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Looey had been chatting up a storm with Finn all day.
“So I told him, ‘Why so SEAL-rious??” Finn giggles, “And boy, was he mad!”
Looey snickered, before his face changed quite quickly as though he’d remembered something.
“Finn!” He shouted suddenly, “Me and the troupe are doing something brand new! We’re having a concert! You should totally come along!!”
“Looey, that would be such an honor!! A COD-cert!? Count me in!!”
“Wow, uh - okay!! Great!!!” Looey’s tail was wagging uncontrollably.
When Finn had left, he was still as excited as a balloon-dog could be. He never even noticed their eavesdropper.
“Boo.”
Looey jumped, making a little ‘eep’ sound. Connie had appeared from behind him.
“Connie!! Don’t scare me like that!” he growled.
“Aww, but it’s funny!!~ And anyway, I just had to overhear everything. You and Finn??” she smirked, “I never expected that.”
“We’re not - oh, whatever. What do you want?”
“Ya know, initially, I didn’t think I’d have an answer to that, but your little concert thing sounds.. actually interesting,” she waved her hand dismissively as she spoke, “Think I could tag along?”
“Oh!!! Absolutely! But don’t pull any funny business!” he punched her shoulder playfully.
“No promises.”
Naturally, Connie had to invite Gigi. They could cause all kinds of trouble together. But also, she just liked Gigi.
She floated up to the door and, without a second’s thought, she phased right through it.
“Gigi!” she yelled. The gachapon, half asleep in her bed, suddenly awoke and whacked her head against the wall. Connie winced.
“Damn it!!” Gigi huffed. “Er.. hey, Cons.”
“You wanna go to this lame concert the circus troupe’s holding?” she asked. “You could steal something!”
“Aw, Cons, I’d love to!” Gigi exclaimed, “But I’m, uh, gonna be with Flutter today. Sorry, girl.”
“Ehh, it’s fine. I just don’t know who else to take..”
“What about the lamp?”
The suggestion startled her and she felt a jolt in her chest. “Brightney!? She’ll think I’m a loser!!”
“Cause you are,” Gigi shrugged, “But like, come on! Take her to the concert, bring her to your place, do the classic ‘yawn and stretch your arm over her shoulder’, and boom! She'll fall in love instantly.”
“No!! She’d never agree!!” Connie insisted.
“You’ll never know if you don’t try, Connie. Hey, if she says no, maybe you could join me and Flutter. We’re getting into Looey’s diary.”
“Ah, maybe… Seems easier than asking out a pretty girl.”
Standing (or, more like hovering) at Brightney’s door was just enough to make Connie anxious. She'd already skimmed through all the possibilities. Most of them were being rejected. That was way too likely, right?
She hesitantly knocked, already regretting this decision.
It wasn't long before Brightney emerged.
"Heeeyyyy." Connie murmured.
"Oh! Hello, Connie!" Brightney greeted!
Connie couldn't muster up another response. How could she when she was looking into the eyes of the prettiest, sweetest toon she knew??
"..Yeah?" Brightney waved at Connie.
"..Hey."
"Haha, hi Connie." Brightney smiled at the ghost. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, uh, I just wanted to ask if, maybe, you'd want to, perhaps, go to the circus troupe's concert with... me? IgetitifyousaynoIknowitslame-"
Brightney cut her off with another chuckle, "Aw, I didn't think you'd be asking me!! I'm already headed there tonight, actually, and I'd love to accompany you there!"
"..Holy shit really."
"Yes!! I suppose I'll be seeing you?" Brightney took Connie's hands in hers.
"YES!! I mean, ah, yeah, sure!"
Connie had been hours early. Usually she'd have arrived late enough to pull some kind of prank. But now that Brightney would be joining her, she just couldn't stand the idea of being even a second late. She stood right next to the elevator, watching as different toons filed in, heart rising and dropping every time an elevator arrived and she realized it wasn't Brightney that time.
Until it actually was. The lamp toon had arrived donning a beautiful dress and scarf, dressed as though the occasion was as important as a wedding. Suddenly Connie felt small. She hadn't dressed for this.
"Connie!" Brightney greeted, hurrying up to her, "You're awful early!"
"Uh huh.." she murmured, lost in thought.
"Sorry if this is overdoing it," Brightney prodded at her dress, "I wanted to look good, but I understand if it's too much!"
"You.." Connie breathed, "..are stunning." Her face was probably a shade of deep blue by now.
"Oh..!! That's honestly great to hear.." Her companion chuckled, glancing away sheepishly. After regaining her composure, she held out her hand. "Well? Shall we head over?"
Without hesitation, Connie took hold of her hand.
An hour into the concert and Connie was already disinterested. All she could fixate on was the toon beside her. Brightney had been thoroughly enjoying the concert, occasionally grasping and squeezing Connie's hand out of excitement. It was endearing. Part of her couldn't wait to brag to Gigi about it.
Blot, Yatta, and Looey had accompanied the songs with their various circus acts. Brightney pointed it out often, claiming it was a 'creative spin' on a typical concert. She merely nodded her head in agreement, even if she didn't care about the acts. The sound was a bit dizzying, though. Too loud for her, made her a bit nauseous.
She didn't really notice when the concert ended, because before she knew it she and Brightney were in the elevator again, along with Boxten, Poppy, and Glisten. Connie was slouched over on Brightney's shoulder.
She was too exhausted to care.
She let Brightney practically carry her all the way to the hallway of the toon rooms. She noticed the light dim as they walked into one of the rooms, presumably Brightney's.
She was laid down on a softer surface, and that was when she tried to properly question what had happened.
"..Brights? You there?" she muttered, just loud enough to hear.
"..Connie??" Brightney came into view, looming over her. "Oh, Connie! Are you feeling okay?? You, uh, you passed out.."
"Damn. Guess that explains all this.." She tried to sit up. "I'm just tired. And my head hurts a little, but that's it."
"Well, okay.. you can get comfortable. I want you to stay here. I want to keep an eye on you," Brightney stated.
Connie hesitated at first, but eventually, she shifted to place herself at the top of the bed, sitting closest to the wall at the back of the room. After some time Brightney joined her, laying on the other side. She was still pretty close.
"This isn't uncomfortable for you, is it?" Brightney questioned.
"Er.. no.." Connie murmured.
"Well, okay, Goodnight, Connie."
"Mhm.."
Connie had no intention to sleep. She didn't need to. No matter how tired she was.
Unfortunately, this was taken notice of.
"Connie?" Brightney spoke up, turning over onto her side to face the ghost. "Are you..having any trouble sleeping?"
"Ah, no, I-I'm..." she trailed off.
"You're too tired to even form a sentence." She then beckoned for Connie to move closer. Hesitantly she complied, and Brightney wrapped her arms around her, pulling Connie into her chest. Eventually they both wound up wrapped around the other, and the warmth alone was enough to almost lull the ghost into sleep. She leaned into Brightney’s chest, surprisingly content with the proximity.
“Thanks, Brights,” she murmured, sure she wouldn’t be heard. She didn’t really care. This was enough.