"Now take the two ends of the fabric and overlap them together."
Sable was giving Ross his morning sewing lesson. "Sew down the area where they both overlap..." Ross did as instructed. "...and viola! You made a seam."
All that resulted was a sewn together cylinder of fabric. Completely useless, but good for practice.
"I get it now." Ross stared at his creation a little longer.
"Anyways, I think now is a good time to end the lesson." She took the needle, thread, and fabric and packed it away. "It's almost time for the store to open."
"Okay. It's almost time for me to check in with Isabelle as well." Ross made his way towards the door. "I'll see you later today!"
"Same time as usual?"
"Yep. Bye!" Ross began jogging towards the town hall, out of sight of the shop.
Mabel came in a little while later at 9:45 yawning but still completely awake. "Hey, sis. How'd the lesson go?" She stretched out her back.
"It's going well. He works at his own pace." She had a slight grin when she said this.
"You sounded more like a mother than a lover right then."
Sable's face became as red as a perfect apple. "M-Mabel! Why do you have to say things like that?!"
Mabel laughed. "It's just funny to see your reaction when I mention it." She wiped a yawned out tear from her eye. "Is he coming again to buy something as usual?"
Sable's face calmed down to a warm shade of pink. "As far as I know. Why?"
"No reason." Mabel stretched her arms. "He's just been our little piggy bank for so long. I wonder how long this will go for."
"That's a bit mean."
"I'm just kidding. I don't really feel that way." Mabel began walking away. "I'm going to wake up Label. I'll be right back."
She began walking over to where they slept which was right behind the shop. Labelle was still fast asleep on her futon. She had a little drop of drool on her cheek and was hugging her pillow. Her most striking feature was the hair cap she was wearing. It just stood out as odd because Mabel didn't recognize it at all. Labelle was murmuring in her sleep. "Mmm... Ross... just give me five... more minutes..." She hugged the pillow tighter. Mabel snatched the pillow from Labelle's clutches. "No Ross... don't leave yet..."
Mabel pinched the bridge of her nose and mumbled, "Hopeless..." She began gently shaking her sister awake. "Hey, Label. It's time to get up."
Labelle slowly woke up. "Morning, sis," she yawned. "What time is it?"
"We have a couple minutes until opening. Are you going to work today?"
"Yep. Give me one second to do my hair." Labelle walked over to the vanity they had sitting in one of the corners of the room.
"Alright. Just be ready by 10:00." Mabel put on her green gingham apron and joined Sable back on the store floor.
[Later at 11:30...]
After a morning of digging, tree shaking, and mayoring, Ross entered the Able Sisters store. "Hey, Sable. How are you?"
Sable looked up from her sewing. "Still doing fine. Thanks for asking."
"Any recommendations for me?"
"Well..."
Mabel decided to enter the conversation. "The forecast says there will be rain later today and most of tomorrow. You might want to be safe and buy an umbrella."
"Thanks, Mabel." Ross walked to the area where all of the umbrellas were on display. He picked up one that had a duck on all of its segments. "This'll work. Here you go, Mabel." He gave her the bells for the umbrella and then went into the accessories part of the store. Labelle was the first thing he noticed when he opened the door. Her hair was shorter than it usually was, but it was beautifully wavy and curly. When she turned towards Ross, it almost looked like glitter. He stared for a long while with his mouth slightly ajar.
"Um... Wow, Labelle. Your hair looks... great!"
She blushed slightly. "Thanks. I'm glad you think so." On the inside, however, Labelle's head was spinning. 'Ahh! He complimented my hair!' She almost fainted from happiness, but she held firm. "Is there anything you want to buy today?"
"Hm." Ross browsed the area a little. Just like the jokester he is, Ross bought an umbrella hat. "Just some extra precaution." He pulled out his regular umbrella when he said this.
Labelle giggled a bit in a way that made Ross blush a bit. Mabel saw this development happen. "Hmm... I don't know how I feel about this." Ross said bye to Labelle and made his way back home. "Label, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure. What about?" Labelle smoothed out her hair spikes a bit.
"Well, this is about Ross."
"Oh. You haven't fallen for him too, did you?"
"Hahahaha. No. It's just... seeing you swooning like you do over him kinda makes me sick. Ross is a good person, but you seem kind of obsessed."
"I am not obsessed! What even gave you that idea?"
"The fact that you changed your hairstyle completely when you haven't in years says some things. You also seem incredibly fidgety around him and you start blushing for no reason. I have good reason for thinking you're obsessed."
Labelle began to crack a bit. "Well, I do like Ross. I really do."
"Well don't beat yourself up about it. Do you want me to help you?"
"Would you?" Labelle's eyes began to sparkle desperately.
"Sure. I will say that you acted very professional around him today. Though, I felt like you were gonna lose it before long."
"I feel like fainting right now." Labelle's legs wobbled slightly.
"And there's your problem. You're too anxious around him and you let his 'awesome presence' get to you. You need to get to a point where he could ask you out on a date and the worst thing you would do is blush a lot."
"A... date?" Labelle's face turned a hot red and seemed to be steaming. Her eyes became dizzy swirls and she was losing her balance.
Mabel shook her sister back to consciousness. "Get a hold of yourself! Why do you freak out so much about this kind of thing?"
"Well when I was training to become a fashion, Gracie didn't give me much free time (A/N: If you don't know who Gracie is, look it up. Short answer is essentially Labelle's old boss from the City Folk days). I never had time to date or be asked on a date or even like a guy. This is a new thing for me."
"That would explain it. As the town was changing, different guys would move in and a lot of them tried to hit on us." Mabel suddenly chuckled. "You're like the exact opposite of Sable. When you try to open up to people, you just keep adding more and more locks yourself. You have no experience."
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
"What else? Get some experience. Start by actually trying to get to know Ross. Strike up a conversation without fainting and you'll be on the right track." Mabel gave Labelle a thumbs up. "You'll be fine."
"Thanks, sis." Labelle regained her composure and went back to work. During her time off, she went back to Shampoodle to get her hair set back to its usual straightness. The rest of the day passed by uneventfully.
[The next day...]
Ross' came back into the store around the usual time after his sewing lesson with Sable (he made a stuffed ball which Sable now uses as a pincushion). After buying a red-striped tee and greeting Sable, he went into the accessories portion of the store. Labelle's hair was back to normal but she was wearing an orange gingham hair bow. She also seemed to be a lot cheerier than normal. "Hi, Ross. How are you today?" She almost glowed with positivity.
"I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking." Ross looked back at the store displays and saw a pair of headphones. He instantly fell in love. "I want these."
"Great!" Labelle sold him the headphones and asked, "Anything else?"
"No. I think I'm good for right now." He started heading towards the door.
'Now's my chance!' Labelle quickly thought. "How have things been going with you recently?"
"Oh. Uh. So far, everything has been fine. Trying to get a campsite set up for the town. Why?"
"I just... wanted to make sure that nothing was bothering you." Labelle came up with another way to keep the conversation going. "How's your sister?"
"My sister? She applied for a job recently. I guess she got bored of sitting around the house after a while. Probably. What's going on with you?"
"You don't really need me to tell you that."
"Selling accessories for the most part?"
"Yup."
"Alright then." Ross walked a bit closer to Labelle. "How about during your break, we go down to Brewster's and have some coffee? Sound good?"
Labelle almost lost it. "I would love t- I mean. Yeah, that sounds just fine."
"Alright then. See you then." Ross exited the store with his new headphones and went back home.
Mabel came in right after Ross left. "Congratulations. Your first time being with a guy. How do you feel?"
Labelle began to steam with embarrassment. Her face turned bright red and she began to wobble. "G-Great."
Mabel took Labelle's arm and put it over her shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. I'll even let you take an hour and a half for your break. Go nuts."
"Thanks, Mabel."
[Later at 1:00 p.m...]
Labelle left the store with the same clothes she normally wears but replaced the bow with a similarly patterned scarf. Ross was right outside wearing his blue down jacket and his cargo pants. It was raining by that time, so he brought his umbrella from yesterday. "Hey, Labelle. How's it going?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Labelle wrapped the scarf around her a bit more. "It's getting cold out. The store is always a good temperature so I never noticed."
"Yeah." They began walking to The Roost (A/N: What I called Brewster's all this time). "Late fall, though, is probably my favorite time of year."
"Why is that?"
"The bees start dying. I really don't like bees. They put me on edge."
"Really?" Labelle was legitimately surprised.
"Yep." Ross noticed that Labelle was getting a bit wet on her right shoulder. He pulled her closer so that she was completely under the umbrella. "Is that better?"
Labelle buried her cheeks in her scarf and turned away slightly. "T-Thanks."
Once they finally reached The Roost, Ross took down his umbrella and put it in the bucket inside the front door. "Hey, Brewster. How're you doing?"
"... Good... coo" (A/N: Brewster is a pigeon, but the coolest pigeon ever). "...What would you like?"
"Two milk and two sugars. The usual." Ross turned towards Labelle. "What about you?"
"Just black, please" (A/N: None of the Able sisters have a canon favorite coffee).
"... Okay." Brewster began making the coffees and after only a minute, he had both ready. "Here you go... coo..."
Ross and Labelle both drank happily. It knocked the chill off their bones and made them both sigh. Labelle had the first word. "I haven't enjoyed a coffee like this for a while. It feels nice to just sit and drink."
"It always is." Ross turned back towards Brewster. "How much do I owe you?"
"... No charge. Tips are appreciated... coo." His glasses wiggled like if he had winked.
"Thanks." Ross took out 500 bells and tipped Brewster. "Bye." He faced Labelle again. "You ready?"
"Yes. Thank you." They both exited the caf while it was still raining with the umbrella. Labelle still had her coffee. "Thanks for taking me out today. I appreciated it." Her scarf wasn't as far up her face as it was.
"No problem. I enjoyed it too." That comment made Labelle's cheeks rosy. "Looks like it's back to work for both of us now, though."
Labelle nodded. "Did your sister get the job yet?"
"No. She's going to go for an interview tomorrow. She feels confident and I also feel confident for her. You seem real interested in my sister."
"N-No. I was just interested in... how... things have been going recently." Labelle composed herself again. "Will you be lonely once your sister starts going away for the day?"
"Not particularly. I have you, Sable, Mabel, and Isabelle to keep me company. I feel like we've had some good times so far." Ross gave her a sincere smile.
Labelle began to blush a bit. "That's nice."
They made the rest of the trip back in silence. Ross dropped Labelle off in the accessories department around 1:30 p.m. He was getting ready to leave. "Alright. I'll see you later, Labelle."
Labelle got a bit antsy. "Wait."
"Hm?"
Labelle walked up to Ross a gave him a hug. "Thanks for spending time me." She hugged him a bit tighter. "It means a lot."
Ross was a bit surprised. "Sure. No problem." He patted her spikes a bit and eventually Labelle let go. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
"Yep. See you tomorrow." As soon as Ross was out of sight and she closed the door, her legs became jelly. She could almost not get back to her post. Once back at the register, she leaned on the counter and began to look into space. Mabel walked in on her after this.
"Hey, sis. How'd it go?" She then took note of her sighing and the dreamy look in her eyes. "I take it that you enjoyed it?"
Labelle nodded. "I don't think I've ever been happier than right now. I think I've completely fallen for him now."
"That's cool. What did you guys do?"
"We went over to The Roost and had coffee. Then once we got back here, I... hugged him." Labelle swooned a bit.
"Well, congratulations. You're finally starting to get a hang of this whole 'in love with guys' thing. I'm proud of you." Mabel patted Labelle's back. "Well, now it's time to get back to work. Don't shirk you hear me?"
"Mm-hmm." Labelle was completely satisfied with her day. She had finally gained the confidence to speak with Ross face-to-face and have a good time. It was back to the grind for her.
The next day came by quickly with a surprise in store for everyone.