Lola Sprout

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Phase: Day Eight

[luna-martinez]

“That’s weird right? That they can’t?” Surely it wasn’t that hard to figure out how things were supposed to work and then go from there. “What does your sister think?” Luna would probably regret asking but she was a little interested to know.

“We won’t,” she assured her quickly. The fact that Sprout was considering it was great, she didn’t want to waste this chance. Doing anything not related to Poppy would be so good. “And if we do, I’ll take the fall okay? You won’t get in trouble. I swear. I’m used to taking the heat.”

“Okay we’ll look for him.” She pondered the bullying thing. “Am I allowed to bully him a little when you do start dating? Just like… gently. I won’t be actually mean.” Luna smiled at her. “You can do it. Just turn those big eyes on him. Won’t be able to resist.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for stuff like that.” It wasn’t like she was inexperienced. Luna had done stuff with people but it wasn’t anything worth talking about. It was just what you did when you got to this age. Kind of like vaping and drinking and getting tattoos.

Sprout always said no, but this time she didn’t. Luna was proud of her. “I think you did too,” she agreed, “shit is stressful round here.”

[lolasprout]

"I mean I don't think this has ever been a town of geniuses, but yeah. I'd hope they at least knew which one was the problem." Sprout raised an eyebrow and she tried to tamp down her smile. Luna almost never asked what Poppy thought about anything. "Well, I don't actually know. She's not around the house much lately, but I know that she's seen Cricket so I think she's trying to solve this with them. Of course they trust her to fix things that even they can't figure out."

She frowned at Luna. That didn't seem right. "No. If we go down, we go down together." Not that she would ever wish that Luna had done anything bad, but it was a good thing that she was sent here. Luna had been destined to meet here, so she wouldn't be so alone.

Given her own hesitancy with dating, Sprout was glad that Luna was still willing to help her. She certainly didn't need to. Sprout glanced around and still didn't see him. "Of course you can, I'm not going to deprive you of a hobby. That would be rude." Her eyes found the ground as Luna tried to build her up. She wasn't sure that would be enough. "I've been batting my eyes at him, but I don't think he's noticed at all. It's okay though, I can wear him down."

"You can, but you don't have to." She didn't want Luna to feel pressured in any way. These things happened or they didn't. You couldn't force it too hard, unless you were Eli. She was going to give him no choice but to like her.

Sprout nodded her head slowly, so glad that Poppy hadn't caught her. "You're telling me. I'm struggling to just get through each day. There's always something horrible around the corner, you know?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Phase: Day Eight

[luna-martinez]

“Yeah, same. I tried pretty much everyone I know who doesn’t go to this school. Not a single call went through.” It was so fucking weird, but she had been trying not to think about it. She couldn’t fix it so why spend time on it worrying?

Luna smiled back. “I mean kind of? Not really? I used to do that kind of stuff in Cali but it’s why I got sent here to live with my hardass uncle. I’ve been trying to turn over a new leaf or whatever. You’ve been a good influence.”

“Eli the blower, okay,” she said. Luna didn’t know anyone called Eli which kind of annoyed her because she wanted to know what Sprout’s type was. “Should we look for him so we can make him ask you on a date?”

“Oh,” Luna replied, thinking about bodily reactions. “You get sweaty or something?” she asked. Her fingers finally found her vape and she pulled it victoriously from her bag. She put it to her lips and breathed deeply, holding it in her lungs before sighing it out. It made her feel like a dragon when she did that. And that calmed her. “You want?”

[lolasprout]

"I don't think any of the brainy kids have figured out if it's us or the satellites or the phones." The idea that some random person had swapped out her phone for a clone made her skin crawl. She hated this whole thing so much. Her phone was a part of her.

Sprout flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I do have that effect." There were too many people interested in breaking barriers in her family. She tried to keep up where she could, but she stuck out largely by fading in. She was the normal one. "But I wouldn't want to keep you from something that's fun. And if we won't get caught, then it's probably okay."

She choked out a laugh. "I can not call him that in public." He would get a very different kind of reputation. Poppy had set a very precise standard with her conquests and Lola intended to follow in her sister's footsteps. "But yeah, we should look for him. I don't want to bully him into dating me, but I don't have Poppy's natural charm and wit. I don't know how it's going to work yet." The uncertainty felt like electricity crackling under her skin. There was so much potential, but it was a mystery how it would be unleashed.

"Kinda. Obsessive thoughts, fluttering heart. The kind of thing that should make you think you need a doctor, but it's... nice." And she knew when you should need a doctor.

Looking at Eli was a punch to the gut that reminded her of gorging on candy or spinning around until she was dizzy. He captivated her.

She shouldn't. She really shouldn't. Her dad had a whole powerpoint presentation on the turbo cancer risk with vaping. She'd seen the blisters it created on the lungs. But it was the end of the world and she wanted to feel cool. Besides, Luna always picked good flavors. She glanced around to make sure no one was looking before taking a quick hit. "Thanks. I think I needed that."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Phase: Day Eight

[luna-martinez]

“I think so?” Luna was definitely not sure though. “I think it just needs a sim card right? Maybe ask someone who is smarter than me though.”

“Yesssss!” Luna was extremely excited for this. She would just go alone but it would not be as fun as it would if Sprout did it with her. “You’re my partner in petty crime. We will stay out of their way, promise.” This was going to be the best. Way better than spying on Poppy doing boring shit.

“Wow.” Luna could not believe she’d never heard about this before. “It is good when boys exercise their right to shut up,” she agreed. She ran through anyone at school she would consider new but she didn’t pay a lot of attention to too many other people so she came up blank. “What’s his name? Is he in any of our classes?”

“I want you to have one because I want you to feel validated.” She shrugged. “I just want you to be as happy as you can. If a boy does that then that’s cool.” Luna started digging around in her bag trying to find her vape. This was stressing her out. “Yeah I just don’t even know where to start you know?”

[lolasprout]

"I haven't been able to call anyone who isn't here, so I don't know." Sprout really should have paid better attention at holding onto information. She was regretting it now, but not enough to go look it up in a textbook. Then she'd have to visit the school. No thank you.

She smiled at her friend, eyes widening. "I didn't know this was like your thing. Have you just been waiting for an opportunity?" They were both devious, but they didn't cross the line into anything too serious. This felt like taking a small step closer to the serious side of things. At least there weren't real consequences right now.

"It is," Sprout nodded. There was nothing more she valued in a boy than silence. "He's in like three of our classes. His name is Eli. I think he's also in glass blowing, which is very dangerous. It's an interesting kind of danger though."

Luna had a good point. A boy could be a new source of validation, but there were risks. The risks would have to outweigh the rest and she hadn't decided if that was true in his case yet. "I think if you're planning it, you're probably thinking too hard. Maybe you're ace/aro and it never happens. That's totally cool with me. But most of the time, I think that it just sorta," she shrugged, "I don't know, like your body reacts when you see them."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Phase: Day Eight

[luna-martinez]

“That’s what I thought,” Luna agreed with a nod. “You could get a burner. Add it to the list baby.”

“For definitely. Even if we don’t find anything good or take stuff that isn’t needed, I think it would be fun to look. Like an adventure. Who needs apps?” She was trying very hard to make it sound exciting. Less time spent following Poppy around was time well spent in Luna’s eyes.

“What?” Luna pulled back at the statement. “Who?? You never mentioned that before.”

Luna cringed a little. The idea of dating didn’t really appeal to her right now. She was focused on other stuff. “I don’t like anyone though,” she told her. “I don’t even know who’s single. We could always sit in a circle with your boyfriend so he doesn’t feel left out.”

[lolasprout]

"But do they work now that phones are weird? Or is it just that we're weird and the phones are fine?" Sprout should have been paying more attention in science, but it made her brain scream. She was only trying to be good at because Poppy was. As soon as she was done studying, she shoved all of the knowledge out of her brain.

Sprout considered it. If they were just window shopping with plans to take small things, that had to be morally okay. She could replace anything, or rather, her parents could. "I do like to snoop. Okay, as long as we stay far away from those maintenance people. I don't want to get caught."

She scooted forwards. "There's not a ton to tell." She really wished there was. Life was so much fun when you had a little secret nestled in your chest, but she was still sussing out the situation. "He's not very talkative, which is a very attractive quality. I don't need other people talking over me. And he's handsome. He's new, which makes him way better than the most of the guys in our class."

Now this was a wrench. It was dangerous to have three people always hanging out together. Things could go lopsided so easily. "If you're not planning to have one, why do you want me to have one? Also, I don't think your feelings are based on who is single and who isn't. Your actions probably should be, but that comes later."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Phase: Day Eight

[luna-martinez]

“Wouldn’t she know be able to know where you are too though?” she asked. Luna had hung out with Sprout enough to know that she didn’t always want Poppy knowing she was just a phone call away. Or even less. She’d probably make her start wearing a bell.

Luna shrugged. “It’s not like they’re here to notice. The houses people still live in can be off limits. But it doesn’t hurt anyone to use what’s not in use.” She frowned. “They wouldn’t let you take a magazine? What the fuck. It’s not like you can eat those.” On the list of valuable resources they were like waaaaay down the bottom in Luna’s opinion. “There’s no cops. No rules right now. They’re still having meetings about that shit. The best time to do it is now so we can’t get in trouble.”

Luna was a little offended that her validation wasn’t enough. But she wasn’t going to say that. “You should get a boyfriend or something. I think they’re good for that.”

[lolasprout]

"That is an excellent point." She did not need Poppy in her business. It would make things way too complicated. Not to mention stalking Poppy would be impossible if she knew their little icons were right on top of each other. "Maybe I should get some kind of burner phone."

Luna was right, but it still felt wrong. If someone was rifling through all of her things she would go crazy. Those were hers. No one else was allowed to touch them. As the youngest, she could steal from her sisters but they could not do it back to her. That was the rules. "Hmmm, I guess we can look around and see if there's anything good." Browsing wasn't the same as stealing, but maybe no one would miss their magazines. Or books. Or makeup. Or hair accessories.

Her eyes widened. "You know, I did have my eye on someone before all this started but they've basically disappeared." She'd tried looking for him, but it was useless. He was the most heavily guarded secret in this town now.

"But if I got a boyfriend, you'd have to get a partner, too. I'm not making my boyfriend a third wheel to us. He needs someone to hang out with, while you and I are talking about important things." That was non-negotiable. She wouldn't make anyone feel left out, that was the absolute worst feeling in the world. And she couldn't do that to Luna or her future boyfriend.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Phase: Day Eight

[luna-martinez]

Luna was relieved that Sprout’s response to her comment about no doctors wasn’t that Poppy would save her life. She didn’t know if she had it in her to make Sprout think she believed the hype today. “That’s good. Is your sister here?” she asked her. Things would go better if she could anticipate losing her best friend’s attention at any moment.

Luna reached for Sprout and tugged on her arm to pull her back up. “You want magazines? We can get some. I bet people are leaving those in their looting. Or we could go exploring. Some people keep them in those weird racks to read while they’re taking a dump.” She couldn’t relate. Luna did normal things, like spiral over dumb shit.

[lolasprout]

"I don't know." Sprout glanced around, but she couldn't see her sister's signature auburn hair anywhere. "Wish she'd let me be on her find my friend list," she mumbled. To be fair, it had taken work to get Sprout's hair just right today, so she'd lost track of time. Even if she hadn't, though, she imagined that Poppy would have snuck out anyways. She was even harder to track than usual lately.

She let Luna pull her upright, the world tilting in front of her eyes. "Should we be going through other people's stuff? I tried to take some magazines from the dairy and the clerk yelled at me about scarcity. If we can't take things from stores, can we trust that they won't like, throw us in fake jail for taking things from people's houses." She knew that with no signs of other people for the last week, it was becoming more unlikely that things would be fixed soon. Still, the idea of looting from them made the whole thing too real. They were really stuck. Without internet. Forever. She blew out a frustrated breath. "We can't live like this. I need validation from somewhere. If I can't get it from my parents or online, what am I... what are we supposed to do?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Eight

Well that went smoothly, didn’t it? No guns were drawn. No dead bodies appeared. What’s a threat to turn off utilities between friends?

But once power is placed in chosen leaders’ hands, it’s time to start leading. Making the hard decisions. The ones that may make us wonder if leaders can really be trusted at all.

So press play, and go.

[luna-martinez]

Luna didn’t want to be here, not really. Having a giant picnic with everyone she went to school with?? She didn’t like being around them in a normal situation, but now it was pretty much the only option she had. At least Sprout was there. She could handle most things if Sprout was there.

She sat down next to her under the shade of a tree. It was fucking hot today. Luna was going to wait until some of the people cleared away from the tables so she didn’t sweat her makeup off in line. It had taken her 45 minutes to get her winged liner right. “Do you have sunscreen on?” she asked Sprout, pulling a bottle of it out of her bag. “Your pasty ass needs it in this heat. Melanoma is no joke. No fucking doctors around to save your life.”

@lolasprout

[lolasprout]

Sprout hoped that the picnic would be incredible. There were so many opportunities for her to spy on people. The trouble was, there were almost too many people. She couldn't find Poppy or any of her friends. It felt like a complete waste without being learn to something that none of them would tell her.

Fortunately, Luna was sharing the shade of her as she tried desperately to make her phone work. "Of course I do. My dad would never let me leave the house without it." It wasn't his specialty, but he had colleagues that loved to talk about gen-z not being sun safe.

She whacked her phone against the grass. "What is the use of this thing if all of my apps are gone? I'm so bored all the time now. I tried going to the library but all the magazines I saw were super out of date and it looked like some were missing. And I doubt the little helper squad or whatever even cares." She flopped back dramatically.

[luna-martinez]

“A medal.” Luna whistled. “That’ll go really well with your leash.” She was kidding, but maybe this whole thing would actually give Sprout a new aesthetic. They already were pretty contrasting in that way but it sounded like it was going to keep in that direction.

“Okay,” Luna nodded. “I’m gonna have to go home for a bit soon cause I y'know, slept outside all night. I’m hungover. Need a shower and some food but then I can come back and hang out as long as you want.” Luna shook her head. “People could never forget about you. If anything they’ll talk about you more because of what you did.”

[lolasprout]

"New looks in the front and back." There was something really appealing in having so many conversation topics on hand. Everyone would want to know about the medal. Fern was a genius. She would sleep in it.

"Right, yeah, of course." She really hadn't complimented Luna enough. She looked great for sleeping on the ground. "You pulled off the lack of sleep, but you should get some actual rest." If her eyes weren't so dry from the smoke and exhaustion, she would have cried. "Thanks, Luna. I hope so." She hadn't done it for that, she'd done it for Poppy. Everyone else acknowledging her was a nice bonus though.

She wanted to watch Luna go, make sure she didn't have a run in with Poppy. Unfortunately, her eyes were just so heavy. A little nap wouldn't hurt.

(end)

[luna-martinez]

“Maybe it’s outside somewhere,” Luna replied. “You could have dropped it on your way to the party. I’ll try look for it but if I can’t find it there’ll be a new one ready for you.”

“Wow.” Luna did not know about any of that, but she was happy that it made Sprout feel good. That was all that really mattered. “I’m glad she showed she cared about you,” Luna said. And she hoped she did personally check on her soon. It clearly meant a lot to her.

“Is there anything else you want me to bring you?” she asked. “I feel kind of useless and want to help.”

[lolasprout]

"Maybe." That gave her a little hope. She didn't want to lose all the pictures of her family. There were too many memories on there and she didn't know how else to get them back. "Thanks."

Sprout nodded her head. "It was so unexpected. I knew Poppy would care but the President is just a whole different level of importance. I wonder if they're going to give me, like, a medal or something." She would wear it literally every day. That would be so cool.

"No, I have pretty much everything I need. I just don't like being alone. The whole not being able to go anywhere thing really sucks. People are going to forget about me. " That was her biggest fear. It was hard enough for her to be noticed before, but if she wasn't out in the world then no one would remember her.

[luna-martinez]

“Okay. If you want I can try find your actual phone too,” she offered. “Do you think you lost it wherever that fire was?” If she found it she’d get Sprout to unlock it for her first so she could delete all her insane messages she’d sent last night. Sprout didn’t need to see her spiral via text message.

“Maybe your sister knows,” Luna said. She seemed like the type.

“Wait, what the fuck, really?” Luna looked around. “The President of Ham was in here?” That was hard to picture. “Didn’t she have like… work to do?”

[lolasprout]

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it fell out of my pocket when I was looking for survivor's. I don't know what happened to the house, but I don't think we have, like, a fire department so...I'm pretty sure it's toast." At the very least, her phone was going to be shattered on the front. A more sobering realization hit her, without the internet there was no way to recover all of her data from her last backup. She would be starting over from scratch. Poppy told her to chill about it, but who knew when those things would be recovered. If they could be.

"Yeah," Sprout preened, "The President was in here making a bag for me." Yes, she had already said but it bared repeating. "I didn't get to talk to her, but I'm sure that once I get a phone she'll be texting me to set up a private meeting. No one else has done anything as heroic as me." Luna brought up an interesting point, but she wasn't sure it applied here. "I mean, I think that is work. Everyone else was probably worrying about the lights but I was more important. My sacrifices had to be acknowledged, like when the old President thanked vets and stuff."

[poppy-morris]

Poppy sighed, but really, she was relieved. Lola was going to be fine. She would live to torture her another day. Several, even. “Brat,” she said, standing up and moving to drape one of her fuzzy blankets over her legs.

“Don’t move or go anywhere unless you need to pee or something. Stay here. I swear to god Lola if you get into trouble again when I leave you for one hour without a phone I’m going to move out and live with Wes instead.” She’d take that seriously. Even if the thought of living with Wes made Poppy want to laugh out loud.

“See you soon Cam,” she said, leaving her door open a little in case she needed to get out.

[lolasprout]

Usually it stung when Poppy called her a brat. She could hear the affection in her sister's voice this time. It wasn't as much of an insult. A slight ribbing for causing potential wrinkles to Poppy's perfect porcelain skin.

"There's no way for me to get in trouble, I can barely get out of the bed." She actually wasn't sure if she could get out of the bed, but she'd crawl if she needed to when it came to peeing. She would not use a bed pan. It killed her that Poppy would be moving around town and she would have no intel. The world was so horribly unfair sometimes.

"See you, Popsicle." She waited until Poppy was far enough down the stairs that it wouldn't be worth the effort to hit her for that. There were some perks to being injured.

(fin)

[luna-martinez]

“I can steal one for you,” Luna said. “It’ll be easy.” She actually had no idea if it was true or not, but how hard could it be? There was fucking nobody around and a phone was kind of necessary. Was that something Christian would have maybe? Worth asking.

Luna frowned. “Was that a white people thing?” she asked. It was a brand new concept to her and it sounded like something they’d do. “Had to get creative I guess.”

“Fuck yeah. Make safety cute,” she said. “I’ll find one when I’m stealing the phone. We’ll hook you up.” Luna actually felt a little better. The bandages on her friends arm were really confronting and scary but she seemed mostly okay.

“Who’s being adoring?” Luna asked. “Your sister?” She could not imagine that.

[lolasprout]

"That'd be great. Thanks." She couldn't remember if she'd asked anyone else about this earlier. Anytime she tried to think, things just swam loosely in her brain. Accessing anything was nearly impossible. But even if she had asked someone else, Luna getting her another one would be could. She might need two phones.

Sprout tilted her head. "I don't know. I wish I could look it up and figure it out but no more internet." She didn't feel like the same person without it. There used to be so much information right at her fingertips and now she had to go out and get things. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't watching her skin flake off right now. She didn't have many ways to get information and she couldn't just ask Luna to stalk Poppy for her. That would be weird.

"Okay, I think I have some cute black and white clothes that can go with it. We'll make it very chic." Then she could say that it was a fashion choice and not one to keep her from running into burning buildings. She was just too brave.

The last twenty four hours had been such a whirlwind. She struggled how to convey it all. "Basically all of Poppy's friends love me. Oh, and the president." That was the most surprising part of everything. "She came here to get stuff for me. I am pretty much an mvp to the whole town."

[poppy-morris]

Poppy was mostly happy with that answer. “You know how to read?” she asked, side eyeing her sister. Poppy wasn’t sure any patient would want baby Morris coming in to read them stories while they felt like shit. People had limits.

She wondered for a moment if she should feel bad about the boundaries she’d set for her sister early on. There were too many things pointing to this situation being Poppy’s fault in one way or another. Poppy didn’t know what she was supposed to do about that. It was either this or dealing with Lola being in her pocket constantly. And that she could not deal with.

“Mhm,” Poppy said brightly. It gave her a small amount of joy thinking about what Cricket’s face would look like when Lola turned to him for guidance on every little thing in her life. It was a good idea, really. Poppy would hear it from Cricket whether a situation actually needed her attention or not. It was perfect. “Yeah, no problem. Think you’re ready for another nap?” Poppy asked her. “I can go see now if I can get a replacement phone for you and get some more supplies from the hospital.”

[lolasprout]

Sprout was in such a good mood that Poppy's doubt couldn't even pierce her bubble. "When I feel like it." She thought that was a real job in hospitals, but know she wasn't quite so sure. She'd text Raleigh as soon as she got her new phone to double check. They'd basically made her part of the club after this.

She definitely wasn't tired. Her arms ached and her head was fuzzy. The pain meds made her tongue heavy. And her eyes did ache some, but that didn't mean she was tired. She was...ready to rest. Completely different. But if Poppy was willing to look for a new phone for her, maybe she could fake it. "Yeah," she yawned overdramtically, "I need a little rest. Make sure you find the latest model, being here doesn't mean that my standards have fallen. And I expect a good case." They were Morris' they had a certain reputation to uphold. "Thank you."

[poppy-morris]

Poppy wished she had too. This all felt so fucking senseless and she hated it. If Lola had actually done anything she thought she could accomplish, well, that would still be shit. Because it was still stupid and she was still hurt. But at least there would have been a reason. “Heroics aren’t usually very epic. They’re usually just hard and scary.” She hoped that would discourage her from future attempts.

Poppy wanted to lie so badly right now. If she told Lola the cell towers only worked sometimes so it’d make her only call in actual emergencies it wouldn’t be that bad, right? But if that stopped her from trying to call at all Poppy would only feel guilty again. “Lola they’ve been working this entire time,” she told her. “You really haven’t called anyone? Not even your sullen tattooed shadow with the long hair?”

“You noticed we’re friends again, huh?” Poppy tucked her hair behind her ear. “You know what? If you can’t get through to me you should call him next.” He’d love that.

[lolasprout]

Sprout nodded sagely. If there was anyone who knew about being heroic, it was Poppy. She volunteered at the hospital, that was the definition of heroic. "I'll try and leave it to you." Although, she wouldn't mind sharing the spotlight. "But if you get patients, I can read to them or something." No bedpans.

It made sense that they were working but she'd been using her phone for a lot of other things: looking at photos, tracking Poppy, a watch, scrolling through old memes for entertainment. The rest hadn't been very useful. "I usually know where Luna is and you said not to call. I tried mom and dad back...." She hated talking about that time, "When we got off the bus, but it didn't work so I thought...it's okay. It works now. I'll call you." She had just decided that most things would count as an emergency. Plenty of chances to talk to her favorite sister.

"Duh." She was about to explain that they'd been hanging out and Poppy didn't bring cupcakes for just anyone, but technically that might be seen as stalking. Poppy had just figured out she was cool, she wasn't going to ruin that now by admitting that she was great at following her around.

Her eyes brightened, "I can?" That opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Maybe nearly dying was the best thing that ever happened to her. "I'll need his number." She already had it, but they shouldn't know that.

[poppy-morris]

“It is good, Lola. It could have been so much worse.” Poppy shook her head. “You are so lucky. However you got out of there.” Her sitting here at home in her bed right now was a miracle.

Poppy looked at her sister for a long moment. She wasn’t a feelings person. And she didn’t even like her 99% of the time. But she was trying not to be mean while she was all fragile and shit. “Yeah. I’m here for you,” she said before she realised she probably shouldn’t have. Lola would think that was a limitless promise, knowing her.

“Speaking of dad. He would literally kill me if anything more serious happened to you while he’s not here,” Poppy said. “So when we find your phone or get you a new one, please call me before you run into a burning building and ask me if you should do it. Call me before you do anything dangerous. I need you to promise me that you’ll do that.”

[lolasprout]

"You're right, I know you are, but I wish I had saved someone rather than thinking I was going to and passing out. It's just not as...epic." She would get over it eventually. Being alive was a great thing, she was really happy about it, but having something to show for her burns would be even better.

Poppy wasn't big on emotions or promises. Sprout really respected that usually you had to work at reading what she felt. But hearing her say that she would be there was life-changing. She was finally worming her way closer to Poppy's circle of trust. It was almost a pain killer on its own. "Thanks."

Taking orders was more normal Poppy fare. She would absolutely listen, especially if Poppy was letting her call to ask questions. "I can definitely do that, as long as the cell towers still work. I haven't tried to call anyone the whole time we've been here. I'm sure you and Cricket can figure that out."

[luna-martinez]

Luna considered a world without Sprout in it for just one second. That was all she could manage before her brain violently rejected the idea. She’d be even more alone than she already felt. “I think it would probably fuck me up forever if you died,” she said, adding a half hearted laugh at the end.

“What the shit is a town crier?” Luna asked. “I’ve never heard of that.” She hated everything about what had happened. But a big part of it was that she hadn’t been with her when it happened. Maybe if they’d gotten ready together Luna would have been there too. Maybe Sprout wouldn’t have gone in there at all and she wouldn’t be hurt now, and Luna wouldn’t have lost her shit over her disappearing.

“Yeah of course I wanna hang out more. I’ll stop you from going hero mode. We could get one of those kid leashes for you so I can just yank you back if you get too heroic.” Luna smiled a little. “You’ll be like I have to save this bro from this danger. And I’ll be like fuck no girl, get back over here.”

[lolasprout]

"Yeah. Same." Sprout was trying hard not to think about it, but the thought was just too close. "I'd be a terrible ghost, I can barely navigate with a phone. I hope someone had like a side job at the cell phone store or something because I need a new one. Like now."

She laughed. It hurt but it felt good too. "Someone in old times like when our grandparents were teens or something that would just like stand in the center of town and, like, tell people what was happening." If only she were a bit more well, she could have that job. She loved yelling. "I guess they'd like send a carrier pigeon or something so that this person would announce it."

As much as the possibility of being on a kid leash terrified her, she was so grateful that she had Luna. She thought ahead. With her best friend agreeing to spend more time with her, she was guaranteed to walk away with fewer burns. "That's smart. I think I could rock a panda backpack. And I really am trying to not be heroic anymore, but it's difficult. The adoration is intense."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

[lolasprout]

Poppy had to run an errand, so Sprout was left her thoughts and no phone. It was a tragedy of epic proportions. What was she supposed to do? She stared at the wall, watching the shadows of the trees sway back and forth until it lulled her into a weird sense of calm.

There was a guy standing over her. Sprout blinked rapidly. He wasn't going away. She thought she'd remember falling asleep but she didn't. She didn't remember who this guy was either, "H-hello?"

"Sup," Finn nodded at her. He'd waited a fucking eternity for Poppy to leave. He thought they hated each other or something, so he didn't get why she was sticking around. But, she'd finally left and he'd taken the chance to smooth things over. "I'm Finn."

"Oh." Something about that name was familiar to Sprout but between the meds and the smoke inhalation, it was hard to think. "Your....sister's in my class?"

"Yeah." Finn had seen her around when he'd stop by Charlie's class to make sure she was doing okay. Thinking about that now made his throat tight. But he pushed that aside. She'd made her choice and he'd made his. He was here because of that choice. "I was just worried about you." He hoped she'd buy that.

"That's nice." Sprout wasn't used to people worrying over her. It came as a shock every time. "I...did Poppy ask you to come over?"

"Pfft no." Finn laughed. "I was in the neighborhood. A lot of people I know live over here. Wanted to make sure you hadn't, like, died in the night or something."

Was she supposed to laugh? Only a few hours ago she'd been terrified that she was facing mortality head on. It wasn't funny to Sprout. She wasn't sure it ever would be. "I'm alive." She cleared her throat, trying to harness Poppy's confidence. "I'm alive and once my burns heel, I'll be okay."

"That's great. I'm really relieved to hear that." Finn glanced out the window, but there wasn't much to see. His palms were so sweat right now, it was disgusting. "After what Viola did...it's just good you're pulling through."

Sprout tried to sit up but her arms crackled when she did. She hissed and flopped backwards. Was Viola his sister? No. That wasn't right. Charlie was his sister. She remembered that at least. Charlie whose eyes went wide when Sprout tried to say hi. Her head was too foggy for this. "What did Viola do?"

Finn looked at her with genuine sympathy. She was so small in comparison to the wall of pillows around her. "Y'know, the fire? She told me she was planning it a few days ago. I thought she was kidding."

"W-why would she do that?" Sprout fought as hard as she could to try and remember this. It seemed important, like being let into officially adult business.

"I think all the bleach has really messed with her brain." Finn laughed. "She's a total psycho, who knows why she does anything? She's done it before, though."

"She has?" Sprout forced herself to move higher on the pillows. The notion that someone was just running around setting fires really freaked her out. She thought they lived in such a safe place. Perfect place to raise kids. That's what her dad always said.

"Yeah, few times." Having never done this before Finn wasn't sure how long he was supposed to stick around. It was hard to look at her, knowing what he and Tony did. Like she was just too....like Charlie. He fucking hated thinking about this. He wanted out of this house. Plus, who knew when Poppy would come back? "But this is kinda her life's work, I think. A whole house burned to the studs."

Sprout's head hurt. Did this mean she wasn't a hero? Finn said this girl liked to burn things. He didn't say she targeted people. What if she'd run in there for no reason. Shame poured through her. To put Poppy through that, all for nothing. That'd be too much for her. They were the only two flowers left in the garden bed. They owed it to each other to be safe. "Oh," she repeated, feeling stupid that she couldn't come up with anything smarter.

"I'm sorry, kid." And Finn genuinely was. He didn't want those crags of blood and bandages running down her arms. That wasn't in the original plan. He took shit for it from Tony, but he wasn't going to regret it. People that deserved a lesson were different. She was innocent. "I'm glad you're doing okay. I just wanted to see it for myself. The way people talk around here," he whistled, "Sometimes you gotta see what's bullshit and what isn't for yourself."

"Thank you." Sprout tried to smile but it didn't feel like it went all the way up. Her skin was starting to itch and she wanted Poppy back. Her head was swimming. She didn't want to think about what happened being an on purpose thing. "Well, I'm okay." Or she would be, after Poppy's careful care got her back on her feet.

"Good," Finn glanced at his watch. "I gotta head back, but thanks for letting me drop in on you." He nodded his head slowly. It meant something to him, and the best lies were truths of a different sort. "Catch ya, later."

"Bye," Sprout went to raise her arm before remembering the pain. She heard his footfalls as they moved towards the stair. The shadows were swinging back and forth on her wall. Her head throbbed. She just needed a little bit more rest. This would all make sense after she got more sleep. Everything would be fine.

But the words "psycho blonde" swam through her head. When she woke up, they were the only thing she could remember.