ADAM WORKED AT A GROCERY STORE. It wasn't too bad, really, and he didn't see anything wrong by it. He knew someone who, all his life, he was an assistant and everyone always asked him why he didn't do something more; he could be a lawyer, a doctor, a businessman, they didn't understand why he chose to just be a personal assistant, a glorified secretary, running after more important people, taking notes and setting appointments and meetings and memorizing coffee orders. He would just smile and say that that was what he had always wanted to do and he was more than happy doing it.

The same wasn't necessarily the same for Adam, but he liked to keep the mindset; it nearly applied and that was what counted.

He worked during the afternoons at times, but his usual schedule was the graveyard shift, the grocery store running from seven in the morning to four the next, taking three hours for the maintenance not yet done when the store was empty while still open, the cycle repeating endlessly, save for certain holidays.

People always pointed out to him that he could have done so much more with his life, asking him why he was simply content to work at a grocery store for barely above minimum wage, if he needed help to get on his feet and do something else with his life, something more meaningful.

He knew very well that he could do more with his life. There were reasons why he hadn't, there were reasons why he didn't, there were reasons for every little thing that led up to where he was now, working as a cashier in a nearly twenty-four hour grocery store in New York.

But all he would say was that he knew very well that he could, but he liked what he was doing now. He liked the hours, he was content with the pay, and he was content with the life he had, and if he wanted more, he would go out to do more. But for now, he would just stay where he was.

The personal assistant would've been proud, but it had been some time since Adam had seen him and he couldn't for the life of him find his business card nor remember his name, no matter how hard he tried, so he was stuck with just the memory.

He sighed as he began to get ready for work at eleven at night, having woken up three hours prior to eat and make sure everything was going right before he got ready. He would often invite Rigby over, and the man was more than happy to eat food with someone, and Adam shared the same sentiments.

"You ran out of a lot of food," Rigby hummed, leaning down to peer into the fridge, which he had done just that morning, but there wasn't much to do in Adam's apartment otherwise, save for watching something on the TV, but there wasn't much to do with that either.

"I'm restocking tonight," Adam reminded him, and he sighed as he glanced towards the clock, "I should get going, I usually get there a bit earlier in case I need to pick up, lots of people just leave the register unmanned if no one's there and their shift is almost over."

Rigby, who had heard the explanation countless times and, thereby, didn't pay it too much mind, simply nodded and wished him good luck and fun, exiting the apartment and heading over towards his own apartment to rest on his own.

Adam sighed and stretched before grabbing his keys, phone, and wallet, pocketing all three on the inside of his jacket before heading out of his apartment, down the stairs, then out the door. It wasn't necessarily chilly out, but it wasn't warm either, so he was happy to have brought his jacket over his uniform.

It wasn't necessarily a uniform so much as it was a visor that he would pick up at work, a polo shirt with the logo over his left breast, same as any other uniform, and regulation pants with a belt to top it off.

His trek consisted of taking the train for most of the way, then getting out to walk the last three blocks. It was clockwork to him at this point, and there were times when he zoned out completely, climbing onto the train only to blink against the stark white light of the grocery store as he stepped inside, having lost the past however many minutes it had been.

He sighed when he caught sight of the sleeping cashier, walking over and pursing his lips in a small smile towards the woman who was constantly looking over her shoulder, clearly frightened to be out so late, and he motioned towards the cashier.

"Has-has he been like this the whole time?" he asked, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible, "Asleep, I mean? Did people pass by and just take food?"

She bit her lip, nodding tentatively. "Yes. I'm sorry. No one tried to take any money, though."

He fought back a sigh, at least until he was able to give her a smile and thank her, making sure she couldn't see him sigh. He didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was, so he just shoved the other man awake, motioning towards the door.

"Just go," he sighed, looking towards the other closed aisles, shaking his head, "Just couldn't wait, huh?"

The last shift was meant to be manned by four people, but only one stuck around, and Adam used that term incredibly loosely, and he reminded himself to make a note to the manager about it. He was manager material, no doubt about it, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to have to deal with that kind of responsibility; maybe he did, just not right now.

He settled into his position rather fast, grabbing the things he kept under the counter to keep himself busy. Mostly mind games and knitting and crochet, though he did go on his phone to listen to podcasts and read the news.

The woman he had seen came to check out a few minutes later, rushing and scared and he offered to hail her a cab, but she told him, no, she had a car, and raced out of the store faster than he could blink, and that was the last person Adam saw for hours.

He always waited for an hour before he put in his headphones, and an hour passed rather quickly, what with his knitting being continuous, and soon he was allowed to happily listen to his podcasts rather than having to listen to the soft music playing through the speakers.

The one thing he didn't like about working, however, was that his mind often wandered. Being alone, he couldn't help but think over his life, of all the things he regretted, all the things he wished he had done, all the embarrassing things that had happened to him, it was a terrible world to live in, but he had gotten rather good at blocking it out.

He sighed as he felt himself grow tired, but he forced himself to stay awake; he needed to do this job well, especially after last time. But he couldn't help but realize that if something didn't happen soon, he was going to fall asleep and would most likely be out of a job; he wouldn't, but that was something he always feared.

He groaned as he propped his chin up onto his hand, leaning forward, and he switched podcast he was listening to to a paranormal one, one that always scared him, and while he hated being scared while alone in the middle of the night at his too bright job, it was enough to keep him awake.

He tried to shrink away from his headphones as he listened to the terrifying sounds, but what he was hearing was nothing in comparison to what followed just a few moments later.

There was a loud crash as someone burst through the automatic doors, nearly scaring Adam half to death, his scream filling the empty room and echoing.

"And you thought I'd show up in Chapter Three! Ha!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 12.09.18 )

Back at it again at Krispy Kreme! It's been a hot second, ya'll, but they're back, and I'm really hyped for it!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!