꒰ 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐣𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐨 ! ꒱

kiara was lucky to have not known anyone on the seemingly never-ending list of missing townsfolk. her heart had sank to the deepest pit of her stomach when the news had come out, her father's hold on her leash that much tighter as she was lucky enough to get close to a window to see outside of it. mother's reassurance did nothing to ease her anxiety , either, but it was her royal bloodline that heard the ache of the town as a call to action. an opportunity to prove herself as a rightful future-leader. . . and as a compassionate person.

yet, even when she patrolled the sidewalks of evermore brandishing a basket of brightly petaled flowers, the world still felt so gray. her ever-present smile wavered as she tightened her elbow's grip on the wicker-braided handle, bright eyes losing their luster as they continued to fall upon face after sorrowful face.

unlike most of the townsfolk , angel had been actively avoiding anything to do with the missing people ordeal . aside from one particular name that was listed , someone she wasn't sure how to feel about to begin with and had little interest in unpacking all that , the whole thing didn't bother her much . that is , aside from the fact that had she been on the list , chances were no one would go looking for her . that was yet another thing she wasn't sure of how to feel about . can someone be considered a missing person if no one misses them ?

she didn't mean to fall into such a dark pit of contemplating what if's and hypothetical scenarios but alas , her brain didn't seem to care . it was only when a chirper voice echoed into her ears that the alien snapped out of her thoughts , briefly glancing around before her gaze settled onto a girl . a strangely altruistic girl , it seemed .

❛ you will ?! ❜ was she really that surprised ? nope , not at all , but it was still comforting . nick , unlike angel , was a good person , which eventually became the very issue . well , that and the fact that she was meant to be pursuing someone else , a very specific someone . now she had neither one nor the other , and nick probably didn't like her half as much as he once did . he had no reason to , she wouldn't like herself that much either . wasn't that just hilarious ? she was just about to thank him when the quick reminder made whatever mask angel had crafted for herself shatter into tiny pieces , expression falling somewhere between dejected and dumbfounded . it was his job , meaning that if he wasn't getting paid by the hour , he would've probably sprinted out the door the moment she showed up . maybe it was a good thing that he hadn't offered to help out of the goodness in his heart but for some reason , angel wasn't happy to hear that . quite the contrary .

❛ actually , forget it . ❜ quickly , she began packing all of the little boxes into the much bigger one , like some sort of criminal at the verge of getting caught red handed . ❛ you might be surprised but i actually have a way above average iq , some next level stuff . shouldn't take too long to figure this out on my own . ❜ it wasn't like this was the first time she felt like a burden either , though angel refused to ever mention those feelings . a girl's got to have her own back ; she'd be okay . ❛ could you just hold the door open for me , or is that not in your job description ? ❜

while angel hadn't expected the warmest welcome ever ( actually , she wasn't even sure what would qualify as that ) , she also didn't think nick would laugh , albeit a weird way . she was just about to refute his bitter comment when he seemed to take it back , which made it even more confusing . earthlings really were a confusing bunch . ❛ that's not exactly what i said , you know . but you don't have to apologize . ❜ he hadn't actually done anything wrong , even angel could see that . wasn't that exactly the issue , the fact that nick was too good of a person ? if anything his reaction only servered as even more proof of what the alien already knew . watching as he seemed to examine one of the pieces , angel felt at ease knowing the unwanted jewelry wouldn't become an actual problem , but she wasn't done just yet . of course not . ❛ and you'd be okay with helping me figure that out , yeah ? i'm not exactly a depop expert , or wherever else it is people sell their stuff . ❜ she keeps her eyes on nick , partially hoping to fix the issue while also wandering just how much it would take for the man to willingly spend time with her . was the wound still fresh ? ❛ i couldn't think of anyone else . ❜

❛ ah , got it . learning by observation then ... i'm guessing you're a performer ? ❜ and while it wouldn't be surprising if angel simply decided to make a rival out of the girl right then and there , the alien knew matter than make enemies with every artist in the whole world . perhaps every talented singer , but not all artists . it's certainly a plus that the other girl's little comment on money draws a chuckle from angel , ❛ that's a big mood . well , since you did tag along with my little scheme , i'll see if i can get you a one - time discount . i singer there most nights . ❜ something she was actually very proud of , and angel firmly believe that her many gifts did draw a lot of costumers to gusteau's . it couldn't all be just because of the food , come on ! starting to lead the way towards the restaurant , which thankfully wasn't too far from the comedy club , angel felt goosebumps on her skin at the mention of neverland . bad singers shouldn't be allowed at karaoke , and yet her ears had been tortured one too many times . ❛ topsy turvy is fun , you're not wrong . and i just assumed so considering the ridiculous amount of comedy specials on netflix , but even some of those are pretty bad . quantity over quality , y'know . ❜

her brows furrowed at how dettached his tone was , definitely not how angel remembered it . granted the circumstances were different but hey , she really did do him a favor ! so even with his response , which was fairly agreeable despite the odds , she found herself hesitating for a short moment . soon enough , angel plopped the box on top of the counter and fished inside it for a few small boxes , each with designer brand names on top . not that she was properly familiar with any of them , but anyway . ❛ is jewelry still a hot commodity ? i got these as random gifts from a few different people but to be honest , i don't like them , ❜ and though angel thought about giving them to drizella , she knew the socialite would probably take it as chairty , as hand - me - downs . that was a fight she was not willing to have . after a couple of seconds and probably against her better judgment , angel spoke again . ❛ i can come back some other time if you like . you don't ... seem very happy to see me , ❜ and angel wasn't used to that . people were usually excited to see her , being who she was and what she was made for . it was sort of a part of the package . 

❛ spring cleaning ? hardly , we still have a month to go before spring . do you have the brain scramblies , nick ? ❜ maybe it was something to do with the weather , maybe he was healing from a cold or something . she had no way of knowing , it wasn't as though angel was keeping tabs on her ex — that would just be counterproductive , wouldn't it ? nodding as she watched him take the jacket back , there was a split second where angel almost regretted bringing the damned thing with the rest of the items in the box . not for any particular reason besides it being a rather nice jacket , obviously . no sentimental value attached to it at all . ❛ i figured you might miss it , plus the color looks good on you . ❜ it was just factual ! though she does keep her gaze on nick for a few seconds , a few too many seconds one might say , the alien quickly pulls herself together and returns her focus to the box . ❛ anyhoo , i was hoping you could help me . there's stuff here i could probably get a pretty penny for and you're better with the whole money thing than i am . ❜

"I wouldn't let the chef hear you bash the food like that." She picked up the glasses, loading them into her bussing tub, tossing the wet rag over her shoulder with a wince.

"I think Adele is a good choice. You're not a guy but Harry Styles fits the vibe too," she suggested, lifting her tub and walking over to the window to unload her glasses and dunk her rag back into the bucket.

❛ it's constructive criticism , nani . never heard of it ? ❜ that would be surprising , as angel thought the older pelekai sister could benefit from some . still , she didn't find nani to be as much of a pest as lilo ; not that she'd ever let either of them know .

after adding the first name to her little list , angel paused at the second , contemplating it briefly . ❛ hmm ... maybe , though i'm not much of a fan of his . but i guess it doesn't matter as long as the costumers enjoy it . ❜ and so , she proceeded to add the other singer to her list . as the alien lifts her gaze towards the woman once again , she briefly contemplates offering to help her clean . nah , that'd be too nice and angel couldn't be out here doing good deeds . those were helpful to no one . ❛ and what are you doing for valentines day , hm ? ❜

a comic about aliens called alien , how creative . humans really just kept outdoing themselves , for better or worse . ❛ i'd like to see these ' villains '. are any of them aliens ? ❜ a human villain would probably be very inefficient , considering how fragile and squishy the average earthling was . when the guy offered to look around , angel nodded agreeingly ; she should probably have done some personal research before setting foot into the store but honestly , she couldn't be bothered to . not when there were people who were actively getting paid to do just that . ❛ i'll help you ! it can't be that hard to find one , especially with two sets of eyes . ❜ angel assured with the sweetest smile she could muster . a rehearsed one , naturally . ❛ i'm assuming aliens aren't as popular as others , ❜ she promptly pointed at the batman figure . ❛ like the traumatized orphaned billionaire with an affinity for bats and a british butler . ❜

❛ ' for the credit ' , as in a credit card ? do they pay people to be there ? ❜ because if that was the case , angel just might have made a huge mistake . she never really thought of money as being an important thing , the concept was quite foreign to her before coming to earth and yet , the more time she spent with drizella , the more it seemed to be ' the only thing ' , and perhaps she should want more of it . ❛ how about that hub - grub place thingy ? whatever it's called , sounds about right for drinks and snacks . it's no gusteau's but let's be real , nothing is . ❜ the alien giggled , boasting about her own workplace came so naturally to her . it wasn't that angel actually knew every other restaurant in town ( on the contrary , she barely knew half of them ) , but gusteau's reputation made her feel important by association and oh , how she basked in that self - righteousness . ❛ that makes two of us . what do you usually do for fun then ? i thought comedy clubs were a no - fail but i guess not ! ❜