So, You're In Love With A Vampire?

*Well.... That was quite enlightening.... If only I had thought to get his number.....* Aitheianaea thought, silently cursing her lack of foresight. *Oh well.... Better phone dad and talk to him.... But later..... Like, tomorrow....*

Pushing all thoughts aside, Aitheianaea stepped into the grocery store and pulled a basket off the pile. She nodded aimably at the greeter, and began to go up and down the fruit and vegetable aisle. Carrots, spinach, asparagus, dudhi, cress, onions, peppers, potatoes, apples, pears, physalis, melons, lemons, limes and grapes all piled into her basket, weighing her down on one side, making it look like she was limping as she walked.

"Can I give you a hand?" A familiar, yet slightly out of breath voice asked. Aitheianaea turned to see Darren, pink cheeked, and panting slightly. "Sorry, I just thought I'd come back and give you my number.... Umm.... For your dad, you know?"
Aitheianaea grinned and nodded. "Sure, but you've got a class, so I'll take the number, and a raincheck on the help."

"Oops.... Forgot about the class there!" Darren grinned, sheepishly. "And thanks again!" He said, giving her a piece of paper, and a quick wave before running in the opposite direction. Again.

Aitheianaea was used to his quick exits, so simply shook her head and laughed, pocketing the paper to look at later. *Ahem..... Groceries....* A voice in her head reminded her, berating her for idling in the way of other shoppers.
She moved out of the way of some shoppers, pushing gently past some others and into the dairy aisle, holding her breath as she passed the meat aisle, averting her eyes. Seeing, smelling, or even hearing about raw meat made her feel physically ill.
Turning up the dairy aisle, she was blasted with the cold air used to keep the milk and other items cool. Walking up and down the aisle, dodging neatly between shoppers and stranded shopping carts, she picked up 2 litres of milk, a pack of 6 strawberry yoghurts, and a large pot of Greek natural yoghurt. All of those items joined the fruits and vegetables, weighing Aitheianaea down even more.

Next was the instore bakery, then the frozen section. At the bakery, she stood in the queue, tapping her foot to the music, outwardly appearing impatient.
Finally, she got to the front of the queue, and picked up the last of the baguettes, hearing a large woman a few people behind her tutting, and complaining quietly to the younger woman, obviously her sister, beside her.
Aitheianaea shrugged. It wasn't her problem. She needed to eat too.

The baguette rested in the crook of her left arm, the handles of the basket digging grooves into the crook of her right.
Aitheianaea puffed slightly and tried to move the basket to a more comfortable place, but, failing to find one, she resolved to rush through the rest of the shopping. She could always come back later.

Reaching the frozen section, she was hit with another, colder, blast of air. Potato waffles, Quorn burgers, spring rolls, samosas and icecream all rested on the top of the basket, held in only by Aitheianaea's arm.

Almost running to the checkout, she relieved herself of the burden, and began to empty the basket onto the conveyor belt, mentally totalling up an approximation.
Emptying the basket, she put it on top of another that was under the conveyor belt.

Quickly bagging the groceries, she paid, thanked the guy on the register, and hurried out of the shop.

*Hm. It went dark fast.* She thought, looking up at the sky as she stepped out onto the street.

Walking along the sidewalk, she fell into an abyss of thought, dragging her away from reality and into the depths of her subconscious, but as she walked forward, she collided with something, no, someone, and, amazed at their ability to have stayed standing, she realised she was on the floor.
As she looked up, she saw --

**End of Chapter 2**