✔️Playing Heroes [a BoyxBoy novel]

Chapter One

Nick in the Media

Chapter One

I never expected that something out of the ordinary would happen to me. From a young age, I accepted that I was just going to be a normal boy in a single parent family. I graduated high school like I knew I would. I entered a local college, just as I had predicted. Let's just say that there were no surprises. So, there I was, a twenty-one-year-old student working at a grocery store.

"Nick, once you've finished stacking the toilet paper, you're free to go home. Don't forget to lock up, alright?" Howard, my manager, said as he shrugged on his jacket.

I looked up from my crouched position next to the canned fruit. "Sure thing, Howard. Have a good evening."

I heard a faint "you too" as he left and the store suddenly became eerily quiet. I sighed and continued my stacking.

Sure, working part-time at a grocery store wasn't the best for a college student, but mind you, I didn't really know what to do, so at the time, the grocery store was all I had. Not that I minded at all, but it's just that I've always hoped for... more. When I was younger, I had all these adults telling me that I could do or be whatever the hell I wanted. Well, they fucking lied. They all made the world seem nicer and safer than it actually was.

I resented a lot of adults for that. I've always thought that adults were worse liars than children. I still thought that as I grew older, and at twenty-one, I saw that I was, in fact, right.

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the bell ringing above the door, signaling a customer.

"Sorry, but we're just closing up," I said, not turning around. When no reply came, I frowned. That was when I felt the cold metal press against my skull. I froze.

"Stand up," a croaky voice demanded. "Slowly. And show me your hands."

Fuck. This grocery store had a history of being robbed and I guess I was just waiting for it to happen while it was my shift, but that night, I wasn't exactly ready. My blood ran cold as the stranger behind me nudged the gun harder against my scalp, growing more impatient by the second.

"Hurry up, pretty boy, before I blow your brains all over the floor." He whispered right next to my ear and I got a whiff of rotting teeth and tobacco. I thought that his threat was a bit over the top, but I kept my thoughts to myself, just in case that guy was actually trigger happy.

He led me towards the counter with the gun pressed stiffly against my spine, and I followed, thinking of ways I could catch the man off guard. I had taken a self-defense class once and that was only because I thought the guy who ran the classes was cute. I stopped going when I realized I was the only guy there, but the other elder women seemed to be in his class for the exact reason as mine. I racked my brain for at least one helpful tip he had said, but now that I thought back on it, I was way too distracted by his pretty blue eyes to be listening to the words that came out of his mouth.

I looked around the counter, trying so desperately to find a weapon, but unless I wanted to throw a bunch of candy bars at the man, I was left empty-handed and defenseless.

"You know what to do now, princess," the man wheezed out. "Open the register. Now."

"I can't," I managed out, my voice wavering at the end. "The manager takes the money home with him at the end of the day. I just close everything up."

"Bullshit," the man spat, the gun still digging into my spine. "Scumbags like your manager always keep spare cash lying around. I don't have any patience, kid. So you'd better give me that fucking money. Now."