#borrower joel

 But calling pest control would only get the poor thing killed, probably. And Lizzie wasn’t really sure how to set up a trap or go about finding one that was humane enough. And a trap meant she would have to deal with the mouse herself and despite her not wanting to hurt the poor thing, she didn’t really want to handle it either.

 She figured she’d leave it alone. It wasn’t doing anything bad, just trying to survive.

 Though, for some reason she couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t a mouse. That something else had managed to find its way into her home and was taking her things.

 But it had to be a mouse. What else could it be?

***

 Lizzie had just wanted a drink of water.

 It was the middle of the night and she was half-asleep and all she wanted was to grab a glass of water from the kitchen and then go back to sleep.

 She was not at all expecting to see a tiny person already there, dropping into her junk drawer and rummaging through it. 

 Lizzie, now much more awake, backtracked back around the corner and pressed her body against the wall to hide, not wanting to scare the tiny person off. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest at the thought of what she just saw. She blinked and rubbed at her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things in her half-asleep state. But as she peeked back around the corner, the tiny person was still there.

 She couldn’t help but watch them in awe. She couldn’t make out much from the distance and the dark but the window was open and shining faint moonlight onto the countertops, giving her just enough light to make out that the figure seemed to be male.

 She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, watching as he climbed out of her junk drawer and used what appeared to be a hook and string to try and close it. He sent the hook end over the front, hooking it into the wood before pulling on the string. Though it seemed to be giving him trouble as he struggled to pull the drawer close.

 “Come on you bloomin’--ah!” Lizzie perked up as she heard the faintest of voices coming from the little guy. He was muttering but his voice still seemed to carry within the still and quiet night. He cried out when the drawer suddenly moved closed, smoother than he had been expecting, and he fell backwards on his butt.

 Lizzie clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sudden giggle she let out. The tiny guy just seemed so embarrassed, even though he thought he was alone. It was…cute.

 He got up and dusted himself off, a faint shade of pink on his cheeks that Lizzie could just barely make out. “Totally meant to do that.” He muttered to himself. “Stupid drawer.” He continued with a glare towards the drawer in question. Lizzie smiled behind her hand, which she still kept pressed against her mouth to stop any noise from escaping and risk her being seen.

 She then watched as the tiny guy adjusted the bag around his shoulders and went over to the wall. Now, Lizzie had always assumed that her walls were fairly solid. That was until the tiny guy marched right up to it and pushed, revealing a door that matched the tiny person’s size perfectly. Lizzie could only watch in awe as the door closed behind the guy, going back to being a plain wall. Once again, no sign that there even was a door there. 

 And with that, he was gone.

 Lizzie waited another moment just to be safe, before walking back to her room, water all but forgotten.

 She laid awake, staring up at the ceiling as she thought about what she had seen.

 The tiny guy lived in the walls. Walls that were clearly hollow, at least in some places…that would explain the tapping she heard. No wonder it had been so hard for her to pinpoint where it had been coming from. 

 She couldn’t believe there was a tiny guy in her walls in the first place. And a cute one at that. Lizzie felt a slight blush settle over her cheeks as she thought that but it wasn’t like she could deny it. She had eyes. And the tiny guy was cute.

 She had wondered what he was. A fairy? Though she hadn’t seen any wings on him. A leprechaun perhaps? But she was pretty sure they had red hair and wore green outfits. An Imp? But then where were his horns and tail?

 She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself as guess after guess went through her mind. Look at her, thinking these mythical creatures were even plausible.

 But she couldn’t deny what she saw.

 She wondered what his name was.

***

 Over the next couple of days, Lizzie tried to see the little ‘may or may not be a fairy’ guy again. She staked out the kitchen in her same hiding spot for a few hours, only for nothing to come about it. Did he know? Had he seen her waiting for him and was already long gone?

 But no, because each night, despite not seeing him, she still saw the signs. Food missing, junk drawer slightly ajar, tapping within the walls…

 He was still here, Lizzie was apparently just really bad at catching sight of him when she actually wanted to.

 She sighed and decided to give it a rest on the third night.

 And it was that night that she woke up to a faintly familiar voice.

 “-why does the tissue have to be in her bedroom for goodness sake…” 

 Lizzie cracked one of her eyes open to see that the tiny guy, the one she had been wanting to see again for days now, was standing on her nightstand and trying to pull out one of the tissues from her tissue box. He was muttering to himself and Lizzie couldn’t help but think that, if she hadn’t heard his voice before, she might have stayed asleep.

 But she had been waiting to see him again. And his quiet voice had been enough to disturb her rest. 

 She watched as he took the tissue and started folding it up, probably in order to fit it in his bag. He was facing the other way, which gave Lizzie full advantage to stare openly at him. He was so small. She had seen how small before, of course, but that had been from far away. Seeing him up close like this? Maybe Lizzie hadn’t realized quite how small, but the guy was tiny. He’d fit in the palm of her hand, no problem.

 She couldn’t help but overthink that, just a little. The fact that he could fit in her hand. She flexed her hand for good measure, still trying to wrap her head around the concept.

 It was then that she saw him start to turn around and Lizzie shut her eyes closed, trying her best to even out her breathing. There was a tense pause and Lizzie had to stop herself from opening her eyes to see if the tiny guy had noticed her looking. But the tenseness passed as the tiny guy spoke again.

 “I’ve never seen a human with pink hair before.” He mumbled to himself and Lizzie had to fight down a blush at the idea that he was admiring her. She almost wanted to touch her hair in response but she stopped herself.

 There was more silence, to the point where Lizzie had to figure he was gone now. She was just about to open her eyes when he suddenly spoke again. “Okay, Joel, you’re being a creep, stop staring at her…” He said, still quiet as ever but it rang loud in Lizzie’s ears. The blush was now fighting even harder to be on her face.

 Joel…his name was Joel.

 She just had to move her head further into the pillow, burying the side of her face into it in the hopes that it hid her expression. She also hoped she did it right, in a way that Joel would hopefully assume she was still asleep and just shifting for no reason in particular. 

 She heard a quiet sound, like an intake of breath, and then he spoke again, even quieter, which Lizzie hadn’t thought possible. But she heard it anyway. “Cute…”

 The blush finally bloomed on her face.

 He thought she was cute.

 He thought she was cute.

 “You think I’m cute?!” Lizzie blurted out, sitting up on her elbows and looking over at the nightstand. Though to her surprise, she didn’t see Joel there. Her eyes wandered down, only to realize he had since moved to stand on her bed. Though her sudden reaction had caused him to stumble and fall and he was currently looking up at her from his now fallen position. 

 The room was still dark but Lizzie’s eyes had since adjusted and having Joel so close, she could see his features much more clearly. He was definitely cute. She might even say handsome.

 He also looked really scared.

 Whoops.

 “Um, I mean…” Lizzie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, thinking up ways she could fix this. “I-I think you’re cute too.” The blush was still very prominent on her cheeks and despite his fear, Joel also seemed to be blushing. “Anyway, goodnight!” Lizzie said and then flipped herself over and buried her head into her pillow, trying to calm her beating heart.

 She hadn’t meant to blurt all that out like that but at least now she was giving him a chance to leave. Lizzie’s heart broke a little, knowing she would probably never see him again after this. She was pretty sure, whatever he was, that he didn’t really want to be seen by humans. So it only made sense.

 She expected him to leave, so when she heard his voice again she almost jumped. “Wha- you can’t just call me cute and pretend you didn’t see me!” Joel exclaimed and Lizzie froze, mind now fogged up with confusion. 

 She didn’t move, still staring at the wall as she answered him. “Oh…well, I just thought…I mean, you seemed scared.” Lizzie said quietly. “I’m sorry for scaring you. You can go, I won’t…I won’t tell anyone about you.”

 “You won’t…oh.” Joel said, quietly trailing off. Lizzie expected this to be the moment he left but he spoke up again. “It’s-It’s fine. You humans can’t really help it.” Joel said and it was like Lizzie could tell he was trying to put on some sort of fake bravado. Though even she could hear the slight shakiness to his voice.

 “Um, did you…mean what you said?” Joel asked and Lizzie tilted her head, but otherwise remained still.

 “Mean what?” Lizzie asked. She had said a lot of things in the past few minutes, though she had meant all of them.

 “That you think I’m cute.” Joel asked shyly. Lizzie could just picture the red dusting his cheeks and the image brought her own blush back.

 “I did, although…maybe handsome is the better word.” Lizzie said, bringing out her best flirting voice. 

 “Y-You can’t just say something like that!” Joel exclaimed and Lizzie shifted a bit as she giggled but remained focused on the wall in front of her.

 “Well, I don’t want to lie.” Lizzie said as her giggles died down. Only for them to start up again when she heard Joel let out a few sputters that didn’t translate to any sort of word. She was certainly glad he hadn’t left yet. Maybe she even had a chance… “Joel?”

 Silence followed her word and it was long enough to where Lizzie started to panic slightly that Joel had up and left. Had she said or done something wrong? But then, Joel spoke again. “H-How do you know my name?” He said, and Lizzie could tell it was supposed to be more demanding but it definitely came off more skittish. Lizzie hummed in realization.

 “Oh! Sorry, I overheard you talking to yourself earlier. And you said your name.” Lizzie’s explanation fell a bit flat at the end and she hunched in on herself a bit. “Um, I’m Lizzie! If that helps?”

 “Lizzie…” Her name on his lips was breathy, almost in awe, and it made Lizzie’s heart beat just a bit faster. “Um, what did you want to ask again?”

 “Huh?” Lizzie asked, not remembering what Joel was talking about. Still too lost in the way Joel said her name.

 “You know, when you first said my name?” Joel said and Lizzie thought about it before suddenly remembering.

 “Oh! Right, um…” Now Lizzie was feeling a bit nervous. “Is it okay if I turn back around?”

 “Turn…around?” Joel asked slowly, though Lizzie couldn’t tell how he was feeling about her request.

 “Yeah, I…I would like to see you again.” Lizzie said, fidgeting a bit with her blanket as she admitted that to Joel. She hoped and prayed that Joel would let her turn around but she would also understand if Joel said no. She would respect it if he did.

 But to her surprise, Joel said yes. “Um…yeah, that’s fine, I guess.” He didn’t sound super confident but Lizzie wasn’t going to let this chance slip from her fingers, so before Joel could change his mind, she carefully flipped herself over to her original position. Her eyes went wide once more as she laid eyes on Joel. He had stood up at some point, though he now had to crane his neck a bit more to look up at her. She lowered herself a bit, hoping it might help.

 “Hi.” She said simply, a small smile appearing on her face.

 Joel was tense, it wasn’t hard to see that. But Lizzie could see a small smile of his own tugging at his lips. “Hi.”

 Though her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she still wanted to get a better look at him. Her eyes flickered over to her bedside lamp but she figured she should ask about that first too. “Can I turn on the light?”

 “...Yeah.” Joel said and so Lizzie reached over and turned it on. She closed her eyes as the sudden light blinded her before squinting and blinking, trying to get her eyes used to it. Once her eyes no longer stung, she opened them fully and looked down again at Joel. To be fair, it was not much different than seeing him in the dark, but it still somehow awed Lizzie to be able to fully make out every tiny detail about Joel.

 He was wearing clothes that Lizzie could just make out the seams of, leading her to believe he must have made them himself. It was a simple pair of brown trousers and a white top, but both seemed to be made out of different patches of brown and white. He was also wearing a brown vest that went over his white shirt and seemed to be carrying a bag that wound around his shoulders.

 But the thing Lizzie really couldn’t take her eyes off of was his face. It was still a bit hard to make out but he definitely had brown eyes, eyes that hadn’t moved from looking at her since before she turned on the light. Her eyes moved to his hair, which was brown and a bit fluffed up but that wasn’t the most notable thing about it.

 “I’ve never seen someone with green hair before.” Lizzie said in awe, parroting what she had heard Joel say earlier. “It’s really cool.” She said as she carefully reached out. Her fingers grazed the top of Joel’s head, feeling the softness of his hair for just a moment before Joel tensed and let out a little yelp like noise. Lizzie’s eyes widened, realizing what she was doing, and quickly snapped her hand back. “Oh, sorry! Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

 Joel had backed up a few steps but he at least didn’t look like he was about to run, which Lizzie was thankful for. Joel was looking at her in sort of a strange way, his head tilted and eyes wide. Lizzie watched quietly as he slowly relaxed his body. “It’s okay.” He said and ran a hand through his hair. His hand then traveled down from the top of his head to cup at the back of his neck. “Um, your hair is…really pretty.”

 At this point Lizzie didn’t think the blush would ever leave her cheeks. She smiled and let out a little laugh, her hand subconsciously going to her hair and running her fingers through the long strands. “Thank you.” She had been complimented on her hair plenty of times before, pink really was an uncommon color for people to dye their hair as, but it felt different coming from Joel.

 She looked over at her clock, seeing that it was nearing midnight. She should really be getting back to sleep, she did have to work tomorrow after all, but she couldn’t bring herself to end this meeting of theirs. Not yet. She had so many questions and part of her was still wary that Joel would never come back once he left. If that was the case, she wanted to savor this meeting of theirs just a bit longer.

 Her eyes wandered back to him and she focused on how thin he seemed to be. From what she had gathered, he took things from her in order to survive. Including food. He probably didn’t get a lot to eat and Lizzie realized now was the chance for her to fix that.

 “I know it’s a bit late.” Lizzie spoke, trying to keep the shyness out of her voice. Why did she feel so nervous asking this? “But…I mean, if you want, I could make us something to eat. A little midnight snack. And we could talk more too. While we eat.”

 Joel was silent for a long moment, looking up at Lizzie with wide eyes. Lizzie was getting nervous at the lack of response and started taking her words back. “I mean, you don’t have to. If you want to leave you can, I won’t stop you.”

 Somehow, Joel’s eyes got even wider. “No!” He exclaimed, causing Lizzie to flinch a bit, having not expected it. Joel blinked and looked away, his cheeks flushed. “I-I mean, I…I think a midnight snack sounds like a great idea.” He said with a firm nod before meeting Lizzie’s eyes again. “I would…really like that.”

 Lizzie grinned and that little wary feeling in the back of her head went away. She was starting to think this was the start of something new. Something…special.

 “Ah, I see.” Scott said, the smiling wavering. Etho could see his muscles tense slightly.

 “Um, but there’s another house a few miles down that way.” He pointed down where the road went left. “Maybe it got delivered there?”

 Scott followed his finger and then looked back at him, humming in thought. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt to check…” Scott said, though his voice sounded much more strained now. He tilted his head, his smile returning for a brief instant. “Just…are you sure? That package…it has something quite valuable in it. I honestly wouldn’t blame you if you were hiding it from me.” His smile was quite fake now, though Etho knew it had been fake the whole time, it was just more obvious now.

 “I’m sorry. I really don’t have it. But I do hope you find it.” Etho said, silently hoping the exact opposite.

 Scott stood there for a long moment, staring at him and looking him up and down. And then he smiled, the grin back to how it had been before. “Thank you, I appreciate that. Sorry to bother you again.” Scott said and then turned around and left down the driveway towards his car.

 Etho, now a bit paranoid, stayed at the door and watched until Scott was in his car and driving down the road in the direction Etho had pointed to earlier. Only once his car was out of sight did Etho go back inside and close the door.

 He leaned his head against the door and let out a huge sigh of relief, the tension in his shoulders melting away with Scott now gone. That had been a close one. And he knew it probably wouldn’t be the last one they had. Scott wouldn’t find what he was looking for at the other house or anywhere else. He would be back and Etho had to come up with something to protect Joel.

 Speaking of, Etho lifted his head off the door and headed back into his living room where he had been before the knock at his door. Joel was still there, on the arm of the couch next to where Etho had been sitting while they watched a movie. The movie was paused though, as Etho had done so when he heard the knock, and Joel was sitting with his knees pressed against his chest. When he noticed Etho was back though, he quickly dropped them and moved his hands back down to his sides.

 “That was-”

 “I heard.” Joel said shortly, his eyebrows furrowed. He stood up and Etho could tell the borrower was shaking and trying to hide it. “Scott, huh?”

 Etho shrugged. “Apparently.” He stayed standing, watching Joel carefully. “He wasn’t who I was expecting, if I’m being honest.”

 Joel snorted and crossed his arms. “And who were you expecting? Some guy with an Italian accent in a suit with two other guys behind him?” Joel shook his head. “This isn’t some mafia movie…a lot of humans have dark sides they don’t tend to share with other humans.”

 “Yeah, you’re right.” Etho said, looking back toward the door. He’d learned over the last week just what kinds of humans captured and sold borrowers like Joel. In his head, he supposed he did sort of picture them in a movie bad guy sort of sense. When in reality, the people selling and buying these borrowers were people like Scott. Normal, essentially. Though Etho was sure there was really nothing ‘normal’ about them if they were willing to buy actual people and treat them like a pet.

 “He’s gonna come back.” Joel spoke up again, and Etho knew if Joel could actually see the door from where he was he would be glancing back and forth at it.

 “I know.” He couldn’t deny it. They both knew it.

 “So what are we gonna do?” Joel asked and Etho frowned. They had already discussed this, already knowing this was probably going to happen, even if they were wishing it wouldn’t.

 “I’m gonna keep you away from him.” Etho said, clear and without any room for argument. “I don’t care what he tries, you aren’t going with him or anyone else.” Etho paused. “Unless you want to.” He felt the need to say that, just in case, just to reassure Joel.

 “I don’t.” Joel was quick to reply and Etho nodded, a small smile forming on his lips.

 “Yeah, I figured.” Etho said with a small chuckle. “There are things he can’t get away with. Including trespassing on my property or breaking and entering. If anything like that happens, and he breaks the law, I can get him arrested.”

 Joel nodded, though he was still a bit too twitchy for Etho’s liking. The conversation he overheard must have shaken him more than he thought. Or maybe it was just the knowledge that the person who bought him had been here asking for him. Either way, the result was the same and Joel was freaking out a bit.

 Etho sighed and reached down a hand, holding it palm up in front of Joel. Joel tensed up a bit, looking down at the hand before looking up at Etho and meeting his eyes. “What about the movie?”

 Etho shrugged. “We can always finish it later. It’s probably time to eat anyway.” Etho hadn’t actually looked at a clock yet, but he was sure it had to at least be close.

 Joel hummed and stared down at the hand. After a moment he finally climbed on and settled himself down in the center. Etho carefully lifted him up and brought his other hand over to cup Joel instead, just to be a bit safer. His brows furrowed as he simply looked at Joel for a moment. He was so impossibly small and, though Etho hated to admit it, he could see why some people would think having a borrower as a pet would be cool.

 Of course, it was still very wrong and incredibly dehumanizing towards borrowers. Joel was as much of a person as Etho was and it was clear to see just from his movements alone. Joel shifted a bit in his hand, looking at Etho a bit nervously. Even after being around him for the last week and the two of them getting to know each other, Joel was still nervous when it came to being in his hands. Which was pretty understandable as far as Etho was concerned. He was a literal giant in comparison, after all.

 “I won’t let him take you.” Etho said, feeling the need to reassure Joel even further. His hands came together a bit more, as if shielding Joel from anything outside of them. Joel looked up at Etho, his body still tense. But he looked Etho in the eyes and nodded and that was all Etho needed to know that Joel trusted him to do just that.

 Etho cleared his throat. Now that the reassurances were over, it was time for some distractions. “Now, how does a sandwich for dinner sound?” Etho said as he started walking toward the kitchen.

 “You mean the same sandwich we’ve had for every dinner in the last week?” Joel snarked but there was a small smirk on his face as well. “Yeah, why not?” Joel said with a shrug and Etho knew it was because Joel wasn’t picky when it came to food.

 He just hated to think about the reasons why Joel wasn’t picky with food. But Etho decided to push those thoughts deep into the back of his mind. At least for now.

 Etho put Joel down on the counter and then started to prepare the sandwich, Joel watching the entire time. Etho decided to try and make light conversation, asking what Joel thought of the movie so far and, when they started eating, asking how the sandwich was. Anything to continue the distraction from their surprise visit earlier.

 Etho really wasn’t looking forward to Scott coming back, but he would. There was no doubt that Scott wouldn’t give up, not when what he was after was so valuable. But Etho wouldn’t give up either and he certainly was never going to give Joel up. Not to someone who would only treat him like a pet.

 As Joel ranted about something in the movie, Etho wondered, not for the first time, just how someone could look at Joel, look at any borrower, and not see a person.

 Lizzie still felt bad but her heart skipped a beat at Joel’s words. He had made something for her? She knew Joel made all sorts of things, things that Lizzie would never be able to think up. Joel always insisted it was a borrower thing, but Lizzie couldn’t help but believe it was a Joel thing more than that.

 “Thank you, Joel. That’s really sweet of you.” Lizzie said but Joel just laughed.

 “You can’t thank me yet. You haven’t even opened it.” Joel said and Lizzie let out a little chuckle too.

 “I can still be thankful for being given a gift, thank you very much.” Lizzie said but she knew now was the time to open it. She carefully undid the ribbon on top and set it off to her side, it was still a very good ribbon after all, she could use it for something else. She then returned back to the box and lifted the lid open.

 What greeted her inside made her jaw drop and her heart stutter.

 It was a figurine, maybe only slightly shorter than Joel himself, carved out of wood and painted. That itself was impressive in its own right but it’s what the figure was of that had taken Lizzie’s breath away.

 It was her and Joel. They were the same size and holding hands with each other as their bodies were pressed together, their heads leaning and just touching as well. Their eyes were closed, simply basking in each other's presence. The little figurine was so detailed, it was easy to see all of this. Lizzie held it gently, looking at it with awe and a few unushered tears.

 “Joel…this is amazing.” Lizzie said, keeping her eyes on the figure.

 Joel blushed at Lizzie’s reaction and kicked at the sofa a little. “I really wanted to give it to you sooner but I wanted to make sure it was perfect for you.”

 Lizzie tore her eyes away from the figure and looked at Joel. “It’s more than perfect.” She held the figure close to her chest. “I’m going to cherish this forever.”

 Joel’s blush grew deeper and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “I-I’m glad you like it.”

 Lizzie hummed and leaned down, kissing the side of Joel’s head. Joel froze, his blush now covering his whole body. Lizzie laughed as she noticed. She pulled her face away only slightly, smiling down at him. “I love you so much.”

 Joel blinked and cleared his throat but he was unable to get rid of the fact that his body was flushed red. “I love you too. Happy anniversary.” He reached out and Lizzie’s face was still close enough that he could give her the faintest peck on her cheek. Lizzie grinned and decided to go all in, pressing her lips to Joel’s face and earning a flustered squeak in return.

 She watched as Joel’s eyes went wide and heard as Oli, Gem, and Scott went silent.

 The silence didn’t last long though.

 “What?!” She heard Gem yell.

 “Since when?” Scott chimed in, sounding very confused.

 “Yeah! What he said! Since when have you had a boyfriend! And why is this the first time we’re hearing about this?!” Oli yelled into the phone and Lizzie had to put the phone away from her ear at the volume.

 “Sorry guys, I gotta go. Have fun though!” Lizzie said with a slight laugh, having fun with the bit of chaos she had created.

 “You better tell us all about him when we see you next!” Oli managed to get out before Lizzie went ahead and hung up. She laughed a bit to herself and put her phone on silent so there would be no more interruptions.

 “Sorry about that Joel. Are you ready to get back to the movie?” Lizzie asked but as she actually looked at Joel, she could see that his face was flushed red. “Joel?” She asked, a hint of concern in her tone.

 “You…you called me your boyfriend.” Joel said and Lizzie blinked.

 “Oh.” It took Lizzie a second to realize why that was shocking. “Oh! Oh my gosh, Joel I-I wasn’t really thinking. I…” They hadn’t really put a label on what they were at this point. Sure they had gone on plenty of dates. More than dates really, Joel was around a lot, barely even going into the walls anymore. They had kissed a couple of times. And Lizzie was even thinking about the L word, though she hadn’t said it out loud, not even to herself really. But they hadn’t officially discussed what they really were.

 But saying it out loud and to her friends had just felt so right. “Is…is that okay?”

 “I-I mean, yeah, obviously.” Joel said, the flush on his cheeks still there. But he was smiling now and Lizzie couldn’t help it as her own lips twitched upwards. “I’d…I’d love to be your boyfriend.”

 “Are you sure?” At Grian’s nod, Scar bit his lip. “Well, maybe they're like us?” Scar tried, wanting to give the benefit of the doubt. But his already uneasy smile dropped when Grian shook his head.

 “He was in a cage.” Grian said, his voice cracking a little. 

 Scar winced. “Oh. Yeah, that’s not good.”

 “That’s not the only thing though.” Grian continued, fidgeting with his sweater.

 “What do you mean?” Scar asked, wondering what else there could be. Grian looked him in the eyes, his expression pained. It sent Scar’s heart plummeting.

 “I think…I think I know him.” Grian admitted. He hadn’t gotten much of a good look at the borrower himself but…well, Grian would recognize that green streak anywhere.

 “You…know him? Like, he’s a friend of yours?” At Scar’s question, Grian simply nodded. A friend of Grian’s…Grian had never mentioned any friends before. He was very secretive like that. So for one of them to be here…

 “What did the human who has him look like? Where were they?” Scar asked, expression serious. 

 Grian blinked and tried to think about the brief moment he saw. “The human was wearing a black suit…and had slicked black hair…and he was over in the far corner, in a section that wasn’t very crowded.” Scar nodded along to Grian’s description. He then brought Grian close to himself, hiding him while Scar looked around the corner, trying to see where Grian described.

 …There. Grian had been right. In the back corner, in the VIP section, sat a man wearing a fancy black suit and a smug smile. On his right, in plain view, was a cage with a borrower trapped inside. The thought made Scar’s blood boil. Borrowers were people too, he couldn’t imagine ever putting Grian in a cage like that.

 Scar needed a plan.

 He backed back into the corner and looked down at Grian. “Do you trust me?”

 Grian was taken by surprise. “Wha- I mean, I…” Grian took a deep breath and sat straight up, looking Scar in the eyes, determined. “Of course I do.” He didn’t think he trusted anyone more.

 Scar smiled at that, touched. Hopefully, his plan didn’t ruin that. “Then follow my lead.”

***

 A quick bribe to the bouncer let him into the VIP section of the casino easily. He played the part of walking around, checking out the games, trying to look like he belonged.

 It wasn’t very hard, honestly.

 He casually passed by the man with the borrower, his eyes honing in on the little guy naturally. He stopped, gaining the man’s attention. “Pardon me, but I’ve got to say that is quite the catch you’ve got there.” Scar said, voice as smooth as honey.

 The man huffed but Scar could see the ghost of a vicious grin on his face. “Move along buddy, I don’t think you can afford a game with me.” He laid a hand on top of the cage and he saw the borrower inside flinch. “Especially not with this as the prize.”

 “Hey!” A voice suddenly shouted, startling Scar briefly out of his act. He looked down to see it was the borrower who had spoken. “I’m not some prize to be won!”

 “Shut it!” The man hisses, banging his hand against the cage and making the borrower inside fall over. Scar contained his own flinch, remaining stoic. But he almost broke seeing the borrower cowering after all that.

 “Actually,” Scar started, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. “I think I can. Afford it, that is.” Scar reached into his pocket, his hand wrapping around Grian, firm but gentle. He felt Grian squirm against his fingers, tiny hands trying to push at them. He bit the inside of his cheek, carefully letting one of his fingers run along his back, trying to settle him. Thankfully, Grian seemed to get the message and he was still by the time Scar pulled him out.

 At the sight of another borrower, the man’s eyes went wide.

 “So, you’ve managed to catch one yourself.” The man said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. 

 “Yep. And I would love to add that little one to my collection.” He pointed at the other borrower, who glared at him. “Of course, if you end up winning, I suppose you’d be adding another tiny to your prize pool.”

 Scar could see the other man thinking it over. Looking between the borrower he had trapped and Grian. Finally, he motioned for Scar to have a seat across from him. Scar grinned and took it.

 “We’re playing this the right way though, so prizes in the center.” The man said, tapping on the cage. Scar frowned at that but not enough to put the other man off. He was loath to let Grian out of his grasp but he didn’t want to push his luck.

 “Alright by me.” Scar said with a fake but convincing smile. He glanced down at Grian, who glanced back up at him. He gave a tiny, subtle nod and Scar let out a breath.

 The cage was pushed to the center of the table and the man opened the cage, making sure the borrower still inside couldn’t escape. Scar reached in and placed Grian inside as well and the cage was shut and locked once more. Immediately both borrowers huddled together and Scar could just make out faint whispers. Hopefully Grian was explaining everything to him.

 The cards were passed out by the dealer and Scar took a peek at his hand. Not bad, all things considered. But definitely on the lower end of his chance to win. No matter, he wasn’t a scammer at heart for nothing. With quick hands, as Scar saw no one looking at him, he slipped one of the cards into his sleeve and replaced it in less than a second.

 It had taken him a lot of practice but it had all been worth it when Scar took note that no one had noticed. Perfect.

 The cards were revealed and the dealer announced Scar as the winner.

 The man sneered at him as Scar stood from his seat and reached for the cage in the center. “Well, my good man, it seems I’m adding this little one to my collection after all. Sorry about that, but all's fair in love and war and all that.” Scar said with a wink, grabbing the handle of the cage.

 Unfortunately, they weren’t out of the woods yet as the man’s hand went over his own to keep him from taking his prize. “Double or nothing.” The man growled out, practically spitting in Scar’s face. Scar used his free hand to wipe it away, glaring at the man. He tried to reign in his anger to a normal amount but it was starting to get difficult. 

 “Sorry but no. I’d like to just take my prize and go now.” With that said, Scar slapped the other man’s hand away and brought the cage close to himself. 

 The other man looked like he wanted to jump him but thankfully, security had already been called. Scar sent a thankful look to the dealer, who nodded and went back to work. Scar watched in glee as the man was taken away and escorted out of the building for making a scene and not abiding by the rules.

 “And that’s how it’s done.” Scar said to himself, proud his plan had worked.

 Scar slipped out of the VIP section into a secluded back corner of the casino, trying very hard to hide what was inside the cage. He didn’t need anymore people seeing the borrowers, after all. He found an empty table and took a seat.

 Once he was sure no one was around, he placed the cage onto the table and unlocked the door. “I swear Scar, you’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.” Grian said as he walked out of the cage, the other borrower not far behind but a lot more hesitant.

 “It worked though! And you never had anything to worry about.” He pulled up an ace from his sleeve, showing it off with a wink. “I always come prepared.”

 Grian rolled his eyes and then seemed to remember they weren’t alone. He moved out of the way, giving Scar a better view of his friend. The other borrower seemed to be a bit shorter than Grian, which he hadn’t thought was possible. He also had a distinct green streak in his hair and Scar wondered if he had dyed it or not. And if so, how?

 “Scar, this is Joel. Joel, Scar.” Grian introduced and Scar did his best to bow from a seated position. 

 “Nice to meet you, Mr. Joel.” Scar said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

 Joel still seemed unsure but he gave a little wave before quickly putting his hand back down. “Grian said you were trustworthy so…I believe him. And you did save me so…” He looked at Grian.

 “I told him as much as I could when I got into the cage.” He smiled at Joel. “Don’t worry, Scar would never hurt us or keep us trapped.”

 Scar nodded in total agreement. “Yeah, we’ll get you back home…or wherever it is you need to go.”

 Joel nodded. “...Thanks.”

 Scar grinned. He knew it would take a while for Joel to warm up to him and to the idea that Scar, despite being a human, wasn’t planning on keeping or harming them. After all, it had taken Grian a bit of time to get to that point too. But either way, Scar was more than willing to help. After all…

 Jimmy frowned and crossed his arms. “We’re arguing, Joel. I feel like everytime we try to talk it turns into either you leaving or us starting an argument.” He uncrossed his arms, suddenly looking tired. “I just…I want to know what’s wrong. I want to help you.”

 Joel searched Jimmy’s eyes and then steeled his own, turning back to his bag. “Nothing is wrong.” He said through gritted teeth and he was now shoving things in his bag instead of trying to organize. When Jimmy saw him swing the bag over his shoulder, Jimmy stood up and tried to stop him.

 “You’re running away again Joel, and it’s the middle of the day! What is going on with you?!” Jimmy exclaimed his question, not wanting Joel to leave again.

 It didn’t work. “Nothing is going on with me!” Joel yelled, his voice an octave higher. He shook his head. “I just…I…” He paused for a moment and then shook his head again. “I’ll be back later.”

 “Joel!” Jimmy tried but Joel had already run out the door. Jimmy collapsed onto their little makeshift couch and groaned into his hands. He just wanted to understand, to know what was wrong with his best friend. Because no matter what Joel said, something was very clearly wrong.

 Jimmy sat up and eyed his own borrowing bag in the corner. Jimmy had never followed Joel before on one of these, because despite his worry he also respected Joel’s privacy. And maybe also because he was a bit scared to go out like Joel did in the middle of the day. But now, Jimmy was certain this was bigger than simply letting Joel have that privacy or letting his own fears get in the way.

 So Jimmy stood up, grabbed his bag and haphazardly flung in around his shoulder as he followed Joel out the door.

 Of course, Joel was nowhere in sight. Jimmy had taken too long in order to see him anymore but that was a good thing. Jimmy didn’t want Joel to know he decided to follow him, he needed Joel to believe he was just going to stay back home again. Jimmy headed down the path, following where he thought Joel might have gone. 

 There weren't a lot of places for them to go. The walls, while massive, were also limited in where they went. But still, while limited, it would still take a good guess for Jimmy to realize where Joel had gone.

 The first exit out of the walls that came up was into the kitchen. That was the main reason they had chosen to live in this area of the walls. Easy access into the kitchen was essential for borrowers, so they always had a way to get food.

 Jimmy wasn’t expecting Joel to have gone through there, not with there being a chance the human was in there, but Jimmy thought it didn’t hurt to check, just to make sure. So he slowly pushed the door open and peeked out, being very wary of any humans that could be around.

 The kitchen was empty of humans, but it definitely wasn’t empty of borrowers. Jimmy’s eyes honed in onto Joel, who was just standing there near the edge of the counter. Jimmy wasn’t sure what he was doing but at the moment, he didn’t really care. He exited the wall fully, running over to Joel. “Joel!”

 Joel startled at his shout and turned with wide eyes to Jimmy. He looked horrified. “J-Jimmy, what-what are you doing here?” Joel stuttered out, and all but hissing near the end. He met Jimmy halfway across the counter and placed a pair of hands on his shoulder. 

 Jimmy steeled his gaze and stared into Joel’s eyes. “I told you, I’m worried about you! So I decided to follow you this time.”

 Joel shook his head, his grip on Jimmy’s shoulders becoming tighter. “Jimmy, now is not the time. You need to get out of here.” As he said this, Joel forcefully turned Jimmy around and started pushing him back toward the walls. Jimmy did his best to stop the pushing by burying his heels into the floor but Joel was a lot stronger than he looked.

 “No! Not until you tell me what’s wrong!” Jimmy yelled, forgetting for a moment they were out in the open, too concerned with Joel’s behavior. 

 “Jimmy, seriously! You need to-!”

 “Am I interrupting something?” A voice suddenly cut Joel off. Both borrowers froze and Jimmy felt his breath hitch in his throat, making him unable to breath. He heard Joel groan, his head falling so his forehead was pressed against Jimmy’s shoulder.

 “You have got to be kidding me…” Joel muttered but he was so close that Jimmy still heard it.

 Jimmy wasn’t sure what made him do it but he decided to turn his head to look behind him and his worst fears were realized in that moment.

 A human was standing there at the edge of the counter, looming over them so much that he casted both Jimmy and Joel in his shadow. He had a mask on and despite the raised eyebrow, it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Not that it was easy to ever tell what a human was thinking.

 “Uh, Joel?” The human spoke again and Jimmy didn’t think he could tense up anymore but here he was. The human knew Joel’s name. What did that mean? How did he know? What was going on?

 The grip left Jimmy’s shoulders but he was still too frozen in fear to run. He finally met Joel’s eyes as the other borrower took a step back from him, but was surprised to find they didn’t hold the same fear that Jimmy’s probably did. In fact, Joel looked more annoyed than anything, especially with the way he was pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 Joel let out a sigh and turned to look up at the human. “Etho, can you give us a second?” Joel said and Jimmy’s eyes went wide even more.

 The human, Etho apparently, tilted his head at the request but nodded. “Uh, sure?” He seemed confused as to why but he listened to Joel and left the kitchen.

 Jimmy felt like he was going to pass out. 

 As the human left, Joel turned back to Jimmy with a nervous look on his face. His hands were held out, as if dealing with a wild animal. “Jimmy, listen, I can explain.” He started off with but Jimmy was barely listening. 

 “The human listened to you.” Jimmy said in shock and a bit of awe. Joel winced.

 “Yes, he did.” Joel looked over at where the human had left but there was still no sign of him coming back. “He’s uh…he’s good at that.”

 Still, Jimmy was barely listening. And Joel seemed to be able to tell, because he took another step forward, toward him. This, however, finally unfroze Jimmy and replaced his instinct with the overwhelming feeling to flee. “We-Joel-we gotta get out of here!” He grabbed one of Joel’s still raised hands and tried to pull him back into the walls with him.

 It was a lot harder than Joel had made it seem though and Joel held his ground firmly, barely being moved by Jimmy’s efforts. Jimmy’s panic was only increasing the longer they were both out in the open like this.

 “Jimmy, I need you to listen, please.” Joel said and then pulled his wrist out of Jimmy’s grip with little effort. He then switched it up and grabbed Jimmy’s wrist, keeping him in place and looking him in the eyes.

 Jimmy still had panic coursing through his veins, his nerves were on fire, and all he wanted was for the two of them to get back to safety. But the look in Joel’s eyes finally made him pause and he looked down at Joel pleadingly. As if to say hurry it up so they could get a move on. Joel sighed.

 “You were right, okay? Nothing is wrong but…I have been hiding something from you.” Joel revealed and Jimmy’s eyes widened. 

 “Joel, what-?” He was cut off.

 “I got caught by the human three weeks ago.”

 Suddenly Jimmy couldn’t breathe again.

 “It was a stupid mistake on my part but the important thing is, Etho never hurt me. Or kept me. I mean, I kept coming back, didn’t I?” Joel said, prompting Jimmy to respond and say something.

 “I-well-I mean-yes, but-!”

 “Etho isn’t…like other humans. He’s nice and I enjoy hanging out with him.” Joel admitted, a slight blush on his cheeks.

 Jimmy was still confused but less so. Still… “He’s a human though Joel. We can’t…it’s dangerous.”

 Joel sighed, running a hand down his face. “I know that. Of course I know that. But Etho has proven himself…that is one of the reasons why I didn’t tell you, though.” Joel looked away. “I didn’t know how you would react. I didn’t really know how Etho would react either. But…yeah, that’s what’s been going on.”

 Jimmy tried to breathe, easing himself back into some sort of normal. He couldn’t imagine what Joel had been through, being caught and not telling him. But from what he was saying…it also hadn’t seemed that bad for him either. Jimmy was still very wary and scared of what was going on. This was a human they were dealing with after all. But…Joel seemed genuine and Etho had listened to him.

 “So…what do you want to happen then?” Jimmy asked once he felt like he could breathe again. 

 Joel bit his lip and then met Jimmy’s eyes once again. “Well, now that you know…maybe you could meet him? Officially, that is.”

 Jimmy tensed again at that idea but also tried his best to keep from freezing up again. “...So you want to keep this up then? Keep meeting up with Etho? The rules really say we should move.”

 Joel shook his head and huffed. “I know what the rules say Jim. But Etho is a good guy and he can help us out. I…” Joel paused for only a moment. “I trust him.”

 Well, that wasn’t what Jimmy was expecting. Of course, Joel had to have had some sort of trust in the human to keep coming back and meeting up with him but actually hearing it from Joel himself was another thing entirely. Not only that but Joel didn’t trust easily, so to say he trusted a human of all people…Jimmy couldn’t help but think this human really must be special.

 “...Then okay.” Jimmy said with a nod. “I-I’ll meet him.” Jimmy gave a nervous but genuine smile and Joel finally released Jimmy’s wrist. 

 “Really? I mean, yeah, okay, cool.” Joel’s voice cracked a little, so he cleared his throat. “That’s great. Etho!” He turned to the place the human had disappeared. “You can come out now!”

 Jimmy was at first confused. Would Etho even be able to hear Joel from wherever he was. And then he was right back to that nervous panic when Etho came right out once Joel had called for him. Had he just been right around the corner this whole time?!

 Etho came closer to the counter and Jimmy couldn’t help but back up a few steps. Joel was right next to him though, a casual hand on his back to make sure he didn’t run back into the walls. Jimmy wasn’t going to, he said he would meet Etho and he was going to stick to that, but he appreciated Joel grounding him.

 “Etho, this is Jimmy. Jimmy, this is Etho.” Joel introduced them and Etho tilted his head.

 “It’s nice to meet you, Jimmy.” Etho said, giving Jimmy a little wave. Jimmy gave a shaky wave back.

 “Um, hi, it-it’s uh, it’s nice to meet you too.''Jimmy said, stuttering thanks to his nerves. “Joel’s told me a lot about you! I mean-well, that’s-that’s ya know, kind of a lie, he uh, he told me some stuff just now and-uh, well, if he’s willing to trust you, I guess I-I could give ya a chance, you know, and I-'' He was cut off when Joel placed a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy blushed when he realized he had been rambling.

 “What he’s trying to say is that he’s willing to give you a chance.” Joel spoke for Jimmy, looking up at Etho.

 Etho’s eyes went softer. “Well, I appreciate that.” He said as he rubbed the back of his head.

 “I think that might be enough for one day though. Sorry to cut this short Etho, but I’m gonna take Jimmy back home and talk to him some more about all this.” Joel said, already guiding Jimmy back toward the wall. 

 “Sounds good. I’ll see you soon then.” Etho said and then he left the kitchen just as Jimmy and Joel made their way back inside the walls.

 As they walked back home, Jimmy glanced over at Joel. “So…how did you get caught anyway?”