The Unexpected Encounter (An Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 25: Kroger

Hailie and I found ourselves wandering up and down the aisles of the supermarket. We grabbed a shopping cart from outside and soon enough, we were grabbing things from shelves and tossing them in. 

"I think we're getting too much junk food," I commented, looking at the cart which was filled with an assortment of chips, candies, bars, and other sugary, starchy, and fatty items. "We did mean to come here mainly for Whitney."

Hailie laughed. "Whit's the one who asked for snack food. Besides, it's fine. Dad loves these foods. He may say it's unnecessary but by the end of the day, you'll see him snacking on this shit like crazy. At least we're coming close to the frozen aisle for those fruit bars."

"True," I rolled my eyes at her, smiling at that visual Hailie had just provided with me involving Marshall.

Before going to the frozen goods section, we came up to the aisle with soup cans first, figuring that would be a good idea to get for Whitney. We then stopped by near it to pick up breakfast foods, lunch meals, juices and eventually made it to the cold section. We grabbed frozen food items, ice cream, fruits bars, the list went on.

We were almost ready to leave until Hailie mentioned something. "I actually have to get some more pads and tampons, if you don't mind," she said, slightly embarrassed.

I laughed. "It's cool." As we arrived at the pharmacy section to pick up items for her, the "Sexual Health" section literally right next to it caught my eye. I blushed a little, thinking about something, someone.

"I know what's on your mind," Hailie spoke out loud, looking directly at me.

"Wh—What?" I stuttered, startled. I swore, she was just searching over the brands a second ago.

"Just kidding!" she laughed hard, soothing me. "But, do you have the hots for him?"

It's like I found myself stuck in place.

"My dad," she pushed, wondering if I got it the first time. "Do you like him? Let me know, I don't care either way," she said indifferent.

I swallowed, my throat dry. But, I took a deep breath then, answering her honestly. She needed to know the truth; our friendship, the relationship we built so far couldn't continue on if I kept this hidden from her. I told her. "Um... a little," I let out a faint smile.

She chuckled. "Good, because I actually really wouldn't mind," Hailie responded, finally finding the right feminine products for her needs and dropping them in the cart. Surprising me greatly, Hailie continued speaking. "Dad needs to find girl to love other than me; he's been lonely all these years. And, I think..." she started, "you guys would be a match. I approve. You're sweet, lovely, pretty, and I love your personality," she pointed out my qualities she adored.

"Oh, my God," I felt as if I could cry. "Hailie, you mean that?"

"I do," she truthfully said, a grin appearing on her face next. "Now let's go grab some products for you."

"No!" I hollered at her, laughing my ass off.

Hailie turned, stopping me. "Seriously, you need to get protection, Sal, just in case!" she tugged me along, insisting.

I tried getting away but failed. Her grip on me was strong. "I can't believe you're actually doing this," I laughed at her, turning red, "and being serious!"

"I can't believe you aren't!" she pulled me over without a break, finally reaching merely a few feet beside. "Alright, finally. Help me out. What do you think?" she scanned the section.

I slapped her. "This is embarrassing."

She let out a giggle. "Since you aren't helping, I'll just pick the stuff out for you."

I fought with Hailie, her having put packs of exotic, strange varieties into the shopping cart. She even added moisturizers and lube on top of that. I'd given up. "I'm never shopping with you again," I kidded around with her, my head in my hands almost the entire time.

We shoved each other around playfully some more, eventually leaving shortly. Making sure we had gotten everything after that (seriously hoping we had), we finally made our way to check-out.

"Hailie?" I was wondering about something as we stood in line patiently waiting. She glanced over at me. "Would your dad and mom ever get back together? They looked comfortable and close with each other when she came and dropped you guys off today," I told her, a little heartbroken.

Hailie's next response almost made that feeling subside entirely. "No way. Doubt it," she sounded confident. "Mom's currently seeing a guy, and sure, her and Dad are friendly now and have put their past behind them—for the most part—but there are honestly no plans or signs of them getting back. I'm positive," she reassured me.

"Oh... alright," I laughed in relief, trying to not make it obvious.

"Anyways, I'm rooting for you," she said as we took a step closer to the cashier.

I blushed, shaking my head at her. "You don't mind with the age thing?"

"It's actually something I totally picture him doing," she shrugged, smirking. "I don't mind."

I let out an amused laugh. "Do you think he likes me back like that?" I carefully asked.

She answered. "He seemed nervous about you, even bringing you up with Whitney and I today. I think that's a sign," she nudged me.

I squealed, not helping but give her a small hug. Hailie didn't mind it, she just laughed and hugged me back, us stalling the line when it had been our turn up to check out our items for a while now. I couldn't help but feel so glad. 

After check-out and finding out we had spent nearly over one hundred dollars worth on groceries, we juggled them all on our arms as we were on our way back. "Oh, shoot, we forgot to grab something to eat while we were out," I remembered, speaking sadly

"Oh, that's right," she recalled, down. "It's okay," she started back up, "we can always order pizza at home. I forgot we'd be stuck carrying all these bags. How did we end up with so much stuff?" We laughed, us blaming the other for our excessive food shopping, as we lugged and dragged all these grocery bags back where we came from.

Nevertheless, despite having not gotten the chance to eat together yet, it overall had been a pleasant shopping experience I shared with Hailie. We strolled along now, engaging in entertaining conversations as we made our way home to the mansion.