Chapter 4: I'm No Quick-Curl Barbie
Dudes, there's like one kinda weird joke in here and I wasn't sure if it was really weird or not so PSA
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Apo curled into a ball under the seat, quietly sobbing his eyes out. The tears that had been pent up from years of torture and the stress of nearly dying three times in one day finally fell, leaving his eyes puffy and red and their whole body shaking.
I mean, what else should they do when they see someone that looks identical to his dead older brother?
"Um... Are you okay?"
Apo glanced up, finally noticing the person on their knees before them. They had a long black braid running down their back, wearing a green hat and black leggings. They studied him, a look of concern on their face.
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." Apo quickly wiped his tears, trying desperately to pull themselves together. "Yeah, because people usually just hide under a seat and sob when they're cheerful." The stranger remarked dryly, fiddling with their fingers as they took a seat next to the halfing. "I could hear you from my hideout." "Oh... Sorry." "Nah, I don't care." They waved their hand. "I haven't seen anyone in weeks, it's nice to know I'm not stuck in the apocalypse." Apo cracked a smile.
The ravenette gave them a once-over. "Your clothes look weird." Apo sighed. "Yeah, that's what happens when you're from 1968." The stranger blinked in surprise. "That's... not what I expected you to say. I thought you were just one of those weird collector guys." "The what?" "You know what, I don't feel like you should know what those are. You might have a stroke." "... That's fair, honestly."
"So are you going to explain why I found a guy from the sixties hiding under a train seat?" He sighed. "I... ran away from my friends because I saw someone who... brought back bad memories, we'll say." "Oh, that sucks man." They sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry." "No, it's fine." he waved their hand. "I'm over it." "Well, you're obviously not if you ran off at the mention of this guy- it is a guy right?" He nodded. "Okay, just checking." They sat in silence.
"It's not safe here." They stood, holding out their hand for Apo to take. "You can stay at my spot." "How can I trust you?" Apo gave their hand a wary look. "I met you in a weird time-travelling train five seconds ago." They chewed on the inside of their cheek. "You can ask me three questions. I'll answer as honestly as I can." "Really?" "That's one." "That doesn't count!" "Oh really?" "Yes!"
The stranger rolled their eyes. "I was messing with you. Now are you coming or not?" Apo hesitantly took their hand, letting them pull him to their feet like he was a rag doll. "You can ask away on the way there."
As they walked, Apo spoke up. "So... what's your name?" They raised an eyebrow. "That's your question?" "What, did you want me to ask your bra size?" "Gross." "I know, which is why I didn't ask." "... Can't argue with that. The name's Olive." "Olive huh... You sound familiar." "Afraid that's impossible, Mr..." "Apo." "Well Mr Apricot, I come from 2047. So that can't be right." "My name's not- never mind." They sighed.
Olive pushed a door open, glancing around before shoving Apo inside and closing the door behind them. "Do you have any supplies?" Apo stared. "Oh for the love of- wait here, I'll get you some clothes." They opened another side door, likely a bathroom. "And don't touch anything!" They called over their shoulder.
Apo took the time that they were gone to look around. The room was small, and had two bunks similar to the ones in the outsiders hideout. The top bunk had a raggedy green blanket on it, as well as a weird black thing with a shattered screen. They reached out to touch it, hastily pulling back when they remembered Olive's warning.
On the bottom bunk, there were piles of random pieces of junk, from another smaller black thing with its insides scattered across the room to yellowing pieces of paper covered in fancy words. Apo's fingers lingered about a broken picture frame turned upside down, but before he could turn over Olive burst back into the room. "Alright, I found two pairs, you can choose whatever you want- Oh jeez I forgot I left all that shit here." The ravenette grimaced, setting the pyjamas down on the chair in the corner and starting to move the junk under the bed.
As they did that, Apo picked up a pair of pyjamas. They were dark red, with little reindeer decorating the pants. The shirt had a picture of a duck with a knife, and Apo's heart picked up in his chest. They quickly set it down, swapping it for a plain baggy t-shirt. Fucking coward, can't even look at a T-Shirt, their brain helpfully (not) supplied.
"Alright, that should be good. It's not five-star living, but it could be worse." Olive gave them a small grin. "Don't let the shadow creatures bite." "Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine." He muttered as Olive climbed up into their bunk and Apo headed for the bathroom.
Apo yanked off their binder, pulling the shirt over his head as he winced. Remember kids, don't run for thirty minutes after you've been wearing a binder for 12 hours, they thought dryly as they shoved their dirty clothes under the sink. By the time he walked out of the bathroom, He could hear Olive's quiet snores. As they pulled his blanket up over his arms, he slowly fell asleep, haunted by saws and screams.
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