Inside the store was a nightmare. It was sheer chaos everywhere Kawaii looked. Mothers struggled to control their out of control children, fathers were as bad as their offspring in the toy aisles, making them act up more, boyfriends were dragged around unwillingly by their significant others, and workers struggled to keep merchandise on the shelves.

Holiday music blared overhead much to the annoyance of all Scrooges and Grinches present. Shopping carts ran over a myriad of toes and barreled from the aisles, heedless of the other shoppers. There was barely enough room to walk, let alone scan the rows of shelves for what was needed.

Kawaii pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning in dismay. This was her punishment for shopping this close to Christmas. Two days until the holiday and it seemed the whole town and their lack of common courtesy were out last minute gift shopping for that special someone. That special someone Kawaii didn't have.

She shook away the wave of loneliness. It was the holidays, a time for joy and good cheer. Besides, plenty of people were alone this time of year, including some of her closest friends. They even had this whole big celebration planned out and everything. Music, good company, laughter, it was going to be great. But why did she feel that something was missing then?

"Excuse me, are you going to keep standing there staring into space, or are you going to make your selection?" someone asked from behind.

Kawaii snapped to reality upon hearing and recognizing the voice. It was the attractive Scottish guy from the football stadium. He had a cart full of chi- I mean crisps, pastries, confetti, streamers, and balloons and was currently eyeing the selection of adult drinks with a practiced eye.

"Oh, sorry. Go right ahead," Kawaii said, moving out of his way. "That's an interesting assortment of items you have there," she remarked. "Anything special happen to deserve such an array of junk food?"

He nodded, beaming proudly. "I just crossed 10k," the Scottish guy announced importantly.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by that."

"My channel just crossed 10k subscribers. It is quite a big deal. Such a momentous occasion requires festivities, no?" He took down multiple alcoholic beverages the main theme being beer.

" No," Kawaii agreed. "I mean yes, of course. Congratulations."

With a voice as beautiful and mesmerizing as he had, Kawaii thought it would be fitting if the milestone was for ASMR content. She could easily envision him doing some sort of role play.

"Thank you. I mean it is MY achievement after all, but I suppose my listeners did have a part in my success. A very small part mind you."

How humble, Kawaii thought. It seemed like somebody had let that go to his head.

"Well done. People must really enjoy what you do."

"So it seems," he agreed.

His words made it seem that he was quite full if himself, but a closer look into his eyes revealed that wasn't the case. Of course, he had a certain image to obtain and therefore had to maintain it, but he was so genuinely happy and grateful to his fans. It was expertly hidden behind a wall of self importance, but the gratitude was there.

Kawaii left him there pondering the multitude of drinks and went in search for her needed groceries. The items on her gift list were all marked with a check mark. The holiday meal ingredients however did not. Virtually nothing was left in the fridge and her pantry was relatively bare save for a mess of ingredients that couldn't throw together a single meal.

It seemed that was the case for everyone. Shopping carts were loaded to the point that the topmost items were in serious danger of toppling out. Shelves were stripped of the classic holiday foods. Ornaments to decorate trees with were strewn across the floor from a disgruntled child's temper tantrum and created a hazardous walking environment since they were difficult to spot amidst the tangle of legs scurrying about.

It took Kawaii the better part of an hour to find half the items on her list, a portion of which the store was out of. Hopefully one of her friends had some of them or improvisations would have to be made. She could go to another store of course, but the odds of them being any better stocked than this one were slim to none.

Never again, Kawaii thought. Next year I'll buy everything non perishable before Thanksgiving even hits.

"Pardon me, can you tell me where-"

"Oh, I don't work here, sorry. Your guess is as good as mine", Kawaii interrupted apologetically. Then she saw who the speaker was.

" You!" she exclaimed. "Why are you always around? Have you been following me?"

Distrust set in. This was too much to be coincidence. First the shared glance at the stadium, then the car crash, now they were face to face in the supermarket? No, just no. Something was odd here.

"What? No! I've been stuck here for the past two hours so unless you got here before I did, you are the one following me," Naanee explained.

Kawaii laughed at how ridiculous this was. It was as though they were being pushed together by some inexplicable force. Like someone was writing this down and having a laugh at her expense. Here she was standing beside her favorite football player feeling extremely uncomfortable on the same day he first smiled at her. She didn't think he'd noticed her before today. No one would believe this if she told them. They'd say she was reading far too much into it and would dismiss the oddly timed meetings without giving them a second thought.

"How are you everywhere?" asked Kawaii.

"How are you? Every time I turn around, you seem to be standing next to me. It's almost as though someone is trying to tell us something, and I think we'd better listen," Naanee said with a twinkle in his eye.

"What do you mean by that?" Kawaii inquired, knowing what she wanted the answer to be.

"I think for whatever reason, we're supposed to get to know each other. Would you be interested in finding out why?" asked Naanee. The way he said it was casual, but there was a distinct trace of a smile in his voice.

"I would very much like to know why. Could have a positive outcome." It was an offer Kawaii was unable to refuse.

"Good. I have a game on Christmas Eve and, if you'd like, we could go somewhere afterwards. How do you feel about bowling?"

It sounded like a nice safe meeting place. Plenty of people, well lit, wholesome. She approved.

"Bowling's nice," said Kawaii calmly, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Meet me by the northern field goal once the game is over. From there we'll head to the bowling alley."

"Okay," Kawaii agreed. "I have just one question."

"Shoot."

"Is this a date?"

Naanee smiled. "It is if you want it to be," he said with a wink.