Work Text:
Be·friend
/bəˈfrend/
(verb)
act as a friend to (someone) by offering help or support.
“The befriending of Piper's extremely nice neighbors made her otherwise horrendous night just the better.”
~~
The ringing in Piper’s ears blocked out the droning coming from the convenience store’s TV, something about a storm? She wasn’t paying attention, instead, she held two instant coffee boxes in her hands. Or, she thought it was instant coffee?
She wasn’t completely awake, but she was sure one of them read out:
GREAT FOR GETTING STAINS OUT OF CARPET
Which… she had no idea why coffee of all things was great for that. But it had to be some powerful stuff to wake her up and clean carpets.
Shaking her head to dispel any dizziness, she put the other coffee back and took her pick, stumbling, to the checkout. The store was nestled right between the local library and the conspicuous parking lot/ abandoned building next door. She was sure some sort of illegal trading happened there.
She dropped the powerful coffee on the counter and took out her wallet.
“S’ this it?” The worker grabbed the box with their thin claw-like hands. The androgynous employee looked like an extremely sleep-deprived vampire. “Y’ don’t want any cigs right?” They gestured to the mostly full case of cigarettes behind the counter.
“Hm?” Piper hummed, looking up from the peeling duck-tapped poster on the front of the counter. “Oh no, just the coffee.” She, in turn, gestured to the super duper effective coffee clutched in the worker's hands. They looked down at the coffee and then back at Piper.
“This is baking soda.” They deadpanned. “ Says it cleans carpets and everything.”
Placing it back on the counter they leveled a calculating squint at the dazed girl in front of them.
Piper looked up from where her gaze had, again, drifted down to the poster. The man on it was doing a great job selling the conditioner it advertised; his luscious locks were waving elegantly in the breeze and everything.
“Really?” She asked, blinking slowly, “It was in the coffee section…” She turned around and pointed from where she’d just come from. It was in fact, she realized, the cleaning section.
She blinked again. “Oh... I wonder when that happened…”
The worker let out a loud sigh that told thousands of words.
“Stay here, I’ll get that coffee ya’ want.”
The hunched-back employee grumbled under their breath as they ambled their way to the right section this time. Plucking up the first coffee they saw and turning back.
Piper returned her focus to the man on the poster, he had abandoned the conditioner somewhere in the ether to point to himself then to Piper then back to himself, raising a delicate finger to shush her. She whispered out a ‘woah’ before being snapped back to reality.
Literally.
The employee’s long fingers let out a loud snap as they, none too politely, dropped the coffee on the counter.
“That’ll be two dollars.”
“Right,” the girl breathed, handing over the money. “Hey, I have a question.” The worker closed their eyes and sucked in a breath.
“Yes.” They steeled.
“How do you get your posters to move like that?” She pointed a finger at the man who was now doing an impromptu yoga session on a tropical beach.
“Get out.”
—
After dragging her corpse-like body back to her apartment, catching herself slipping on thin sheets of ice-coating stone bricks, Piper hunches over the bright screen of her computer in the otherwise dark room.
Neon lights from the electronic buzzing of placards just outside her apartment window shine through the cracks of her blinds, and lights from raging cars driving late-night joy rides flash over her plain walls in small bursts.
Piper herself was clanking away on her dusty keyboard with a ferocity that rivaled one of hummingbird wings.
The thick duvet draped over her form slipped down, the chill in the air coaxing goose-bumps up her arms, but going ignored by the hyper-focused girl.
Tonight was the night the game she and her team painstakingly created finally launched. The countless months of back-to-back all-nighters, multiple coffee runs, and modafinil pills were all coming to a close as Piper received an email confirming the go-ahead.
Sucking in the musty, stale air her room had accumulated she pressed enter, beginning the upload process.
With a sigh of relief, she finally broke her focus and stretched her back, spine popping.
She welcomed the stillness of the cool night, the quietness, the tranquility, the silence…
Almost too silent.
The familiar buzzing of electricity couldn’t be heard, only the screeching ringing of the absence of it. Piper pried her eyes open, thick inkiness cloaked her room.
“Huh?” She said unintelligently.
At first, she thought that sleep depravity had caught up to her, shutting down all her senses. But the more she swiveled her head around like a rabid dog, the more she realized this was not the case.
Thumping could be heard outside her apartment, and the more she listened the more she realized it was someone knocking on her door.
“No! Nononono..” She rambled, pressing the on button of her PC. Nothing happened. “NO! I was so close, we were so close!” She hissed, forcing her palms against her stinging eyes. “Why now!” She dragged out the ‘now’ like a petulant child, dramatically falling from the desk chair and rolling on the carpeted floor.
The knocking on the door ceased for a few seconds before a tentatively muffled, “Hello.” Called from behind it. “I’m here to give everyone on this floor the emergency kit for blackouts… it has a flashlight and everything.”
Piper wondered for a long moment if her near breakdown had lasted long enough for the staff of the building to make rounds of the entire place, before remembering she actually had to answer.
“Right! Coming, just give me a second!”
Piper stumbled her way to the front door, crashing into corners. She was pretty sure the painted parrot framed on the wall, that a previous tenant left hanging, berated her for eating chicken for dinner two nights ago. Why now of all times did inanimate pictures decide to give themselves consciousness?
“Hello!” She called, a little loudly, while ripping the door open.
The woman standing there stumbled back from the door before collecting herself. Strapped to her thin shoulder was a huge bag almost the size of her.
Or.. at least Piper thought it was the size of the girl, it was a little hard to tell when the actual bag kept shrinking and growing at random intervals.
“Oh, hi! I’m Juna Steel, I’m your neighbor,” she stuck out a well-manicured and freckled hand. The freckles blended in with her dark bronze complexion but they were there nevertheless. “I thought I’d hand out emergency kits on our floor for this blackout. I’ve been preparing since earlier today.”
Piper unblinkingly stared at the girl, (she was so pretty!!) before shaking her head, bringing herself back to reality. “Huh? Oh, right…” Piper let out a soft gasp. “How did you know this would happen, are-are you a genie. Wait… no that’s not correct, AN ORACLE?!”
…
An embarrassing silence settled over the two at Piper’s sudden outburst.
“Uh, noo. They’ve been blasting it over the news all day…” She trailed off when she realized Piper’s attention was stolen by the elephant-sized, shape-shifting bag. “Are- are you on drugs?” Juna stage whispered, bringing the previously outstretched hand to cup her mouth.
“Nah. Just sleep depravity. It’s like artificial shrooms but without the fun,” Piper dazedly replied. Her full attention was still on the bag.
“Riight, well… would you like to help me pass out the rest of these? I still have a whole floor to go.”
Piper thought back to her computer, dead, and her phone, also dead, it had died when she was getting the ultra-powerful coffee, how could her night get any worse?
“Sure! Let's go-”
“Oh! Before I forget!” The girl interrupted, handing Piper a lunch box. The small white plus stitched into the fabric was spinning rapidly. “Here’s your emergency kit, now we can go!”
This night just kept getting weirder.
—
Piper and Juna were coming up to the last door of the hallway.
So far Piper had; had a conversation with a tiny Shakespearean pomeranian with a French accent about the Renaissance era, saw a spider climbing the cracked walls while juggling ant size hula-hoops, and fell victim to another bird complaining about her eating habits.
The last one had earned her a sharp look from the resident who was in deep conversation with Juna, the pretty girl.
Now as they knocked on the last door, Piper wondered what other cool things she’d see. Behind the door, they heard a muffled,
“Come on Luca! It’s just a little dark, no monster is gonna hurt you!”
“I’ll do the honors,” Piper whispered to the pretty girl while knocking on the door. “Helloo, we come bearing gifts!”
Piper heard a confused ‘what’ behind her, as the front door opened, maybe the pomeranian was rubbing off on her.
“Who is it,” A gruff voice asked from a crack in the door.
Piper cleared her throat before handing over the last lunch box. “This pretty lady here made everyone on the floor emergency kits for the blackout.” She said, patting Juna’s shoulder, “Don’t know how she knew it would happen, but if you ask me I think she’s an oracle.” Piper leaned towards the small opening in the door with a conspiratorial whisper.
The man seemed to brighten, “Does it have a flashlight, ours just ran out.”
Juna stepped forward with a bright smile, “Yes, of course. Flashlights, bandaids, alcohol wipes, and spray, everything for an emergency.”
The man opened the door with a relieved sigh and took the package, freeing the small flashlight. He turned quickly and made his way further inside, leaving the door wide open.
Piper was reminded of that dragon called Toothmore from the movie How To Train Your Human or something like that when the man relaxed his guarded expression.
Juna and Piper exchanged a look before stepping through the doorway of the apartment.
“Luca look, I have a flashlight, everything is going to be okay now.” The man called gently, crouching down in front of a bed that was quite messily made.
“No..” A small voice called from under the bed. Piper thought it was another talking dog.
“They’ll get me anyway.”
“No one is going to get you, honey,” the man argued, “I’ll protect you.” A pregnant pause, then.
“Fine.” A small boy crawled out from the dark crevice and into his dad's arms while the latter turned on the flashlight, illuminating the room.
Piper let out a gasp, “A human boy child, so not a talking dog again.” Juna sounded even more confused with the second ‘what’ she asked.
The small boy looked over to the two women standing in the doorway, “Who are they?” He sniffed, wiping what was once tears from his eyes. The large man turned around, surprised to see them there.
“...They gave me this flashlight, to help defeat all the monsters.”
“Like a lightsaber.” Piper nodded sagely and whispered, comparing the bright light of the flashlight to the bright light of the sword.
Juna looked over the boy, “Are you scared of the dark,” she asked quite obviously.
“No.” He said defensively, sniffing haughtily.
“It’s okay, most people are.” The pretty girl gave Piper a pointed look, and through the haze of her deprived mind Piper understood.
“Ah yes, I’m scared of the dark… and all the… scary creatures lurking in it,” Piper said unconvincingly.
“Really?” The boy asked, looking up pensively.
“Indeed,” Piper replied.
The boy hesitated, hiding his face in his dad's neck. “Well, in that case, I guess I am scared.”
Juna let out a faux gasp, “I know what we could do.” She held up a finger, “We could play hide and seek, to search for these monsters and destroy them once and for all!”
—
After recruiting more of their neighbors who had nothing better to do, five of them were assigned jobs of being the monsters, Juna and Piper included. White linen sheets were thrown over their heads to make it all the more believable, and oblong eye holes were cut.
Piper started singing National Super Spy from that one kids show, Frontyardigans, while cutting the mismatched eyes.
Juna looked over from where she was cutting out her own pair of eyes, “I loved that show as a kid.”
“Yeah,” Piper dragged out leaning her head against the brick wall, feeling the effects of her modafinil pills running out. They were seated in one of their neighbors' dusty closets, it smelled oddly of mothballs and sun-dried Cheetos.
Juna shook the girl to keep her awake, “Thanks for helping.”
Piper hummed in confusion, slouching down even more.
The pretty girl shrugged. “I mean- with the kits and this. Everything really, you’ve helped a lot tonight. And I know you’re about to crash soon. I just wanted to say that to you before then.”
Piper sat up in alarm, “Crash?! Like a car accident, crash?” She collapsed on the pretty girl’s lap, “Tell me more, oh great Oracle.”
Juna let out an amused laugh, “You really are sleep-deprived. How many hours have you been awake exactly?”
Piper held up a hand and spread her fingers wide, “Five.” She said simply snuggling deeper into the girl's lap.
“Five? Five hours isn’t that ba-”
“Days.” She continued.
“What?!” Juna whisper shouted, “Five days?! How are you alive right now, what for!”
Piper let out a delirious laugh before explaining, “Me and my team have been making a game for months now. It was supposed to launch tonight but the power went out before it could upload completely.” She flattened her hand and descended it on a slope. “All that work, down the drain.”
“Oh.” Juna said in a grimace, “That majorly sucks.”
Piper looked up at the girl bleary-eyed, “Yeah… at least I have the chance to look at pretty things before I get fired.” She curled into the girl's stomach, muffling her next words. “Ultimately getting kicked out for not having enough money to pay rent, then going homeless never to be seen again.”
“Wow, that took a dark turn,” Juna said, patting Piper's once straight hair, now splayed in a mess, in consolation.
A sharp knock interrupted the small space. A ‘ they’re coming’ was hissed before footsteps padded away. Quickly the girls dawned the sheets, making last-minute adjustments.
“How do I look?” Piper asked, posing like she was in a photoshoot.
Juna chuckled, “Very beautiful. Okay, positions.”
They both crouched down just a tad, raising their hands like a hunting bear and waited with bated breath.
The boy and his father were going around their floor exploring the different apartments in search of all the “monsters” living there.
The girls in the closet heard the floor creaking just outside the door, a sure indicator of the small family’s adventure.
“Are you ready Luca?” The muffled voice of the father asked. “Just two more and we’ll all be safe.”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” The boy steeled himself before opening the door.
The girls jumped out with a roar, but the boy was even quicker. Gripping the flashlight in hand he pointed the offending item at the monsters.
“Ahhh!” Piper falsely screamed, clutching her chest. “I’m melting!” She fell dramatically on the girl next to her, toppling them both over and onto the ground.
“I’m melting too!” Juna also yelled, falling to her knees. “You’ve got us this time, brave warrior, but we’ll come back with a vengeance!”
“And I’ll defeat you again when you do!” The boy called, lowering the flashlight with a huff.
Cheers of ‘you did it' went up around the dark room as the boy was lifted in the air by his proud-looking dad. The neighbors who played a part in the victory rushed in to pat the boy on his back and give him high-fives.
On the ground, the two girls exchanged their own high-fives as they shed the sheets.
—
The night ended with Juna and Piper exchanging numbers, with a promise to stay in touch.
“It wouldn’t be that hard,” Juna said with a chuckle. “We are neighbors, I’ll just knock or something.”
“Oh, right,” Piper replied with her own soft smile. “I’m gonna head inside now, maybe take down that talking parrot.” She said the last part to herself, though Juna heard anyway.
“Good luck,” Juna called, beginning to turn away. “Tell me how it goes.”
Piper didn’t last thirty seconds of laying dow
n on her bed before she passed out, falling into a deep sleep.
When she woke the next night, after hours of sleep, to working electricity and ‘congratulation on the game launch’ emails from her peers her smile was enough to light up the whole room.