human dolly.

mardra had spent so much time focusing on her career, trying to rise up the ranks and not thinking about anything else. the first time she didn’t want to talk or think about work was when she ran headfirst into milo, but since then all she wanted to do was hear about his dreams and his life. she always had a tendency to do things too much, from work to vices, she couldn’t stop herself. lately, though, her only vice had been him. she got drunk off his touch, his voice got her high, she was intoxicated every moment that they were together, but she never felt as though it was too much. her smile was wide and she couldn’t help but nod excitedly, still too shocked for it to sink in too much. “now if i make you a song for a video you can tell people your girlfriend did it,” mardra responded happily, although it wasn’t for a few seconds that she realized she had called herself his girlfriend. they hadn’t ever officially discussed it, but they had spent practically every day together for the past few weeks. nevertheless, she wanted to be that, and if he wasn’t ready then she would wait millennia for him. “i really like the bedroom pop vibe. it’s very gracie abrams-like, and clairo too. i already have, like, a million ideas for them. but i want to hear about what you’re working on, too. what was that script?” mardra asked, craning her neck to get another look where he put it down.

Mardra was the first person in a long time that made him turn his head. Sure, there were other pretty girls around that he’d seen, been flustered by, but Mardra was different. Mardra had a little magnet inside her that matched his, and called him in. There were colors in her eyes he’d never seen before, notes in her voice he’d never heard, but they all came together to create the most beautiful person he’d ever met. From her smile to her words, Mardra was a once in a lifetime cosmic event he couldn’t allow himself to miss. She was everything he needed and wanted, and getting to know her was inevitable. He just liked her and she made him feel good. There was so much more to that but it was so simple at the same time. It just made sense. “I’m literally going to boast about it. Like shamelessly just plug you in everywhere.” The word escaped him at first, because it sounded so right. It sounded like it belonged in her description, and he didn’t question it until he realized they’d never referred to each other that way. But if that’s what they were, well, his heart fluttering a little said it all. “What are you thinking?” He looked over at the script again. “It’s for like, a movie thing they’re doing, but my head hurts from staring at it. I don’t know what it’s about anymore.” 

every kiss seemed to set off fireworks inside her. she never would have imagined that she could feel this way again, that just his touch could send her flying. there was so much pain inside her, but milo made her sadness feel okay. she didn’t want to pull away from his lips, but she knew that nothing bad could happen in his presence. sitting down across from him, she leaned forward and smiled widely. of course he wanted to hear about everything, he was that kind of person, and he always wanted to hear from her. mardra often considered herself too talkative or too hung up in details for most people, but she never thought that she annoyed him. laughing, she shook her head, “hey, it was a really good sandwich! so, basically, i started my day like every other day, and when i brought coffee to the conference room they asked me to stay and offered me a position. honestly, i thought they were kidding at first but i got a bonus and i get to work on a whole album with avenue beat. they’re really good, we just started working with them after they blew up on tiktok. i can play you some songs they’ve already released, they just put out one called i don’t really like your boyfriend!” her explanation was quick, when she finished she took a deep breath and looked over at him with excitement.

Milo wanted to kiss her again, but he held off so she could keep saying what she needed to say. He wanted to hear every single detail, he didn’t care how small. “They already gave you a whole album? Mardra, that’s so awesome. Honestly, it was about time,” Milo smiled. Something about hearing Mardra succeed made his stomach flutter a little. It was like hearing exciting news for himself, really. He was so happy to see her happy. And the fact that they had recognized all that talent she had? Mardra, as far as he was concerned, had also hung the moon and the stars, drew all the asteroids, and ordered the planets  in their perfect order. Mardra was amazing. He’d never met anyone who was so passionate, and so good at what they did. Besides, seeing Mardra beaming made him all giddy inside. “Yeah, show me. I haven’t heard that many TikTok songs but I’m officially their number one fan as of whatever number album you’re doing.” He took out his phone to search for the song that she had just mentioned. “Oh my God, Mardra, this is so cool.” 

squealing when he lifted her up, she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. her smile was wide as ever, and her stomach was just as full of butterflies as the first time they met. no matter what happened, she was still as enamored with him as before. she felt herself soften at the sight of him, at the feeling of telling him everything about her day. truthfully, mardra hadn’t even told her parents yet about her promotion, all she could think of was running to milo’s apartment. “i know!” she exclaimed, still shaking a little bit since she first got the news, “i don’t think it’s really set in yet, i still can’t believe i’m going to have my own office, and that i can actually make music now instead of just samples. oh god, you don’t want to hear all of it, do you?” she asked, although she wanted to tell him everything from the moment she opened her eyes. nodding, she finally said, “yeah, sure. whatever you’re having. so… i made myself a breakfast sandwich in the morning, but i did buy coffee even though i need to save money. but then i went into my meeting and got promoted and from then it was kind of like… nothing bad could happen? and all i really wanted to do was talk to you about it.” she didn’t want to take up too much of his time with her rambling, but she couldn’t stop herself from talking.

Milo smiled, pulling her down and kissing her. He felt all electrified and jittery for her. Mardra deserved the moon, the stars, and the sun if it didn’t burn all of the Earth on its way down. She deserved the world and all the other planets, even all the galaxies. He swore his whole self screamed for her even when she was near. He loved being around her, and seeing her excited over something she earned and deserved. “No, no, I absolutely want to hear about the whole thing. From how you got it to how much you’re going to get to do. That’s so great and you deserve it and I’m so happy for you.” It all came out in one big breath, because it as true. He wanted to hear it all, no matter how boring she thought it was, because he didn’t think it was. Mardra was fascinating and he knew that effect wasn’t going to wear out. He laughed when he heard that, going over to the fridge to see what he had. “Wait, how did they tell you? You’re going to tell me what you had for breakfast and then not tell me what happened in the meeting? I want to know the whole thing. Why are you being cheap with the details?” 

shaking her head, mardra scrunched her face in the direction of the hallway. “i’ll fight him, i really will,” she suggested, although her small stature probably wasn’t particularly threatening to whoever his angry neighbor was. she would fight the entire world to make him happy, she would knock down anyone gave him trouble, she would argue with the sun for him. squinting her eyes to make out the writing on the cover of the script, making a mental note to research it when she was alone. “i can help you run lines if you want. but for now, celebrate with me – i was just offered a full time position!” she bounced a little bit, full of excitement before rattling off everything that she had thought of during the day and wanted him to know, “theres more, though! also i can tie a cherry stem in a knot, i saw the funniest tiktok that i need to show you, today i was driving and i saw a turkey walking down the street, i saw the cutest red bird at lunch, there’s probably more, i just… i want to tell you everything,” she bit her lower lip, trying not to smile as hard as she was.

Milo laughed at the idea of Mardra fighting with his seventy-something year old neighbor. The guy was losing his hearing and thought that whatever music the other neighbor was playing was really Milo. Which made no sense, because Milo had never used anything but his headphones. “As much as I’d love to watch that, I think you’d knock him down too quickly for it to make sense.” He put the script on the side table next to the TV, mostly happy it was gone from his hand for now. Milo smiled wide when he heard the news, barely controlling himself as he hugged her and lifted her from the ground, “Oh my God! Congratulations! It was about time they pulled the trigger on that.” He didn’t know a single person more talented in their field than Mardra, so he was happy to hear that the company had also been able to see it. “You’ve had a really eventful day,” he laughed, making a mental note of every little thing she’d mentioned so he could ask about it. “Tell me everything. Do you want something to drink?” 

the moment milo opened the door, her heart leapt out of her chest. every time mardra saw him, her stomach erupted with butterflies and she seemed to forget how to breathe, but it was a nervousness that felt comforting. her face lit up with a smile and she immediately stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss. “hey, fancy seeing you here. does mr abbott always give you shit?” she asked, pointing down the hallway with her thumb, although she was unsure where his neighbor actually lived. just seeing him was enough to set her heart on fire, to make her head light and her world seem brighter. “so, i have some news. it’s good news, i promise! what are your plans for the night?” she would be content to go anywhere with him, or even to just stay in like they did on their first date. there was something intimate about spending so much time with someone and never getting tired of them, something she hadn’t felt in years. 

The kiss made his head swim. It was the effect that Mardra had on him. He was always swimming or flying when it came to her, anything but have his feet on the ground. There was nothing like that feeling. “For music that I don’t play,” he laughed, taking her hand in his as he lets her in, closing the door behind her. He would have cleaned up a little more. It wasn’t really messy, but there were cables and stuff everywhere. Although, for a split second, he forgot about all that. He held up his script, “Other than this, absolutely nothing so I’m all yours. Tell me the good news, I want to hear them.” There was not an instance he wouldn’t clear his entire schedule for her. That’s how he knew he had it bad, when he was willing to drop work for her. 

MILO

mardra stood outside milo’s apartment, her palms beginning to sweat as she practiced what to say in her head for the hundredth time. then again, she was sure that the moment she saw him, her mind would go blank. it wasn’t even something bad, it was just something she wanted to tell him. they hadn’t planned on seeing each other that day, but she couldn’t seem to go without him. he was more than someone she liked, he was her comfort, the person she wanted to tell everything to, the first thought she had in the morning and the last thought before bed. taking a deep breath, she knocked on his door, shaking her hands out as she waited for him to appear.

Milo had been going over the same few lines for what seemed like hours. There was just so much going on recently, that he felt like his head was spinning. It was just what came with having a bunch of slashes in your occupation, as his father often said. Although he knew he should focus, Milo had had his head in the clouds because of Mardra for weeks. In fact, the night before, he’d had a dream about her where she floated through the air and had a halo and wings, and he swore his heart beat for her even in his sleep. He shook that thought away as he heard a knock on the door. Without even checking who it was, he opened the door, expecting it to be his neighbor, so as he opened it he started, “Mr. Abbott, I’m not the one blasting---” he stops as soon as he realizes who it is. That angel in his dreams. The one that can steal that smile on his face so easily, “Mardra!”

Mardra: you cute

Mardra: socks says come over and cuddle

Milo: no you’re cute

Mardra: well /I/ think you are

Mardra: just for you my baby

Mardra: that just means you deserved it :)

Milo: that’s all I need then didhxjksjd

Milo: !!!!!

Mardra: you were the cutest kid, i can't wait to see you do it again (except this time you'll be hot)

Mardra: i feel like i could be the mean girl, whoever brittany snow played! i'm gonna surprise you with a show you won't expect ☺️ i've been listening

Mardra: he's very selective with his meows and purrs, which, valid

Milo: I have such a hard time imagining me as hot lmao

Milo: you’d be a cute amber!!! I’m excited to hear it!!!

Mardra: OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDD

Mardra: you're the cutest person in the world

Mardra: cut me some slack 😩 i memorize things quickly i promise

Mardra: he said he loves you too. i think. he at least meowed

Milo: fetus me thrusting those hips and my mom in the audience like 😱😱😱

Milo: you’re cute you just need to be there and you got half the work done

Mardra: omg do you have a video of it? i wanna seeeeeee. dont tell me u did the little hip thrust when he says "and i'm link"

Mardra: okay but i'm gonna need some lyrics printed out for reference

Mardra: i think he's actually a dog trapped in a cat's body

Milo: wait hold on my sister has a clip

Milo: [sent video]

Milo: as my father says “okay it’ll do”

Mardra: baby please tell me you were link cause i was 13 when i first saw it and i feel like a more attainable crush would be you

Mardra: you sing it takes two and i'll come in with some good morning baltimore

Mardra: he's a baby! i mean i'm baby but he's A baby

Milo: i was!! that's why my mom was SCANDALIZED!!

Milo: i got you let's do it it's a show

she tried to picture milo at performances, on stage, doing what he loved as his parents cheered him on. just the thought made her smile, but really any thought of him did just that. “were they your biggest fans at shows?” she asked, yearning to learn more about his life, about his family, about what made him him. mardra felt blood rush to her cheeks thinking about them going to see wicked together. it seemed like something she would love, being such a fan of music, especially music enhanced by emotions. “it’s about the wizard of oz, right? like, how the wicked witch became the wicked witch? i tried to read the book but it was all munchkins banging left and right… the musical isn’t like that, right?” she asked, although she figured that the show was probably different from whatever book she had opened in a barnes and noble years ago. “i’m sure that i’ll fall in love, though. i mean, i do love music with emotions,” and although that was true, the first sentence held more meaning than just a broadway show. she knew that whenever things progressed between the two of them, she could easily fall for milo. she already was, at least partly. “how about a billion?” she asked, tapping his nose with her pointer finger and winking. when he said he wanted to stay, she bit her lip in an attempt to stop the smile that made its way across her face. she couldn’t contain her happiness around him, nor did she want to. “tell me more. i want to know everything about you. what’s your favorite color? what’s your biggest fear? what’s your favorite season? what makes you angry? what makes you happy? how do you like your coffee? how d’ya like your eggs in the morning?” she finished her set of questions with a song by dean martin and helen o’connell, singing the final sentence.

“They still do,” he laughed, thinking of the last time he performed and how they were the loudest in the crowd. He loved his parents for that reason. They were always crazy supportive and all about the collaboration of theater. He and his sister were, as his father liked to say, well loved in that respect. “Oh, God, no,” he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. He’d seen Wicked for the first time when he was six, and many times after that, but he’d never read the book and could not imagine munchkins having sex all over the stage that way. “No. There’s no explicit sex.” Showing her the show made him feel all excited. It was one of his favorites, even if he never listed it. He could see Mardra really liking it. “Then you’ll really like it. There’s nothing like the feeling Stephen Schwartz evokes. If you want a rollercoaster, this is going to take you there.” He didn’t want to say aloud, at least not yet, that he was already tripped up on her and falling. Mardra was easy to be around, and he’d often felt like he needed to run away from this kind of closeness, because something always told him run run run. He didn’t feel that with Mardra. When his heart sped up, it wasn’t him getting nervous, really, it was his whole body reacting to her being close. He scrunched up his nose and leaned in to kiss her again, “That sounds a lot better.” He laughed at the rapid fire questions she asked, his heart singing in harmony with her last line. Even her voice was beautiful. “But you’re going to answer all that, too, right?” he smiled, “I like red, I’ve always had a phobia of quicksand, don’t know why. I like Summer the best. I get irked when mostly when drivers get too close to people to freak them out. Not to be cheesy but you make me happy. I can’t have caffeine because I get anxious and sunny side up. And I request that you sing more often.” 

“Ew, sports.” Her nose scrunched up at the thought, and maybe it was mean, or rude, but Eliza just…didn’t care for them. She remembered talking to Luke about it, how he was a fan of baseball and how impossible it would have been to get her to go to a game. Mostly, she was glad she didn’t have to worry about that with Ezra, glad they didn’t do that. “I’m not entirely sure why that is, but I guess that just means I have to watch the Mean Girls musical, right?” Maybe just once, to be able to say she could get Milo’s references. The way he blushed made her happy, oddly, just to see the way Mardra could make him fluster without even being around. They were so cute. “She does? Good. I was hoping you two weren’t too awkward around each other.”

Milo understood nothing about sports, really. He just hated competition in that sense of the word. His parents always wanted he and his sisters to be athletes, but that never necessarily meant sports. “It’s people chasing a ball a lot of the time. If you think about it. Hit the ball with a stick, throw the ball, someone catch it, someone hit someone else with your body or the ball, or throw the ball in the net...” That’s all he’d seen anyway. He always got the argument that it was like watching theater, but what story was there behind them throwing a ball across a field? “I think you’d like it. It’s not like Les Mis or something, it’s great.” He didn’t want to use the word digestible, because he didn’t think it was right to, but the musical was digestible, created for an audience that didn’t necessarily know theater or like it. “Well, it’s kind of like, I blush, she blushes... We say things...” he feels the butterflies again.

Mardra: omg i can't wait to see you do out tonight. oOoOOOH can you do hairspray? i know that one cause of zac efron :)

Mardra: he's a floppy boy he'll get over it

Milo: lmao i did hairspray when i was like 14 and my mom was SCANDALIZED

Milo: but do i know all of it??? yes

@denverjones: i bet you like a lot of mardrazella on your za

@milotaylor: i knew it and you proved it!!