Another day, another dollar. [Gus]

[ellabell]

Ella had woken up from her 8 hours of sleep, feeling pretty groggy. As a morning person, she hadn't really known what to do with the a-typical haze that she'd had to work through. In the end, she'd burnt a batch of sesame bread, which some of the regulars were not too thrilled to hear. She'd appealed to them with free fresh juices all around, and a garuntee that the mistake wouldn't become a regular thing. In the end, people left with happy faces and she received promises to be in the next day.

Business had been booming as of late. Vegan or not, people had been streaming in to try her healthy yet satisfying foods. The only problem was that with all of the new customers, she had even less time than she ever thought possible. If she ever wanted to see a day off again, she would have to get some help in her humble little deli. And in order to afford that, she'd need to rent out the second floor of her building. She sighed before positioning her usual smile on her face and taking another customer's order.

On her storefront there were two signs. One, proclaiming the store open, and another advertising her space for rent. Some people had struck up conversations about the apartment, but there hadn't been anyone actually looking for a place. There were a few calls and a couple tours as well, but still niente.

The lunch rush had finally come to a halt, and those left, munched contently at their food. Ella's parents had originally helped her to buy the beautiful old building and whip it into shape. It had been updated, making the bottom floor her deli. It had a warm and welcoming feel to it, done up in rich woods, twinkle lights and mismatched chairs. Most of the furniture were thrifting finds, painted to look new again.

Upstairs, the two apartments were identical, other than one's obvious lack of furnishings. They both had open floor plans, so that the only walls were separating the bathroom and bedrooms. In Ella's own space, she'd painted the original cream walls over with an earthy shade of yellow, and decorated with oranges, blues, greens and whites. She liked to boost her mood with bright colors.

As for today not even a carefully selected paint color could seem to rub the sleep from Ella's eyes. After the lunch rush, she felt like she was running on fumes.

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

For what he was, Gus wasn't much of a morning person. Sure, he got up early every morning and was bright eyed and bushy tailed by the time one o'clock rolled around but it didn't mean that he enjoyed it. No, he would complain about how there needed to be an off switch for the alarm clock he had set embedded deep in his brain that made it impossible for him to stay asleep. But since he was up and the sky looked like a storm was brewing up, he decided that it would be just as good a day as any other to go out for lunch.

Gus didn't cook. Unless you counted pouring cereal into a bowl and adding milk (or sometimes soda if they were out of milk) cooking then he was on his way to being a top chef! No, he let his mum do all the cooking and he'd try to stuff his face with as much as he could before dad came home from one of his leader meetings. Or whatever it was the old man did when he wasn't at home.

Now Gus was all about trying new things if they looked and smelled good enough. And on his way to one of the little cafes that lined Peanut Street to grab a bite when he walked right by a building that for some reason caught his eye today. He'd walked by it before in the past but it just stood out more now than ever before and he took a few steps backwards until he was standing in front of the building once more.

It was the strangest thing seeing an open sign and a space for rent sign. It wasn't a space for rent to do business from the looks of it, but a space to live. Cocking a brow at the building he decided that his curiosity was going to get the best of him and changed his plans from one of the usual cafes to this place. It looked like it had food and that was good enough for him!

When he strolled inside the deli he could see there were a few people sitting around eating but it wasn't overly busy. With his hands stuffed into the pockets of his plain grey sweatshirt he tilted he got in line behind a guy who could lay off the twinkies for a while that seemed to be the only one who was ahead of him. As he listened to him place his order Gus made a sour face. He'd just walked into a health food restaurant by the sound of it! "Oi! You got anything fried?" He called out obnoxiously loud with a fake Scottish accent (something he did far too often), getting a few heads to turn and look in his direction. He was pretty sure there wasn't anything that was deep fried in batter behind that counter and the looks only made him realize just how right he probably was.

[ellabell]

Ella was filling one of her regular's orders-- Carl, a very rotund but kind natured man. Every day he'd come in and ransack the glass case of vegan sweets. Brownies, cookies, and cupcakes mattered not. Carl always wanted it all. Just as she shut the case closed again, there was an intrusively booming voice. And a horrendously thick accent.

"Oi! You got anything fried?"

Her brows furrowed and her eyes focused on a sort of disheveled young man, with a mop of curly brown hair. She'd never been fond of anything that made more noise than necessary, and under her shirt, her feathers bristled. The invisible reaction was the only other sign of her annoyance beyond the momentary meeting of eyebrows. On her face she maintained her smile, flashing her teeth happily when she felt more like gritting them. "No, sir. We focus on keeping things as healthy as possible here at Bird Food. However, we do have some great alternatives!"

She gestured towards the enormous chalk board overhead that displayed her menu while she passed Carl his tray of sweets. As always, he gave her more than the cost of the food with a smile, letting her speak with the inquiring customer behind him by walking to a seat. "If you're interested, we have a pecan encrusted chicken substitute that I think is even better than actual fried chicken. Not to mention that you get extra protein instead of empty carbs."

Her endorsement speeches for the deli's food were well rehearsed, and although she maintained eye contact and that ever present pleasant expression, an observant person would be able to tell how bored she was with repeating her shpeal over and over again. She was leaned forward over the counter, her head cupped in her hand. "Or you could try something completely different. Is your pallet feeling adventurous today?"

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

He knew that he had been rude by just shouting out from behind the big man, but Gus just didn't care. He wasn't the sort to get embarrassed by that or anything really. Gus was a grade A slacker and jackass. Too bad his mum couldn't grade him on that sort of thing when he was being home schooled. "No, sir. We focus on keeping things as healthy as possible here at Bird Food. However, we do have some great alternatives!" What kind of line was that? He thought to himself and stared at the one behind the counter as she motioned to the chalk board up above and his eyes followed to look at what was scribbled on the menu over the counter.

When the man in front of him walked away he stepped up, his palms flattening out against the counter and his eyes on the menu. "If you're interested, we have a pecan encrusted chicken substitute that I think is even better than actual fried chicken. Not to mention that you get extra protein instead of empty carbs." Protein? He wanted the empty carbs! All the greasy, fried empty carbs that he could get!

"Or you could try something completely different. Is your pallet feeling adventurous today?" "My pallet is always ready for an adventure," he said and wiggled his brows at her as if there was some hidden innuendo behind the words, when really he wasn't trying to be dirty. He was just being playful. "How about just one of your brownies? They can't be too bad, can they?" They were brownies after all, how could you screw those up?

He mimicked the girl and leaned against the counter, placing his head in his hand the same as her in a mirrored fashion and gave her a big smile. Gus could try to be nice when he wanted to. In fact, he always thought he was nice! A little blunt and obscure at times but he was a nice guy. He didn't go beating people up or steal cars, he just talked to people and told them what was on his mind. And occasionally peed in pools. But who didn't?!

"I noticed your sign out front. What kind of renter you looking for?"

[ellabell]

"My pallet is always ready for an adventure," Ella's brow raised, but she chose to ignore the possibility of an alternate meaning. Just as she was about to suggest a couple dishes with more exotic flavors, he ordered a brownie. A very tame adventure, apparently. She stopped herself from more of an internal monologue, noticing she was feeling a tad more bitchy than usual. She decided to attribute that to the freak weather that had since graced the town. Quite frankly, it seemed to be throwing Ella off her natural groove. She hadn't had time yet that day to turn on the news and see what the broadcasters had to say about it because she'd been dragging herself around all day in a haze.

Just as she was about to pull a brownie from her glass case, the customer made himself comfortable on the counter in front of her, mirroring her pose, just a few inches away. AWLL up in hur grill, this guy. But he did smile, which was some sort of peace gesture in her book.

"I noticed your sign out front. What kind of renter you looking for?"

NOW he had her attention. Ella stood up straight. Under her harness, her wings bristled excitedly, which inevitably made her wince as they strained against their prison. "Oh! Well I'm glad you noticed it. I actually have an apartment right upstairs that I'm looking to rent out to someone. Are you looking for a place to stay?" In that instant, he transformed in her mind. Raggity delinquent no more. No, this man was a shining opportunity for her to take down that sign and finally make use of her second floor.

Looking around, there weren't too many people in the store. She could easily close up early since Bird Food was only open for dinner on the weekend. "I could give you a tour if you're interested."

The brownie. She suddenly remembered his order and took one from the case. She decided not to tell him about how it was good for him-- something she typically did for new customers-- since he clearly wasn't interested in that aspect. Besides, she thought he might be a little put off if she told him about all the fiber he'd be getting from now undetectable black beans.

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

"Oh! Well I'm glad you noticed it. I actually have an apartment right upstairs that I'm looking to rent out to someone. Are you looking for a place to stay?" Gus had a place to stay, but his mum and dad had been trying to get him to move out for some time now and finally he was beginning to take the hint. Why would he want to move out when he had a perfectly good thing going? His laundry was done, his messes were cleaned and he was fed three meals a day. Who would want to move out of their parent's place? Not Gus! And that was why he was being 'encouraged' for a lack of better word, from the 'rents to get the hell out.

"I could use a flat," he answered in his usual fake accented tone, watching the girl with the bushy brows that could seriously go up against his in a competition. They could be brow buddies!

"I could give you a tour if you're interested." It sounded like a good idea. Have a brownie and see an apartment! It was strange that it was above the deli, but then again that meant if he took the apartment he'd probably get to wake up to the smell of fresh food being made every morning. "A tour sounds wonderful!" He declared a little louder than he probably should have, gaining a few more leery looks from the occupants.

He watched her like a hawk when she grabbed a brownie for him, wanting to make sure she didn't give him the smallest piece in the bunch and when he was satisfied with the one she picked he reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a handful of crumpled up bills. "How much?" Gus asked and started to flatten each individual bill by sliding his palm over it and pressing it against the counter.

When he had his brownie and was satisfied that he'd paid for it he bunched up the rest of the money and stuffed it right back into his pocket again. It didn't matter how many times he tried to be neat and organized it just wouldn't stick. "So let's do this, huh?" He grinned and nodded at her in a teasing manner before he took a bite of the brownie. In that first bite his mouth froze and he looked around. There was something weird about that brownie. Slowly he moved it around in his mouth, chewing the gooey chocolate treat. By the time he swallowed it that weird taste at first went away. Whatever was in it, it wasn't half bad!

[ellabell]

Ella took the money that he handed her, and stuffed it into the butter yellow vintage cash register, her heavily ringed fingers clacking against the plastic tray. She was so eager to show the space to a potential renter, that she felt like her wings would burst from her harness. Hopefully their slight protests against the contraption weren't visible through the back of her loose fitted sea foam lace dress. "Just a moment!" She called back. Ella herded the customers like sheep, repeating apology after apology, convincing them the the tables set up outside would be far better than hanging out inside on such a lovely day. She became selectively deaf when they protested and pointed out the obvious freak weather. Honestly, it was a wonder she was still in business sometimes. Her food must really be good.

"Aaaalllllrighty then." She locked the door behind everyone, leaving just her and the curly haired guy. She started to walk past him to the back door that lead to the stairs up the side of the building, but then paused and turned back, "Sorry. I'm Ella by the way." She laughed half out of embarrassment, half out of the first touch of giddiness she'd felt all day. She stuck her hand out to shake his, and once introductions were complete, she was once again making a beeline for the door. All the while she kept chattering about the apartment. Ella had never been good at putting a lid on it.

"So, to get into the place, you just have to take these stairs in the back. You can either walk around, or just go through the deli when it's open. As you can see, there's a few parking spaces in the back if you have a car, and if not, I installed a bike rack for a more green transportation option." She gestured towards the area where her own vehicle-- A pistachio green smart car-- was sitting. On the bike rack, there was also a white bike, which, if it wasn't for the tires, was so clean that it seemed unused.

"Now up we go!" As an Avisaille, Ella was more than content with living three stories up. She would have lived even higher up if she could have afforded a building with more floors. But regardless, she still loved her home. As she was walking up the stairs though, she could see how that feature would be unappealing to anyone else. They finally arrived up at the door and Ella pulled a key chain from her pocket. She selected the correct one easily, since it was color coded. Green for her place, blue for the empty apartment and orange for Bird Food. Organized. Just how she liked it.

She inserted it into the keyhole and opened the door easily. The apartment wasn't furnished beyond kitchen appliances, and she kind of regretted not spending the money on furnishing it. The place looked pretty barren. But if you had an eye for potential, you could easily see it's charm. Ella walked into the center of the room, her oxfords making the room echo slightly with each step. "As you can see, it's not furnished, but it's still a nice place. I just recently sanded and resealed the wood floors, and also hired someone to put a fresh coat of paint. You would obviously be able to paint the walls whatever color you wanted though, just so long as you had it repainted to cream again if you had to move out for any reason."

Spinning like a top, she pointed out more things, "The bathroom is right through that door, and the bed area is just beyond that wall." She FINALLY stopped talking and glanced over at him, "So... What do you think?"

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

Gus practically stuck the entire brownie in his mouth, letting half of it stick out making him look like a dog with a bone of sorts. He turned his back to the counter and leaned against it crossing his legs at the ankles and watching as the girl began to shoo everyone out of the deli, saying that it was a nice day to eat outside. Meanwhile lightning was lighting up the sky followed by a rumble of thunder. Everyone was protesting but she wasn't phased when they said that the weather was awful. When everyone was outside and she locked the door he waited for her to turn and address him again. "Sorry. I'm Ella by the way." "Gus." He said just as he swallowed the last bit of brownie, licking his lips and the front of his teeth to make sure he didn't have any that stuck out.

"So, to get into the place, you just have to take these stairs in the back. You can either walk around, or just go through the deli when it's open. As you can see, there's a few parking spaces in the back if you have a car, and if not, I installed a bike rack for a more green transportation option." Gus followed and listened while Ella explained the different perks of the place. He didn't have a car but he did have a bike with two flat tires and a broken chain. His own two legs were good enough to transport him from one place to another.

"Now up we go!" He'd never lived in an apartment complex before, but he had enough friends who did and he'd helped them move. When they lived on any floor but the first it was a pain in the rear to haul everything upstairs. But as they climbed he noticed it was only the second floor and it wasn't as if he had a lot of stuff to move, he was one person living with his mum and dad, and all his furniture was in his own bedroom.

As they stepped into the loft he walked around casually, looking at the walls and the floors. It was very open and there were so many possibilities that he could do with an open space! He wouldn't buy furniture.. it would be one giant open area to do anything he wanted! He could run around in circles or roll across the length of the floor.. breakdance (not that he could) or a number of things! Not to mention he could call over some friends and they could just chill out on the floor and pretend it was a library and they were different characters from The Breakfast Club. Of course he was Andrew Clark, Emilio Estevez's character because he was the coolest one of the group!

"As you can see, it's not furnished, but it's still a nice place. I just recently sanded and resealted the wood floors, ..." The girl went on to tell him about thef loors and how he could paint the walls if he chose to do so just as long as he painted them back when he moved. Then Ella directed his attention to the bathroom and the bedrooms, motioning where each of them were. As long as it had indoor plumbing and a place to stick his bed he couldn't care less what it looked like. But just because he could, he strolled over to the bed area and then the bathroom poking his head in both areas and taking a look around.

"So... What do you think?" He leaned towards one of the windows and peered out to see Peanut Street down below, which would normally be filled with people and stands at this time of day but the weather made everyone want to stay indoors. He could count the number of people he saw on one hand strolling by. "It's a flat." Gus rolled his shoulders into a nonchalant shrug and turned his attention back to the girl. "I mean it's not all that bad. How much would this cost me a month?" Really, he did want it but he didn't know if he'd be able to afford it. He might have to actually get a real job.. like a pizza delivery driver!

[ellabell]

Her jaw almost dropped when all he had to say was, "It's a flat." and "It's not all that bad." Really?! She'd just talked the guys ear off with all of the amazing things about the apartment. And that's all that he had to say? "It's not all that bad?"

"You know--" She almost unleashed a giant rant about courteous filters on the things that you say in front of strangers, but she instead contorted her mouth (which was in attack mode) into an uneasy smile. "It is five-hundred a month, not including water and electricity." She cleared her throat, "Really, it's an AMAZING deal for a location right in the middle of town, and for such a large space."

Inhale. Exhale. "And the only reason that it IS such a good deal is because I'm not really looking to make a profit from it beyond making enough to hire someone in the deli. I'd like a vacation from time to time... you know how it is."

Part of her really wanted to get this guy to just move in, and then she'd lock him in there so that he wouldn't be able to bother the planet ever again. Another part of her wanted him to not want the place. Another party reeeeeeally wanted a vacation. That was the largest of all of the parts.

"Soooo Gus... yes? No?" 'Say no. Say yes. Pleeeeeeeeeease say no. Yes. Vacation. Say yes.' She was having some serious internal conflict. She was already having visions of living over this guy. Loud banging sounds at odd hours of the night. Music disturbing her customers by day. Strange junk showing up in her parking lot. She barely knew this kid, but she could already tell that he was a kooky character.

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

"Soooo Gus... yes? No?" It was cheap enough and around everything that Gus needed! He would have liked it better if it was a Burger King downstairs but he could live with having to walk to one. He'd still be closer HERE than he would be at home. And there was the bonus of this cute chick living there. He could go knock on her door and ask to borrow a cup of sugar. Naked.

"I'm going to have to say..." he stroked his chin with his fingers almost like he was pretending he had a beard there, trying to look much more sophisticated than he was. He peered out the window again to see an old lady wobbling her way down the sidewalk below. "..alright. I guess I could take it off your hands. Why not?" He shrugged and then grinned at her. He spoke like he was doing her a favor but he knew it wasn't true. This would get his mum out of his hair about going out and doing something with himself.

"When can I move in?" The space was a total steal. Five hundred bucks for something like this? He would have been a total tosser if he didn't take it! He stuffed his hands back into the pockets of his jeans and hunched forward almost stiffly. "What about pets? Isn't there usually things you can and can't do that a landlord can kick you out for?" He raised a bushy brow at her and his eyes landed on her brows. He wanted to measure them... and then measure his own. Who would have the bigger brows?!

[ellabell]

"Alright. I guess I could take it off your hands. Why not?" She stood there, for a minute. Really? Was it done that easily... could she really gather up the papers, just like that? He asked her a couple of questions, which she listened to, but instead of answering them right away, she released a girly, high pitched squeel into the world, paired with some jumping around him in erratic circles and finishing with a great big hug. "You. Are. AMAZING. I am going to be the best landlord ever!" She held onto him for a weirdly long amount of time. She'd have to call her mother. She'd be so excited! Finally she let go.

With a deep breath and wide grin on her face, she answered his questions. "So. Okay. You can have a pet as long as you clean up after it and don't bring it into the shop downstairs. Also, it can't be a cat. Cats are FORBIDDEN. I hate them and they hate me and I don't want that kind of energy around here." She hadn't really thought about rules for a tenant yet though... she would make some on the spot so that this sounded a little less casual than it actually was, "You can have people over, but remember, I do live over you, so please keep the noise down after midnight. Uhm... no drugs or anything. And... don't... don't uhm... hassle any customers or anything." Yeah. Those sounded like a good set of rules. Dang, she was a good landlord already.

She had all of this excited energy in her now, and it was all she could do to not hop where she stood. Her wings were all puffed up, which really just meant they were getting smushed right now in her harness. What a GLORIOUS DAY this was turning out to be. She couldn't wait to get into her own home and do a booty poppin' victory dance to her boy bands mixed CD.

"Okay. So, if that's all good with you, you can move in tomorrow for all I care. I would offer to help you with that... but my car is really fuckin' tiny and I have the upper body strength of a limp noodle, so you'll be on your own with that." AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. EXCITED. VACATION. YESSSS.

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

The questions that he asked went unanswered at first and he raised his brows at her, waiting for an answer but Ella seemed to want to scream and squeel which made Gus jump. Either she was batshit crazy or she was just really excited that he wanted to live there. Then the jumping started and he didn't know what else to do but to jump around with her. "Yaaayy...!" He cried out sarcastically and then was gretted by a hug. "You. Are. AMAZING. I am going to be the best landlord ever!"

When she was done with her crazy dance he stared at her and listened to her tell him the rules and how she hated cats. Gus wasn't a cat person either and they didn't like him but it was probably because he liked to kick them if they got in his way. The rules sounded a little weird like she made them up on the spot. Probably didn't have many tenants but whatever.

"Okay. So, if that's all good with you, you can move in tomorrow for all I care. I would offer to help you with that... but my car is really fuckin' tiny and I have the upper body strength of a limp noodle, so you'll be on your own with that."

Gus wouldn't need Ella's help in moving. He had his own mates to help him move all of his junk into the place and he could take his dad's car to do the moving. Not like he had a whole lot of stuff. "I can manage to move all my stuff. And I'm sure I can get the noise down at midnight," that might be hard but he would try. At least for the first couple of days. He was loud by nature and his music was even louder! He would have a party before the week was over that was for sure.

"So about that whole hiring help down in the deli," he started and tipped his head to the side and watching her. "I just so happen to be looking for a job!" Gus stuck his arms out to the side in a take-a-look-at-me-I'm-the-best-person-for-the-job stance.

[ellabell]

Ella stood here, motionless. All excitement drained. HIM? Work in her deli? There was just no way. "Look, you seem very... capable, but I was kind of hoping for someone who had a lot of expirience in cooking and baking. Also a vegan so they could share their enthusiasm and share all of the positives of cutting out all of the junk food." All she could imagine was a customer ordering one of her meals and Gus telling them that the KFC down the street was a LOT better than the hippy crap they sold at Bird Food.

She didn't want to out right tell the guy no though... that wouldn't be a start to any sort of good relationship. "But... I'll tell you what. I'm going to start taking applicants in about a week, and you can apply like everyone else!" She gave him two big thumbs up, feeling awkward and not knowing what else to do.

Now... figure out a way to change the subject. "Well... if you want to swing by tomorrow, I could have all of the papers ready for you. I should either be in the shop, unless it's later, then I'll be upstairs in my place. Feel free to knock down my door, hahahaha-ha-ha... ha..." She looked around the empty apartment, awkwardly. Not sure of how he would react to her basically turning him down on the job. He just wasn't Bird Food material.

[GUSTAV PERIWINKLE]

If Gus was to be completely honest he didn't want to work at the deli anyway. The only perk there was would have been the fact he wouldn't have had to travel to work. But the food wasn't to his taste and he'd be a really bad sales person. He just didn't get health food and he'd likely try to convert everything into fried food. Brownies caked in batter and deep fried? Yes please.

"I don't really want to work there. I was just trying to be nice." He told her and his expression changed almost instantly like he was disgusted at the thought of working there. "I have my heart set on something with food I can actually eat," Gus had high goals for himself, alright! Such a go-getter this strappy young chap! But in all seriousness, he would have been much better as a pizza delivery guy. He'd heard that you got to take the leftover pizzas home at the end of the day and what was better than free pizza!?

He listened to her say she'd have the papers ready for him to sign the next day and nodded. His cousin was in town and maybe he could ring him and his sister up to help him move his junk. His mum and dad would surely dance with joy when he got home to tell them the news. "Right-o! I'll be sure to bring my lucky pen so I can give you my John Hancock." He looked around the apartment once again making sure he wouldn't forget what it looked like overnight. He had so much packing to do and he gave her a salute of two fingers against his forehead before dropping them back down. It was more sarcastic than anything else but probably one of the more subdued gestures he could have given.