Among the Living | Completed

Chapter Twelve: Bad News

***Edited version #1***

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Dellan stood in front of the intimidating array of feminine hygiene products and wondered why there ever needed to be so many different options to choose from.

Isn't a tampon just a wad of cotton?, he huffed.  He held in his hand a plastic bag he'd grabbed at the front of the store, which already contained a bottle of acetaminophen.  His eyes scanned for something that looked familiar, trying to rack his brain for the memory of what the box of tampons looked like that Linn used to store underneath their shared bathroom sink.  His eyes settled on a box that sparked his memory and placed one into the plastic bag.  He hesitated, wondering how many Ida would need or if she even used tampons, before grabbing a second box and stuffing it in the bag.

She can always leave them behind if she doesn't need them, he figured.

He quickly selected two packages of pads, not sure what it meant if the pads had "wings", but he desired to leave this aisle as soon as possible.  The last thing he wanted to do right now was to try to explain to Damien or Colin why he, a male, was shopping for period supplies.  As he was dropping the last package of pads into the bag, he heard footsteps approaching the aisle he was in.  He turned to face whoever it would be, tucking the bag behind his back.  Colin rounded the corner and met eyes with Dellan, who was standing awkwardly still and doing a terrible job at pretending to act natural.

"Oh hey," Colin said, and Dellan thought he could hear discomfort in Colin's tone, as if Dellan had caught him in an awkward position.  "What are you looking for here?" Colin asked, scanning the contents of the aisle.

"Oh, um," Dellan hesitated, having not thought to come up with a suitable excuse beforehand.   He looked at the products on the shelf opposite the feminine products and saw rolls of toilet paper.  "I, um, thought we might need more toilet paper," he fibbed nervously.  Colin nodded, believing him.

"That's a good thought," Colin said, "I think we were getting low."  Dellan sighed internally with relief.  The two stood awkwardly, neither sure if they should move first.

Why is Colin acting so awkward?, Dellan questioned.  Dellan was used to being the insecure one.   Wanting the awkwardness to end, Dellan grabbed a small package of toilet paper, making sure to shield the plastic bag from Colin's view as he walked past him and out of the aisle.  Dellan paused before ducking into the next aisle to spy on what Colin was up to and noticed him scanning the family planning section of the aisle, before not-so discretely slipping a box of condoms into his pocket.

Dellan bit his bottom lip in an effort to prevent himself from chuckling as he made his way back to the front of the store where Damien would likely be waiting.  The three of them had already gathered the more crucial supplies, and Damien had given Colin and Dellan a few minutes to grab anything else they might want.  He passed by a display containing a lineup of Valentine's Day confections and paused.  He remembered the last time he'd been inside a grocery store when he used candy hearts to distract the infected while he grabbed water and got out.  Dellan still wasn't sure why the infected he encountered before joining the group had been so slow-moving.  It was a drastic difference in comparison to now, where the sick came sprinting toward them with hungry rage in their eyes.

He spotted a bag of heart-shaped dark chocolates that were wrapped in befitting red and pink foils.  He fondly recalled how his mum would get Linn chocolates on occasion if her period was especially miserable.  He also remembered the few times Linn had been generous enough to share some with him.  He pondered if it would be creepy or too forward to include them in Ida's care package.  Dellan didn't want Ida to think he was trying to come onto her, which was a strong possibility considering the chocolates were shaped as a symbol of love.  Dellan shrugged and added a bag to the collection of items.  He was pretty sure giving a girl he barely knew a bunch of period products was already a creepy move, how much more damage could a few chocolates do?  Still, Dellan worried Ida would get the wrong impression.