Chapter Text
Brightney hadn’t been up for long. She had just started with writing lists.
She did it every day, after all. If she didn’t, how could she ever go about her day?
It just felt wrong to go without a list of tasks.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock-knock-knock on her door. She was unmoving for a moment before finally standing up to greet her visitor.
At the door was the familiar face of Gigi the gachapon.
“Hey there, lamps!” she greeted.
“Hey, Gigi! Are you finally here to return those books?” Brightney asked.
“Err.. I’m not here for that. I’m here cuz a friend wants me to be.”
Brightney eyed her curiously. “Go on?”
“So, ya know Connie? The ghost? She wants so bad to hang out with you, you have no idea! Anyway, I wanted to see if she could stop by today,” she explained, “She’s too nervous to ask you herself, it’s really fuckin’ funny, actually.”
“Oh! Well, I might have some time in my schedule.. tell her I’d love to have her!” Brightney said with a grin.
Gigi nodded, and as the door shut, she giggled to herself, “Connie’s gonna flip..”
From behind her, a pale teal ghost floated over.
“Did it go well?” she asked, anxiously.
“Yeah, Connie, it did, actually. She’s open today,” Gigi confirmed, “Go on, call me the greatest wingman of all time!”
“Woah-ho-ho, it is NOT like that…” The ghost, Connie, insisted.
“Sure thing, girl.” The gachapon winked. It only furthered Connie’s irritation.
"Did she say what time? I, uh, wanna be prepared," the ghost asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Actually, I don't think so. She might say somethin' later, though."
That did not ease Connie's worries.
Noon rolled around. Brightney was finally finished reorganizing her books for the day. Taking a look at her list, her eyes drifted down to the hastily scribbled words from that morning.
As her mind rushed, she hurried to the door. Hopefully, Connie wouldn't be too angry with her if she ended up being late. She could hardly keep track of time!
She reached for the doorknob, pulling the door open. Her eyes were met with a pair of the same, although belonging not to her. Standing at the doorway was none other than whom she planned to meet.
"Oh!! Hello, Connie! Convenient timing, hm?" Brightney greeted.
"Uhhh YEAH!!! VERY convenient! Mhm!!" Connie was clearly startled by the other toon. It made a chuckle escape from Brightney's lips, flustering the ghost further.
"Come in, come in! I don't want to keep you waiting!" she moved off to the side, allowing Connie to join her. "It's great to have you!"
"Really?.. I mean, of course, it is! I am THE Connie, after all!!.."
The visit was awkward, but Connie wouldn't have traded it for the world. No matter how cartoonishly out of character she was, she had stopped caring about it. All she could think about was how pretty Brightney looked with her lights dimmed, shining against her like a streetlight in November, and how much she could go on about those books of hers for hours. It was endearing, moreso than Connie would've ever expected.
"Hey, Connie?"
Brightney's voice brought her back to reality.
"..Heey." she replied. God, she sounded stupid.
"Sorry. You looked kinda out of it," Brightney explained, "I was worried something happened!"
"..oh." Connie wasn't expecting that, either. After sensing that same awkwardness return, she began floating again. "I-I better get back to, uh... whatever I was doing before this! Have a good day, Brightney!!"
And she left abruptly, opting for phasing through the door this time.
Gigi had done nothing but rummage through her stolen items while Connie was away. She was alerted of the ghost's presence when a chill went down her spine suddenly.
"Hey, girl!" she exclaimed, prompting Connie to reveal herself.
"Heeyyy..." Connie replied.
"...Did something go wrong?" she asked. She knew Connie well, and she knew that an attitude like this meant something had surely gone awry.
"No.. things just got awkward, I guess.." Connie sighed, "You are gonna set me up for failure one day, Gigi."
"Hey! You asked me to approach her!!" the gachapon giggled, shoving the other toon in the shoulder playfully, "I was only doin' my job!"
"isn't your job to refuse returning things??" Connie teased, her smile returning slowly, "'cause I'm pretty sure you still have that yogurt of mine. It's probably expired by now!"
After some playful back and forth, Gigi changed the subject. "Hey, howsabout Flutter and I help you out next time? Might go better than today."
"..yeah, alright. We can try."