Ashe sighed as she checked her phone for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Nothing. And that was exactly what she was doing - nothing. She looked around despondently. What was she doing with her life? Sitting on a bench outside a near-deserted mall on a weekday mid-morning. She felt so silly. She was tempted to go home - her apartment was just a short walk away - but she knew from experience that she'd only end up doing nothing at home as well. She badly needed a hobby. A real hobby, not sitting around outside a mall waiting for a girl who was probably never going to show up.
The day she'd ran into Alex was a day she was going to remember for a long time. Ashe had just happened to be in the mall that day, and had been unable not to take notice of the strange girl. She exuded such an odd vibe - a curious mix of confident and dorky, sexually outgoing and inhibited. There had been something mesmerizing about watching the girl go from store to store, changing from drab clothes to a bright pink, surprisingly revealing outfit and from old sneakers to daring heels. Alex's body language had shifted too, becoming more and more confident and flirtatious while retaining a certain amount of shy bashfulness. That weird mixture of things had caught Alex's eye, and watching her transformation had been nothing short of incredible. The best part was she'd been so sure Alex was checking her out, subtly encouraging her staring with the way she was walking and with with the looks she threw in her direction. Ashe's gaydar was rarely wrong, and she knew when she was being flirted with. But when she'd made her move, it had all gone wrong. Whatever confidence and sexuality Alex had been projecting had utterly evaporated, and she'd scampered off like a terrified fawn. It had actually been cute, in a way, but it had left Ashe completely high and dry.
Despite that, Ashe had been hoping Alex might call. When she didn't, after about a week Ashe had decided to put the strange girl out of her mind. But she found she was simply unable to. There had just been something about Alex that had left Ashe totally infatuated. It didn't help that she didn't know many other queer girls in the local area. Embarrassingly, after a few more days of pining over her, Ashe had found herself straying over to the mall whenever she left the apartment as if hoping to run into her again purely by chance. Before she knew it, she was doing it almost every day, and then actually every day. She felt foolish doing it but she couldn't quite bring herself to stop, and she didn't really have a reason to. She wasn't busy, she reasoned, and it helped her stop cooping herself up in her apartment all week long. If she happened to meet that cute girl again, well, that was just a silver-lining. Ashe knew she was just kidding herself by thinking about it that way, but it was better than admitting she'd developed a ridiculous crush on a random girl based on just one encounter.
Ashe was just about to give up and head home for the day, when she saw something. A glint of bright pink in her peripheral vision. Her head whipped round as her heart filled with hope, but once she got a good look at the girl who seemed to be jogging in her direction, she wasn't sure it was Alex. Was it? She was about the right height, and the pink clothes were distinctly reminiscent, but Ashe was sure Alex hadn't had blonde hair before. Eventually though, she decided it was her. It was Alex. Once she reached that conclusion, Ashe was assailed with a complex mix of emotions. She was overjoyed, but also instantly anxious, especially as she realized that in none of her fantasies had she really tried to imagine in detail what she might say to Alex. She'd always imagined it would be easy, but what if it wasn't? Would Alex remember her? If she did, would she think she was just a random creep? Ashe was hit with the urge to just bow her head, hide her face and let Alex pass by without saying anything to her. But no, she couldn't. As Alex got closer, her resolve grew stronger. This was the miracle of a lifetime and she couldn't let it go to waste.
"Hey!" she called out to Alex as she approached, waving to her. It took Alex a moment to notice her, and another moment for her face to register anything other than bafflement. Now she'd gotten a little closer, Ashe could see that Alex was out jogging. Once Alex got closer still, Ashe had to fight the urge to stare. The previously shy, nervous girl had changed dramatically. She was wearing the same kind of pink clothes she'd seen her buy, but much more suited to a workout - pink leggings and a pink sports bra, and that was it. With her stomach exposed, Ashe could see that Alex was - or had become - a lot thinner and trimmer than she'd judged weeks before. Her arms and legs were distinctly muscular and there was barely any puppy fat left on her frame, and the way her sweat glistened off her burgeoning abs was bringing heat to Ashe's cheeks. The most dramatic change of all, though, was her hair. Where before she'd been a mousy brunette, her hair was now a radiant blonde. All in all, it was quite the image change.
"Oh, hey, I remember you," Alex said brightly as she pulled her headphones out of her ears. Ashe listened curiously to try and hear what kind of music she was listening to. She was expecting pop, maybe some R&B, but all she could hear were a bunch of weird, dulcet tones that were strangely entrancing.
"Hey," Ashe said, and then cringed as she remembered she'd already said that. "Um... it's wild running into you again like this."
"Yeah." Alex bent over and rested her hands on her knees, panting as her toned body heaved, slowly recovering from her exertion. Ashe realized her mouth was hanging open, and closed it.
"Well, um." Ashe decided she needed to address the elephant in the room. "I'm sorry for cornering you last time, I completely misunderstood the kind of signs you were giving off. My bad. Hope it wasn't too awkward for you."
"O-oh, no, um, just forget about it." Alex shivered and let out an oddly high-pitched giggle. Ashe stared at her, concerned. Was she straining herself too hard? But after a moment, Alex seemed to recover her composure. "I'm sorry too. I was also pretty awkward."
"It's totally OK," Ashe said eagerly, more than happy to put past awkwardness behind them. After that, their nascent conversation hit a lull and Ashe had to rack her brain for a new topic of conversation. After a quick moment, she found one. "I love what you've done with your hair! What made you want to dye it blonde?"
Ashe was pleased when Alex straightened herself and smiled widely, one hand reaching up to absently fondle her hair. "Oh, you like it? I've actually always wanted it this way, I just never had the courage until recently. It's just so glamorous and so... so sexy, yknow?"
"Yeah!" Ashe replied, surprised. Alex hadn't really struck her as the type when they'd met before. She'd clearly changed a lot, but there was still a little of the awkward dork in the way she was flushed and faintly embarrassed at talking to Ashe while dressed as she was. It was cute.
"Well, um... oh! Are you a student at the college? How's student life going?"
"Yeah, I am, I'm... ah!" Alex abruptly squealed and bent double again. Ashe peered at her, her concern doubling, but again, after a moment Alex managed to straighten herself and carry on talking, even though it was clearly taking her great effort. "I'm a student." She giggled, and if anything her breathing was more laboured than before.
"How's it going for you?" Ashe repeated.
"It's, um, good, yeah," Alex muttered, giggling.
"It must be coming up to midterms now, right?" Ashe pressed, oblivious to Alex's embarrassment. "Studying hard?"
"I-I guess you could..." Alex let out a loud whimper and shivered again. This time, the spasms in her body didn't subside for several seconds.
"Are you OK?" Ashe asked finally, her concern overcoming her desire for a nice, friendly conversation. "Maybe you should sit down."
