Episode 6: How to Speedrun a Relationship Like a Pro (Part 2)
Read on Ao3
Once again, beware of the plot devices and plotholes that I probably won’t fix rumors I feel like it.
And very straight-to-the-point conversions…
Also, as I’ve joked around in tumblr before, I think Lou randomly lore dumping/trauma dumping is gonna be a new running gag.
This guy has so much potential to be that one veteran friend that went through a lot, and just jokes about it now.
……
“I know, I know!” Caradoc waved to the crowd, after he had finished the song. The he tipped his hat as he bowed. “I still got it!”
He stayed on stage longer to continue waving and thanking the audience.
Lou hunched down, trying to be as invisible as possible. They were far from the stage, but not impossible to see if they made their presence obvious.
Especially with the lovely view he expects the bear to have from up there…
The blonde looked nervous and he was sweating bullets.
“We have to leave.” He whispered to Moxy.
The pink doll hummed at him, confused. “Why?”
She paused for a moment before she added, “If you’re worried about him seeing us on a date, we can just tell him it’s for the assignment he gave me.”
Lou shook his head, “I don’t want to risk it…”
Moxy looked at him even more puzzled now, “Why?”
The blonde sighed before deciding to explain, “Don’t get me wrong… Caradoc and the other two are… decent people…” He awkwardly coughed into his hand as he continued, “but like other toys here in the city, they might have a different impression on your… credibility, if they end up believing this date is real somehow.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t mingle much with the other academy students because… a lot of them think the only reason I graduated and got approved as my district’s leader was because I became a favorite student…” Lou bitterly told the pink doll before adding, “Which… I know there’s no actual proof to…””
Then he sighed, his face fell into a more disappointed expression as he said, “Still… I can’t help but feel like it might be the case in some way. I’ve seen how pitiful the three of them get with me —and a little projective…”
“I can’t help but wonder if there were things that they overlooked for my sake.” He propped his elbow up on the table so he could rest his head in his hand.
Moxy’s chest tightened as she looked at the blonde sympathetically.
She really wanted to reassure him. To tell him she doesn’t believe that was true.
But then again, does she even know the professors that well…?
If that incident during their last visit was anything to go by, they definitely had this extreme habit of babying the blonde. Even when she was right there.
So she sighed, deciding to keep it to herself.
Instead she told the blonde, “I’m sorry you feel that way about them. They seem like they just really care… but I get why that would be upsetting.”
Then to redirect the subject she asked, “But… What does that have to do with me being on a date with you?”
“Oh… right.” Lou flushed as he remembered what he was trying to explain.
He cleared his throat as he explained, “I’m worried, they, or anyone else at the academy who might hear of it, will think I picked you to take my place and help you get through classes just because you’re my girlfriend or something...”
His lips immediately flattened, as the ‘g’ word lingered in his head. He hoped his face didn’t get any redder.
Moxy’s lips parted, surprised.
She slowly looked down as she thought for a moment.
“I see…”
Lou was quick to say, “Of course, we both know that’s not true.”
He scratched the back of his head as he told her, “You’ve been working really hard to earn the position… And that’s why I don’t want you receiving the same accusations I did.”
Moxy looked at Lou stunned, before a smile slowly crept up on her face. “Thanks…”
Then she tried to lighten the mood by adding, “But I’m sure no one’s ever gonna think you’re dating me for real.” She batted her hand at the thought.
“Not to be mean to myself, but you still have your standards, right?” She smirked at the blonde.
“If I were a stereotypically cute doll, then they’d start talking. Because there’s no way your professors would ever think you’d date an uglydoll.” She giggled to herself.
Lou nervously smacked his lips, as he looked off to the side, “Yeah… heh… uh.”
“It’stheotherwayaroundactually.” He mumbled really quickly behind his hand.
“What?”
The blonde sighed as he decided to tell her, “I told you earlier, that I’d sometimes come here with toys outside of the academy right?”
“Yeah?” Moxy answered with a curious tone.
“Those sometimes… were sort of like dates.” He confessed. He ducked his head a little lower as he quietly said, “Call it reckless rebellion… but I-I went through this awful phase of meeting up with unconventional toys…”
“Unconventional?” Moxy repeated, confused.
“They’re not what you’d normally think of, when you imagine someone on a dinner date.” Lou clarified.
“Out of all of them, you’d be considered my tamest date.” He told her bluntly.
Moxy blinked. Her jaw hung open as she processed the blonde’s words.
Then she looked at him again, and squinted her eyes, skeptical.
“I thought you said you’ve never been on a date before…? And that you never dated a plastic toy because you didn't like them…”
Lou rolled his eyes as he said, “I believe I said proper date. Emphasis on the word ‘proper’; they were just… short introductions at most.”
Then quickly added, “I also specified that I’d never date from Hattel’s specifically.”
“And all I said was that I had an aversion to plastic toys. Never said I didn’t date one prior to my developed aversion.” He firmly crossed his arms after finishing his argument. “That part happened after some issues I had with my ex…”
“Uh….” Moxy trailed off as she tried to organize the mountain of questions in her head.
“Who was… Why did you… What kind of…”
Eventually she just gave up and shook her head, then hunched over the table and rubbed her temples. “Ugh… You know what? Nevermind. You’re right… let’s talk about that some other time.”
She sighed then asked him, “So do we just ask for the check now?”
Lou looked at the table as he slowly shook his head. “No…”
He pointed behind her again, “While we were talking Caradoc started another song.”
“Love me tender, love me true… All my dreams fulfilled…” Caradoc spun around in small circles while cradling the microphone stand. “For my darling, I love you…”
With a tired, tight lipped smile, the pink doll stared at the bear as he sang and used the microphone stand as a dance partner.
“I mean… we can just leave while he’s singing.” She suggested, as she turned back to the blonde.
The blonde shook his had again, “Can’t do that either…”
“Why?”
“Hey hey hey!”
Moxy and Lou ducked down even lower when the teddy bear suddenly cut off his own singing as he used to mic to call out.
“Now where are you going, folks? I just started!” The bear loudly said, as he looked at a distance.
The two dolls slowly turned to see that the bear had his eyes on a group that was frozen halfway through the doorway, looking at the stage a little frightened.
Caradoc suddenly stated laughing, and waved at them, “HAHA kidding! I’m just kidding! Enjoy your night fellas!”
The group erupted into light, relieved chuckles, before making an exit.
The bear scratched the top of his head as he feigned wonder, “Now where was I…? Ah right!”
As he continued singing Lou slowly returned his eyes to Moxy, and gestured his hands at the bear, as if to tell her ‘that’s why’.
Regardless, he still explained, “He’s always like that… Whenever he’s sings here, he has his eyes on the door, so he can call out any of the ‘exiting audience’…”
Then he added, “Not because he’s actually mad if anyone leaves while he’s singing… he’s just a massive troll. And the staff love him for it.”
“So… you’re saying…” Moxy started, “That he’ll spot us right away if we leave?”
Lou nodded, “But, only while he’s up there. So… we’ll just have to wait it out.” He picked up his fork as he continued to eat the rest of his meal. “In the meantime, let’s just finish up…”
Moxy picked up her shake and took a long sip before asking the blonde, “How long would that take though?”
The blonde shrugged, “Not that long, I’m sure… either by the end of this song or maybe two more? Then he’ll go back to his table to get wasted.”
.•.•.
Lou’s cheek was planted on the table, as he tiredly looked up at the bear, who was singing his 14th song.
“It’s been nearly two hours…” He said through groans. “He has never taken this long before…”
Moxy was in the same condition as the blonde. Her head lazily let her hands hold it up, she played with the straw in her mouth, her shake and fries gone 6 songs ago…
“That old bear guy is really takin’ his time, ain’t he?” Ox asked Mandy, as he continued to spy on the two, while occasionally looking at the bear on stage. “And for some reason, Moxy and Lou want him to finish up already. I wonder why…”
The bunny and the redhead’s table increased in empty or half drunk iced water, while Mandy decreased in patience.
“Maybe they want to leave, but don’t want to be put in the hot seat.” The redhead flatly replied, her brows furrowed and her arms crossed. “God knows I feel that way right now.”
She found it unusual how the waiter hasn’t lost his patience with them yet. Or why he’s been the only waiter going to their table since earlier; same close-to-human build and dark blonde toy, that greeted them.
No matter how many times she shamefully ordered nothing but water… he just complied.
She can’t tell if there’s a limit to the free water policy, and he’s just serving it without protest to pile up how much they owe later… or he’s pitying her.
Either way Mandy knows it’ll end in the most embarrassing way if she stays any longer.
But leaving isn’t available right now, judging from what she observed from that old bear singing on stage; he’s got the eyes of an eagle apparently.
Mandy isn’t against the idea of making a run for it… it doesn’t matter to her if the bear noticed or not. And… all she has to do is never show her face here again.
The real problem is if he did notice, then Moxy and Lou will find out they’re here, spying on them…
The redhead sighed, as she realized her hands were tied…
Why did she come here?
“Teeeell me, Tell me that your sweet love hasn't died~” Caradoc dipped the mic, low as he passionately sang, “Giiiive me, Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied, satisfied~”
Moxy watched the bear, her eyes narrowed as she started observing his performance and song choices.
“Lou?”
Not bothering to lift his head from the table, the blonde acknowledged her with a short hum, “Hm?”
Curiously, she asked, “Did Professor Caradoc break up with his wife or something?”
“What?” Lou finally looked up and gave the pink doll a dumbfounded look. “Where did that come from?”
She turned to him while pointing a thumb over her shoulder, “The past several songs he sang are all love songs… some are a little sad.”
Then she added, “Plus he’d make those little comments like ‘Only old pining hearts like me will understand’…”
“But, I mean…” She trailed off as she shrugged, “if it’s not some sort of divorce drama, then… is he trying to impress someone here?”
Lou blinked before he thought about it.
Then he gasped, as he looked at the table ahead of them.
Moxy leaned towards him curiously, “You’ve got an idea?”
The blonde nodded as he pointed behind her, “Miss Evanthe!”
“Huh?” Moxy looked at him confused, “what about her?”
She then took a glance at the garden mother again, and saw her gazing up at the bear with adoration in her eyes.
Swooing and sighing in all the ways she’s seen with the girls back home.
“Ohhh…” The pink doll said, as it finally clicked.
“Of course!” Lou scoffed before crossing his arms, smirking as he explained, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier. Those ancient lovebirds have been pining since the nineties. But they rarely spend some time together these days. Evanthe has to prioritize the kids, so she doesn’t have the same free time as Caradoc.”
The blonde concluded, “Caradoc must’ve noticed her here having an actual break, probably the first time in a long time, and started showing off.”
“Aww…” Moxy pressed a hand to her lips, as she smiled at that. “That’s actually kinda cute.”
“But…” Her hand moved down to her chin, as she thought. “…if they clearly liked each other for that long, why haven’t they talked to each other about it yet?”
Lou rolled his eyes as he answered, “Because they're old. Old people like to call younger relationships too unnecessarily angsty for their own good, when they’re the ones constantly acting like it’s too late for them to get together.”
Moxy stared at the blonde blankly, before snorting at him, amused.
Lou’s brows furrowed at her, “What?”
She giggled even harder, “You sound really frustrated over the two of them.”
“Well can you blame me?!” The blonde gave her a frustrated frown, as he ran his hands through his hair as he inhaled sharply. “I’ve seen them like this since I met them. And even then it made no sense to me!”
"Those two have quality-care, stable income, emotional maturity, and no current debt.” He threw his hands up as he exclaimed, “What exactly are they waiting for?"
“The Garden Bed Babies are no excuse, either. Caradoc loves kids, and he’s read books to the babies before. Getting together wouldn’t change anything in their jobs .”
“Okay okay!” Moxy waved him off, wiping a tear from her eye. “Calm down. I get it.”
They both flinched when the sound of the microphone’s feedback rang in their ears.
They turned back to the stage, to see the bear had bowed down, hat to his chest.
“Thank you everyone, who stayed ‘til the end.” Caradoc said as he put his hat back on. “It’s been a blast, but I believe that’s my final song now.”
He glanced towards a table, smiling softly at the woman staring at him.
She smiled at him in return, offering a small, shy wave.
That was not left unnoticed by the blonde and the pink doll…
As the bear walked off the stage, the crowd clapped while some groaned in relief.
“So.. he’s finally done.” Moxy turned to Lou, sighing. “Well… that’s a relief.”
Then she casually asks him, “Time for the check?”
Lou opened his mouth to agree, but then he looked at the table the bear had seated himself at, then at the mother doll’s table. His eyes slowly went back and forth between them.
“You know what…?” He started, before letting out a long frustrated sigh. “I can’t yet.”
“Huh?” Moxy tilted her head, confused.
“Now that these two and their cheesy love story came back to mind, I’m mad again.” He looked behind Moxy, as he waved over a waiter.
“I want to at least try doing something first, before leaving.” He told the pink doll.
Moxy squinted an eye at him, curious about what he’s planning.
A waiter, a small blocky boy, made his way to their table, “The bill, sir?”
The blonde nodded, “Yes. But…”
The waiter patiently waited for the blonde to continue.
“Along with it, could you bring one bottle of ‘Loose Screws’ please?” He asked the waiter, whose eyes subtly widened at the request.
Regardless, the waiter nodded and wrote it down. “I’ll be back… goodness.”
“Something wrong?” The pink doll asked the staff with mild concern.
The waiter awkwardly laughed it off, “Oh! Haha… it’s nothing ma’am, it’s just…”
He shyly rubbed the back of his neck as he admitted, “You two struck me as a couple that recently started dating… but…”
He blushed as he hesitated to continue, “…the fact that you’re ordering a whole bottle of that, around daytime too… It looks like I was wrong.”
Moxy was even more puzzled now, while Lou’s pupils shrunk as his cheeks flushed pink.
“N-No…!” The blonde immediately said, “It’s not for us. It’s for a friend.”
The young waited raised a brow, but nodded anyway. “Okay. I’ll be back with the check and the bottle, sir.” And with that, he walked away.
Moxy watched the waiter leave, before returning her gaze to Lou. “What the heck is a Loose Screws?”
Lou hummed nervously, as he looked off to the side. “All I can say is… don’t try to drink it without trusted company…. or outside.”
“Unless you want to wake up in a dumpster, wearing someone else’s clothes.” He quietly added.
The pink doll stared at him with shrunken pupils, “I… I think I’ll pass.”
“Good call.” The blonde chuckled at her, “But, don’t worry. Like I said, it’s not for us.”
The waiter finally came back, and handed them the check and the bottle.
Lou placed his pay in the little case and handed it back with a small ‘thank you’.
Moxy’s head slowly followed the waiter as he walked away and stared at the blonde with her mouth agape.
“Why didn’t you split it with me? I could afford my order.” She asked the blonde.
Lou coolly batted his hand at her, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not broke. I just can’t afford to modernize them institute. Big difference.”
Moxy pouted at him.
The blonde got up from his chair, holding the bottle close to his chest.
“Now excuse me, for a few minutes.” He whispered to her before walking away from the table, slightly crouched down as he headed towards the elderly woman’s table.
He slowly made his way at her side, while she was looking in the opposite direction.
“Hey, Miss Evanthe.”
“Oh!” The woman lightly jumped in her seat, her tiny glasses falling a little crooked on her nose.
She fixed her glasses, before turning to see the blonde doll standing right next to her, with his arms behind his back.
“Oh my!” She exclaimed, smiling excitedly. “Lou! Nice to see you again! I haven’t seen you since that time you brought Rosemary back.”
“Happy to see you too!” The blonde said, returning the smile.
“So… what brings you here?” The woman asked curiously. “This place, I mean, not just my table.” She specified giggling to herself.
She slowly glanced at the other side of the room where the bear's table was. “Are you here with Caradoc?” She asked, as she stared at the back of the bear’s head for a little while.
The blonde quickly shook his head. “No. Actually… he doesn’t even know I’m here.” He placed a finger to his lips as he pleaded, “Don’t tell him I’m here though.”
Evanthe raised a brow, “Why?”
Then her eyes widened a little as she covered her mouth.
“Ooh! Are you here with someone special?” She teasingly asked him.
“Ah-I… no!” Lou answered, trying not to sound flustered.
But then, he realized he had no other excuse to give her… so with a defeated sigh he said, “Well… I am on a date right now. And we both just want to be on the ‘down low’ from anyone we know, right now.”
The woman excitedly clapped, her eyes sparkled up at him as she squealed, “Who is she? What does she look like?”
She tried to look behind Lou to look for where his date could possibly be, but the blonde stepped to block her view the second she tried to look at the table a few feet away from her.
“Don’t try to look. She’s…” He awkwardly trailed off, “too short for you to see past the backrest.”
“I can just come over there—”
“A-Anyway…” He cut her off, clearing his throat as he continued, “ I came up to your table, because I noticed you’ve been staring at Caradoc the whole time he was singing on stage.”
Evanthe slowly turned red from the neck up, as she pressed a flustered cheek to her hand. “I see…”
The blonde chuckled at her, as he leaned down and said, “Honestly Miss Evanthe, when are you going to take a chance on this?”
Evanthe lightly laughed at him as she shook her head, “Oh Lou… it’s too late for me. I’m too old.”
“You’re both technically around your sixties at most. And that’s just counting from your day of production.” The blonde replied bluntly, “you’re not that old.”
Evanthe sighs and tiredly looks at the blonde, “Even then… It's more than just age. Being together now would be difficult.”
“Really? How?”
The woman opened her mouth again, but found no words coming out.
“Uh…”
The blonde proceeded to ask, “Tell me, if you’re both old but don’t judge each other based on appearance or age, equally interested in each other, and perfectly independent… What makes your chances of being together difficult?”
The woman stuttered a bit as she tried to answer, “Opportunities like these belong to the younger lovers… Me and Caradoc shouldn’t be involving ourselves in such things.”
Lou squinted at her, incredibly dumbfounded. “You make it sound like it’s selfish. Do you think a couple is cursed to break up the second you two get together? Miss Evanthe, that only works if you’re both a single parent to one.”
Evanthe flushed even redder, as she finally heard herself. “Right…”
Lou slowly shook his head as he sighed.
“Well… you clearly don’t have an actual reason.”
“But—”
“And even if there was…” He trailed off, before revealing the bottle he was holding behind his back. “I still think you should give it a shot.”
He gently placed the bottle down on the table, as he smiled at her. “Here’s a little something to instill some courage.”
As the woman picked the bottle up to examine it, he slowly turned around and walked away while saying, “You know what to do with it, ma’am.”
Evanthe briefly watched the blonde walk away, before looking back down at the bottle, thoughtfully.
“So, what happened?” Moxy asked, as soon as Lou made it back to the table and sat down.
“I just talked some sense into her.” He answered. “I hope I did, at least…”
He flippantly told her, “As expected… she didn’t have an actual reason, outside of points I’ve already crossed out…”
Then he added, “But… I think their real problem this whole time is how ridiculously shy they are to behave like kids.”
Moxy tilted her head, confused.
“They know that if they start dating, they’ll be as giddy as teenagers. And… I guess at their age, I can see why they feel embarrassed at the thought.” He tried to explain better. “They don’t want to be judged, so they’re holding back by sticking to the pining.”
“Oh.” The pink said, lightly touching her chin.
Then she snorted, “That’s so silly…”
Lou chuckled, “Yeah. It is kinda—”
“HELLOOO EVERYONE!”
Moxy, Lou, and pretty much everyone whip their heads towards the stage, where… Evanthe was screaming into the mic.
“I’m a little hyped right now! And IN LOVE!” Evanthe loudly said, as the feedback rang out until she spoke again.
“I’ve got a wonderful, whimsical, musiiicaaal speech I’d like to make!” She announced, while bouncing on her toes.
Moxy gawked at her with a slackened jaw.
Lou tilted his head, his eye twitched, “What in the—”
“—hell is happenin’ up there?” Ox said, as he momentarily put the binoculars down as he stared at the hyper enthusiastic elderly on stage.
Evanthe swayed her hips as the music started playing.
Then she pointed a finger up at the ceiling, before bringing it down to point at a very shocked teddy bear’s table.
As she flicked her wrist while she pointed at him, as if she was shooting him, she started singing, “If you change your mind, I'm the first in line~”
She let go of the mic stand and gestured her hands up and down herself as she continued to sway, “Honey I'm still free! Take a chance on me~”
If Lou’s jaw could stretch any further, it’d be touching the table.
What the heck happened?
He pushed himself a little off his seat to look over Moxy.
His pupils shrunk as he saw the bottle of Loose Screws laying horizontally on the table… completely open. No cork. And apparently… no more of the drink left as well, only small droplets soaking into the tablecloth.
Moxy noticed where he was looking and turned to see the table a few feet behind her. She had the same reaction as the blonde as soon as she saw the bottle. “Oookay then…”
“She… She drank the whole thing…” The blonde stuttered out, his arms slackened. “…I turned around for ten seconds.”
“That’s not what I had in mind.” The blonde had flatly said, as he carefully sat back in his chair.
“What did you think was going to happen?” Moxy asked him.
He clutched the side of his head as he slowly shook it in disbelief, “I-I figured I gave enough implications…”
“I gave her the bottle so she’d offer him some…
Maybe get a little drowsy, laugh a little at each other… and be honest after finishing?”
“I wasn’t expecting her to down the whole thing like a wired sophomore!” He then gestured towards the table and bottle, “And…”
He covered his mouth with his hand, staring down with concern, “…She’s used to a lot of heavy drinks, but maybe I should’ve still gone for something tamer.”
They jolted in shock when someone had suddenly screamed, then turned to find Evanthe had hopped on someone’s table.
“Oh god…” Lou squeaked out.
Evanthe started twirling as the toys below her, pulled their plates towards them when she stepped their way.
“If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown!” She jumped up and down on the table, while flapping her arms to imitate flying. “Honey I'm still free! Take a chance on me~”
She jumped onto another row of joint tables, marching even closer to the bear she frequently made eye contact with.
The bear had stared at her with his jaw hung open, a little shocked, a little frightened, but intrigued at the same time.
“Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie!” She placed a hand on her chest, while using the other to wag a finger, as she side stepped. “If you put me to the test, if you let me try!”
“Take a chance on meeee~” She sang out, as she finally jumped onto his table.
Caradoc looked up at her, concerned. “M-My! E-Evanthe —OOF!” He gasped out as the woman had suddenly jumped down into his arms and knocked the wind out of him.
Evanthe wrapped her arms around his neck, as she leaned closer. Staring right into his eyes. “Take a chance on meeeee~”
Eventually the bear had let himself relax. His shoulders dropping from his earlier tension.
His gaze softened as he looked at the woman affectionately.
She suddenly hopped off of him, as she pulled him to the center of the room to dance with her.
They had a small distance between them as they walked in circles while looking at each other.
“We can go dancing~” Evanthe shook her arms and hips.
“We can go walking!” Caradoc twirled his cane as he sang with her.
“As long as we're together~” She batted her eyes at him, as she clasped her hands against her chest.
Though some of the customers were quite startled, they started clapping and singing along.
Evanthe cupped her ear, while the other one imitated the motion of playing with turntables with her other hand, “Listen to some music!”
“Maybe just talking?” Caradoc playfully responded with.
“You get to know me better~” Evanthe suddenly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to an open window.
The several toys watching all gasped as they both jumped out the window, clumsily landing on their feet and ran off laughing, continuing their little song elsewhere.
“….” Moxy and Lou’s gaze lingered at the window, eyes and mouth both wide open, equally and utterly pale and bewildered.
Eventually Lou closed his mouth and smacked his lips looking for something to say.
Then he simply stood up, and ticked his chair in. “time to go.”
Moxy quietly got off her chair and walked at the same pace by his side as they made their way out the door.
Then she suddenly thought of something and looked up at the blonde, “Aren’t you worried Miss Evanthe would be way too out of it now? She might tell Caradoc you were here.”
“After a whole bottle of that?” The blonde laughed a little as he shook his head. “Yeah… I don’t think so. I took a single glass of that stuff and I still can’t remember what I did or who I was with —or attacked, the day before...”
He waved it off as he added, “I’m just hoping that whoever owned that sombrero and floral poncho doesn’t remember me.”
Moxy slowly stared up at him with a deadpan smile, the wrinkles under her eyes becoming more visible.
“Mandy, c’mon! They’re leavin’!” Ox said, as he hopped off his chair and ran out the door.
“O-Ox!” Mandy shot up from her chair, stretching a hand out to the disappearing bunny.
She sighed as she tried to run after him.
Only to be stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist.
The redhead gasped, as she slowly turned around to be met with the same waiter that’s been tending to them.
Her face instantly drained in fear.
She tensed. She tugged on her captured arm, while the other shielded her face from whatever he might do.
But… he was a little taller than her, and made of sturdy plastic. If he made his grip any tighter, he could tear the seams on her wrists. She had no chance.
“O-Oh!” Mandy was stuttering, trying to find something to say. “I-I’m so sorry, sir! We didn’t mean to cheat any of you from our stay… I swear, it wasn’t our intention to come here without—”
She was cut off from the finger he held up as he shushed her.
The redhead looked up at him confused, as he slowly released her wrist and shifted to holding her hand.
“Sorry, if I scared you.” The waiter told her, “I just didn’t know if I was going to catch you in time.”
The phrasing didn’t ease Mandy, but his more gentle hold allowed her to stay and hear the man out.
He suddenly reached into his back pocket, and gave her a small piece of paper.
“Here.” He pressed the paper into the hand he was holding and closed her fist before releasing her.
Mandy looked at him with a raised brow, and opened her hand to see what he gave her.
She blinked in surprise as she found it was a phone number.
Before she could question him, he explained right away.
“I’ve noticed how unhappy you were with that… friend of yours, the whole time you were here...” He started, “And how uncomfortable you were with staying without money, but couldn’t leave because of whatever he was doing.”
Mandy blinked as she processed what he said, before ducking down, embarrassed.
Not only was he voluntarily serving them, he was also watching them the whole time?
Oh my doll… can the floor just eat her whole already?
But then she returned her focus to the phone number in her hand.
“But…” She pointed at the paper, “what’s this for?”
The doll chuckled shyly, as he cleared his throat. “Well… as much as I want to help you out…”
Mandy blushed a little at that.
He continued, “I don’t want to jump to conclusions or make offers over something that you can probably handle yourself….”
“But I still want to offer help in a way. So, if you ever feel like you need help or a ride home, you can call me.” He pointed at the paper in the redhead’s hand, while smiling at her.
Then he dug through his front pocket and handed the redhead a handful of money. “And here’s some cash in case you need it.”
Mandy’s lips parted in shock, as she shook her head and frantically waved her hands.
“No no no no!” She immediately told the man. “I c-couldn’t! Please don’t! I couldn’t even pay for the water—”
“Water’s free ma’am.” He cut her off, slowly shaking his head as he chuckled fondly. “And staff inconvenience is just a twenty dollar fee —If I charged you for it. Which I don’t.”
Mandy slowly placed her hands over her mouth, still very guilty and overwhelmed.
“B-But… I… I don’t know if I could even bring myself to accept such a nice gesture.” She timidly told the waiter, “The fact that you didn’t charge me for inconvenience was already enough.”
“Please ma’am.” He thrusts the money towards her again, “I insist.”
Mandy looked between him and the cash in his hand, conflicted.
She really didn’t want to take advantage of this guy. He was being sweet for no reason.
But… there was no denying that she was definitely going to need some change.
So with a sigh, she reluctantly accepted the money in his hand and thanked him.
“I’ll find a way to repay you.” She put the money in her purse, “I promise.”
“You don’t have to.” He told her, “But I guess I wouldn’t pass up a chance to see you again.”
Mandy’s cheeks turned a little more pink as she tried to laugh off his words.
She nodded at him one last time, offering one final thank you, before exiting the restaurant.
As Mandy walked away from the restaurant, she thought back at how gentlemanly that waiter was.
Then stopped in her tracks as she realized one crucial detail.
“Ugh… no!” She slapped a palm to her head, frustrated. “I didn’t get his name.”
How was she supposed to repay him when she doesn’t even know his name?
Well… she could always go back and ask but that would be too embarrassing.
She sighed as she looked down at the paper in her hand.
Then blinked at it confused when she noticed the number wasn’t there, but rather a name.
Trent.
She flipped the paper over to confirm if it was the same one he gave her, and found the number on the other side. She flipped it again.
His name was Trent?
Mandy looked up from the paper as she made the connection.
Trent… as in a Trent doll? From that company Hattel’s Lou was talking about?
That’s what a Trent doll?
Mandy looked down at the paper again, smiling as she finally tucked it safely into her bag. “He’s… really nice.”
“MANDY!”
The redhead jumped as she turned around and found the bunny, out of breath behind her.
“What the heck took ya so long?” Ox asked her, his arms spread out incredulously.
Mandy’s brows furrowed at him. “Excuse me?”
Not bothering to respond to her tone, the bunny grabbed her arm. “I overheard Lou and Moxy talkin’ about headin’ to a funfair!”
He pulled her arm and started running, “Come on!”
“Aagh!” The redhead yelled, albeit a little more frustrated as she was dragged by the arm for the umpteenth time today.
.•.•.
“This is amazing.” Moxy giddily said as she ate her cotton candy.
Lou snorted as he took a bite of his pretzel. “You’re acting like we don’t have these snacks back home.”
Moxy rolled her eyes, “Yeah… but I was talking about visiting a real fair.”
“Both Uglyville and Imperfection aren't big enough to hold a whole place with games and rides.” She said, as she looked all around her, beaming with excitement.
“I can’t tell if they’re into each other, or just really stupid about datin’…” Ox said, as he used his binoculars while kneeling on a bench, using the backrest to hide.
“Maybe they just enjoy each other’s company, and haven’t done anything bad to each other yet?” Mandy flatly says, while paying for a corndog.
She ignored the way the vendor looked at her with concern.
The bunny looked over at her and perked up with a smile when he saw the corndog. “Oh neat! Can ya get me one? I don’t have any cash on me, thanks Mandy.” Then he turned back to spy on the two.
The redhead glared at the back of his head, gripping the corndog’s stick so tight that it snapped in half and fell out of her hands.
She looked down at the wasted snack, when she realized what she did.
Then flinched when she was met with two new corndogs being offered to her.
She slowly glanced up at the vendor, while hesitantly taking the corndogs.
“On the house, ma’am.” He said with a crack in his tone.
Without saying another word, the young man anxiously bowed to her, before running away. The cart full of snacks clanking and rattling as he pushed it hard.
Mandy stared at him. Her anger momentarily dropped as she felt guilty.
Wow. Was her mood getting that bad, that she scared a stranger?
She needs to pull herself together.
She approached the bunny who turned back to her and excitedly held his hand out for the corndog.
One last action to let out some steam, Mandy ignored the hand and shoved the corndog in his mouth, making the bunny gag as he was caught off guard.
Still he took the treat out of his mouth, and took slow bites as he curiously glanced at the redhead as she sat down with a huff.
Mandy looked down at him, unamused. But then took a deep breath and gave him a tired but calm smile.
Ox hesitantly smiled back, before slowly turning back to watch the other two dolls.
The redhead drummed her fingers against the wood, as she occasionally looked at the bunny who was still faced the other way on his seat.
Maybe she should talk to him now?
Ox is a nice guy. He’s just… oblivious to how she’s been feeling the whole day.
She sighed deeply, taking a small bite of her corndog, before finally calming down completely. Then she turned to the bunny.
“Hey, Ox?” She politely called to him, but the momentum was ruined the moment the bunny gasped and scurried off the bench.
“They’re headin’ to the horror tunnel!” He said, as he quickly ate the corndog in one whole, spitting the stick out and tossing it behind a bush.
Then he grabbed the redhead’s hand, and ran after the two.
Mandy yelped as she had accidentally let go of her corndog, dropping it and unable to retrieve as the bunny dragged her.
She groaned, “Oh, COME ON!”
The moment Ox drags Mandy inside, they completely lose sight of Lou and Moxy.
“Dang it.” The bunny muttered under his breath.
He let go of the redhead’s hand and slowly wandered.
The place was pretty dark.
Ox whispered to Mandy over his shoulder, "Keep yer eyes peeled..."
Mandy rolled her eyes, as she reluctantly followed Ox, with her arms crossed.
Ox looked around until he felt something drop down next to him.
He slowly turned his eye just in time to meet the spider that hissed at him.
“AH!” Ox yelled, pulling his ears down, and stepping back as he got startled.
Mandy, who recovered from the fright herself, stared blankly at him, a little baffled at how quickly the bunny moved away, "I didn’t know you were afraid of spiders…”
“I’m not.” The bunny flatly replied to her, “It was right next to my ear. The hissin’ sound effects made ‘em ring…” he added as he rubbed his right ear.
The spider blinked, and his face shifted to a guilty expression. “Ah… sorry man.”
Both dolls screamed in shock as the scare prop turned out to be a scare actor.
Lou and Moxy were walking through the tunnel, they were probably halfway through the attraction now.
They slowly and carefully moved as they made it to the graveyard section of the tunnel’s mutliple horrors.
The blonde looked around, intrigued. "This place has gotten better since the last time…”
Moxy looked up at him, "Really?"
Lou nodded, "The props are getting more realistically scary.”
Moxy looked ahead and noticed one particular setting and pointed at it, “I wouldn’t call a skeleton watching on his phone scary though…”
Lou chuckled, “Ah… no, Moxy. I think that guy’s just on break.”
The glow in the dark skeleton, who huddled up in the corner, looked up at them and waved before gluing his eyes –or lack thereof– back on the screen.
“Oh.” The pink doll laughed awkwardly as she turned away.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, until they reached the gates that lead the next horror section.
Suddenly a giant figure emerged from the gates.
A large, dark, spikey armored figure, who was wielding a giant axe, walked towards them menacingly.
Moxy actually shrieked, shocked at the intimidating aura the large figure had and clinged onto Lou, as they both jumped back.
“All who enter the arena, shan’t come out alive!” The armored figure said behind the helmet, their voice echoing inside it.
As Lou froze while staring at the employee, Moxy screamed again.
Ox ears twitched up, as he looked ahead of him.
“Hey! That was Moxy!” He grinned as he ran towards the noise, “They’re still here!”
Mandy reached a hand out to him, but he was too quick.
“O-Ox!” She called after him and tried to run, but she had tripped over something and fell forward, glasses flying off her face. “Oof!”
She groaned as she searched for her glasses, fortunately getting a hold of them right away, and put them back on.
Unfortunately, however, they were a little cracked from the impact.
She then looked ahead of her and found that they were much harder to see through due to some of the uneven cracking, and the dark room.
“Ox?” She called as she stood up from the ground, “Ox?”
No use… he can’t hear her.
She groaned as her fist gripped on the sides of her dress. The fabric bunching up the more frustrated she felt.
Suddenly another voice came into the room, “Alright, I’m heading out. The wifi here sucks!”
Mandy looked up again and squinted trying to make out the figure entering the room.
Thankfully he was glowing a ghostly green shade, so she easily recognized him as a skeleton.
Then another voice behind her, which was the spider from earlier, spoke up to scold the skeleton.
“Come on, man!” The plush arachnid said as he lowered himself using his fake web, hanging upside while yelling. “You gotta stop leaving your post! You’re gonna get fired some day, I’m telling you.”
The skeleton shrugged as he ‘pocketed’ his phone, “Maybe I want to get fired.”
“Yeah right. Good luck finding a new job when you do!”
Mandy looked between the two of them, her eyes squinting out of habit, now that her field of vision was a little blurry.
The skeleton suddenly looked at her, at least… she thinks he was, because he pointed at her while asking the spider. “Who’s this chick giving us the stink eye?”
The redhead flushed as she guiltily looked down, embarrassed. “N-No… sorry. I wasn’t doing that—”
“Yeah, you idiot. Look at her face.”
The spider said, finally planting himself right side up on the ground as he pointed one of his legs at the girl, “She clearly can’t see anything because her glasses are busted.”
The skeleton looked at her again, and propped a hand on his hip, “Well, how’d that even happen? And why does she look so lost?”
The spider answered, “She fell over… and she’s not lost. But her date kinda abandoned her?” He shrugged, “I don’t know why, but I saw him run off after hearing another girl scream in the other room. Maybe he’s a cheater? He seemed really excited to catch up.”
Mandy lifted a finger and opened her mouth, but words didn’t come out. So she closed it again, and lowered her hand.
She… honestly wasn’t even in the mood to correct the two scare-actors right now…
The skeleton looked her up and down again and said, “Well, if he’s not playing this game, I’ll take the controller.”
Mandy grimaced at him, as he held his hand out.
“Sup. My name’s Jack.”
The redhead looked at his hand, and reluctantly shook it.
“Mandy.” She introduced herself, before quickly retracting her hand and adding, “A-And… no thank you.”
“Typical…” The skeleton looked down and sighed, “Women never like them boney…”
“Lay off you creep.” The spider said, facepalming.
He then looked at the redhead and asked her, “Do you need help, miss? We can escort you to the exit if you don’t want to finish the tunnel.”
Mandy blinked in surprise. “Huh? You’re… allowed to do that?” She looked between the two, “Aren’t you required to stay in character?”
The spider chuckled at her, “You’re not the first girlfriend we witnessed getting ditched by a douche.”
“Totally.” Jack chimed in. “It’s not part of the policy, but it’s not against it either. It’s more of a mutual moral code.”
He continued, “When a guy leaves his girl during fake danger, he’s not reliable in real danger. That’s kinda sad to think about already… So, the rest of the staff here agree not to make them feel any worse.”
The spider nodded at the skeleton’s words.
“I see…” Mandy said, as she awkwardly rubbed her arm.
Then she suddenly recalled something and opened her bag to take out the small piece of paper.
“Actually…” She slowly started as she opened up the folded paper.
She then looked at the skeleton , and down to where his phone was… which was lodged into the hole of his pelvis.
Trying not to think too much about it, she pointed down at the device and asked, “… is it okay if I borrow that?”
“Huh?” Jack looked down and realized she was talking about his phone and took it out right away, “Oh, sure. Just be careful with it.”
Mandy thanked him, as she opened the phone and… silently slid her thumb back and forth on it.
“… uh.” She looked back up at the two of them and laughed nervously.
She held the phone up and awkwardly asked, “Can you show me how to use this?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Moxy and Lou held onto each other as the scare-actor got closer.
By now the shock was gone, but the intimidating aura wasn’t.
Fake or not, they refused to move another step.
“Whoever treadeth beyond this point, shall be hewn of all their limbs.” The armored figure spoke again.
This time, Lou genuinely looked up at her as he curiously tilted his head, trying to recall the very familiar female voice.
Then he looked closer at the costume.
Looking past some of the torn fabric, dark paint, and the extra decorative spikes glued onto the armor that made her figure look more ghostly and deadly, he recognized the shape and design.
His eyes opened a little wider, as he raised a brow and boldly called to her.
“…Orkha?”
The scare-actor suddenly stopped in her tracks and stared at them.
Then leaned down to look at the blonde more carefully.
She stayed quiet for a few more seconds, her breathing could be heard inside the helmet.
Finally she asked, “Lou?”
The blonde smiled even wider, “Oh wow, it is you!”
Moxy looked between the two of them, looking as baffled as a fish in a bag surrounded by toddlers.
She looked at the blonde and curiously asked, “You know her…?”
Lou nervously chuckled, as he scratched the back of his neck.
“Well…” Be slowly started. His face turned a little red, “You remember that ex I mentioned earlier, right?”
Moxy’s jaw dropped as she pointed up at the slightly startled eldritch knight, “That’s HER!?”
She started sputtering out nonsense as she looked her up and down.
Then she marched right up to her and grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding the axe.
Lou looked at her dumbfounded, “Moxy, what are you doing?”
“I’m just…” she examined the arm, “checking something.”
She looked up at the giant toy, and politely asked, “Would it be okay if you opened your hand?”
There was no expression to make with the helmet, but anyone could tell Orkha was pretty confused right now.
Still… she complied and opened her hand and allowed the pink doll to pull her a little closer to Lou to lift the large hand up at the same level as the blonde’s head.
“Look at this!” Moxy exclaimed, looking between the open palm and Lou’s face.
“Her hand is literally as big as your head… How did this work between you two??” She whipped her head at the blonde, asking both frightened and fascinated at the same time.
Lou stared at her with both his eyes and mouth open wide, a mortified smile stayed frozen on his face. He slowly turned into a darker shade of red every second he didn’t speak.
“Whoa.” Ox mused to himself, as he stayed hidden behind a gravestone, “An ex-girlfriend encounter on the first date? That’s wild.”
“Can’t wait to see how this goes.” He whispers to himself, as he continues to spy on the two.
Orkha gently retracted her hand as she stepped back. She cleared her throat before extending a hand again towards the blonde.
“It’s been a while, Lou.”
Lou slowly smiled up at her, and held out his own hand. “Tell me about it…”
He took her hand… or rather she took his hand… or more accurately –his arm. And they shook.
Moxy stared intently at the joint hands, as laser focused as a cat was to a red dot, completely terrified at how the blonde’s entire arm length disappeared into her fist.
Lou glanced at her, still embarrassed. “Moxy, stop staring at it.”
“I can’t help it!” The pink doll said, pulling at her strange curled horn things. “She’s huge!”
She brought her hands in front of her face as she kept her hands at a fair distance.
Then she slowly moved them away from each other as she tried to estimate a specific size.
Lou's face was on fire, as he released the handshake and batted at her arms. “Don’t do that! You’re doing it wrong anyway!”
“How was it wrong?”
“It looked wrong! That’s what’s wrong!”
They both stopped their little banter as they looked up at Orkha who let out a soft laugh.
She gestured to the pink doll with an open palm as she looked at Lou, “I take it, she’s a new partner?”
Lou choked on air as he waved her off, “No! No… she’s…”
Then he stopped so he could take a breath and collect his thoughts, “Technically, we’re on a date. But… we’re doing it because it was her assignment for Caradoc’s class.”
“Ah.” The large toy said in acknowledgement. “So, that means she’s training to lead her district?”
“She’s training to lead my district, actually.” Lou answered, scratching the back of his head.
“Oh?”
As the three of them discussed what the blonde was talking about, the bunny started snickering to himself.
He quietly whispered over his shoulder, “Well, looks like you were right, Mandy. It was ‘date-study’.” He snickered a little more as he turned around to face the redhead…. who was not behind him. Or anywhere nearby him.
“Mandy?” He looked around as he quietly called her. “Mandy?”
Crap.
He looked back at the three toys.
Seeing as they were occupied, he sprinted off as swiftly as he could back to the last room he remembered being with the redhead.
“I see.” Orkha said as she thought over everything the blonde had told her.
She then turned to Moxy, “Well, I hope you make it through Professor Caradoc’s class then.”
“Thank you!” Moxy beamed at her.
Then with excited, clenched fists, she said, “Gosh! I have so many questions about the two of you right now.”
Then she slowly glanced at the blonde and added, “And… quite a lot of questions about things with Lou…” her expression was both blank and exhausted.
Lou only chuckled as he avoided eye contact.
“Well, if it’s okay with the two of you…” Orkha started as she dropped her axe, then brought her hands up to her face as she suddenly removed the helmet.
As soon as the helmet left her head, Moxy’s eyes widened in shock.
But not wanting to offend the kind armored toy, she ducked her head and pushed down her reaction.
Orkha lowered the helmet and placed it at her hip, as she looked down at both them, her real, drooping, melted face showing as she smiled softly at them.
Finally she continued, “… We can talk more, outside. I’d be happy to spend my break catching up with an old fla–” she coughed, “…friend. An old friend.”
Lou and Moxy automatically looked at each other. Waiting for any objections.
Moxy was a little hesitant, as she recalled what the blonde had said to her back at the restaurant…
But, surely his specific ‘plastic aversion’ wasn’t as bad as she was thinking, right?
Lou seemed to be really relaxed around Orkha.
So… it wasn’t directly the armored toy’s fault?
Well… she’ll never know if she doesn’t try.
Eventually she nudged her head towards the bigger toy, like she was silently asking the blonde her question.
Lou chuckled and nodded.
They both looked up at Orkha and nodded at her.
Orkha smiled at them and turned around and motioned for them to follow her, “Let’s go then, shall we?”
All three toys walked through the tunnel together.
…
Cutting it to three parts.
Maybe I’m being too ‘organized’ but since the last chapter was around 9k words, I decided to stop around that number for this chapter too. (I did the same for Episode 5, each chapter being around 13k words. So yeah.)
So… I guess this’ll be a three-parter now.
That’s cool, I guess. 😅
Thanks for reading! And for being patient!
Bye and stay tuned!
