The constant chatter of people going about their happy little lives tore at him like a rusty knife. Scott tried to fight down his annoyance and frustration with the happiness of others, by drowning himself in the day-to-day grind of working at Archers. Today, he was assigned to a cashier shift as one of the cashiers had called out of work. Sure, it meant a loss of his precious time on one of his days off, but it was only five hours. As much as he disliked crawling out of bed and facing his work day, he could always use the extra hours.

"So, Scott..." said a familiar upwardly inflected voice.

He closed his eyes tight for a moment then opened them and turned back to the source of those simple words. "Boss lady," he said lightly.

Ashton clutched her clipboard to her chest then leaned forward. She whispered in a conspiratorial manner, "Seems we'll be working together tonight..."

"For a while, I get off in an hour," he said.

She frowned prettily then sighed. "I know. I was just hoping that you'd—"

Scott's eyes widened as the world seemed to slow to a crawl. 'No. God. No,' his railed inside his mind as her words echoed in slow motion.

"Stay..." she said in a slow deep tone like a movie special effect.

'Don't... Don't do this to me...' his brain whimpered as her beautiful lips began to form the word, 'Later.'

The moment she finished asking her unholy question, she tilted her head to the side and offered him a hopeful smile. Scott stared at her like a deer caught in the oncoming headlights of an eighteen-wheeler for a brief moment then said, "I'm already sitting at forty hours for the week with this added to my schedule."

She pouted then spoke up in a whiny tone, "Well, shoot. I needed you to help me with some stuff."

"I mean, forty hours and all that," said Scott.

Ashton's pouting intensified, "But, I really need you tonight... I can't count on anyone else, like I count on you."

A customer appeared at the checkout lane and Scott turned to greet them. As it turned out, it was Ashton's fiancé.

"The hell is this?" he asked while staring at Scott.

"This is one of Archers' world-famous checkout lanes, sir. Are you ready to checkout?" asked Scott in as professional a tone as he could muster.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from her?" asked The Douche.

"Bradly, what are you doing?" asked Ashton in annoyance.

"You stay out of this," he snapped to her. "This is between me and fat boy, here."

Scott looked him in the eyes and said, "Sir, if you have concerns related to your bowel movements might I suggest the pharmacy. We have a lovely selection of enemas."

"What did you just say to me, you fat shit!" snarled Bradly.

"We also have a wonderful variety of Q-tips and assorted ear cleaning devices," said Scott in a flat monotone. "They're three aisles down from the enemas."

"You think I won't beat your ass right here, right now," said Bradly.

Scott smiled politely, "No. My apologies sir, but we do not sell farm animals in this location."

"Bradly!" snapped Ashton. "What's gotten into you! This is my place of work!"

The Douche turned toward her and snorted. "Think I don't know this pathetic fat ass is trying to get with you?"

Scott smiled at the man cheerfully, but said nothing. "Well, we were just discussing my staying later to work with her on a close personal project."

"You fucker..." snarled Bradly, his face turning red.

"Scott..." said Ashton, her eyes widening as her face began to pale, "What are you saying?"

"Weren't you the one going on and on about how you needed me because I was the only one you for you?" asked Scott with an innocent expression.

"Oh, you're fucking dead!" snapped Bradly. He reared back and punched with everything he had. The result surprised everyone.

"The hell?" asked Scott as a dainty hand lightly clasped the fist that hovered less than an inch from his nose. He traced the origin of that hand over to Ashton's outraged face. She breathed in and out rapidly, her face bright red and her lips pursed into a frown.

She gripped Bradly's hand tight and squeezed. He yelped in pain and shouted, "B-babe! Dammit!"

"Give me my keys," she said in a frosty tone.

Something odd began to happen with her hair. It shifted slightly as thought something were hidden underneath. Her tan slacks shifted about a little as well and something knocked over a bottle of water nearby on the register's back counter.

"Babe?" asked Bradly once again. He dropped to his knees as the pressure on his hand intensified. He slapped at her hand, but she showed no sign of relenting.

"My keys, and get out..." she said coldly.

Scott looked at the man kneeling on the floor. Clearly on the verge of tears, he tried to call out to her, but Ashton squeezed his hand with greater force.

Her chin trembled, not with sadness but with rage. "You come to my work and cause a scene like this..."

Bradly tried to stand up, but he could not. Something was happening to him. When he looked up into Ashton's eyes they seemed to shift, to change colors into a bright amber color. The world around her darkened and all sound fell away. Only those eyes matter, eyes that promised pain.

A certain smell began to circulate through the air for those who were not trapped within Ashton's gaze. It was another cashier, Dave, who mentioned it. "Did he just shit his pants?"

Bradly burst into tears and fished around in his pocket for the keys to Ashton's truck. He held them up and flailed them around desperately.

Ashton took them wordlessly then shoved him back with a flick of her wrist, "Don't be there when I get home."

Bradly backpedaled on the ground, a slightly brown wet smear his desperation was left behind to show the trail he took. With a cry, he rolled over and rose to his feet before he ran out of the store, his tears still falling like rain.

She did not bother to look back at him. Instead, she quietly attached her keys to the clip on her hip then slowly turned to face Scott. "My office. Now."

Ashton turned fiercely and stalked away. Some unseen wind sent several plastic bags flying from a nearby register and knocked a stack of candy bars off of a shelf.

Scott blinked slowly and looked at her with uncomprehending eyes. What had he just witnessed?

Once she reached the turn off to the side office she looked back at him then pointed a finger down at the feet. "Come!"

He straightened his back, thrust his chest out, and then scurried off to her side while the other cashiers tried to fight back their laughter. Their attempts failed miserably the moment they entered the officer hall at the front of the store.

"Come!" exclaimed Dave, while he looked at the other cashier and pointed at the floor next to him.

The other cashier snapped to attention then cried out, "Yes, boss!"

Dave made a whip-cracking noise, and their mutual laughter exploded once more. Their antics were performed just in time for another customer to arrive. An older lady, she carried a book of coupons and a large number of soaps and cheeses. "Someone's having a good day," she said with a smile.

Scott followed Ashton into her side office, a small room in the front hall where she could do work without having to head to the pharmacy area. She stood in the middle of the room, tension radiating from her slender frame. Without looking in his direction, she quietly said, "Close the door."

He complied with her order then turned back to her. To his surprise she'd already moved and was now less than an inch from his face. She pressed forward and he back-pedaled until he was pressed against the wall.

Ashton sniffed the air near his face, and then bit her lip a little. Scott stood there awkwardly and tried to look anywhere but at her.

However, his attempts ended abruptly as a strange aroma caught his attention. It was sweet, like perfume, but carried with it a strange desire. He soon found that it was impossible to look away from Ashton. Inevitably his eyes slid downward.

She pressed up against him, the harshness in her gaze softening even as her lips parted slightly. Neither of them spoke for a moment, but Scott could clearly see that something was happening. She seemed to change a little as she looked up at him.

Her already pretty features seemed to shift slightly and take on an altogether superior quality that would inflame the senses of any man. Her eyes change to a vivid amber color.

The beat of her heart thumped against her chest and resonated against his, but the strangest change of all was the face that her hair seemingly began to stand up slightly on two side of her head. Ashton began to pant a little then, out of nowhere, her face reddened and her eyelids closed halfway. The rising bits of hair fell back a bit. Her pink tongue slipped out and she gently licked his chin.

Scott blinked like the world's most surprised owl. Had that really just happened?

Ashton's eyes suddenly snapped open and she pressed her hands to his chest. She forced herself away from him then took in several great gulps of air.

"Uhm..." said Scott, at a complete loss for words.

She took another deep breath then turned toward him. Her face still retained the strange unearthly quality of beauty that it possessed from the moment they stepped into this room, but her expression became more focused. "What you did back there was completely inexcusable."

Scott did not speak. Instead, his eyes traveled from her feet up along her legs and across her body. Where before she'd had a lithe and willowy frame with excellent feminine assets, she now presented an even more curvaceous shape. If anything her feminine characteristics were even more pronounced now, and to an incredible degree while maintaining exquisite proportion.

Her hair rose up in two places then flatted back down. She looked to the side as her already flush cheeks darkened slightly. "What you're doing now is inexcusable as well..."

"I won't apologize..." said Scott.

Ashton looked up at him, her eyes wide and her hair perked up in two places. Various paper items on the desk behind her were blown about by a sudden unseen wind.

"For how I spoke to that guy," he said, finishing his statement.

The weird triangular bits of hair that stood up previously slid sideways, and her strangely excited expression deflated slightly. "He's my fiancé..." she said quietly.

"You can do better," said Scott in a flat tone.

"Can I?" she asked quietly. Ashton turned to her side, a slight smile on her lips. "Why do you think that?"

"Anyone could do better. He's an ass," said Scott.

Her smile faded into a slightly frustrated frown. It was soon replaced by a smooth professional mask of calm, belied solely by the flush of her cheeks. "My personal relationships are none of your business. Correct?"

"Right," said Scott.

"Admittedly, he was the one who brought the drama..." she said softly. Without turning toward him she allowed her eyes to close halfway, "You egged him, on, however. Why?"

"Your love for the guy aside, he's been nothing but a total ass to me whenever we've crossed paths," said Scott.

"This is the second time, isn't it?" she asked him curiously, still not looking in his direction.

"Third," said Scott. "Though, I really don't think it's my business to tell you what happened the second time we met."

Ashton sighed loudly then said, "He was with a girl, right?"

"You knew?" asked Scott, a curious tilt to his head.

Ashton's eyes narrowed and a low animalistic growl escaped her lips. "I could smell that bitch all over him."

"That perfume of hers is pretty strong, I guess..." said Scott.

She blinked then lightly coughed into her fist. "Yes, her perfume."

Ashton turned toward Scott, another sudden wind sending various papers flying about. She bit her lower lip a little then smiled softly. "You were trying to protect my feelings, hmm?" she asked him in a way that almost made her words sound like a purr.

Scott shrugged, though once again he could not turn his eyes from hers. The strange aroma from before captivated his senses, and drew his focus toward her and her alone.

She reached up and lightly cupped his cheek. "I've smelled someone on you a bit now and then, too..."

"That's none of your business," he said softly.

She pouted at him, then offered him a lazy smile. "I know..."

A slightly playful look appeared in her eyes. She pressed up against him then sniffed at his neck. "It bothered me though, I prefer your natural scent."

"Red Bull and shame?" he asked her in an attempt to lighten the mood and make the atmosphere a bit less pink.

Ashton laughed in a strangely throaty, seductive, manner. "No... You smell..."

She took a deep sniff of his neck. "Dependable..."

"I guess it's that new soap I'm using," said Scott before he tried to draw away from the girl. He expected that the voices in his head would start screaming at any moment, but thankfully they had said nothing so far.

A soft giggle was her response and she nuzzled in against his chest. "You're always here for me..."

"Look... Uh, this isn't exactly—" began Scott. On the one hand, were it not for the probability that the voices were waiting to ambush him, he'd have done his best to make her extraordinarily pregnant by now. On the other hand, there was something odd about this entire encounter.

She giggled softly once more then lightly stroked his hair. Scott's eyes darted back and forth furtively due to the awkwardness of the situation.

Ashton bit her lip a little then forced herself away from him with a sigh. Another unseen wind sent papers flying about behind her. "Sorry. I know that's inappropriate, but I've been going through a few things... and you're just so dependable."

In a bid to have a little fun despite the odd atmosphere, Scott grinned then said, "Well, how much longer can it last?"

She winced then bit her lower lip. Her thighs drew together and rubbed lightly as she released a cutely erotic noise. After she realized what she'd done, she closed one eye and looked toward him with a sheepish expression. "Another week or so, I think..."

"Ah... huh," said Scott, slow smile spreading across his lips. Whatever was going on with the boss lady might be strange, but admittedly it was sort of fun.

A sleepy sounding yawn echoed through his head. A random series of noises yawning and scratching noises echoed through his mind followed by a voice awkwardly saying, "Uh, you're a pervert..."

Scott blinked as the voices in his head finally began to chide him, but did so in a lazy manner akin to someone waking up first thing in the morning. Seriously, what was even going on with today?