I woke up the next morning to the sun shining through the windows and practically blinding me. I groaned and covered my face with one of the pillows, mumbling random curses from underneath it. Why did the sun have to be so bright anyway? After a long while of me cursing the sun from underneath my pillow, I finally just threw my pillow to the side and got up. I squinted out of habit and wiped my face with my hand with a sigh. For once, I didn't have anything to worry about or any sort of appointment I had to make. I was free now, in a city that could offer me the fresh new start that I needed. The thought of that was just enough to cause me to giggle happily and forget the negative thoughts entering my mind that morning.

I immediately ran out and let out a scream of joy in my living room, eventually collapsing to the floor and letting out many fits of laughter. This new found feeling of freedom was going to stick with me for awhile, I could tell, and I loved it.

There was bit of a loud commotion outside my door and I immediately sat up from the floor, my breathing picking up a bit in pace. My old instincts were getting of the better of me and it felt like I was back home again. Then, as quickly as those feelings came they left. I let out a sigh as the feelings disappeared and as I heard the neighbor's door close and the sound of two guys talking.

"Pull yourself together, Dean," I mumbled to myself, shaking my head and running a hand through my incredibly short white hair. The length of my hair was still something I was trying to get used to seeing as I had cut my hair right before leaving for San Diego. I had also dyed it a snowy white color and that was something that was also a little odd for me but nothing totally earth shattering. My natural hair was a few shades short of platinum blonde, so white wasn't much of a stretch.

I got up off the floor and padded over to the kitchen, doing my best to ignore my little episode from a few moments ago. I tried to busy myself by gathering food together for breakfast, but I wasn't thinking properly when I went to go rummage through the fridge. Not only was it empty but it hadn't even been plugged yet. Frowning, I tried looking through the cupboards for anything, but the results were the same: nothing.

With a sigh, I closed the last cupboard door and leaned against the counter. You know, this wasn't exactly horrible, I mean, I didn't have very many funds on me (certainly not enough to go buy some proper groceries) so maybe I could just skip breakfast today and save the little bit of cash I have left until-

The growl from my stomach interrupted my thoughts and let me know that skipping a meal wasn't an option anymore (even though I hadn't really eaten since I left for San Diego). I let out another sigh and crossed my arms over my body. Man, I really shouldn't have gone out for that coffee last night...

I shook my head and padded back over to the bedroom. Screw it, if I had to go broke for the time being, I would, but I was going to go get some food. Then, I could start my job hunt earlier than I had originally planned-

The thought of job hunting brought a scowl to my face and I flung the red tank top I had in my hand into my suitcase, sinking down onto my bed. I never particularly enjoyed job hunting (then again, who does?) and it was hard enough for me to find a job anyway with my many tattoos. Plus, this was a bigger city. The chances of me finding a job fairly quickly were close to none.

Don't be such a pessimist Dean, I can hear my mother's soft voice in my head, this being something she had told me often. You won't get anywhere with that type of attitude.

I smiled faintly at the memory of my mother but as soon as the smile came it was gone. Another reason I'm in San Diego...

"Nope!" I shout, hopping up from the bed and starting to scurry about my room again. I wasn't going to wallow in my self pity and despair any longer. I need to get off my ass, get dressed, and then go find a job somewhere in the town.

But first, I needed food. And lots of it.

---

It hadn't taken me long to find a small little cafe to get food at, because let's be real here- Starbucks was waaaay too expensive and God forbid I go to McDonalds for breakfast, so roughly half and hour later, I was walking the streets of San Diego with a water bottle and muffin in hand. Fortunately, the cafe wasn't too pricey so I still had a little bit of cash on me. Hopefully, that little bit would last me until I landed a job and a paycheck. If not, then I was just going to have to get creative.

As I walked along eating my delicious muffin, I gazed at all the buildings around me. I had to say, San Diego was rather beautiful. The architecture was unique in its own way yet so simplistic. I remember it being lit up last night and it just made me appreciate San Diego's beauty even more. Also, in general, it seemed kind of like a down-to-earth place.

Let's just hope San Diego was 'down-to-earth' enough to give me a job.

Many places I passed had 'EMPLOYEES WANTED' signs plastered in the windows, but all of them were places that I knew wouldn't take me because of my tattoos or they were out of my qualifications range, which I'll be frank, is very limited. I have minimal managing experience, I was a guitar tech at my home town's local venue, I worked at a gas station, and I have a GED. Whoop-de-freakin-do.

I was almost done with my muffin when I was walking along and lo and behold, there was a place right in front of me that would possibly take me:

A freaking liquor store.

Granted, it was not my ideal choice of a job, but with my limitations and current financial status I was willing to take just about anything.

I quickly discard of my muffin wrapper and ran into the liquor store, flattening my breezy hair as I stepped inside. The store itself wasn't buzzing with much activity, but what does one expect from a liquor store at 11am?

At first, it seemed like there was actually no one in the shop, even after I called out a few hellos, and just as I was about to leave, a back door opened and a tall man walked out. At first, I only saw a messy mop of black hair, but as he rounded the corner of an aisle, I saw his features more prominently. He was muscular in the arms and overall seemed rather fit. Tattoos peeked out from underneath his yellow work polo and his olive colored skin seemed to be a bit grimy from work, so maybe he was some sort of stock guy that moved around all the boxes? I wasn't too sure.

The man's dark brown eyes met mind and his eyebrow popped up at bit. "Can I help you miss?" his gruff voice asked, walking behind the enclosed and protected register.

I nodded and said, "Yes, you can actually-"

A soft chuckle escaped the man's lips and he looked at me with a smirk spread across his face. "It's a little early to be drinking, isn't it?" he asked me. "Or is life just that bad for you?"

A smile of my own spread across my face and I shook my head. "Sorry, but it's not that kind of help," I told him. "Actually, I was here to ask you about that job opening you had up in the window? I'm kind of in desperate need of a job."

Once again, the man's eyebrow shot straight up. "And what's a pretty girl like yourself doing looking for a job at a hole in the wall liquor store?" he asked, his tone both light hearted and serious.

I shrugged at him and said, "My job options are pretty limited actually. I'm not qualified for much of anything and do you honestly expect people to hire me like this?" I gestured to my entire body, which currently was wearing grey denim shorts, black Doc Martens, and a red tank top that showed off several of my tattoos. "That, and I'm just in desperate need of a job. I just moved here and have zero funds."

The man let out another chuckle and smiled at me. "Sounds like a big deal," he says with a grin. "Yes, we actually are short staffed, but unfortunately, I'm just an employee myself. The boss isn't here right now, so I can't just hand you the job right now, as much as I would love to actually. Now, what I can do is talk to Trevor and I'll see what we can do for you, okay sweetheart?"

I smiled at him and said, "Thank you so much, this actually means a lot to me."

"Anytime," he says with a wink, causing a soft blush to spread across my face. He must have caught onto my blush because his grin widened and he started shaking his head before going back to working on the register.

I let out an awkward cough and rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, uh, I guess I'll just be going then," I say, starting to back out of the store when his head snapped up from the register.
"Wait!" he called out, causing me to stop and look at him with a curious expression. "I, uh, I need your number-"

"Dude, you just met me and now you're trying to hit on me?" I joke, crossing my arms and giving me a look. A part of me though was starting to get defensive though. Was he actually-

The guy's eyes widened and he put up his hands in defense. "Oh, no!" he quickly stated. "I, uh, need your number so either Trevor or I can call you about the job...."

"Oh," I mumble, blushing in embarrassment. "Well, um, I don't really have a phone, so maybe I could just give you an address?" I suggest, smiling sheepishly.

The man chuckles and he shrugs. "Sure, whatever works for you, sweetheart," he says, pulling out a notepad and pen from behind the register.

I let out my own chuckle as I walked over to the register. The guy slid the pad and pen over my way and as I scribbled down my address, he spoke up. "The name's Gavin by the way," he tells me.

"Dean," I say with a slight smile, sliding the pad back his way. There was no point in hiding my name anyway, I guess I just got paranoid with Vic last night anyway-

Wait, why am I thinking about Vic? Whatever.

"Well Dean," Gavin says with a smile after glancing at my pad, "I'll be sure to get in contact with you once Trevor gives me his thoughts."

I nodded and said, "Once again, thank you so much for this. You have no idea how much this is going to help out."

"Anytime sweetheart," he adds with a wink, causing both of us to laugh and for me to shake my head.

"I need to get going, so I'll talk to you later then I guess?" I say, walking out.

"Sure thing, Dean!" Gavin called out as I exited the store. I had a bit of a grin on my face as I left. Okay, so maybe job hunting wasn't turning out to be so bad after all! Still, I probably should go off and see if there are any other places I could apply at. You never know if I could need a second job or if I'd even get a job at the liquor store.

I continued to wander around the city for what seemed like hours. After awhile, I had stopped intentionally looking for jobs and just focused on seeing the city, which in a way was working out for me. The amount of jobs that weren't available or that applied to me after the liquor store was rather sad and it was beginning to depress me a bit.

That being said, I did end up finding a large variety of stores that I could at least shop at it. That had to be a plus, right?

While the grocery stores and little hole-in-the-wall book and antique stores were nice, there was still something I was missing. I really couldn't place it, but I was just hoping that in a city like this, there would be some sort of-

Hey, is that a music store?

Turns out that, yes, yes it was a music store,and even better, it was a record store. An uncontrollable grin broke out on my face and I all but sprinted to the store. This was my kind of store! All the albums I listened to as a kid but never bought could be here, and while I was close to broke at this point, I knew that I had to at least browse through them. I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't.

I entered the store and a high pitched ding rang out, signaling a few customers of my presence, but not very many. They were all busy digging through albums, CDs, music sheets, looking at the instruments, or just too busy listening to the music to really pay attention to anything else. An employee looked up from the cash register as I ventured further inside and he smiled at me. "Hey," he happily said, "welcome to Ernie's. Need any help today?"

I shook my head at him and replied, "No, just looking, thanks though."

He nodded at me and said, "Well if you need anything just say something."

I nodded back a response and then went down the first aisle of records, and boy were there a lot. I quickly exited that aisle and I was about to go down the second aisle until I saw a section several aisle's down marked "Q". What brought me there, you ask? Good ol' fashioned Queen, baby. When I finally got that section, literally every single album was there right in front of my eyes and there was at least 3 of each copy. It was so beautiful.

I hadn't noticed how long I had been standing there just gawking at the amazingness because suddenly, a tall guy was next to me and sifting through the albums. "I'm guessing you're a fan then?" he asked.

Startled, I looked up at him with a wide-eyed expression momentarily before calming down. The guy looked to be around my age and had longish brown hair with a backwards snapback balanced on his head. I also couldn't help notice all of the tattoos that this guy had- it started at his neck and went to his hands in lots of intricate designs and patterns. I just smiled a bit at him and nodded. "Yeah, uh I guess you could say that," I say a bit awkwardly.

The guy started to laugh and he said, "Dude, you were standing there for 10 minutes practically drooling over the albums. I almost had to call Devin over to clean up the mess."

I started laughing and I grinned a bit. "Well good to know I was able to contain my inner fangirl," I stated rather sarcastically, causing him to let out another laugh.

"Yeah, that could have been pretty bad," he said with a smile, pulling out one of the vinyls and inspecting it .

"So are you a fan too?" I find myself asking the guy, pulling out the Greatest Hits album for a moment before putting it back.

"Sort of, but it's mainly my brother that's the fan," he explains, looking up from the vinyl to me. "To be honest, his birthday's coming up soon and I have no fucking clue what to get him, so I sort of started here," he adds, laughing at himself before placing the vinyl back in it's proper place.

I couldn't help but laugh a bit myself and smile at him. "Well, Queen makes a great birthday gift," I say, partially joking with him. "And if you want, I could help you pick out the perfect album for you brother."

"Wait, are you serious?" he asked, a bit shocked and skeptical of my answer. When I nodded, he broke out into a huge grin and said, "Dude you're like a fucking lifesaver right now, thank you!"

I let out another laugh and shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"Still, thank you. I no longer have to fill out my 'Worst Brother of the Year' application because of you," he jokes. He then grinned and stuck out a hand. "The name's Mike by the way- and you are?"

I smiled a bit at him and shook his hand. "I'm Dean," I told him.

"Interesting name," Mike says, eyeing me up and down as we shook hands. His eyes landed specifically on my tattoos and hair and he started to smirk a bit. "Actually, you just seem like an interesting girl in general."

"Um, thanks I guess?" I say, my statement coming out as a very nervous question that caused Mike to laugh a bit. A slight blush had appeared on my cheeks and subconsciouly reached up and rubbed the back of my neck out of a nervous habit.

"Anytime sweetheart," Mike replies, a very smug smirk plastered on. He must have noticed my sudden nervous actions along with my blush and thought he was the cause of it, which I'll admit, he partially was, but that wasn't entirely it either. He took a step closer to me adding, "And speaking of 'sweetheart'-"

"Are you harrassing more innocent girls again, Mike?" a familiar voice joked from behind me.

"What?" Mike asked innocently. "Pfft, no. I'm just have a lovely conversation with an even more lovely girl," he says, winking at me and causing me to blush again.

The voice chuckled, saying, "Yeah, yeah, sure, but remember what happen the last time you tried hitting on a girl in here-"

"Dude, how was I supposed to know she was a lesbian?!" Mike cried, throwing his hands up in the air and pouting a bit at the guy behind me. "Besides, you can't tell me you haven't tried doing the same, Vic!"

At them mention of that name, I finally whipped around to face the guy behind me, who was currently laughing at his taller companion. "Yeah but unlike you, I..." he trailed off as his chocolate brown eyes landed on me and a small smile spread across his face as soon as he recognized me.

"Vic?" I asked a bit in surprise.

"Hey there, Darling," Vic says, his soft smile turning to a bit of a smirk. "Didn't realize I'd be seeing you again so soon."

Notes

Yeah I'm not afraid to admit this is crap chapter. The first few chapters bit be sort of rushed/rambley like this one, but I want to set down a decent platform/base for this story so it's not so rushed and everything.

UPDATE: edited as of 11/14/15