aisle five » hemmings a.u.

two

He watched as this girl, who he still didn't know the name of, ran her fingers through her hair and started to walk away.

It was still dark, but he could see by the light of her phone. He followed behind her and his eyebrows turned downward. "Now, wait. Where are you going?" he asked, hot on her heels. It was no use trying to get out, these pharmacies had some hardcore security systems.

"I'm getting out of here," she said plainly, walking up to the doors that usually opened up right when you stepped in front of them. He stood by the metal detector and just watched as she did her best to pry the doors opened. Then she pressed a button next to the door, only for two lights to come on over by the aisles. "Oh my god, you're a guy. Help me."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but not even five minutes ago you were comparing me to a fictional female character because of my hair," he mused, crossing his arms over his chest. It was a simple gesture, but she stared at his arms once he did so. His late night bench presses at the gym down the street from their flat were really paying off.

"So you have seen it?" the girl cried, making him chuckle. She threw her arms up in the air and then, in seconds, she was sliding down the wall and landing with her knees at her chest. Luke watched her slowly lick her lips and then look around. "God, I'm so scared right now, you don't even get it. My mum won't believe this story. And, to make things so much better, I'm trapped with you. I don't even know your name, let alone who the hell you are."

"I'm Luke," he said, a bright smile on his face. "Now you can stop calling me Barney."

She sniffed, not because she was crying, but because she had a cold. "I'm Emma," she said quietly, reaching her hand out to shake his. He took it in his and shook it, but also pulled her up with it. "I'm sorry about calling you Barney, and Raven, and saying that-"

"I get it," Luke blurted before she had the chance to say the Justin Bieber thing again. It was bad enough the first time. "You're candy obsession isn't really that bad. I just needed a comeback quickly before I looked stupid in front of a pretty girl." Her cheeks heated up at that one. "So I guess we can just use your phone to call someone - like your mum - and get the hell out of here."

Emma nodded, pulling out her phone. She pressed the home button, but it wasn't lighting up to reveal the picture and Nicole at the beach. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at Luke in concern. "It died."

He shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Well, I'm sorry phone batteries don't last forever," she snapped at him and he rolled his eyes. It was chilly in the store so she hugged herself, her t-shirt the only warmth she had.

"Did you think maybe charging it would be helpful?" Luke bit back, stepping closer to appear possibly as macho and manly as he could with purple hair. It proved to be harder than you'd think. "God, how dumb can you be? At least my mistake was leaving mine in my car. But not having your phone charged and prepared? Now that's dumb." Her eyes widened.

She scoffed. "Excuse me? Who do you even think you are? It's not every day you get trapped in a pharmacy with an incessantly agitating boy with purple hair so I'm sorry that I don't have a whole survival kit prepared for this kind of thing."

Luke rolled his eyes, backing away and throwing his arms in the air. "Whatever. I mean, there's eight thousand plugs in this stupid place. Go find one and charge your phone. I don't want to be here," he grumbled, making her sigh over-dramatically. "You're intolerable."

"And you're unbearable!" she exclaimed, turning around and storming off. Luke didn't know where she was going, but he had no desire to find out, either. This girl was on his last nerve and he didn't know what to think of her. And now he had to spend the whole night trapped with her? This was not how he planned his Friday night. In most cases, spending a full night alone in a dark pharmacy where there'd probably be a thunder storm later with a hot girl would be like a dream come true for Luke.