`☔. rain boots ) ( feel free to post c:

[type.]

cas ohhh my goodness thank you so much
they're really that clear???
i always try really hard to make my characters visible so ahhh ohmygod thank you!
that really means a lot to me. <3333
bliss ahhh
ahhhhhahhhah
i'm so glad you like it
my god it's not even a story yet but thank you!!!
wowwww
what no why

[type.]

ＭＡＲＹ

The kind brunette boy who let her in had left a t-shirt and hoodie of his for her folded on her (temporary) bed. Thank you. She thought as she was putting on dry clothes. Now feeling fresh and clean from her shower, she could feel warm and comfortable in clothes that weren't soaking wet (well, besides her pants, but that was okay) as well. Thank you.


-*-
ＡＲＴＨＵＲ

While he waited for her to finish showering, he made two hot chocolates. And started another batch of scrambled eggs. As he scooped them onto another plate with half of his raspberry-jam toast, he wondered what could possibly bring her to a stranger's doorstep in the pouring rain, and how someone could possibly bring her in.


-*-
ＭＡＲＹ

Mary peeked into his living room, gripping the kitchen's door frame tightly. She'd sneaked into here from her bedroom, unsure of how to approach him. This stranger. She didn't even know his name yet (then again, he didn't know hers). This strange guy who'd let in a strange girl. That was unexpected.

Actually, that's a lie; she'd known the person at this house would let her in. She had walked past several houses, deciding not to knock on every door (most people were creeps) and only on ones that looked friendly. His had looked literally welcoming, like it wanted her to ring the doorbell. It was a pretty shade of green, faint and light but still there. The roof was a calm pale brown, the door was a shiny off-white and the light-brown welcome mat had waved at her from the street. The small garden in front of the window that showed off the living area was dead, but she could tell soon it would be in full-bloom with flowers of many colors. The living room had looked kind, blurred by a window streaked with raindrops dripping onto a windowsill but the comforting browns, grays, greens and blues had looking oh-so inviting and she decided she may as well try.

Thank God he'd let her in; she was about to give up by then. She'd been outside for two hours, hiding from her father (who was certainly on a rampage by now) and knocking on doors. If he hadn't let her in, she'd have given up and retreated home and pretty much accepted the death of some sort that was to come. Who knew what he'd do to her if he got angry enough?

His back faced her. He sat on the couch, staring at a coffee table and a television that wasn't on. She could hear him tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and felt a twitch of guilt when she realized he was waiting for her. Tiptoeing past the door frame, she stepped carefully on the smooth hardwood flooring in her drying socks, eventually making it to his couch. It was light brown and soft with a small dark stain in a corner. He didn't even notice her until she sat down; too involved in his thoughts, she guessed, looking at his face. It was a face she recognized in herself.

He brightened when he looked up and saw her. He smiled hesitantly, and then let out a laugh. It was loud and short and full, a sound not watered down by anything. She blinked, wondering what he was laughing at. Then she realized he'd looked at her new outfit; she was wearing a white shirt (the one he'd given her, not visible right now) and a navy blue hoodie (also given by him, entirely visible) over it. It was giant on her, devouring her small frame and spitting out her legs. It was warm. His house was warm. She was warm now, too, after washing and drying and making sure her hair wasn't wet or cold.

And he'd made her hot chocolate, a plate of scrambled eggs and half a piece of toast. It was all warm. She smiled.


-*-
ＡＲＴＨＵＲ

She was dwarfed by his deep blue sweater, and Arthur mentally thanked himself for the choice. And she'd smiled with him, revealing nice whiteish teeth with a slight overbite, like she'd had the option to get braces when she was younger and chosen not to. Her oddly hazel eyes (how was that even possible?) became brighter and shone when she grinned. She laughed a little bit, a delicate, pure sound, like a painting at a museum that you'd admire but not touch in fear of messing it up.

"It's so odd," She said, mid-giggle. "We're laughing and eating like friends but we don't even know each others names." She shook her head, catching her breath and taking the mug hot chocolate for a sip. "I'm Mary." The girl who now had a name said, setting the mug back down. Mary. She had a nice name. It fit her appearance snugly. Mary. "Arthur," He said, putting out a hand for her to shake. She slid her hand out of the dark sleeve and took it. "Okay," She breathed, looking up at him. "I believe I promised you a story."


-*-
ＭＡＲＹ

Arthur's bright green eyes twinkled when she'd reminded him of the story she had to tell. Arthur. Now they were on a first-name basis. That was good. She took a breath, a flicker of anxiety forming in her gut as she had to tell her experience. No one knew the whole thing, not even her friends; she didn't tell them all of it. She exhaled, preparing for words to flow like a tap from her lips. She was ready.

"I'd dropped a cup while washing it by hand and my parents just started yelling at me. They've been doing this for a while, yelling for no reason, getting angry at me for nothing. I'd had enough of their screaming. I've been hearing it for months. Usually it's my dad, but sometimes my mom pops in. Both of them had yelled at me. I got away from them somehow into my room, put on my boots and just left out the window. I didn't take anything with me. All I could think of was 'away. now.' so that's what I did. I ran away. I didn't get a jacket, of course, idiot me." She rambled, letting out a short bark of bitter laughter, unlike her happy giggles from before. She wanted to stop there and go back to being happy again, but she needed to get it off her chest.

Swallowing, Mary continued. "I would've stayed with one of my friends, but my father's a madman with stuff like this and I knew he'd go to every single friend of mine's house and make sure I wasn't there. He'd find me, and I didn't know what he'd do to me. I think he yells at me because he's stressed out all the time from work and takes it out on me. I don't know. My plan was to hide from my dad and stay in a house for a night before getting to one of my friend's houses tomorrow. I hope he'll have cooled down by then. Afterwards, I'll save up some money for a plane ticket to England; there's a nice art school there that I've been looking into but my parent's won't let me go there. They definitely have the money for it, but they don't want me to leave them I suppose. I searched for two hours, finding only empty homes and creepy people, and.. then I found you." She concluded quietly, glancing downwards at her lap. The heavy weight that had rested on her chest and shoulders lifted, something tugging her down that she hadn't even noticed. It was gone now.

A semi-awkward silence blanketed the room as he processed her babbling. After a while, he nodded. "Okay." said Arthur in a clear voice, taking a bite of his eggs. "But how are you going to get enough money for a plane ticket? And don't you have to pay for the art school? You should go back to your house and get some stuff, pack, and make sure you're ready to go when you can. You only have a half-finished plan." He critiqued her, gaze cloudy with thought. He tapped his chin with a finger, grinning slightly. "Care to finish it?"


← →

[arabella !!]

urggg

what. it ended already

will we ever know if she finishes?!

ahhh this is perfect. so dreamy and your writing is soo soft and delicate, fits in greatly with the characters.

i bet that hoodie is snug hh

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smofir <3333
thank you
finish what?
food or story or?
that is pretty much her story
(summarized of course)
and she ate his food. lol.
(it's so comfy c:)

[arabella !!]

wow. mhmmm i wouldn't mind some arthur eggs lol

[type.]

same
they're probably really good
...
crap now i'm hungry

[arabella !!]

his house looks quite nice too

[type.]

ＭＡＲＹ

They talked and talked and talked again that afternoon, arguing, agreeing and all of the above. He helped her form a thorough and descriptive plan, writing it down on a page of a notebook step-by-step, messy with different writing styles. She decided it would be good for reference, just in case she didn't know what she was doing or when to do it. Eraser bits and two pencils varying in length lay casually on the paper as did they on the couch, still speaking about a topic they somehow got to through several hours of conversation. This was nice. She wasn't used to good conversation, especially not such long strings of it with practically a stranger.

Clear, cold rain still slipped down the window fogged up by condensation. She sat near it and decided to draw a small smiley face with her finger, encircling it loosely and smiling a little bit. "Should we go over the plan again?" He asked her, hair falling into his face as he looked down at the paper dark with words. "We must have gone over it thrice already but, sure. Recite it to me. As a summary, if you will." She replied quietly, glancing at him before beginning to doodle random creatures and expressions.

"Alright, you're staying over tonight and at seven we're sneaking over and into your house. We steal a suitcase and a bunch of your stuff and hope your parents aren't home because it'll be way harder if they're there. Plus, you want to take the credit or bank card or whatever from your mom so you can take some money out of that college bank account. Let's hope we can do that. Then we come back, sleep, and you leave in the morning to go to your friend Miko's house for a while. You gotta call her before you go though, alright? Make sure your dad isn't coming again and you can stay over. You get a job at the bookstore or cafe or whatever you get into, save up, and head to England when you get enough money. All of this is best-case scenario, though." He explained for the fourth time, thankfully summarized this time. She looked back at him, hand dropping into her lap. "I suppose we should hope for the best." She said. They shared a smile.

Both of their gazes dropped, leaf-green and honey-brown to the ground and up again. Arthur glanced behind him at a clock reading 5:34 PM. Wow. She'd been here around four hours. It had been a nice four hours, some of the nicest she'd had in a while. "We do have backup plans though, just in case. Well, for most things, at least." She murmured absentmindedly, nodding in his direction. "What are we going to do now? We have an hour and a half until we leave." He shrugged, starting to get up. "Well, we should eat dinner and stuff. You okay with spaghetti?" He asked as she began to stand as well. She grinned at him. "Sure. I can make a killer caeser salad." He practically beamed, nearly shining with a happy light that made her insides feel like they were glowing. "Awesome."


-*-
ＡＲＴＨＵＲ

Together, they made a great dinner, better than one he could have achieved by himself. He made homemade spaghetti with meat sauce and a few meatballs he found in the freezer, and she made an amazing caesar salad with his ingredients, the best he'd ever eaten. Mary claimed his spaghetti was delicious, happily eating and chatting occasionally. They both downed a glass of 2% milk, and once they were finished he put on a jacket (still in his pajama bottoms; he didn't bother taking them off) and got his notebook and pen just in case. The pair silently put their shoes on at 6:52 PM. "You ready?" He asked, and she raised her shoulders. "May as well be, we wrote down a whole plan and I don't think we should throw it out now." She said in a forced nonchalant tone. He locked eyes with her and she relaxed, letting out a breath. He grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door.

She ran, so he ran, loud footsteps bouncing off the houses and empty street. Darkness was rolling in, blanketing the spring scene in shadows. He followed her obediently until they came to a sudden halt at a large cream house with a reddish brown roof. She took in a sharp breath and kept moving forward, walking as quietly as possible towards a window almost fully opened. Her parents haven't closed it? Arthur thought, a remark on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed it down. This was not the time.

"There are some lights on," He whispered instead, a gross feeling turning over his stomach. She glanced back at him with a nod, a blank expression on her face. He tried to grin reassuringly but it turned into more of a grimace. They continued and made it to where he guessed her room was. "Okay, come in, but I think my mother's home so you might have to operate Plan B." Mary said softly, pressing against the house and lifting her leg up and over the windowsill. She climbed in quickly, and he followed suit (in a much more awkward fashion). Bees began buzzing in his head as he was fully inside someplace he shouldn't be, both from nerves and excitement driving them out of the hive and out to collect pollen. His home was the hive, her belongings the pollen. Hopefully they wouldn't have to sting anyone.

He looked around carefully as they were both inside, silently checking over the room. It was cute, filled with soft blues, pinks and yellows that brightened the atmosphere and his uneasy mood. He smiled behind her back, the best thing you could do without someone knowing. "Yeah, she's here. You don't have to go yet, help me pack a little and once I start having to sneak around you can do it." She spoke softly, and he nodded. "Okay," She slowly opened her half-closed closet, revealing a banana-colored suitcase with little white sheep on it. "Take the ladybug from my bed and the pencil boxes from my desk." Mary whispered, and he did so while she crouched by her dresser, opening drawers and beginning to pick out clothes. The ladybug was a stuffy/pillow thing that was old and worn and fading. He reached to put it in the suitcase. "No, put the extra stuff in my backpack. It's on the door. Necessities will go in the suitcase." Arthur nodded again, plucking a pale blue backpack off of a hook on the door and placing it inside.

They continued like this for around fifteen minutes, him listening to her urgent directions and her giving them. She had four full pencil boxes which were hard to put away quietly, but they managed. It seemed her mother hadn't heard them because of a television displaying a bright cartoon from what he could tell. "Alright, we've done the easy stuff. I need toiletries, money and my flute now. I have a tote bag for that stuff. Initiate Plan B." She said, and he immediately leaped towards the window, clambering out as ninja-like as possible. (She plays flute too? Oh god.) He took out a tiny notepad from his jacket pocket and a black pen, checking over what he'd written in case he needed to do this. Okay, let's go. He thought to himself, making his way to the front of the house.

He felt his heart rate pick up as he approached the door. Social anxiety. He breathed, in and out, and pressed the doorbell. (Theirs was just as bad as his.) He heard the cartoon being paused and footsteps before a woman opened the door. She had thin, shoulder-length hair and bright hazel eyes, just like Mary. A simple green dress with short sleeves covered her small frame. Arthur forced a calm smile onto his face. "Hello, would you mind taking a five-minute survey?"


-*-
ＭＡＲＹ

As soon as the noise from the TV stopped, she bolted to the bathroom and piled her stuff into the tote bag. Tentatively, she flicked the light on. After a minute or so, everything was now in her possession, and she crept into the kitchen. Her mom's purse lay on the counter. She walked towards it. Stuck her hand in, fished around for a little, pulled out a wallet. Shame flushed her face as she took out the card and put it in her pocket. An idea struck in her head that made her feel conflicted, and she looked back and forth between the purse and the hallway for a few seconds. She didn't have much time. She went with the idea. Mary grabbed the sticky notes and a blue pen on the counter, scribbled down a note and stuck it on the smooth marble. As silent as possible, she ran through the hallway into their little music room and took her flute case and music. It got shoved into the bag as well. Finally, she got back to her room, grabbed all her stuff, and exited. She closed the window.


-*-
ＪＯＳＩＥ

Just like the nice boy had promised, the wildlife survey took only five minutes. She found it odd that he wore pajama pants, but who was she to ask? When she was done, he seemed anxious to leave, and thanked her before taking off. She smiled slightly, feeling a little bit better. He was polite, though shifty. She locked the door again and was about to fall back into their armchair before noticing something sticking up on the counter. She tiptoed over to it. It was a note. Josie caught her breath as she read it. I'm sorry, mom. Don't look for me. I'll come back one day. Tell dad to stop, and that I'm safe. I couldn't take it anymore. Goodbye, -Mary.


← →

[arabella !!]

-holds breath in throughout the whole chapter-

this was deep man

i really loved the bee reference you used!

i can't wait for arthur and mary's relationship to develop more. c:

[type.]

smofir thanks! <3
my god this took 2 months i am so sorry
yeah i'm excited to see where it goes too. c:
i'm not sure exactly what's going to happen yet.