closed starter for jo cooper ( @coopjo ) -> botanical gardens (christmas edition)
Maxie has been spending a lot of time alone. It's not like it's out of the ordinary for him; he's always enjoyed his own company and the peace of solitude. The real change now is that it's not fully his choice. Getting dumped means reminding yourself how to be alone, means finding new ways to fill all that time you'd dedicated to someone else.
This is why Maxie finds himself in Whoville, surrounded by mirth he can't bring himself to feel. It's helping a little. He thinks. Maybe.
Near one of the displays he sees a lone brunette - familiar in the faint annoyance she seems to wear on her face without meaning to. They'd met at Four Leaf a few weeks ago, he's sure of it, even if he can't quite remember her name. There are only a few weeks left until Maxie flies home for Christmas, and he's determined not to let them be lonely - if she's here alone, maybe she needed a friend, too.
"Are you avoiding the Grinch? I keep looking over my shoulder, making sure he's on the opposite side of the room at all times." Maxie does that now, scanning for the actor in head-to-toe green fur. "I don't care if he's mean to me. His whole look just freaks me out."