Record Store Day

Author's Note: This story is completely fictional and did not happen. All names of characters are fictional and were made up. Please do not copy and plagiarize my work.

This story was written for Revrapid, enjoy!

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Seattle, Washington

The wind blew in the distance through the cold November evening with no sunlight to wash away the chill. The temperature would only drop further as the day turned to night. Snow had yet to come in the winter season as the least of concerns regarding tomorrow. The traffic was normal in the streets for now, with the usual number of cars coming and going. On the eve of Black Friday, one had to think about the bumper-to-bumper traffic that began in the wee hours of the morning. Shop owners knew what to expect with such a hectic day coming. Most shops across the streets were already decorated with promo signs displaying special sales for the next day. The same streets would be filled with people walking shoulder-to-shoulder as they came and went from the shops, all bunched together.

The promotional signs had been sitting outside one specific store for more than a week now. Honey Bucket Records started out small just three years ago. The store was named after a Melvins song in tribute to the legacy of Grunge. Vinyls had returned in the past decade, proving to be a lucrative market to cash in for selling music in physical format. Seattle was filled with various music shops where Black Friday was a prominent date on the yearly calendar. It was the second 'Record Store Day' of the year for those who missed out in April. Honey Bucket Records sold almost entirely vinyl records, new and used. Online, the business boomed for secondhand sales and exchanges through collector circles. What did not get sold on shelves was marked down to discount prices on eBay.

Roy had entered the family business just in time for an explosion during the pandemic. He dropped out of community college to take a job working under his father Leslie in 2020. The store was his father's pet project for many years. The dream had come true to own and operate a record store, especially thanks to the vinyl explosion with a new generation. During the pandemic lockdown, online sales skyrocketed for vinyl. CDs saw something of a comeback as the used market increased in the following months. By the time Honey Bucket opened its doors again, the business had reached a new level of respectability and had the funds to compete with other record stores in Seattle. It was hard to believe that was only three years ago. Honey Bucket received a major boost of publicity when an Instagram influencer filmed themselves shopping during an April Record Store Day event.

It was a complete stroke of luck that saw two more influencers reach out to the store and offer a promotional agreement. Roy's father had a team of online managers who handled the eBay store and other promotional events on social media. Most of the time, Roy only concerned himself with the weekly paycheck he received, which went to rent, and his few hobbies in life. At twenty-three years old, he hoped to be spending most of his time outside of work chasing good times. That did not even come on weekends now, since his old man put him to work in the shop. The opening hours were at 7 AM and closed at 5 PM in the evening. For employees, they could not leave right away after changing the sign on the front entrance door. There was much work to be done with moving shelves to lockup, as well as the online management team, which had to handle shipping and printing. Roy had learned about the high costs of maintenance in his first year of working.

Most of his time this year was spent on the computer since February. The previous social media manager quietly quit without notice. Leslie handed his son a promotion to social media manager simply because 'he knows how to work Twitter and Instagram'. Flattering words caused a level of embarrassment since the websites were not hard to work. This new job kept Roy hidden away from the main room of the store. When a customer entered the front door, they were greeted with a small walkway and four rows of shelves. It was important to put the hottest-selling items on front display on the shelves for people to see first. The white wallpaper was hidden in the store by many posters of various bands and music long gone. Some of them were concert posters or vintage memorabilia that was on sale for negotiated prices. Roy's father loved to negotiate a price on vintage concert posters. Any of them from the late eighties and early nineties gave him a chance to lecture people about the shows he had witnessed.

Upstairs was where the other employees worked away from the customers. A small cubicle-style office separated the social media team. Only four people were needed to work from their own personal space every day. Roy preferred to be left alone in his small office. He arrived to work most days in casual jeans and a T-shirt to cover his skinny, pale body. His brown hair was shorter at the beginning of the year but now extended past his ears. He was unable to see the reflection of his face across the flat screen of his computer monitor. It was a relief to work alone, with his only human contact coming from two coworkers at the other desks working from their computers. Two people were required to run the eBay store for six days of the week. The job had changed hands between a few employees and was offered to Roy once. He passed, preferring to keep his position managing social media accounts.

Working online in privacy gave Roy a level of freedom he did not have downstairs in the main room of the store. With Black Friday coming up, he knew that he would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of customers entering and exiting the building after making purchases. Past Black Friday events were of little concern due to an increase in customers. Tomorrow would be different thanks to one special promotional event they had spent days preparing. Through sheer luck in reaching out and trying to contact various pop singers, Roy caught a break when he established communication with one. The promotional event was entirely his idea, despite his father's doubts that it would work. Most singers had their own managers behind social media accounts, reading and responding to private messages. Roy was pleasantly surprised to receive a message back from whoever was behind one specific account he messaged.

Billie Eilish followed the Instagram account belonging to Honey Bucket Records. Whether it was truly her or someone else replying in messages, Roy was ecstatic about the chance of working with her for an event. His first idea was an autograph signing event for fans. The one thing Roy did not consider was how much money they would need to pay her in a fee just to visit the shop. Billie accepted the offer almost immediately and forwarded contact with her management to speak with him. Roy had to inform his father. All he had to tell his old man was the number of her Instagram followers to impress him. An offer of $30k was made for the promo events. It was a hefty fee, but Roy argued that it was worth it for the store to get much-needed publicity from one of the biggest names in the music industry now. Billie had a single to promote with her latest release, 'What Was I Made For?' on vinyl format.

Several days of negotiating with her management unfolded in the following days. It was eventually decided that this would be a grand promo event for Record Store Day. Billie visited Honey Bucket herself earlier in the week. No one seemed to notice a major star had walked through the door when she arrived with a bodyguard. Her hair was platinum blonde instead of the signature black and green look she was known for. She wore black baggy clothes as part of her casual wear. Billie met the store owner and called her agent to swing by. Due to his job upstairs, Roy missed her arrival and did not hear about it until the following day, when a coworker mentioned it. The employees who recognized her all managed to get selfie photos with the famous singer. All of them except the one man who engineered the entire meet and greet event.

"Don't worry, she'll be back. You can get her autograph and a selfie if you're not busy upstairs."

Riley knew how to tease Roy with a goofy grin to finish his words. He was the only real friend Roy had at work. They bonded as young men with similar interests in the same style of music. Both of them had dropped out of college and were now stuck with the same job. Roy was a native of Seattle, while Riley had only arrived in the city last year. He claimed to have a girlfriend, but that did not stop him from looking at models on Instagram. Roy had caught him when he was walking past his computer one day while Riley was in the bathroom. It was too easy to open another tab in a web browser and daydream on the job, gazing at lewd photos of models. Riley preferred buxom ladies, judging by the choice of models he followed. The two men never spoke about the attraction they had for women. That made it easier for Roy to talk about Billie.

When it came to her music, Roy truly did not know much about her. Pop music was a genre he was completely out of touch with. That was his own fault for sticking with the genres he enjoyed and not listening to what was new and fresh on the radio. Beyond her music, Roy had taken a particular interest in Billie after her Vogue magazine shoot last year. The pictures in vintage-style corsets revealed her busty breasts. He would have never guessed that she had such an excellent rack hidden beneath her baggy black shirts. Her natural beauty was reserved only for herself and the lucky men she chose for boyfriends, past and present. Roy found himself lusting over Billie before he made the daring move to contact her on Instagram. If there was anything he would've wanted her to autograph for him, it would be his personal copy of that Vogue magazine. He imagined her asking him if the pages were stuck together inside.

True to Riley's words, Billie showed up at the store again the next day. Her second visit did not alert any strangers to her presence. Riley did not have the same level of interest in her that Roy did. The other man sat back in his desk chair, grinning at the screen. He wore a black windbreaker to deal with the dropping temperatures. His face was covered in tiny black hairs that matched the top of his head. Honey Bucket had a relaxed policy on long hair, beards, and tattoos. Riley took advantage of that with his own appearance. He passed on the opportunity to meet Billie face-to-face. He claimed that she was not his 'cup of tea' in his own words. Roy felt relieved that he did not have any competition with his friend. It was hard for him to realize that he had feelings of affection for a famous singer he had never met before. It was the first chance in his life to meet someone like her.

The meeting went differently than he expected. Billie offered her hand to him, and with a smile, they shook hands. He noticed her fingernails were painted all black to match her choice of outfits. She seemed surprised when he began the conversation by informing her that he was the one who reached out to her on social media. Her eyebrows quirked up as she gave him a surprised look before flashing her teeth in a grin. 'Oh, really?', those were the only words she needed to say to express her curiosity. Since her body was covered in black attire, Roy could only focus on her gorgeous face. Billie was quick to assume from his excitement that he must have been a big fan of hers. That caught Roy off guard, since he was not expecting her to bring it up so early in their conversation.

"So you're not a fan? You don't know any of my songs?"

Roy shook his head at her question. They stood in the main room of the store, behind the main shelves. No one else paid them any attention since there were no customers in at the time.

"No, I'm not familiar with your music at all. I just know you're famous right now and thought this would help the shop. I took a chance on messaging you on Instagram."

Billie smiled to hold back a chuckle. She broke eye contact for a moment before returning her gaze to him.

"I take it that you must have been messaging other singers too."

"Yes, I did. You were the only one who answered back. Was it really you typing the messages?"

She nodded her head with a smug grin across her lips.

"I don't read everything on there, as you can probably guess. But I did read yours after my agent told me about it. And yes, I had to type the replies. So you were actually talking to me, if that's what you were wondering."

Roy blushed at her admission. He smiled widely as he began to think of the many hundreds, if not thousands, of messages Billie received daily. Most had to be from fans, yet here he was meeting her with no real knowledge of her music. He could have lied to her and admitted he was a fan of her by other means, but Roy kept his mouth shut.

"I checked your account before I flew into town. Does your boss know about all the FansOnly models you're following?"

Just like that, Billie turned the entire conversation around. She saw right through him to the point of his attraction. Roy became instantly embarrassed as he stood speechless. His cheeks flushed red as she grinned at him. Her look said it all without her having to use the word 'gotcha'. Billie did not have to say anything else as she walked away, grinning. Roy was left guessing and speculating if she knew he had fantasies about her. He may not have been a fan of her music, but that did not mean he wasn't a fan of her beauty. Billie had left him standing there, lost in his thoughts, as she just smirked from across her shoulder. She winked at him in the distance. Anyone could have approached Roy and asked why he had that flabbergasted expression across his face. Luckily, he was spared from further public distress.

In the closing hours of Thursday evening, Roy found himself thinking about that awkward meeting. The way Billie left him there after exposing his interests in women. He could have logged on to Instagram and cleaned out the account, but he chose not to. There was nothing to hide from the many models he followed. As a single man who had not been in a relationship for three years, he did not feel ashamed. Roy's last girlfriend was back in his college days. An on-and-off type of casual hookup with no real feelings between the good times. He knew he had no reason to think of any serious relationship with Billie since they were merely strangers to one another. But what if? That was always the question that left a man like him fantasizing in the back of his mind. Tomorrow would be all about her if he did want to take his chances of showing her his personal copy of her Vogue magazine issue.

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1 DAY LATER

The blackness of night carried over into the wee hours of the morning with freezing temperatures. A slight wind chill made it worse for anyone traveling in these dark hours. This was one of those rare days when Roy had to get up early before 4 AM to go open shop. His father liked to prepare in advance, at least three hours before opening hours, on a special day like this. Roy was given that duty as the sole employee to open the shop. He dressed warmly in a pair of blue jeans and high black socks to match his sneakers. To complete his outfit, he chose a zip-up black jacket to cover his yellow shirt tucked in his pants. The zipper made a funny noise when it slid up to his chest. He grabbed the keys before heading outside to be greeted by the cold air. Once he got in his car, Roy wasted no time turning on the heater before he was ready to pull out.

Empty streets made it easier to navigate in the early hours of the morning. Driving at night was something Roy enjoyed in years past. Not having to worry about traffic made it easier to drive several dozen miles to clear his mind. He remembered those old days long past as he prepared himself for today's busy work schedule. It was a short drive in the city to a car park, where he hid his vehicle. A silver Toyota was nothing special compared to the various luxury cars that would fill up the bottom row of the car park. The streets were empty, with only a few figures in the distance beneath the street lights. A short walk from the parking lot, down the road, and to the record store could be accomplished in only twenty minutes. In no hurry to go to work, he took his time strolling the paved sidewalk, listening to the wind in the distance. Upon walking closer to the shop, Roy saw that he was not alone.

A black SUV sat directly across the sidewalk, where one could easily enter the front door of Honey Bucket Records. As Roy approached, he noticed the headlights were turned off. In these early hours of the morning, it would be unusual for anyone to camp outside the store. An autograph signing event would probably bring out some dedicated fans, or so he thought. The windshield of the vehicle was tinted entirely black, with no lights to reveal who was sitting behind the steering wheel or in the passenger seat. Roy's reflection was visible across the shiny glass, moving with each step. The closer he walked, the more he began to feel a sense of fear slipping into his subconscious. What if this SUV belonged to a dangerous criminal waiting to mug him? Roy refused to let the fearful thoughts overwhelm him. He moved to the sidewalk as he grabbed the keys from inside his pants pocket. The passenger door of the vehicle opened. Visible blonde hair belonged to a woman in a black hoodie. She stepped out, waving her hand with a smile.

"Oh, it's you."

Sighing in relief, Roy shook his head. Billie stepped out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut with an audible thump. Her buxom body was covered entirely in black clothes. A hoodie that matched her fleece pants. Whatever style of shoe she wore was covered by the ends of the baggy pants.

"Yep! What do you know? It's me, alright."

Billie teased him with her snarky reply. As Roy breathed, his breath was visible in a cloud blowing past his mouth. She glanced at the front door of the store and then back at him.

"Well, are you just going to stand there in the cold or unlock the door? I bet you're colder than me."

That made him snap back into reality. Roy moved to the door and shoved the key into the lock. She stood there and watched him turn the key and unlock the front door.

"What exactly are you doing here? We don't open for another three or four hours."

"I could ask you the same thing, you know?" 

He decided against answering her question upon stepping through the door. Billie followed him as Roy sighed in relief and walked behind the counter to flip the light switch. All the shelves were empty. Small boxes filled with vinyls were all locked behind a door in the storage room. Roy could feel the coldness of his fingers, which almost became numb from the temperature outside. Billie stood there and observed the empty store. She knew before he opened the front door that the place was empty and closed.

"I might as well tell you what you want to know. I just got up a few hours ago back at the hotel and felt energetic."

Roy laughed as he stepped around the counter to rejoin her.

"So do you have to fix the store up all by yourself?"

"Uhhh, something like that. You see, my dad's the owner."

She raised an eyebrow at his admission.

"I mainly work on the computer, but he asked me to get to work early today. So I guess I have to get started moving everything out, but we have a few hours before them."

Billie nodded at him before breaking eye contact. She appeared to be in deep thought about something.

"So why are you here so early? It can't be just to burn energy."

"I like to get to events early, so no one is waiting around for me."