It should be better than this.

5.

...

Yesterday's weather continued into the early morning, which Nolan frowned at the sight of. He had been awake for a few hours, his thoughts stronger than his ability to sleep. Not to say he didn't want to sleep, but after hearing a sudden loud noise in the middle of the night, there was no chance he was going to anyways. Instead, he began theorising what the sound could've been.

It was... loud, for sure. High pitched too, sounding like it came from above him? Maybe it was something outside getting knocked over by the wind... or maybe he was just really tired... and imagining things. Either way, he groggily sat up, got dressed back into his uniform, and decided to wander around the mansion a bit to clear his thoughts.

The path in which he walked was aimless, not really being focused enough to notice what was around him, but after a few minutes he found himself in what he thought was the living room, with Lou sitting on a large black leather sofa in black silk pyjamas, drinking coffee whilst reading a book. The blond didn't notice him for a moment until he felt another presence sit next to him, legs crossed on the sofa.

"What are you doing out of bed so early?" Lou asked, putting his coffee down on the coaster placed on a glass coffee table nearby. Lou watched as he yawned in response, rubbing his eyes as he shifted uncomfortably in his place on the couch.

"...I think I heard something that woke me up..."

"Hm?" The blond was focusing more on his book than the doll.

"I'm not sure what it was... Well. It started off high-pitched and sounded kind of screechy, but then it faded into some sort of muffled noise. I feel like it's probably just my mind messing with me, though."

Nolan, thankfully, was staring off at the rain, too busy daydreaming to realise the guilty look on Lou's face.

"Yeah, it was probably nothing. I don't remember hearing anything so..." The blond quickly grabbed his coffee again, wavy bangs covering half of his face in shame.

"Oh! And uhm," Nolan turned back to face Lou, "Thanks for allowing me to stay. Factory knows I would've drowned if I stayed outside-- ...Are you okay?" He realised that the other's face was obviously tear-stained, the redness on his cheeks contrasting with his pale skin.

"Yeah?" The doll seemed almost disgusted that Nolan would ask such a thing, his eyes glancing off anywhere besides the freckled brunet. "Anyways, the weather seems to be clearing up..." He added, Nolan watching him take the book and empty mug out of the room.

After Lou had placed the book back on the shelf and cleaned the mug, he went back to his old room to change. The room was as big as any other room in the mansion, but the emptiness made it feel much more sizable. To the back wall there was a large bed, wooden framing decorated with black paint and carved intricately. Two bedside tables sat either side, and a blue rug underneath it all. The room was bare of decorations but did have two doors placed from the front and side walls, being a walk-in wardrobe (which was now practically empty as the clothes were taken aside from the pyjamas he was wearing and his shrunken suit) and an ensuite respectively. A window was positioned right above the bed, as well as to either side of the room with blinds, making it the perfect spot to outlook the institute.

Lou stepped into the ensuite with his usual attire in hand, catching himself in the mirror as the ceiling lights flickered on. Ah, now he knows what Nolan was on about. Lou hadn't realised when he came in here earlier that his face gave away that he had been crying. He rubbed at his reddened eyes as he walked over to the bathroom counter, setting his outfit down with a quiet sigh. "Damnit, you're just letting dolls see how weak you are." he mumbled to himself, splashing cold water on his face to wash off the tears, before drying his face with a towel and hastily getting changed.

When he returned downstairs, he noticed the other doll sitting on the tiled floor, painting away at his canvas which was planted on the large window of the dining room. With his back to Lou, he was working quietly, the only sounds coming from a small brush occasionally scraping across the surface of the canvas, some strokes long and smooth, others only small splotches.

After several moments of silence, Lou finally snapped out of his daze as Nolan stood back up with a satisfied nod, brushing back his messy brown and green fringe with his paint-smudged hand, accidentally getting blue paint on his brow.

"Uh, hi Lou, didn't see you there." He smiled politely, trying his best not to be startled the other's sudden appearance.

...Before Lou could speak, he was interfered by the painting being held before him.

"This is for you... Careful though, some of the paint is still wet." Nolan nervously placed the canvas in his hands. Lou stared at it for a while before looking at Nolan with a blend of confusion and surprise.

"...Huh?" Is the only thing Lou could muster at that moment.

"Well," the brunet cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was meant to be another personal piece, but I thought, since you appeared to like it, that you may want to keep it? I-If you want to, of course, I don't mind." He stopped talking when he noticed Lou had basically frozen in place, eyes unblinking, still holding onto the canvas.

Eventually, he looked up again with even more confusion etched onto his face.

"...You sure?"

"Mhm!" Nolan hummed softly in affirmation, turning back to clean and pack up his art supplies. "I normally give some of my paintings to friends, anyways."

Friend? Does that mean...

"Thank you, I suppose." Lou regained composure finally, sighing to himself for letting his guard down yet again. The brunet after a while plonked all his belongings into his large rucksack, before the two headed towards the door.

"I'll see you around then...!" Nolan said with a smile, waving goodbye as the doll closed the translucent glass door behind him. Lou watched him stroll down the stairs of the mansion, backpack dipping and rising with each step.

Once the boy disappeared out of sight, the blond let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, canvas lightly rested beside the wall of graffiti. His eyes trailed along the wall, scanning over the messages that overlapped his old paintings and carved sculpture. These messages were a constant reminder for him of how every doll had turned on him due to his actions. A constant reminder of the insults and whispers they spat his way. He probably deserved it all, though. After all, the prototype wasn't particularly nice to them either. Lou's eyes eventually landed back on the canvas Nolan gave him, wet paint still glimmering in the dim light that broke through grey clouds. Although he wouldn't admit it, the doll's gesture of kindness almost comforted him- to know that despite the mockery from others, someone is still kind. Perhaps, maybe... Nolan has no ulterior motif?