Chapter Text
There's no way. Those three words play on repeat in Paige's mind as she stares at the now shut door, the image of her unwanted visitor standing on the other side still vivid in her head. She's so caught up in her inner mantra she doesn't even hear Julie approach her from behind.
" Oh ! Was that Wally?" She chirped, a bit of confusion laced in her tone because of Paige's sudden rudeness, "What's the matter? Are you okay?" Her concern sounds genuine and it tugs at the human's heart strings as she snaps out of her stupor.
"I-I…" Paige stammers, unable to think of a valid response, still spiraling at seeing him again.
She feels stuck, like her limbs are caught in cement just from meeting his gaze, even though it had been extremely brief. The intensity of his stare still fresh in her mind from the VHS tape.
Paige did nothing to stop Julie from opening the door again, she hadn't even noticed Julie reaching for it, and by the time she did realize the door was opening it was too late for her. Even with their height difference she met his gaze almost immediately again, this time his eyes were open much wider, confusion evident on his soft, smiling face.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry neighbor, I didn't mean to startle you!" He apologizes quickly, almost identical to how he had reacted when he scared her on the tape. It causes a chill to shoot up her spine and her breath to hitch.
It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's only a dream.
Paige really wishes she had woken up the first few pinches. Why was this cute and small puppet so creepy? He obviously wasn't trying to be, not with how his head tilts to the side and he peers up at her with genuine concern and confusion.
So why can't she shake this uneasiness? If this is just a dream and he's just a little… puppet , she shouldn't be this affected. Maybe that VHS had scared her more than she thought. Although he did look a little different to her now, more human-esque, in fact both Julie and Poppy look more real , still cartoonish and puppet- like , but not like the VHS had depicted them.
Paige isn't sure how long she maintains eye-contact with him, but it must be a while because when she finally collects herself Poppy is behind her, while Julie is beside her; her soft, felt hands placed gently on her forearm, her thumb rubbing soothing circles.
The little yellow man continues to look into her eyes, undeterred by her strange behavior. In fact, he's intrigued by her and her eyes. To him they're very different from everyone else's eyes, all of them having dark irises compared to her lighter brownish-green ones. He found himself silently pondering what color that is, he is a painter after all, he loves every color but he can't quite name this one. What a mystery!
Meanwhile Julie looks back and forth between the two and their impromptu staring contest, before she looks to Wally, "Hey, Wally, maybe now isn't a good time…" She starts in a soft, friendly tone.
Paige blinks out of her trance, suddenly more aware of her surroundings, "Yeah. Not a good time." She parrots, clenching her hands into fists by her side as her nerves spike. Her gaze falls shyly to the floor, breaking eye contact.
She doesn't get to see how disappointment flashes across Wally's face at her words and her downcast eyes. He hadn't quite named the color of her eyes, and as he looked at her he realized he had a lot of questions for her…although that might not be very neighborly of him, it's just that Wally Darling, sweetest and friendliest in the neighborhood, loves to learn just as much as he loves to paint. With how different his new neighbor seems to him and the others he thinks there must be a lot to learn from her.
His disappointment is brief though, he doesn't want Julie or Poppy to take note of it, and of course how could he be disappointed for long? There's a new neighbor after all, and that means the possibility of a new friend.
Wally smiles widely at Julie, then at Poppy, both of which are silently trying to sooth their new neighbor, confused by her sudden change in behavior but kind and patient with her. He's so happy to have neighbors and friends like the two of them, so friendly and accepting of others, gosh what a wonderful place to live! He could only hope his newest neighbor would feel the same once she's settled in.
"Oh golly, it looks like I've made our new neighbor uncomfortable! I'm sorry neighbor, I'll be sure and tell the others not to come over, we wouldn't want to overwhelm you anymore than you already are!" Wally says, kindly, his smile bright and wide as he gives Paige, Julie and Poppy a quick wave goodbye.
The others?
Before Paige could question what others he was referring to, Wally had already turned on his heel and was walking down her porch steps and away from her (?) home. She knew that there was quite the colorful cast on that VHS tape, but since she hadn't really been paying attention to it she didn't think she'd have such a vivid dream about it… how curious .
Wally, on the other hand, had some concerns of his own he was keeping secret. Like why now? Why did the neighborhood suddenly get a new neighbor in the middle of the night, to the others it just seems like an old empty house got filled, but he knew the truth. That house had never been there before and there were never any moving vans.
The whole thing, Paige and all, had just appeared overnight. Something about the new neighbor was strange and…familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out what made her so familiar. It couldn't be her looks, he's never seen anyone who looks like her before. Maybe her voice?
Wally hums a tune as he continues to wander away from Paige's house, hoping to run into more of his neighbors on his walk so he could tell them to be patient with the new neighbor, he's smiling but inside there's a swirl of different emotions he can't quite name…he's still learning how to name and recognize a lot of emotions, maybe he could ask Barnaby later after he's pondered it carefully over his easel.
Of course he could never tell Barnaby what's really bothering him, but he can at least describe what these feelings are and that's half of the battle.
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Back inside of Paige's home, Poppy has insisted on helping her new neighbor unpack her kitchen while Julie unpacks the living room, the two of them claiming they're 'happy to help' and 'won't take no for an answer!' .
Paige is certain the two of them are worried about her and pitying her after her very small freak out with Wally, but she decided not to let it bother her pride, after all this is just a dream. It didn't really matter to her if she got everything unpacked or if the people here pitied her or babied her; and it certainly didn't matter how much Wally creeped her out, because none of it is real .
With that in mind, Paige decides to explore the upstairs of " her " house and she finds that compared to the other rooms of the house it's much more put together. The entire upstairs area is pretty much a personal library from the look of it, there are bookshelves of different sizes and shapes around the area and cozy chairs with pillows and blankets lazily thrown around. There's a part of the wall that's brick and jutting out which she assumes must be the rest of the fireplace from downstairs.
The book shelves aren't quite filled, but there are still boxes scattered around this room as well that she can only assume must be more books, then to the right of the stairs there's another door.
Without hesitation, she opens that door to find a spare room, about as bare as " her " bedroom, except there's no bed in here, just more boxes and a…pottery wheel? Huh.
She approaches the pottery wheel, inspecting it closely, it looks to be in good condition…maybe a little used, and–suddenly she sees something familiar on the table part of the machine, she had completely glanced over it at first.
Nostalgia washed over her like a tsunami and she was filled with a deep longing she hadn't felt in a long time, a longing of a companionship, a friendship , she had lost years ago way before she met and lost her fiancé.
Crudely engraved– scratched –on the flat part of the pottery wheel were tiny initials: 'P+R' alongside various little scratches and boxy swirls.
She stands there for a while, lost in memories as her finger lazily brushes over the engravings. This should probably freak her out more than finding her clothes in the bedroom, but it doesn't. It's her dream, of course this wheel would be here, typically the person whose initials are carved next to her own would be here instead, but the mind does whatever it wants.
Paige has missed pottery, she's certain she's rusty now– as if she was ever polished at it to begin with –but it would be nice to try again…maybe once she wakes up— " Paige ?".
Julie's sweet voice pulls her from her thoughts, causing her to jump a little bit but not noticeably. She turns to find the puppet-girl standing in the doorway, tilting her head curiously at the pottery wheel, " Oou what's that?" She asks excitedly, moving closer to get a better look.
Paige smiles softly as she moves around to the other side of the wheel, giving Julie better visual access to it, "It's a pottery wheel, you use it to make things like clay pots, bowls and cups." She answers simply.
"Ohhhhh!" Julie replies, a twinkle in her eyes as she examines the machine more closely, "That's so cool! I've never seen one before, so you like to make your own bowls and cups? Oou oou can you show me?!" She seems to somehow get even more excited, flapping her hands a little as she talks about Paige showing her how to make clay pottery.
The human in question laughs nervously, "Well, actually, it's been a long time since I've had any practice. So none of my bowls and cups are handmade, sorry, and I also don't feel comfortable showing you how to do something that I haven't touched in a long time…" She responds, one hand scratching the back of her neck while the other she uses to lean on the pottery wheel.
Julie's excitement is unaffected as she grins at Paige, placing her own hands on the machine, "That's okay! Hey, maybe we can practice and learn it together sometime!" She suggests, causing Paige's heart to leap, this was starting to feel all too similar to how she got into pottery in the first place. It felt a little nice, but at the same time…sad.
"Maybe…" She answers, noncommittally, shrugging her shoulders and she stands straight again; a soft but distant smile on her face.
"So how's it goin' downstairs? There's not too much to unpack, is there?" Julie shakes her head, clearly ignoring or not noticing Paige's distant look, "Nope! You actually didn't have much at all for the living room or kitchen, so you should go to Howdy's and see if he can order you some nice stuff to fill your house with! Oou or maybe everyone can pitch in and give you stuff or make stuff!! That sounds so exciting and fun!" There she goes again, flapping and waving her hands as she talks, her voice pitching with excitement.
Paige smiles at how excitable Julie seems to be, she can tell she's so full of life and fun and they've only just met, like, an hour ago. Has it been an hour? Maybe longer? She's not sure, she hasn't found a clock yet.
"You didn't happen to find a clock in any of those boxes, did you?"
Julie thinks for a second, "No, I don't think I did, maybe we should ask Poppy if there were any in hers?" Paige nods in response and the two head back downstairs, they can hear Poppy still arranging the kitchen, the sounds of pots and pans clanging alongside cupboards opening and closing.
When the two of them get to the kitchen area it looks as if Poppy is nearly done, the large colorful bird hears them approaching and turns to greet them, "Oh! Are you two done too? I'm just about finished here, just gotta put this clock somewhere…" Julie immediately gasps gleefully.
"We were just looking for a clock! Yay!"
Poppy is surprised for a moment but her face lights up happily as she looks over the clock, "Well isn't that just convenient? Although I'm not sure this clock has any batteries in it." She says as she turns it over, inspecting it.
"Can I see it?" Paige asks, softly.
"Of course, dear, it's your clock!" Poppy holds the clock out towards Paige.
Paige doesn't say anything to that, she delicately takes the clock and inspects it just like her feathered guest had, apart of her worries she'll drop it for some reason…with this being a dream she's worried she'll lose motor functions at some point, that's something she almost always loses in her dreams.
Except, for the time being, she doesn't. She holds onto that clock and looks it over, it's a little more ornate than anything she'd normally have, it has a beautiful carved dark wood frame, the face of it is the same wood with the numbers a bold contrasting white, all safe behind glass. On the back there's a small plastic box where she assumes batteries must go, opening it she discovers it is, in fact, empty.
Julie peers up from beside her, looking closely at the clock with Paige, "Well, that just means we definitely need to go to Howdy's soon! He'll have batteries, for sure!"
Poppy nods her head in agreement, sweetly adding, "You need food too, neighbor, I'm surprised your fridge and pantry are completely empty!"
Paige thinks nothing of it, she doesn't need to eat since this is just a dream; and it's not like she actually packed any of this! No, if she actually ever moved out of her apartment she would make sure she had lots of snacks packed not just for the journey but for her first night in her new home.
"Well that settles it! We need to go to Howdy's as soon as we can, you need to eat more than a handful of cookies today!" Julie announces, taking the clock from Paige's hands and placing it gently onto the island counter.
Wait, what?
"To Howdy's? You mean that shop you were talking about? I…I don't know, there's still so much to do, a-and I…I…" Paige starts to ramble, getting quieter the more she talks until she's just mumbling. She's trying to think of good excuses not to go out, afraid she'll see Wally again—just thinking about him sends a chill up her spine that causes her fingers to twitch, not to mention the other neighbors that he had briefly mentioned.
What if some of them were creepier than him? Julie and Poppy had been a little off-putting just for a second, and it was only because they aren't human, but she had warmed up to them very quickly due to their sweet and kind dispositions. What if the others weren't the same?
"Hey, it's okay to be shy!" Julie assures her sweetly, gently grabbing Paige's slightly bigger hand with her plushier ones. She holds her hand between both of hers, squeezing ever so slightly in an attempt to comfort Paige. "If you're really worried about all the work here, I'm more than happy to help you with the rest later! It doesn't all need to be done today, but you do need food today."
Paige isn't being shy, at least she doesn't think she is , it's just that…what if going outside ruins the calm of her dream? She knows, based on previous experiences, that her dreams can shift from happy to chaotic with the snap of a finger.
"I'm not shy, I'm just…I'm worried, that's all." She decides to be honest, causing the other two to look at her with concern, silently urging her to continue, "It's been such a lovely morning with the two of you…lovelier than any morning I've ever had in a long , long time. I'm worried that if I go outside something might ruin it, somehow."
Poppy moves closer to Paige, draping a wing over her in an affectionate manner, Julie moves to hug Paige's arm. How can affection come so easily to them with a total stranger? Was her heart trying to tell her something with all of this ? She wonders silently, still believing it all to be a dream her subconscious has made up.
"Now, now, there's no need to worry about a thing like that, dear!" Poppy soothes gently.
"Yeah, Paige, nothing bad ever happens here! Not here in Home, and everyone else is super nice, they'll all love you!" Julie adds, squeezing Paige's arm tight in a sweet embrace.
Paige looks between the two of them, having to crane her head upward to look at Poppy and then having to bend her head downward to look at Julie, she hums with uncertainty, weighing her options. Although, from the looks of it she might not have very many of those.
"I guess… as long as we're quick …" She concedes quietly, causing Julie to beam up at her and Poppy to smile warmly.
Poppy gently pats Paige's back as she pulls away from the small human, "I need to head back home, actually, I'm working on a special surprise for you, neighbor! Those cookies were just an extra treat!" She informs the pair apologetically, noticing the flash of shock in Paige's eyes.
At her words Paige mentally watches as one of her emotional support structures crumbles before her mind's eye, now all she can do is lean on Julie and she's certain that dainty puppet girl can't carry her on her own. Literally and figuratively.
Damnit, she already agreed to go. Julie seems unbothered, pulling back to link her arm with Paige's, a look of determination and excitement in her eyes.
"That's okay, Poppy, we'll see you later!" The overly sweet and friendly Julie exclaims, tugging a hapless Paige along with her as the two make their way to the door. Poppy follows behind the two, smiling at Julie's energy and Paige's lack thereof. What a pair the two make.
Poppy shuts the front door behind all of them and waves a goodbye as the two leave her behind.
Okay, if Paige wasn't sure this was a dream before she was sure now. Green grass and trees? Fine.
Yellow and red trees? Also, fine.
Trees with blue leaves? That's not a thing, no way, not that she's aware of.
This entire neighborhood seemed to just drown in color and light, even the sidewalk was yellow and red! There seemed to be no room in this place for neutrals.
Suddenly her worries seem to fade away as curiosity fills her instead. She's never had a dream so vivid before, she can even smell the grass and flowers! A light breeze caressing her face, the sun kissing any exposed skin. It's kinda nice.
She examines her surroundings as the two of them walk, arms still linked together, her head twisting and turning as she tries to take everything in. Julie glances up at her every once in a while, giggling at her reaction.
"You probably didn't get a good look at the neighborhood since you moved in so late in the day yesterday, huh?" Julie asks, suddenly skipping a little as she walks, her arm rubbing against Paige's.
"Yeah…it's really neat, everyone's houses are so unique and colorful…well, everything is colorful here." Paige replies, ignoring the part where Julie claimed she moved in late yesterday.
"Yup! Isn't it awesome? I used to live in a cave before I moved here, I just love the colors and the people." Julie continues, going on to ramble about her old cave and her family, Paige tried to listen as intently as she could, but her own mind was preoccupied.
This all really is so vivid…a little too vivid. She hadn't been paying attention before, but she noticed all kinds of little details now. The sound of leaves rustling in the trees, distant sounds of birds singing, Julie's skipping steps clacking against the colorful brick road, Julie's felt arm rubbing against her own skin causing a little irritation.
What time had she gone to sleep last night? Had she eaten something bad? Surely not , otherwise this would probably—suddenly her head feels like it's splitting, she gasps as she freezes in place; her arm unlinking from Julie's as Paige reaches her hands up to shield out the light.
There's a ringing in her ears now, she can't hear Julie exclaim, " Paige ? What's wrong? Are you okay?" The ringing and the pain are too strong, too sudden, she feels like she's going to throw up or pass out, maybe both.
When suddenly, "Heya Julie, is that the new neighbor?" A cheerful southern drawl pierces through, all the pain and ringing stops abruptly. As if they hadn't happened in the first place.
Her nausea and dizziness also disappear, only leaving her confused and a little shaken up.
Julie seems to ignore the southern man in favor of checking on Paige, her arms wrapping delicately around Paige's waist as she holds her.
"Paige, please , are you okay? Do we need to go back?" She wants to say yes and run back to the house, but her pride won't allow it. Whatever caused her headache just now is gone and she won't be defeated by a dream, especially one as cute and colorful as this.
"Whoa! Is everything alright over here, you two?" Paige's hands lower from her eyes and she looks to see a man— a puppet —only slightly shorter than herself approach quickly, his expression concerned as he tightly grips a satchel, as if to keep it from spilling its contents.
Paige looks down at Julie who's peering up at her with wide eyes, her brows furrowed and her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, oh my God she's going to cry.
"I-I'm fine!" She assures quickly, mostly speaking to Julie, but saying it loud enough for the guy approaching to hear it too, "Just got a quick migraine all of a sudden, no big deal, it's gone now!"
The fella approaching stops when he gets close enough to the two of them, Paige looks him over quickly and— whoa , he's kinda cute! Handsome, even. For a puppet person.
He's dressed in a mailman uniform, a little messy as if he just got out of a bush or something, carrying a satchel with the logo of an envelope on it. He looks at her curiously, as if she's a strange creature.
"What's a migraine?" He asks.
"You don't know what a migraine is?" Paige asks in disbelief, looking down at Julie who also seems confused as she looks up at Paige.
"It's like a headache—you know what a headache is right?" The two nod, so she continues, "It's like a headache, but worse. It can cause nausea and can even make a person need to stay in bed. It's usually caused by stress or bright lights and stuff like that." A lightbulb seems to go off in the mailman's head.
" Oh ! Is that what those are called? Migraines? I think Frank gets those sometimes!" He says, nodding his head in understanding.
"Oh!" Julie mimics, seeming to understand as well, "I don't think I've ever heard of the word before, I don't think I've ever gotten a migraine before!" She says the new word a little slowly, as if feeling it out, then she steps back from Paige and tilts her head, "So are you feeling stressed, or is it the light?" A bit of both .
"Well…I think there can sometimes be other causes, I'm not a doctor or an expert; but I think it might just be the sunlight, my eyes can be sensitive sometimes." She lies, it's only a little white lie, but she's worried that if she admits to being stressed they might want to know why and…well…she's not really sure how to answer that.
"Then we'll need to get you sunglasses too!" Julie suggests, trying to be helpful.
Paige smiles at her then turns to the mailman, she holds out her hand politely, "Hi, my name is Paige, and you are?" The southern gentleman accepts her hand shake enthusiastically, grinning widely at her.
"Nice to meet ya Paige, my name is Eddie, Eddie Dear. I'm the mailman here at Home, I was actually just on my way to your house," he says as he releases her hand and begins to rummage through his satchel, "Ah! To give ya this!" He pulls out a white envelope with colorful rainbow stickers on it, holding it out for her to take it.
Paige accepts the letter and looks it over, smiling softly at all the stickers covering it, Julie giggles excitedly beside her, "I helped decorate it!" She admits gleefully, waiting for her to open the letter.
"So it's from you?" Paige asks, a little confused as to why Julie wouldn't just give her the letter when they met earlier.
This causes Eddie to laugh, "It's from everyone in the neighborhood! It's a welcome home letter, go on, open it up!".
Paige opens the envelope, trying carefully not to damage it or the many stickers covering it.
Julie notices her care with the envelope and it fills the already happy puppet with so much joy her heart feels like it's swelling up, what a thoughtful new neighbor!
The letter inside the envelope is…well, a bit of a mess , it's a little difficult to remove from the envelope due to some glue that probably hadn't gotten the chance to dry, causing it to stick to the inside. Carefully she rips the letter out of the envelope and looks it over.
The letter itself is just as messy as she thought it might be, it's covered in glitter glue and stickers and it looks like everyone had written their names on the inside with messages that are a bit hard to read, accompanied by the occasional doodle. Despite its messy nature it's a sweet and thoughtful gift, one that makes Paige's stomach flip.
"Oh no! It looks like the glitter glue Sally and I used didn't dry all the way!" Julie whines in disappointment while Eddie looks a tiny bit embarrassed.
Paige chuckles softly, smiling at the letter that's now sticking to her fingers, "It's wonderful." And she means that.
"I think it needs to be left out to dry before I can put it anywhere though," She laughs a little more, holding her palm up, the letter stuck to her hand.
Her laughter and genuine appreciation help to ease Julie and Eddie's worries, the two now smiling at her brightly.
"Well, I better get going now, neighbors. I still got other letters to deliver and I'm sure someone else is going to need my help today!" Eddie announces, now walking past the two women, "Y'all have a great day!"
"You too!" "Bye Eddie!!" Paige and Julie respond in unison.
Now alone together again, Julie links her arm back with Paige's, smiling up at her new friend.
"C'mon we're almost at Howdy's place!"
Paige allows herself to be dragged along again, although this time she can't help but feel a little giddy as well.
Unbeknownst to the two of them their entire interaction had been monitored closely.
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"Oh you're just gonna love Howdy's Place, it's got a lot of stuff for sale, and whatever Howdy doesn't have he can just order for you!" Julie boasts excitedly as the pair approach the doors of the shop, It's a bit larger than Paige thought it would be, only slightly larger than the convenience store a few blocks from her apartment.
Opening the doors causes a bell to chime above them and the sound of someone stumbling somewhere in the back, "Hello, welcome to Howdy's!" A friendly voice calls from somewhere in the back.
"Hey Howdy, I've brought the new neighbor with me!" Julie calls back, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice; which was a little unnecessary since she was already very loud.
"The new neighbor? I'll be right out! Just gotta–" His voice gets cut off by the sound of something falling and a thud, " Ah !".
"Howdy!" Julie gasps, immediately leaving Paige to run to the back towards the sounds. Paige quickly follows behind her, but does take a moment to examine the shop as she goes.
Once the two reach the other side of the shop they see a door to a space in the back, it's open. Julie enters first, quickly going to her friend's aid, while Paige enters a bit more hesitantly.
The room is well lit and filled with metal shelves with boxes of supplies and products on them. She assumes this must be the storage room, then she looks down to the floor where Howdy is laying and she gasps.
If she thought Poppy was big and strange, this guy was even more so! There on the floor he lies, big, tall and fuzzy. He must be at least Poppy's height if not a little taller, his arms, neck and face covered in thick green fuzz, he's dressed in slacks, a pinstripe button up shirt that he's rolled the cuffs up on and an apron.
Laying next to him is a cardboard box with the word ' Balloons ' written in bold black sharpie, the labeled product now scattered in bags across the floor, deflated. While Julie attends to her large fuzzy friend on the floor, Paige immediately sets to cleaning up the mess, setting the box upright and filling it back up.
"Oh geez, I'm sorry you two, I went and stubbed my toe and fell over! I got all these feet and no balance!" He laughs sheepishly, lifting himself up on his elbows and he addresses the two of them, one of his other hands rubbing his sore head.
His eyes linger on Paige a little longer than they had on Julie, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he gazes at her, though Paige doesn't see it, she's still busy cleaning. Julie notices.
Howdy sits up straight as she shifts his body to gather some of the balloon bags behind him and to his side, tossing them in the box same as Paige, "Thank you, neighbor, I'm sorry you had to clean up my mess, and on your first day too!"
Paige finally turns her attention to him, waving a hand dismissively before holding it out for him to shake as she's crouched on the floor, "Don't worry about it, I'm happy to help. My name is Paige." She introduces herself kindly.
Howdy smiles at her warmly, taking her hand in his, his grip is delicate like he believes she's made of paper or glass. Paige notices how soft and fluffy his hand is, 'oh wow!' she thinks.
Julie looks between the two, a twinkle in her eyes and a knowing look that only Howdy catches a glimpse of. His face, somehow , flushing even through all the fluff.
Paige releases his hand, shifting around to check her surroundings. She stands once she's sure there's no more mess, and together with Julie she helps Howdy to stand.
"You sell a lot of balloons?" Paige asks in amusement as Howdy bends over to lift the box of balloons.
"Only during special events, I'm only getting these out of storage because Sally needs them for–"
"For her next play! Right, Howdy , I'm super excited aren't you?!" Julie interrupts him quickly, her words sharp with "excitement".
Howdy raises a brow at her, not offended by her interruption, just perplexed but then it's as if clarity strikes and he makes an "oh" face, "Right, yes, her next play ! I'm very excited for it as well."
Something was definitely up with the two of them, Paige could tell they were hiding something by the way their faces flushed and from the intensity of Julie's "don't say anything" face, Paige was certain Julie was trying to be more subtle. Except she wasn't being subtle at all, not even a little bit.
Paige crosses her arms, eyeing the two of them suspiciously.