Mono + Six Afterstory || Little Nightmares II

Seventeen

     When Mono got back to the other kids with Riley, he still had butterflies in his stomach from that encounter with Six, but he knew he should probably reassure them. Before he could, however, Pericia rushed over to him and clung to his shoulders, staring at him desperately.

     "Is Veronica okay? Did you see her?" She frantically questioned him, stressing everyone in the room out except for Mono himself.

     "She's fine. She's with her mother and Six right now. You don't need to worry." He calmly answered Perry, glad when she let go of him and relaxed with a deep sigh.
     He waited for her to sit back down before turning to everyone else. "Six and I will get you guys out of this place. We'll go someplace better." He made a promise, one that he would fulfill no matter what it took; he wouldn't allow these kids to suffer anymore.
     Ray smiled at him along with Pippa and Guppy, sharing an emotional and peaceful moment. After a minute, they all started getting settled down again, including Mono and Riley, who were sitting so close that their shoulders were touching.

     Riley glanced over at Mono, a sad and somewhat anxious expression still resting on his face from earlier. "You and Six are really close, aren't you? She's an interesting girl." He looked away slowly and stared at his hands as they rested atop his knees, which were against his chest.

     Mono tilted his head at the boy's confusing demeanor, though he couldn't quite comprehend his emotions. "Yeah, we are. I helped her through a lot of hard times, but she's still way stronger than me. She's got a lot of confidence." He praised her despite not even trying to do so, causing Riley to chuckle against his will.

"You're funny, Ghost Kid. You don't even try to hide how much you like her." The brunette boy teased Mono, and he definitely succeeded in making him shy.

"W-Well, yeah... I can't help it. She makes up for what I lack, and I do the same for her." He closed his eyes to reflect on his past, trying to stay rational when giving his explanation and not creepy. "Before I met her, I never cared this much about making friends. I'd accepted that I would be alone forever in the Pale City, but she changed my life." After admitting his deep affection for Six, he opened his eyes back up and smiled endearingly, content in his fluffy headspace.

"She knows how much you love and appreciate her; there's no way she doesn't when you say embarrassing things like that." Riley poked fun at Mono's habit of talking too much, but it wasn't a bad thing at all; they wouldn't be so close if it weren't for his big mouth.

     Mono laughed awkwardly at Riley's teasing, finding it funny how similarly he and Six spoke. "She always says that, too—that I'm really embarrassing." He reminisced to the other boy, feeling warm inside from just the thought of Six. He wanted to see her devilish smile as soon as possible, so he hoped she was being responsible, and not reckless like usual.

About fifteen minutes passed, although it felt like an hour for them, especially since they were helpless in this scenario; Six had part of the control, and The Lady surely wasn't easy to deal with. The kids were becoming restless waiting for Six and Veronica, but it had been quiet between them until someone decided to speak up—namely, Pippa.

"Is nobody else concerned that something might've gone wrong? It's been a while." The girl in green looked concerned, but a few kids looked at her annoyedly; they were probably hoping to avoid talking about the obvious.

Pericia sighed deeply after being reminded once again of the dangers of this place, seemingly more stressed about their safety now. "I was trying not to think about it... What good is it to worry? It won't bring them back any faster." She explained her feelings about the situation, causing Mono to nod supportively.