Chapter Text
There's rustling leaves outside, kids playing in the streets, and an old Coldplay song playing on her car radio. Ragatha- or Maggie, as she's trying to readjust to- fiddles with the tube of mascara in her hands. It's hard to apply a layer when she knows she's just going to cry it off as soon as it dries. The anxiety of it all makes her consider turning her car around to head back to her hotel room. But there's a pair of brown eyes, jet black hair and a smile on her phone screen that gives her enough courage.
It’s been a little less than a year since they were all able to escape the Digital Circus. It wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be, but somehow they managed. It wasn’t an easy decision, either. As soon as they found the exit, she could feel the tightness in her chest. Not only was she terrified of what would be waiting for her on the other side, she was terrified of what wouldn’t be. Five other people she’s made real connections to, whether that be acquaintances or a past friendship that she never got the chance to repair. Which is why she came up with the wild idea right before they escaped.
‘What if we were able to find each other on the other side? What if this doesn’t have to be a good bye?’ Following that statement was a rushed and panicked idea that she didn’t even know would work. Each of them would add their avatar names to each of their profile pictures on all of their social medias until they all found each other.
Her.
Pomni.
Zooble.
Gangle.
Kinger.
Jax…
‘There’s not a chance that I’m doing that.’
…Was a lost cause.
At least, that’s what she thought. She remembers the moment he rejected her idea because it felt like losing her best friend all over again. It felt like she was going to lose him every day for the rest of her life outside of the digital circus. And that’s probably what made it click that he was the one she wanted to find the most. Which made it hard to deal with the idea that she might never if he was going to be this uncooperative. Still, she tried and tried and tried to search for him along with the others throughout all of the social media she had. Nothing on Facebook, nothing on Twitter, nothing for about three months. She was wondering if none of them actually wanted to do it and that she was the only one who added the name ‘Ragatha’ to everything. Or maybe none of them wanted to find her so they washed their hands of the whole ordeal. She was good at overthinking and this was giving her enough ammunition to do just that for the rest of her life.
Four months went by and she lost hope yet she still did all she could. Searched random profiles, typed in their names, she even changed her location to see if anyone new would pop up in her ‘People You May Know’ list. Nothing.
Until after six straight months.
At work, on her lunchbreak, she was scrolling through Facebook only to realize that she never changed her settings around. Before she could- thankfully- purple bunny ears on top of black hair popped up on her page. The name ‘Jax’ written underneath. The screech she let out startled everyone in the breakroom with her, but she couldn’t care less.
She found him.
What now?
She spent weeks going over just that. Does she send a friend request? Does she just ignore it until he finds her? Would he even want to find her? Would he even want her to find him? This is where the overthinking comes in and, boy, was it ever? And that’s why she never did send him that friend request. She did something far more dramatic.
She gave her boss her two weeks notice, saved up every penny that she made on her checks. Sold the car that she was gifted on her last birthday, pocketed all of the money. She even managed to weasel out a decent amount of money from her mother’s bank account by forging her name on a check and never returning home from then on. Another hard decision to make, but less when she has the thought of Jax in her mind.
The thing is, though, when she finds a cheap used car that her mother has no way of tracking, she still doesn’t know what to do. Jax has both his state and city labeled on his Facebook account. From Montana to Missouri, which would take at least a day to drive if she doesn’t include rest stops. Two days if she did. She could do that. But should she? While this is a man she’s known for years, this is also a man that she’s never actually met. She knows him with bunny ears, pink overalls, and an attitude that could drive everyone away. She has no idea what he’s like with dark hair, brown eyes, and a real life that he’s living.
Yet.
She still finds herself in his city checking into a cheap motel just to be able to figure all of this out.
There was no going back. For one, she didn’t want to. Something had changed within her in the digital circus that just couldn’t bother putting up with her mother’s constant abuse. Whether she did this to find Jax or not, she was never going to go back to the old life she had.
And two, would she forgive herself if she let their friendship die in the circus?
She missed him.
Which is why she spends a week or so trying to find him. Through grocery runs and visits to the laundry mat and pick up orders at fast food places. He should’ve been easier to find in the small town he lives in. Or maybe she got it all wrong. Maybe he didn’t live here. He might’ve moved, he might’ve never lived here. He might’ve put the wrong location to steer anyone away from finding him- From her finding him. One final prank on her before he completely erased her from his mind. Her heart aches at the thought that all of this has just been one sided. She remembers two years worth of their friendship followed by several more of enemy territory. Being stuck in the latter when they escaped, maybe it was doomed to be that forever. And now she’s trapped in an unfamiliar town with no one to comfort save for her own thoughts.
This was a mistake.
“Are you gonna order or what?”
The moment it happens, she forgot that she was supposed to be ordering a coffee. How long had she been standing in front of the register looking like a lunatic? It didn’t help that the cashier’s voice came out in pure annoyance as if he hated his job and everyone in the building and maybe even his life. She shuffled in her purse for her wallet and only when she had it in hand did she finally lock eyes with the aggressive cashier.
And.
Her.
World.
Shifted.
Jet black hair hidden underneath an olive green hat. Brown eyes glaring at her for taking too long. No smile, though, yet there’s no doubt in her mind that this was Jax and she had finally found him. What does she say? What does she do? There’s a line of people behind her waiting to get their caffeine fix before their shifts at work; however, it feels as if they were the only ones in this coffee shop. She hasn’t been alone with Jax in a long time, even before they escaped. There was always someone around and something to do and she was the last person he wanted to spend time around. The feeling was mutual at the time. That seemed to flip as she managed to stutter out an order.
“S-Sorry. I, uh…” A quick glance to the menu she never even bothered reading prior, “I-I’ll take a… J-Just give me a dark roast please.”
One look over her whole face, then he tapped against the register. Meanwhile, she fixated on gloveless hands and tan skin. It was unnerving seeing Jax not in his usual purpled shade. Wait, no, his nametag said Jake. His name is Jake.
Jake.
Jake. Jake. Jake. Jake. Jake.
“Jake,” Came out against her will. A pair of shocked eyes stared at her. She felt the heat surge through her, “S-Sorry. I-I’ve just never heard that name before. It’s unique.”
Furrowed eyebrows and a click of his tongue, “It’s a pretty common name. Anything else?”
“Huh?”
“Your order? Do you want anything else?”
“Oh. N-No, that’ll be all, thank you.”
“Right. That’ll be $5,” He tugged a tan to go cup, the name Espresso Hut across it, “Name?”
“It’s… Agatha,” Okay, this could either go one of two ways using her full name. He’d scribble it down, hand the cup to the barista, then tell her to shove off out of the line. Or he could give a nearly shocked expression with a memory of the her he knew. The second one is what happened followed by him questioning her name again, “Agatha. Um… I know it’s not the prettiest name,” She shrugged and shakily handed him the twenty dollar bill. He took it with just as much shake in his hand. She doesn’t get to think about that for too long.
“Uh, yeah, uh… L-Let me get your change.”
“N-No. You can, um… Keep the change. As a tip.”
“You serious?” He questioned before he could even get the register opened, “That’s a pretty decent tip for one small coffee. Most people just leave pocket change.”
She nodded as she slipped her wallet back in her purse, “I had a friend once that worked at a coffee shop. He told me horror stories. So, I know you don’t make what you deserve,” There was a cleared throat behind her that he glared at, “Do I just wait over here?”
“Yeah,” A final glare, then a mellowed out look for her, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure it’s ready for you soon. And, uh… Thanks. For the tip.”
“No problem… Jake,” She made her way over to the end counter where nerves had finally hit. She could feel each goosebump rise across her skin and each bead of sweat as it formed. On the outside, she managed to keep a good bit of her composure. Crossed her arms, twisted her body in such a way that it appeared as if she was checking out the cafe wall art, and only really looking at him when he went back to scribbling a name across her cup and handed it to the barista. Like he had promised, her cup of coffee was sat on the counter in no time. He was too busy with a frustrated customer who doesn’t understand why you can’t get an espresso without coffee for her to say a proper good bye. However, there was a brief moment where she looked back to him to see his eyes quickly flash in her direction with a slight nod. Her hand raised to wave just as he looked away from her. All she could do now was take a sip of her coffee and get on with her day.
Expecting to see the name Agatha scratched across it, she was shocked to see a familiar one instead.
‘Dollface.’
It wasn’t the end, though. She was too scared to go back to the coffee shop at first, but she did take short walks near it. Sometimes she’d see him there- either cleaning the store or ringing up a customer. Other times, it’d be someone else. She’d linger a little longer during those times that he was there. If he noticed her, she didn’t know. All she wanted was to just be able to see him. It had gotten to a point where that wasn’t enough.
She needed to know him.
So. One week after finding him, she gripped the door of the coffee shop, pulled it open, sashayed into the register… Where someone else greeted her.
“Hi! Welcome to Espresso Hut. What can I get started for ya?” An overly cheery voice came from a blonde woman. The name ‘Penelope’ was written across her nametag. She felt disappointment in her body immediately. Nothing against Penelope, but she was hoping that if she came in again, she’d be able to see Jax again. Jake again. Maybe they’d talk a bit more, she’d ask him if he wanted to do something together, or she’d ask him if he knew who she was. The cup with ‘Dollface’ on it was still sitting in her car.
Instead, she gave a curt smile to the cashier and ordered her dark roast. A quick money exchange, a quick name written down, and she waits. There’s a door with a small window on that leads to the kitchen that she peaks through. Maybe he was on a kitchen shift today. But the only person walking in and out of there was also not him. Figures, she finally worked up the courage to go in the coffee shop and he’s nowhere to be found.
“You’re late… Again,” Penelope’s voice came out far less cheery than previously. The coffee shop doorbell rings as someone shuffled inside, “What’s the excuse this time? Did your dog get hit by a car for the fourth time this month?”
“Shove it, will ya?”
Her head whipped around at the voice. Jax- er, Jake walked up to the counter while tugging his jacket off. Disheveled hair, scowl on his mouth, and he practically sprinted behind the counter.
“Look, traffic here was insane.”
“You live across the road. And you walk here.”
“I said shove it, Nel.”
Across the street. She feigned interest in the table with wooden coffee stirrers and sugar packets while really she was checking outside of the window to the several buildings across from the coffee shop. Far enough away that she had to squint, but close enough that she could still tell that they were only a short walk away. He lived there? Which one? Was that too weird of a question? She couldn’t help but let curiosity get the better of her, though.
She turned away from the window as soon as her name had been called. By that time, Jax had headed to the back of the kitchen, so it was a quick exchange of her coffee and she was out the door.
She didn’t go back to that coffee shop for a while.
When she did, Jax wasn’t there again.
But the familiar voice of Penelope was.
“Hi!” Followed by the same robotic speech as the last time. She still gave a small smile to her, then ordered an espresso instead of her usual dark roast. The night before, she barely slept and she was going to need the energy. She also ordered an everything bagel sandwich just because she had gotten tired of the same three fast food places around her motel building.
“You came in here the other day,” Penelope noted as she was digging through her bag for her wallet. She gave a quick look up to her before searching her wallet for a twenty.
“Um… Y-Yeah, I think it was some time last week.”
“Uh-huh. I know because my coworker would not stop asking me about you after you left.”
Her full attention snapped up to her. The fake smile she was giving was replaced now with a more relaxed one as if she didn’t have to keep up the customer service act anymore, “What?” Came out far too shocked than she wanted it, too. She swallowed hard, “I’m sorry. What?”
“He saw you walking out and asked a ton of questions. What name you gave, what you ordered. I told him that it was weird that he was asking so many questions about a customer,” Penelope stated, then must have noticed the stunned look she had, “O-Oh, no, I’ve said too much. My manager always tells me that I’m too friendly with the customers. I’m sorry. I promise you that Jake is a cool guy. He’s just a little odd. And lazy. And he goes on his thirty minute break before I have even though I usually clock in before he does. But besides that-”
“Penelope, stop chatting with the customers so much and give me the cup,” The overly agitated barista shouted from the side, not even bothering with their customer service act. Penelope rolled her eyes. She gave the name Maggie that time. Not even thinking about it. Plus, she hated the name Agatha anyway. It felt like her mother’s first abusive act on her before she was even a day old. She wondered if her mother missed her or if she even knew she was gone at all. She probably did, seeing as her metaphorical punching bag had up and left without a trace. The only thing still linking the two was her social media and she was even questioning getting rid of that. It’s not like she used it anyway. The only people there were her mother, distant relatives, and a past friend or two. She hadn’t posted anything on there since her 25th birthday. Thirteen likes and two comments. So, what was the point of it all? Absent-mindedly, as she waited on her coffee, she typed in Jax’s name. It came up immediately given that she had searched for it far too often than she wanted to admit. The same name, the same smile, the only difference was the profile picture he had changed. There were no bunny ears anymore, but a photo of him lying on what looked to be his bed. A pillow behind his head made the dark hair push forward- Part of it falling over his forehead. Medium brown eyes were staring straight into his phone camera as if he had known she’d be looking. There was a heart rush in her at that moment. One that she had never experienced, felt, or even heard of until then.
Not when she first found his profile.
Not when she first met him behind the counter.
Never.
This was an entirely new feeling.
That- along with the lack of sleep from the night before- gave her the courage.
The name Maggie is called. She took her coffee and sandwich. She could walk out of the coffee shop, but something else happened.
“Hey, Penelope…”
Small tan building. Second house from the right. Number 215.
She had felt odd asking a complete stranger for her coworker’s address. Especially seeing as Penelope assumed they’d only met once. What was concerning, however, was how quickly she was in complying with a written out note on an Espresso Hut napkin. She wouldn’t complain.
It’s how she got to where she is now.
The napkin, that she had spent several hours staring over in her motel bed the night prior, now rests inside of her glove compartment. Along with it is a torn manual to her car and a small bag of blue buttons. She didn’t have a set plan other than ringing his door and introducing herself. Other than that…
She reapplies the mascara one last time, then palms one single blue button. She could do this.
Outside of her car, she felt nerves hit all at once. Maybe it was the fall breeze blowing in and she decided that a white skirt was the best option to wear. Nothing she could do about it now except tug at the sleeves of her black top until they fully covered her palms and make her way up to the building in front of her. Jax’s house. The building in which Jax lives in. Jax lives here. He is currently inside of this build-
Okay, she’s stalling.
A heavy gasped breath, “Okay, Maggie. You. Can. Do. This.”
It takes approximately 176 steps from where she parked to his front door. 215 above it and a tattered ‘Welcome’ sign across it. All there’s left now to do is knock and wait. Immediately after she knocks on the door, a voice shouts on the other side.
“Dude, would you shut up? That’s not what happened,” A pause, “Wrong. You’re seeing things. Why would I steal your last fruit rollup? Those things are gross. Yeah, whatever. Shut up and let me answer the door already. Thanks. Can I help-” He tugs the door open- Practically slams it, if she’s being honest- and his first instinct is to get angry with whoever knocked on it in the first place. Which is what makes her take a step back on the stoop connected to his house, “-You?”
The nerves that had been building up from her car to here crash all at once. The heel of her boot nearly catches on the step she’s on, but she manages to keep her balance. The last thing she needs is a trip to the emergency room before she can even introduce herself.
“I-I, uh… Hey.”
“Hey?”
Okay.
Good.
A hello.
Now just say more.
“Hi?” Okay not that again, “Yeah, uh… Sorry to just drop in on you like this, but there was, um…”
Six months of waiting for this. Another one alone in his city trying to find him. A crumby motel, take out food nearly every night, and a dreaded feeling that she’d never get to this moment. Yet now that she is, she has no idea what to actually say. Should she just come out and say that she’s Ragatha? Or should she keep it more casual, then build up to that? What would even be the point in waiting given that she’s already waited so long? Wasn’t the point of this to be able to meet him in person? Maybe. But now she doesn’t know anymore. He’s standing in front of her, an old gray t-shirt with a band logo she’s not familiar with. Dark hair is messy and it looks like he's just woken up. She can smell breakfast being made inside of his house.
This is Jax.
But it’s not anymore.
This is Jake.
A man that she’s only met once at his job. Other than that one encounter, they’re complete strangers. Sure, she may know what he was like when they were inside of the digital circus, but here is an entirely different realm. Her and Jax used to be friends. Her and Jax used to be enemies. Her and Jax spent years together in the circus just trying to stay away from abstraction. That word doesn’t even mean anything here. Because her name is Maggie, his name is Jake, and they are nothing to each other.
“I-I don’t… A-Actually know why I’m here. Uh, so… Yeah. I’m sorry for bothering you and I’ll just,” She only gets to turn slightly when he speaks again.
“You’re that girl that came into my job the other day. Dark roast, right?”
“Um, yeah. That was me.”
“Right,” He leans against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, “I remember. How the hell did you get my address?”
“W-Well-”
“Let me guess. Penelope.”
“Uh.”
“Figures,” He scoffs under his breath and her curiosity peaks.
“You say that as if she’s given your address out before.”
“No, not that. It’s just that… Well… She was very keen on the idea that you had a thing for me. Kept saying that if you came in again, that I should ask you out. And well,” Then, there’s a short chuckle before he swallows down the rest of it. Jax was never one to be nervous, but it seems like Jake sure is, “I-I’m talking too much. Do, you, uh… You wanna come in?” A loud crash behind him followed by a string of curse words, “You wanna go out? I-I mean…”
She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “N-No, that’s fine,” This is it. This is the moment. She raises the blue button in her hand that she’s been clutching so tightly up to be between them. Jake takes a quick look at it before letting his full attention focus solely on her face. Then, her hair. Finally, he lets them settle into hers. His pupils don’t dilate the way they did in the circus; however, if they could, she’s certain they’d be huge right now.
“Hey, uh… Do we know each other?”
“We used to,” It was a silly idea that she came up with the night before. At the grocery store, she found a bag of buttons on sale with one big blue one that caught her attention. Maybe it was silly, maybe it was fate, but she solely had him on her mind as she slipped the bag into her cart. Now that she’s here, she pinches the button between two fingers and brings it up to her left eye. Placing it there and watching his reaction. Of course, it’s confusion at first. She must look crazy.
It’s not long, though, when that melts to shock. Shock melts to understanding melts to haziness and finally, he pulls himself off of the door frame, “Hi, Jax.”
When the name comes out, it’s a puzzle piece clicking into place. She drops the button onto the ground because she can already feel the tears prickling her eyes. There was no use in holding them back anyway. Especially not when a pair of arms wrap around her neck and she’s dragged against his body.
“Oh, thank God.”
******************************
“... all right, there you go,” Jake hands her phone back to her where she finds his number typed out. She smiles at it before setting it aside, “Don’t expect me to answer before 11am or after 9pm. Those are my sleeping hours,” He shoots her a wink that melts off the stress from earlier. As does the warm cup of coffee that she sips from. Jake, meanwhile, taps at his own mug with the ring on his index finger. Nerves must still be getting to him yet he seems so calm and collected.
“Figured as much. If I remember correctly, Caine basically had to drag you out of your room every morning in order to do his adventures.”
“Who the hell wants to go yeti hunting straight after breakfast? Let a man sleep in once in a while,” He lets out a groan before sipping his coffee. Same dark roast as hers, but loaded up with sugar and creamer. She can practically taste the sweetness from looking at it, “Besides, Caine’s adventures were getting lackluster at the end of it anyway. I think our former AI warden was losing his touch.”
“It would make sense. He was doing it for years. Kinger was trapped there for over twenty years,” She states, remembering one of the first few conversations the two of them had together after she arrived. She was amazed that someone could survive there that long, but she wasn’t that familiar with the mechanisms of it all at the time. The idea of never needing to eat, sleep, or breathe was strange. Yet now, it felt like the exact opposite, “When I got my first hunger pain, it was odd. It felt like the years I went without needing to eat finally caught up to me all at once.”
Looking over his melancholy expression above her coffee cup, she felt heat burning her cheeks, “Sorry. Just a random thought.”
“Nah, nothing to apologize for. I remember my lungs burning for days afterwards. It’s weird going from this immortal being to someone who needs to breathe to survive was the worst.”
She nods, “Yeah, it was. Like… We actually had to worry about all of these things that we didn’t for a long time. There were times that I would forget to eat for days. Of course, no one really seemed to notice, but,” An image of her mother flashes behind her eyes. She has to remember to delete her social media when she gets the chance.
“Yeah,” He leans forward, “So, do you and your mom live around here?”
“Me, yes. Her… No,” Another long sip of her drink. It burns, but she almost likes the sensation, “I’m from Montana. And, technically, I don’t live here. I’ve been staying at a cheap motel.”
“Living the dream, huh? What brings you to Missouri then?”
Brown eyes watch her as he waits for an answer. In his profile picture, they appeared darker. Up close, she could see flecks of caramel. Tints of green if she looked really close and she did. For a whole minute too long, but he never seemed to mind. He just sipped from his coffee and waited for an answer. A quick, “You,” That she didn’t explain at first. By the way his brows knitted together only to meld back to a more understanding look, she didn’t have to. Still, it comes out anyway, “I left home. You’re gonna find this really funny actually. I, uh, was at work one day when I found your Facebook account. If I remember correctly, I said that we should add our names. Bunny ears?” She lets out a short laugh that has him rolling his eyes.
“Don’t ask, all right? That dies with us.”
“My lips are sealed. But… Yeah. I gave my two weeks notice to my boss, sold my car to get a cheaper one, and drove here. That’s pretty much- Oh, and I guess I ‘borrowed’ some money from my mother.”
“Borrowed?”
“Borrowed… Stole.”
“You stole money from your mother?” His shout is so loud that it gets the attention of a nearby table that included glares at him and a dismayed look to her, “What the hell? How much?”
“Oh, you know. Somewhere along the lines of… thirty thousand dollars.”
“Thirty thousand dollars?” Another glare from the same table, she hides her face away this time, “You stole thirty grand from your mother? And she hasn’t hunted you down yet?”
“She probably hasn’t noticed that it’s gone. Remember when you said that customers only tip you pocket change at work?” He nods, she shrugs, “I guess I did if we’re being honest. My family is pretty well off.”
“Shit, wish I had lucked out like that. If I stole that kind of money from my dad, he’d have me crucified. Besides, neither one of us has that kind of money. I think I’m about to be over drafted for this coffee.”
She huffs, feeling her smirk spread over her mouth, “Don’t worry, I have this covered. It’s just nice to be able to chat with someone instead of listening to the television in my room while I eat.”
“So, then, what you said was true. You left home because of me,” It comes out more as a question than a statement and she knows this because he practically stares her down for an answer. The only one that she can muster is a slight nod while wondering if it was too weird to have said out loud- If this was the part where he gets up and leaves. Her number would be blocked in an hour. But, no, “Wow. I gotta say. I’m impressed.”
“What?”
“You packed up and left everything to head to another state. And I bet that you barely considered not doing that by the sounds of it. Do you know how many times I’ve thought of doing that?”
“It’s not as ideal as you think it is. I don’t know anyone here. I’m on limited funds. I don’t even have a job or a house. While I know that I’m better off away from my past life, I still have no idea what I’m doing right now.”
“You’re living.”
“Yeah, I know, but-”
“Nope. No buts. When you and I first met, do you remember how often we talked about how we hated our lives outside of the circus? You because of your mother and me because of how meaningless it all felt? You got out of your situation. You just left without thinking it over. Sure, you might be in limbo, but it doesn’t mean that you didn’t have the guts to do it. Give yourself some credit,” The rest of his coffee goes down in one final gulp. She watches him fiddle with the handle of his mug. The coffee shop he brought her to wasn’t the one that he works at. This one was on the other side of town because, ‘It’s way better than the one I work at. The coffee doesn’t taste like depression.’ She didn’t argue when he sat in her car and started giving her directions. It was nice just to have him around again.
That same feeling from earlier- The one where she stared a little closely at his profile picture- Comes back in waves. In her head, in her chest, in her stomach. It pools together until it becomes too much.
“I couldn’t let us not be friends anymore.”
His actions halt. Still touching the mug handle, but she could tell that he was focused on her.
“I thought that this was all a mistake. I was here for nearly a month before I ran into you at work. I didn’t know if what I was doing was weird or not. But it was too late. I wanted to find you. I needed to know you. I know that we left things in kind of a sour spot, but-”
"I've really missed you, you know?"
It takes her by surprise. The tenderness in his voice, the flick of his eyes over to her, the way his lips part as if to say more, "I've... Missed you, too. It's been a tough couple of months since we lef-"
"I'm not talking about after we escaped. I meant before then. I never wanted to be angry at you for so long. I never wanted any of that. Ragatha, I… Maggie… I spent just as much time trying to find you as you did. Up until we first met at work. I had a hint that maybe it was you when you gave your name, but I didn’t know. And now that I do… I don’t wanna lose a friendship again.”
Tears prick her eyes again, then he grabs her hand and they flow without her even trying to conceal them. His hand twitches like he wants to wipe them away. She wants him to.
That thought scares her. She brings up a different topic just to be able to ignore it.
“Did you find anyone else?”
“Yeah, actually. Pomni lives in New York. She was the only one I could find. Her name’s Carrie. We text often.”
“Oh. Okay… And have you two met yet?” She could feel something aching in her chest. A new feeling she’d have to get used to.
“No, not yet. I told her that I needed to meet someone else first,” He states and she knows what he means by the tilt of his head at her, “But she did tell me that as soon as I found you I needed to give you her number. It’s in your phone now by the way. Call her later.”
“All right. I will,” Silence stretches between them. She watches the way he brushes his finger over the dark green paint on her thumb, “You don’t look like I expected you to look.”
“Oh, really? Did you think that I’d still have bunny ears and purple skin? You’re exactly what I thought.”
Her free hand tucks a curl of auburn hair behind her ear. Yeah, Caine got kind of lazy when it came to her design. Besides the blue button eye and stitches, she pretty much looked the same. That and the fact that she has feet instead of stumps. One of which rests beside his leg under the table. Any passerbyers watching them may get the wrong impression, but she couldn’t be bothered to care.
“Ja-”
“Move in with me.”
She blinks and they’re staring at each other, “What?”
“You said that you’ve been crashing at a cheap motel. That’s gross. My roommate’s leaving soon, so I’ll have a spare room and need someone to help pay the bills. Move in with me,” The second time it's said is far less confident. He takes turns biting his lip and shaking his leg and there’s no hesitation in her answer.
“All right. All right, sure.”
“Wait… Seriously?”
“What, did you want to fight over it or something?”
“No, I was just expecting you to need to think it over. I didn’t expect you to say yes so soon.”
“Well… I did. It’s not like we haven’t lived together before, right? We used to share a single wall. We can do that again.”
“Well, there’s actually a bathroom between the two rooms, but yeah you’re totally right,” He waves his hand around, sits up in his chair, and she can tell that he’s nervous. She might find it endearing if she wasn’t just as nervous, “So, uh… Josh leaves in a week. Think you can live without me until then?”
No, her mind immediately answers, but she stops it before it reaches her mouth, “Shut up or I won’t pay for your coffee.”