Chapter 25: Shopping Is Never Fun
The wind felt even more amazing than I remembered it to be and I cherished the feeling as I did a little roll through the chill air with a small smile on my face. Fang and I had been flying for maybe an hour and a half, making sure to pick a store that we either hadn't gone to yet or hadn't been to in awhile. I could tell that Fang was constantly watching me, but I ignored him, knowing that if I let it get to me, I would remember what had happened back at the house.
We finally found a small convenience store below and descended into the nearby clutter of trees that surrounded it, acting as if we were just regular kids who just so happened to be walking through the woods just to get some groceries.
Definitely not suspicious at all.
We landed silently, making sure that we weren't seen by any stray eyes before trudging through bushes and roots. It was a quiet walk; a bit uncomfortable, actually, until he broke the silence.
"So, about your mom..." he began with his hands in his black warm looking jacket. I rolled my eyes. Of course there was a catch to this whole thing; that was the only reason why he wanted me to come. He knew that I wouldn't have a room to lock myself into if he brought up that subject.
"Is this why you insisted on bringing me out here?" I asked in a scalding tone without looking at him. He didn't respond, so I assumed that his answer was a yes. Silence loomed over us again for awhile as we came closer toward the store. The small amount of sunlight that had graced us with its presence earlier during the day was long gone and was now being replaced by some stars. "I'll tell you what," I began, ripping the silence in half. "After a race, I'll tell you what I want to do about my mom." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye to take in his expression only to see him staring at me with those almost midnight eyes of his. I quickly looked away, trying to fight my wave of embarrassment.
"You're on" he said almost silently, and I wouldn't have noticed that he had already taken off if I hadn't looked at where he previously stood next to me.
"You little cheater" I mumbled as I snapped out my own wings and surged ahead.
It felt good to dodge between trees again, feel the rush of the wind as it whistled through my ears and whipped my hair around, and as I passed Fang, I let out a laugh that left my lips and trailed behind me. As I saw the exit out of the trees become closer, I had to come to a stop, making sure that I stayed in the shadows so that the cheap fluorescent lights that shone through the windows wouldn't fall on me. I folded my wings under my jacket as Fang landed next to me only seconds later in that silent way of his.
"I won" I said triumphantly.
"Uh-huh. So you gonna tell me?" he asked nonchalantly.
I raised an eyebrow at him. He was bringing down my high.
"Ah, no," I said, maintaining the smile on my face as I stepped into the light.
"You promised" he replied, and I thought I heard a tinge of frustration color his tone.
"I promised nothing" I replied cheerily as I opened the door and allowed him to walk in first. The store was small, maybe like a mini Walgreens without the make-up aisle. There was one guy working the cash register, and he seemed extremely bored with his surroundings until we both stepped through the door. He was reading some comic book and it was at that moment that he showed interest on his face.
"May I help you with anything?" he asked, and something about him made me dislike him immediately. I shook my head before heading down the aisle with Fang, quickly picking up what we needed so that the guy would have less of a chance to remember our faces.
Three basket carriers later, we both walked up to the register with each basket filled to the brim. Fang put his basket on the counter before walking off somewhere to look at something. The cashier's eyes widened for a few seconds before he recollected himself and started scanning the items.
"You have a big crowd waiting for you or something?" asked the cashier, who wore the nametag that read 'Nick'.
"Sort of," I replied quickly while looking away from Nick. The more the guy talked, the faster I wanted to get out of there. I mean, the guy was young and all, probably in his early 20s, and he even had some decent looks, but something about him just set off a loud, obnoxious warning noise in my head, and I had learned to listen to those over the years.
"Ah, you're having a party while you're folks are out, aren't you? Hah, those are always fun. Any guys gonna be there?" Nick asked. I turned my head again, easily catching Fang's dark hair in my view. He was really tense; I could tell by the way he gripped the can of beans in his hand. I don't blame him; I could feel Nick's eyes grazing over my body during our one-sided conversation. Did he have to take so long to ring up the stupid stuff?
"Just one or two guys" I replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the cashier's gaze also flick to Fang before coming back to me.
"Ah. Anyone you're interested in?" Nick asked, finally putting all of the groceries in the bag. I shook my head, keeping my eyes first on the screen that told how much I owed before reaching for my wallet and pulling out the bills to pay. Nick tore off the receipt from the machine after I handed him the money, and I almost flinched when he touched my hand.
Do it now, kick his ass! No, wait. He's just a retard. He doesn't know what he's doing. Just take the bags and walk away, I debated against myself.
My rational side was actually winning and I was going to do the right thing when Nick handed me the receipt with his number scribbled on the back of it in fat, scribbled, clumsy handwriting.
"Well, if you want to have some fun, just call me and I'll join the party" Nick said with a sly smile.
O::O::O::O::O::O
"Thanks" I said acidly as I grabbed the bags of groceries from the counter. The guy blinked at me once in surprise as Ember stared at the receipt with her eyes wide like a frozen doll. This guy pissed me off to no end; it was a wonder how I could retain myself enough not to throw him through the glass window. "Let's go" I mumbled, grabbing her wrist, but she yanked it out of my grasp. I turned around with disbelief to see her still looking at the receipt, but her expression had changed into something that I couldn't quite read.
"Hold on. Maybe I can take you up on your offer right now..." Ember said as she now looked up at the cashier.
"A...are you sure?" stuttered the cashier as he looked from me back to her.
"Sure. Unless you wanna back out" Ember said like a true-born flirt.
Did she just bat her eyelashes at him?!
"Course not!" he said, a cocky grin coming over his face as he came from behind the counter. "As long as your...'friend' has no problem with it" he said.
Damn right I have a problem with it! I fumed, my fist curled around the handles of the bags. I was ready to destroy the guy when Ember cut me off.
"Don't worry. He won't mind. It will only take about 5 minutes" she said nonchalantly.
"5 minutes! Do you think that I'm so easy to please?!" the guy asked in bemusement, shifting his gaze to me once again.
Go ahead, Fang. Hit him, right in the face, break his jaw, pull out some teeth... my devil side chanted to me. I was expecting my good side, the one with morals, to show up in my conscious and tell me not to, but it never did, and I was glad.
"No, I don't, but I'm just that good" Ember replied.
Maybe I should hit her, too.
"Well then. Step into my office" the guy said slyly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and began walking to the men's bathroom, leaving me standing near the entrance looking like a pissed off idiot with groceries in his hand. Ember quickly looked over her shoulder and I could finally see what she was remotely thinking about. An evil plot was clearly lurking in her eyes.
She mouthed "Wait for me" before disappearing through the door. The guy looked at me one last time with a small look of apprehension but clearly showed his thoughts of "gettin' some" on a dull evening. He then closed the door behind him and the store grew eerily silent.
After putting the bags down on the floor by my feet, I punched the wooden counter, which didn't do anything except leave a large dent on the surface and cause my right hand to start tingling. But, regardless of how angry I felt, I waited anyway with both fists stuffed in my pockets and a deathly glare in my eyes. It was a good thing that no one showed up or I might have taken my rage out on them.
Not more than 5 minutes later, I heard a shriek of pain come to my eardrums that made me jump in shock. It definitely wasn't the kind of sound that Ember would make, and my assumptions were made true when Ember stormed out with her fists by her side and a small angry grin on her face.
"Where's that guy?" I asked, sounding confused.
"Oh, you mean that low-life son-of-a-bastard? I left him in the bathroom. He really shouldn't have given me his number" she said with disgust clearly written on both her face and in her tone.
"What happened?" I asked. At this, her smile grew a bit more as she picked up a bag from the floor.
"Go check for yourself. Oh, you might want to take this with you" she said as she reached behind the counter and grabbed some large sharp scissors and handed it to me. I looked at it for a few seconds before my curiosity got the best of me and I went to the bathroom.
I slowly opened the door and instantly froze when I saw the cashier hanging on a bathroom stall door by his underwear in what must've been the best wedgies that has ever happened to a guy in man-kind. He was crying in pain, trying to keep the door from moving to avoid chapping his rear anymore than it already was. I almost doubled over in laughter right there and then, but suppressed most of the laughter behind a large smile.
"I didn't do anything, I swear!" said the cashier, noticing that I had walked through the door with sharp scissors in my hand and jumping to the wrong conclusion.
Just leave him there. He deserves it. Just turn around and walk out with the scissors and leave him hanging, whispered my darker side. And even though the thought brought some inner satisfaction, I knew my good side would kick my butt later on.
I stepped toward him, not saying a word, and the guy began to cringe, only to realize that any type of movement would cause him discomfort. I brought the scissors to the guy's briefs that were on the door and cut through the material. The guy abruptly fell flat on his stomach, leaving him breathless. He struggled to get up and dusted himself off after a minute or two, looking utterly flushed.
"Thanks, man" he breathed gratefully and gave me a smile.
"No problem" I said simply, passing the guy his scissors.
Just be glad that I'm the nicer one, I thought to myself as I turned back around to exit the bathroom.
"That bitch is crazy!" said the guy and I instantly froze.
Fang! Keep walking, don't pay any attention to him, and just leave him alone! coaxed my rational side, my good side.
Stuff it! Fang, don't listen to him. Make the guy suffer, Let your anger go... persuaded my darker side, the one that seemed so right at this moment. I sucked in a breath through my nose with my fists clenched tightly near my sides before I turned back around and spread out my wings as far as they could go in this cramped space.
"What did you just say?" I asked in the most menacing voice that I could possibly muster. The cashier stared at my wings for an inarticulate 10 seconds. His mouth opened into a doughnut shaped hole as his eyes widened as big as saucepans and he raised a wobbling finger towards me. The cashier made a stuttering sound before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell back to the floor, passing out in a state of shock. I drew in my wings and gave him one long look before propping him up against a wall.
Serves him right, I thought to myself as I now headed out the door. Wasn't worth my anger, anyway.
I walked out of the door to find a slightly concerned Ember leaning against the counter with the bags of groceries around her feet. She looked up at my entrance.
"What happened in there?" she asked, and I could see the tension leave her face. I shrugged as if there was nothing unusual about showing off your wings in a bathroom.
"He fainted" I said. Ember's eyebrows raised and she opened her mouth to say something, but she shook her head instead.
"He had it coming. Can we go home now? I'm starving" she said lightly as she picked up a bag. I nodded, picking up the remaining bags before walking out the door with her. We both shot off into the air, heading toward home with food now on the brain.
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