Addicted To Love

Breaking Your Control

Nutty had a big smile on his face as he walked downtown to one of his favorite places in the whole town. A small candy shop called The Sweet Shack. Being the sugar-addicted man he was, Nutty went well. . .nutty when he found out there was a new store opening up in town. The Sweet Shack opened up in the town about a year ago and in that short time, Nutty became one of the store's best customers.

And also their worst.

He found himself in front of the shop and he pulled open the door, a happy chime sounding as he entered the shop. He went straight to the counter which was also a long display case for the candy of the day. Pressing his face against the glass, the green eye candy lover grinned wide as his gaze flickered from sweet to sweet. The cashier at the register a few feet away was a girl named Petunia. She had her dark blue hair in a ponytail and was wearing an apron over her work clothes. She watched Nutty out of the corner of her eye as she rang up another customer, trying her hardest not to cringe as she watched his face streak across the glass as he looked around. The customer she was ringing up soon left and now they were the only people in the store.

Petunia decided that she had had enough of his giggling and cleared her throat loudly, getting Nutty's attention as the guy pulled his eyes away from the colorful candies. He gave her a wide smile, completely oblivious to her growing annoyance radiating from her.

"Hi, Petunia! Look at all this candy! Did you get any new ones? I don't see any new ones."

"Nutty, can you please," Petunia took a deep breath before continuing, "Please not press your face up against the glass. You're getting germs everywhere."

Nutty just gave her another dopey smile as he nodded, 'Sure! Sure, sorry! Hey! What's that?"

Petunia turned and noticed what he was referring to. A huge cardboard display that showed off a few of the newest name-brand candy bars. The bars were stacked up high and there was one that caught the green-haired man's attention and he rushed over, reaching for the one he wanted. The only problem was that since the display was made of cheap cardboard, it weighed nearly nothing and when Nutty leaned against it to reach for the candy it collapsed due to the strain of his weight. Petunia watched in horror as both Nutty and the display crashed to the ground, the sugar addict crushing the candy bars along with the cardboard stand and sending chocolate pieces everywhere.

Just when it seemed like it couldn't get worse for her, Petunia heard the front door of the store open and saw her boss had come back. The blue-haired manager stared in shock at the mess and destruction before him. Mouth agape, Lumpy took a moment to compose himself as he marched up to the still giggling Nutty, who was tearing into the candy bars and completely ignoring the damage he caused.

"You! What the hell are you doing?! And you!" Lumpy turned and pointed at his employee, "Why are you just standing there?"

"I. . I didn't. . .I mean, I'm. . ." Petunia stuttered, at a loss for words.

"Don't even try to make an excuse. Now both of you are gonna clean up this mess. Then Petunia, you are fired!

Without waiting for either person to say anything back, Lumpy walked into the back of the store, towards his office and slammed the door. Petunia was frozen, too stunned by what just happened in those few quick minutes to even move. She snapped out of it by hearing Nutty's feet crunch the bars under his feet as he stood up. The blue-haired girl made her way over to the disaster zone with a trash bag she grabbed from under her register. Nutty appeared to have calmed down enough to stand still and he watched her start to throw the destroyed display into the plastic bag. He followed suit and started to throw away the crushed candy bars. After a few minutes, the mess was cleaned away, like it never happened. Nutty started to feel bad as he watched Petunia throw the bag away and then she didn't move, just staring at the floor with a defeated expression.

He really messed up this time, all because of candy. Like with every other time, he would always put his love of candy ahead of his friends, and even get himself or them killed in his quest to fuel his addiction. He walked up to the girl as she was untying her apron, and she glanced up at him, shooting him a glare.

"You're still here? Haven't you caused enough trouble."

Nutty frowned, "I just wanted to say. . .I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I messed up and made you lose your job cause of my stupid candy. . ."

Petunia's expression softened as she heard the genuine truth behind his words and she sighed, "It's okay. It's not your fault."

"But it is. Every time I see candy, I go crazy. It's like a drug I gotta have or I'll die," Nutty let out a shaky breath as he ran a hand through his hair, "And I wanna change. I want to get better. But I don't know how."

Petunia gave him a small smile, "Maybe I can help you. Help you get better."

"You'd do that? Even after all this?"

Petunia nodded and took his hands, staring into his eyes, "You won't have to do this alone."

Nutty smiled and nodded back. He was gonna get help. Whatever it took, he was gonna break this addiction.

And unknowingly get addicted to something even stronger.

X X X

They say the road to recovery is one you don't have to walk alone. And for Nutty, it seemed like that was true. But they also say the read to recovery was hell paved with good intentions. And unfortunate for Nutty, that seemed true as well. It took nearly a whole year for Nutty and Petunia to cure the green-haired man of his candy-loving cravings. He ended up having three mental breakdowns during that time, one nearly ending in his suicide. Every time though, Petunia was there to pull him back on track. He suffered hard, from the withdrawals to having to eat foods other than candy. This road was certainly hell for Nutty.

But after hard work from Nutty and Petunia paid off and the former sugar addict was sitting on the couch in his living room, now clean of the usual candy wrappers and chocolate boxes that littered his house. Petunia sat by him, a smile on her as she stared at him.

"Nutty. Today's the day. Are you ready?"

Nutty nodded, "Yes."

Petunia held out a chocolate bar, inches from the man's face and watched his lack of a reaction. He grabbed it and for a moment, she thought he was gonna scarf it down like he used to. But instead, she watched as he rose from the couch, walking to the kitchen and opened the trash bin. He stared at the candy bar in his hand, a small frown on his face and emotion that briefly looked like sadness flashed across his face.

"You don't control me anymore. I'm free."

He threw away the candy and walked back into the living room, a smile on his face. Petunia got up from her spot and looked at him, smiling as the green-haired man came back without the candy. He passed. He was cured.

Nutty smiled and without warning, he embraced Petunia. She jumped slightly, not expecting this kind of affection from someone like Nutty before she relaxed and held him back. He still smelled slightly of sugar, though it was fading just as the rest of his addiction did. He tightened his hold slightly before he let go and Nutty cupped her face in her hands. They locked eyes for a brief moment, the friend's noses were touching and they both were tinged pink at the close proximity. Petunia could feel almost feel time slow done as she heard Nutty whisper with a smile on his face.

"Thank you."

Then Nutty closed the gap between their lips in a tender kiss. Petunia melted into it and she wrapped her arms around the former addict's neck. Even though it seemed Nutty was cured of his candy addiction, he ended up getting addicted to something even stronger and more potent than his sugary treats. He got addicted to. . .

Love.