Odd One Out

"Yeah, they have a laundry service. What size do you wear? I can run out and grab you things while they’re being washed if you want," he offered, all too eager to help.

"There’s a gift shop downstairs. I can bring you a dress and some pj’s."

In fact, even if she said no, he was probably going to do it anyway.

"There’s a white bag in the closet. You call them and tell them you want the laundry service and fill it up. Then they come up and pick it up from just inside the door for you. Your clothes’ll come back clean either later tonight, or in the morning. They even fold them for you!"

"They d o all th a t?" Audrey frowns a little, feeling a bit flustered. She's never been someplace so elaborate and catering to one's wants and needs. She shrugs and digs for the white bag, find it, and starts dumping the contents of her backpack into it.

After plucking out the few non-clothing items, she starts to strip and dump her current clothes into it as well, uncaring; Broadway is with a man anyway, and she will remain modest enough in her underwear until she's ready to bathe, once Broadway's gone. She doesn't even feel cold, the room is such a nice temperature. She slips on the robe on the back of the private bathroom door.

"You d o n't need to g e t me anyth in g, I can w ait for m y cloth es. But th an k yo u."

She sits down on a small cushioned stool near the bathroom, mostly likely made for the vanity inside. She blinks up at her friend, a vague smile on her face.

#ask #texts #askthetumbler

[txt] of course it has pie what kind of diner would this be if it didnt have pie?? and pancakes lots and lots of pancakes 8)

[txt] Lots of pancakes, huh? The perfect place for any Once-ler, then. Heehe.

[txt] Yes but do they have chocolate mousse pie?

It is good to see you again, Audrey!

A h…! *small, weary smile* I t’s g o o d to se e you aga in ,to o, Ko d ak.

#ask #mynameiskodak

Broadway’s own lips pulled into a smile.

"Sing, huh?"

Now the real question was, what to sing?

“Hey What are you thinking I tried to reach your face Say See what you’re thinking Don’t carry around that pain Everytime I see you Picking at yourself I love I love when things worked out,” He started, rocking back and fourth with her in the cab.

The actor sang anything and everything as the cab ride progressed. Once it stopped, he helped the girl out before he paid their dues and escorted her into the hotel to get everything set up.

It was a rather big, fancy looking hotel. After all, it had to be for Greed to be willing to stay there. But it was private. There was no paparazzi. No one who knew they had been staying there. It had become nearly like home while they waited for their house to be finished. And now, Broadway was all too happy to share that with Audrey. Though she would be getting her own room. He wasn’t sure how Greed would react to coming in and seeing a girl sleeping on the couch.

"You sit here," Broadway cooed, guiding the girl to a chair. "Give me five minutes. I’ll get the room all set up and bring you up there. Okay?"

#RP #broadwayoncie #((ahh i'm sorry. i got busy again..))

She has been almost lulled to sleep in the cab, so by the time she's sat down to wait, Audrey is passive and content. She shrugs an easy, "Ok ay." and waits for Broadway to finish setting up a room for her and getting a room key card, then follows him to the location.

It is too luxurious for her tastes, honestly; she's a little overwhelmed at first, almost afraid to touch anything in her allotted hotel room, as seemingly pristine as it is. Finally, though, she dumps her bag on the floor by the desser and asks, "Do the y ha ve a wash i ng mach i ne he r e?"

Her clothes are terribly filthy, and she refuses to put them away in the drawers until she's cleaned every outfit of the few she has, including the one she's wearing. She'll gladly take a shower and hang around in one of the hotel robes while all of her clothes are in the wash.

[txt] yeah that would be great! it gets kind of boring being by myself all the time and i always appreciate it when friends stop by [txt] the address is at [insert address here] and i work most nights so just stop by or shoot me a text beforehand to make sure im there

[txt] Will do! It’ll be fun. And if the diner has pie, I will definitely have a reason to go for dessert one night. c:

#ask #texts #askthetumbler

[txt] yeah? i wear your gloves a lot 2 <33 theyre rlly warm [txt] ive been doing ok i guess [txt] i cant remember if i told u this but i got a job [txt] just a small thing at one of the diners downtown but money is money

[txt] Oh! No, you didn’t tell me. That’s wonderful! I’m glad you can make some money. As it happens, I’m on my way downtown to stay in a hotel for a while, so perhaps I can swing by the diner at some point to see you?

#ask #texts #askthetumbler

"There is nothing to thank me for," he cooed. "I'm your friend. Friends are supposed to be there for and take care of each other. Friends are the family you choose. You are very dear to me, and I'd much rather know you're safe and well fed in a nice hotel room than cold and unhappy inside of a tree..."

"N o t exa ct ly... un h a ppy..." she shrugs. She's felt peculiarly indifferent the entire time she's chosen to hide away and figure out what her body is going through this time. But it seems to her that she keeps getting worse and worse, and no amount of aid from Eternal nor Ghost has helped in the long run, merely bought her some time. It feels inevitable, whatever is coming. "Ju st... so lit ary."

There's a pause in which Audrey's eyelids lower a bit and she stares into the distance, then snaps back to herself like a rubberband, jerking slightly and blinking rapidly.

"Y o u're righ t, though. Th a t's how I've al w a ys felt. And I gu es s that is what I'm th a nk ing you for: b e ing my f riend." And she smiles again, with slightly more awareness put into it. Then she requests, "W o uld y ou sing s ometh in g to me? I h aven't hea rd mus ic in a l o ng while. I mis s it."

Some Days are Dark and Lonely

"Wait a second..were you.."

He looked form the blanket, to the girl, to the tree, then back to the girl again.

"Were you staying in there?”

So she hadn’t been in the house the whole time? Broadway shuddered when he thought of all of the bugs that were probably living in the tree and how cold it must have been at night. Poor thing. All he wanted to do at the moment was make her some hot chicken soup and draw her a bubble bath to let her relax in.

He carefully took her arm in his own, leading her off as he called the cab company. It wasn’t long before they were in the nice, warm cab, heading for the even nicer hotel.

"You can order all the room service you want. And I’ll bring you dinner every night. I usually cook for Greed, but it’ll be easy to make extra. If you want a little friend to keep you company, my little rabbit, Espresso, can stay with you or come visit with you," He said, playing with the bit of the girl’s hair.

"...It... f elt we ir d to st ay in some o ne else's h o u se.... E v en if they 've p a s sed awa y," Audrey mumbles in excuse as she follows Broadway out of the woods and to the nearest road, waiting for the cab. Once inside, she buckles up and seems to sink, weighted and tired, closing her eyes when Broadway starts to play with her hair. She almost protests, if only for his sake, since her hair isn't very clean and the ends are split and dry, but she doesn't have the energy to, and really, she doesn'r want him to stop because it feels nice.

"...R a bb it?" she slurs sleepily, then smiles faintly. She loves animals, all kinds, and always has. She's looking forward to meeting the little one. "Th a nks aga in, Bro ad way. I mean i t."

Some Days are Dark and Lonely

The ravenette absolutely lit up when the younger one agreed. He squeezed the red-head gently, nuzzling his cheek against her own before he suddenly stood.

"Do you have anything here I need to grab for you? A bag or anything like that?"

He’d need to gather her things, put out the fire, make sure she was all bundled up, call a cab to pick them up once they got out of the woods. So many things to do, so little time! He could call the hotel and get the room set up on the way there.

Broadway was suddenly busy as a little bee, running around the little house to get everything taken care of.

"Would you prefer a piggy back ride, or that I carry you like a bride?" He asked, fully intending on carrying her till they reached the cab.

Audrey's reaction time is incredibly delayed, spaced out as she's been, so it takes her a moment to hug him back, then another to register that he parted from the hug, and a couple more to realize that he's scrambling about trying to figure out what is hers to take along.

Then when he asks how to carry her, she laughs. A sudden, breathy burst; the first laugh she's made since late December or so.

"O h, no, go o dne ss! I'm f ine to w alk, si lly." She gets up slowly, then thinks about it a few times before she decides to keep Voodoo's blanket; she has his hat and necklace, left his ring with him, but this will be the last thing she takes.

She gestures outside. "I h ave a st op to make."

She wanders out, careful not to let the blanket touch the snowy ground, and makes her way toward a large, ancient tree further into the woods. She circles around it, hands Broadway the blanket to hold, then hops down inside a hollow in it where the ground caves and opens up into a little room, insulated by the earth and with charred wood surrounded by stones in the center.

She grabs a pink backpack and stuffs a few remaining things into it haphazardly before she climbs back out of the dugout and takes the blanket back, backpack around her shoulders.

"L e t's go."

Some Days are Dark and Lonely

"I’ll help," Broadway said, almost desperately. He couldn’t take another friend just disappearing. Even if something bad happened in the end, he wanted to know. He wanted to be there for his friends.

“Please, Audrey…”

Heck, he would carry her back to the hotel if he had to. She needed a healthier environment than this, regular food, a hot shower. Maybe the rest would do her good and she’d start to get better.

Audrey rubs at her face and scratches down her loose-fitting jeans beneath the blanket, fighting with herself for a moment. Finally, she arrives at the decision to agree to it, if only because Broadway is pressing so hard and she can tell by his tone and the look on his face that not only will he not take "no" for an answer, but there is something else plaguing him that she would help ease if she agrees.

"...Ok a y." She nods, looking at him again. She forces another little smile to make his furrowed brow disappear. "O ka y."

Some Days are Dark and Lonely

"Audrey.."

The actor reached to pull the girl’s chin up slightly, looking her in the eye.

"What’s more wrong is disappearing with no warning and not telling anyone what’s going on. I feel like a horrible jerk because I didn’t realize you were sick or that anything was happening with you. I just thought you were busy. And that’s partially my fault because I didn’t try to contact you enough but just…"

He sighed.

"Too many people have left. Too many people have disappeared out of nowhere and have never come back and I..couldn’t..take if that happened with you too."

He glanced away, thinking for a moment or two before he spoke again.

"How about we make a deal then? You come stay in the hotel for just a week. Relax. Think of it like a mini-vacation. Call your dad, let him know where you are and that you’ll be home in a week. Does that sound reasonable?"

She looks down. She's afraid to contact Ghost again because she knows it was wrong to up and vanish like she did, and she doesn't want to drag him back into her mess again. He deserves to live the life he's been given after double deaths, and enjoy his children and significant other and happiness. She's was a nice addition for a while, but then she started to drag him down again, and she's old enough now to live on her own, and she thinks that she should do so.

Audrey also fears she might die soon, which will hurt anyone she's currently in contact with. And she doesn't know what's going on with Ted; the last she checked, things were going downhill for him too, and she wouldn't even want him to see her or worry about her now, so she's stuck feeling like there isn't much of anyone to turn to.

Yet here is someone offering to be the person she can turn to, and she's terrified to accept because she knows it will add more grief.

"...I... m-mig h t fall com a t os e again... Wh-wha t if I do? The n I w ou ld ju s t be....." and she drifts off with yet another sigh.