Food Run

1.4K 23 2
                                    

  Releasing a reluctant breath, you reached forward and shut off your car, ceasing the stream of loud music. It was 1:30 in the morning, so the local fast food joint’s parking lot only contained a few scattered cars. You stepped out of your own, checking for the wallet in your pocket before locking your vehicle. It was another late night run for you, and normally you didn’t mind making runs. Only you normally had a group of friends to go with, and normally weren’t about to crash on the spot. But tonight you had a good 2+ hours’ worth of work to do, with your English and psychology papers both due later that day.
            You roughly pulled open the doors, the welcoming bells chiming right above you. There was a lanky guy digging around in his pockets by the soda machine, as well as two people sitting across the large open store, eating their food and talking quietly. Even the counter was unattended at first, until a cashier walked into view after hearing the entry bells. You walked over and leaned on the counter, humming to yourself.
            “Hi, what can I do for you?” The kid behind the counter was a few years older than you, probably in his early twenties. He nodded at you, taking the company baseball cap off his head and putting it down. “Rough night?”
            A low groan emitted from your throat as you nodded and sighed. You had darkness under your eyes, and your hair had too many flyaways to count. You were wearing sweats a size or two too large, because they swaddled you. All that was missing was a retainer in your mouth, or slippers. “Number three, please. Large fountain drink.” As you spoke, the door’s bells chimed again, but you paid it no attention.
            “Mmhm.” The guy said, tapping his screen. “$3.40, please.” As you were fishing out the money to hand over, he snagged a large disposable cup, placing it face down in front of you. He disappeared again, presumably to retrieve your order. You rubbed your face, yawning before snapping out of it, startled.
            “Shit!” You heard hissed to the left of you mid-yawn, making you snap your mouth shut and flick your head to the source of the noise. The taller student was trying and failing to catch ice in his cup, as it was continuously spilling despite the lever not being touched.
            You snagged your own fountain drink cup, blinking at the collection of ice cubes already on the tile floor from the overflow. Hustling over, you dropped your cup next to the machine and scooped your hand underneath the opening, preventing any more from falling out. The store was silent, causing you to turn and look at the guy in confusion. The cold of the ice was starting to sting your palm, making you wince as they struck your hand.
            The other college-aged kid just stared at you, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. It was then you subconsciously noticed how one of his cheeks was redder than the other, like he’d been sleeping on it. His own bags were much more prominent than your own, and if you thought your hair was unruly, his was just a complete mess. Some of the back even stuck straight up. You narrowed your eyes a bit, tilting your head. “Well? I can’t hold this forever! Go tell someone!”
            He nodded, hurrying back to the counter and calling out for the part-time worker. You felt a pinch and inhaled sharply, withdrawing your freezing hands. “Ow!” The ice pooled around your feet, as the kid and worker rushed over to help. Relief swept over your face at the realization that the pinch was the machine closing its opening again, meaning no more would spill out. “Okay.” You mumbled to the other two, shaking your hand out. “No one get ice right now.”
            They both smiled, the employee returning behind the counter for a broom and dustpan to clean up. The other boy wiped his face in relief, and you noticed all of the trinkets on the lanyard around his neck. It held about 5 keys, as well as an ID pouch and even some keychain screwdrivers and bolt wrenches. They were so small for easy transport, you assumed this guy was a car mechanic or something. The worker returned and quickly cleaned up the mess, which you watched in awe as he had the ice cubes out and the floor mopped in under a minute. “Okay.” He breathed, putting the cleaning supplies against the wall. “I’ll be right back. Sorry about the delay.”
            “Hey.” The thin mechanic was talking now, scratching the side of his face. “You exhausted too?” He rubbed an eye, before yawning, which made you do the same.
            “Don’t get me started.” You half-laughed afterwards, tucking a loose hair behind your ear. “But hey, now I’ve been entertained.”
            He smiled, pulling something out of his pocket. “Glad I could provide.” He held a short conversation with the employee you couldn’t hear, and before your mind could process what was going on, he had paid for your food. “Here. As thanks for the help.” He grabbed your to-go bag, handing it over. “That your car?” He pointed, jutting out his chin towards the lot. Sure enough, you nodded and the other kid smiled. “Let me walk you out. I’m that way too.”
 
                                                                                                                                                ~ ~ ~
 
            You sat in your car, dumbfounded. The music was blasting just as it had been when you arrived, but you could honestly hardly hear it. You were too busy reciting what had just happened.
            His name was Hiro. He worked at Krei Tech, one of the largest companies you knew of. He was also working on a project, but not for school. In fact, he didn’t go to college. The walk was too short for you to find out why, but you highly doubted it was because he just didn’t want to.
            The tangy scent of your meal filled your nostrils, making your mouth water. Your night was certainly going to be an interesting one to explain to others later.
            “Well I didn’t set out tonight to break an ice dispenser at 1:40 AM.” Hiro had said standing by you at your car.
            You just laughed at that, sitting down and rolling open the window. “But sometimes life doesn’t go the way you planned.”
            Hiro had snickered, fiddling with his keychain before looking at you again. “The good thing is, I used to be teased about being unable to talk to pretty girls. And tonight that’s what I got to do.”
Even just think about it in your car now made you smile. You tapped your finger on the steering wheel, finding yourself more and more curious.
Who was he?

**********

Author:ShippingLikeAPackage

Hiro x Reader One ShotsWhere stories live. Discover now