You worked at a drug store in a busy outlet mall, trying to make ends meet for school and apartment bills. It wasn't the life you wanted and you were always tired, but you told yourself that the hardwork will pay off eventually.
"Your total comes out to $26.78," you said to the tall brunet who stood before you. As he reached into his pocket for his wallet, you bagged away his purchases: a ton of beer, a couple porn magazines, and...sharpies. Okay.
"Here you go," he handed you some cash. "Gotta love em, huh?" he asked, referring to the porn magazines with a grin.
You ignored his comment but gave him a small smile, not wanting to make things too awkward. As you calculated his change another person walked over to the check out counter.
"Look, there's something suspicious about the..." he leaned in and whispered something to your current customer. He was also tall, taller actually, with longer brown hair that curled around his ears. You looked up from the change you held in you hand and accidentally made eye contact with him as he finished what he was saying. His mouth twitched a hesitantly awkward smile before he took a step back and sped out of the store.
Okay...? you thought to yourself. These two were officially weird. You thanked the guy in front of you and handed him his bag, he winked before walking out.
You worked long hours practically every day, occasionally holding graveyard shifts. It didn't take you long to notice how often those two actually stopped by. You haven't seen them before that one time, so you assumed they were either new to the area or visiting. Lately there had been an influx of tourists, but these two didn't seem like tourists.
The taller one in particular peaked your interest. Yes, you thought he was cute and more tolerable than the other. The other guy was a bit too...you don't know, the typical player guy type? How did they even know each other? Were they related? I mean, they do kinda look alike.
You were working the graveyard shift again, much to your delight. It was right after Christmas and the place was dead, people were probably at home spending time with their families. Something you wish you could be doing, but nope.
You sighed out loud and looked at the empty store before you, knowing that you were going to be stuck here for another six hours. Suddenly you heard the little bell on top of the entrance jingle and you turned to see a customer come in.
It was him, the taller brunet.
You felt your heart skip a beat and you inhaled sharply. "Hello," you spoke up, waving at him. "I'll be here if you have any questions." Usually you didn't say that to customers but he made eye contact and he was the only one here.
He smiled and returned the wave before disappearing into an aisle. I shouldn't be this worked up about him, yeah he's cute but it's not like anything is going to happen between us. I don't even know his name.
Some time passed before he finally emerged from the back of the store. He placed a six pack case of beer on the counter along with some other snacks and...more sharpies? What the hell?
You started scanning the items with him standing there. Neither of you were talking, which wasn't out of the ordinary for you and some customers but it wasn't everyday that a customer gave you butterflies either. I should say something, you thought.
"I didn't take you for much of a drinker," you said as you scanned the beer and put it in a bag.
"It's not for, I mean, I could drink it but..." his voice trailed off and you looked at him, amused by his flustered response. "It's for my brother," he finally said, putting his hand behind his head and looking away.
"Oh," you smiled. As you reached for another item, you remembered you haven't asked for identification to check his age. "I almost forgot, uh, ID please?"
He stared at you for a moment, as if what you asked wasn't registering in his mind.
"ID...?" you repeated while holding your fingers up to imitate the position of holding a card.
"Oh! R-right! Sorry about that I just," he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet. "I'm not used to getting asked that anymore, it's been a while."
You smiled, "It's just policy, I don't think you look like a twelve year old or anything."
He handed you his driver's license and you skimmed over it. So his name is Sam Winchester. You gave it back to him and finished scanning the rest of the products.
There was another bout of silence that enveloped the two of you, only the beeping of the register and soft music playing from the overhead radio filled the void.
"That'll be $19.14," you said, yawning mindlessly.
"Long night?" Sam asked. You hadn't gotten much sleep the night before actually, you were up catching up on assigned readings for class.
"Oh, uh," you reflexively put your hand over your mouth and nodded, before laughing softly. "Yeah, I...yeah. I'm here for a few more hours and I'd much rather be sleeping."
"I can relate," he answered, giving you a twenty dollar bill. You took it and the two of you made eye contact. You could feel your cheeks starting to burn and you just hoped it wasn't noticeable. God damn his good looks.
"Oh no, that's not a good thing," you laughed. "Panda eyes and sleep deprivation is never okay, but thanks for the solidarity." You handed him his change but he shook his head.
"You can keep it," Sam said, picking up his bag. "Thank you..." his voice lingered, waiting for you to tell him your name.
"(Y/N)," you answered quickly.
"Thank you, (Y/N)," Sam said, smiling at you. He did a small wave before turning and exiting the store.
The second he left you exhaled loudly, practically groaning. You had a successful exchange with a cute guy and for once you didn't embarrass yourself. You mentally patted yourself on the back. Good job, (Y/N).
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The adrenaline rush you got from talking with Sam wore off quickly and soon you found yourself back in a state of boredom. The hours dragged on and you barely had any business minus a couple of bikers. For the most part you were alone and finding it hard to not fall asleep and feel bitter.
The pop music overhead blared on and on, putting you almost in a sleepy trance. I gotta stay awake, you told yourself, shaking your head vigorously and blinking.
The bell jingled again and you looked up at the entrance. It was Sam.
"Oh, hello," upon seeing him you perked up, instantly felt more awake. "Back again?" You turned to face him from behind the counter.
"Yeah," he answered. He was carrying a small white bag in his hand. You looked at it momentarily before meeting his eyes again.
"It's pretty late," you said. "Need more beer?"
"Actually," Sam walked over to you and placed the bag on the counter. "I figured you would like some company."
You raised an eyebrow, taken aback by his words. He opened up the bag and pulled out a small box, it was a strawberry cake.
"I mean, I hope I'm not bothering you or anything?" Sam handed you a fork.
"Not at all!"
The two of you looked at each other, an awkward pause having taken over. You weren't sure what to make of this. What was going on? A guy you just met bought you a cake and wants you to eat it with him. You barely had a conversation with him a few hours ago.
"Is this weird?" he asked suddenly. "This is weird, isn't it?" Sam slouched a little, his eyes darting all over the place. "I'm sorry--"
"No," you cut him off, reaching out with your free hand to touch his forearm. "You're fine," you said reassuringly. "I think it's really sweet, Sam," you said his name out loud for the first time and it felt different, but you liked it.
He relaxed and smiled at you, it was almost bashful. It made you happy that you weren't the only one who sucked at conversation. He seemed shy and that was incredibly endearing, also relatable.
"There's just a small problem," you said, you watched as the smile slipped away from his face. "I'm allergic to strawberries."
His eyes widened, "I am so sorry!" he exclaimed, voice raised. "I should have asked, I--"
You laughed, "It's okay! How about this," you patted his arm and told him to wait. You walked to the refrigerated area of the store and picked out a prepackaged vanilla cake. You quickly returned to the counter and placed it next to the cake Sam bought.
"I can't eat strawberries, but you can," you said slowly as you focused on opening the plastic container. "And I'll eat this!" you stuck your fork into the cake and took a bite, smiling at him.
Sam didn't say anything but responded with a grin and started to eat his cake as well.
"And since we're already here," you continued. You were going to take the plunge. It's not every day a cute guy buys you food, that wasn't the type of guy you wanted to let go. Besides, at this point wasn't he practically asking you out? "Are you free later?"
"I am," Sam answered and he looked at you.
"Good," you smiled, and the two of you continued to eat your desserts in a comfortable bliss.
//End.