Working as a hairdresser at the local mall wasn’t exactly Charlie’s dream job but it earned him enough to pay his rent, bills, and for anything he wanted to spend money on. He even had some savings at the end of every month that he set aside in his “Charlie’s Salon” fund so that one day he could open up his very own place. He’d have to try and poach his usual clients that came to him and get them to go to his new place, but he was confident in his skills enough to believe that most if not all of his usuals would follow him wherever he went. Still, nothing was 100% certain. The only client he was 100% sure would follow him wherever he went though, was his good friend Alex. Whether it was because she was his friend or if it was a decision based purely off of his hairdressing skills, he wasn’t so sure. But it was good to know, she was a big spender with all that newly found pop star money and all.

Charlie and Alex had met by chance; the tigress came into his place of work looking to cut her hair without an appointment. She was in a big rush and didn’t request anyone specifically, so anyone who wasn’t working on a head of hair at the time would be the one seeing her. The only person who had a gap in their appointments at the time was Charlie. Once Alex was sat down in the chair and the salon chitchat and gossip began, the two hit it off. From then on, Alex booked appointments with him whenever she needed her hair done and they even started hanging out outside of the hair salon. They went shopping together, to the movies, and on little weekend getaways where they did nothing but lounge by the pool of a mid-tier hotel and get facials and massages all day. Eventually, Charlie would even come by Alex’s work for his lunch breaks, too. They grew close as friends, he kept her hair in tip-top shape, and she made sure his lunches and coffees were the best that the little diner she worked at had to offer. When Alex’s music career took off and she was able to leave her waitressing gig, she offered Charlie a permanent position as her personal hair stylist, but no matter how many times the tigress offered it to him, he turned her down. His reasons for turning the offer down weren’t anything personal against Alex, but he enjoyed the small gig and getting to know all the different people who came in and out the door. The pay bump jumping from being a staff hair stylist at a mall salon to being a personal stylist for a musician would have easily made his dream of owning his very own salon come true quicker but he also didn’t want the dynamic of the relationship between him and the tigress to change when she became his employer. A lot of people hated their boss and Charlie couldn’t imagine himself hating Alex.

“I think you should probably make another fund.” The tigress smirked as she twirled her car keys around her index finger. Alex was at Charlie’s place to pick him up and drive him to work, again. It was a miracle that she still had the time in her schedule to do it; between the show rehearsals, recording new material, and filming small roles and cameos for movies and TV shows that wanted to capitalize on her newfound stardom, she barely had time to sleep. But she always had time to help out her mouse friend, it was the least that she could do for how much he accommodated her the many times when she needed her hair done outside of his working hours. Even if she didn’t always bother him outside of his work hours to do her hair, she would drive him to work; she was a good friend and that’s what good friends did.

Charlie grabbed his messenger bag that he took to work with him every day from the coat hanger and furrowed his brows when he heard the tigress’s suggestion. Normally he would have been offended, but his fund for his very own hair salon wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret if a secret at all. He turned to look at his friend as he slung his bag strap over his shoulder and rolled the sleeves of his button-up shirt into neat folds. “And what would that fund be for?” the mouse raised his brows.

Still twirling her keys in her hand, the tigress put her other hand at her hip and smiled. “For your own car, so you can drive yourself to work.” Alex teased. Charlie rolled his eyes and shook his arms to test the sleeves he had just rolled up before walking toward the door. “Hahaha. Easy for you to say, you and your music money. How much are you getting for that Super Bowl ad for Fanta again?” the mouse shook his head repeatedly as he opened the door and stepped outside of his apartment and into the hallway. Alex followed behind him, stopped twirling her car keys, and leaned against the wall as the mouse closed the door and locked the deadbolt.

“Once I have my own salon, I’ll be making the big bucks and then I can get myself a car. Maybe even a driver to go with it if I get a Rolls Royce.” The deadbolt locked with a click and Charlie turned to look at his tiger friend and winked. “I’ll probably be able to do that if I up my prices for the stuff I do for you just enough.” Charlie turned around and started walking through the hallway toward the elevators. Alex pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning against and followed him. Once they reached the elevators, Charlie pressed the button to call one up to them, and while they waited, Alex leaned against the wall again.

“I could just buy you a car.” The tigress brought up the subject of gifting the mouse his very own car again. She had offered it before, but the mouse turned her down just like he did with almost any large gift she tried to give him. It was slightly frustrating but nice to know that their friendship dynamic hadn’t changed even after Alex started earning a comfortable amount of money. “C’mon, it doesn’t even have to be a fancy car! Just one you can drive to do stuff!” Alex continued.

Charlie shook his head over and over as his eyes watched the lights above the elevator doors that indicated which floor it was currently on; it was on the fifth floor. Ten floors away but it was moving up fast, a floor every two seconds. He peeled his eyes away from the numbers as they ticked closer and closer to 15 and looked at his tiger friend who was already staring right at him. “No,” he answered. "I am not letting you buy me a car. How else am I going to get you to hang out with me? You are super busy with your career this is really the only time I get to hang out with you, like old times.”

The tigress furrowed her brows at Charlie as he spun his answer into a convincing sob story that would have worked on a talent competition audience. “Like old times? What the hell are you talking about? We hang out all the time! You were just at my house two days ago to watch A Star is Born. Or did you forget how you THIRSTED for Bradley Cooper?”

‘Ding!’ went the elevator as it arrived to pick them up. Once the double doors slid open, Charlie slipped inside with Alex following suit just a couple of clicks after. Charlie pressed the button for the first floor and turned to his friend as the doors closed and they began their descent. “You thirst for him just as hard. It was my first time seeing it, and what, your seventh?”

Alex leaned against the back of the elevator and chewed on her lip. “It’s one of my favorite movies, I am allowed to watch it as many times as I want. And you can’t tell me it isn’t a good movie. God, I’d love to see that raccoon’s rocket…”

“I never said it wasn’t! I’m just saying that I wasn’t the only one thirsting for the Coops.” The mouse said with a smile on his face that he wasn’t aware he was doing. The elevator continued to travel down at a fast and steady speed that both Alex and Charlie could feel was probably not up to current regulations. When it finally came to a stop on the ground floor and the doors opened with a chime, they walked out side-by-side through the lobby and onto the street where Alex had parked her car.

“The COOPS. Is that what you’re calling him now? Jesus fuck you are down bad for him.” Alex laughed and started twirling her keys around her finger again as she and Charlie walked down the steps of the mouse’s building down to the tigress’s dark blue SUV parked by the curb. The tigress put her hand on the car’s door handle and it unlocked. She hopped into the driver’s seat while Charlie walked around to get in on the passenger’s side. Once he got in, he tossed his bag into the floor where his feet were and buckled himself in. Alex buckled in, started the car, and started driving. Their conversation died for a minute as Alex rolled them toward the mall, but what Charlie said about wanting them to hang out more like the “old days” had her thinking about it a bit more. Did he really feel that way? She was getting that gut-wrenching feeling of guilt in a way. She tapped on the steering wheel as she drove and occasionally directed her eyes to look at him almost shyly.

“You know I always have some tickets for you to go see the shows, right? I leave tickets in your name at every venue. If you ever want to come and see me. You don’t have to buy tickets. You can even bring a friend or two.” The tigress smiled, her eyes darted from the road to Charlie every now and again.

Charlie nodded as he looked out the window at the buildings, cars, and pedestrians that they zoomed past. He turned his head to look at Alex to make sure she wasn’t upset with him, because based on her tone alone, he wasn’t able to tell. “I know! I will go see you one day when I have time, I promise. I didn’t mean for it to sound like we don’t hang out ever. I just miss us working so close together, that’s why I like you driving me to work! It takes me back to when we rode the bus together.” The mouse cooed and kept his eyes on the tigress for a few more seconds before he turned to look straight ahead at the road. He could see the giant sign of the mall approaching them, meaning they were just a few minutes away.

“Me? Riding the bus? Could you imagine that now?” Alex let out a laugh.