Lets Stay Like This (Little Nightmares)

Nights like these

It was just another regular school day, the final bell ringing out across the halls as students flooded from their classrooms, eager to escape into the weekend. Mono slung his backpack over his shoulder, his tall figure easily visible among the sea of students. He scanned the crowd with his usual calm expression, waiting for his shorter companion to catch up.

Six emerged from the throng of students, her dark bangs falling over her eyes, her yellow hoodie almost swallowed by the oversized denim jacket she wore. She looked unimpressed, as usual, dodging between people as she approached him.

"Took you long enough," Mono teased, giving her a playful nudge with his elbow.

"Shut up, beanpole," she muttered, though the slight curve of her lips betrayed her usual snark. She adjusted the strap of her backpack and fell into step beside him.

"So, what's the plan?" Mono asked, tilting his head down to look at her. "Wanna grab snacks and head to my place?"

"Obviously," Six replied, giving him a sidelong glance. "Your fridge is always empty, so snacks first."

"Hey, it's not my fault," Mono said, raising his hands defensively. "Parents are never home, remember?"

Six snorted, a tiny smile breaking through her usual stoic demeanor. "More like they work too much and don't have time to grocery shop."

"Exactly. So it's up to us to fix that, right?" Mono grinned.

They made their way out of the school building, the afternoon sun casting long shadows over the concrete. The usual chatter of students hung in the air, but Mono and Six were focused on their usual routine—snack runs and hanging out until late. It had become their thing.

The walk to the supermarket wasn't long, just a few blocks down from school. Six stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, her pace slightly faster to keep up with Mono's long strides.

"So, what snacks are we getting this time?" Mono asked, glancing down at her.

"Chips. Sour candy. And something sweet," Six replied, listing off her choices with precision, as if she had it all planned out.

Mono smirked. "Got it. We'll have a perfect snack buffet by the time we're done."

Once they arrived at the supermarket, things got interesting—as they always did. Mono grabbed a shopping basket, and the duo ventured down the snack aisle, immediately zeroing in on their usual favorites.

Six scanned the shelves, her eyes lighting up slightly at the sight of the sour gummy worms. She snatched a bag and tossed it into the basket. Mono, on the other hand, went straight for the chips, grabbing a large bag of BBQ-flavored ones.

"Don't get those," Six said, shooting him a glance.

"What? Why not?" Mono asked, holding up the bag defensively.

"They always leave crumbs everywhere," she pointed out.

Mono shrugged. "We'll eat them carefully."

"Yeah, sure," Six muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She then moved on to the chocolate bars, grabbing a couple and tossing them into the basket as well.

They moved through the store like that, arguing lightly over snack choices and occasionally throwing random items into the basket just to mess with each other.

At one point, Mono picked up a giant bag of marshmallows, grinning as he showed it to Six. "How about these? We could have a marshmallow fight."

Six gave him a flat look. "Or we could just eat them like normal people."