The Day We Met

I woke up ravenous. 

Maybe it cause of that new stupid diet Marks got me on. What the hell Mark? Whats the point of Keto anyway... its probably just the governments way of controlling us through our food. Or you know.. just a healthier diet than chicken nuggets and 7/11 hot dogs but DAMN does that sound good right now. 

The gods or whatever are probably all against me cause by the time I'm outside and in my sad excuse for a car, the sky is black purple and grey. If I wasn't on my way to severely pillage the unsuspecting 7/11 i might just think to turn around, go back to bed, maybe munch on some.. i dunno..

.. dirt? 

Surrounding the building are black matte vans parks horizontally, like they knew exactly how to annoy me while i was on such an important mission. I park closest to the door so i can avoid getting wet, it's not raining but the smell is thick and as much as i'd love to stand in the rain and sniff the water, 7/11 beckons me. Really beckons me. Whats going on their hot dogs aren't even that good but, it is what it is. And it is.. a hot dog. 

Walking in i immediately notice the line. It wraps around the whole Pringle section of the small food mart and i really think about holding up this place just to get a damn hot dog, but I am a lady... and ladies don't hold up gas stations to eat shitty food. I notice their clothes, all black... yeah that's totally inconspicuous..

I pay what i need to pay and dive straight in and might i say, totally worth the 20 minute wait, although, i could do without the audience of cloaked men huddling around the store watching me violate this poor hot dog. 

The tangy-ness of the sausage and the sweet of the bun come together to create the perfect..

"is it supposed to taste like that or is it just spoiled"

flavor, i've always loved the mystery of it all. The feeling on my tongue feels almost foreign after weeks of eating nothing but kale and protein smoothies. The sensation is so good it almost feels like my tongue will buzz off in anticipation for the next bite.

or is my tongue just buzzing?

Yeah this is definetly spoiled, the hairs on my arms rise and my hands and feet become clammy. Immediately my whole body is buzzing and i mean BUZZING

I feel the heat in my body rise and my heart pounds against my chest, I guess i'm dying today. Maybe Mark was right. I put my hand on my chest to make sure it's not my imagination. 

An alarm sets off in my head. 

Something's not right

Something's not right

Something's not right 

I want to scream for help but my mouth isn't moving, I want to stop eating this fucking hot dog but I CAN'T. I need to call my mom I need to tell her i'm dying. God, i'm only 19 I haven"t even written my will yet and lord, poor mark.

I feel like I've blacked out but am fully conscious all at once and suddenly i'm surrounded by hooded figures. I don't know when I fell onto the ground.

After what feels like 5 hours but also 10 seconds, I feel a tap on my shoulder and for the first time I feel like I have regained control of my body

"Hey, are you alright?" 

I look around and find that the men in cloaks are just truckers talking about sports by the door and I immediately let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding. I was just overreacting, my body probably was reacting negatively to the processed meat..

"Yo... are you okay? You look pale, want something to drink?"

The boy.. the man.. gets me out of my thoughts. 

"I uh.. yeah a drink would be great thanks" I move my hands in front of my eyes, rejoicing in the feeling of regaining movement

I'm fine this is fine 

My heart is still racing but its hard to tell if its cause I'm still freaking out or if it is because the man with the blue/green eyes is looking straight at me extending his arm and talking to me 

"W-what? Im sorry, thanks for the drink. What did you say? I missed it."

"I was asking what flavor you liked but i just mixed in my favorites, blueberry and green apple. Water would probably be the best but it's out of order"

His teeth could light a football field with how shiny and clean they are and the crows feet around his eyes wrinkle lightly as a soft smile plays across his lips. 

After having an episode like the one I just had, it really is on brand for me to start to drool after the first man to offer me help.. but he really is gorgeous.

"You took a pretty bad fall earlier, are you sure there's nothing else I can help you with?" his smile disappears and his eyebrows come together looking almost concerned

"I'm not really sure, can you tell me what you saw? I think my blood sugar got too low or something I cant really explain it."

I need to make sure I was just hallucinating what I saw while I was down

"here come sit outside with me"

His hand gently moves to the small of my back guiding me to the door and I cant help but turn cold as the unexpected yet weirdly intimate touch burns through my skin reacting as if i've never been touched before. Weird. 

When did the sky clear?

As I was finishing telling the stranger about my encounter with the 7/11 meat, he offers a sympathetic look and brings his hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. 

What is this a cheesy 1980's movie? Am I Molly Ringwald with a minor concussion and a newfound fear of hot dogs with a mysterious and handsome guy pushing a strand of hair out of my face? Maybe so..

I lock eyes with him to let him know that I know what he's doing. His gaze doesn't move from mine and I feel myself go warm just looking at the designs of his eyes

Who is this guy? His name mechanics name tag just says S

What kind of sick bastard would think that giving me, in my very vulnerable state, a sour slurpee will suddenly grant him the grand romance of a cheesy flick from the '80s..no.. i'll make him work for it. 

But how can when his eyes are so entrancing 

I see his lips move but nothing comes out 

"Gracy.." I finally hear him whisper

he knows my name? what the hell?

"Grace.. " but wow does it sound nice coming out of his mouth 

"Gracy come on... Gracy Chan snap out of it wake up"

what?

"WAKE UP"

Suddenly I snap. Im inside the nearly empty 7/11, the sky is still grey, and the 15 year old who knew me from highschool working the counter is standing next to me with a crazed look in her eye. 

"Jesus, Gracy you freaked me out. You've been staring at that stupid Slurpee machine for 30 minutes,"  the girl walks back behind the counter  "your hotdog is ready by the way.."

I look to where I was staring at the mans eyes and see the round windows of the Blueberry and green apple flavored slurpees spinning in-front of me.

What the fuck

I really shouldn't have gotten out of bed