America x Reader - Crashing Into Bad Memories

You headed into the grocery store with a small list in your brain of things you needed. You grabbed a cart and headed through the automatic double doors as you went over the list in your head. All you needed were some common household items along with a few ingredients for the dinner you would be making later... for only yourself. You rolled your eyes at your own thoughts. You always ate dinner alone, and it would always be that day.

You pushed your cart towards the cleaning aisle to pick up some paper towels. You grabbed a small pack and headed for the next item on your list; a bag of [f/s]. You always liked to pick up one snack food. It’s not like you wanted to be healthy all the time. You pushed your cart around the corner. Now, what did you have to get after the snacks...

You halted immediately to a stop as you crashed into someone else’s grocery cart.

You gasped with surprise. You hadn’t been paying attention and now you had probably damaged someone’s groceries. “I am so sorry-” You raised your head and came face to face with- “...Alfred.”

It was indeed Alfred F. Jones. You made complete contact with his big, blue eyes. He looked just the same as he did so long ago in high school. He had the same blonde hair with the same little curl on his head. He still had his square glasses. You couldn’t believe it, but he was even wearing his favorite brown jacket from school.

Finally, instead of just staring at you, Alfred grinned. “[Name]! Dude, it’s been so long!” He walked up and gave you a hug. Your face turned red, but you couldn’t help it and hugged him back.

“Hey...” You said somewhat quietly, “I’m sorry I crashed into your cart. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing and-”

Alfred lightly patted your shoulder. “It’s fine,” He replied, “I’m just happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much since high school, y’know.”

“Y-You have...?” You asked, surprised.

“Well, of course I did!” He said with complete enthusiasm. “You were my absolute favorite girlfriend.”

You blinked. This was the point where you knew he wasn’t telling the truth, right? At least you remembered that much about him. “Yeah, I’m sure...”

Alfred heard the sarcasm in your voice. His face turned concerned. “Listen, [Name]... you never let me explain what happened.” He picked up both of your hands from your sides. “Can I just please explain?”

You looked around for a moment. There were multiple people glaring at the two of you. Your cart crash seemed to be blocking the aisle way. You pulled your hands away and gripped the cart handle. “Fine, but we should probably go somewhere else...”

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The two of you parked your carts in the camping aisle at the very back of the store. It was still the winter season, so no one would be going there yet. You figured it would give the both of you enough privacy to talk.

“So, I’m ready to hear it...” You muttered, making eye contact with Alfred.

Alfred sighed. “Okay, here’s what happened...”

~*Flashback*~

Alfred was walking to class, holding a small bouquet of flowers. The bouquet contained [f/f]. He knew that they were your absolute favorite, and that you always loved putting vases of flowers on the side table in your bedroom. He just wanted to give you a nice little gift. The two of you did that sometimes. Giving each other little gifts all the time was just one of the perks of your relationship.

As Alfred walked towards the classroom, someone grabbed his arm and spun him around. In front of him was Francis. His eyes seemed to be full of... lust?

“Ohonononon~, hello Alfie,” He said with a chuckle. Francis then eyed the flowers in Alfred’s hand. He grabbed them. “Oh, Alfie! For me? You shouldn’t have, I’m usually the romantic one.”

“Hey, give me those back!” Alfred yelled. “Those are for [Name]! What kind of drugs are you on today?!”

Francis simply laughed, not giving him the bouquet. “Aw, aren’t you being cute?” Then, without warning, he shoved Alfred up against the lockers and began kissing him fiercely. Alfred tried to pull away, but Francis had him pinned good. He was unable to move whatsoever.

You were walking down the hallway, a smile pasted on your face. Alfred had told you he had a surprise for you. You always loved the gifts he gave you. In your hand, you also held a gift for him. You had stayed up all night making him a special charm for his keychain. It was a small hamburger that read ‘I love you more than you love than you love junk food.’ You thought it was cute and that Alfred would certainly get a kick out of it.

You turned a corner in the hallway, heading straight for the door of your classroom. You were about to enter when you saw two boys... making out at the lockers! You figured it was Francis and Arthur, those two were always snogging. If you took a picture, you knew you could totally blackmail them.

You pulled out your phone and brought up the camera app. You didn’t want to get too close, so you tiptoed up a bit farther and zoomed in with your camera. You blinked. You saw Francis, but the other boy wasn’t Arthur. Arthur didn’t have a baby curl on his-

It was Alfred.

You dropped the gift box with the charm inside and put down your phone. Your lip twitched and your eyes began turning red. You clenched your fists and held them at your sides. You swallowed hard, knowing you had to be ready for this.

“Alfred F. Jones!”

Francis pushed Alfred off just as he heard the wail. Alfred stared at you with wide eyes and shot a glare at Francis. He ran up to you. “[Name], it’s not what you think. Francis, he-”

“I don’t want to hear your lies!” You cried out, pushing him away. Tears began to pour from your eyes. You tried wiping them away, but to no avail.

Alfred looked at you, his blue eyes shining. He wanted to help, but he didn’t want you to be more upset. He watched as you slowly wobbled into your classroom. His eyes then went to the gift box which you had dropped. He picked it up, seeing the tag with his name on it.

Alfred opened the box and held the charm up to read what it said. He blinked, hoping that he wouldn’t tear up himself. He slipped the charm into his pocket and whipped around to begin beating the absolute pulp out of Francis, but he was gone.

Alfred was all alone.

~*Flashback Ends*~

Your look of annoyance had turned to sympathy. Your eyes made contact with Alfred’s, who gave you the most sincere look you had ever witnessed. Before you could say anything, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his keychain. You saw one charm that you recognized; your charm.

“I kept it after all these years,” Alfred said. “I’m usually not a softy, but I missed you. I wanted something to remember you by. The you that really loved me, and didn’t hate my guts for seeing the wrong side of the story.”

You hated yourself. You couldn’t believe you hadn’t taken the time to listen to Alfred’s side of the story. You were such an idiot!

“I-I’m so sorry, A-Alfie...” You choked out. The emotions from that day were all coming back. “I should’ve listened to you, I-I should’ve forgiven you...”

Alfred noticed you were starting to cry. He quickly knelt in front of you, caressing your face and wiping the tears from your eyes. “I didn’t want you to be sorry, I just wanted you to forgive me. Right here, right now.”

You nodded. “Of course, I-I forgive you.” You sniffled and blinked the last few tears away.

Alfred hugged you tightly. “So, do you think we could give this thing another try? Y’know, now that you forgive me and all?” He gave you one of his signature smiles.

“Yeah, we can...” You whispered, smiling back at him. “Maybe I could make dinner for you tonight?”

Alfred rubbed his belly and licked his lips. “Sounds good, [Name]. But, we’ve got to have hamburgers!”