whipped • valkyrae x reader

part one

it was a warm night in late spring, two young adults were about to make questionable decisions and have a load of fun.

you laid in your bed restless, checking the time to see the numbers 2:43 a.m. on your bright phone screen taunting you as your body refused to sleep. running your hands through your hair out of stress, you get up to get a glass of water from the kitchen, at least to move around a little. normally, you wouldn't be up this late, but the stress of life has been keeping you awake recently, leaving you with more and more sleepless nights, and you knew this would be another one, so might as well make the best of it.

you check your phone one last time before walking to your room to throw on a jacket and your shoes. walking out of your room slightly more put together than before, you find your keys and your phone in the kitchen, leaving your door locked and on your way out the door to take a walk to the gas station.

you thought the gas station would be a decent way to spend some of your night, high on a bit of a sugar rush and some cheap coffee through your system to keep you going, since sleep was practically out of the question tonight. life couldn't really get any worse as it is, so spending a little money on some candy and coffee couldn't hurt too much. after listening to some tunes and walking down the fastest path you could, you saw the colorful signs and lights of the somewhat run-down gas station illuminate the ground. you approached the concrete oasis, opening the doors to only see the man behind the counter, nodding his head at you slightly as a "hello", and one other person in the store, probably doing the same thing as you.

walking over to the candy section of the aisles, you browse your selection, grabbing a few items of your choice, specifically some of your favorites. you notice one other person in the aisle with you, not really taking note of them or even their appearance, understanding that they're probably some sad sap doing the same sad thing as you, no judgement though. you carry your candy over to the coffee machine, making a disheveled stack as you fill a larger cup with a, hopefully less bitter, blend of coffee from the very limited selection. the lid you grab barely fits on the cup, a little liquid spilling onto your hand, and thinking it was about time to buy your collection of sugar and caffeine and get out of the store.

you make your way over to the cashier, the one person in the store already checking out their candy and drinks. good assortment of goods, you note, as you agree with some of their picks. you note that they're about 5'3" to 5'5" in height, with dark, highlighted hair and a baggier outfit on, with a higher-pitched voice. by the time you're done analyzing them, it's already your turn to check out. your total runs $11.56, giving them $15 and tipping them the rest, you find yourself outside of the store, drinking your far-too-sweet coffee and eating sweeter candy.

the person from the store, who you've drawn the conclusion of being female, nods at you from outside the door of the shop with a smile. she seems to look at your candy and coffee, chuckling at a few of the items. to nobody's surprise, she speaks first.

"i like your haul." she says, nodding to your candy and coffee.

with a laugh, you respond, "thank you, i did my best. though there's definitely better coffee out there, this stuff's too sweet."

"yeah? you are buying your coffee from a gas station, i don't exactly know what you expected."

"you have a point." you laugh, already noting that the girl was kinda cute looks-wise, and had a nice, easy-on-the-ears voice.

she looked around at the desolate parking lot and street, sighing and looking to her feet.

"you doing alright?" you chime in, feeling a little bad for her. she seemed pretty down in the dumps.

she looks up again, a little surprised, then shrugs. "i guess we all make questionable decisions, but i realized i hit rock bottom when the best thing i can think of doing is spending my night high of the sugar of candy. i don't mean this in a douche-y way, but i'm pretty well off. i could do so much better, but i decide to spend my time mindlessly buying and eating candy from a random gas station."

you felt for her, heard her pain. you tried to show some empathy and give a little advice. "been there. matter of fact, i am there right now. life is, well, unfair and tough. you can never truly know if you're ever gonna get better, but you can certainly try to, yeah?" after saying this, you realize it sounded corny as hell, but that's alright.

the girl smiled. "i'll keep that in mind. thanks, uh," she paused, "well, i don't have your name."

"oh, uh, i'm y/n. if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" you anxiously respond, realizing you have to ask this girl questions about herself.

she smiled. "of course i don't mind. i'm rachel, but my friends call me rae." she extended her hand, and you shook it.

"pretty name. well, nice to meet you, rae."