milliways_bar | (no subject)

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"Just leave me alone, I'm not doing anything to you."
"You're in the way Sandy."
"Let's put him out of the way."

The door swings shut - a gym locker door today - with an eight-year-old Guppy with his coat and jumper hooked neatly onto the peg so that his legs dangle. He looks surprised to say the least that he's ended up back in the bar he was in the other day, but right now is more concerned about what his mum will say about the stretched jumper. He squirms, trying to lift himself up on the peg so that he can unhook himself.

And then sighs, because being stuck on the inside of a locker door is just plain embarrassing.

Little help over here?

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"No, of course not. Even my dad isn't that mean. He only does these things because he cares."

Molly shrugs and sips her milkshake.

"Our parents were gonna destroy the whole world, til we stopped 'em. For us. Just because they care doesn't make it right."

Guppy thinks about this.

"But you were in the world at the time."

"The monster-guys they worked for were gonna wipe everything out and make some sort of new, perfect world, or something. If our parents helped them. But they'd let us six kids live. Just... no-one else. It was a seriously sucky thing."

"You win. Your parents are worse than mine."

"Were. They died, a while back." She shrugs. "It's okay, though, 'cause I'm with my friends and we look after each other."

A small smile at him. "Sorta looks like you could do with someone to do that."

"I have Jake. When I dare wait, I can walk home with him. But his school finishes half an hour later and Daddy is cross if I'm late and he thinks Jake is a bad influence."

She nods, sips her milkshake consideringly.

"Bet you I could scare the other kids into leaving you alone for a bit, if you wanted. Dunno how long it'd last, but I've got a couple ideas."

She snags a french fry. "D'you want another?"

"I can't tell anyone. They'll set the dog on me again. And I don't want another operation on my finger."

"...They set a dog on you?"

Nobody picks on Molly's big brother. Even if he's currently her little brother.

"Gimme ten minutes with 'em. They won't do that again."

"I can't. You don't understand. They said they'd hurt Jake too."

"Not if they think I could come back any time," Molly says grimly. "That door could open anywhere," anywhen, "so I totally could, too. And they won't be able to hurt me."

She pulls at a few strands of her hair, twirling it around her fingers. "If you don't want me to, I won't. But I reckon I could scare 'em pretty good."

She's learnt a few things from Chase.

"They won't believe that you can come any time." he says, becoming increasingly upset.

He rubs his forehead. "Ow. Why does that keep happening?"

"Shush, okay, I won't if you don't want me to," she says more quietly, putting an arm around his small shoulders again.

"Why does what keep happening?"

"I get headaches sometimes when I'm worried or thinking of stressy things. Father says I'm faking it, but I'm not, and he won't believe me."

"Your dad doesn't sound very nice," Molly comments. "D'you want to try my milkshake? It's pretty good- and you can't get it anywhere but here."

He hesitates, then nods.

"Yes please."

She passes it over.

"Careful, it's pretty heavy."

He manages a sip before the heavy glass slips out of his little hands and smashes.

:( !

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" he says quickly, looking up at her to see if he's going to get punished.

"Oooops. It's okay, Fish, I know you didn't."

She didn't mean to call him Fish, it just sorta- slipped out.

"I should probably have held on to it too. Hang on, I'll get a waitrat."

She waves one down. "Sorry, we managed to spill my milkshake, can you get some cloths and stuff? And another milkshake, too, please."

Fish.

He stops and stares. How does she know the nickname?

His mind races, and he comes to the conclusion that either she knows his bullies or she knows his dad. Because Jake doesn't have any other friends either.

By the time she has finished talking to the waitrat, he has fled.

Molly turns around.

"...Fish? Gurpreet?"

Beat.

"...Awww, hell. What'd I say?"

When the waitrat returns, she's still bemused, but it's pretty clear that the younger kid has vanished. Downcast, she takes the cloths from the ratty, quietly helping it to clear up the mess.

"You know what? Cancel the second 'shake, please. I don't feel like it any more."

It's only once he's outside the door, having run past the boys who put him there, when he's being grabbed by the arm and forced into another locker, that he remembers. He told her earlier.

And as he sits alone, trapped in the dark and slowly banging on the door, calling for help that won't come for ages, what feels worst of all is that he didn't trust her.

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