“I mean he isn’t bothering me, but if you want to try and look for him go ahead.”
That definitely wasn't the reaction you were hoping for. It would be so easy for Chloe to just peel Andrew off her shoe, but even that was too much effort for her. At least she was holding out her palm to give you a lift down. Once you were on the floor, Chloe plopped down in her chair causing the ground to shake from her weight dropping. Carelessly, she stretched her legs. You yiped and dove to the side as her feet and bare legs went rushing by you like passing trains. Chloe didn't seem to realize she had nearly kicked you clear across the room as she clicked open some windows.
"Just so you know," she said in the same monotone voice as before, "I don't have anything against tinies, but I'm not in the habit of doing favors for them either. Since you're new here, this counts as your one freebie. Andrew already used his up on his first day. He was oggling Bonnie just outside the apartment complex and didn't even see me coming. I scraped him off on the front steps and told him the same thing I'm telling you now. It's a big world. You little guys need to watch out for us, not the other way around. I see him walking in the middle of the hall and I'm supposed to move? No way. You wanna hang? Great. Just don't get yourself in a situation you can't get yourself out of. And definitely don't throw me off when I'm gaming or embarrass me when I'm streaming. That'd make me... upset."
Her eyes flicked to you and you felt a chill. You nodded nervously.
"Good," Chloe said. "I'm gonna test these out before my stream tonight. If you're gonna save Andrew, you might want to hurry. I'm expecting takeout soon. Oh, and Anthony?"
"Yeah?" you asked, wincing.
"Thank you for coming over. For some reason tinies don't visit me often." With her monotone voice, you couldn't tell if she was being sincere or sarcastic. Either way, she put on her headset and turned back to the monitor as expressionless as if she'd already forgotten your existence.
You hesitated before making your move. What Chloe had said had confirmed your fears. She'd seen Andrew and had made the conscious decision to keep walking, even if he'd be stepped on. Part of you wanted to bail right now, but you'd been in Andrew's place more times than you'd like to remember, and if Chloe wasn't going to save him, who knows how long he'd be stuck there. Days? Weeks? It had happened to you before.
Reluctantly you ran over to the soles of Chloe's feet, on the lookout in case any rat or cockroach came running out of the empty snack food containers. As you reached them, the smell grew worse and worse. It wasn't nearly as bad as the empty shoe from before, but you suspected that was only because you were on the outside of these two. Even so, it added extra incentive to get Andrew out quick. Once you reached the soles, you found a fleshy smear imbedded in the treads of one trying to pull himself free. You were surprised. Andrew seemed to have a very quick reform time. It would've taken you five minutes to have an arm inflated.
"Andrew," you said, "don't worry, I'm here to help."
"Thhnkk Antnny," he said, his words slurred as his face was only partly reformed.
You grabbed his arm, propped the sole of your left foot against Chloe's massive one and began to pull. It wasn't as easy as you'd hoped. Andrew was stuck tight.
"Just had--hruh--to stare--hrghh--at Violet--hhhruuuuggghhh--didn't you?" You asked between tugs.
"Srry... shhhee jsst sso bbbeutful."
"Just remember this the next time I'm stuck and need your help."
"I wwwill."
After two minutes of prying him free, both of Andrew's arms, one of his legs, and most of his torso had reformed. With the two of you working together he was practically free already. With one final effort Andrew popped free, one leg only half-inflated but otherwise fine.
"Thank you, Anthony!" Andrew said, leaning on you for support. "I owe you, big time! Come on, let's get out of here!"
You were just about to agree when you heard a soft curse. You looked at Chloe, still immersed in her game with a frustrated look on her face. It looked like her character was near death at the hands of a boss. She seemed completely unaware of the two little men at her feet. With Andrew saved, you wondered if you should still just run out on her. You'd already asked Chloe if she wanted to hang out and she seemed to be looking forward to it. Unless she was being sarcastic which was impossible to tell with her. Maybe you should give her the benefit of the doubt. Just because she acted frosty and uncaring didn't mean she didn't have feelings. Maybe if you got to know her you could make her think differently about tinies... Ok, no, that was very unlikely. But if she was sincere about wanting to hang out and you bailed, that might cause her attitude towards you to change from "dismissive" to "disliked." And if she would casually squash a tiny out of indifference, who knows what she'd do to one if she flat-out didn't like him.
As you pondered this...
1) The boss in Chloe's game kills her character and she stomps her foot in frustration, flattening you!
2) Andrew starts limping towards the door and you follow him still thinking.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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