Chapter Text
Neil was not having much luck with the shopping. First of all, he didn’t have enough money. Neither he nor the other guys had any bread; it was a miracle that he’d found a couple pence from the kitty, but it was still hardly enough for the whole shopping list. No bread meant he had to shoplift, which he could only get away with at the head shop; from which he’d only stolen one item from the shopping list. As for everything else… he had to use the last resort: skipping. It was illegal, really filthy, and most of the stuff in skips were unusable anyway, but it was the only choice he had.
Rummaging through the pile of bin bags, bits and pieces of cardboard and the occasional wet, slimy horror beyond comprehension, Neil grew tired. Maybe he should call it a day. Coming home with only a bag of lentils was better than coming home empty-handed. But just as he glanced at the shopping list again, a note caught his eye.
24 CANS OF LAGER TRIPPLE STRENGTH YOU BASTARD DON’T FORGET!!!
Considering what happened last time Neil had returned home without buying Vyvyan’s things, he wouldn’t be taking that chance again. Oh well, he thought to himself, time to go to the off-licence. Just as he pulled his hands out of the rubbish with a sigh, something dropped to the ground. He crouched down to put it back into the skip, but as soon as he saw this object he found himself staring at it. In his hands was a poor rag doll in a terrible state. Her hair was messy, her clothes were half-eaten by who knows what, and her arm and eye were almost about to fall off. It was such a pitiful sight; her beady little eyes were almost begging him for help.
“Oh no! Are you okay?” Neil asked, deeply concerned. “Where’s your family? Do you have a home?” He examined her for any identification, be it a name or an address to return her to, but he found nothing. Poor thing, she had no family, she was all alone… She was just a doll, but she felt alive. Everything was alive, how could nobody else but him see it? Neil fought back tears, taking a couple deep breaths to calm himself.
“Do you want to live in my house? I can help you, I can fix you up, okay? You can live with me. Is that okay?” He got no response. The doll just looked up at him, silently pleading.
“Okay. Just sit here,” said Neil, putting her in his shopping bag and taking care not to lose her loose body parts. “Um, make yourself comfortable. We’re not far from my place, so it won’t take long.”
He made the journey back home, not noticing his shopping list had fallen out of his pocket earlier. Never mind, what was more important now was nursing this dolly back to good health. The shopping can wait. The guys’ll forgive him, right?