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haven's pov
without thinking, my jaw drops.
"i'm sorry i must've misheard you, i thought you said 1,000 pounds of skittles."
"i did say that," the awkward boy says. the look in his deep blue eyes say he's telling the truth.
"it might not be any of my business, but can i ask why you need so many?"
"i love skittles," he says without hesitation. i stifle a laugh. that line most definitely sounds rehearsed, but i won't push it.
"alright, i respect someone with a sweet tooth. i'll go to the back and get what we have. stay put, okay?"
"you got it," he flashes me a smile and a thumbs up.
he's so weird. but in a somewhat charismatic way.
whatever.
i head to the back of the store and find another co-worker hanging up her apron.
"haven, what are you doing?" tana, my co-worker, asks. "didn't your shift end?"
"mhm. but i got a last minute customer," i reply, not really interested in a conversation.
"oh. well, why don't you hand them off to someone else?" tana tucks a strand of her long blue hair behind her ear.
"he said he wanted me specifically to help." i grab another cart and start piling on large boxes of skittle packs.
"he? so it's a boy?" tana gives a smirk. "what's he like?"
i stop heaving the skittle boxes to give tana a disturbed look.
"i met him two minutes ago. how am i supposed to know what he's like?" i answer back with an annoyed tone. tana's taken aback and scoffs.
"alright, i guess it's that time of the month or something. i'll see you tomorrow." tana grabs her keys and leaves.
i hate it when people say stuff like that.
i roll my eyes and continue struggling with the huge skittle boxes until the cart is full. with great difficulty, i push the cart out to the boy, who's still standing exactly where i left him. he hears the squeaky wheels of the cart and looks at me, and i swear his eyes start glittering when he sees me.
"you're back! i thought you had ditched me or something," he says with a laugh, fixing his fluffy brown curls.
"didn't leave you. just struggled with these boxes. and i doubt this is even 100 pounds," i respond, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead.
"i'd say this is around 100. just 10 more of these to go..." the boy laughs slightly. "i can help if you want! would your manager be okay with that?"
"who cares if she'd be okay with it? i need all the help i can get." i turn around and motion for him to follow me to the back storage room. thankfully, he understands and stays right on my heels.
i point out where the skittles are, and the boy lifts them onto the cart with ease. it surprises me, he doesn't look like the super strong, muscular type, but he can lift these heavy boxes easily.
after about 20 minutes, the two of us get about 1,000 pounds of the rainbow candy on 10 different carts. we get a few weird stares from my co-workers and random store browsers, but the two of us ignore them.
"jesus christ, i'm out of breath," i say, one hand on my racing heart. the boy laughs.
"i just realized i never introduced myself! i'm karl," the boy says, extending his hand. "what's your name?"
"haven. it's on my name tag," i laugh and karl widens his eyes awkwardly. i reach my hand out and shake his warm hand firmly.
"yeah. forgot about that thing. sorry..." i laugh and shake his head, non-verbally telling him not to worry about it.
karl pays for the candy, which ended up being really expensive, but he didn't bat an eye when he was told the triple digit price.
"you need help getting these in your car? or are these even going to fit in your car?" i ask.
"uh... that's been taken care of," karl says awkwardly, a light flush across his cheeks.
"hm?"
as if on cue, i hear a loud honk from outside the shop. i jump, not used to stuff like that. this shop's in a quiet little corner of north carolina, there isn't much noise around here.
i exit the store and see a huge truck in front of the store. my jaw drops.
"so this is for you? because you really like skittles?" i question, crossing my arms as karl walks out the store.
"would you believe me if i said yes..?"
"i wouldn't."
"oh well, i guess it's a mystery then." karl goes back inside and pushes a cart to the truck, the truck driver exiting the vehicle and taking the boxes from the brunette.
i realize i need to stop standing around and actually help, so i help karl and the driver put the boxes in the truck.
"jimmy's going to be happy with this," the driver tells karl with a smile.
"aha!" i say, pointing at karl. "jimmy is the mastermind behind this... who is he? some candy fanatic?"
"you ask a lot of questions," karl says, putting his hands accusingly on his hips. "i gotta go, jimmy is expecting me. see you tomorrow, haven!" karl waves and hops into the passenger seat of the truck.
see you tomorrow?
"what do you mean by that?" i yell after him. but it's no use. the truck drives away, and i'm left standing on the sidewalk, a million questions floating around inside my head.