Auld Lang Syne - Molly, Wade and the Comic Book Store

[x-minibruiser.livejournal.com]

Molly and Wade go to the comic book store. While there, Wade meets one of Molly's friends, a boy named Adam.



"Here we go, half-pint," Wade said, grinning as he pulled into a parking space near the comic store. "Which ones were we going for again?"

"All of em!" Molly ecstatically, then realized that was probably too much for her allowance to afford so she squinted thoughtfully, biting her lip as she glanced back over to him.

"Um... I can't decide. Can we look?"

"Yeah, totally," Wade said, unhooking his seat belt as he killed the engine. Opening his door, he nodded toward the store. "I'm still waiting for them to come out with the Wademan comic. They should get on that."

"OOOH!" Molly said, her eyes as wide as the cartoon dog she had on her shirt. "That'd be awesome!"

She climbed out, then ran over to the other side and attempted to tug him out of the car.

"I can draw it until they do though."

It'd be the best comic ever.

Laughing, Wade barely managed to get the door shut before letting Molly pull him toward the store. "Excellent - I'm totally looking forward to seeing what you come up with." He grabbed the door as another customer exited and held it open for Molly.

"Thanks!" Molly said as she headed past him.

"Do you have a costume yet? Oooh! I can make a costume!"

She came to the store so often the girl working behind the counter gave her a wave and Molly waved back, then glanced to Wade.

"I can use glitter, right?"

"You can use whatever you like, half-pint," Wade said, surveying the other customers as he followed Molly inside. It wasn't that he thought any of them were actual threats, but his natural paranoia, heightened after the events leading up to Genosha, kept kicking in regardless of the situation he was in.

Molly giggled with excitement, scanning the racks.

"I think I'll use....red glitter! And bl--Hey!"

Recognizing one of the kids on the opposite end of the store, she rushed over.

"Hi Adam! Whacha doin?" she called in her wake.

The boy looked up from the rack he was poking through, and brightened visibly at the sight of her. "Hey, Molly. Just looking."

"Didja see the new Batman comic?" Molly said, then glanced to Wade.

"Oh! Um....Wademan this is Adam! Adam this is...Wade."

Wade smiled and offered the kid his hand for a shake. "Nice to meet you, Adam. You guys know each other from school or something?"

Adam reached out to return the handshake and shook his head. "From here. Buying comics... I saw it, I didn't read it yet. Nice to meet you, Wade."

The kid seemed alright, so Wade tweaked the bob on the top of Molly's hat and said, "I'm gonna go check on some other stuff." He waved vaguely in the direction of the racks on the other side of the store. From there, he could keep an eye on Molly and her friend while also having a good line of sight to both the entrance, the counter, and the door behind the counter that probably led into the back room.

"Okay, bye!" Molly said with a wave, then motioned for Adam to follow her.

"Dude, it's the best!"

"They always are", he pointed out, laughing, but followed her obediently.

Wade took a look at the latest Green Lantern comic as he wandered around the store, drifting close enough to hear bits and pieces of Molly's conversation with her friend before wandering over to a display of Superman comics. He kept that up for fifteen minutes or so, amused at the enthusiasm both kids managed to work up about their mutual interests. Glancing over, he noticed their conversation had stopped and that they were actually just staring at one another.

The two of them stood perfectly still for a few long moments until Molly tilted her head and finally blinked. She laughed.

"Wow, you're good!"

"Practice", Adam said smugly, with a playful flick at her nose. "You need to practice more, that's all."

"Practice does make perfect," Wade said, walking over to the kids with an armful of comics. "Or near enough, most times."

"Adam," a woman's voice called out as a slightly frazzled woman with frizzy brown hair stepped into view, glancing around. She seemed to relax upon sight of him.

"Come on, honey. I need to get groceries. You ready to go?"

"Aww", he said, turning a disappointed face on her. "Molly just got here, do we have to go already?"

"I'm sorry, but you know Grandma's coming over for dinner tonight so we need to have everything ready. I'm sure you'll see Molly later. Tell her goodbye," Adam's mother replied.

"Okaaay", Adam said grudgingly and looked at Molly. "Same time back here next week, for the new issues?"

Molly looked a little disappointed but still smiled and nodded quickly. "Yep! Seeya later!" she said, then waved to Adam's mother.

"Bye Mrs. Stillman!"

She glanced back to Wademan, her eyes widening at all the comic books.

"That's a lot..." she said with hushed excitement.

"Are getting all of 'em?"

"Of course we are," Wade said, grinning. "I figured we could share. Go ahead, add yours to the stack. We'll pay for 'em and head to lunch, then back to the mansion. Sound like a plan?"

"Yep!" Molly chirped, her grin matching his, almost as wide as an anime girl. Wademan was so cool! She turned on her heel, then dashed over to her usual shelves, plucking all the good stuff before returning in record time with her own pile.

"Oooh! Can we have tacos for lunch?!"

"Sure," Wade said, grinning as they headed for the counter. "All the tacos you can eat."