# Heatwave Chapter 2

Heatwave
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Chapter 2
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It’s even worse outside, the scorching air giving me a gut punch the moment we exit the apartment building. Fang is mostly unphased by the heat. She grabs my arm and we start moving at a brisk pace to the nearby DinoMart. I just hope my soles don’t start melting on the scorching sidewalk. I want to ask Fang if she's being serious about being the one grilling or if this is just another joke. Can’t talk in this heat though, if I open my mouth all the moisture will escape my body and I’ll instantly be mummified. Thankfully we’ve almost made it to the DinoMart and more importantly the AC inside the store. As we pass the threshold Fang gives me a concerned look, “Shit, you gonna be OK Anon? You look like you’re about to pass out.” I give her a quick affirming nod while doing my best to not appear like a little bitch who can’t handle a little heat. Thankfully the store is mostly empty. A combination of the walk-in oven that is the outside world and an infamous neighborhood. At least no one will see the skinny suffering from early heat stroke. I grab a shopping trolley that has seen better days. Two of the wheels kept seizing up and the handle was sticky, but it was sturdy enough to give me some support.
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Fang went on inside the shop and I did my best to keep up as she threw in things needed for the barbecue. Paper plates, paper cups, toothpicks, plastic utensils, garbage bags, paper towels. She gives some thought before picking which oil and charcoal to get. Fang glances back and gives me a concerned look, “Feeling better yet?” I give her a proper nod this time and Fang visibly relaxes. “Alright, that’s the boring crap done with, time for what everyone is waiting for.”, Fang looks at me expectantly. “So, what do you want to eat Anon?” I shrug since I don’t care, which unexpectedly pissed of Fang. “Don’t give me that shit Anon. Either you pick something or you’re sharing soy patties with Naomi”, Fang wasn’t taking ‘don’t care’ for an answer. I also didn’t want to eat soy patties, because the next time some fucker on the internet called me a soyboy I couldn’t just shrug it off anymore.
"I don't know, can't I have what you're having?"
"How do you know you'll even like what I'm having?"
"If your taste in food is as good as your taste in boyfriends I'm sure I'll like it," hopefully my gamble pays off.
"Wh-", Fang stammers for a bit, getting more embarrassed by the second. "Fine, but you owe me a special favor for being so indecisive," she moves closer to me and pulls me into a hug. "You say stupid shit and mumble a lot, but sometimes you know exactly what to say," now it was my turn to be embarrassed. As the moment ended, there was still one burning question on my mind.
"Since when are you a barbecue expert anyway?” Fang never talked about this part of her making it quite baffling. Who would expect a rocker chick to be well versed in the arts of grilling?
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“Since I was little. I liked being around my dad when he was grilling and when I was old enough to see the grill he’d let me take over”, a wave of nostalgia washed over Fang. “I got good at it and by the end, he’d let me be in charge of the whole thing while he mingled with guests. He was so proud”, Fangs' voice becomes strained and it’s clear it wasn’t just good memories. “Then I became a huge bitch and that was the end of that”, Fang quickly composes herself and continues “Anyway, DinoMart is no place for a therapy session, I’ll get the meat and you go get some vegetables.” With that Fang rushes to the butcher, the stroll down memory lane not being a pleasant one.
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I take my time getting to the vegetable section and realize Fang never told me what to get or how much. As I glance to the butcher I see Fangs' hands already full of various meaty delights for the grill. I just barely got here and she’s already finished. As Fang turns around she gives me a little wave with her right wing and starts walking over. “You finished yet dweeb?”, Fang gently places her haul into the trolley and looks at me “What are you waiting for? We have to finish before this place gets robbed again”
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“You never told me what to get or how much”, I reply hoping to not piss her off.
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“We’re almost finished anyway, it’s just this and the booze and we can go”, Fang hands me a couple of plastic bags to hold while she piles in all the veggies she deems barbecue appropriate. Next up is the booze, we pick mostly mid to low-range stuff except for two bottles of top-shelf beer that Fang picked out.
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“Won’t the others be mad we only got the good stuff for ourselves”, while I wouldn’t mind sharing some good beer with Fang but I also didn’t want the thing to be a source of pointless drama.
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Fang lets out a laugh and puts the bottles gently into the trolley “You wish Anon, it’s for the meat, not us”.
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“Why are you wasting good beer by pouring it onto meat?” not like I was an expert like her but it seemed stupid.
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“You’ll see when you taste it”, Fang moves closer and brushes her hand against mine “But if you promise to be my assistant I’m sure I could give you a few sips”. I was sold on the spot.
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On our way to the register, we walk past the freezer section. “Before today I’d have thought the only thing you’d eat grilled were dino nuggies”, I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Fang has culinary skills beyond reading the instructions on a box of nuggets.
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“Those are just my comfort food Anon”, a twinge of sadness in her voice, “For the countless times I felt like shit.” Fang just stares ahead, no doubt reliving some of those moments before shaking her head. “I’ve cut back on eating them so often though”, Fang puts one of her wings around me before continuing, “In no small part thanks to you. When I’m with you I’m so very happy Anon, you have no idea.” Her words fill me with incredible warmth with the little peck on my cheek from Fang being the cherry on top. “Don’t think that means you can stop stocking your fridge with nuggies though” Fang slowly removes her wing from me and rubs my hand “We all have bad days from time to time.” The short intimate moment ended we finally make it to the checkout and start piling the contents of the trolley on the conveyor belt. There’s so much stuff, no way in hell will I be able to pay for this without selling my kidney to an Albanian. Fang just motions for me to start putting the groceries into bags and pays for everything with her card. As she’s finishing up she looks over to me, “OK Anon, this is where you start working on paying off your debt.” Looks like I’m going to have to carry all of this. Hopefully, I won’t almost pass out. I split all the bags between my hands and hope I can make it to wherever Naser is meeting us without my skinny arms falling off.
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As we’re walking I try to bring up the money situation “How much is my share, maybe I can pay you back installments?”
Fang feigns indignation “What do you take me for Anon, a Rhinorex? Don’t worry about the money, focus on not dropping any of that stuff or you’ll never clear your debt.”
“Where are we meeting up with Naser anyway?” better ask while I can still talk without wheezing.
“Right here”, Fangs looks around looking for any sort of shade and failing to find any, ”Hopefully before we both catch on fire.” As if on queue the NasCar races around the corner and stops right in front of us. The curbside window barely manages to roll down before Naser starts shouting.
“Get in before some crackhead skinnie decides to shank us!” Naser hates coming to SkinRow and I can’t blame him. “No offense Anon.”
“None taken”, it was a lie but it’s not like I didn’t carry a pocket knife with me at all times in this neighborhood. As we’re stuffing the grocery bags into the car Naomi starts running her mouth.
“I’m so glad you guys called and told us about the creek. I was looking for a good spot for our little get-together for days. Can’t believe Naser never told me about it”, Naomis' voice was sickly sweet as ever. It’s a wonder Naser hasn’t developed a form of diabetes yet.
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“Heh, must have slipped my mind babe”, Naser doing his best to prevent another avalanche of candy-coated words from his saccharine other. With all the goods crammed inside the NasCar we barely have room for ourselves. Naser doesn’t wait for us to get fully seated or even close the doors before hitting the gas. The wheels screech and we’re leaving SkinRow behind at breakneck speed.