A Small Step From Comfort

Ama had seen the punk bun wandering about a few times. She was intrigued, but figured that a goth approaching would be a bit off-putting, no matter how similar the attire was to some punk clothes. This is what sent Ama to the stores. She rarely just bought off-the-rack, but she did not wish to bother any tailors, designers, or seamstresses with this task.

She was looking through some jeans, but really, she could not stand the thought of pants or shorts. She took a deep breath and turned to look at the skirts. These were a little more her style. She spotted an all black one with pockets and a lot of silver hardware. She smiled as she pulled it to her. She could see herself wearing it with some of her regular gear.

She looked at shirts next. She had plenty of black, crimson, purple, and white shirts and blouses, but nothing that really fit the punk style rather than the goth she normally equipped. Looking through the shirts here, she saw ones that she enjoyed, throwing them on her arm to carry. It looked like she would be getting things to put in her regular rotation rather than just for her to feel like she could approach a particular bun.

When she finally found a shirt that gave her the vibes she had been hunting for, it was a band tee for a metal band she had on her playlist. At least she would not be looking like an idiot if she was asked about their music. The shirt had some rips in it and she figured that they would look nice with some safety pins.

She put that on her arm with the other clothes and grabbed a pair of leggings. She walked over to the shoes and began to look at the boots. She wanted these to be versatile, something she could wear as a goth or in punk attire. She loved her shoes and took pride in picking out just the right pair for any occasion.

She picked up a pair of boots and turned them over to see the soles. She wasn’t going to spend carats on something she couldn’t get resoled by a cobbler. Seeing no proper nails, she put these boots down and sighed. She looked through a few more boots before spotting a pair that went up to her mid-calves. Looking at their soles, she smiled. She would love to get them shined, but the dull look worked for her goal at the moment.

She hummed and walked over to the jewelry. She spotted some cuffs and a collar. The collar would cover her whole neck and the d-ring on the front was designed to look like a sceil. She thought this was cute and happily held it in her hand as she looked at piercings. She needed some new items anyways, plus a new thing of jewelry cleanser never goes amiss.

It was while she was looking through eyebrow piercings when she heard a voice behind her. “You’re that goth that runs the publishing firm and bookstore, right?”

She turned and saw the very person she had been thinking about while shopping. She smiled slightly. “Yes. I’m Amaryllis. The firm and store are both called Kiss of Words.”

“Sounds like a damned tongue twister. You’ll just be Ama. I’m Jackal. Some of those digs look a bit outside of the goth comfort zone. Trying a new style?”

“Yeah. I wanted to try something a bit closer to punk.”

“Well, hit those dressing rooms and let’s see what you look like.” Jackal pushed Ama to the dressing rooms, the goth blushing, caught off-guard for the first time in a while.

After a few moments in the dressing room, she steps out in the torn shirt, black skirt, ripped leggings, and boots. She tilted her head to the side as Jackal looked at her. The envy bun hummed for a moment. The punk tossed the cuffs and collar to the publisher. Ama did not hesitate to put them on.

Jackal chuckled a bit. “Goth is never too far from punk. You could probably even try something a bit more emo and look just as good. For this look, add a jacket and maybe some more hardware. Spikes are especially good in punk. Also, try some pants or shorts.”

“Pants and shorts are where I draw the line. Leggings are barely tolerable.” The greed bun commented, smearing at the thought of pants.

Jackal raised her hands before laughing. “Down, spice. You no need to come for me, it was only a suggestion after all. You definitely have the feisty attitude for the look, but over all, punks just don’t give a damn. So, try to relax and not worry about what anyone thinks.”

Ama laughed at this. “I run a publishing firm. I have to give a bit of a damn about, at the very least, deadlines. You could ask any of my authors and they would tell you I’m probably one of the most overstressed publishers that they have ever had the pleasure of working with.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to learn how to relax. Hanging out with me could be a great learning experience. I’m sure your goth attire could look punk enough if you add the right accessories.”

Both girls laughed at this before the bookish one went to change back into her clothes so she could purchase everything. She exchanged numbers with Jackal, with a vague promise to hit a concert together at some point.