"Mark!" I whispered yelled down, like, 5 different isles, "Are you SURE you didn't see where he went?" I asked Johnny who shook his head,
"I swear. He told me to wait outside of the bathrooms while he went and he would be out in a minute. I WATCHED him go IN. I didn't see him come out but the bathroom is empty." I squinted. It is very much like Johnny, and what I know of Mark it's also very much like him to pull something like this.
"Okay, well, you look where you think he would be, seeming as you know him better than I do and I'm gonna go ACTUALLY shop like I needed to, okay?" I said to him. He gave me one sharp nod and a thumbs up,
"O-kay." He said and he starting walking in the other direction looking down both sides of isles. I sigh and go towards the freezer section for some food.
I've been roaming the store for about 15 minutes and my cart is half full do I decide that I have enough stuff. That's when it hit me. When I sent Johnny off... Great... Now I don't know where EITHER of them are. In a rush, I start speed walking down every isle.
After I've covered about half the store I see a dwarf giggling and slapping Johnny's back while pushing his around the corner so I can't see him causing me to laugh a little. Adorable. I leave my cart on the side of an isle and go the other way to try and flank them. I get at the end of the isle that Johnny was being pushed down and peak around and see them whispering and slapping at each other to quiet down like children. I wait.
They are INCHING their way towards me, not knowing that I'm there. And I mean literally inching, I've been here for 2 minutes and their only like 10 feet closer. I shrug,
"I got time." I whisper to myself and I go and grab my cart and place it RIGHT at the edge of the isle so that they can't see it. Now I can't exactly see them anymore but I can DEFFINATLY hear them.
"You don't thing she saw us, right?" Mark asked,
"No, dude, no way. She's never been that observant." My jaw drops,
"Ru-u-ude." I say under my breath with a chuckle. I mean, he's not wrong. But their not quiet or sneaky so...
"So, left or right, Mark?"
"Left, obviously. Why would we go the way she was?" I could FEEL Johnny's eye roll,
"Because then we can see where SHE'S going, Mark." Jonny said in a very, 'you're stupid', kind of voice,
"O-o-oh, smart!" Mark said. Now. I push the cart out causing both of them to walk into it. Johnny apologized, not knowing it was me and Mark swore very loudly causing me to laugh,
"Well, hello to you too." I say,
"Awwww come ON!" Mark whined with a little stomp but he was trying not to smile,
"C'mon, let's check out."
We've been joking around and laughing all the way up to the check out where we got a few strange looks for being a little to loud,
"Did you find everything okay?" The cashier asked,
"Yes, thank you." I said,
"Mmhmm, That will be C$123.89." I pay when I hear Mark whisper something to Johnny but I couldn't make it out,
"Right." I swipe my card and she hands me my receipt,
"Have a nice day." She said,
"Yeah, you too." I said as we left. After what felt like 20 minutes but was actually 20 seconds Johnny answered,
"Sure, but you'll pay." Johnny whispered back. Huh?
We just got outside when Johnny and Mark start grabbing the bags from the cart,
"We'll get these and you put the cart away." I nod,
"'Kay. But you guys better not ditch me." Johnny looked jokingly offended,
"I would never." We chuckled and then they headed off to the car. Weirdos.
As I step back outside from putting the cart away I see someone standing and looking at their phone and around the parking lot. They looked pretty stressed. I start to walk over to them when they look up so I wave,
"Are you okay?" I ask when I get up to him,
"Yeah... My m- uh-, friends ditched me." He sighed. I noticed his baseball cap, mask, and expensive looking clothes,
"You a celebrity or something?" I asked, joking,
"What? No, no way." He said pretty quickly. Sus.
"Do you want a ride? My friends drove me here and they wouldn't mind." I said,
"No, you don't have to do that." He said, waving his hands in front of him and shaking his head,
"It's really not a problem! Do you live close?" I asked, but he just wiggled his hand back and forth,
"Kind of? It's like 20 minutes away." I chuckle,
"That's no problem." I said,
"Are you sure?" He asked, pulling his mask over his nose because it started to fall,
"Yeah! I'm Y/n, by the way." I put my hand out for a hand shake, which shocks him,
"I'm..." He paused. He's totally giving me a fake name. Why though? "I'm Rick." I nod,
"Nice to meet you, Rick. Let's go." We started walking to the car and he started talking,
"Thanks for the ride." He said quietly,
"It's no problem. " I heard Mark making... Mark noises and I pointed in the general direction, "That thing you here is one of my friends. The short one is Mark and the big one is Johnny." He nodded,
"Okay."
Mark popped out of nowhere and scared the life out of me,
"JESUS MARK." I said through gritted teeth as he laughs hysterically, almost falling over which makes 'rick' start laughing a little,
"Uhh.. Who's that?" Mark asked, pointing at Rick,
"This is Rick. His friends left him and he needs a ride." I said bluntly,
"Only if that's okay, because if it's not I can totally wa-" He started to say,
"Nonsense!" Johnny said dramatically, "We were gonna go get drinks anyways if you wanna tag along." He said,
"We were?" I asked,
"Yeah, Mark's gonna pay, it was his idea." He said. Oh, so that's what it was about,
"Uh, sure!" Rick said. I could tell he was a little shy but he seemed to be getting comfortable quickly.
I let Rick have the passenger seat and Johnny and I sat in the back so we could catch up a bit. As we started driving it was quiet but Mark plugged his phone in and started playing some music. I didn't know what to say to Johnny, it's been so long. I mean... Almost 3 and a half years doesn't sound like much but he's really changed. Well, not REALLY. Like, HE'S exactly the same but he looks so much older... That would be because he is but STILL. I mean what do you say to-
"What was it like?" Johnny asked, cutting off my thoughts while he stared out of the window,
"What?" I asked, confused,
"What was it like when I left?" He asked further. Jeez,
"It was lonely. I wasn't lying when I said you were my only friend, dude. I worried about you all they way until my junior year. That's when I realized that you we're almost 20 and had you're own life and I needed to get my own. Then I started being not so... Reclusive. But to sum it up. Lonely for awhile." I said causing him to sigh,
"I'm sorry, again." I chuckled,
"Why? Johnny, we both talked about doing it. We both DID it. We left! Got out! We just... Had to do it at different times. So... What about you? What was it like being here? What do you do?" I asked,
"Just climbing the cooperate ladder at Toronto Tech." He said it like it was no big deal but you could tell he felt a little proud,
"Wo-o-ow! Do you were a suit to work and everything?" I asked,
"Duh!" He said causing both of us to laugh a little, "What do you want to do?" He asked,
"Urgh, I don't know. I came here to go to college but... I really don't want too." He smirked,
"I mean, you never did want too." He said,
"Fair."
"But, it's not that bad." He said,
"Mark's applying at Humber University next semester. You want a friendly face around you could look into it." I let out a laugh in slight gasp form,
"HUMBER? Isn't that advanced learning?" He rolled his eyes,
"You have a 4.3 GPA. Gosh." He smirked again and I chuckled,
"Okay, we're here-e-e-e." Mark said loudly and... Operatically.