Chapter 4.

The teens trooped into the beverage aisle next. Buck kept peeking over his shoulder. "Store's gettin' much busier," he observed, his tone indicating that he wasn't too pleased with this development. Judging by her grimace, Bridget wasn't either.

"Hey Buck, could you grab the water?" Cooper asked. "Sure." Once he was at the other end of the aisle, Cooper caught Jules's arm. "Is he okay? What was that back there?" he asked quietly. Jules glanced at Buck, making sure he was distracted, before saying, "Buck is super eager to please, especially with Eugene and Katrina. He has, I dunno, I guess abandonment issues. So, occasionally, he gets panicky if he thinks he isn't doing exactly what they wanted, out of fear that they'll leave him."

Cooper and Bridget both wore sympathetic looks. "Wipe those looks off your faces! Buck hates sympathy. Plus, he'll feel self-conscious if he finds out that you know. So act like you always do. No changes." Jules didn't wait for them to respond; just turned and headed towards Buck.

"Do you want some help?" Jules laughed while asking.

Buck stood with two cases of water, along with a half-gallon jug balanced on top. He was in the process of trying to get a second jug on his stack, without dropping what he was already holding. "Uh, could you stick the other jug on here? Please." Jules laughed. "I could." She grabbed the jug and held it at her side. "Or I could just carry it." "Heh. Yeah. That'd work too."

As they walked back to the cart, she eyed the amount of water they had. "Don't you think this is too much water?" "Honestly?" He shifted his grip. "I doubt it'll be enough. Twelve people, thirty-six bottles a case. We each get six. I drink six in like, a day." Jules pulled her head back. "Isn't the rule on water, 'Drink half your body weight in ounces'? How much do you weigh?" He shifted his grip again. "Not as much as you'd think. I'm gaining, though. But I sweat. A lot." Jules snickered. "Trust me; I know. Half the time, you smell like it." "Hey now!"

Buck dropped the water into the cart with a loud thud, then made a face and moved it to the bottom racks of both carts - a case on each. "What else is on the list?" Bridget asked. "Coffee." Cooper eyed the coffee dubiously. "What kind?" "The list just says 'coffee.'" There was a collective sigh throughout the group before they whipped out their phones.

"Connie says there's a coffee maker and a Keurig at the house, so grounds or pods is fine." "What roast?" Cooper asked. "I know Eugene and Katrina don't like dark roast," Buck offered. "No one likes dark roast," Bridget said. "Well..." The three turned to Buck. "Somewhere through my life, I got a taste for what's known as truck stop coffee. Or, as Mr. Skint used to call it," he made air quotes. "That black sludge that you call coffee."

His friends' faces held various degrees of disgust. "What is it?" Bridget asked, morbid curiosity getting the best of her. "Like five or six heaping scoops of dark roast coffee drank black." Jules covered her mouth with her hand. "That's vile." "There is, no way that that is healthy," Cooper said. Buck grinned. "Oh, it's not. But it can't be any worse than fake chemical creamers or a bunch of sugar." "It's also just a crime against coffee," Bridget said.

"I asked Connie, and she said to get medium and light roast," Jules said, slipping her phone back into the pocket of her skinny jeans. "How much coffee will we need?" Bridget asked. Cooper squinted in concentration. "Well, ten to eleven coffee drinkers -" Buck reached past both of them and grabbed a pack of both roasts in both pods and granules. "There. Plenty of coffee." He grabbed two packs of soda and threw them in the cart as well. "Well," Cooper said. "That settles that." Buck offered a triumphant smile and led the way out of the aisle.

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"Who put the energy drinks in the cart?" Cooper asked as they turned into the aisle. "Guilty," Buck said, hand raised. "How do you even have a heart left?" Bridget asked. Buck shrugged. "No clue." Cooper snorted. "Where do you think the bread aisle is? It should be close to the condiments, right?" Jules asked no one in particular. "Probably the dairy aisle," Buck said, inspecting the back of a ketchup bottle. Cooper frowned. "That's weird."

Jules was reaching for the mustard when Buck blocked it with his arm. "Don't you dare." Jules looked at him in indignation. "If you don't want any then don't eat any," she said, pushing his arm away. He wrinkled his nose. "You're gross, y'know that?" "You're gross." Bridget slowly turned to look at them. "You don't like mustard," she said. Buck raised his eyebrows. "I didn't hear a question in that," he said. "I'm just surprised." At his blank look she continued. "I thought all southerners liked mustard." "The only places mustard belongs is sloppy joes or barbeque sauce!" He glared at the bottle in Jules's hand.

Cooper approached the cart with an armload of canned vegetables. "What did I miss?" The three started laughing. "Basic gist: Buck hates mustard," Bridget said. He glanced at them. "Oh-kay."

Buck sobered and said, "Okay. Ketchup, mayo, and the oh-so-important mustard." Jules rolled her eyes while the other two laughed. "Canned vegetables. Worcestershire sauce?" Bridget held it up. "Small balsamic and ranch dressing?" "Got 'em," Jules confirmed. "Olive oil?" Cooper tapped the bottle. "Affirmative." "Vinegar's at the end of the aisle, so we'll get it on the way out. Is there anythin' else?" "Barbeque sauce?" Jules asked. Buck side-eyed her. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that." Before she could protest he said, "It sacrilegious to use bottle barbeque sauce, Jules."

With a sigh, Jules relented. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just get to the next aisle, okay?" "Sure." Jules turned her back, so she missed the mischievous look in Buck's eye.
"Buck Jebidiah Oliver Put Me Down!"

A/N: Here's Chapter 4! I'm thinking of doing a fic of text messages from different people in Odyssey. Let me know what you think! Have a great day :)