“A pack of Swifty Sweets, please.” Johan says in an unusually polite manner.

“What flavor?” The cashier asks.

“Ugh.” Johan says before looking to Taylor.

“Cherry.” Taylor says to the cashier.

The cashier looks to Taylor before looking to Johan. Is this guy underage? He wonders before shrugging it off. Whatever, not my problem. My manager's not even here. He thinks, deciding not to care.

“Yes, ugh, cherry, please.” Johan says again.

“That will be eighteen ninety-five.” The cashier says. “Will you be paying with cash or credit?” He asks in a monotone voice.

“Credit will do in this situation, I suppose.” Johan says before taking out a black card. “Just tap?” He asks, hoping to make the deal and go.

“I think you'll have to insert it.” The cashier responds.

“Right. Awesome.” Johan says, inserting the card at the prompt. He quickly inputs his pin and removes his card at the next prompt.

“Great. Here you go. Cherry flavored Swifty Sweets.” The cashier says, pushing the flavored cigarettes to Johan.

Johan grabs the pack and smiles. “Thank you for your service, good man. Have a wonderful evening.” He says before moving to exit the convenience store.

Taylor grabs his head and sighs. “That was fuckin' weird.” He couldn't help but say, before following after Johan.

…

…

Taylor exits the doors to see that Johan has stopped to watch a show.

Two dudes seemed to be in the middle of harassing our dear Jesse. She is parading around that tasty rabbit meat for all the wolves to see. Once again. Taylor thinks with some understanding as he shakes his head.

Taylor stands next to Johan and crosses his arms before joining the gallery and watching the show.

Some seemingly smooth, but no doubt embarrassing words leaves one of dude's mouth and he takes the chance to put a hand on Jesse's bare shoulder.

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Ooh, that's hot. Can you pull it off, my dude? Taylor asks, adding some commentary to the show.

Jesse shoves the man's hand away before lunging her knee into his groin, causing him to collapse to the ground, clutching at his manhood.

Ooh. That's gotta hurt. But don't worry, my brother. I'm sure she was worth the attempt. Your efforts are not in vain. Taylor continues to comment.

The other man immediately becomes angry and takes the excuse to also put her hands on Jesse. He immediately reaches for Jesse's chest, not caring about whatever anger that's supposed to express.

Bold move. Will it work? If so, the rewards will surely be very sweet. Taylor continues to think.

Jesse immediately sees the attempt and sends a quick jab to the man's nose. A crack resounds through the air and the man forcefully takes a step back and grabs at his nose before tripping and falling to the ground.

A swing and a miss. You'll get ‘em next time, boys. Don't give up. Taylor thinks, amused. To be honest, they definitely have more balls than I do, he admits, not quite sure which of them was the real loser.

Jesse takes a moment to spit before turning her head and finding Johan. A smile immediately blooms on her face and she quickly moves forward to reunite with him.

Johan also moves forward to meet her and Taylor follows. As he got closer he couldn’t help but hear the two mumbling on the ground.

“It hurts so much but feels so good.”

“Please step on me again, mommy.”

Fuck, Taylor thinks with some surprise. She can't be that worth it, can she? He begins to wonder, curious if he should also be making a move.

“Got the smokes.” Johan says with a smile, ignoring the two on the ground as he waves the pack.

“Oh, are those flavored?” Jesse asks, just happy to interact with Johan.

“Yes, ugh, they are. Cherry flavored. Why don't we all have one? To end the day on a happy note.” Johan suggests.

“Oh.” Jesse responds with some bewilderment before quickly giving in. “Okay. I'll have one cherry please.” She says with a smile.

“One cherry coming up.” Johan says, making an awkward attempt to remove the packaging before finally succeeding. He lifts the lid and grabs one of the flavored cigarettes before holding it out to Jesse. “One cherry.” He says with some pride.

“Thank you.” Jesse says as she takes the flavored cigarette. “Ugh, do you have a lighter?” Jesse asks, assuming the next step in her first smoking experience.

“Ah, lighter.” Johan says, realizing that he forgot to buy a lighter. He quickly looks to Taylor. “Taylor, would you happen to have a lighter?” Johan asks, continuing with his polite manner of speech.

“Ugh, yeah.” Taylor says, taking the light-pink lighter from his back pocket. He holds it out, not quite sure if he should hand it to Jesse or to Johan. He settles on Johan and moves his hand forward. This is so fucking weird. Taylor thinks. He felt like he was back in high school, trying smokes for the first time behind a random alley.

Johan takes the lighter and leans closer to Jesse. “M'lady.” He says before pressing down on the lighter, causing a flame to appear.

“Ah, yes.” Jesse says, awkwardly holding the smoke and moving it closer to the flame. As the cigarette touches the flame, she awkwardly presses her lips to the cigarette and tries to inhale. The cigarette catches and the smoke travels to her mouth, causing her to let out a few coughs. She tries to smile. “Umm, cherry. Tastes great.” She says with a bitter smile.

As Taylor watches this, his face immediately flushes red. Why the fuck am I so turned on right now? He asks himself.

Johan chuckles and moves to take a smoke of his own. He quickly lights it and takes a deep inhale before exhaling a cloud of smoke. “Cherry. Wonderful.” Johan exclaims, feeling refreshed for some reason.

“Ugh.” Taylor says awkwardly. I'd like my pack now, if that’s alright. Do I have to cough a few times. Taylor thinks to himself.

Johan notices Taylor’s dilemma. “Oh, Taylor. Did you want one?” Johan asks, seeming to have forgotten him.

“I’ll grab one myself, thanks.” Taylor says as he reaches for the pack in Johan's hand and takes out a smoke. Taylor then holds out his hand for the lighter and gives Johan a blank look. Whatever went down with Jesse… I'd rather light my own smoke thank you. Taylor thinks, his face still kind of hot from that moment.

Johan hands Taylor the lighter and he quickly lights the smoke.

Taylor took a deep inhale before also exhaling a cloud of smoke, letting the stimulation wash over his body. They all continue to smoke in silence. Johan seems to have gotten the hang of it and was very much enjoying his first cigarette. Jesse seems to have been pretty awkward throughout, but she continued to push on.

Taylor saw that his smoke was done and threw it onto the ground. He exhaled the last bit of smoke and says the first thing that came to mind. “I feel like we just had a threesome. How are you guys feeling?” He asks as he looks at both Johan and Jesse.

Johan smiles. “I feel great.” He says honestly.

Jesse looks to Johan and smiles. “I feel pretty good.” She says, trying to be honest.

Taylor also smiles. “Awesome. Now we're all butt buddies.” He says, letting out a light laugh.