Heartbeat - Seek x Figure

Chapter 20

Seek POV

Things were starting to return to normal. I rested with Figure in his room. It was early in the morning, before we had to do our jobs. Together, I finished the last paragraph of the chapter I was reading out loud to him.

"It's a good book," Figure stated. "I'll be happy to hear more later."

Reaching for his hand, I grabbed it and assured, "I'll be happy to read more later."

I placed the book onto a shelf in Figure's room and opened the door. Entering the main room, I saw Molly sitting at the table in the center. Approaching her, I asked, "What are you doing just sitting here?"

Instead of answering, she only sullenly replied, "I still feel bad for what happened with Shadow. If I hadn't left the main room, you wouldn't have been taken."

"And if I hadn't been taken, Shadow wouldn't have been stopped," I comforted the human. "Things happened the way they did, and we can just accept that now."

"Of course," Molly agreed, "just like I've accepted living here."

Considering her words, I asked, "Do you ever miss where you lived before?"

Molly shook her head. "I'll be honest, I don't remember where I lived before. I just woke up in the hotel, and all I knew was my name and who I was." She sighed. "This place is all I know, and it seems like I can't get out of here. So, I'll just accept it, like you said."

Feeling sympathy for the human, I began, "Well, we can always- "

She didn't let me finish, cutting me off. "No, I'm happy here. You're all my friends. And I understand why you can't have too many humans around. It's already a hassle finding food and water for me while keeping the hotel safe."

As much as I wanted to disagree, Molly was right. Before I could say anything else, I heard Figure exit his room.

"What are you up to, Shorty?" He asked as he approached the table Molly and I sat around.

Giggling, I asked, "Are you still clinging onto that silly nickname?"

"Of course!" Figure exclaimed. "A few inside jokes between us can't hurt!"

"I think I'd like to put a wall between us," I joked, waiting for Figure's response.

The taller entity simply countered, "I know that's not true." He was right.

"Hey!" Jack called as he left his room. Rush, Screech, and Timothy followed him as he neared the table. "What are you guys up to?"

"These two cannot stop joking," Molly explained, pointing to me and Figure, "and I'm just putting up with it."

The door to Halt's room burst open, and the blue entity exited, shouting, "I can see you're all having fun, but it's time to get to work!" All of us at the table sighed in annoyance.

"Can Figure and I have a break?" I pleaded.

"The closest thing to a break you're getting is going and waking up the other entities! That is an order!"

Standing from the chair I sat in, I turned to Figure, suggesting, "You should get to the library before Halt loses it. I'll do the little task he's assigned me to." The fleshy entity stood and stomped away, his loud footsteps echoing around the room.

Just then, Timothy scrambled across the ground, climbing onto the table and greeting, "Good morning, everyone!"

"Great," I commented, "my job is a bit easier now." Leaving the circle of entities around the table, I knocked on each door one by one, waking up everyone who was resting. Then, I returned to the center of the room and passed the table, heading towards the stone tunnel. Time to do my job.

The long hours of my job seemed to go by quickly due to just how many humans were entering the hotel. Now, with the evening fast approaching, it was time to get some rest. I hurried through the doors of the hotel, entering the library and announcing, "Figure, I'm here!"

"Great!" Figure grinned, bringing me joy. I'm glad I can make him so happy. "We should go to the main room," he immediately decided, "I think the others are already there."

Moving towards the closet in the corner of the library, I shifted it out of the way, revealing the stone tunnel to the main room. I passed through the corridor, listening to Figure move the closet back into place behind me.

The main room greeted me with a familiar sight. All of the entities, even Halt, were gathered around the table in the center of the room, playing a heated match of Uno. Molly had joined in as well, placing a card and cheering at her triumph.

As Figure and I walked in, Rush asked, "Do you want to join us? The round just ended."

"Sure!" I answered happily, grabbing Figure's soft hand and guiding him to the table. Using my other hand to grab my seven cards, I examined my deck. Halt started, confidently placing a yellow card on the table. Eyes went next, and then Timothy, who changed the color to blue.

I was next. Turning to Figure, I whispered, "What should we do? The card is a blue five." I then explained the deck of cards I was holding, and he quickly helped me decide which card to place.

Then, the screaming match began. Screech placed a draw four card, and Jack was clearly unhappy about it. He lifted a few cards from the deck, and then Ambush skipped Rush's turn. They yelled back and forth, Ambush declaring that Rush deserved it by skipping him last round.

Overall, the round quickly descended into madness, and some of the entities had too many cards to count. However, I found myself holding a single one as Timothy finished his turn.

"I have a four!" I informed Figure. "We can win!" Placing the card, I turned to the taller entity and cheered. We were definitely way too excited about an Uno match, but I didn't care. I hugged Figure and he reciprocated, celebrating with me. We spoke our words in unison just as our hearts were beating together. "I love you!"