Black Licorice and Butterscotch // Dennor

Green Tea Ice Cream

Lukas left the house in a hurry, knowing Emil was hungry and not wanting to dissapoint the soon-to-be birthday boy. He scurried down the street for a few minutes before entering the town center. He saw a few neighbors on his way and gave quick nods, desperately trying to avoid conversation. 

Upon entering the grocery store he completely forgot what Emil had asked for. Soup? Salad? Pizza? He let out a groan, annoyed at himself for failing at the simplest task. He was still so flustered from the candy store that it was clouding his mind. With a sigh, Lukas slipped his phone out of his pocket and rang Emil, hoping the teen wouldn't be too annoyed. He picked up quickly. 

"What?" Emil asked rather curtly, shocking Lukas on the other line. 

"Uh- just wondering what you wanted again? I'm at the store" Lukas replied. Emil let out a sigh on the other end. Lukas could practically hear the boy rolling his eyes. 

"I don't really care. Just get ingredients for sandwiches" Emil shot back, "And text me next time you freak..." Lukas rolled his eyes at the sass before walking past the vegetable section and noticing a man with suspiciously familiar golden locks browsing the bell pepper section. Lukas suddenly realized who it was and ducked behind a display of apples. 

"Oh my god it's Mathias" Lukas muttered under his breath, entirely forgetting he was still on the phone.

"What?" Emil questioned. Lukas flushed as he realized he had just zoned out on the phone and quickly tried to think of a response. 

"Nothing- there's a sale on- uh- those mathematics workbooks that little kids do. Was just reminiscing on old times!" Lukas blurted, still crouching as he tried to avoid running into the handsome man. "Anyway, if there's anything in particular that you want just text me a list. Bye!"

"Okay...Bye?" Emil replied, still confused by the sudden frantic demeanor Lukas had taken on. Lukas hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket before slowly emerging from behind the apple display. Luckily, Mathias was now examining a container of strawberries. Lukas turned and strode over to the dairy section, grabbing cheese and some sliced ham for lunch. He knew they had bread at home and also tomatoes, but they were missing lettuce and a few other vegetables. Unfortunately, all of the items he needed were in Mathias's direct line of sight. He did feel a little immature avoiding him, but he just had not prepared for social interaction, nevermind flirtatious social interaction on his trip to the grocery store. 

He suddenly felt his phone ping and looked at the screen to see a text from Emil. He wanted ice cream. Lukas let out a sigh of relief. Now he could waste time getting ice cream and stop standing  in the middle of the produce aisles like an idiot. 

The Norwegian swiftly strode through the aisles until reaching the ice cream. From what he remembered, Emil tried green tea ice cream a few years ago and fell in love. They hadn't had the ice cream in the grocery store in the past but Lukas had put in a request for it a few weeks ago for Emil's birthday. The owners of the store had known Lukas since he was quite young and always ordered things for him specially when asked. 

He was pleasantly surprised to find an array of different brands in the ice cream section that carried green tea flavor. Lukas smirked. The owners always went above and beyond for him, regardless of his slightly awkward and unsociable demeanor. It was nice to know someone else was looking out for him other than Emil. Being in charge of the house left Lukas little time to socialize with people his own age, and it wasn't like their parents were still around to watch over them. Lukas often felt alone, so little things like the grocers taking time to order ice cream for him made him feel better about his situation. It wasn't easy being a young adult taking care of a teenager. He was practically a kid himself.