Smoking Alone - Stanley Barber

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It was no secret that Axel Lockwood didn't have a lot of friends. The only two people he was friends with was Johnny, and his younger foster brother Jason. But Axel never had a best friend or someone he could talk to when he had a problem. Well sure Jason or Johnny would try to listen to him, but Axel knew they wouldn't get the problems Axel was going through.

Jason would never get the anxiety Axel got in big crowds, and Johnny would never get losing his older brother at such a young age or the abuse he got from his biological parents that got him thrown into foster care years before Axel had gotten to the shitty town he was in right now. All that Axel wanted were friends, and maybe an understanding best friend.

"We're here!" Stanley Barber stated in a sing-song voice, waking up Axel who was sleeping in the back seat in the process. Axel yawned and got out of the car while looking up to see where they were. They were at the local grocery store which like the rest of the small town could only be described with the words small and shitty.

Axel felt awkward as he walked into the shitty store. Stan and Sydney were hitting it off so well, so Axel stayed behind them not wanting to  bud into the conversation they were having.

After a while, Stanley turned to Axel "What do you think Axe?" Axel panicked. He had no idea what they were talking about and just thought this trip would only be Stanley and Sydney talking. "I- uh... W-what was the question again?" Axel cringed at his stutter. Axel would only stutter when he was nervous, scared, or having a panic attack. "Doesn't shopping suck?" Stan asked.

Axel had no idea how to answer that. "I don't- uh- I guess it's cool." Sydney laughed and smiled at Axel and then Stan. "See even Axel doesn't mind shopping." Stan rolled his eyes playfully and then smiled. "If you think shopping sucks, you can wait here"

For about an hour all three of them were laughing and joking around with each other. Even Axel was laughing and smiling with the two upperclassmen.

"It's gonna be 67.99." The girl at the counter said. As soon as the cashier said that Axel could see the look on Sydney's face. He had known that look, he had seen it before on his biolgical mother. Anytime they had gone food shopping Axel's mom never had enough money to pay the cashier and they would always end up having to put stuff back.

"Uh... Can you ring it up again? I think you over charged me." Axel felt bad. He knew how embarrassing this was for his mother, so it couldnt be the best for sydney ether. "Which item hun?" the cashier asked. "A-all of them" Sydney was starting to look like she was about to cry. "Yeah, it's gonna be the same. Are you gonna pay or what." Axel"

"Do you need me to spot you." Axel could tell that Stanley Barber understood how this felt.