The rest of their shift was more of the same; play acting as their hero personas and selling comics by the truckload. Rebecca must have had a knack for selling in costume, because she was making one large sale after another. She even noticed once or twice that the money she was being handed would be accompanied by a strip of paper with a name and number on it. So this is what it was like to get fawned over? Even for someone as modest as Rebecca, it certainly did something for her ego.

Eventually, their shift did indeed come to an end, with a few other workers arriving to relieve them, (one in manly armor with a hammer and the other in a skimpy set of ribbons, but to each their own.) Rebecca grabbed her clothes from her locker, changed in the bathroom, and before long she was out of the shop and on to dinner with Akshay.

It was an early dinner, so they decided on something small; a hot dog in the park. Since coming to America, the hot dog was one of those unhealthy little treats Rebecca indulged in occasionally. She ordered hers with mustard and onions from the stand and waited for Akshay. Once they had their dogs in the convenient cardboard holders, they walked along the path.

Rebecca had already shared her predicament, so she was just going to wait until Akshay decided to give her whatever advice he might have come up with through the day.

Ahhhhh hotdogs! That had to be one of the best and healthiest snacks in New York City! Akshay was nearly bouncing in place as he waited for his hotdog vendor to finish creating his masterpiece. Ever since Akshay was 15 he ordered one, and only one, type of hotdog: a single hotdog with relish, sauerkraut, chili, cheese, ketchup, mustard, and just a few sprinkles of bacon bits and black pepper! It had to be probably one of the most heart stopping hotdogs he had EVER eaten! Biting into it was like opening the doors to heaven.

One…truly achieved nirvana when consuming it.

He smirked as the bewildered hotdog vendor merely chuckled and shook his head as he finished constructing the masterpiece and handed it back over to Akshay in exchange for cash. Once that was done, Akshay turned back on his heel and headed to join Rebecca who was already enjoying her own dinner.

The experience at the shop was MORE than a success. They had sold tons of comics, given away their inventory of free comics, even had a few purchases from their more collectable items, so that meant it was going to be a bang up day for One Comic to Rule Them All! The boss would probably kiss them all on the lips for the cash he was going to find in the drawer tomorrow morning. On top of that, it was just an overall, fun experience. Rebecca had gotten into character with nearly as much fervor as when he was dressed up! It was good to find someone just as involved into the comic world as he was.

But that was not the topic of their meeting tonight. There was something weighing heavily on Rebecca’s mind, something that Akshay was sure that work had managed to distract her from but was not settling back into her mind. Being in love with the best friend who was already seeing someone; that was never a position he wanted to be in…again.

He sighed as he took a bite from his dog and casually carried it through Central Park, wiping any excess off of the corners of his mouth.

“So…your attracted to your best friend.” he said. Well…maybe that was a little blunt but it was a bit too late to take it back. “I’ve been there. Never a fun situation,” he said with a little sigh. “You shouldn’t be so down though. There is always a silver lining.” God he was sounding more and more like a fortune cookie. He simply shook his head and chuckled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so Yoda-ish there. But tell me…does she know you like her?”

Rebecca watched in awe as the hotdog man crafted the... creation Akshay asked for. She was not sure if there was even enough space on a hotdog for everything on that list he rattled off. Dismissing the thought, she took a bite of her much simpler dinner, savoring the juicy processed meat and the spice of mustard and onion adorning it.

>> “So…your attracted to your best friend. I’ve been there. Never a fun situation. You shouldn’t be so down though. There is always a silver lining. Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so Yoda-ish there. But tell me…does she know you like her?”

Rebecca stared down at her bitten-into hotdog as though it was going to guide her through this. "Ah dornt know... Ah mean, tae be honest, I dornt even know fer sure."

She took another bite and chewed thoroughly, covering her mouth with her hand as she continued speaking. "Ah ne'er liked anyain afore. An' Ah really ne'er expected Ah might like a girl."

For him to understand her problem more clearly, she would clue him into the last part of the problem. "Aboot a week ago, we sorta... accidentally kissed." She groaned, thinking of how something that felt so good led to such discord. "Since then, mah wires feel crossed. Whit if Ah'm jist confusing mahself? Ah've thought lads cute in th' past."

She sighed, annoyed. "Thes'd be easier if Ah had anything tae compare it tae." She attempted to fill her dissatisfaction with another bite of her hot dog.

Akshay caught the look of surprise from Rebecca as he strolled by, carrying the hotdog with the massive amounts of toppings. He knew that she was impressed, after all, few people would order a hot dog like this. Not because it was bad or anything, it was simply because he doubted that people believed that there were any skilled hot dog vendors that could actually accomplish it. But here it was, The Masterpiece, or so Akshay called it.

He took another bite as he strolled along through the cool evening. It was not a fancy meal but it was good enough for two friends to chat and talk over.

Another bite from his meal and he watched as Rebecca continued to think the thing over. The poor thing was really having a tough time of this and he hoped that he could at least offer some kind of insight that would be able to help her through this tough time.

>> "Ah dornt know... Ah mean, tae be honest, I dornt even know fer sure. Ah ne'er liked anyain afore. An' Ah really ne'er expected Ah might like a girl."[/color]

First time liking…anyone? Akshay tried to wrap his head around what Rebecca was telling him. No wonder she was confused! Without any experience in the world of love and attraction she was bound to get her signals and feelings backwards! He sighed a little heavily. She was in for a far tougher road than he thought.

>> “Aboot a week ago, we sorta... accidentally kissed… Since then, mah wires feel crossed. Whit if Ah'm jist confusing mahself? Ah've thought lads cute in th' past."[/color]

He twisted his lips into a sympathetic look as he reached over and patted Rebecca’s shoulder. On top of everything she had actually already kissed this girl that she was not too sure about. God, it truly was like a teenage soap opera unfolding before his eyes. His heart ached for her.

>> "Thes'd be easier if Ah had anything tae compare it tae." [/color]

Slowly they continued on until they came to a small bridge that overlooked a large body of water that stretched out before them. Over the rippled surface, he watched as tiny toy boats floated and ducks glided effortlessly. Around the edges people were gathered, some as couples, some of them by themselves. It was a rather inspirational place to stand simply watch the world float by.

Akshay nodded at Rebecca’s last words before he responded.

“You know, that may not be such a bad idea,” Akshay said with a nod. “Maybe you should go out with someone, preferably a guy, just so that you can get your feet wet. You’ll never know what it is your feeling for this girl if you don’t get at least some type of experience. It can be confusing otherwise.” He took another bite of his hotdog and peered out over the expanse of water and dabbed at his lips with his napkin. “Not, you know, that you should just throw yourself at anyone. Go out with someone else that you find attractive and fun. That should give you at least an idea of how you feel about this girl.”

Though Akshay knew his advice was sound, he was beginning to think that just maybe Rebecca’s feelings about the other girl was something deeper than merely infatuation. The way she was killing herself, agonizing over this, he had suspicions that maybe…there really was more…

He cleared his throat as he looked out over the water contemplatively.

“You know, when I was in your predicament, I had a similar reaction,” he said. “You see, my best friend in college dated this girl that was simply awesome. She was smart, funny, loved to talk about all things nerdy. But what was most attractive about her…was her compassionate eyes. They were a lovely shade of jade green and grew so warm whenever she did anything sweet. I used to lie awake at night, thinking about those eyes. Whenever I closed mine…I could see her’s clearly.” he shrugged as he leaned on the railing and smirked at Rebecca. “That’s how you tell, you know, if you’re in love with someone. If you see their eyes when you close your own…you’re lost.”

>> “You know, that may not be such a bad idea. Maybe you should go out with someone, preferably a guy, just so that you can get your feet wet... Go out with someone else that you find attractive and fun. That should give you at least an idea of how you feel about this girl.”

Rebecca ran the thought across her mind; it was not as though she had never considered doing it before. Since her birthday, there was one boy in particular she thought she could possibly depend on for a date. Maybe that was what it would take to sort out what she really felt for Agnes. She worried she would be using Drew as a means to an end, but it was not like she had no inkling of interest in him. Besides, it was normal for guys and girls to go on dates, right?

>> “That’s how you tell, you know, if you’re in love with someone. If you see their eyes when you close your own…you’re lost.”

Akshay was certainly showing another side of himself, contrasting his normal absurd attitude. The situations did not sync up totally, but the main piece was there: a longing for someone who was not yours. She was glad she chose to confide in him.

Trying to lighten the mood, she groaned. "Gee, thanks. Noo all Ah can picture is her crystal blues," she joked, even if it was true.

She nudged his shoulder with her own playfully. "Ef only you acted less like a brother, maybe Ah coulda jist used ye fer a date." She winked; kissing Akshay would without doubt shuttle to the top of her "awkward kisses" list.

Akshay grew quiet as he stared out over the water. He rarely thought about that incident, that time when he fell in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. It was a bad time for him because of the irreparable damage that he had done to his friendship. He didn’t feel bad for doing what he had done, he was honest and forthcoming…but he was too late. And therein was the problem. When it came to situations like this, it was a lot trickier than simply seizing-the-day or anything like that. You never know what damage that will cause to a well forged friendship.

But there was nothing worse than not knowing. Even if he failed, maybe Rebecca would have better luck. There was always hope.

>> "Gee, thanks. Noo all Ah can picture is her crystal blues,"[/color]

“Crystal blue? Hehe, yup…you’ve got it bad,” he said with a smirk.

Akshay chuckled as he nudged her playfully. It was really not his intention to make matters worse for the young redhead but he was only trying to help. The simple fact was that it was true advice. He had only felt that one time before and it was then that he knew he was utterly lost to the young woman. Sadly things did not go as planned, but it was a well-learned lesson that Akshay would never forget.

He hoped Rebecca could avoid such a lesson but judging by her reaction, it was obvious that she was far too gone in her affections for this friend. All he could hope for was that the two of them would fall madly in love or something. You never know.

>> "Ef only you acted less like a brother, maybe Ah coulda jist used ye fer a date."[/color]

“Haha,” he smirked and snapped his fingers. “Darn the luck.”

In all honesty he did think that Rebecca was attractive but for whatever reason he never really saw her as someone to date. Not only did he have a strict policy about not dating fellow employees, but Akshay, though an incredible flirt, never acted on those inclinations unless we really felt a spark between himself at the other person. So honestly he just didn’t feel anything like that with Rebecca. Maybe that was why he started to fall back on just being more of a brotherly/platonic friend type of person in regards to her.

He smiled warmly as he turned to look at her. He really was sympathetic to her problem and hoped that somehow it would work out.

“Listen,” he said. “I know it seems hopeless right now. Trust me, I do. But…it’ll work out the way it’s supposed to. You just got to hang in there. And hey,” he beamed proudly as he opened his arms for a hug. “No matter what, you’ll have your brother-from-another-mother in your cheering section.”

>> “Listen, I know it seems hopeless right now. Trust me, I do. But…it’ll work out the way it’s supposed to. You just got to hang in there. And hey, no matter what, you’ll have your brother-from-another-mother in your cheering section.”

Akshay was a sweetheart. Eventually, he had to find a nice girl, because his goofy, sweet nature was going to waste flirting about town. Rebecca squeezed Akshay tightly in a hug, carefully holding her hot dog away. She was a few inches shorter than him, so she got to her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Captain," she said with a wink.

She pulled away and checked the phone in her pocket. She had homework to get done, so she would only stay out a little longer. They would walk around and chat a bit more, but the important topics were done. Now they would talk about comics and Akshay's con tales. Rebecca might even summon up enough courage to take a bite from Akshay's monstrous hot dog. Maybe.