Stupid Games, Stupid Prizes (Purple Guy x Reader)

Falter and Faulty

Rain hammered down on the roof of your car as you sat in your car. You had hoped that you could have made it home before the worst of the storm hit but now you found yourself pulled to the side of the road. With a sigh you scanned the area ahead of you but the rain was coming down so hard that you could barely make out anything outside of your car.

Why did I ever propose that deal?

Your head fell and thumped against the steering wheel as you let the question fully seep in. Upsettingly, you didn't exactly know what the future of this deal had in store for you. Surely you'd win and Vincent would leave you alone afterwards but would he actually keep his word in that regard?

Do I even want him to leave me alone once all of this is over?

While you could do without his flirting, you couldn't say you wanted him to stop interacting with you altogether. Work would become increasingly more boring if there was one less person to chat with. Plus, something about that potential change in what has so far been a consistent day-to-day routine causes a pit to build up in your stomach.

Looking upwards, you strained your eyes as you tried to look through the thick haze that formed from the hard rain. Water rushed down the sides of the road in hastily made streams and you felt as your leg began to bounce from the anxiety that started to buzz throughout your body.

"I should call off the deal..."

You could barely recognize your voice as it came out in a hoarse croak.

No... I can't do that. I mean, I could but...

Thoughts bounced back and forth as you continued down this cognitive path. You kept coming up with reasons to call off the deal as well as reasons to keep the deal going.

Straightening your spine and moving your shoulders to pop them out of the stiff position you held them in, you began to steer your wheels to go back onto the road. The rain was still beating down onto the asphalt but you could see a bit more clearly than before. Treading carefully, you made your way back onto the road and slowly drove the rest of the way home.

Friday morning arrived and you were back in the pizzeria. Boxes of new toys and candy were piled in the already tight space behind the counter; ready to be unpacked and stocked on the shelves and glass containers. You carefully sliced into the boxes with a boxcutter and opened them up to examine the contents.

Sifting through the new inventory, you separated and placed the proper items where they belonged. You began with the candy and smaller, plastic toys that sat behind the glass at the counter before moving towards the stuffed toys that were meant to be lined on the shelves on the wall behind you. Looking around you weren't able to spot the step stool that you typically kept stashed away when you or Jeremy needed to stock the plushies.

Speaking of your coworker, perhaps he has the step stool. You turned slightly to look for the young man. Jeremy could be seen across the large room wiping off tables and leather booth seats. No step stool in sight and he was too far away for you to comfortably call out to him to ask about the stool.

Turning back to the boxes and shelves, you decided to simply start stocking the lower shelves in hopes of burning time until Jeremy would come near the counter so you could question him about the missing object.

But your coworker never moves close enough for you to do so. Instead, the man seemed to have completely disappeared.

Rolling your eyes at the situation, you stared up at the higher shelves as you placed the last few boxes on the counter and readied yourself to either stretch enough to place the toys or strategically toss them.