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It’s been a long week, but it’s finally the weekend, and I’m so excited to do anything at all but schoolwork. Obviously I have homework, but it’s Saturday, and that’s what Sunday (or, Monday morning, more realistically) is for, right? More importantly, I found $100 on the sidewalk the other day, and I know just what I’m going to spend it on. A bunch of discount Halloween candy, hell yeah. I walk down to the local grocery store and make a beeline to the back, where I know they have the sale stuff. And there, sandwiched between two-pocket folders and clothes that went out of style three months ago, is my favorite type of candy; black licorice. I don’t understand people who don’t like the stuff. It’s delicious, and with a hundred dollars, I can probably buy enough for at least a few days of sustaining myself on nothing but black licorice. I scoop up as much as I can carry, and realise that I probably should have brought a bag or something.
Just as I think this, I accidentally drop a bag of licorice, a swear forming at my lips. Before I can spout it, though, a strong arm catches it a mere inches from the ground, then raises it up to me. I grab at it hastily, muttering my thanks, and that’s when I get a look at the guy. The guy is built like a brick shithouse; all muscle and a head that looks like he could tear down a building if he ran through it. Still, there’s a kind of handsome charm to his… chunkiness and I find it amusing that he has the best set of teeth I’ve seen on a guy before. He flashes a smile at me and introduces himself.
"Sup," he says, and in an instant my attraction to him drops. His voice is like nails on a chalkboard; scratchy, high, and entirely unexpected. "You come here often?" he continues, either ignoring or unaware of me wincing with every syllable.
“Hi,” I begin, “I’m, uh, I’m Kerry. What’s your name?”
“Yuri,” he replies simply.
So he’s Russian, huh? “So, you’re Russian, huh?” I say before I’m aware I’ve said it. “U-uh, beautiful country, I’ve heard, Russia. There’s, like, a lot of snow…?” Oh god.
“Half… Russian,” he corrects me. “My mother loved the name but I hate it. Can’t say I know very much, however, since I’ve never been there.”
"Oh," I say, absolutely certain blood must be oozing from my ears now, "that's too bad. I've...never been either."
"I'd very much like to go someday," he continues as I edge away.
I have to figure out how to escape this guy. I could run, but then I’d drop my licorice. What to do, what to do?
“O-oh well look at the time, I’d really better get going. Thanks so much for the help!.” I smile weakly as I inch towards the cashier, hoping that he’ll just let me go.
He doesn’t get the hint and inches towards the cashier with me. Doesn’t this guy get the hint? Oh my god… will I have to abandon my licorice and make a run for it?
In a last ditch effort, I hurl one of the licorice bags past him. His chivalrous sensibilities demand that he catch it for me, and as he throws himself underneath the sailing bag of candy, I hurriedly pass the other two bags to the cashier, urging her to scan them. When she's finished, I hurl one of the $20 bills I picked up at her and run out of the store, ignoring her pleas to wait.
It was probably a bad idea, considering how muscular he is. He catches up to me within seconds, his legs like tree trunks if tree trunks could chase people or move around at all.
He grabs my arm, causing all of my licorice to fall on the ground, but he doesn’t care and his voice is furious as he says, “Stealing is against the law.”
“I-I didn’t…” I begin to stutter at him.
“I threw some money as well, so it’s paid for at least. But you really shouldn’t run out like that, it scares the cashiers.”
"Uh, right. Um, well I have to go, gotta get this licorice home before it melts, ha ha..."
"Oh please, let me walk you there!"
Ooookay this is going nowhere. At least no one can say you didn’t try. “Uhhhh, okay, see, the the thing is--and I’m really sorry--but I just cannot stand your voice at all, so I’m down but you’re gonna have to either stop talking or do something about your voice, okay?”
Yuri pauses and I expect the worst – the very, very worst. However, his bottom lip suddenly wibbles and tears begin to bud at the corner of his eyes. Oh god, what have I done?
"I was hoping you had not noticed," he said, his voice wobbling and oh dear God what have I done. "I'm sorry to subject you to it, Kerry. I would still like to walk you home, but I can do so in silence...or I can leave you alone, I suppose..."
“No, Yuri, don’t apologize, I’m the one who should be saying sorry…” I really need to do something about my filter, or my lack thereof. “You don’t… have to stop talking or anything--it’s nice of you to offer to walk me home.”
The brick shithouse manages a smile and offers me his arm, which I take gratefully. "Where to, Kerry?" he asks me. I tell him my address and we set off quickly...or as quickly as I can manage with my short, noodle-like legs. His strides are so much longer than my own that he is quickly able to outpace me, leaving me to do a strange semi-walk-run to keep up.
“Uh… just down to the end of the street and a block to the right,” I tell him, continuing my strange walk-run. My guilt is eating away at me, thinking that I may have really hurt this giant teddy-bear of a man. Sooner than I would have thought, my house approached. As I walked up the front steps, Yuri waited at the bottom to make sure I got in safely.
"Sorry again," I said lamely after unlocking the door.
“It’s okay, I get it…. Do you think I could get your number, though? I just moved here and I don’t have a lot of friends in these parts.”
I hesitate at the door, my hand resting on the handle. I kind of feel like a jerk after all this, even though he scared me at first. The guy just wanted some friends… and I don’t have many myself (probably because nobody else I know shares my love of licorice).
"Yeah, alright," I say. "My number is 555-124-0032."
Yuri smiles up at me and says, "Thank you. Also… I like licorice too."