Her hair is choppy, short, and dark. She's short, but not so much so they can't see her over the isles as she pursues the chip selection carefully. They already know she’s going to get those puffed out triangle ones that taste like artificial onions. She'll also get that one drink that the label rubbed off, it was never packaged right and the paint was cheap, it'd always come off before it was shelved. Her name is Saccharine. They're not sure if that's her stage name or her actual one, but they like how it rolls off their tongue. She gets exactly what they thought, it was her usual, they had it memorized. She smiles at them, it’s different from how she sees them smile at others. Not sultry, but delighted, amused almost.
"Look who finally showed up." She slides her purchases onto the counter, before leaning on it as well. "Haven't seen you around much, I thought maybe you died or something."
"You wish." They snort, as they ring her out. Their eyes dart to hers before going back to the buttons on the register. "But yeah, I showed up. They'd fire me if I didn't."
"Yeah that's fair. But you haven't been at the club recently either, it's boring there without you. And who can I rely on to pay my rent?" She smiles again, chuckling a bit. "I'm glad you're around again, honest. I was worried something might have happened to you."
"Like what? Anything worse than usual?" They ask, rolling their eyes. She frowns and hops up to sit on the counter with her back facing them as they slide her items next to her legs. "It'll be three fifty."
"You know what I mean, Sprock. You haven't been yourself since the whole thing with Kash, I was worried maybe it got the best of you. I really am glad you're back." She fishes her wallet out of her jean pockets and begins to pick through it. She produces a five dollar bill to hand to them. "Grab me those Viper Bites?"
"No, no. Nothing like that, I just...didn't want to be around people I guess. I dunno." They sigh as they turn to grab the cigarettes. “It's hard to explain. It's been a tough couple of months."
"I get it." She looks sympathetically at them as they hit the sale button and pulls change from the drawer. They slide back a dollar and fifty cents. "Huh. Still sweet on me."
"Not tough enough to stop that." They smile. She takes the pack, and leans back to kiss them on the cheek.
"Thanks, hun. Come see me later, okay? I'll keep a room open if you want to talk." She slides off the counter, tears into the wrapping on the cigarettes, taps one out, and lights it. She takes a drag to blow into the open air before speaking again. "You're cold. Warm yourself up, alright? You gotta take care of yourself."
Sprocket says nothing as she takes her items and walks off into the night.