foolishwren | 99. [Text/Action for travel group]

Current Mood: indescribable
Current Location: Saffron City hotel

99. [Text/Action for travel group]

_{[SO YEAH, UH. IT'S BEEN. A FEW DAYS. SINCE... YOU KNOW.]

[Since the whole thing on the weekend that they all remember now.]

[In those few days, Heather has been holed up in her hotel room like a dysfunctional pop star hiding from the paparazzi. What's she been doing in there? GOD ONLY KNOWS. Actually, the people IN that hotel room know and it's mostly being quiet and sleeping a lot, but there you go.]

[BUT LO AND BEHOLD: a text!]

[A text with a request.]}

SUP PEOPLE

I have a mission for all of you


send me funny shit

any funny shit

I don't care if it's a joke or a story about the time your drunk uncle bill mistook your annoying aunt sally's drink for a spitoon or a video of that fat Meowrth that likes to get in boxes i forget his name it's like Maroo or something

1 2 3 GO

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[HIS LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WHYYYYYYYYYYY]

is it safe to see you now?

[Proooobably not, but it's worth giving it a shot.]

no

theres blood everywhere
 
babies r dying

[...

Okay no. Now she's just being silly. It can't be that bad.

... right...?]

I can take my chances.

_{[Well, yes, but come on. Heather's almost always silly.]

[You have no idea the horrors of which she speaks, Crow. ... Sure they're not actually occurring right now, BUT IT'S NOT THAT MUCH OF AN EXAGGERATION.]}

well fine but i'm pretty sure you're not gonna like what you see


just sayin




im JUST SAYIN

_{[YOU KNOW HOW HEATHER REMOVES HERSELF FROM THE PUBLIC FOR A FEW DAYS EVERY MONTH, CROW? IT'S FOR A GOOD REASON.]}

[Obviously, but he assumes girls are usually super serious about... that... given how they make such a fuss of it...

... Things Crow never actually expected himself to have to think about, right here.

If he had his self-preservation instincts intact, he'd probably back off right the fuck now, but alas, no such luck.]

I just have something for you okay

you can kick me out of the room later

deal?

_{[... Well... at the very least, she's nowhere near the wreck she was at the beginning of the week. If she had been, she'd have told him under no uncertain terms to back the hell off and leave her alone.]

[As it is, though, she feels bad about lying to begin with at this point, and... she DID ask for people to make her smile.]}

fine but i'm terrible company right now

makes two of us

[Sorry to disappoint.

Several minutes after the text message, Heather will hear a light knock on the door. And for once, Crow is actually waiting for a response instead of bursting right in. ... Partially because all those TMI details were a great motivation to drop the habit.]

_{[Although it's muffled by the door, Heather's raised voice is audible from the other side.]}

DOOR'S OPEN.

I ain't gettin' up.

[The duelist enters without a word and walks silently through the room. He's far from his usual lively self, staring at the ground all the time rather than looking up in vain hopes his somewhat bleary eyes would go unnoticed.]

... Hey.

[There's not much enthusiasm in his voice, either, but at least he doesn't sound like he's about to break down, which he undoubtedly did just the other day.]

_{[Heather's sitting up on the bed with the blanket around her shoulders like a cloak.]

[She's actually a little surprised to see his subdued expression, although she realizes that she shouldn't be almost instantly. She's doing better than she was a few days ago, but she's not doing well. It stands to reason that neither would he.]}

... You okay?

[... :Ia Looks kinda like a Swadloon.

Crow tenses up a bit at the question and, careful not to meet Heather's eyes, looks away to the side.]

That's my line.

[After all, he came here to... um, support a friend, he thinks... but he's not doing very good job so far, is he?

Without further ado, the duelist holds out his hand, in which there's a piece of bubble wrap.]

Here.

_{[A very apt comparison.]

[She puffs out a quiet sigh but doesn't ask further. Because she doesn't want to talk about what SHE'S dealing with. She's many things, but she's not a hypocrite, at least when it comes down to the serious stuff. She may as well do him the same courtesy she's asking for.]

[All the same, she arches a brow as she reaches out to take the unorthodox gift.]}

... Bubble wrap?

[And Crow doesn't ask her, though not really because he's feeling like shit himself (he tends to be a hypocrite more often than not, after all), but rather because he knows Heather well enough by now to figure she'd either not tell him anyway OR respond in a way similar to how she did over the text message.

... To be honest he's not sure which would be worse.]

Mhm. [He nods, glancing at the wrapping.] One guy told me popping it helps to relax.

[The duelist makes a short pause, shrugging lightly.]

It kinda does. A bit.

[He speaks from personal experience here, considering that's how he's spent the entire morning.]

_{[He's definitely got her number now, because yeah... she doesn't plan on talking about it.]

[But she does slip one arm out of the blanket-cloak to take the bubble-wrap, pinching one of the air-pockets between her thumb and forefinger until it snaps.]}

... Heh... it's addictive, anyway...

[Which is exactly why bubble wrap is a great subject right now.]

Sorta, yeah.

... I'll be in my room if you need me.

[With that, he turns around and slowly walks towards the exit (he promised not to take too much of her time, after all), but stops after taking just a few steps. It doesn't seem right; he came here with the intention to help, but frankly, it doesn't feel like he achieved much in cheering Heather up...]

Hey.

[The duelist turns around, looking distinctively more alive than just a moment ago.]

Remember that one time I said I was gonna join the police?

[He gives her a slightly goofy, if somewhat forced grin.]

Some people actually believed that!

_{[She doesn't laugh, not much anyway-- so maybe it's not the response he was hoping for.]

[But she does speak up.]}

Hey, Crow...

... You can stay.

I was exaggerating about the girl crap.

_{[And by 'exaggerating' she means 'outright lying', but there you go. A year-- or hell, even a few months ago, she probably wouldn't have admitted that. But... Crow has quite frankly been a better friend than she deserves.]}

[Well, in all honesty, he didn't expect a lot, so it's not really disappointing or anything; he'd just feel bad walking away without saying at least that much, so--

... Wait what.

Having not expected to hear that, Crow blinks in surprise. He hesitates for a moment, glancing briefly at the door before looking back at Heather. Granted, there is lots of bubble wrap waiting for him back in his room, and he's quite certain he's already proved himself not to be such a great companion today, but how could the duelist refuse a friend's invitation to stay?

... Even so, he tilts his head a bit with a questioning expression.]

You sure? I don't wanna get my head ripped off for no apparent reason or something.

Please.

I do have some self-control.

_{[She scoots over a little, reaching out to pat the spot next to her.]}

[Crow watches her a bit more, still not sure what to do, and then just shrugs with a small smile.]

Fine, I believe ya.

[He walks over to the bed and flops down on the spot he was pointed to.]

It was just a rough weekend. I haven't felt like talking to anybody.

_{[She offers this up as an explanation, but doesn't elaborate. Instead, she holds up the bubblewrap again, snapping a few of the tiny air-pockets.]}

... So... who recc'd the bubblewrap?

[He's never expected even that much, so he finds himself taken a bit off-guard at the explanation, but chooses to leave it at that.]

... Fair enough.

[It's not like he's been much of a social butterfly lately himself, either.]

Hayate. [Although he does give her a tiny smile while answering, it's suddenly replaced by a very displeased grimace.] Y'know, when I first heard it, it sounded just like a terrible waste of perfectly good bubble wrap, [that he could use in his deliveries, mind you] but turns out it's not such a bad idea.

Hayate?

Not surprised.

_{[That guy always seems to have a solution for everything. Or at least some sort of helpful suggestion.]}

[Crow gives a small nod.]

Yeah. That's just like him.

[... He thinks. Not that he knows the guy very well or anything, but he just seems to be the type.

The duelist tilts his head a bit to look at the bubble wrap in Heather's hand with a tiny smile.]

Think it's working?

_{[Heather doesn't know him too well either, but by virtue of both of them having been around for a long time, she's more or less gotten a good impression of him. Helpful guy.]}

... I dunno.

It's slow going.

... Maybe if I had some help.

[For a brief moment, he can't help but wonder if she means the bubble wrap or something else entirely, even considering asking, but decides against it. Doesn't feel like it's his place to do so anyway.

Instead, he silently reaches over to the other end of the wrapping and proceeds to snap three of the air-pockets between his fingers.]

... Better now?

99. [Text/Action for travel group]

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