7-Eleven [Lashton AU]

Chapter 12

AN: A toast to my first Lashton story, My Bad, for getting second place in Up and Coming in the Lashton awards! Huzzah!

To Malum or not to Malum? My answer is...

*Luke's POV*

I was now lying facedown on the couch in the backroom. After that painful minute of feeling the burn of the rubbing alcohol Calum had helped me to the back, discarding my shirt so it wouldn't irritate my skin, as he said it. The leather couch was feeling cold against my bare skin since the store was literally blasting out air conditioning.

During that minute of hell I was literally crying and cursing out loud and probably startled and freaked out anyone who was in the store. This one guy walked in, stared at us with wide eyes, and then asked if he interrupted something. Calum was tripping over his words, telling him that it wasn't what it looked like, but the guy just nodded before he turned and left.

The entire time Adam and his friend were watching as Calum rubbed the alcohol over my burn mark with the cotton ball, wincing every time I cried out. Calum sent the two boys home, telling them that they were no longer needed of any assistance. They were reluctant at first, but they eventually agreed.

Once the two boys left Calum told me that he was going to try to get a hold of the boss to see if I could get the night off from work. I didn't want that since I only scraped my back and it wasn't worth skipping work for, but Calum wasn't going to hear any of it.

So, here I am, my face planted into the leather couch as I tried to put up with the burning feeling.

Thick silence lingered in the room as I just remained still on the couch, the only sounds heard were the ones from outside.

My back started to sting again and I sucked in a breath, hoping it'd help numb the pain a bit.

I turned my head so I was facing out and reached into my pocket to fish out my phone. I was about to dial Pamela, but then I remembered that she was stuck doing therapy with her uncle. Damn it, I wish someone was here to keep me company.

Maybe I should've asked Irvin for his phone number. I'll ask him tonight when he walks into the store. That's, if the boss actually denies Calum's offer of letting me stay home.

Suddenly I heard the door open and I turned my head the best I could to look. I saw Calum walk in and then he sat down on the edge of the couch.

"I've got good news and bad news," Calum said.

"Bad news, please," I groaned, trying to sit up, but when the cold hit my bare chest I fell back onto the couch, seeking warmth from where I had been lying down for God knows how long.

"You still have to come to work."

"Uh, that's not bad news; that's good. Now what's your supposedly good news?"

"I'm working the shift with you."

"That's not good news at all." I saw Calum was about to slap my back, but he dropped his hand after realizing that I couldn't be hit there. He then settled with smacking my butt and I groaned in response, because I was too lazy to whack him back.

"Rude," Calum scoffed. "Boss said that he wouldn't let you take the night off, so I begged him to at least let me work with you. He was reluctant at first, because of the last time we worked together, but he agreed. It'll only be for a night or two."

"Great."

"Why don't you sound happy?"

"Go back outside and play your stupid Chuckle game."

"It's called Chuzzle, and that game is freaking awesome, okay? Better than Flappy Bird that you keep playing."

"Hey, I haven't played that hell game in months. Get over it." Calum just rolled his eyes before he finally left the room.

"I think dealing with rude, grumpy customers is better than sticking with a grouch potato like you." I pretended to take offense to that, scoffing as Calum walked out of the room.

I pressed my face into the leather couch again, letting out a sigh. Then I mumbled, "Now I want to play Flappy Bird."

------

"Luke, wake up." I groggily opened my eyes and saw that I was facing the couch. I turned my head to the other side and saw Calum leaning down and looking at me. "My shift's almost over."

"Buzz off, Cal," I groaned, burying my face into the couch once more. "I'm sleeping." I shifted around a bit and I could feel something draped over my back. I tugged at the cloth and saw that it was the fire blanket that we store in the closet. "This blanket's for emergencies only."

"Well, your back must've felt like it was on fire, so I thought a fire blanket was best." I laughed at Calum's idiotic theory before I began to drift back to sleep. "Irvin came by earlier."

"That's nice."

"He asked for you."

I lifted myself up and looked at Calum with wide eyes. "He did?"

"No, but it seems that you're wide awake now." I glared at him before plopping my entire front onto the couch.

"Let me go back to sleep," I groaned. "I'll wake up when your shift ends."

"Whatever. It ends in, like, two minutes. I'll be back in here and we'll go out to get something to eat, okay?" I grunted and then I heard Calum leave. I kicked the fire blanket off of me and reached around to touch where I got burned. It felt so tender, so I decided to leave it alone then. It'll go away after a few days.

"Hey, Larry," I heard Calum greet one of the employees. "You ready to take over now?"

"Yeah, whatever," Larry responded.

"Okay, let me get all my stuff situated and then I'll hand everything to you." There were shuffling noises outside and then Calum said bye to Larry before he entered the backroom.

"Ready to go?" Calum asked.

"Give me my shirt, please," I told Calum as I extended my hand. I felt what I assumed was my shirt in my hands and I sat upright and began slipping it on. "Where are we going to eat?"

"I was thinking we could go to McDonald's."

"Okay, that sounds good." I stood up from the couch and then the two of us began heading out of the 7-Eleven.

We went to the McDonald's that was inside a Walmart, because it was the closest one to us. We waited in line and I pulled out my phone to see I had two texts, one of them being from Pamela. She was complaining about how annoying her uncle was, and I chuckled a bit. I shot her a text, giving her the best of luck.

I opened up the next text and saw that it was from Ben, my other older brother. He told me that if I could buy some Poptarts, that'd be great. Since I'm already at Walmart, why not go and buy them now?

I poked Calum's arm and then he turned to me. "Hey, I'm going to go buy something for Ben. Get me some chicken nuggets, yeah?"

"Sure," Calum answered. I stuffed my phone into my pocket and began making my way to the aisle where the Poptarts should be at.

But on my way there I stopped where I was, because I saw a familiar head of curls walking ahead of me.

What a coincidence meeting Irvin at a random place again.

I think the Poptarts can wait.