It was late, almost too late to be going out to the grocery store. But Josh had the rumbly tumblies at eleven at night, and with nothing in his apartment and being an insomniac, what better things did he have to do.
Moving to the snack section, he grabbed a few boxes of junk food. Cheez-Its, Lays, Fruit Snacks - the usual for snacks in his apartment, or for a six year old’s stomach. He strolled along, eyeing the shelves for anything else he could get. Maybe something small but good while it lasted.
His eyes paused when they came upon Goldfish.
He had almost forgotten the salty, yet amazing taste of the snack that smiles back. His pupils grew as if he were in love and he ran to them, taking note that they were the last of what was once there.
He smiled wide, grabbing the box and -
There was a tug on the other end.
“Uh, excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?”
Josh’s smiled faded and he looked at the man across from him. He was tall but skinny, and wore a hoodie that was about two sizes too big for him. He was cute, but he was NOT about to get away with his snack. “Grabbing some Goldfish, what does it look like?” he replied, glaring at the cute stranger.
“It looks like you’re stealing my reserved snack from me, bro. Not cool.” the other answered, shaking his head and tugging harder.
Josh’s feet squeaked on the floor.
“Reserved? Come on. It’s fucking Giant Eagle. I don’t think the reserve sna-”
“Shut up and give me the Goldfish, jerkface.”
Josh’s jaw dropped at the interruption and he tugged back hard, making the box tear open slightly. “I have a name, skinnyboy.”
The other childish young adult looked the red head up and down before pulling back as if to challenge him. “Yeah?”
With a grunt, Josh fought back. “Yeah.” Josh mocked, making a face. “Josh.”
“Tyler.” said the other, pulling once more.
It was just enough. Josh’s fingers slid off the box, and he watched as the man named Tyler looked at him like a deer in headlights before running off with a wide smile. Josh, red-faced with anger, grabbed his cart and zoomed off, getting up on the little bar and kicking his feet off the floor as if it were a scooter. Racing to the front of the store, he was determined to get those Goldfish back once and for all.
Tyler laughed as he ran, dodging people that came in close contact with him, even the employees. He looked behind him, making sure that Josh was still a little ways away before-
“Oof!”
Tyler fell back onto the floor, his smile wiped clean off his lips as he rested his eyes upon, you guessed it, the manager. He stood up quickly, eyes wide with fear. “I’m so so-”
Josh came squeaking in behind Tyler, reaching an arm around him and snatching the Goldfish from his hand with a smirk, never even realizing the other person standing in front of them. “Ha! Finally. You made it so easy.” He chuckled softly, shaking his head before looking up and jumping back in fear. Tyler held back his laugh.
“Get out of my store, right this second. Both of you.”
Tyler bit his lip and nodded, hesitantly giving the box of Goldfish back to the manager until he finally stepped away from the scene. Josh made a move to grab his cart, as if he was going to still be allowed to get all the items he’d grabbed before this whole mess, but the manager shot him a look and he let go, following behind Tyler.
~ One Month Later ~
Being kicked out of the closest grocery store wasn’t something Josh was proud of, but he at least got the chance to go out a little bit more than before. Target was placed in a little shopping center, and it was convenient to go, seeing as he could hit other places if it didn’t have what he needed.
It was late again, or, at least for Target, which closed at 10 at night. Josh only had a half hour to be in and out of the place and getting what he needed. Like a month before, he stocked his cart with snacks, not caring about the calories it would put in his stomach, only wanting what tasted right.
Walking down the aisle of snacks, he spotted a single carton of Goldfish again, and the sight immediately brought a smile to his lips. In some weird way, he almost missed Tyler, wanting to see his bright smile and hear his unique laugh. He reached for the box, but as soon as he went to pull it into his shopping cart, he felt a tug on the other side.
Looking up, his eyes met the same brown pair he’d seen a month before, only this time they were kinder; they didn’t shoot daggers at him for laying a finger on his precious Goldfish.
“Again?” Tyler asked, smiling at the red head standing in front of him. “I thought I’d seen the last of you. You must be pretty determined to steal my reserved Goldfish.”
“You gotta tell me how this whole ‘reserving snacks’ thing works. I’d love to try it on, like, ice cream or something.” Josh replied, smirking.
Tyler let go of the box, leaning against the shelf. Josh stared at him like he was the son of God, risen again. He laughed at the sight.
Josh’s mouth was wide open with surprise and he finally shook his head after a moment, raising his eyebrows. “No. Don’t just give me the Goldfish. I have a better idea.”
“What could that be?” Tyler crossed his arms, looking Josh up and down with a grin.
“We’ll share them.”
Tyler stood there for a moment, confused. “Josh, how are w-”
Before he could finish his sentence, Josh handed him a wrinkled up paper with his number on it.
Tyler stood there for a minute, staring at the paper with a smile. When he looked up to thank him, Josh caught him before he could speak again, grabbing the Goldfish tighter to his chest before turning on his heel and zooming down to the front of the store.
