we want to give you several kisses!

Candy Chiu || Twenty-One || Student || Bisexual || Non-Magical

What Candy asked him next came as a huge surprise to Randy. No one ever asked him for help with anything — no one trusted him to follow through with his word, or to even contribute to anything positively. He was seen as a ticking time-bomb, “sober” but ready to crack at any moment. They weren’t wrong, though, as Randy didn’t trust himself, either.

Helping Candy, though, was something that Randy would probably be good at. At least, somewhat. She didn’t say his help had to be good, right? He breathed out a small chuckle, shrugging his shoulders. “I … I don’t know if it’s smart to ask for my help,” he admitted, meeting Candy’s gaze. Seeing her so fragile, though, so heartbroken like he had made Tinsley all those months ago, it did make him feel guilty. Maybe this was his way of making up for his wrongdoings.

“I guess it just … depends on what kind of help you want from me?” He continued. “Like … If you wanna get fucked up? I’m great at doing that, and that’s been proven to help you not think about certain people anymore. Or if you need a wingman to help you find someone else and move on? I’m actually pretty good at that too. But .. If you mean help in a different way than that, I guess I can try.” 

-

“No— I don’t want either of that.” Candy shook her head, rejecting both of the suggestions Randy made. Drinking her pain away was out of the options, on the edge of being out of it for she couldn’t say that there wouldn’t be a moment where she’ll need it just so she could forget. But after what happened the last time she drank too much— even if it resulted in her meeting Randy, the way Candy ended up feeling was so much worst than better. And as for finding someone else, Candy wasn’t ready to try putting her heart in the line just for it to get crushed again anytime soon.

Reaching a hand over, she grasps Randy’s hand before looking back at him again. “Just be my friend.” She clarified. “Help…..by being there for me whenever I need it.” As she continued, Candy squeezed his hand before she faintly and half-heartedly smiled. “Similar to how you are doing now….. by letting me be here, listening to me, and comforting me.” Even when he didn’t need to do any of this for her, the fact that Randy was— Letting go of his hand, Candy wiped a couple of tears away from her face.

Dewey wasn’t sure what was going to happen after he spoke with Candy. Would she be upset, resulting in them fighting again? He hoped that wasn’t the case, unless there was more he didn’t know that could make him upset again … but Candy didn’t seem in the mood to be angry or upset, either. He hoped this would be closure for both of them to feel better after all the drama.

He didn’t blame her for not sitting beside him. It was obvious she wasn’t planning on standing here long, probably ready to leave the first second of silence that followed Dewey’s ramble. But instead, she apologized, which was a relief. She was finally seeing the perspective that he had on the whole situation, finally realizing how things could have been handled better than the way they had. Maybe the space had been good for the both of them.

She even brought up Tinsley, which was an even bigger relief. It wasn’t easy being in a relationship with his girlfriend when everyone judged them and thought they weren’t good together. He’d seen some comments on Tinsley’s posts and streams, had even been confronted himself about how he could do better. It was awful, but it also only made them stronger. They were both headstrong, after all, and got great satisfaction from proving people wrong.

“Thanks Candy..” he finally replied, a small smile forming. “I’m sorry how everything went down between us. And .. I hope you’re doing okay.” Hopefully, this was that first step they needed to mend their friendship, even if the two still needed some space. “So I’ll uh … See you around, I guess?”·

-·

Getting the chance to apologize did feel as if there was a weight lifted off of her shoulders. After how things ended between them, Candy had been certain that she wouldn’t ever get the chance to apologize to Dewey for she really didn’t know if he wanted to ever speak to her again. And she wouldn’t have been able to blame him if that had been what he decided nor would she blame him if he choose not to accept her apology.·

And yet, at the same time, the apology wasn’t going to be enough to help her feel better. That was going to be a process she would need to deal with for some time, and it was something Candy would have to do on·on her own. But, at least this was one of the first steps for her to hopefully heal. And when Dewey thanked her for apologizing, a hopeful sign that he had accepted it, she faintly smiled and nodded.

“I’m not…….doing okay.” She confessed, the use of lying about how she’s been feeling as of late being meaningless to her. “But— I’m trying to be.” Candy continued, smiling a little once again at him to prove she means it even if very half-heartedly. “It’ll just be a process for me but……baby steps.”·

That was it. This conversation was over now. She could leave if she wanted to, and though there was a small part of her that thought about staying and also possibly taking this chance to ask Dewey the one main question that Candy felt she needed to ask to move on, she instead, nodded at him. “Yeah,…..see you around…...” Candy replied in a mumble. Already starting to feel herself get emotional again, leaving now was for the best. “Goodbye, Dewey.”

There was nothing better in her mind then getting to spend the afternoon with her friend. More than anything right now, she was grateful for Mabel, who had introduced her to both Grenda and Candy, both of whom had included and welcomed her into their little trio with open arms and happy smiles. Webby loved getting to call someone her friends; a new novelty she didn’t have growing up. Her heart had always been big, but it was only in the past year or so that she really got to express it without hindrance. “ Out of everyone I knew, it just had to be you ! ” Webby gushed in return, hands going to her friend’s arm and holding her close for a moment. Hearing that, to Candy, she had made the right decision for her first ever boba drink made her especially delighted. Even if her initial thought was that she’d been too quick to make the decision, her thoughts now were much more positive. “ You’ll have to let me have a sip just to see if I like taro too, ” she encouraged, the two of them making their way to the counter. “ I think I might’ve had the actual taro root in a stew once, but I’d really like to see how it turns out with the tea and the boba. ” The odd perks of having a grandmother who used to be a globe-trotter - she knew what a lot of the ingredients on the board were, but she’d never had them put together in such a way before.

At the mention of the photos, she perked up significantly. “ Oh, yes please ! ” Despite having not grown up with social media, she was always looking for ways to integrate it into her life now. “ Dewey and the boys helped me set up an Instagram page, but I’ve only made maybe a dozen actual posts ? So I am totally up for taking cute photos ! ” She nodded excitedly. “ We’ll have to go get manicures after, get them painted to match our drinks, ” she added with a hopeful raise of her brows.·

-

Candy adored Webby. She may not have known the blonde for as long as she knew Grenda or Mabel— heck, not as long as she knew Dewey even, but that didn’t make Webby any less special or important to Candy. Webby was as eccentric as Candy was, more so even due to the lack of getting the chance to interact with people who wasn’t her grandmother, the triplets, or Mr. McDuck for so long, and in return, had an vivid view on the world. And that fascinated Candy a lot. But that also made Webby awkward too, something which she didn’t mind dealing with and was more than okay with helping her friend out whenever she could. But above all, Candy simply liked Webby the way she was, and truly hope that the two would continue to be friends for as long they can possibly be. “You’re going to make me start crying inside a boba shop, you better prepare yourself for that!” She claimed, wrapping her arms around her friend so she could hug her in return. And Candy meant it, she was feeling like tearing right now since it’s been a while since she last was viewed as important enough to someone like this. It didn’t matter how simple or unimportant the reason may seem to others, Webby thought of her for this! That was important enough to Candy, and she truly promises to make this first time boba experience for Webby be equally as important too!·

As they made their way towards the counter, Candy nodded her head at Webby. “Of course! We can’t be at a boba shop and not share one another’s boba!” The girl reassured. “It’s taste sweeter, I’ll say. But that’ll be up to you to see. But also, I’m one thousand precent certain you’ll end up liking both boba’s— and if you somehow don’t….I’ll keep buying you ones that you will end up liking because we won’t be leaving until you say ‘Wow Candy, you’re right! Boba’s are the best!’” Candy giggled. And then Webby brought up Dewey’s name, Candy’s smile losing some of it’s spark despite it being more of an offhanded comment. She tried not to let it show, her smile coming back into place as she let out another laugh. “Keep sticking with me, and you’re page will overflow with cute pictures!” She winked, only to lean against Webby and nod. “Ooh, yes! And maybe matching hairstreaks too? I have some at home and we can end this day with a sleepover with exclusively just us two!”·

All cleaned up except for her clothes, Anastasia felt at least a little bit better. She was still stinging in embarrassment from the whole ordeal, but she supposed if this girl was the only one to witness it, then that wasn’t so bad. Candy was sweet as candy, and definitely seemed keen on helping. After all, she had just wiped off Anastasia’s legs.

Still, did she want to trek to and venture inside some stranger’s apartment? It wasn’t exactly like she was running on any kind of schedule, but it just wasn’t typically something Anastasia would find herself doing. However, her clothing needed attention, and if she could come back out looking some semblance of perfect, then it was worth it in her book.

“Sure,” she nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out with relief. “Thank you, you said it was Candy right?” Anastasia held out a hand for shaking officially now that they were clean. “Guess I kind of owe you one, huh?”·

-

Perhaps she was being a bit too bold in suggesting for them to head back to their home. Surely, it was best for Anastasia to head back to her own home and get her clothes cleaned there as there was no doubts within Candy’s mind that the older didn’t already have the best dry cleaning connections one can get. Better than whatever she had to offer.

But she felt like it was still worth asking, and if Anastasia turn down Candy’s offer, than the younger won’t try to force it. She most likely would go back to moping around to herself anyways if Anastasia decides to leave. But when the older had ended up agreeing, Candy blinked— surprised. “Really?” She questioned, only to then nod her head with a smile. “Awesome!”

Candy was just about ready to start directing back towards her home until Anastasia thanked her. At that, she waved her hands with a shake of her head. “Yes, it’s Candy! But no need for the thank you, I’m happy with helping you.” At the offered hand, the younger had to keep herself from freaking out again as she took Anastasia hand and shook it. “No need! Again! I’m happy to help, and if anything—” The girl paused for a moment, her smile lessening some. “This makes for a good distraction, so, it’s okay. Really.”·

Randy knew his laughter would have come off as shitty at first, which was why he immediately apologized. Candy was obviously still upset, but honestly …. Randy didn’t think it was all that bad. He didn’t fully understand how close Candy and Dewey really were before though, or how strong her feelings were toward him.

He rolled his eyes as Candy admitted what Dewey said. “Fuckin’ douchebag,” he mumbled, deep down still hating the guy after all the shit the two had been through together. He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s whatever. I don’t really give a shit what he thinks anymore.” And he meant that. If Tinsley truly was happy with Dewey, Randy was no longer in the mindset of getting in the way of that. Now, Randy wanted to find his own happiness like Tinsley did, but he wasn’t sure if that were even possible.

He let out a sigh, hoping his words would help her feel a little better but seeing she was still hurt by everything. Randy was never good at this sort of stuff, after all. “It just takes time,” he admitted, knowing from experience. “It was kinda the same for me at one point. It feels fucking awful at first, but,” he shrugged. “You just need to keep yourself busy until it doesn’t feel shitty anymore. That’s what I did.” 

-

How much time? She thought to herself, unsure if giving herself time would actually help her feel any better. She’s been in love with Dewey for years, maybe longer than she even realized and by the point she finally had, it was way too late for Candy to want and love someone else. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t tried to, it only proven to be difficult for her. Very difficult.

But if anyone who understood the best on where Candy was coming from, it was Randy. And he does seem to be doing better for himself now, in spite of everything that he himself had to go through. Things he was still going through. However, didn’t he also have someone else to fall back onto back when he and Tinsley broke up? Candy didn’t know the full story between Randy and the other girl, it wasn’t something she felt the need to pay much attention to until, well, Dewey and Tinsley began to date. But at the same time, Randy wasn’t with that other girl anymore. She thinks. Or were they? Did any of that had actually help?

Huey would be so pissed at me right now, Dewey thought to himself as soon as he’d stopped Candy in her tracks. Deep down, though, he knew it wasn’t as simple as just never talking to her again. They shared mutual friends, and she was even close with Webby, meaning her presence at the mansion probably wasn’t going to fully come to an end. Eventually, they’d have to find a way to make peace with each other, even if it seemed impossible.

The sigh he heard escape Candy’s lips wasn’t a good sign, but it was also to be expected. He was probably making things even more confusing — hell, he was confused. He hadn’t thought about the idea of running into Candy around town, and now that it was happening, well … everything just felt jumbled and conflicting. This was his friend first, after all.

When he asked her if she wanted to sit, he didn’t know if she actually would or not. In fact, he didn’t know if she’d even stop in her tracks. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d kept walking. He sighed, too. “I …. I just wanted to say that .. I’m still not over everything that happened, and I still think you’re nuts for talking to Randy,” he admitted with a light chuckle. “But … Having some space between us has given me a lot to think about.” He was treading lightly, choosing his words carefully. “I know things won’t be normal between us, probably ever again, and we probably still need some space, but .. I feel bad for some of the things I said to you.” It wasn’t easy for Dewey to admit that. His brother, for example, thought that Dewey was being too nice. And maybe he was, but that didn’t mean that this didn’t feel necessary to help the two of them feel a little better. “Even if some of the things you did were questionable, you .. you still deserve to be happy, too.”·

-

It was best to rip the bandaid. Again. The quicker she get’s her response from Dewey, the sooner she can leave and the two of them could continue avoiding each other once more. And that was exactly what will happen again, as Candy wasn’t about to make herself believe that just because he wanted to talk to her now, meant he wanted to do so again later. In fact, not knowing where this conversation would lead to, it was best for her to not expect too much.

Choosing to continue standing as opposed to taking a seat for she wasn’t sure if she could sit next to him yet, Candy let Dewey speak. And as he mentioned not being over everything, she nearly humorlessly smiled. Yes, she imagined so, hence why she didn’t expect for him to talk to her today. Or ever. And as he continued on to mention her talking to Randy, she kept herself from saying the comment that came to mind. Candy had no intentions of causing another argument between them, and so she continued to stay silent until Dewey finished speaking.

And now he was, ending it with how she still deserves to be happy. It was a sweet thing for him to say, but despite the comforting intent behind him saying them. It…. felt like she was receiving another shot against her heart. If only happiness was easier achieved as it was said, she almost found herself saying yet didn’t. Instead, she bit the bottom of her lips. “…...I’m sorry.” She spoke, knowing that this was the best thing for her to say at the moment. “For everything….. for being obsessive towards you, and for…… trying to get in between you and you’re relationships.” Candy apologized. After having weeks of not seeing or speaking to Dewey, though most of the time was spent with her feeling pitiful over herself, it was also enough time to allow her to reflect.

“…...Letting my emotions cloud my judgment shouldn’t have been the way to go, and by doing so had costed me you…….. Not that I had you in the first place. But— I am sorry for it all. I don’t have an excuse to when it came to Fawn because I thought she was nice despite her, you know……. And as for Tinsley……..” She sighed, this part being one of the hardest things for her to say but she had to do it. “Despite me not liking her, I know now that letting the way I felt about her shouldn’t have been a factor towards how you did. Especially when you are happy with her, and if she makes you happy than……..I should’ve accepted that and let you two be that. Happy.” Happiness may not come easy for her but that didn’t mean she had to make it difficult for him. Even if it meant she couldn’t be a part of it.

Anastasia really didn’t think this girl meant her any harm at all. If anything, she was just trying to help. And with a name like Candy, she of course would have to be sickeningly sweet. The instinct in Anastasia was to boss this kind of girl around, maybe try to harden her up a bit to prepare her for the world. But that also wasn’t very New Year, New Anastasia.

So instead, she just kept smiling and rubbing the dirt off of her hands. Once that was taken care of she could focus on how well this girl did with her legs. Keeping an eye on her progress, Anastasia took a deep breath. Good, she was becoming less roughed up, at least.

Why did she care about it, though?

Like the girl had mentioned, Aanastasia could probably pull it off, but the truth was she cared too much about being seen as imperfect. Maybe it had to do with how she was raised, but looking the best you could at any given moment was the goal. “Do you think you got it all?” Anastasia asked, avoiding the subject for the moment. Her clothes were probably a bigger problem now that her skin wasn’t as much of an issue. There was a scuff on her skirt. She made a face at it. “Ugh, my clothes. This is why I don’t wear Chanel to do errands anymore.”

-

It didn’t take Candy too long to whip off the dirt around Anastasia’s legs. There wasn’t too much on her in the first place, but she understood why the older wanted to get cleaned as soon as possible. No one liked walking around covered in dirt, and Anastasia did look like someone who especially wouldn’t want to be caught like that by anyone who was important. Candy wasn’t so important though, which might explain why the older was allowing her to help.

But as Candy said, if she wanted to, Anastasia could turn this into a fashion trend. All she had to do was take a couple of pictures, posing perfectly of course, and record a quick vlog and then she’ll be set! Her following in social media was so big and most people believed everything that Anastasia said to be true, so this wouldn’t be any different for her!

Candy didn’t insist on that idea, though, finishing off with the cleaning instead. “Yep! All done!” The girl stated with a nod. Standing back up, she wiped her hands against her own clothes, not minding much herself if she got dirty since what she had on wasn’t important enough to care. But when Anastasia mentioned that it was Chanel she was wearing, Candy’s eyes widen. “Chanel! Okay, yeah, we need to get you cleaned up— and quick!” She stated. “If you’re still up for it, we can…… head back to my place now?”·

Cami grinned the seconds she practically saw the switch turn on for Candy. “Pink is so cute. I have a lot of pink cloths, but for some reason I like the little teal on top. It’d e nice to maybe just match it all.” She shrugged softly. Maybe it was just trying to trendy that lead her to those sorts of colors when it came to make up. At least she found herself in the right hands to fix all that. “Ooo… a rosey pink sounds really cute.” Laughing loudly she shook her head. “Please no. I don’t want to look like that in front of all my followers. Las thing I need is an excuse for anyone else to drag me watching my streams. “·

-

She could see why Cami was also into teal. Candy herself had an infinity for it, although it laid more on the actual green side even if she did own abundance of different colors within her makeup collection. “Teal works well with pink, so we can definitely match the two together.” She reassured with a small smile. "Why don’t you show me all the teals that you own? It’ll be easier for me figure out the exact shade of pinks to work with and we can then head out to go buy some? Or we can search online too, that works, but I prefer seeing the actual shade in store since sometimes what’s shown on screen isn’t as accurate when in person.” Candy added, only to shake her own head at her friend. “Don’t worry, we won’t have that happen to you. And if your look does come off as crayon like— there’s also filters and editing. Hopefully, we won’t need to resort to that though.”·

Cami wasn’t sure how a lot of people would be around her. With as much guilt and other awful feelings in her rain cloud over her head, she just assumed everyone felt it towards her too. but it was rather refreshing to be around others and have them be totally fine. “Hm.. well I have some cute teals, and greens. A few purple too! But I was thinking maybe some pinks? Or yellows? Spring is around the color and pastels are my favorite thing. I just haven’t even known how to add them to my make up properly.”·

-

Candy listened intently at Cami as she listed out some of the eyeshadow and eyeliner colors she currently owned. And hearing that she had teals and greens was, admittedly, a little surprising as she expected for her friend to say she already owned pinks as that seemed more like her color. “We can start with pink then.” Candy claimed once Cami finished. “You have a nice complexion for pinks— maybe a cute rose color or a carnation? And we can pair it with a yellow too, we just need to find the perfect combinations.” She added on with her suggestion, multiple thoughts and ideas beginning to conspire within her mind. It was the first in a while. “In order to figure that out, the first step is to see what matches to your skin tone because as cute as pastels can be, they could come off looking like you used crayons as makeup if they stand out too much against your skin or if they wash you out.”

When the two of them had reunited that morning, under the pretty pastel green and pink awning of the boba shop they were standing in currently, there had been some initial awkwardness to the reunion. Their hug had been sweet and excited, but somewhat janky and a little off. Someone with a normal upbringing and background probably wouldn’t notice it, but when one was raised to study, analyze, and catalogue everything around, it made something in the back of her brain light up yellow. The blonde couldn’t place what it was, but she had simply chalked it up to time apart becoming a little too wide. Beyond that, though, everything had been happy and easygoing, the two of them fitting right back into place at each other’s side. “ I wanted to save my first try with you ! ” she exclaimed, looking to Candy. “ I remembered you saying you loved it - or at least one of us did. ” A little laugh. “ And I didn’t want to try it alone ! It wouldn’t have been as fun that way. ” Was it a little strange to save experiences for specific people ? She wasn’t entirely sure. But she was telling the truth.

Looking to the menu as well, taking in the other’s advice, she tilted her head a bit. “Matcha… Taro… Honeydew… ” She was repeating them to herself as they were explained to her, the different flavor palettes and how well they’d pair with the croissant she’d already decided on. Then again, nothing was set in stone, and she didn’t mind changing her pastry choice to try and match with a better tea; that’s what she came for, after all. ·It was a lot of choice, for just a simple drink. “ Hmmm… ” Was she taking too long in deciding ? Maybe she was way overthinking this. It was just a drink, after all. “ I think I’ll go with Honeydew. That one sounds good. And I like the fruit, so what could go wrong ? ” Though she laughed, her brain immediately skidded to a halt and told her that was an impulsive choice, that she should have gone with matcha, and her stomach did a little flip with it. But she had said it out loud - she was stuck with her decision. “ What’re you getting ? ” she asked, genuinely curious, hoping maybe her friend’s choice would make her feel a little better about her own.

-

Candy told herself the moment after her eyes locked with Webby’s that she should push past what she’s been feeling. Not only did she fear in having one of her closes friends discover what happened between her and Dewey so soon— that is, if she continues to go with the assumption that her blonde haired friend has yet to know about it, but she also thought that it wouldn’t be fair on Webby if Candy let her not so peppy state get in the way of their time together. Besides, she can go a day without thinking about Dewey, right? As long as Webby doesn’t bring him up nor does she, than it should be easy to imagine that he didn’t perviously have such a huge importance in her life before, right? Candy should just focus on the people who do still have some relevance to it— like Webby. And so, because of that, she was determined to make this day a fun one for not only just her, but for Webby as well. Especially for Webby.

Turns out, it wasn’t so hard for her to focus exclusively on her friend, because hearing the blonde insinuate how she didn’t want to try boba by herself and seeing how Webby asked Candy of all people to go try it with, the girl put a hand against her chest and smiled warmly at her. “Am I hearing what I think I’m hearing?” Candy began, as she pretended to gasp at the realization she just had. “You mean out of everyone you know, you wanted to try boba with me? That’s incredibly sweet, and I am honored to be here to help you experience it. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed once you finally drink it!” Once she had finished giving Webby her suggestions, Candy waited patiently for her friend to decide while simultaneously hoping that she had indeed given her the perfect options. It would be a shame if she picks one that she doesn’t end up liking, and it would most definitely ruin Webby’s first experience with boba which is something Candy didn’t want to happen. But she believed her suggestions were a good one and as her friend set her mind on Honeydew, Candy beamed. “Yes, great choice! Not only does it taste good, but the boba always come out in such a pretty light green color.” Candy said with an encouraging nod. “I think I’ll go with taro. It’s one of my favorites and it’s purple, so we’ll have an aesthetically cute colorful combo with our drinks! Which would then make it perfect for picture opportunities~"

Dewey was totally overthinking the moment as Candy was standing in front of him. Should he have ignored her? Well, of course he should have, but he was Dewey, and sometimes he said the wrong things in awkward moments, like this one. If he had any control of what he said or did in a moment like this, he surely would have kept his head down and not said anything at all.

The moment was excruciatingly awkward, in a way where it almost hurt. Strangely, this was the first time Dewey and Candy interacted where Candy was clearly disinterested. Now that he had become aware of her feelings for him, things like that were way easier to notice than before. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure if it was worse than the way she was obsessed with him beforehand.

He honestly didn’t know what he was supposed to say or do next, now that he’d gotten her attention. His mouth was clearly moving faster than his brain, for as soon as she said goodbye, an immediate, “Wait —” escaped his lips. Why? He couldn’t tell you. “Uh… Wanna sit?”·

-·

Her body urged her to continue moving forward. For her to resist the sight of Dewey and leave the area he was sitting in, possibly even for her to exit the park entirely so that there would be a safe enough distance between them. Doing that would’ve been for the best for the two, Candy wanting for her presences to not cause anymore problems than it already did if she stuck around, and as well as she didn’t need for her heart to hurt anymore. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it again if she stays.

However, in typical Dewey fashion, he couldn’t just let her go. Despite Candy choosing to do the right thing and focus on how he would feel if she were to stay any longer to talk to him, he goes and asks her to wait. For her to wait. Was he calling out to the right person? If it weren’t for the fact that the two had locked eyes briefly before Candy tried to make a quick exit, than she may have been able to trick herself into thinking that he was calling out to someone else. But for once, she knew for a fact that it was her who Dewey was referring to. So when her body came to a stop at his words, the girl had then found herself sighing.

Why was he doing this? Shouldn’t he be happy that she was leaving him alone? She shouldn’t even be dwelling on this thoughts either, having them would only make her want to stay even more when she shouldn’t. Yet as he asked if she wanted to sit, rather than responding to that, Candy sighed once again and looked back at him with a tired yet cautious gaze. “……What do you want, Dewey?”

Randy didn’t say anything as he listened to what Candy had to say. Surprisingly, he wasn’t as mad as most would expect him to be, mostly because it just felt like his karma had finally come for him. He had done so much worse to Tinsley and Dewey, so it only made sense for him to be framed the villain for some petty drama between him and Candy. He wasn’t really looking into the depth of it, because at the end of the day, he had warned Candy about Dewey not being worth her time. It was a rare moment where Randy was actually right about something.

Ironically, that was how he got dragged into the mess — for warning Candy exactly that. Honestly, he couldn’t help but laugh about how stupid it was. “Sorry, I’m not trying to be a dick,” he admitted, calming his laughter after a second. “It’s just .. It’s kind of funny.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head and sitting beside Candy again. “It really pissed him off that bad, huh?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “He’ll probably get over it. I’m sure Tinsley probably doesn’t give a shit, so eventually he won’t either,” he replied, knowing Tinsley well enough to know she wouldn’t be bothered with getting upset over something so simple. He looked at Candy and gently put his arm on her shoulder again, “You gonna be alright?” 

-

Hearing him suddenly laugh didn’t do well in calming her, if anything, Candy’s arms had tightened even more around the pillow as she didn’t know if Randy laughing was meant to be a good thing or not. It wasn’t until he clarified that he found what she had finished explaining as funny was when the girl loosened her grip a little. 

“…..He claimed that what you said was the stupidest thing he’s ever heard while bringing up how you are a drop out.” Candy added, her face still very much buried into the pillow. Because of that, she hadn’t noticed yet that he sat back down next to her when he had asked her that question. “Which…..in retrospect, you not attending college anymore doesn’t negate how knowledgeable you are nor does that mean you couldn’t have still been right…… Dewey didn’t even deny it being true either.” She sighed, not thinking about how that response she had received from Dewey could’ve been taken positively. He was really pissed off by her even talking to Randy, but then again, that was only because he was angry that she spoke to the same guy who had injured him. “……The mere mention of your name didn’t please him at all.”

Anastasia waited patiently for a napkin or a handkerchief or something resembling cloth - but when nothing appeared, her smile dwindled. Great. Oh, she was not going to snap on this girl! That would not be very New Anastasia of her. She tried to breathe in and out her mantra: New Year, New Me, over and over. “Okay! It’s okay. It’s fine. Um…”

What was she going to do with her dirty hands and knees? She started to inspect her manicure as well, and noted a slight chip in the polish on some of her fingers. Guess she’d be making an emergency call when she was all cleaned up, too. Looking around, she contemplated if she even wanted to walk the distance to this girl’s apartment. All she wanted to do was whine about everything, to be honest, but that wasn’t the best to do in front of someone who already recognized who she was. So instead, Anastasia smiled again. And she tried to think of a plan. ·

“You’re so kind. What’s your name?” She tilted her head and tried to rub some of the dirt off her hands. When it didn’t work, she very carefully reached into her bag for something, anything that could help. When she found her hand sanitizer she breathed a sigh of relief. Anatasia squirted some into her palm and used it to get off the remaining dirt, despite some stinging. “Perfect. Mind helping a girl with her legs?” She held out the hand sanitizer expectantly. No way was she about to bend over all awkwardly to do it herself. She still had her clothes to figure out! “Thank god I’m a bit of a germ-a-phobe, huh?”·

-

Candy felt bad that she didn’t have anything to help Anastasia. Normally, she would have a bag on her that would have hand wipes or at the very least, make up wipes. But she hadn’t thought to bring a bag with her this time around, not one who intended to go on a walk when she originally had done do hence the lack of its existences. But now she wished she had thought to bring it because then she could’ve been more useful towards the older than she was currently being.

Fortunately, as she had just mentioned, her home wasn’t that far away from where they were, so if Anastasia was willing to go with her, than Candy would be able to help more. “It’s odd,…..for me to invite you to my home when you don’t know who I am, I know.” She began, deciding that if she were to clarify herself some more than maybe the older would be more comfortable with her offer. “But— I promise, I mean no harm!” She stated with a genuine and honest look on her face, hoping it would convey that she means it!

So when Anastasia referred her as kind, a smile bloomed on Candy’s face. It was probably the first actual smile she’s had in a while even if it wasn’t the usual cheerfully bubbly one she often had on her face, but hearing someone she idolized call her kind after everything she’s been through lately felt nice. “Candy.” She replied. “….Candy Chiu.” She then lightly chuckled, feeling relief when Anastasia was able to find some hand sanitizer because at least that was something. And when she was asked if she could help with her legs, the girl sprang into action and nodded. “Oh yes! Of course! Let me just—“ Taking the hand sanitizer, Candy squeezed some into her hands and bended down right in front of Anastasia’s legs.·

Staring down at them, the girl couldn’t help but once again admire. Even with the dirt in the way, they were still an attractive pair of legs and although she had already admired them from watching the Anastasia’s vlogs, seeing them up close and in person was even more admirable. And now she was going to be able to touch them! Candy would’ve squealed if she wasn’t trying not to come off as creepy. “It is!….. “ Candy nodded, as she began working on cleaning as much of the dirt away. “But, you know, getting a little dirty is also nothing to be embarrassed about? I mean,…… someone like you could make this a fashion statement if you wanted to.” ·