Three's A Crowd

How Welcoming

"MICROPHONNEEEE!!!!" A high, shrill voice calls out for the tall female. And it is no one other than Soap herself. "Hey Soap!!" Soap jumps onto Microphone and hugs her tightly, the two girls staying in a warm embrace longer than expected. A hug was not the first thing Microphone expected once she arrived, but it is what she needed to feel much better. "Keep it down, Soap! You're as loud as Microphone!" Trophy angrily barks, stomping into the kitchen and having a staredown with Soap. "Oh shut it, Jockey McFruity. I just miss my friend." Soap huffs and smiles up at Microphone who has a tired, worn-out expression. Her face didn't need to give the idea that she was exhausted, her purple translucent jacket being soaked in the evening rain and the big ponytail on the back of her head being a huge tangled mess. Regardless, she still raises the corners of her lips to give Soap a forced smile, but at the same time it was pretty genuine.

Trophy scoffs from the other end of the room as he marches up the stairs.

It wouldn't be Hotel OJ if you didn't spot Pickle glued to the couch and TV. He barely blinked as he stared at the TV, immersed in whatever game he was playing. His dark green hair, curly as it will ever be, has seem to grown longer since the last time Mic saw him during that one challenge.

Microphone inhales sharply and exhales, feeling the warmth of the hotel's lobby, or otherwise "living room", embrace her. This is her home now. To be away from all the stress of the competition, to be away from all the worries. To be away from a million dollars.

To be away from... Taco.

"So! I always make sure to help new people in the hotel! Want me to give you a tour?" As soon as Microphone turned to nod at her friend, OJ bursts into the room. His white Polo shirt slightly dirtied. He seemed to have had a long day, accompanied by his ginger hair being ruffled into different directions.

"So sorry for not being here to welcome you properly, Microphone! Welcome to Hotel OJ! I'll give you a tour of the place instead of Soap here." OJ side-eyes the pink-haired girl as she gawks in disbelief. "Well excuse me, hotel manager, I just wanted to help my friend out! Unlike you who just wants to blabber about all the rules here that have nothing to do with any cleaning habits!" Soap was annoyed, and from her voice, Microphone could tell this has happened before. She smiles timidly, unsure if this exchange is a real argument or just bickering.

"Yeah, like you're not going to only tour the entire aisle of cleaning tools." OJ snickers to himself and rolls his eyes.

While the two argue on the side, Microphone takes this opportunity to look at Pickle. His eyes were glued to the TV screen and his fingers were quickly fumbling onto the controller. He's good at this, huh? Microphone's eyes wander to his side listlessly, simply watching him play his video game. Her eyes then wander around him, from his Pokemon T-Shirt, to the photo that sat beside him on the couch. Curious, she took a better look at it from behind the couch.

It was a picture of him and Taco.

Before Microphone could talk to Pickle, Soap grabs her arm. "Fine then! But don't expect me to go over every single rule, OJ! That's your thing, and I'm not doing it!" OJ starts to curse, Soap dragging Microphone along the hotel.

"These are the stairs to the rooms! I made a deal with OJ that if you get eliminated anytime soon, you could switch places with Bomb as my roommate! And that right there is the kitchen, the living room, the entertainment stages, and blah blah stuff not that important. Anyhow- let me welcome you into our room!" Soap starts to drag Microphone once again and up the stairs. The stairs were carpeted and so were the room halls. Once they reached the 2nd floor, Microphone began to notice the incoming noise as she rose from the stairs. She winces and gives Soap an annoyed look.

"You tell me you're living in the noisiest part of the entire hotel?" An explosion was heard not so far away and so were a few sneezes and screaming. "That's right! Salt and Pepper, Trophy and Cheesy, Tissues and Yin-Yang, Bomb and me and Test Tube with you! But I just really want to room with you since you're my friend! Is that okay?"

Microphone thinks and bursts into a fit of giggles. "Of course it is! Besides, I think I would switch rooms, anyway. I don't think Test Tube woul-" "Great! I'll go tell OJ!" Soap happily runs down the flight of stairs. Mic just smiles and chuckles to herself, but nearly flies off the ground when she hears another sneeze. "Cram it, Sneezy!" "Sorry, it's my condishawn!!" "HAHAHA SNEEZY!! GOOD ONE, TROPHY!" "SHUT UP CHEESY!"

"How in the world does she live like this." Microphone scratches her head and sighs. "No idea, but at least I'll be living the life here with you!" Microphone turns and sees Soap walking up the stairs. Her smile was just as wide as before she went downstairs.

"So, OJ told me it was fine just as long as I don't make a ruckus is all hehe! He also said to pair Bomb with Test Tube." Soap excitedly speaks and grabs her room keys and opens the door, standing close to Microphone. A breath gets caught in Mic's throat by how welcoming Soap is. I'm so glad I met her.

"The other bed here was already fixed up since Bomb also wanted to switch rooms. Hope he won't be a pain for Test Tube though." Microphone eyes the room and takes a long whiff. As usual, the room smells amazing. The floor was incredibly clean, free of any lint or loose threads, and so were the walls, beds, everything! Everything was squeaky clean. Microphone feels a warmth build in her chest. "So uh, how do you like it here? Unless you wanna switch of course then you can! I didn't mean to pressure you into accepting that you live in this room." Soap scratches the back of her head nervously.

Microphone's POV

Do I want to live here though? I could have spent time with Taco and maybe talk to her about the whole manipulation thing and... No. No. Stop it Microphone. You're doing it again. The friendship wasn't even a relationship. It was based on manipulation, she didn't care about you. Just move on, forget about her. Even if she was still kind at times and understanding and fun to talk to and everything else I liked about her, she's not a good person. You have Soap and the entire hotel to spend time with now. So... forget about her already, dammit!

"I love it here already!" I force a smile and reach across the room to embrace Soap in my arms, giving her a bone-crushing hug as I smile wider hearing her soft giggles against my hair.

Soap is honestly such an amazing friend. You can always depend on her for advice and words of wisdom. And she's really funny. "I'm glad! I've been so hyped about this since I got eliminated! God, it feels so surreal to see you here now if I'll be honest." She chuckles as I put her down, not even noticing I lifted her up along with the hug. "Man, I can't wait to spend the many days to come as your new roommate." Soap says softly, looking directly into Microphone's eyes.

The most honest and gentle eyes she could ever give her.

Soap was always clingy with her friends but something about that clinginess just felt different to me today. Her clinginess feels... Natural. I smile at her and sigh in contentment.

"I can't wait either."