instead?"

"So is he as big... down there as he is everywhere else?"

Classiness was a thing of the past, you were finding out, and by the time you checked the entirety of the group out, your standards for the human race were at an all-time low. That last question was so out of pocket that you nearly found yourself wanting Rowan to be watching you so he could use Angel's absence as an opportunity to get you the hell out of there.

Head in your hands, you allowed yourself to take a deep, cleansing breath as the huge group all left in a flurry, onto their next stop on the tour of superhero debauchery. You gave the shop a quick survey, finding an unfortunate amount of trampled flowers strewn about the floor, along with a few knocked-over ceramic pots spilling dirt on the ground, but you put those issues on the back burner to check in quickly with Eloise and Tony. Eloise was dutifully picking up some of the poor plants from the ground and tossing them out with a disdainful frown, and Tony was- oh boy.

Tony was... talking to a man wearing a simple black tee and cargo pants. And you could only see the stranger's back, but Tony's face was perfectly in your line of vision, and it displayed the look he always wore when was talking shit- usually about you. Just what you needed on this already fantastic day. You decided to intervene, hoping to spare an ounce of your good reputation, and approached the pair with a raised eyebrow.

"Tony, no talking shit during hours- especially not with customers, man," you groaned, the boy sending you a downright devious grin. "What are you even hating on this time?"

"I wasn't talking shit," he supplied, his tone suggesting the exact opposite. "I was telling this guy about the people who worked here since he asked."

You stared him down a bit harder- yeah, you weren't buying it at all. "Huh."

You turned to face the man who was already looking at you contemplatively through his circular glasses, brown eyes narrowed, lips pursed. Though he was only a couple of inches taller than you- his messy, soft-looking brown curls probably adding a bit of extra height too- the way he held his head up high made it feel almost as though he was somehow looking down on you.

"So which one is she?" he asked Tony in a wry voice, though his eyes remained glued on you. Seriously, what was up with the stare? What was his problem with you? Maybe he was a Megistos fanboy who came to scope out the 'competition,' but if that were the case, you were not the one to try with that ridiculousness today.

You weren't backing down if he wasn't going to, so you stared right back at him just as intensely. Bags carved beneath his eyes, you noticed, and as your eyes dipped down to the front of his t-shirt, you found a worn logo of some grungy-looking band you'd never heard of. Yeah, he had a total pretentious, male-manipulator-type vibe going for him- the kind of vibe you did not want anywhere near you. Although, ironically enough, something about the man- questionable vibe included- felt vaguely familiar to you the more you looked at him.

"Guess," Tony said, and the man sized you up again.

"She can't be 'the grandpa for the people' or 'the diabolically evil yet alluringly perfect cheerleader best friend,'- if I'm remembering that right," he began with a teasing lilt to his tone. "So I'm gonna have to go with-"

"Precious!" Angel cried out, cheery voice drowning out the sound of the shop bell as he zoomed towards you, coffee in hand and beaming (literally) smile on his face. "Sorry I took so long- a tour group caught me and started to ask me about you and Rowan and Megistos and-"

"Oh, now I know," the other man spoke up again, Angel shutting up when he noticed his presence. "She's clearly- I'm trying to remember exactly what you said- 'the frustratingly pretty yet clueless superhuman magnet!" He turned to Tony, "Am I right?"

"You didn't have to keep in the part about her being pretty..." Tony mumbled, sulking as he walked over to help Eloise. "I thought you were cool, but you stabbed me in the back. Never trust the cool ones."

Angel handed you your coffee while side-eying the brunette man. "Cutie pie, who is this guy? Is he bothering you?"

"No clue who he is, all I know is that Tony really... talked me up to him," you laughed bitterly before facing the man again with a strained smile. "What gave away that I wasn't 'the grandpa for the people?'"

"Maybe a lucky guess. Maybe the fact that you're internet famous for being sought after by three supers," he commented with that same knowing look in his eyes.

Your smile dropped. "What do you mean three- wait, if you're here for pictures or an interview you can just go, man. I'm not in the mood."

"What? No, I am not a fan. I'm here for Miss Francesca- is she working today?"

You froze, taking in his words. And for a moment she was there- just in the back. You would go retrieve her so she could talk to this strange man about whatever he needed, and then she'd be back to teasing you for your crush on James while arranging a bouquet with you. But the moment came and went in a second, and with it went your momentary joy. Tears welled up in your eyes as you met his confused stare, surprising you a bit. You hadn't cried much about Gran Gran's passing in the last year, but having to break the news of her death to someone after so long was clearly enough to get the waterworks going.

"I'm so sorry, but Gran Gran's not- she, uh- she passed away. Bit less than three years ago."

"Fuck," the man whispered, lips pulling into a tight frown as he processed your words. "Fuck. I'm so sorry, (N/n). That really fucking sucks."

You blinked at him in confusion- while most people who came in knew you by name now, no one had ever used a nickname so familiarly. Especially not that one that you'd only ever heard when you were a kid. "Oh, um- I'm so sorry, but do I know you?"

"It's fine. Last time you saw me I was half a head shorter than you and even more broody." He sent you a small smile and a look that seemed almost fond. "It's Piper. Piper Greene?"

Your brows knit together as you sent him an apologetic smile... Piper Greene? You only really had Sarah and James as friends growing up, so you-

"Wait, Piper?" you gaped, countless memories coming back to you in a moment. Your smile dropped. "You're that kid who was always hanging around the shop backroom in elementary! You were such a mean little bitch!"

"You know this guy, cutie pie?" Angel asked as you gaped at the man- the bully- in front of you. "And he was mean to you?"

Angel pulled you towards his chest protectively, and Piper looked on in interest. "Yeah, pal- super mean or whatever," he dismissed the winged man before addressing you again, pointing his index finger between you and the hero. "So I see you moved on from your old boy toy, then? I didn't know which headlines to believe. I didn't think the ones about him and that Rowan guy fighting for your heart were true or anything but I also didn't believe the ones about you getting with your bodyguard- not with how down bad you were for Jamie. Yet here we are."

It sounded a whole lot like Piper knew about Megistos' secret identity, which was already bad, but him also exposing that secret to the rest of the shop would undisputedly be worse.

"Let's go catch up in the break room!" you squeaked, grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards the backroom, Angel trailing the two of you anxiously. "Alone, sunshine- sorry!"

You shut the door behind you and looked at Piper with narrowed eyes, your words coming out in a harsh whisper. "How the hell do you know about Jamie? You weren't even his friend since you were so rude to me back then."

"Huh?" Piper scoffed. "You're telling me the bird guy doesn't know? Isn't he his sidekick?"

"Jamie's only told me, Sarah, and- hey, you didn't answer the question," you huffed.

He grinned amusedly at your irritation, and it was like you were a little girl being teased and mocked relentlessly all over again. "I was around you guys all the time after school- you think a nine year-old is gonna be able to conceal their powers all the time? I remember him going crazy in the shop when there weren't any customers- so much damage from such a little guy. Though, he isn't so little anymore, right? I see the photoshoots- guy's huge. I thought you would've noticed, but I guess you've got your little birdie boyfriend now to keep you occupied? Meaning you finally got over your little crush on Jamie. Who woulda thought?"

You felt yourself slowly shrivel in mortification, not liking how perceptive this man was, but you tried to stand your ground nonetheless. "I see you're as much of a bully now as you were when we were younger. You didn't grow out of that? Y'know, like most well-adjusted adults?"

He cracked a grin at your jab. "Why do you keep calling me a bully? I was not your bully, (N/n)."

"You so were!" you argued. "Jamie told me you called me a bunch of names behind my back and would always talk shit about me. And you'd pull my hair all the time and push me around too- bully behavior."

He laughed outright at your allegations, and your frown deepened. "That little fucker- of course he told on me. I knew I should've watched my mouth around him- but then again I was only a kid. I wouldn't say I was ever talking bad about you to him, but that's still funny that he framed it that way."

You rolled your eyes at his refusal to own up to his actions, scouring your brain for more instances in which he had taunted you in your youth. "What about all the times you would come back here with Gran Gran and you wouldn't let me come in? You'd call me a 'nosy bum'- direct quote- and stick your tongue out at me and... and you'd..." you trailed off when he laughed at you again, cheeks growing hot in embarrassment. "Don't laugh at me!"

"You think childish taunts equate to bullying? Oh my God, you haven't changed- you're still ridiculous!"

"What were you guys doing back here anyways?" you grumbled, seeing no point in addressing his insults at this point.

"And you're still nosy, too? Christ, (N/n)- this is the reunion I didn't know I needed. If you must know, I'll show you."

"Show me?"

"Questions, questions, questions. Yes- show you." He rolled his eyes as he held out his hand towards you. You stared at his skeptically before moving to place your own hand in it, but he bit back another laugh and furrowed his brows in amusement at your action. "I'm not asking you to hold my hand, just watch."

You sighed but did as he asked, eyes widening in amazement as a small flower seemed to blossom from the pal of his hand- and not just any flower, either- it was your favorite one.

"Piper, oh my God- I never knew you had a power- oh my God, Piper!" You clamped your hands over his that held the (f/f) as quickly as you could, looking up at the CCTV camera in the corner of the room. "Are you insane? You shouldn't use powers in places under any type of surveillance- you could get caught!"

You whipped your head back to him to see him staring at your interlocked hands, evidently not hearing a word you said. Typical. He swallowed thickly before looking back at you with his infuriating, apathetic-yet-amused expression once again. You retracted your hand from his with a reproachful shake of your head.

"You're the one who wanted to see it- maybe you're the villain and they'd lock you up instead of me if they knew."

"What is your problem?" you gritted. "You are not taking things seriously enough here- your safety is-"

"You sound so much like Jamie- that's fucking comical, 'cause you hated when he'd say that same shit to you! So you still like him or what? I'm still confused by your super harem..."

"I don't have a super harem! Now back to my question- how does having plant powers correlate to you gatekeeping the backroom when we were kids?"

"You're kinda dense and I kinda want to make you figure it out yourself, but it seems I'll have to spell things out for you. She helped me learn to use my powers, and in return I did a little plant-making to help her out when money to run the shop was tight."

"You're telling me Gran Gran exploited your child labor?" you asked flatly, earning an amused snort.

"Sure. That's partially why I came here, actually- she said she'd give me a job when I got older and pay me real money. Who owns the place now? Maybe she passed the message down? Of course- I'd have to see your face and hear your dumbass thoughts every day, but I'll try to put up with it for a check!

Hah- finally. A grin stretched across your face for the first time in the conversation, as you were at last granted the upper hand. "I'm the owner. And I'm not gonna hire you. You've been nothing but mean since you spoke to me- and technically before that too when we were kids. No way in hell am I hiring someone who's hated my guts since before I could say four-syllable words. Buh-bye."

He only stared at you blankly, very much not going 'buy-bye' as you'd so kindly asked him to. What a pain.

"I didn't bully you, (N/n)- I had a crush on you. That's why I teased you. The whole Jamie thing isn't even-"

"What."

"The Jamie thing isn't-"

"No."

"'No' what?"

"No, I don't accept that. Maybe you had a crush on me, but the whole 'oh I was mean to you because I like you' thing is so annoying. That's really your excuse?" you frowned.

"Fine. I'm sorry I was a brat as a kid and didn't know how to articulate my feelings. But," he held up his pointer finger, shushing you before you could cut in, "-but, I don't have a stupid crush on you anymore, so now I definitely won't bully you when you hire me."

"Really?" you deadpanned.

"C'mon. Miss Francesca promised me a job- do it for her?" he tried. "I'll even help create-"

You cut him off with a firm shake of your head. "No. If I hire you, I'm not going to make you use your powers. I would never put one of my employees at risk for something as simple as saving a few bucks- or anything for that matter."

You considered your options- you could turn the man down and look for a different new hire. Your life was already overflowing with superhumans as it was, so adding another into the mix felt like you were practically asking for more chaos. But... you needed employees. Stat. You only had a little over a week before you had two empty spots to fill, and he was frustratingly the most earnest applicant yet. Besides, as annoying as he was, he brought back fond memories of your youth, and the teasing was maybe a little bit endearing to look back on now, so maybe you could give him a chance. Plus, he knew your Gran Gran, which was probably the main reason your next words managed to exit your mouth.

"Fine. You're hired," you sighed, closing your eyes as you rubbed at your temples. "Don't make me regret it, okay? I'm only doing this for Gran Gran."

"Rad. Say hello to your future employee of the year," he grinned, and you had to fight your urge to sock the guy in his charming little mouth.

"Let's go back front so I can get your information then..." you said grumpily, struggling to believe you were giving this complete chump a chance. But, really, what other options did you have?

When you reached the front counter to grab a paper application, you were confused to find Angel arguing with a very irate-looking Oakley, who definitely should have not been in the shop after your last encounter. Before you forced yourself to intervene and tell the unwanted guest to leave, you felt a vibration in your back pocket. Normally you'd ignore your phone on a workday, but you could make an exception if it meant you'd avoid conversing with Oakley for a bit longer. You pulled it out and unlocked it, seeing a single text from James that made your stomach drop.

2:33 - the greatest!!!

- Call me asap (y/n)

You were still extremely unhappy with the man, but you knew that a lowercase '(Y/n)' meant it was urgent, so your finger quickly tapped the 'call' icon. James picked up instantaneously.

"(Y/n), hon- Rowan's dead."