Pre-Companions of the Night. Kerry just started working at the supermarket, and encounters a brown-haired, brown-eyed cutie who is far more understanding than a lot of other customers would be.

This is dedicated to my new job at Sobeys. It was my inspiration, if you want to call it that. Oh, and some of this actually happened to me.

How much do I really need this job? Kerry kept asking herself every time she had a free moment. Of course, that wasn't very often. She got about fifteen minutes for breaks, and once every hell-freezes-over, no customers were at her cash. Between then, she was on her feet, scanning things through the register less than efficiently, and trying to smile at the customers, even though it came out more of a wince. Her back was killing her from leaning over to bag things, reaching, lifting, and standing for what seemed like an eternity. The sun had already set, and usually she was at home watching an episode of the newest teen drama on the WB by this time.

This moment was one of those strange ones where there was no one around. Surprisingly, she hated them the worst. When she had time to think for herself, it only brought to mind that she couldn't sit. Customers didn't feel they were getting the service they deserved when store employees were loafing around. Her coworkers kept saying that she would get used to the pain, and everything would start to come easier. She felt as if she were still floundering, and though her trainers had let her go out on her own after record time, she liked the safety net of someone more experienced hovering over her shoulder to correct mistakes.

Kerry still didn't know how the heck she was supposed to use the phone to page someone. It just didn't seem to be working for her.

She had stopped smiling for the customers about an hour ago. It was starting to look more like a grimace anyway.

Kerry checked her watch. If no one came around in another five minutes, she'd be able to close down the cash and go home. Knowing her luck, someone would start putting a huge load on her conveyor belt a minute before she was due to get off. It still took what seemed to be half an hour for her to get through a cart-full of stuff. She already had a hate-list of things she loathed:

1. Bagged milk. It was a bitch to scan, she felt as if her fingernails were going to pop it, and she almost couldn't lift it.

2. That guy in the produce department, because half the things were never labeled and she had to go searching through an inadequate book with bad pictures. She hadn't met him yet, but she was sure he was the cause to all her problems.

3. Produce. Chinese lettuce. Celery. Bok choy. They all looked the same.

4. The outfit. No one looked good in the bad shirt and pants. And that apron? Yuck.

5. The points card. The computer reminded her to ask for it after the first purchase and after the last. She didn't know how many times she had tried to scan something, only to find 'frequent buyer?' flicking across the screen.

So, did she need this job? Yes. If she didn't want to spend the rest of her life working here after graduating in a couple of years, she was going to have to save for university now. She knew her dad wouldn't be able to help her much, particularly since he now had to support them all of them on only his salary. The real reason she was working was to just get out of the house. There was a pallor of dampened gloom hanging over everyone since her mother had left a month ago, and it seemed to Kerry that everywhere they turned, there was something else to remind them of the woman who had run away with her car mechanic, or whatever dead-end job her new boyfriend had. Yesterday, her dad had found one of the gold earrings he had given his wife for their last wedding anniversary under the couch, and he had dropped to the floor and started wailing like a baby. Kerry had been slightly embarrassed, as only teenagers can get in the face of adult emotions, but she had also been furious at that woman for betraying them all. It didn't take much for love to turn to hate. Just thinking about it was getting Kerry into a rage, and she only hoped her next customer wasn't a female.

Luckily it wasn't. Unluckily, she did get that final customer she was dreading at the very end of her shift. Luckily, it was an ok looking guy. Unluckily, she was still wearing the horrendous uniform.

"Hi," she said, giving him a smile. Well, she grimaced at him, but at least she was trying. She scanned his first item – a bag of chips. She grabbed his second item – another bag of chips, and tried to scan it too. The machine didn't beep, signifying the fact the item didn't go through. Kerry frowned, becoming more agitated with her motions. With what looked like an amused grin, the customer handed her the points card.

Kerry blushed. Right. She had turned the computer monitor so one of the previous customers could see it. Sure enough, 'frequent buyer' was flashing along the screen. Kerry looked down, focusing on getting the purchases into a bag and hide her total mortification. Even though she had done the same thing to at least 10 other people today, everything was different when it was a teenage guy she was serving. His order seemed to be completely made up of junk food, and she was momentarily envious of him. He looked skinny and fit enough, not that she was staring or anything. His hair was a light brown, almost the color of her own with the bad perm in it, and his eyes appeared to be the same color.

"Having a party?" Kerry asked, taking a deep breath to fortify herself before she started the conversation. She wasn't exactly sociable at the moment, going through one of those angry-at-the-world teenager phases which was only made worse by the present circumstances in her family.

He blinked at her, his eyes remaining closed for a fraction of a second longer than normal. Then, he smiled sheepishly, looking completely charming with the slight bow to his head and the way his fingers toyed with the flyer clutched in his hands. "Ah, no. I'm having this girl over to watch movies and I didn't know what she liked so…" he gestured to his purchases.

Oh. Oh, wow. Kerry wished the last guy who asked her out was that sweet. Maybe then she wouldn't have had to dump his ass for getting too frisky. "Did you get popcorn in case she doesn't like chips?" She asked, trying to be helpful.

"Yep," the guy said cheerfully. "And I have some of that sprinkle stuff at home." He blinked again, the motion still exaggerated for a second longer than usual. "It says in the flyer that those are three for five."

"Does it? I…" Kerry looked back and forth, alternating between the flyer in his hands and the computer screen. "I dunno," she hesitated.

"Oh don't worry about it," he said. "Thirty cents isn't about to break me."

"Are you sure?" Kerry asked, secretly relieved. She didn't know who the heck she was supposed to contact about that. She was pretty sure the last time she had tried to use the paging system, everyone had heard her frantically whisper 'I can't get it to work,' and then hang up. "We have this price guarantee thing…"

He gave her one of those universal hand gestures which meant for her to continue on, and that he didn't really care.

"Ok then," she wasn't really supposed to argue with the customer. He blinked again, and this time she realized what was going on. "Contacts bothering you?"

This time, he did look rather surprised, glancing at her sharply. "You're very observant."

Kerry just shrugged, pulling the last item through the scanner. "Fifty-three ninety-eight, your total."

He passed her three twenty-dollar bills.

Kerry grabbed his change out of the till. Counting the money was the only thing she was really good at, and exceeded in. She supposed that was a good trait in a cashier. As she was handing over his money, one of the pennies fell between both of their hands. Despite the fact he had his hands loaded with bags of groceries, the guy still managed to catch the coin before it landed on the ground. "Impressive," Kerry muttered.

He flashed her a disarming grin which left her heart tripping and her breath catching in her throat. She handed over the rest of his change, and their fingers brushed, making contact for a moment longer than necessary. She felt as if she had been electrocuted – there was the zing of attraction, sure, but there also seemed to be something more there too. She felt the fine hairs raising on the back of her neck, warning her away, just as her heart seemed to lean towards him, telling her this was it. The second was over, almost before it had begun, and Kerry wished it had lasted just a while longer so she could understand what was going on. She hadn't felt anything like that before. She knew, that even if she had all the time in the world, she would probably be no closer to understanding. "Have a good date," she muttered.

The older teenager looked slightly taken back. "Sure. Goodnight." He stared right at her chest, and Kerry's eyes widened in shock. "No name tag?" He asked.

"Maybe next time," she told him, closing her cash. She wanted to tell him her name, but her inner coquette was telling her to wait on it. The next time they met, she'd be able to do so. She walked away from him, heading towards the main office in order to sign out. Tonight, she left the store with a smile on her face. She never knew how lucky she was her father was there to pick her up, or how fortunate that her last customer already had a date. She didn't know that though the shadows quickly forgot about her this time, they were entranced by her beating heart and nervous smile long enough to put her life in danger. In another five months, when she met the vampire with blue eyes and black hair, it would take her days after the encounter to remember where she had seen that disarming smile.

After that, she'd never be able to forget it again.

©RelenaFanelJune22.2006

Author's Note: I have one other pre-Companions story I can write. The thing is, I can't compromise Companions of the Night by writing these. It doesn't go to reason that Michel wouldn't remember her if he had met her more than once. I'm just counting on the fact that both customers and cashiers tend not to really notice each other after the moment of service. Also, both of them look different here. Michel's hair is dyed, most likely recently, and he is wearing contacts. Kerry likely looks exhausted and depressed along with her hair being lighter and curlier because of the perm.

Anyway. Please review. I'd love to hear what you think. Also, I'm very disappointed in the number of reviews the last chapter of ClubVamp got. Thanks go out to the two of you who did, you know who you are. I'll be updating it again tomorrow (after work. PS- Finally met guy in produce when I accidentally walked in on him changing in the break room. Will need to find someone else to direct anger at).

Review!