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You sigh in distress as you run your fingers through your hair, your digits getting caught in the knots you must've obtained during today's shift. You bring your hands down as you straighten your posture and exit from behind the countertop. You work as a waitress in your local diner that's become very time worn over the entirety you lived here.
You remember how it looked when you first moved here, the scent of sweet pastries and black coffee filled your nose as you bounced off the heels of your feet in excitement whenever your parents brought you here when you were little. The walls were a nice very pale green with even lighter curtains that rested in front of every window.
Now it just feels sad instead of exciting. The setting isn't cozy like it used to be. The wallpaper is peeling which reveals a very ugly brown color as the scent of grease never truly leaves your nose. The coffee tastes bitter and the very few people who still live in your town rarely visit. You almost never get tips and even if you do, it's almost never enough to keep you living in the shared apartment with your friend, Nora.
Nora was one of your friends who moved here to take care of her parents, and you guys didn't click immediately but the attempt of a bond was there. She demands rent without giving you much notice and you’ve noticed a pattern of her requesting a little bit more each time. You work too many hours and get too little pay to afford whatever price Nora demands.
For the past year and a half you've been managing to keep up and pay her. But it seems your little bit of luck has run out. You step out from your car, swinging the keys on your finger before pocketing them and walking to the elevator to make it to your floor. You exhale a breath of relief you didn't realize you were holding at the ‘Ding!’ the elevator let out. Finally, after a long day of dealing with standing at a counter for hours serving nobody- you can rest!
You step out and walk down the halls, looking door to door to find the correct entryway. You stop at the door you've gotten used to entering, opening it only to pause in confusion. Your posture that was originally crouched suddenly got tense as your brows furrowed together.
“What the..?”
You mutter under your breath, eyes darting to the boxes that have your name labeled on them. This had to be a joke! You didn't even get to hand her the pay you earned today! She could've given you a heads up but.. Seems she had other business to attend to. Right where you should've been lying down and getting some shut eye, you spot Nora’s boyfriend. She told you they were going through a rough patch recently, so why was he here!?
You turn your head to the side where you hear the clanking of pots, spotting Nora preparing some meal of sorts. She was acting like everything was normal and okay but- but it was far from normal and okay!
“Is this your idea of a prank, Nora? Because you’ve got it all wrong since pranks are supposed to be funny! And.. and this is far from funny!” you shout, your voice wavering. Where were you supposed to go if this was all true?
“Oh,” she murmurs your name a few times, breaking focus from the meal she was making to meet your gaze. “I really didn't want to have to do this, but you know how expensive rent has been getting! You just.. Haven't been able to pay me what I need for you to continue living here.”
Your eyes dart around the room as you desperately try to come up with a way to convince her to let you stay to sort things out. No matter how much you rack and reach into your brain to come up with a response that doesn't sound pathetic and sad, there is none that comes forward. You shake as you lift your head back up to look at her, lip quivering as you speak again.
“You didn't even give me a heads up to try and scrape up some more money! Please, Nora, just let me give you what I have for now so I can stay the night to prepare!” Your argument is weak in her eyes, and just pitiful in your ears.
She piped up before you could let the silence turn into another plea. “I’m sorry, but that's just not how it works. I’ve been warning you that if you didn't pick up the pace and get the money I needed soon that this would happen. How did you not expect this outcome?” Your saliva dries in your mouth and a salty taste hits your tongue. Your tears slip from your eyes as you give up and shakily head to the first box.
How could she? You’ve been absolutely nothing but a loyal friend to her. You don’t understand how someone could be so.. So selfish and male revolving that they kick you out without a heads up and let their boyfriend take your spot. It makes no sense to you. You move quickly to get out of the place so you don’t get more upset and cry more than you already were. After loading your stuff in your car trunk, you open the car door and slam it as quickly as you opened it.
You sit down as you ponder who would possibly let you stay with them for a night while you look for a possibly better paying job that might let you get your own place. Your thoughts stop when your phone gets a notification from tiktok. You don't look right away in frustration of having your thoughts interrupted. You check it anyways and realize a certain friend from high school posted.
Facty! How come you never thought of them? You don't want to make it seem like you're only contacting them right now because you're in need and don't have a choice, but that's kind of how it is. You might as well give it a shot, maybe you could repair the bond you had with them!
Your fingers wrap around your phone as you bite down on your lip, scrolling through your contacts until you find what you're certain is their number. Jeez, you never gave them a contact name? You feel like such a jerk for this.
You bounce your leg nervously as you silence your car radio. It rings once, twice, and by the 6th time you're worrying they may not pick up. Just when you were getting ready to hang up by yourself, the sound of their energetic voice chirping your name out cuts through your nerves instantly.
You exhale in relief as you quickly put them on speaker, and when you speak up they immediately realize your voice sounds wavery and different from how it did last time you guys called. “Are you feeling alright? I couldn't help but notice how you sound a bit less like yourself than usual!” You nearly fall apart at that and you don't know why. Could it be the fact that they clocked it instantly or that they were the first to ask if you were okay in a while. Definitely both.
You inhale as you get ready to explain everything from bottom to top. You realize maybe starting off like that wasn't the best way, you didn't want to dump everything onto them immediately. You push out the breath you had just inhaled and shook your head, even though you knew they couldn't see it.
“To be honest? Nothing has been going my way lately. And.. I’ve been struggling to make ends meet. It got to the point where I had to live with my friend who literally just kicked me out without giving me any time to even prepare. I.. I genuinely don't know what to do and for the first time in ages since I've become an actual adult, I feel scared. I’ve been on my own before, but I've always known what to do. This time is different because I don't know what to do.”
The minute your words exit from your mouth like a waterfall, your shoulders relax as if you just got a huge stone lifted from them. The other line was silent for a few seconds, like they were thinking of what to say. Usually, Facty always knew what to say. Whenever you two would have conversations where it would randomly get deep, they didn't hesitate before shooting out an answer at you. Their answers always soothed you so you were getting a bit anxious when they didn't respond right away.
“Why didn't you tell me sooner? You know, the Fact Attack Adventures apartment has room for one more curious friend of ours!” their voice came out softly, genuine before shifting back into the tone they always held. You got a little bit dizzy from the proposal, but that's why you called them.
“I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't want you to think this was the only reason I was reaching out to you. I’ve been meaning to save up enough to visit you actually. But.. It was just kinda unfortunate timing. But, you’re sure you’re okay with me staying with you in the meantime while I try to get back on my feet?”
Facty let out the iconic chuckle that always grasps your attention to them and them only. You can just imagine their weirdly large but slender fingers pushing up their blocky glasses.
“Why would I offer it if I wasn’t sure? You’re one of my closest friends ever! Just let me know when you're on your way to us, okay?”
You smile to yourself, humming as you relax. They always cheered you up, how come you hadn’t come to them sooner? You estimate the time you would arrive at their shared apartment from now. It was about eight currently, and the out of work traffic on Thursdays could usually last up to an additional thirty minutes. You could arrive between nine to ten thirty PM. Would that be too late for Facty and their friendgroup? You would hope not.
“Alright, then. I’ll be on my way to you soon, Facty. Though, I may arrive a little later than intended..” you trail off with a sheepish laugh as you get ready to start driving. After you look at the address they sent you, you're on your way. Honestly, you've never been the one to break rules, especially after meeting facty.
Back in high school, you had a small group of friends, but you only really hung out with them– not bond with them. Then came Facty! You were eating lunch in the library, more so focused on the book than the food. So focused in fact, that you didn't notice the strawberry blond headed person approaching you. You only realized when you felt a tap on your shoulder.
After you guys met, they corrected you if you ever did anything that could possibly get you in trouble. Anyways, you’ve never really done anything ‘bad’ but, you were so eager you sped a little bit. You were careful, but the excitement overruled it.
When you glance at the gps, you're only about a mile or two away from facty’s address they sent. You smile eagerly and soon enough you find your car parked in the parking lot of the apartment complex. After a little while, you find yourself at an elevator to which you press the button to the third floor, where facty is! Once you're in front of the door your nerves suddenly wash over you again. You push them aside, you wont let this ruin seeing your best friend after so long!
You hesitate before knocking. And there they were, that blocky glasses wearing enby you’ve known for what feels like forever. You could barely contain yourself before you wrap your arms around them.
Facty wasn't usually the one for physical touch, but they could make an exception this time. They patted your back and backed up with a grin. They say your name like they were very pleased to see you. “Oh boy, wait until i introduce you to my friends!” the glimmer in their eyes made you smile a bit wider which felt impossible in the moments before, yet it only grew wider when you stepped in. it felt so.. So much like Facty! You remember some study sessions you guys had at their house. Their room was always so cozy and matched their vibe so well.
“I see you stuck to my cooking advice?” you boast happily, spotting the exact recipe you sent them a little while ago. It’s been awhile since you've updated that recipe, which was one of your first achievements. Facty’s cheeks dusted a pink slightly darker than normal as they smiled sheepishly.
“Well your cooking recipes are legendary! You make them taste better. Could it be the experience you’ve had over the years?” your smile grows soft, the gaze in your eyes softened as well as you spoke up. “It’s my mom, really. She taught me everything I know about cooking. Eventually I just.. Got the hang of it on my own and kinda went for what I thought tasted good.” They loved whenever you talked about things you liked, it was always an opportunity for them to do more research and find more facts about it for you.
After a little while of talking, you groaned as you straightened your posture, running a hand through your messy hair. Facty took notice and immediately felt worried over you. They tilt their head as they try to gauge what the expression on your face could possibly be about. “Is something wrong?”
You sit up, popping your joints as you mutter something to yourself under your breath. “I forgot my boxes of stuff… I bet she didn’t even organize them so who knows where everything might be?” You grip the ends of your hair, gritting your teeth together at the thought of how careless Nora must’ve been with your stuff.
Facty spoke up once more, which instantly eased the slight anger and distress you felt over your disorganized boxes. “Well I would help you look for what you need like comfortable clothes for tonight.” they offer with a smile, pausing before speaking up again. “...And we can continue sorting your stuff out tomorrow!” They hum thoughtfully.”
You let out a sigh of relief, grateful to have such a friend who puts up with you while being so kind to you as well. “Thank you, Facty.”
After about 15 minutes of going back and forth collecting the heavy boxes and hauling them from your car, to the elevator, to the room, you had finally gotten all the boxes you had stuffed in your trunk.
Despite it being an apartment, it had multiple rooms, each belonging to a different roommate. There were only three rooms so you were gonna sleep on the couch in the meantime. Facty didn't really like the idea so they offered that they sleep on the couch instead.
“Now, now, ___. You’ve had a very long day that was very stressful! One of the ways to get rid of stress is to get some rest. I want you to have a good rest in my bed. Let me take the couch!”
You argued back. “Its your house, im the guest. I don't wanna sleep in your bed and I dunno, have you out here uncomfortable!” you place your hands on your hips.
You two squabble for a little while before deciding to just have a sleepover in Facty's bedroom. When you enter, you suddenly remember you need your pajamas– or just comfortable clothes in general.
“Oh, facty! Can you help me look through these boxes real quickly? I need clothes. We’ll look in about two or three if that's fine.”
Facty immediately agreed to help to stay true to their earlier word. You guys looked through three boxes for the night before you got tired of doing the same movements. Plus, you don't even know what’s in those boxes, the last thing you need is for facty to find something they weren't meant to see.
“Urgh.. just forget about it. We can look tomorrow.”
You state, yawning and stretching. Facty immediately pops up from a box, slightly frowning before getting an idea.
“I know! I could grab a few extra shirts! That way you're comfortable.” You perked up, smiling at them. “Wow! Thanks, Facty..”
Another few minutes later and you emerge from the bathroom. Something about you in their clothes makes their heart stutter and they start to feel flustered. Their eyes observe and admire every little detail of it. You fit perfectly in their clothes! You look super duper snug and if they're gonna be honest, it looks better on you than it did them.
You notice their gaze being on you for a little while and snicker. “What, do I have something on me?” they snap out of it after being caught, clearing their throat as they look to the side in slight embarrassment.
“No, no.. I was just spacing out for a minute because I can't wait to tell you a new fact!” They wince internally. You had to have noticed their lie, it was so obvious! They can't believe how.. How bad it-
Your voice cuts through to them again as you shift your weight from foot to foot. “Oo, I'm excited then!” and you both enter their bedroom again. After they cozy up in bed, they fluster even more when you slide in beside them. It's fine, it's just a sleepover between two close friends!
They remove their pair of glasses and before they could even get the chance to turn the light off, you were out right away. Even though you're sleeping, they couldn't help but be upset at how fast you fell asleep. Your day must’ve been exhausting.. They're just glad you're sleeping now.
You look so peaceful like this. As they stare at your sleeping features, their eyes slowly shut while their heartbeat slows.
You wake up due to the sun shining through the blinds and directly onto your face. As your eyes flutter open, you squint them to adjust to the light. You attempt to sit up but are being held down by a pair of arms. You freak out, forgetting you're no longer in Nora’s apartment but in Facty’s instead. Your head whips around as you squirm, which wakes Facty up.
You pause, a dust of blush coating your cheeks as you remember. You freaked out and woke up your bestfriend. They flush as well and pull apart, apologizing with an ever so slightly raspy, and a cracky voice.
“__! …I’m so sorry… I didn't realize that I had hugged you.” They look to the side, eyes squinting while they feel for their glasses. You scratch your neck sheepishly as you stretch, yawning. You pick at the skin on your nails, coughing into your elbow to clear your throat.
“No, no.. I woke you up because.. Err.. I forgot that I was staying with you for a while.. And also don’t apologize–! You can’t control what you do in your sleep…”
A tired smile appears on their face as they yawn, turning and swinging their legs over the edge to slide on their slippers. Their legs pop as they stand up fully, scruffing their feet against the ground as they wait for you to get up with them.
“Are you coming?” they chirp, already popping into their energetic self. They tilt their head as they stare at you, who’s still lying down in bed. You shrug your shoulders silently, scratching the top of your head to look for a response. Your tired brain barely registers what happened.
“Uh..” You pip, blinking slowly before opening your mouth again, “Yeah, yeah.. Gimme a minute.. I'm just a little nervous seeing how I'm gonna meet your roommates for the first time in a while. I just hope they're happy to see me again..” You yawn, glancing at your hands that are settled in your lap currently.
Facty walked back over to you, patting your shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry! You know what you wanted to do last night? Shower! And did you know that taking a nice, cold shower can actually soothe your nerves? Why don’t you try it?”
You stand up cracking your neck and rolling your head to massage it. “That.. I’ll try.”
“Great! I’ll be in the kitchen.” They grin at you before walking out.
While in the shower you reach for a random shampoo and conditioner that fits your liking best. When you catch a whiff of it, you realize these are the ones Facty uses! You smile to yourself in admiration as you apply them both.
After you clean yourself and your hair, and after changing into a clean set of clothes (which you ALSO borrowed from Facty), you step out of the bathroom to go into the kitchen where Facty should be. You spot lightbulb who has a bandage on the back of his fragile glass head. You raise a brow before your eyes land on a martian who's talking to facty. His four arms are swaying as he bounces excitedly.
Facty can't contain themselves once they spot you. They smile widely and blurt out how you came over last night. Martian turns around, mouth open in shock as he spots you. With a wide smile he bounces over and hugs you, claiming how it's been forever since he's seen their bud.
“Martian! It's been so long since I've seen you as well! Have you grown taller?” you grin down at them. Maybe that was the wrong move to pull because they frowned and shook their heads. They're a tiny tiny bit sensitive so you should've known.
“O-oh– I didn't mean it like that buddy! Uh..” You look around in panic before spotting lightbulb and walking over to them. “Lighty! Nice to see you again! Have you hit any accomplishments lately?” You smile hopefully at him.
“Well.. The only thing I hit was my head…” You winced. Okay. maybe you were worse at making conversation than you thought. You cough and awkwardly speak up. “That looks bad.. Is it healing nicely?” You question.
He responds how it's healing slowly, and how it's been bothering him. Facty rambled about some facts they learned on how to stop the pain. You couldn't help but admire them from the counter, they're such a good friend and care so much about the people around them. You couldn't help but be slightly envious of their skills.
After a few more minutes of Facty’s helpful babbling, you cut in at an appropriate time. You clear your throat. “I hate to interrupt this, but I'm a bit hungry. Do you guys have cereal?”
Facty perks up at your voice, turning their head to you. “Do we? Of course we do! It should be in our pantry.” You stand there awkwardly for a moment, looking around. “Which is where?..” you fiddle with your fingers, your eyes meeting their brown ones.
“You don't remember where it is? Jeez, it really has been a while, hasn't it?” They spoke, voice airy with slight disbelief while their face held a slight shock as this helped them realize just how long it's truly been.
“I.. guess it has been a good while.” You huff out, snickering to yourself as you register it as well. “Well, you have any plans on leading me?” You lightly tease, grinning at them. “W–Yeah! Follow me.” They chirp out, leading you to the pantry.
After the walk, you reach for the first cereal you see. You walk over to the kitchen, reaching for a bowl and shaking the box’s contents into the dish and grabbing a spoon along with the milk. You sit on the comfortable chair and happily eat.
“Gosh, it's been a while since I've had cereal, too.” You chuckle, bringing a spoonful into your mouth. Facty tilts their head, curious on how long it's been since you've had cereal. “Well, how long has it been? Did you not have an opportunity to buy any?”
You choke out a giggle, coughing on the cereal as you swallow the lump.
“No! That's surprisingly not the case at all. It’s just Nora didn't really like me eating cereal ‘because it cost too much for me to be eating’ according to her.” You scoff, your face scrunching up in distaste as you pinch the bridge of your nose.
Facty was taken aback. They immediately got this sour look on their face as they looked at you. “So, let me get this clear… You weren’t allowed to eat cereal because it cost too much for you to eat?” They questioned, their fists clenching.
You groan around the spoon, gulping down the bit you ate. “I know, right! It was such a ridiculous rule too because I was the one who bought the cereal!” your legs swing back and forth as you scoot over slightly to get more comfortable in the chair.
Facty stared for a moment. “That’s not very friend-like of her. What a.. What a moron she is, thinking that she could just– just control you like that!” They snap, making your playful mood dissipate into confusion at the lashout.
“Facty, theres no need to get upset anymore. I’m here with you now, aren't I?" You reason with them, rubbing their hand in a friendly manner. They turn to the side, cheeks dusting pinker than they normally would look.
To you, that's what made it clear you were flustering them and, well, making them feel funny. Your eyes widen but you mask it before they can find out you know too.
Unless…
Even Facty themself doesn't even know about their own feelings!
That would make sense why they’ve been acting a bit weirder than usual lately. They don't know, they're confused on why they feel like this and don't wanna bring it up so they just try to ignore it! That all makes perfect sense to you.
If you’re gonna be honest, if this is all that you think it is, you’ve always held a special place for them in your heart.
Facty stands awkwardly as you space out while staring at them, your face twitching into different expressions like you're overthinking about something. They get nervous from you staring at them for so long, so they gently shake your shoulder.
“You zoned out for a minute. Hah–.. Scared me there!”
You had an idea. You were gonna try to get them to realize their feelings! Well, you cringed internally as you realized how weird that sounded. Well, what if they did have feelings for you and they DID know but were just nervous?
You didn't know what to do. How could you do this alone?
Oh wait. You don't have to!
Later that night, you waited for facty to fall asleep. You stared at them for a while, poking them two or three times to see if they would wake. The cost was clear. You snuck out of their room and tried to avoid making much noise.
If there was anybody who knew facty better than you, it would be the people living with them for the past three ish years. You tried to reason with yourself who may be better to talk to.
Martian is a little bit too excitable about things, he's sweet but not the kind of person you could see yourself telling.
What about lightbulb?
Lightbulb is responsible and the one you would choose personally. You don't really have a choice but you trust him.
You tiptoe down the hallway to the lightbulbs room. You stop in front of the door, looking both ways for witnesses before knocking softly. Just in case they needed to know who it was you gently replied with, “It’s ___..” He opened the door for you, confused on why you were at his door at such an hour.
“___? What’re you doing here?” his voice exited in confusion, his eyes narrowing at your frame. You nervously inhaled before blurting out everything.
“I have feelings for facty and I wanted to know if they said anything about having feelings possibly for someone to you?” your face flushed as your body shook. You were so embarrassed but this had to be done just to see!
Lighty’s lightbulb flickered multiple times as his back straightened. “Well.. They didn’t say exactly who but about a day ago they mentioned accidentally during a ramble how their heart beats fast around someone before cutting themself off. I’m not sure, but I'd say take your chance. I’ll be rooting for you.”
You thanked him before speed walking back to Facty’s room. “Facty!” You shook them awake as you came up with an excuse to have woken them up.
“___! Is something wrong!?” they asked urgently, feeling around for their glasses. You reached for their glasses and placed them on their face, fixing their hair too. “Well, no, but something's right! A new movie came out and i really really wanna watch it! I won't bother you for the rest of the night.” you put on your most believable pleading face and it very surprisingly works.
Facty was dumbfounded at the way you put on their glasses for them. It felt so nice. Their brain didn’t register what fell out of their mouth. “Of course I would, ____.” their voice was so gentle and their eyes held a gaze you never noticed from them before. It was most definitely a crush.
You two were seated on the couch, the movie playing. It was some niche looking romance movie that you picked just because it was new to keep your lie going.
Halfway through, the main characters started one of their kissing scenes and the tension and awkward silence in the air was suddenly obvious to both of you.
You turned to them, gripping their hands suddenly. You tried to muster all your courage to finally confess. You didn't do this for nothing. You choked on air and stumbled over your words as your face flushed in the same shade of pink their cheeks wore constantly.
You opened your mouth like a fish out of water before finally spitting it out.
“Facty, I know this is probably gonna sound so corny when I look back at it, but right now, it feels genuine and it always will feel genuine. I can’t stand you. Well–.. I can't stand how you make me feel. Whenever we hang out everything feels like it's gonna be okay and I can't help but want to feel like that by being with you forever. When you look at me, you're the first one to show interest in what I'm talking about, or even just interest in me. You make my heart feel so full even in the lowest moments of my life and I don't wanna hide it anymore. When you talk about facts it makes me fall even deeper in love because of your dedication and the joy on your face. I was wondering.. If you want to be my partner?...”
Your eyes water in hope, rubbing their hands in yours as you wait for their response. You hoped to every star in the galaxy that you didn't just ruin everything.
The dork grinned as a glimmer spawned in their brown eyes you found so pretty. “Oh boy, would I? I-I’d love that!” their grin turned genuine as they realized it was official. You couldn't help yourself when they kept staring at you like that. You scoot closer and wrap your arms around their neck.
“Is this okay?..” You murmur. They're frozen solid before nodding and grabbing your waist to steady you. You lean in and kiss them. It was short but sweet, and you leaned your forehead against theirs. You two stared into each other's eyes for a moment before you pepper their face with kisses.
You two shut off the tv and snuck back into their room, where you spooned them like a stuffed animal. You muttered something into their neck before placing a soft kiss there too. They didn't quite understand because they were already dozing off alongside you.