Chapter Text
Boon County. This place is very strange, you've decided. You just moved here, and you decided to check out the local spots around town. However, anywhere you went just had awful vibes. You have no idea what the purpose of that old laboratory is, but you decide you want nothing to do with it. Next, you wander past an old house on a hill that reeks of cat urine and decay, and decide you want nothing to do with that place, and who or what may be inside. Your last stop for the day is the local pet store, P Mart. While you don’t have any pets, you were considering adopting a cat. They seem to be popular in Boon County after all.
Stepping into the store, it seems fairly normal. At least a lot more so than that evil looking lab and the smelly, old house on the hill. Upon entering, you’re met with a woman at the checkout counter. She’s stout, has pale skin, short, black hair with bangs and a red and white polka-dotted headband adorning her head. She has on a stained, blue-gray shirt with a button pinned to it. However, instead of any useful info like her name, it just says “NO!” in a large font. The woman smiles at you, but you can tell it’s a fake, customer service smile that does not quite meet her eyes. You notice she has a couple of teeth missing as she smiles, and for some reason you find that very endearing. You feel strangely drawn to this woman.
“Welcome to P Mart, where our love for your pets is never ending! Are you in need of pet supplies for your fur babies?”
After she finishes her spiel, of which you assume was word for word a script she is obligated to say, her smile fades and she lets out a small sigh. You think to yourself she must be having a bad day, or maybe she hates her job. Or both, really. Either way, you really wish you could talk to her more and ask how she’s doing. You want to at least ask for her name, but right when you open your mouth to prod for any more information, another customer walks in. A rather large woman with disheveled, blonde hair that smells very similar to the odor that wafted from the house you passed by earlier in the day. You realize that it must be the person that lives there. The other customer stumbles right by you without paying any attention, just barely missing you without even glancing your way. People in Boon County must think manners are optional, you grumble to yourself.
“Oh, it’s you.” The employee at the counter mutters to the blonde.
You decide to step back and observe for a minute as the other customer is harshly berated with scathing verbiage from the smaller woman. You remember “nazi”, and “murderer” thrown in a few times. Seeing the passion of this fiery woman makes your pulse quicken as your interest in her steadily grows. You decide you want to come back another day to see her again. For now you decide to sneak out of the pet store while the dark haired woman keeps shouting at the poor, (or perhaps lucky?) fellow customer.
---
A few days later you head back to P Mart in the hopes of seeing that employee again. You see that she is indeed there again, and your heart skips a beat. She looks exactly as she did last time you saw her, down to the same stained spot on her shirt. Though, you do notice one crucial difference this time, her button is different. This time her button has the venus symbol on it, and you feel a jolt of excitement at the realization. Is she into women? You find yourself wondering.
You notice your face beginning to feel hot so you shake your head to snap out of it. You can ponder about this woman’s sexuality after getting to know her a bit better. For a moment, she stares at you with an exhausted expression before she puts on her customer service facade once more.
“Welcome to P Mart, where our love for your pets is never ending! Are you in need of pet supplies for your fur babies?”
This time, no other customer walks in, and you finally have a chance to talk to the pet store employee. However, you freeze for a moment. You realize you don’t even know WHAT you want to say to her. You start to stutter and fidget with your hands, struggling to form even a single word. The woman’s fake smile fades into a rather annoyed looking frown.
“What do you want? Spit it out!”
You finally manage to say something, the words tumbling out of your mouth like a spilled glass of milk.
“I was just wondering, um- I was just wondering if I could maybe get your name.”
The black haired woman raises her eyebrow inquisitively, probably confused as to why this customer is fumbling so bad with her words.
“Tracy. Now are you going to buy anything or what?”
Even though she seems rather annoyed with you, your heart races with excitement at learning your newfound crush’s name. You realize that you’re crushing pretty hard on Tracy, despite knowing hardly anything about her, and only learning her name mere seconds earlier. There is just something very special about this woman.
“Hello!? Do you have anything in that skull of yours?”
Your train of thought is disrupted by Tracy snapping at you, and you think maybe you shouldn’t waste any more of her time today.
“Oh! Um, I’m just getting cat food, sorry.” You don’t even have a cat yet, however it was the first thing you could come up with on the spot.
“It’s near the back” Tracy points as she states matter of factly.
“Right!”
You quickly dash to where you were directed, and are even quicker to check out. If you stayed any longer you would die of embarrassment. Again, you decide to yourself you want to come back some other time, determined to get Tracy to notice you the way you've DEFINITELY noticed her.
---
After dozens more embarrassing and unsuccessful attempts to woo your crush over the last few months, you decide you want to just be upfront and ask her out this time. Last time you spent what felt like hours just wasting time in the cat food aisle, occasionally glancing back at Tracy, who seemingly paid no attention to you. Making small talk with her was a bit challenging at times because she was often in a bad mood and very short with you. Safe to say, it seemed like you were making no progress in getting the attention you so desperately craved from her. Maybe it’s the fact she’s on the job, you think. Is it possible she’s not as bitter when she isn’t forced to work at a job she hates? Either way, you reach the doors of P Mart again. You take a deep breath, and steel yourself to ask Tracy out.
Right as you step in, the vibes are a bit different than the last several times you visited the small pet store. You notice an intense expression on Tracy’s face; one of hunger, like a predator that is seconds away from pouncing on her prey. Almost like she wants to attack you, or maybe something else...? Her expression both scares and excites you all at once. You decide now is the time to try your luck, you open your mouth and-
“I had a feeling you would come in today. Here.” Tracy talks before you can get a word in, and as she speaks she slides a torn piece of paper across the counter.
You grab it and realize it has an address written on it. Surely it’s not HER address is it? Before you can ask anything she speaks again.
“Come to my place around 9pm, I have some…prep to do.” You swear you notice a slight blush form on her face, but you don’t have time to dwell on it as Tracy asks you a very important question.
“You know, you never introduced yourself to me. What’s your name?”
You sputter out your name, face red as a tomato and mind in disbelief about what just transpired. In all your fumbling you had forgotten to tell her your own name the day you had finally mustered up the courage to ask her for hers. Suddenly, another customer walks in. This time it’s a man dressed in all pink and wearing a tiara, but you pay him no mind as you have more pressing matters at hand.
Tracy leans over the counter, close enough to smell her hot breath.
“Get out of here before I change my mind.” She whispers.
You nod and wordlessly dash out of the store, the wad of paper clutched in a death grip in your hand.