The chorus of "Jingle Bell Rock" played happily in the background, spilling out from the dusty white speakers around the corners of bright yellow walls. Matching yellow signs sporting the word "SALE" in giant bolded letters were placed all around the store, each adorned with flashy red and green garlands.

I let out a long sigh, making quick glances from the shopping list in my hand to the colorful boxes of cereal lining the shelves of the aisle.

Neat, rounded letters spelling out different foods and products were numbered in vivid red and green pen across a slip of plain white paper; the red corresponding to the number and the green corresponding to the food.

Even Dad was getting into the Christmas spirit.

My eyes skimmed over the sixth item on the list.

6. Raisin Bran

Fantastic.

I scanned the rows of cereal boxes, taking a slight step back to get a better view of things.

Upon doing so, I felt my grocery basket rub against the side of my knee, following the hollow clink of plastic colliding with plastic.

Instinctively, my head whipped around as I geared my attention from the boxes of cereal to the girl standing directly behind me, her grocery basket hanging loosely in her hand just a hair from mine.

"Pardon me," she murmured in a rush, tilting her chin upwards to flash a wide smile.

She was a head shorter than me, but the tight caramel curls tied up at the top of her head added a couple centimeters to her height. A pair of jet black glasses lay on the bridge of her nose, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Harry Potter when I saw the circular lenses sitting in front of her pale green eyes.

"No, it's fine," I uttered in response. I could feel her eyes running from the rather messy strands of hair sticking out from the top of my head to my navy blue sneakers as she took a single step closer to me. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but fidget uncomfortably in my spot.

After a few more moments of unneeded staring and awkward fidgeting, she finally broke her silence.

"Hey...you're that kid...Venice was it?" she blurted out in what sounded like disbelief, furrowing her brows as she took yet another step towards me.

"It's uh, Vince..."

She let out an exaggerated puff of laughter, throwing her head back.

"My bad Vince. Anyways, you're the one who hangs out with that girl...Remi was it?"

Subconsciously, I widened my eyes ever so slightly in annoyance, resisting the urge of raising an eyebrow at her.

"It's Wren," I stated, holding back the sudden irritation threatening to etch my voice.

"Yeah...Wren...sorry, I'm really bad with names."

Slowly, I nodded my head, taking a discreet but noticeably awkward step back.

"Do you know Tyler by any chance? Bobinski? He's also a freshman at Celvire."

"No...," I replied suspiciously, breaking eye contact, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she muttered, awkwardly, peeling her eyes off me and fixing her attention to the floor. "He's just with me and Georgia right now and we're just shopping for some...party food...for the newspaper commitee, and I thought maybe if you knew him you could say hi, or he could say hi to you or..."

Cutting her sentence short, five consecutive loud buzzes rang out in the air.

"Op, I bet that's Tyler texting me right now...so, I'll um, see you later..."

In one swift motion she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her handbag, gluing her eyes to the screen. Suddenly, her head jolted up, as her pale green eyes landed on mine.

"OH, I'm Angelese...by the way. Pleasure to meet you."

With a quick bow, she began taking swift steps away from me, but not before snatching a box of Raisin Bran off the shelf and placing it gently into my basket.

"Number 6, Raisin Bran. I like your handwriting by the way...very organized and uh, round... Anyways, see you at school...again."

And with an awkward wave and cheerful smile, she finally took her leave.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

The distance that she kept shortening between really did stir up my anxiety. Not to mention that stare of hers. My self-esteem has never been lower.

Making my way out of the cereal aisle, I quickly made my way across to the opposite end of the store to the bakery section, extra careful not to run into any familiar faces along the way.

7. A bag of bagels- choose whatever kind you like :)

With a slight smile creeping over my lips, I approached the long metal racks brimming with all sorts of packaged breads, from plain loaves to baguettes. Leisurely, I skimmed over them, avoiding all cinnamon raisin breads at all costs. I grabbed a bag of sesame bagels off the rack, placing them just on top of the clear plastic bag of light green Granny Smith apples.

As I looked up again, I couldn't help but notice the blonde dreadlocks of the dark-skinned boy at the edge of my peripheral vision.

As I tilted my head to the side, I also noticed the boy standing beside him. He wore a baggy gray jacket over a maroon shirt, half-tucked into a pair of dark denim jeans. His dirty blonde hair was parted neatly to the side, giving him a rather well-rounded look.

The two both had looks of sheer joy over their faces as they entwined fingers, bright smiles dancing over their lips.

They reminded me of a newly-wed couple really.

"So how about a movie tomorrow after school?" the boy asked, still clutching on to Jason's hand. He pressed his grocery basket between one of the metal bars of the rack and his thigh in order to pick up a loaf of whole-wheat bread. "It's on me this time."

"I can't, Makayla and I are having our 'Disney Night' tomorrow."

Mid-checking the expiration date of the bread, the boy lifted his head to look at Jason, a puzzled expression resting over his face.

"What?"

"Yeah, every two weeks, Makayla and I host our 'Disney Night'," Jason replied.

"Can I come then?" the boy asked, carefully placing the loaf of bread into the basket and gripping on to the plastic handles with the same hand.

"I don't know man, you may not be 'Disney' enough for her."

"But I'm your boyfriend, I'm Disney prince worthy."

A light chuckle escaped from Jason's lips as his boyfriend playfully wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, no. Also, we need to pick up some yogurt for my dad. Strawberry or vanil-"

The moment he locked eyes with me, I froze.

Should I have moved earlier? Probably.

As fast as lightening, Jason slipped his hand out of his boyfriend's as look of pure terror settled over his face. Looking hurt, the other boy awkwardly flicked his light brown eyes towards his feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jason asked in a mad fury of words, his eyes widening.

"I'm buying bread...?" I replied, my response sounding more like a question than a statement.

Jason shook his head, letting it a long sigh.

"God damn it," he muttered under his breath, "Why are you always here at the most inconvenient times?"

I stood still, engulfed in a bubble of tense silence.

As if contemplating what to do next, Jason let out a sigh, his eyes darting towards his boyfriend briefly and before landing back on me.

At last he spoke up.

"Since you saw us already," Jason said, slipping his hand back into his boyfriend's with a frail smile, "This is my boyfriend...Travis, and well, you could already assume my sexuality and whatnot from there."

Feeling a little more relaxed after Jason's declaration, I let the tension in my shoulders fall. Jason, on the other hand, seemed to tense up even more, shutting his eyes as if preparing for a physical blow.

"Um, congrats..." I murmured, flashing him a smile in return. Personally, I could care less about the people involved in Jason's love life, after all, boy or girl, you can't control who you love right?

Jason's facial expression suddenly twisted into complete bewilderment as he brought his head towards me, arching his neck forwards with his eyes wide.

"What?"

"Congrats," I repeated, adding a little more more emphasis into the word.

"You're not going to say anything else about this...?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What do I say...?"

He opened his mouth to respond but hesitated before letting any words tumble out.

"I don't know...," he uttered quietly, fixing his gaze towards his feet. "But...please just keep this to yourself. I'm not exactly ready to...tell the world about this...yet."

Peeling his eyes off the floor, he shot Travis a look of sympathy, to which he mimicked right back at him.

"I won't," I blurted out without a second thought, briefly switching my attention over to Travis.

Despite the fact that he stood quietly, the glint in his eyes alone showcased the pride he was feeling. For a second, he tightened his grip on Jason's hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

"Thanks man," Jason professed, letting a warm grin dance over his lips. He took a quick glance over at Travis, "We really appreciate it."

I made a swift motion with my head in response, dipping my chin.

"No problem."

I fixed my attention back towards my grocery list, listening as their footsteps grew increasingly quieter as they began walking away from me.

For some odd reason I couldn't wash away the feeling of unease that began pricking away at my gut.

Something bad was going to happen, and I had no clue what.