[Sequel to Toxic.].
Sunlight basked the Capillary ruins once more in its warm comforting glaze, across all the rising jagged purple peaks and the lush, moist embrace of green grass. The fury of the previous night's storm had calmed. A tall, pink-petaled flower girl, trudged along, dragging a cart shrouded in a fuzzy pink blanket, as if in a parade.
She gasped in excitement as her legs leapt toward the three she wanted to see. "Hey friends!!!" Flower cried out, startling Gelatin. "I'm FINALLY ready to present my new FASHION LINE!!!!" she explained, pulling the cart over and yanking the cover off to reveal a rail with several cuddly but scratchy looking home made sweaters. There were blue one's and greens. There were purples and pinks and even yellows. "Glitter for your FACE!!!".
Blocky stared at the sweater selection in slight dismay, while Gelatin had a nerve racked look from them. The usually scared and timid Woody merely had a bored expression on his face. "The glitter that's infused in the fabric can REPEL VOMIT!!!".
"THEY'RE HORRENDOUS!!!" Blocky yelped in an over dramatic tone that was ignored.
"They look so bad I'm getting nightmares from them, even though I'm awake." Gelatin warbled, baking away from the rack.
"Is oh-ah" Woody warbled, with a bored look. This statement seemed to displace Flower's mood the most. She audibly gasped and stared right at, angered. Yet, his face remained calm, unlike his usual timid and shy demeanour.
"Did you just say "its OK"!!?"" she demanded to know, her face angry. He noticed her rearing back as, with as little time as possible, he grabbed Blocky and put him in his place to take the full blunt force of whatever the angered fashionista plant was preparing.
"H....Hey, why did you-?" The red cube was going to ask, only to feel the heel of a kick, right in his chest, sending him flying upwards to rocketing altitudes. Blocky cried out as he flew, an angry Flower panting while not realising that she had hit the wrong target.
"HEEEEY there, Leafster...."Gelatin said enthusiastically as he approached the slightly moody looking Leafy. "Woah, you been eating Yoyle Berries again?" he asked, noticing her usual green colour & leaf like softness replaced by a hard shell and grey, tough skinned body. Yet, as she looked at him, he simply dismissed the question, his face cheery. "Check out this brand new sweater I got!!".
She blinked in confusion and slight surprise. Despite how uncomfy the sweater looked, he put on a very over exaggerated smile. "Didn't you say that thing give you nightmares?" She reminded him, only to realise how dry and deep her voice had become. 'Probably too many Yoyle Berries.' Leafy thought to herself as Gelatin moved in an almost robust and creaky fashion.
"Look what happened to Blocky." He simply said, the smile even wider. His eyes were deadpan as he pointed up, and they looked at the still descending and still screaming red cube, flailing about as he fell towards the ground.
"LOOK AT MY NEW SWEATER WOODY!!!!" she exclaimed, showing a bubbly smile towards Woody. He made no reaction, despite the sudden appearance of this metallic and terrified creature, smiling with only her eyes.
"ool" he replied.
"Yeah I know ri.....H....Hey..."Leafy began, only to pause. "Wait, Woody?".
"Hmm?".
"Did Bubble ever get...brought back?" she asked, slightly nervous for her old freind. Surely, after Four had popped Bubble SOMEONE had remembered to bring her back, right?
Surely someone will come.
"Gah!" she yelped, rubbing her head painfully. Of all times to remember that time, why now?
"Ar oo o ah, Eefi?" he asked her, helping her steady. "An o." he added, causing her face to drop.
Bubble had been out for the entirety of the court room challenge, yet nobody thought to revive her. Leafy remembered her old friendship with that mellow gal. How it had ended on rather short notice from slight tensions during those later stages of bfdi. Now looking back, she slightly missed those days. Before their had even been a declared winner. Before when the first season still ran.
Before she was friends with him.
"It's time for elimination, Have Cots!!!" A squeaky voice piped up, startling her, Gelatin and Woody. The squishy and sunshine yellow X was standing there, happy as a bee.
'Of course we're up for elimination.' Leafy thought to herself. It was obvious he'd selfishly given the diary and said Leafy took it. The most Firery thing to do.
Yet, he wasn't a pressing matter at the moment. Not as much as her old "freind". "Hey X? Can you make sure Four revives Bubble?" she asked, only to hear the rumbling and comically warped sound of a revive right behind her and her now gathered team.
"There you are Leafy, as you asked." Four proclaimed, blinking with their weird wide eyes. A small smile was plastered across their lips and the crudely drawn teeth of their figure seeming to resemble a children's shark doodle. The voice was its usual raspy but commandeering as their x shaped co-host brought a TV screen over.
Bubble turned, her eyes meeting with Leafy. She expected their first meeting to be a little bit more awkward or uncomfortable. Yet, Bubble found herself strangely worried for the metallic oval with a stem. Her eyes seemed to have slight bags and she looked rather pale, despite her small sincere smile.
"Oh my water! Leafy! Are you alright?" she asked, shaking her and surprising her. For two people who hadn't really ended things on too good a note, Bubble seemed to genuinely care for her.
'Maybe she's the one.'.
"Uhhh....Hi to you Bubble." She said, gently pushing her teammate. Her face still held its happiness. Yet, she could see a slight sadness in the other's eyes. "Is....is something wrong?" she asked, as the two co-hosts seemed to be trying to get their voter screen to show up. At the moment, it only cycled between the different members of the Have Cots team.
"No. It's just...."Bubble said, her gaze faltering as she sat. Leafy sat next to her, feeling strange to talk to someone she had barely known for the past decade. "Since Match was....gone I....I don't want to be too mean to people." she said, slightly twitching at the reminder of bfb 12's elimination. "I mean, what if it happens again? I already lost my alliance. I don't want anyone else to be eliminated. Even if everyone....".
"Forgot about you?".
"Huh?".
Leafy didn't look at Bubble, yet knew her gaze was on her. "I know how you feel." she said, scratching at one of her arms. Bubble immediately understood what she was talking about, guilt filling her along with a slight trace of fear.
"L.....Leafy I didn't....we.....we just..." she began, back away slightly. Now, she would have to face her old friend's outburst, as she laid into her almost everything she'd been through because of people like her, and Pin, and all the other original BFDI participants. Heck, maybe Leafy would be feeling extra emotional from all those years spent alone and pop her. She raised her arms up, expecting angry words and a fist to come her way.
"No. It's....It's alright...." The grey, smooth skinned lemon leaf said, not moving much to Bubble's surprise. "None of you guys are at fault here. Really, there's only one person I blame here." she said, her gaze casted in jeer and wrath over the vast grasses towards the distant flaming fireball. Her eyes, usually filled with some kind of spark, glimmer or flame, seemed empty. Like a cake, with no filling.
"Oh....".
"Honestly Bubble...." she continued, turning to face her. 'Now its coming for sure...' Bubble thought, already anticipating something bad as Leafy continued to speak.
"I'm sorry.".
Her head turned in slight shock. Leafy was....apologizing? But for what possibly?
"I'm sorry I abandoned our friendship in favour of that dirt bag." She spat, her eyes darting towards that distant light once more. "And......I'm sorry I threw our friendship away." she added, a hint of sincerity and regret amidst the cold and dead tone. She gave a hand towards her, a slight smile on that face. "But......we can start over if we like. The way...you want.".
Bubble looked hesitantly at the other person. Her eyes saw a genuine kindness, not like the net or veil she had seen in her so often during their last friendship. Her voice seemed much more different too: softer and lower, with less exhilarated confidence and charm attached to it. Maybe this was a chance for their friendship to be renewed.
"Sure thing!" She said with a smile, shaking the hand. Bubble felt a warm fuzziness. For the first time in ages, she felt truly happy and content. "Also, I noticed your....uhhh....".
"Metal?" Leafy finished her words for her.
"Yeah. Well uhhh....I was a bit...hungry. Sooo...." she said, looking at her with a a slightly guilty stare.
Leafy sighed as she pulled a small purple bag from her pocket. Inside, was a small selection of abnormally small yet plump and extremely juicy looking berries. She saw Bubble's eyes light up and her lips perk up in that cute, excited old smile. "You can have em, I don't mind." she said, passing the bag to the now ecstatic Bubble, who grasped several berries in her hands.
"BUBBLE!!! LOLIPOP!!!!! GELATIN!!!!".
The two of them jumped, hearing the crackling screech of their host. Leafy realised that, next to where she stood, was a metal blue bar. Like a piece of a large toy, or wheel. Looking at the screen, she saw that she was safe 28, 401 votes. Gosh, that many people wanted her to stay? Her lips creased in smile, realising that maybe she wasn't so alone in her actions and thoughts.
As well, tear drop was shown safe with 8,789 votes. In her hands, was the centre piece of a large white gear, almost big enough for a Ferris wheel. Gelatin had a worried look, while Lollipop was less than concerned. "Oh my collagen!!!!" he said, nerve racked. "Our newbie alliance is done for Lollipop!!!".
The tall purpley-pink sweet on a stick merely gave a half caring gaze. "Well, why would that be?" she asked, wondering what could get him so worked up. "I mean, its not like we've been eliminated yet.".
This did not calm the quivering, ugly sweater wearing jello. "Because it's either us or Bubble leaving." she said, pointing to the cheery metal ball. "And last elimination, she had the most votes!!!".
"Aw, I'm sorry for your loss Gelatin." she said apologetically, pausing from her Yoyle berry gorging. "But hey, maybe one of you two can become part of an alliance with me and Leafy!" she added, beckoning a hand to her other metal companion.
The gesture and words surprised Leafy, in a pleasant way. At least she'd have Bubble, and maybe even Gelatin or Lollipop. Hopefully the former, since he seemed more cheery and probably like her more, while she always carried a disdained, uncaring mannerism.
"Actually Bubble is out." Four chimed in in his weird sporatic speech. To say that Leafy' s mind was blown away from those four words would be an understatement. The screen displayed her vote count in the pale aqua blue.
"6,735 votes.".
"Oh no!!!" she gasped, dropping her berries. Her eyes had a sad look, while Gelatin gasped from holding his breath in from the nerves. Lollipop remained unfazed, though her eyes did spark in shock.
"NOOO!!!! BUBBLE!!!" Leafy cried out, hugging her new best freind tight. She had just made up with her, and they could've made it so far, yet here she was, eliminated.
Yet, instead of the usual distressed cry, or maybe an apologetic distress, Bubble seemed....happy? Her hand pushed Leafy's as she smiled, despite the sadness in her eyes.
"Hey, it ok." she said, still keeping her cheery tone. If anything, she seemed to hold even more of a happy go lucky expression. "Besides, I'm just glad I could fix one of my past friendships. Unlike......with her" she added, still remembering Match's defeated look and accepting sigh.
That word making Leafy feel funny.
Friend? She saw her as a....a freind?
The word seemed to echo in her head, like a soothing, seething mantra. "And honestly, I'm glad none of you guys got out this time, because of me." she added, a slightly relieved expression painted on that bubbly face of hers.
With a finger snap, the metal sphere began rising towards to brb, as she waved happily at Bubble. "Bye guys!!!" she said, happily soaring up. Leafy stared, her heart pounding.
Bubble was gone. Out of the game.
And yet......it felt good. Good to finally, just finally, have one freind back. Someone who cared.
Maybe she could make it. Maybe......
Maybe she could try.
...
Firery stared from his spot behind the large oak tree, carefull not to burn the bark. His eyes watched the metal sphere fly high, towards the large, spinning, crane like structure. His heart sank as he watched Leafy, seeming dejected.
He had caused this.
She had a freind. A freind who cared for her. Who listened to her. Who trusted her.
Like how she'd trusted him.
Worthless asshole, only caring about himself.
He continued watching, his heart sinking. She had so much hope for him. She valued him. Now, he was the worst thing to her and the reason she lost her last freind.
A good freind: Someone who helps others. Someone who listens. Who cares.
Who was he kidding? He wasn't a good freind. The greatest thing he did was make a dumb Ferris Wheel, that made her scared. And then, he forced her out of the island.
His freind.
Regret: To feel bad about actions in your past.
He wanted to undo that day. He wished he could've stopped from closing the gates. To let her in. To show that.....he cared.
Shame: To feel terrible for your actions, your words or your state.
She didn't have anything, and she wouldn't want him. Maybe an alternate Leafy could've apologized quickly and moved on. Perhaps an Alternate Leafy would still have faith, even after everything he'd done for her.
But that was a phallicy. An impossibility. He could never have her. Nothing would make her forgive him. Nothing could undo the things she'd been through.
Selfless Determination: To strife for a goal, aspect or desire, usually involving helping someone else. Like, a freind.
"It doesn't matter." he mumbled to no one. Sure, Leafy may hate him. And sure, she may never forgive him.
But he surely forgave her. He knew he could never have his freind back.
But.....he could still....help her.
He could try.
He would try,
"I'll make sure.....you get far...Leafster.".
[End Part 2.
Part 3 will come out soon].