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Even though it had been hours since they had laid down to sleep, Two was lying awake, staring at the ceiling. They had been crying for a while. Their whole body ached from exhaustion, but their mind kept turning in circles. Where was Gaty?
They knew contestants had been going missing, but they had tried to protect her. They had moved her to the kitchen where Four and X could keep an eye on her. But with all the chaos of the last episode, whatever was picking off contestants must have taken her too.
They just wanted her home. With them. It was almost unbearable to consider never seeing her again. The tears welled up in their eyes. It hurt to wipe them away. Was she ever going to sit with them on their couch and talk about everything again? Was she ever going to visit their room for sleepovers? Were they ever going to bring her brownies when she was sad? Or was the last time they saw her the last time they ever would?
Gaty was the only person who really cared. Not just that, but she was the person they cared the most about. They found themself worrying about her getting to her hotel room safe, and every challenge they were secretly rooting for her to win. They wanted to comfort her when she was sad. They wanted to be with her when they felt down. When they were lonely or overwhelmed their first thought was of her. As long as they were with her, life would be lighter and sweeter. Their future felt more promising than ever because she would be with them every step of the way. Or.. it did before. What were they supposed to do now? Finish TPOT and move on with their life? Without her? They didn’t have a choice, really. She was never coming back. They sniffled and pulled the blankets tighter around themself.
This wasn’t helping. No matter how long they thought about it it never seemed any easier to adjust to a life without the person who mattered most to them. They sighed, closing their eyes tightly as if not being able to see the world around them would make all of this disappear.
Two sat up and pulled their blanket off the bed, walking to the window. They opened it and felt a soft breeze fill their room. The air smelled sweet and fresh and the stars glimmered in the darkness of the unending sky. No contestants walked the grounds now. It was dangerous to be out without supervision. Everyone was tucked snugly into their beds, sleeping peacefully, not knowing or caring that she was gone. Two had to carry this grief alone.
As stupid as it sounded, they really wanted to talk to Gaty about it. She would understand and tell them that it would be alright. A pang of sadness hit them and they sat down on the floor. They ran their fingers along the fluffy carpet, slowing their breathing like she had taught them to when they were upset. They needed to do something. Anything. As long as it wasn’t sitting in this room alone. They got to their feet wearily and headed towards the kitchen.
The shadows of the hotel looked a lot creepier when scarcely lit. They padded closer to the door, taking care to step gently so as to not wake anyone. To their surprise, however, a sliver of yellow light peeked out from behind the kitchen door. Who on earth was up this late other than them? They opened the door with caution, inching it open slowly.
X was.. standing in the kitchen baking? They hummed to themself as they cracked an egg into the bowl they were holding. Turning around, their eyes caught on Two, who waved sheepishly.
“Hi Two! What are you doing here?” He smiled, waving back at them.
“Oh, uh.. I couldn’t sleep. What are you making?”
“I’m making cake! It was gonna be a surprise for you… it’s so you don’t have to prepare something for tomorrow’s cake at stake!” He whisked the batter as he spoke. Two looked at the floor, suddenly feeling their guts twist.
“Yeah… I almost forgot.”
“Are you okay, Two?” He frowned at them.
“I’ll be fine. I’m just worried about Gaty. I want to get back to my contestants, but I don’t exactly feel like hosting right now..”
“Hmm.. Maybe me and Four could host this episode?” He asked. Two stiffly smiled.
“That’d be nice. Thank you, X.”
“Do you want to help me bake?”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” they said, moving towards X.
Listening to their instructions, they pulled out ingredients from around the room. This was quite different from their usual arrangement with Gaty. They were always the one whisking things together and she always brought them what they needed. Baking with her was always so much fun. They always managed to make something delicious, and their treats always brought smiles to other contestants' faces. Everything they made without her didn’t taste as sweet, although they supposed that may have been due to the memory of the time spent with her influencing how they viewed the desserts they had made. Everything would be more bland now that she was gone. Tears pricked at their eyes at the thought, threatening to spill over their eyelids, and they stared at the wall, desperately trying to keep them at bay. They dug their claws into their arm and took a sharp breath in.
“Two?” X called for them. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m okay,” they murmured, trying to keep their voice from shaking.
“You look upset..” He frowned.
Two didn’t answer. X gently reached out to them, pulling them into a hug. They blinked, letting the tears fall, and wrapped their arms around him tightly. The sound of their quiet sniffling filled the room.
“I miss her so much,” they sighed.
“I’m sure she’ll be back soon! Leafy ran away for a whole season and she was fine!” X pulled away from the hug and took Two’s hand.
“Yeah, but this is different… Contestants have been going missing. I don’t even know what's happening. I’m supposed to watch over them! I keep failing!” They clenched their fists.
“It’s not your fault! I don’t know what’s going on either… It’ll be okay.”
“I hope so.” They breathed in deeply. “Sorry for getting upset.”
“It’s okay,” they smiled.
“I’ll head back upstairs now. Thanks, X.”
“Bye-Bye, Two!”
“Bye.”
They walked to their room, exhaustion hitting even harder now. They still felt pretty awful, but it felt like a bit of the weight was off their shoulders. X was a really good friend. The two weren’t very close, but he was still so sweet to them. They smiled slightly as they climbed into bed and as soon as they hit the mattress they drifted into a dreamless sleep.