#driving to the giant ice cream cone to clock in to work seems very very not weird or embarassing at all

[milo-is-rambling]

Woke up from a nap in the middle of a panic attack because my mom was moving furniture around in the living room and hitting stuff off my bedroom wall while moving the bird cages and while in this panicked state trying to remember where I was what time it was and that it was in fact not my dad cleaning the bird cages on the other side of the wall I decided I NEEDED to digitally submit an application for the same snowcone place I brought a physical application in cause they never got back to me and the actual adults who run the place said they never got a hold of the physical copy I left (thank you teenagers who work there who never gave them my application that was super cool and swag of you 😑) so now I'm on the verge of a panic attack about getting my life together while waiting for my Apple Pencil to charge so I can fill out the application on my iPad and this all happened because I woke up from a dream about traveling the United States in my van and no one knowing my name or my backstory and being able to lie to strangers and when I woke up it felt like I needed to run away as soon as possible or the world would end so now I'm back to trying to make money

[not-alien-girl-v]

Hello, today is my birthday, could you dedicate a tate fluff to me?

of course!!!! happy birthday!!!! <333 (combining this with a separate ask for a ‘conserving body heat in a cold place’ type ask i got earlier from anon so idk who to @ about it, sorry!

summary: you fell in love with him at coldstone. but he was an asshole, so things didn’t work out, until one day in the walk-in freezer, all that changed

warning: language, angst i guess

5 hours had passed now since you clocked into your job at coldstone. you had always wanted to work there, the sweet smell of ice cream and cake always fresh in the air, the air conditioning saving you from the sweltering summer heat, but most of all, there was a really cute guy who worked there.

the first time you lay eyes on him was last summer, mid july, when you made the 10 minute trek under the scalding sunlight to the ice cream store. this was the summer before you learned how to drive, so you didn’t have any other option, either walk to coldstone or die at your own residence where there wasn’t any air conditioning at all. it’s manageable at night, but at 2pm, it’s unbearable.

the moment you walked in, no one was up at the counter, but you didn’t mind, as you took a moment to enjoy the cool air engulfing you like a hug from a giant snowman. you closed your eyes, really loving it, when a voice interrupted you. “what are you doing?”

you froze (literally) and turned around to meet the source of the sound. it was then that you saw him. shaggy, dirty blond hair almost covering his deep brown eyes, donning a stupid little apron and a hat with the coldstone logo on it. you must have seemed foolish, staring at him in awe the way you did, because he seemed to pay no mind to your appearance in the way you did to him.

“uh, hello?” he snapped you out of your love at first sight trance you had been stuck in, and the memory of what you were doing flooded back into your brain.

“can i get a double scoop of cookie dough?” you croaked, feeling tongue tied at the sight of him talking to you.

he was monotone in his responses, not showing any type of enthusiasm at all, which you didn’t blame him for, as a minimum wage teenage employee working during summer. “cone or bowl?”

“cone please,” you sweetened up your voice now. you wanted this interaction to stick with him, you wanted him to remember you, even if for just a moment.

of course, things didn’t work out how you planned. you received your ice cream from the gruff boy behind the counter, ate it in silence, alone at a table inside the store, while he stood there at the counter, awkwardly trying not to engage in eye contact with you. so you threw your trash away and walked back home.

flash forward 12 months later, you’ve now been working at this very coldstone for about 6 months. you got your wish, to meet the boy who worked there. in fact, you got to know him quite well, considering the shop was wildly understaffed, the two of you almost always were scheduled to work together.

however, as foreseen, things didn’t go as you planned. he wasn’t some prince in shining armor your small little teenage brain imagined, hoped, and dreamed him to be. he was just tate, and if you were being quite honest, he was a bit of an asshole.

it started off him locking you in the walk-in freezer for 5 minutes, or however long it would take him to attend to a customer at the front, just so he wouldn’t be bothered by you for a moment. being the person you are, you didn’t let that slide, so the next day, you locked him in for 5 minutes. this slowly escalated to other things, purposefully making messes and blaming it on the other so they’d have to clean it up, stealing the others phone from the break room and changing the alarms on their phones so they’d be late for work.

for as long as you could remember, tate just hated you for no reason, but that was reason enough for you to hate him back. he was a dick, and not to forget that he was the one who started this little feud, anyway. you were just leveling the score when he decided to take that personally.

it had been 5 hours since you began work, and you had just clocked out, when you realized you left your ring in the freezer.

walking in, you shivered a little bit, wearing only a t-shirt and jeans since you removed your apron to signify the end of your shift. you took a quick glance around the room, realizing your ring was no where in plain sight, you walked in further, going behind a few racks of ice cream, bending down to search the floor for your ring. it was then you heard the door open.

although you only heard the cadence of this individuals footsteps, it was enough to know it was tate. there was something specific about the way he walked, something you had come to notice.

he searched a shelf adjacent to you, not realizing you’re in there with him. then, the door suddenly shuts and locks from the outside. you heard him breathe his signature deep sigh, and walk over to the door. “oh, real mature, y/n!”

you popped up like a jack in the box behind him. “wait what?”

he nearly jumped out of his own skin, letting out a high pitched shriek. “relax, helen,” you teased.

he glared at you then remembered your shared fate. “wait, so if you’re not in here, then who locked me in?”

“maybe the manager? other than that, we’re the only two people on shift today,” you reasoned, pacing around now. there was no use in trying the door. as you both had learned several times now, once it’s been locked from the outside, you’ll only be set free once whoever locked you in opens it again.

“shit, we closed an hour ago, whoever closed it probably went home already.” he sits down on an empty crate now.

“i left my phone in the break room, do you have yours?”

“of course not, i always keep it in the break room, where it’s supposed to be,” he snapped.

you raised both your hands in defense. “that was one time okay, i just wanted to see if somebody texted me back or not!”

“yeah, you and your little boyfriend, because he’s so much more important than me busting my ass alone at the counter during rush hour,” he grumbles to himself, mostly, not caring if you hear the words or not, just hoping you’re understanding that he’s insulting you.

“what are you talking about? i don’t have a boyfriend,” you dismissed and sat on a crate parallel to him, across the room in order to keep your distance.

“whatever. just stay over there and out of my damn business,” he crossed his arms and pointedly looked away from you, resembling a toddler throwing a fit.

an hour passed at 0 degrees farenheit (-18C), and needless to say, you were so fucking cold. “i’m so fucking cold!” you exclaimed out loud.

“yeah no shit,” he had hunched over and curled into a little ball to preserve body heat.

you sat in silence for a moment, thinking. “tate, you don’t think that we’re gonna like, die in here, right?”

“what do i look like a fucking doctor?”

“just asking. since you’re such a damn know it all.”

“i’m only a know it all to you because you’re so stupid.”

you didn’t talk back that time, and he began to wonder if he really hurt you.

“hey, i’m sorry-“

“wait! it says something on the safety form here!” you carelessly interrupted him, though you didn’t listen to what he was saying anyway. “don’t panic, layer clothing, don’t exercise, conserve body heat in any way possible. with these safety measures taken, the risk of death is less likely.”

“fuck, less likely?” he cursed and put his head in his hands again. “well, there’s nothing in this room that will keep us warmer than we can keep each other so, i guess…”

“what?” you turned around, expecting to see his goofy grin, signifying his humor, but instead, see a solemn expression on his face. “you’re serious?”

“well, i don’t want to die, y/n,” he stood up and took a few steps closer to you.

“well i don’t want to touch you!” you fight back and he lunged toward you with outstretched arms. you dove out of his way.

“get over here, you little bitch!” he started to chase you around the freezer, you doing everything in your power to avoid his warm embrace, like it wasn’t something you’ve dreamed about for months now.

suddenly, you stopped running and he crashed directly into you from behind, causing both of you to topple to the ground.

taking advantage of being on top of you, he grabbed you tight and refused to let go.

“get off me!” you squirmed underneath him, but he didn’t ease up at all. eventually, through enough silence, you gave up.

“good gir-“

“oh shut up,” you silenced him with that, and he let you. you hated to admit he was right, but you soon began to feel at ease in his arms, slowly warming up.

you let it happen now, slowly running your hands up and down his back, pretending just for a moment that there was more to this embrace than survival, that you were two lovers. you knew this was false, but it was nice to daydream.

“see, this isn’t so bad,” he spoke lowly. you quietly hummed in response, almost sounding like a groan. “i know i don’t say things like this often, and if you tell anyone, you’re dead, but if i’m gonna be trapped with anyone in a freezer, i’m glad it’s you.”

“really?”

“yeah. i mean, could you imagine being trapped in here with fat craig? he’d eat me before we even run out of food.” you giggled, understanding what he meant now, hoping he was being sincere but knowing he was just joking, like he always was. “if i’m being honest though, you’re not the worst person to be around.”

“yeah you’re not so bad yourself.”

“i know, i’m pretty awesome like that,” he laughed a little too hard at his own joke and you rolled your eyes but he didn’t see it.

“can i ask you something?”

“i don’t know, can you?” he retorted and you ignored him.

“why did you lock me in here that one time? if you don’t hate me, why did you start this weird feud thing?”

“because i like you. was that not obvious?”

“not when you treat me like shit for 6 months. why did you do that? that really hurt, you know?” you almost felt yourself tearing up as your eyes welled up and your voice did that pathetic crack.

“because it was entertaining. you do have fun with me, don’t you?” he asked you, actually sounding sincere for the first time ever.

“i guess i do, i just never thought you actually liked me.”

his face ends nuzzled in your hair. “so you don’t like me back?”

you are silenced for a good long while. is this actually happening? “well, i didn’t say that.”

“did you mean that, though?”

“i don’t know. why don’t you take me on a date, feud aside, and i’ll let you know for sure?”

he laughed. “i’d love to.”