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

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_{[A sigh, and something more impatient in his tone.]}

How couldn't I worry? Heather.

_{[... and that impatience only signals his own distress a bit clearer. It's obvious what he means, too - that he knows something happened.]}

_{[Cooper...]

[The question sends a pang through her heart, because it's blunt and it's honest and therefore everything she isn't being right now. And it sends a little flare of FRUSTRATION through her, too, because... god DAMMIT, Coop, why can't you just NOT care for once?]

[The fact that he's worried about her even after everything and the fact that (at least as far as she knows) he may still be undecided on whether or not she's a monster somehow just makes it even worse.]

[So she swallows hard with a dry throat before changing her answer.]}

... I don't want you to worry.

Not till-- not while we're still-- you know. Okay? You don't have to.

_{[Yeeeeah, something happened, all right-- and aside from her flat-out lie regarding whether or not BOB had come for her, now she's moved past denying it and instead just is determinedly not saying anything about it, which isn't much better.]}

_{[And that has Cooper frustrated, in turn. The evasion is understandable, but he hadn't exactly expected it, and it bothers him. But when she finishes speaking he realizes again where a major part of the problem is.]

[Monsters- and to think he'd almost forgotten them until now. He's quiet for a moment, then says softly,]}

Well, I still do.

_{[He still cares, doesn't he?]

[But he has to let her know, too.]

[He breathes out slowly, lets the memories come back before he speaks again, but without giving her room to interject.]}

You're still in town, aren't you? I'd rather speak in person.

... _{[She's silent for quite awhile, although the muffled sounds of television from the other end of the line will let him know that she hasn't hung up.]

[But she finally does speak up, reluctantly.]}

... Yeah, m'still in town.

_{[A pause, then,]}

There's a café by the Center. My treat.

_{[That's about as unthreatening as he can make it, right?]}

_{[... A cafe. Inviting her to a cafe.]

[Almost immediately, her thoughts fly back to the tiny Ecruteak diner where they had first spoken about BOB. It's a memory that makes her heart ache, after everything that had happened in between.]

[It's also one that's a little confusing.]

[But can she refuse it? Hell no, she can't.]

[Not when he asks.]

[Still, there's a moment of uncertain silence before she speaks up again, almost quaveringly.]}

... Um... now?

I ... I'll leave that up to you.

_{[Tomorrow works. Right now works, even if he hadn't thought that far. He's not sure which option he prefers, either.]}

_{[UH OH, A QUANDARY.]

[Heather wasn't totally expecting the choice to wind up in her hands, and at first she's not totally sure what to do with it.]

[Because, well, despite her reluctance, it's pretty clear that this ... talk, or whatever it's gonna wind up being, is going to happen at some point. HAS to happen at some point. Because Cooper won't take no for an answer, even if she sort of wishes he would.]

[And there's a couple of options... her first impulse is to say 'Tomorrow', because putting off the unpleasant inevitable is human nature. And she'd have a little more time to mentally compose herself.]

[But then, on the other hand... a cafe is public, and tomorrow there'll be people. ... Well, more people, anyway. If they do this right NOW, there'd at least be a little more privacy.]

[... And hell. Maybe... maybe it'd just be better to get it over with.]}

... I can...

... I can be there in like... half an hour. I guess.

... Y- ... you said it was by the, uh, Center, right?

Yeah. Follow the street on its righthand side.

_{[Right now, okay. He can do that no problem. He takes a breath and starts looking for his jacket.]}

See you soon.

_{[THEY'RE DOING THIS. THEY'RE MAKIN THIS HAPPEN.]}

... 'kay...

Uh.

... Bye...

_{[And then with that devastatingly uncharacteristic farewell, she hangs up, a hollow feeling ironically filling her from head to toe.]

[Well... better steel up ...]}

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99. [Text/Action for travel group]

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