BLACKOUT; JR [1]

6.2

As we walked along the dirt pathway leading into town, my stomach felt like it was upside down. I wanted to back out. I wanted to tell the others they were right, and I wanted to stay with Sam and Felix.

But I couldn't. I'd made such a big deal about coming, I had to go.

"We don't have a lot of choice because a loser, otherwise known as Sam, ate our only chance at a decent meal." Jake's ranting pulled me out of my thoughts. I know I should be mad at Sam, at least a little bit, but I had other things on my mind.

"Yeah. Bad form." Andy agreed. "And to think, that in the old world, you two were good friends." He seemed to be weirdly amused at the thought.

"Yeah, well in the old world, I had a mum, a dad, a comfortable bed and access to a fridge full of food." Jake said. "Things change." From the corner of my eye, I saw him pull his hood up, and I felt I should do the same.

Looking up, I saw about four crows in one tree all watching us walk past. I've never liked birds, they always scared me. I did nothing to acknowledge them, and I walked faster. We were in town pretty quickly, then.

When we approached the entrance of my dad's shop, I tripped over my own feet and landed on Jake. He steadied me, looking on with concern as his hand still touched my arm. I met the gazes of the silent boys, and awkwardly coughed into my hand.

"Are you okay?" Andy asked me, also worried.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up." I stated with a shaky smile. "Let's go in."

Jake let me go so I could push the door open, the cool air raising goose bumps on my skin.

When we walked inside, I noticed that neither my dad nor my brother were working. I'd never seen this guy before, but that didn't really surprise me. I felt the disappointment disfigure my face at the sight before me. But, then again, it may have been a good thing that they weren't working. I still felt like I was going to vomit, right on the shiny tiled floor. The fact that we were shoplifting didn't really ease my nerves.

"The definition of freeganism is taking the discarded." Andy stated, his voice low. "Not stealing before it gets discarded."

"Fine. Get back in the dumpster." Jake rolled his eyes, scanning the shelves with his eyes.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't get too hung up with technicalities." Andy said reluctantly. He'd never done anything like this before in his life, rightfully so. Jake looked like he was in his element, which confused and also surprised me at the same time.

I watched Jake reach for a carton of eggs, but I pushed his hand away before he could grab them, which earned me a confused glare. Andy had left now, hopefully looking for less obvious items to steal.

"How the hell do you think we are going to carry that out of here without him noticing?" I found myself smiling slightly, but there was no humour in my face.

I reached past him, swiping a chocolate bar from its place on the shelf. Jake quirked an eyebrow, a small smirk being the most dominant of all his features.

I shoved the sugary snack down my shirt, into my bra. Hopefully this wasn't noticeable.

"Done this before?" Jake quipped, to which I rolled my eyes.

"Have you?" I replied, not meeting his gaze. It was highly unlikely that I would steal from my family's shop, but highly unlikely was still a possibility.

I'd taken a few packets of gum from here once or twice in my life, but so had Blake. So, I wasn't alone in my shoplifting days, and that seemed to make it a little more okay. Dad never even realised, and it was all right under his nose.