Imagine That: Multifandom Part Two

moving on【three】| alicia clark

"I don't suppose you have some spare time to lend a hand, do you?" Madison asked, thankfully not pressing on the previous topic any further.

Of course, my plans were to go back to my room or mither the patrols to see if they'd heard anything, so I definitely did have some spare time. The last thing I wanted to do was stay here with Madison, but I couldn't be so rude to her, not when she'd only been polite to me. So, I nodded.

"Sure, but I don't really know much about building," I admitted.

"It's not hard at all, I'll talk you through it," she assured with a wave of her hand.

And she did just that. Aside from giving me the occasional instruction or helping me out with something, Madison wasn't much of a talker. Either that, or she suspected I wasn't in the mood. Either way, I appreciated it and found myself kind of enjoying the task of putting together this shed. That's what it was, she'd told me. A shed to store the gardening equipment.

It was hard work, especially considering I had zero building skills, but Madison was a patient teacher and we'd managed to finish the roof easily enough. As we were admiring our work, we heard someone call for Madison – there was only one girl who addressed her as 'mom', so I knew it was Alicia – and spun around. She was approaching us with two glasses of iced juice and a friendly smile on her face.

"You thirsty?" she asked, quirking a brow.

Madison accepted the glass with a grateful smile and I hesitantly did the same, a little curious to how she even knew I was here. Though I suppose it wouldn't have been hard to spot me.

"Thanks," I said, before taking a sip and damn, did it hit the spot.

She nodded, her smile permanent it seemed, and said, "Anytime."

I hadn't seen her since this morning when I'd left her at breakfast, admittedly a little rudely, so it was rather odd she was being so nice to me. Again, I was a little suspicious, still feeling like I needed to be on edge with everyone I met.

Unable to hold her polite gaze for much longer, I looked away and focused on sipping my drink.

"The shed looks like it's coming along great," Alicia noticed, nodding behind us.

Madison glanced over her shoulder before humming in agreement. "It is. No longer just a flimsy structure thanks to this one."

When they both looked to me, I realised she who she was talking about and blinked.

"Oh, er, it was nothing," I said awkwardly. "You needed help is all."

Madison chuckled. "You're too humble." She looked back to Alicia, continuing, "She could have easily said no, but she didn't and she's been very helpful. Unlike Nick who never bothered to show up."

Alicia tried not to laugh. "Mom, he's with Luci. He probably forgot."

Madison rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course he is."

"I mean, it looks like you got the help you needed," Alicia reasoned, before glancing at me. "Didn't peg you for a builder, Y/N."

"I'm not, but I didn't mind and your mum was quite the help," I said, before looking at the shed once more. Thoughtfully, I added, "If it happens to collapse, it's not my fault."

Madison laughed as Alicia cracked a smile, eyes twinkling in the sun. I'd never really taken notice of how pretty she was until that moment.

"Do you need any help, mom?" she asked Madison.

"I think I've got it from here," Madison assured her, before nodding to me. "Thanks again for the help, Y/N. I'll leave you to go clean up."

"No worries," I said, tossing my gloves to the side. "If you need a hand again, I don't mind. It was, er, actually kind of nice."