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Okay, fine. It was Tuesday night. Maybe most people would suggest not being at a liquor store at eleven at night. Hell, after the things she'd seen recently, it shocked even her that she left the house at all. Between getting into a fight with a civil war reenacting predator (that was bad at fighting), having a conversation with a woman that had literal holes in her body, and the nightmare she'd encountered in the park, Destiny City was the scariest it had ever been for her. But what was her alternative? Sit in that big home full of memories and loss all alone? See her aunt in every corner? Remember home made lunches and girl's nights falling asleep on the couch to some chick flick with a male lead that looked like a haggard Ken ******** that. Besides, she didn't have work tomorrow.

"Hey Jeff!" She greeted the cashier with a smile and a wave as she walked by and the man returned the wave before going back to his phone.

Addy opened the cold case and pulled out a few Four Lokos, snagged some Five Hour Energies, and went to the liquor aisle to choose whatever would chase the Nine Lokos she was about to make.

As she rounded the corner, she stumbled upon a familiar sight. Duck pants guy! Why was he in cosplay at eleven at night? Looked like he got to keep his pants after all. That part disappointed her a little. That duck had worked hard for his prize. She thought about greeting him, but doubted he'd remember her. After all, he had been locked in mortal combat.

That was when she noticed it. The posture. The way he looked around. The way he was holding the liquor bottle.

Oh, come on.

Before she realized what she was doing, Addy walked up to him and snatched the bottle out of his hands, shaking it at him disapprovingly. She looked up...and up and up at the man in front of her before scolding him in a hushed tone, "If you're gonna steal, leave Jeff's place alone. He supports his sick grandma and her meds aren't cheap." She paused for a moment, considering before she continued, "The place on 6th and J is run by a racist though. Free game."

Addy stared up at him in the increasingly long silence, noting the quality of his contacts as she kept her eyes locked on his. She idly wondered if he could even see well out of them. The actors on Supernatural always complained about their black lenses.

When he finally spoke, the tone of his voice, coupled by the entire situation and the lingering memories of duck based combat made her laugh in confusion. She couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but he vaguely sounded like a geriatric grandmother.

"A racist," she repeated, and then, after another extended pause when that didn't seem to elicit a response, "He doesn't like my skin color." She assumed that wasn't something someone the color of mayonnaise would have encountered much. Besides, he had a...difficult to pin down accent. Maybe he was new to the country. Destiny City attracted all kinds.

"I don't suppose you remember me from the park, but you're famous."

With a bit of s**t eating grin tugging at her lips, she gestured with her head for him to follow and went to the front to pay with his bottle in hand, snagging some peppermint schnapps as she went.

Addy snorted and looked over her shoulder at him as she tapped her card on the pin pad. The way he talked was like...if someone gave a severely homeschooled kid a guide to swear words. It was hilarious.

"Good answer," then with a smile to Jeff, she handed the nearly pilfered bottle to the man and stepped out the door into the cool night air with her bag of poor decisions.

"A lot of people agree with him, so yeah, his doors stay open. It's unfortunate, but arson is frowned upon and I like my freedom so..." Something dejected and tired crept over her features for a moment as she chewed on that statement. <******** 'em. But yeah. You're famous. I uh. Well. I sort of recorded your little...duck encounter by the pond. It's a pretty popular video on TikTok at the moment. Here. Give me a second."

In a practiced motion, Addy cracked open a Four Loko, drank just enough to make room for the 5 Hour Energy, dumped the little bottle in, and chugged the unholy concoction within seconds. Her face scrunched up as she finished and she stuck her tongue out in ********. That's foul. Ugh. ******** you up like nothing else though." She shrugged and tucked her garbage into her grocery bag.

"See how many views it has?" she questioned as she held out her phone which played his struggle on loop for the world to see. Addy didn't know how he'd react but she figured he at least deserved to know his face was all over the internet.

Addy smiled up at the man in earnest, always a little relieved to know the people around her weren't in agreement with the dickweed on 6th and J.

It perplexed her that he didn't seem to care about the video. She had expected him to be embarrassed or mad or, well, literally anything. He would have every right to be. He had been recorded in an embarrassing moment and had it plastered on the internet without his knowledge. Guilt had sunk in after the fact and had been the deciding factor in her purchasing his bottle. The video already belonged to the internet and even if she took it down, it would circulate. You can't unmeth a crab.

"This, my friend, is a 4 Loko. Or. Well. The new formula. The original recipe killed some people, so you can't get it anymore. You can, however, add this," she held up the tiny 5 Hour Energy bottle with a little shake, "and it's pretty close to the original. This monstrosity is called a 9 Loko. Here. You saw what I did."

Addy held out a 4 Loko and a smaller 5 Hour Energy for him to mix the unholy concoction if he so chose. "You gotta chug it though once you mix it. You're not going to want the pleasure of sipping it."

Then, after a brief pause, "Where are you from, anyways?"