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It was an average gray Saturday morning when the Angel of Death walked into Mauve’s General and Grocery.
She glanced around the store, which was empty and quiet, save for the low humming of the freezers. A sigh of relief escaped her nose, and her shoulders loosened. Chosen hated dealing with people.
She wandered around until she came to the canned foods section, grateful there was no one there to watch her struggle to navigate the building. This was her first time at that particular store; she had stopped going to her previous one when people kept whispering and pointing at her. Even the chance of getting recognized in the city was probably her worst fear. And it was also just plain creepy.
Chosen’s eyes flicked up and down the shelves until she found what she was looking for: Baked beans. They had been her primary meal for the past few months – they were cheap and didn’t taste half bad either. Though she was getting a little sick of the same food every day...
Picking up a can and squinting at the label, she pondered her other options. She had an employee’s discount at Mcdonald’s, but she would have to buy a meal there every day, rather than only buying a few cans per week like she did with the beans. A Mcchicken combo meal was nine dollars and fifty-five cents... fifteen percent off of that was... eight dollars and ten cents?? And then 8.10 times 7 .... uhhh....
Chosen’s face burned as she furiously counted on her fingers. Dark had always been the math whiz, not her. She wondered if the store sold calculators.
She was so distracted, she didn’t notice when another stick walked into the aisle.
“Excuse me?” A voice piped up beside her, and Chosen nearly jumped with surprise.
“Um. Do you need something?” she asked them, hating the way the words clogged in her throat before she forced them out. Cursors, she hated people.
The stick trying to talk to her was young – probably only about thirteen or fourteen. They were bright orange, and Chosen was trying to remember why they looked so familiar before they spoke again.
“I know this is a bit awkward...” the kid said, fidgeting with their sleeve, “But, well, a few months ago, me and my friends ended up in the middle of this huge fight and you... you’re the one who saved us, aren’t you?”
Realization clicked in Chosen’s mind, and her eyes widened.
Wait– this kid– it couldn’t be—
No, it was true. Their color was unmistakable.
This kid was The Second Coming.
...
Well. They sure looked a lot different with glowing eyes and a green aureole wreathing their body.
She supposed they didn’t use their powers much. To be fair, Chosen didn’t either, not anymore, but it probably wasn’t for the same reason.
The Second Coming breathed a huge sigh of relief. “It is you.” They had clearly noticed the recognition on Chosen’s face. “It would’ve been so awkward if I was wrong.”
Chosen nodded in agreement, feeling that the interaction was still pretty awkward nonetheless. She wasn’t sure what she should say next, but luckily, The Second Coming wasn’t done.
“We never got to really thank you for saving us that day,” they said passionately.
For what? Chosen thought. You did all the work. You saved me. But maybe they’re just really polite. Actually, maybe this is normal for kids; it’s not like her childhood was standard.
“So really, if there’s anything, I mean anything I can do for you, I’ll do it.” The kid was pretty much rambling now, but Chosen let them. It’s not like she could just walk away. “My friends mean the world to me, and I– I thought they were dead...”
Chosen saw them start to choke up a little, and she had no idea how to deal with a crying kid in the middle of the canned foods aisle. So before that could happen, she did the first thing she could think of – awkwardly putting her hands on their shoulders and attempting to comfort. “Hey.. listen, it’s okay, uh...” The Second Coming is a long, clunky name, like hers, and she didn’t know if she should use it or if they had a shorter nickname.
“Orange,” they said, voice cracking a little. “M’ name’s Orange.”
“Right, Orange. It’s okay. You– you don’t need to do anything for me, I swear.” Chosen racked her brain, thinking of other ways to convince them. “As long as you and your friends are all right, I’ll be good too.”
Orange rubbed their eye and nodded. “Right. Sorry. You’ve probably... got things to do. Being a world-saving stick and all.”
Chosen frowned. She still wasn’t sure where they’d gotten the impression that she was some sort of great savior, but at least they seemed to be feeling better. Maybe it was just a weird sense of humor. “Uh.. yeah, I guess I still have some shopping to do.”
“But I swear if there’s anything I can do for you—”
“Orange, it’s fine, I—” Chosen started, but their eyes suddenly caught onto her ratty old jacket.
“Do you need a new coat?” Orange’s eyes gleamed with opportunity. “I can buy you one.”
“No. I don’t.” The bottom of her jacket didn’t quite reach her waist anymore, and she pulled it down in a futile attempt to disguise its undersizedness.
“I passed a clothing shop on the way here!” They were practically vibrating with excitement. “We can go there!”
”No, really, it’s fine, I don’t need…“
The words died in her throat as she looked at the younger stick’s face. Orange looked so excited, and hopeful, and their smile was so bright just like Dark’s…
Okay. Maybe Chosen could humor them a little.
“Fine… if you really want to,” she said, rubbing the side of her head unsurely.
“YES! Ok, come on!” They literally did a little hop on the balls of their feet. Wow. Chosen did not remember being so energized at their age. “I can show you where the shop is!”
”Uh— okay!” She followed them as they dashed out of the store, leaving her baked beans behind.
Orange led her to is a cramped one-story shop full of every clothing item and accessory imaginable. It was so stuffed with racks of dresses and shirts and feather boas that it almost felt claustrophobic. And of course, it was full of people. Eeeugh. Chosen felt the familiar sense of dread wash over her.
Orange wasn’t bothered. They pulled out a small brown wallet and started rifling through it, muttering to themselves. “Okay, so Purple gave me an extra twenty, which means— oh yeah, and I still have some change—“
“Uh,” Chosen said weakly. She was completely lost. Everything was moving way too fast for a place she’d never been before. “Where— where do we go to—?”
Orange looked up at her, surprised. Great job, Chosen One, you just made yourself look stupid right in front of someone who actually respects you, an inner voice chided in her head. Where are your powers now?
But then they smiled. “I think the section for jackets is over there, near the back!” They pointed towards a tiny handmade sign reading “JACKETS” that Chosen hadn’t noticed before. She nodded dumbly and walked over, still feeling like a moron.
Orange got right to work shifting through the collection of coats on the rack. They seemed to be looking for something. Chosen did the same. She tried not to notice the two little old ladies whispering and giggling right next to her. Her neck prickled like someone was watching. They probably weren’t talking about her. Definitely not, even. She wasn’t the center of the Outernet.
Still, she felt uneasy.
“Hey, what about… this!” Orange held up a black leather jacket for Chosen to see. It wasn’t too dissimilar to the one she was wearing now, except for a ton of spikes and laces and ripped parts. Chosen frowned a little. It seemed more akin to something Dark would’ve worn a few years ago, when they were obsessed with being edgy. Was that the kind of personality she gave off…?
“Uh… not really my style, I think,” she said, the words scratching her throat. She looked back towards the rack of coats, pretending to be searching for something. She hadn’t found anything of interest yet.
”Or… this one?” An oversized purple hoodie with white strings. Chosen reached out to feel the material. It was scratchy as hell and not very thick. And the hoodie didn’t have any pockets either. She shook her head.
Orange looked a little disappointed for a second, but then they lit up. “This one then!” They pulled out a kid’s cat onesie.
Chosen snickered. “Uhhh, I think it’s a little small.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” They laughed, and looked back at it with a grin. “I bet my friend would love it though.”
Chosen kept looking. She moved to another section; everything there was too colorful. She pretended she wasn’t distracted by the people chattering all around her.
She tried to pull a blue sweater-looking thing from where it was hung. But the hanger was somehow tangled up on the rack. Frustrated, she pulled it, hard, until it let up. Two other hangers clattered to the floor next to her.
”Shit,” she grumbled, and bent down to pick them up. As she set them back on the rack, she noticed a long piece of yellow fabric that had been revealed by untangling the hangers.
It was a scarf. She had used to wear one all the time. But that thing had been long and thin and gray. The one she was holding now was a soft yellow color. It was plush and soft and warm. Chosen squeezed the material between her fingers. It felt more real, in a way.
Orange approached her. “Did you find something you like?”
Chosen nodded. “It’s… not a jacket though,” she said apologetically, fidgeting with her collar. She showed them the yellow scarf.
Orange waved a hand. “As long as you like it!” and Chosen nodded again. She let them feel the fabric of the scarf, and they hummed approvingly.
The two of them went up to the counter to pay. Orange pulled out their brown wallet again, and counted twenty five dollars. Chosen cringed at the price, but they said it’s a gift, it’s no big deal.
“D’you want a bag?” the employee said. He was a bright pink stick with a crisp voice. Chosen shook her head, and he handed her the scarf. She ran her fingers through it again and wrapped it around her neck.
“…thanks, Orange,” Chosen said once they were back outside.
“It’s nothing, really,” they said quietly, smiling. “I don’t think I can ever make it up to you, what you did for us— that day, I… I really thought— I thought—“ they rubbed their eyes “—I thought my friends were dead forever.” They cleared their throat. “Thank you, is what I’m trying to say.”
Chosen swallowed thickly. She still had no idea what Orange was talking about. They had been the one doing the saving, not her! But she didn’t want to correct them. Maybe they had a bad memory or something? She didn’t get kids.
She nodded like she understood what they were talking about, and they brightened. Whatever made them happy.
“Well… I think I should go now,” she said awkwardly. “I’ve got… shopping to do. And other stuff.” Internally she cringed. What was she even saying??
”Yeah, I better go and meet my friends. They’re probably wondering where I’ve been, ya know?”
Chosen nodded again. She didn’t really “know” since she didn’t have friends anymore, and the one she’d had never cared about where she was. But whatever. She turned to leave. She’d better get back to the grocery store. There were probably other sticks there now. She sighed wearily at the prospect of having to deal with people again, even in such a limited way. Hopefully there was at least no one else in the canned foods aisle.
”Oh— wait!” Orange called to her before she left. Chosen turned back.
”What?”
”I, uh, never got your name,” they said, rubbing the back of their head sheepishly.
“Oh,” she said, surprised. She hadn’t even noticed that. “It’s, uh. The Chosen One. I’m The Chosen One.”
Orange raised their eyebrows. “That’s a long name!” Chosen meant to say that their name was pretty long too, but she didn’t get a chance before they continued. “Can I call you, uh… En?”
Huh. She’d never heard that one before. She tried to hide her smile in her scarf. “Most people call me Chosen. But that works fine too.”
”Ok!” Orange beamed. “Bye, En! I gotta go, my friends are expecting me—“
”HEY!! ORANGE!!” someone called from out the window of a car down the road. It was a green stick who could’ve been about Orange’s age.
“Hey guys!!” Orange shouted back. “I’m coming!!”
They waved back at Chosen, and then they were off sprinting towards the car. She watched them hop in, and the car drove away. Chosen hoped none of the kids were driving it. But who else would it be? noogai?
She shrugged. She’d done crazier stuff when she’d been their age. And it wasn’t her business anyways.
As she walked back to Mauve’s General and Grocery, Chosen idly wondered what it was like to have so many friends, like Orange did. She’d only ever had one. Some of her coworkers were kind of nice, but she couldn’t consider them her friends. She really didn’t have anyone anymore.
’Cept Orange, she found herself thinking suddenly. Huh. Maybe that was right. Maybe Orange was her friend.
She half-smiled to herself and wrapped her plush scarf around her arms. That was a nice thought.