It's Called True Love [Randy Cunningham x Reader]

|| two ||

About four hours into the flight, (name) rouses from her sleep. She knew that she'd be arriving in Norrisville at nine-thirty on Friday morning in around fifteen more hours. It was somewhat odd; she was essentially 'going back in time', considering that she had woken up at four the same day, only a few hours earlier. She tried to close her eyes and drift off, wanting to get perhaps another two or three hours of sleep before fully waking up, but she knew she'd only wind up more jet-lagged. And besides, a sudden, persistent nudging of her left side prevented her from dozing again. "Hey, uh, (name)," Jordan's voice is low, as if the other passengers on the plane were asleep, despite the low hum of chatter.

"Hn, yeah?" (Name) queries, blinking slow and turning her head to face the boy beside her. "I hate to be a bother, but," (Name) grew irritated, cutting him off with an abrupt, "Just spit it out already." He straightens up as if surprised by her outburst and nods to himself. "I was just wondering if...if you had a Tamagotchi?" He holds up a small, circular device with a keychain attached, little hearts and stars clipped onto it. There was also a sparkly sticker of a cat stuck on the back. "I promised my little sister I'd find the lil' guy some friends to play with when she gave it to me, and I intend to keep my promise."

(Name) couldn't stop the upward turn of her lips, thinking of a small, bubbly little girl tugging on Jordan's sleeve; the pair sitting on the floor, as she played with the tiny device sitting on his lap. "As a matter of fact," she begins formally, reaching for the bookbag between her legs on the floor and sticking her hand into the front pocket, "I do have a Tamagotchi." She holds the small device between her forefinger and thumb, brandishing the baby blue toy with small, silvery star stickers stuck to the outside.

Jordan beams instantly, his eyes crinkling as he does so. But, of course, it wasn't every day a stranger would also be carrying a small game that featured the player taking care of a digital pet. "That's a cute 'gotchi." (Name) smiles, quickly' unpausing' the game and cleaning her pet's space, feeding it too for good measure. "Your sister's one is cute, too. But, of course, you'll have to tell her that she owns the coolest Tamagotchi in the world." Jordan's expression falls slightly, but he continues to beam regardless. "...Yeah, I sure will."

Time passed faster than it would have if it weren't for Jordan initiating the beginning of a Tamagotchi contest. It prompted both players out to do the other in all the multiplayer games. The pair shares laugh and feigned dramatic displays of betrayal as their battle ensued, which only fuelled the fire. (Name) laughs, playfully nudging Jordan as she won the current game. "Take that!" The pair burst into a fit of giggles, taking a moment to get their bearings on what was happening around them.

Looking down at her phone, (name)'s eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, wow. It's midday back in (country)! Time has really flown, huh?" Jordan snickers, to which (name) shoots him a confused glance. "What's so funny?" She queries, brows furrowing in confusion. "Hah, nothing. I just thought you were making a pun. 'Time has flown', yanno, 'cause we're on a plane."

(Name) rolls her eyes but isn't able to suppress the amused smile that crosses her face. "You're such an idiot, I swear." Jordan grins and gives a mock bow. "That's my name, so don't wear it out!" The pair share another laugh, quickly losing interest in their previously intense Tamagotchi battle. "Would you like to watch a movie, Jordan?" (Name) questions, holding an earbud to the boy beside her. He grins, nodding. "Pick away, (name)." Scrolling through the movie list, she settled upon 'How To Train Your Dragon', a heartfelt movie she loved.

"Oh, I love this movie!" Jordan exclaims, plugging the earbud into his ear and turning his attention towards the screen inlaid into the seats in front of them. (Name) watches, enthralled by the narration the main character gives as the film begins. Instead of hyper-focusing on the movie like she had hoped, (name)'s mind drifted to what would entail when she arrived in her father's hometown. She didn't know who her hosts would be, nor would she know anyone there. That wasn't the case, as her grandparents and uncle would be somewhere in the town. She had rarely seen them her entire childhood, considering her father wasn't exactly on good terms with them. She had concluded years earlier that something had happened between her grandparents and her father before he left, but she wasn't sure what exactly that was. Nevertheless, she at least knew that no matter what that was, her grandparents loved her and her siblings to bits.

On the other hand...well, her uncle was the peculiar one. She was convinced that he lived a 'double-life' of sorts, considering how mysterious and withdrawn he always seemed, and not just from his family. She had heard that, ever since her uncle turned fifteen, he had suddenly become a social outcast, despite his reigning popularity through his younger years. He would sneak out at night, apparently getting into trouble with gangs. But that was all rumours and chit-chat. Neither her father nor her grandparents knew what was going on, and as if her uncle would ever tell her why he was so weird. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the movie, which surprisingly had gone by very quickly, as she was now watching the battle between the Red Death and the dragon-Viking duo of Toothless and Hiccup. She then turned her attention to Jordan, who was soundly asleep. She held back a giggle and shook her head. She, too, was tired, but she figured she'd get no sleep any time soon. That didn't stop her from trying, nonetheless.

"Psst," a small voice whispers, followed by a soft nudge to the underside of (name)'s chin, "psst, hey! (Name), wake up!" Stirring from what she presumed was the beginnings of a nap, she blinks and watches the blurry blue-green noodle before her try to rouse her gently. "Orla?" She quietly muses, reaching out to pat the small dragon's head. She giggles as it coils around her hand, nuzzling close to her finger. "What are you doing out?" Orla purrs, nibbling on (name)'s fingers, which makes her giggle again. "I thought you would like some entertainment. Was I wrong to assume that?" (Name) smiles down at the small, noodly dragon and strokes its nose. "No, you weren't. I wasn't expecting you to be awake." Orla slithers up (name)'s wrist, writhing and climbing until it perches itself upon her head. "I got bored," they muse, yawning to convey their boredom. "Besides, I think you'd love to have a lesson right about now, right?" Nodding, (name) watches as Orla flies off her head and hovers in front of her face. "I think it'd be a wonderful idea." Just as quickly as she had responded, Orla darted into (name)'s forehead, phasing through it. Following this, she slumps into her seat and deep slumber.

(Name) knew that this wasn't happening. Orla was her imaginary friend, a by-product of her hallucinagetic condition. Orla was the most recurring illusion, but a few others came and went. In her dreamscape, she adorned what consisted of the overcoat of a Hanfu with loose, billowing pants in place of the usual skirt that accompanied the Hanfu overcoat. She was free to move in without hindrance or complication as she practised multiple moves she had seen in action movies, and anime and studies of Chinese martial arts. She was aware that she would never be able to do any of this in a million years, nor would she be adorned in the beautiful Hanfu-esque outfit. Still, she knew that it was healthy for her and her condition if she were to embrace the break from reality rather than fight it. If she did fight it...well, it was evident that the hallucinations would grow worse and more grotesque, with far less innocent illusions than a non-binary ryū dragon, that was for sure. She also knew that part of her condition let her 'feel' Orla's touches, be it nibbles or tickles, but that Orla most definitely wasn't real. There was no possible way that they would be.

Just like the supposed Ninja of Norrisville.

And with that out of her mind, dreaming of being an elusive warrior, (name) managed to sleep for the next nine hours of the flight, undisturbed.