After making myself more French fries than anyone should be allowed to eat, I made my way back to the restaurant. The moment I stepped inside, the delectable scent of cooked meat invaded my nostrils.

"Welcome back, I see you got your potatoes." Nigel called from the back. "Are you...wearing an apron?" I asked when he came out with two plates of food. "Just because the world ended doesn't mean I have to be filthy, does it?"

I watched as he put a plate in front of me. "You didn't have to, I've got potatoes." I reminded when I saw he made a steak for me as well. "I doubt those synthetic French fries have any actual nourishment in them." I gasped dramatically and placed my hands over the paper cup that contained my snack.

"Don't listen to him, baby. He doesn't know what he's saying!" I jokingly told my fries. "Pfft. Dork." He smiled before taking a seat across from me. "Eat your veggies, Nathan." He ordered before taking his steak knife and fork to dig in.

"Yes mom." I retorted with an eye roll, spearing some broccoli and shoving it in my mouth. "You know, when I was little, I always imagined broccoli as tiny trees and myself as the giant eating them." I admitted.

"Oh, you're so giant, Napoleon." Nigel teased, clearly holding back a laugh. "Oh fuck off!" I snapped before crossing my arms and pouting. He covered his mouth with a napkin as he laughed.

 "So what do you think? Cool place huh?" I asked, changing the subject as I ate another veggie. Nigel nodded. "I like it. It's quaint." I narrowed my eyes at the wording. "Right..." I trailed off before glancing to the bar. "Imma grab something to drink. Let me guess. You're a wine sort of guy, or perhaps you'll take a Martini if you're feeling adventurous?" I called back as I walked to the bar and jumped over the counter.

"You know they have a door somewhere, right?" He asked after swallowing. "Live a little, Nigel." I called from beneath the bar as I sifted through the different kinds of bottles. "I don't know which brand you like, so I grabbed the first thing I found." I admitted, making my way back to the table with bottles and two glasses.

"I'll grab a bucket of ice." He offered, wiping his face before getting up to go to the freezer. "Don't forget your mask this time." I reminded, holding back a smirk. "Shut up." He shot back but grabbed his mask from the counter regardless. 

I turned back to my meal. After pouring myself a double of Jameson, I cut into the steak and shoved a small piece in my mouth without looking. My stomach churned immediately as the coopery taste of blood spread across my tongue. Medium rare. I ran towards the kitchen, spitting out the bloody piece of meat in the trash can before sticking my mouth under the faucet to rinse it out.

"Everything alright?" Nigel asked when he returned from the back with the bucket. "Yeah,  just can't stand the taste of blood." I admitted, holding onto the counter.

"You're turning green." He pointed out. "I'll be fine." I assured before grabbing a couple of ice cubes and tossing them into my drink once I'd sat down.

"Sorry, I should've asked." Nigel muttered sheepishly. I shook my head. "Nah, it's cool, you didn't know.  I just happen to be one of the weirdos who eats their steak well-done on the rare occasion that I crave one." I told him before tossing back my entire drink in one swig and pouring myself another.

"Woah, you might wanna slow down there tiny Tim. We haven't even finished our meal. Don't want you passing out on me." I held up my fist just a few inches from my face, and with my other hand, I wound an imaginary crank to flip him the bird. 

Nigel burst out laughing, a few  wrinkles forming on the outer corner of his eyes. They made him look... sophisticated. I studied him for a bit, realizing he was sort of handsome. "Is the broccoli good, at least?" His voice pulled me out of my head.

I cleared my throat and looked away when I realized I'd been staring. "Yea. In fact, I'm gonna take it with me." I informed, standing up and grabbing a to-go container from the kitchen.

I packed the broccoli and the rest of my fries, figuring I'd finish them later when I got the munchies. "Take your time, enjoy your meal. Imma go dick around." I told him as I poured myself another drink and wandered down the deserted halls.

Memories of children laughing, the bustle of merchants shoving leaflets in your face, and the PTSD caused by walking through the perfume section at Macy's swirled through my brain. I didn't miss it much. Not at all, actually. I hated crowds and unnecessary noise. I did miss the smell of food though.

I paused in front of the security door. Though silence was nice, some music would definitely lighten the mood. The jukebox might not have been a great idea, but I knew for a fact that the mall itself was soundproof from the outside. The likelihood that zombos would hear us was pretty slim. "Fuck it." I said to myself before picking the lock and making my way in.

It took me awhile to find the panel that controlled the music. Once I'd turned it on, I turned it down to the lowest possible setting before making my way back to the main hall.

"So much for music being a bad idea." Nigel's voice made me turn. He was holding a glass of what I  assumed was vermouth. "I figured it would be fine inside the mall. It might help us weed out any stragglers we may have missed, so try to stay alert." I instructed just as Zombie Bastards by Weezer began to play over the speakers.

"I love this fucking song!" I enthused before finishing my second double. "It's catchy." Nigel admitted tapping his shoes to the rhythm of the bass.

"Wanna see something cool?" I asked, a mischievous smile stretching my lips. The liquor was beginning to kick in, giving me the urge to do stupid shit. I placed the bottle and glass down on the counter of Wetzel's Pretzels and made my way into a skateshop.

"What are you...?" Nigel trailed off when he saw me return with a brand new skateboard in hand. "You're gonna kill yourself." He stated apprehensively, to which I replied with a grin. "If this is what kills me, I'll consider it a win." I told him before hopping on and taking off. 

Drunk skateboarding wasn't as easy as it looked. I found myself in a pickle when I failed to steer myself away from one of the mannequins that guarded the entrance to Sears. "Watch out!" Nigel called, but it was too late. I barreled straight into it, knocking it over along with multiple racks of clothes.

"Nate!" He called, jogging over to the pile of clothes that now littered the floor. With a childish laugh, I sat up, covered in different types of garments.

"You're such a kid." He chuckled, his brows cinched in amusement as he watched me get to my feet. "And you're an old fart. Come on, I'm gonna force you to have some fun!" I enthused as I grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him along with me.

We played a 4D, high-resolution version of space invaders in a tiny cinema beside a Vanz. Then we window shopped, me at Spencer's and Nigel at some fruity suit store. After some taunting and coercing, I convinced him to play a couple rounds of guitar hero, which I won (obviously).

After finishing more than half the bottle of Jameson and Nigel his bottle of wine, we found ourselves in front of the giant claw machine filled with stuffed toys. Against Nigel's wishes, I rode the skateboard towards it, jumping off once it collided with the edge of the tub. I landed among the plushies with a gleeful laugh.

Afterwards, I got in the bounce houses that filled the kids area, but Nigel refused because he didn't wanna risk barfing again. I swam for a good thirty minutes in the ball pit, eventually allowing myself to sink all the way to the bottom and get buried by plastic balls. After doing everything there was to do, we holed up in the Sears. Each one of us picked a mattress to sleep on, but not before enjoying my pre-bedtime toke.

"This place brings back memories." I laughed as I looked around. "I worked at a Kmart a while back. It was owned by Sears, so they had the same rules, uniform, and even prices." I rambled. "It fucking sucked!" I laughed.

"Their layaway program was pretty good, though. Ed fucking hated working there. He'd get stupid people trying to set aside perishables to pay off in two weeks!" I laughed.

"But he always knew how to tell them to fuck off in a professional manner. I loved making fun of him whenever he had to tell a Karen that her lunchables didn't qualify for our temporary credit!" Nigel laughed along with me.

"That does sound hilarious. I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face, but I imagined your coworker did." I nodded. "Yeah, heh, but the look in his eyes always gave away what he was thinking..." I trailed off my smile fading as I remembered.

"Nate? Naaate?" Nigel asked, holding out the joint I'd passed him nearly ten minutes ago. "Shit, sorry. I got lost in thought for a second." He smiled.

"I noticed," He replied as I took the roach. I swallowed thickly, my eyes focusing on the billowing stream of smoke as a familiar emptiness perched heavily within my stomach. 

"Hey, you okay?" He inquired, lightly resting a hand on my knee. "Um... yeah. I'm just tired, I guess."  "Wanna lay down?" He asked, uncrossing his legs from the lotus position we'd both found ourselves in. "Yeah. We should. Plus, we probably have to get a move on early in the morning. We still have like three and a half hours left of walking to get to the shop." I watched as Nigel stood.

"Fair enough. I'll see you at dawn?" He asked as he made his way over to his display mattress. "Yeah... See yah at dawn." I forced a smile before tossing the roach on the floor and stepping on it. "Night, Nathanial." Nigel called once I'd turned off the store lights.

"Night." I mumbled robotically, my mind far away again as I laid down. The darkness didn't allow me to see Nigel's concerned expression as he watched me from across the display.