Chapter Text
Ranboo is no beggar. In fact, he’d quite pride himself in being the opposite. Not a chooser, no, Ranboo isn’t quite that decisive. Rather he’d pride himself as a hard worker, an entrepreneur, or more accurately, a college student willing to do simple minimum wage work to make any kind of extra money. Beggar? No. A little desperate? Ok, maybe. But you didn’t hear that from me.
Ranboo slips on his vans, having to do an awkward hop for them to fully settle against his ankle, before plucking a hoodie off an unstable coat rack that sat by his door. His arms flow easily into the fabric, the garment at least two sizes too big. But it was comfortable… and very cheap. He rolls the sleeves up around his wrists as he heads out his front door, the metal of the handle feeling slightly rusted. The key he shifted out of his pocket glowed dully in the sunlight as he jammed it into the keyhole, having to shimmy it further in just to be able to lock it. Two clicks sounded as he did. He couldn’t help but lock it again, making sure he properly locked it; Unlike the last apartment… or the one before that. Honestly, Big Apartment might as well have been working against him. But he had better things to worry about, like what his first day at his new job could be like, or why he couldn’t see his bike out the window-
*Wait, what?!*
Ranboo practically runs down the stairs, nearly face-planting twice as his feet glide over step after step in a gallop. His sprint abruptly comes to a stop as he slams into the heavy exit door, a strangled grunt leaving his lips as he forces it open. Jesus, it had no right behind so heavy. His eyes searched all over the pavement for a signature purple bike, though he turned up completely heavy. All that was left was a bike lock on the pavement, split in two. Great.
Ok, ok, fine. If that’s how the universe wants to play today, that’s how it’ll fucking play. And besides, it could’ve been worse. He could have applied to a job further away, hell, right now he could be walking miles… instead of just three. Or, well, he did apply; they just didn’t accept his application. None of them did. Regardless, he had a job now, and he could keep it as long as he wasn’t late.
Ranboo’s footsteps clattered against the pavement as he shoved two white earbuds into his ears, clicking the play button on whatever playlist he was last using. The first song makes him wrinkle his nose, clicking skip on at least five songs before finding one that makes the walk slightly less frustrating. The walk was surprisingly nice, the sun slightly overcast by the clouds, the winds whistling past Ranboo and tussling his hair. It would’ve been perfect had he not been almost hit on the crosswalk just a few feet away from his new workplace.
A large, wide, parking lot, the asphalt-like black sand shimmering in the light of day. A dull white banaster cascading over the top of the lot, a soft, beige, building sat just to the right of it. Green and red stripes outlined the structure, like wrapping on Christmas presents. Well, dirty wrapping, that is. Wrapping with faded colors, layer upon layer of dirt, and a bright, cooperate seven plastered on top. Ranboo was ready for his first glorious day… working at a decrepit 7/11.
A bright electronic tone rang throughout the store, although slightly offpitch, causing his shoes to skid to a halt. Ranboo’s eyes roamed the floor and climbed up the walls, mentally exploring the entire store. The floor was less grime-covered than he expected, the slushy machine infamously out of order, and the shelves surprisingly fully stocked with… curious items. One full aisle dedicated almost entirely to gum, a whole rack covered top to bottom with Hotwheels just a foot away from the energy drinks, and the entire left side of the store covered with fridges, nearly every beverage Ranboo could imagine inside.
“Are you lost?” A voice rang out, young yet sharp. Ranboo’s gaze drifted towards the front counter, a teen no older than Ranboo standing in front of it with a box of whatever food product in his arms. Deep chestnut hair cascaded down his forehead, stopping just above his emerald green irises. Blonde roots peeked out of his scalp, giving him a somewhat haggard appearance. Well, that and the bags sighing beneath his eyes. He scratched his arm, just above his dark green button-up –the same one ranboo wore–, the proud company logo sat just above his name tag.
“Toby…” Ranboo muttered as he read it allowed, causing the boy to cock an eyebrow at him in response. Ranboo backtracked, swallowing before speaking again. “My name’s Ranboo. I-”
“Oh, you’re the new hire, right?” The man shrugged as he grabbed handfuls of candy bars and lined them up on the shelf, unbothered by interrupting the anxious teen.
Ranboo had to take a small second to pause as the words registered, taking a short breath in as they finally clicked “Yes! Yes, I am. I’ve, uh, I’ve never really worked at a gas station before…? I mean, I’ve done fast food, and I assume it’s similar.”
“Do you know how to stock shelves?” Toby deadpanned, eyes only leaving his hands and the snacks in them to give Ranboo a tired look. The boy nodded. “Then you’ll do perfectly fine.”
“Great.” Ranboo tutts, peeking around the shelves to peek at Toby’s stocking. The boy didn’t mind, there wasn’t much else to look at. Maybe it was just the late afternoon slump, or maybe Mondays were just slow, but he’d never seen a shop so quiet. I mean, this store was just off the side of one of the busiest roads in the entire Essempe, yet it was dead. A light buzzed overhead, drawing the two’s attention up just as it went out completely. Toby let out a sigh.
“Yeah, sorry, they, uh… they do that.” Toby dismissed as he found his way behind the counter, motioning for Ranboo to do the same. The taller boy followed, ignoring the chill that ran through the store. Jesus, it was freezing.
“Alright, it’s really not that hard. Scan stuff with this, pull up their totals, take the money, and put it here. It’s like drive-thru… minus the cars. I assume you’ve worked that.” Toby vaguely gestured from place to place, his hands flying over scanners, screens, the register, and the general direction of just about everything behind the counter.
“How’d you know? Is it my charisma?” Ranboo attempted to joke, earning a small chuckle from the shorter boy.
“Nah, it’s ‘cause that’s who they usually pick.” The brunette smiled, almost sinisterly.
*Ok… that’s fun,* Ranboo thought as he subconsciously took a small step back. If Toby noticed, he didn’t say anything about it, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
And his shift began. Toby was right, the work was relatively mundane. He took care of most of the stocking whilst Ranboo focused on his work behind the counter. Which, for nearly the entire night, was doing nothing. A man came in once to ask for Gas on pump 6, to which Ranboo had to ask Toby how to do it. Turns out the man barely knew himself and just tried things till it worked. He swore he heard the man laugh out in response, yet as he turned to face him, he wore a neutral expression. Also fun…
Customers were far and in between, most of his job being comprised of daydreaming to music, sweeping piles of dust into the same corner, Toby just shrugging when he asked for a vacuum, and most importantly of all, staring at the ceiling lights whenever they buzzed. Which they did, a ***lot***.
It was rhythmic, or, at the very least, somewhat entertaining. Every time Toby would call Ranboo’s attention to give him some sluggish tutorial on the basics, he’d have to blink really hard to get the purple spots out of his vision. In Ranboo’s defense, he had little better to do than make himself go blind out of pure boredom.
The sky grew darker and darker, only the faintest whistling of the wind to keep Ranboo company. He sighed into his arms, his elbow beginning to ache from keeping his hand propped his, and his chin tiredly sagging into his palm. Car lights would occasionally shine into the store as they pulled into the lot, Ranboo hearing the faint clicking of metal on metal as customers dragged the heavy nozzle and shoved it into their gas tanks, along with the echo of the pump beginning to turn on. It really was peaceful work.
Although, possibly because he was lucky enough to get the night shift. Ranboo worked quite well alone, even taking the extra time to wipe down the dust-covered windows of the front with a bottle of Windex from the back. He couldn’t particularly blame Toby for not having done it earlier, the cleaner being on a higher shelf. It was oddly placed too, ducked loosely behind boxes as if in an attempt to conceal it. Maybe it was hidden by whoever worked before Ranboo himself. Ranboo shrugged it off, understanding Toby’s more carefree attitude more and more as the night drew longer.
Ranboo began to count the minutes, eleven o’clock seeming only further and further away as the clock ticked dully above his head. He tapped his fingers on the counter in rhythm to the music coursing through his earbuds, humming quietly as if to mask the silence of the store. It didn’t work very well, but it made it all feel strikingly more comforting to the boy.
A car pulled in, refilled, and pulled out. Then another, and then another. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes he swore he could feel them staring at him, leading the boy down a series of thoughts, wondering what they could be thinking.
He wondered if they empathized with him, seeing how his eyes drooped in the dull fluorescent lights or how his tapping became slower and slower, or if they snickered, amused by such a tired-looking teen working at the rather unpopular Gas Station. Maybe they passed him a glance, nothing more, their mind’s too occupied to spare him more than a thought. He huffed out a sigh, gaze making one final glance at the clock.
10:30.
Thirty minutes… Yeah, he could do that. He walked out from behind the counter, reasoning that no one would mind if he started to close up now. He made one final sweep of the floor, passing a look to the broken slurpy machine before deciding that it was a can of words he was willing to attempt to untangle on a later date. Fifteen minutes flew over Ranboo’s head, somewhere between the dance break to Madonna’s Material Girl in the backroom and him scratching off a lotto ticket he bought out of pure boredom. He was definitely *not* influenced by the stash Toby had scattered around beneath the register. Though, unlike Toby, Ranboo popped in a couple of nickels into the cash register as some form of payment, mainly because that was all he had in his pocket.
Ranboo stood against one the side of the slushy machine, dully scrolling on his phone. His hand reached out to lean against the small table by them, before recoiling his finger at the feeling of dust and wiping the gray lint off onto his pants. The boy stretched his arms, feeling more like a zoo animal in a poorly filled enclosure than a worker, pacing the halls and looking at what they had in stock merely just as an attempt at entertainment.
Time seemed to simultaneously slow and speed up for Ranboo, with only ten minutes left of his shift. Whilst each minute passed felt like it dragged on agonizingly slow, it also felt surprisingly early. Like the day had been so uneventful, that it felt like he’d been there for merely a few hours. Maybe because he could barely remember what happened… because nothing worth remembering happened.
He dragged his feet past the aisles, only for his gait to be stopped by the hollow thud of plastic hitting the ground. He pauses, eyes scanning over shelves around the empty room. His tense gaze finally drifts down onto the floor, his shoulders dropping with relief as soon as his eyes recognize the cause of the nose. A candy bar, sat idly at his feet. He must’ve knocked it over when he walked by, he tutts. Regardless, Ranboo puts it back, resuming his pace to the door.
Thunk.
He pauses again, now a good couple of steps away from the shelf. Ok… he definitely didn’t knock that one off. Ranboo turned slowly on his heel, the same sweet perched on the floor in a nearly identical spot. Except this time, it’s pointed towards Ranboo. He’s frozen for a beat, his feet joining together as he stands just to stare at the snack as if it might lurch forward and attack him. His hand wearily moves to grab it, his fingers shifting like he’s handling a wild animal.
He grabs it, pulling it close as though it might be ripped away from him. Nothing. He places it back, retreating as soon as he does. Ranboo jumps, hand immediately drawn back at the sudden buzz that echoes through the room. Or rather, his pocket. He pulls out his phone, sighing as soon as he feels the vibration in his hand. 11:00. He made it. Ranboo clicks snooze on the alarm, not even realizing it until it’s in his pocket. Though he doesn’t have much time to think about the mistake, the sound of two more candy bars hitting the floor, sitting directly on top of eachother in a cross.
Now, Ranboo’s not a superstitious person, able to easily write off most “encounters” or ghost-hunting videos. And maybe the simple fact he was in the middle of a gas station in the dead of night was contributing to the cold fear that ran through his veins. Ranboo took a step back, pondering the idea of picking them up. Pros: If it’s nothing, then the floor he had just spent like an hour cleaning is clean again. Cons: If it’s a demon…
Then Ranboo is fucked.
…
Ranboo glanced around the shop as if scanning for witnesses of his crime of laziness. Yeah, he could deal with that tomorrow. He gave one final look to the snacks, before walking to the door and flipping the switch on the open sign off, the electronics making a quiet hiss as it fizzed out. All before opening up the large glass doors, the bell ringing out startlingly loud for the quiet of the night. And he’s gone, his first shift complete.
Ranboo get’s just about ten paces from the store, looking for a familiar purple bike before sighing. Right… He ran a tired hand down his face, spinning on his heel in exasperation back towards the shop, just in time to see a boy inside the store. He’s shorter than ranboo, he can tell by how his sea of golden curls pokes out from the isle beside him. The boy bends down, finger clasping around the snack. Ranboo blinks. And he’s gone.
Not a trace left, not a sound. Ranboo takes a step closer to the Gas Station, peering inside the doors for the mystery customer. But he can’t see anyone, not in the dark nor the light of the street lamps. What he can make out is the candy bars. Now sat back on the shelf.