Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Their eyes flashed open, or tried to, flicking back and forth looking for threats. They quickly realize they are staring at the ceiling panels of a room with dim red lighting, the cold tile floor feels nice against their bruised body. Slowly and painfully they sat up, groaning at the awful stabbing in their neck, and pounding in their head. Suddenly they realize how much pain they are in, their eyes hurt to move, their hands are stinging, their legs aching, they can barely think.

Then they remember, screaming, begging to die, they didn’t care about their fear of death anymore, it didn’t matter, anything was better than living as a murderer. He killed his friends the people he loved, how could he do such a thing? Blood dripping onto their hand brought them back to reality, his nose was bleeding heavily, but he didn’t really care at this point, they deserved to suffer. He looked around, Showfall employees lay scattered around to room, many of them with blood pooling around them, and various gashes running along their bodies. Ranboo froze. The puzzle prices were starting to click together. Did the employees bring him down from where he was killed? But they weren’t killed, right? That wouldn’t make sense, people don’t just come back to life after a horrific death like that, right? They shouldn’t linger on this for too long, they’ll discuss it with Charlie and Sneeg when they get back.

Wait. Where are Charlie and Sneeg? Sneeg said he would be back and Charlie… oh. Charlie’s dead. He was killed in front of their own eyes by that wire monster. But if Ranboo is alive… could Charlie have lived too? What if Hetch had gotten to him? No, no Ranboo can’t let that happen, Charlie doesn’t need to suffer like this too. Oh, Hetch, that stupid fucker, how could he betray Ranboo like this, they trusted him! Well trust doesn’t mean much in this world anymore, but Hetch was supposed to be their savior, their key to freedom! He was their newfound friend who was guiding them through their new reality, but no, Hetch was just helping Ranboo follow his script.

Ranboo remembered that they were still sat on the floor with a bloody nose and a bunch of Showfall employees surrounding him. A burst of determination hit them, I am going to leave this fucking place whether they like it or not. He quickly tries to scramble to his feet, a great effort honestly, but it was no use, he fell, slipping on his own blood and hit his head on the cold tile floor. A wave of sweet darkness started to over take his vision and the pain started to fade away, Ranboo succumbed.

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Ranboo slowly wakes up, unsure of how long he had been out, they look around, but everything looks to be the same. Their mind is foggy as they desperately try to remember what they need to do. Tears start to stream down their cheeks, stinging the gashes along their face and their mangled mask. I just want to go home, why can’t I be free? Ranboo doesn’t remember where home is exactly but just wants some sort of safety in their life. Ranboo sniffs and slowly sits up and starts to stand, very carefully this time. Their legs sore, they slowly trudge over to the closed gate at the front of the room. Hooking their fingers through the gate they look up and down the hall. Various stores line the halls, all having some sort of wires streaming out of their entrances and will Showfall logos hastily spray-painted on. Ranboo’s heart is pounding out of his chest and he feels sick, starting to hyperventilate, they fear the wire monster will come to get them once they open the gate. Ranboo tries to take a couple of deep breaths before crouching down to slowly lift the gate.

They cautiously walk out of the room and look around, trying to find the source of the scream. He heard it again and sprinted as fast as he could, up the motionless escalator and through a cracked open sliding door. In front of them was a set, a set of a sitcom-like house. In front of the house was someone lying in a green shirt with a bulletproof vest, and a bloody shoulder. “CHARLIE!” They run over and crouch down next to the body. Charlie’s eyes widen when he sees Ranboo, “you didn’t escape, did you? What did they do- to your… face?” Tears are running down Ranboo’s face, “it doesn’t matter right now, we just need to go- to leave,” they grab one of Charlie’s arms, the uninjured one, and helps him to his feet. “Okay, so what’s your plan then?” Ranboo stops, they haven’t thought about that part yet, “uh… find an exit?” Charlie smirks, “That’s what I thought, you never think things through fully, do you? That’s okay, we’ll kick all their asses and run out before any of those employees can get us!” Ranboo rolls his eyes “Sounds like a great plan,” they say sarcastically. 

Ranboo leads Charlie out of the room, through the door he came in through, “Okay, so where should we start?” Charlie looks around the massive mall, “Maybe we can try to find some weapons to fight off any employees?” Ranboo nods and continues to look around, his eyes catch a black and red shrine and he starts to walk over. The shrine has a black and red spiral in the back and numerous notes addressed to “The Puzzler.” Ranboo stops. “Wait… wait no… he- he was trying to help me- to show me the truth- but Hetch… Hetch interrupted him, showed me what he wanted me to do…” Charlie reaches down and grabs a wooden cane, with a red gem on top, “Do you think I could take out some employees with this?” He swings it around, mocking a fight with numerous enemies, Ranboo breaks away from his sorrow and gives a slight smile,” I’m sure you could Charlie.” 

Moving away from the shrine, Ranboo searches for an exit that isn’t chained or boarded up, “Where are all the employees? Before, this place was practically infested with them.” Charlie shrugs, “ Would you rather be running for your life right now?” Ranboo is quick to shake his head, “No- but I was just wondering if something took them out for us- when- when I woke up there were like ten of them around me- dead.” Charlie stopped, “do you think that happened to all of them, they just- died?” Ranboo shook their head, “No, Charlie, you don't understand, they didn’t just die, they- they had these gashes along their bodies, mangled limbs, pools of blood- something killed them.” Charlie shuddered, “ok then- what do you think killed them?” Ranboo felt a burst of anger, “CHARLIE- I don’t know the answer to everything! I know I’m supposed to be ‘The Hero’ or whatever- but that doesn’t mean anything anymore- I'm just the same as you- just as clueless as you- I DON'T KNOW!” Ranboo stops, in shock that he just yelled at Charlie, he starts to walk away, fighting tears, “Charlie- I’m sorry- I just want to get out of here, I want to- I want both of us to be safe, and as soon as we leave, we can figure everything out.” Charlie doesn’t respond.

In the distance, Ranboo sees the prop room, praying there are still some weapons left, he runs over to it, and Charlie is quick behind him. “Charlie- help me open this door,” They both push against the wavy door and hear a snap, the door burst open and they fall inside. The lock they used to keep it shut is lying on the floor, broken. Ranboo sighs in relief, “Everything is still here,” they walk to the glass display, where various knives are messily laid out. The small sliding door to the display is open and Ranboo reaches in, grabbing a small knife with a silver and black handle, as well as a black sheath over the blade. They put the knife in their pocket. Charlie is using his good arm to move things around and look behind objects to find a real weapon he can use with one arm. “I think I might have to stick to using the cane, it might be the only thing light enough for me to fight with.” Ranboo shrugs, “You could take a knife if you want,” Charlie walks over to look at the array of knives through the display, “I’ll take that one-” he points to a knife with a black handle and a grey sheath. Ranboo takes it out and hands it to Charlie, “Here you go, that’ll be $100!” Charlie smiles, “Oh please! Could you spare a sale on a poor guy trying to survive?” Ranboo shrugs, “Guess you’re going to have to pay me back later!” He smiles as Charlie shoves the knife into his pocket, “Yeah, ok, buddy.”

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Ranboo smiles as he watches Charlie laugh and walk away to explore other parts of the room. They watch as Charlie looks under every little prop laid messily on the floor and against the walls, searching for anything that could be useful to them. 

They suddenly remember the injuries they had been blatantly ignoring. Ranboo reaches up to their face and feels their torn-up mask, dried blood lining the edges of it. Ranboo tries to feel with their fingers to search for the source of bleeding, but can’t seem to find it. He starts to search more frantically, knowing that bleeding from his head and face is probably really dangerous and should be treated quickly. They still can’t find a wound on their head or face, only divots and scar tissue where he assumed the spikes had hit their head. The injuries that had ultimately killed them, were healed somehow, Ranboo looked down at their hands, large wounds in the middle of their palms were still raw, but healing. They had only recently died, yesterday, maybe? How could their injuries already be healing? They almost miss the sweet darkness of death, rather than the stress of hiding from a massive corporation trying to capture them. 

A loud crash brought Ranboo back to the present, Charlie had accidentally knocked over a fold-out chair, “sorry!” Charlie quickly said and smiled at Ranboo, “Hey are you good?” Charlie recognized the stressed look on Ranboo’s face. 

“I was just thinking… about how neither of us has really had any problems with our injuries yet like you should have a huge gash on your shoulder, but you are mostly fine, you aren't bleeding out or anything,” Ranboo pauses to look at Charlie’s reaction, he seems to be thinking, “...and I am supposed to have a mangled face and be a bloody mess, but I’m not, I have scars where there should be massive gashes in the side of my head- Charlie we should be dead- but we are here.”

Charlie looks into Ranboo’s eyes as they are desperately blinking away tears, “Ran, don’t say that, we aren’t meant to be dead, we have a bigger purpose in life than just that. We can’t just give into what Showfall wants us to think, we are meant to be here, to help each other, to escape, and to live our lives.” Charlie has tears running down his face as he smiles at Ranboo, “We are going to be okay, alright?” Ranboo slowly nods, Charlie grabs Ranboo’s wrist, careful not to touch any of the healing cuts on their hand, and leads them to a large cardboard box. 

Ranboo looks into the box and sees that it is filled with light green shirts, identical to the one Charlie is wearing, neatly folded inside. “What are these?” Rambo asks, confused as to why Charlie is showing him a bunch of identical shirts, Charlie grabs a shirt out of the box, “Well I was thinking we could cut up some of these to use as bandages until we can get some real medical supplies. Also, we can bring some extra so we can have clean shirts instead of staying in these nasty clothes when we get out” He smiles, “I don’t think any stores will let us in with bloody clothes, they might think we killed someone!” Ranboo shudders at the thought of being accused of murder, knowing that it could be somewhat true.

“Alright, let's start cutting a couple of shirts into strips,” Charlie hands Ranboo a shirt, Ranboo pulls out their knife and starts to cut it, facing the blade away from themself and Charlie. Charlie watches Ranboo’s technique and starts to do the same, they form a pile of fabric scraps between themselves. 

Ranboo finishes up the shirt they were working on, it is now a pile of scraps, “So, have you found a backpack or something that we could use to carry our stuff? I don’t suppose you just expect to carry all this by hand,” Ranboo sees Charlie’s familiar smile as he is still working on his shirt, “Yeah I already thought about this part, surprisingly! There is a black backpack over there,” He points to the back corner of the room, near the display case. 

Ranboo gets up and walks to retrieve the backpack, they sit back down near Charlie and find a good-sized pocket they could use to keep the fabric in. “How many shirts do you think we should take?” Ranboo asks, Charlie moves over to look into the box, “Um… maybe ten? We could probably also find some new clothes later on, but these will have to work for now.” Ranboo nods and takes a neatly folded pile of shirts and places them flat in the laptop pocket. 

Ranboo grabs the backpack and starts to search the room for some other essentials they might need, praying that there will be bottled water somewhere. In the very back of the room they find a small box of granola bars, who knows how old they are, but they will work. They neatly place the box in the main pocket of the backpack. 

They continue to search, overturning thrown-around props, eventually looking under a large white sheet, “Yes!” Ranboo exclaims as he picks up a mostly empty water bottle case, with about four bottles left in it. Charlie perks up, “You found water! Don’t drink it now, we need to save it for when we get out, who knows how far away we are from an actual city.” Ranboo nods, still smiling, and lines the bottles at the bottom of the bag. 

“Alright, do you think we are ready to go?” Charlie asks as he stands up from his place on the floor. “Yeah, I think we found everything that we can use for now,” he bends down to pick up the cane Charlie had been carrying around, they put it the the side pocket of the backpack. “Alright then, let's go.” Ranboo cautiously opens the big black door at the front of the room, looking back and forth for any employees that may be lurking around. 

Ranboo looks back for Charlie, who is grabbing an axe from the wall, he notices Ranboo watching, “Maybe we will be able to use this to break through the boards on those exit doors if we can’t find an open door.” Ranboo nods and takes another look outside before committing fully and opening the door wide enough for both of them to walk through. 

Walking down the halls, both Ranboo and Charlie are quickly glancing around, making sure no employees sneak up on them, as well as searching for a possible exit. Walking past an array of abandoned, empty stores, Ranboo sports a red glowing sign over the doorway of a small hallway in the distance, “Charlie look,” Ranboo points to the hallway, “Do you think we can get out through there?” Charlie looks at the glowing sign, “Well we should at least try, right?” 

They make their way over to the hallway, careful to not make any noise. Ranboo looks at the door at the end of the hallway, it has five planks of wood nailed to the doorframe. “Charlie it looks like it's your move,” Ranboo smiles as Charlie holds up his axe, “Just be careful not to make too much noise.” Charlie shrugs, “I’ll just have to be quick enough, once we’re out it won’t matter anymore.” Charlie raises his axe and strikes down on the first plank, hitting it a few more times before it falls to the floor. Ranboo has their back turned, facing the entrance of the hallway, looking for threats. Charlie continues the process of striking down the planks, one by one they fall to the floor, and Ranboo flinches at each one. 

“Alright, Ranboo, are you ready?” Charlie looks at Ranboo with a glow in his eyes, “We are going to be free,” He smiles as Ranboo goes to the door and grabs the handle. Ranboo breathes in deeply and opens the door, there is a forest that spans about 500 feet before reaching a two-lane road. Ranboo looks on in awe of the beautiful vegetation and the trees filtering sunlight through. 

“Come on, let's go!” Charlie smiles and grabs Ranboo’s wrist, leading them to the edge of the road and crossing to the other side. Ranboo finally starts to feel some of the dread lift off of their chest, they finally feel a bit of happiness, and they feel free. 

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Ranboo follows Charlie as they walk along the empty two-lane road, they stay about thirty feet away from it just to be safe. By now, they are probably a few miles away from the abandoned mall and so far, they haven’t seen a single sign of human civilization. 

Ranboo sighs, “How long do you think until we find some sort of town?” Charlie shrugs, “Can’t be too long now, we’ve been walking for a while and we should find an intersection to change paths soon.” 

Ranboo’s legs are begging to rest, they feel like collapsing to the ground and curling up into a ball for a nice nap, but Charlie insists on walking for as long as possible to be safe from Showfall. Ranboo is reminded of the mask they are wearing, could it possibly be a tracking device?

Ranboo decides to break the silence, “Charlie,” they take a deep breath, “Do you think my mask is a threat to us? Like, could it be tracking us?” Charlie stops walking, “Shit- I didn’t really think about that- we probably need to get that off of you soon, huh?” Ranboo nods, “I was planning on waiting until we could get a first aid kit somewhere- but we may be putting ourselves in danger if we wait that long.”

Ranboo shudders, “What are we going to do? I don’t know how we could get this off safely,” they are gesturing to their mask. Charlie puts his hand on top of his pocket, “I could try and cut the wires, and hope that the power source isn’t active.” Ranboo’s eyes widen, “I mean… we might have to.” Ranboo sighs, “Let's just wait until we find a place to settle down and then go from there.” 

A small grey SUV rushes along the road, and Ranboo ducks down, as they watch it pass by, Charlie brightens up, “Hey! We might be getting closer to civilization!” Ranboo looks over to Charlie, in admiration of how he is so positive when they are, quite literally, fighting for their lives. 

As they are walking Ranboo notices litter caught in bushes near the road and blowing in the wind, a light blue disposable mask blows toward them. They quickly reach down to catch it, “Hey, maybe I could use this for when we go somewhere, to cover all of this,” They gesture to their scared face, along with what used to be a pristine metal mask. Charlie smiles and nods, “Yeah, and maybe they won’t call the cops on us!”

Ranboo stares off at the endless trees and bushes in front of them as they walk, their feet dragging. Charlie is still somehow fine, head up and eyes forward as he walks confidently, acting like he knows where they are going. Ranboo stops, “Charlie can we please rest for a minute?” Charlie turns to look at Ranboo, they look exhausted, “Sure, we can sit over there,” Charlie points to a large tree with a lot of shade. 

They get settled and Ranboo opens the backpack, bringing out the granola bars and water. They hand one of each to Charlie, “I didn’t know you got food,” Charlie says, gratefully grabbing the water and bar. “Well I didn’t want to use them up all at once, so I didn’t tell you right away.” 

They finish their food and get up, continuing their seemingly endless journey to safety. 

Ranboo watches the bright sun settle down into the earth, along with the bright colors in the sky, it has been a few hours since they have last stopped, and they are trying to stop themselves from chugging their water.  Charlie points, “Look!” Ranboo lifts their head and smiles, in the distance is a little town, probably about half a mile away. Ranboo feels a burst of energy to keep them going and continues to follow Charlie, studying the town. 

As they follow the road, Ranboo remembers that they are both wearing bloody clothes, “Do you think we should change our shirts before we go in?” Charlie looks down at his shirt, “Yeah, probably for the best, maybe we can find a laundromat to wash these while we are there.” Ranboo opens the black backpack and reaches into the laptop pocket for the shirts, he throws one to Charlie and grabs one for himself. 

Now with clean, matching shirts, they continue into the town. The buildings are all made up of brick, a few old painted-on advertisements adorning the walls. It is now dark outside and Ranboo is drawn to the bright neon sign outside of a diner. “Do you think we could wash up in there?” Charlie looks at the door as they are approaching the building, “I’m not sure, do you think they’ll let us if we don’t even buy anything?” Ranboo shrugs, “We should at least try,” they reach into their pocket and take out the disposable mask, putting it over their face, covering most of the scars and the metal sticking out. 

A bright red and blue ‘OPEN’ sign is shining through one of the front windows, Charlie sighs and opens the door, Ranboo following quickly behind him. The diner is brightly lit, with a checkered floor and red accents. The smell of food spreads through the air, reminding Ranboo of how incredibly hungry they are. A few people are seated, most of whom are invested in a conversation. No one seems to notice Ranboo and Charlie walking in, though, Ranboo spots a few people in the kitchen quickly cooking food. 

Ranboo spots a bathroom in the back corner of the building, Charlie gives them a gentle push, quietly saying, “You go first, I’ll stay here and pretend to look at the menu.” Charlie takes a seat in a booth.

Ranboo quickly walks to the restroom and locks the door behind them. To the left is a small sink, with a soap dispenser and paper towels. Ranboo turns the knob for hot water and waits a minute for the water to warm up. 

Once the water is warm enough, they wash their hands, wincing at the stinging of the soap on their wounds. They grab a paper towel and wet it, after putting soap on it they wipe it along their face, cleaning the dried blood off of their forehead, and trying to get it out of their hair. They pull down their mask and clean around the metal the best they can, carefully avoiding the exposed wires. They finished washing all the soap off and drying their hand and face, and left the restroom, scanning the room for Charlie. 

Ranboo found Charlie and went to sit across from him, “Alright, your turn.” Charlie smiles and replies, “Okay, if anyone comes over here to ask for your order, just say you haven’t decided yet, or something like that.” Ranboo nods as Charlie gets up to leave. Ranboo looks down at the menu, it is on the breakfast page, pancakes… french toast… chicken and waffles. For some reason, Ranboo is somewhat repulsed by the thought of chicken and waffles, almost feeling embarrassed at the thought of ordering them… weird. 

Ranboo begins to feel hungry at the thought of any food, so they start to look around the diner. A few people seem to be enjoying their dinner after a long day of work, a couple looks like they’re on a date, and a singular person drinking a milkshake at the bar. Ranboo starts to become anxious, how long is Charlie going to take? It seems like they’ve been waiting for hours. 

Finally, Charlie comes out of the restroom looking all cleaned up, he joins Ranboo at the booth, “Are you ready to go?” Ranboo reluctantly nods, they felt safer in the diner and they had enjoyed the lively, yet quiet, environment, but they knew they couldn’t stay there forever. They both stand up and quietly leave. The cool air hits Ranboo, “So where should we go?” Charlie looks around, “We could probably find an alleyway to settle in for now.” They walk down the street and find a small hotel, Charlie points down the side of it, “Maybe we could go here, they might have thrown out some sheets or pillows we can use for the night.” Ranboo nods and follows Charlie behind the building. 

Sure enough, when they get to the back there is a bin of old sheets, pillows, and even a mattress leaning up against the wall. Charlie smiles and runs over, flopping the mattress over onto the dirty ground. Ranboo digs through the bin to try and find the cleanest sheets and pillows. They find a sheet that seems alright, just a few holes; and a could of pillows. Charlie grabs the sheet from Ranboo and lays it over the mattress, flopping down onto their new makeshift bed. Ranboo sits down beside him, realizing how tired they are. They take off their backpack and set it beside the mattress. Ranboo feels their eyes starting to droop as they curl up beside Charlie, letting sleep take over.

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Ranboo sits up, groggily remembering the past day’s events and looking around. They are alone on the mattress, oh god, where is Charlie? Their breath quickens as they rush to get up, now feeling wide awake as a rush of adrenaline hits them. They start to walk around the alleyway behind the hotel they had settled by. There isn’t really much to look around, but Ranboo peers around the corner of the building, only to find the dead end of the alleyway. They are left with no other choice but to look out to the streets of the town. Getting the paper mask out of their backpack, they put it on and also put on their backpack. Quickly trying to smooth out their hair as they walked out into the town, they started to think of all the worst-case scenarios, what if Showfall got Charlie? Why would they take him and not me? Did someone kill him? Did he decide to go off on his own without me? Did I do something wrong? They are so lost in their thoughts, that they almost walk straight in front of a car driving, thankfully slow, on the road. The car honks as Ranboo quickly steps back onto the sidewalk. They frantically scan each side of the road, desperately hoping they will see Charlie’s green shirt. They feel as if they are a ghost, quickly walking and looking into shops, they don’t feel real anymore.  

They lean back against a brick wall, feeling as if they are drowning in their fear. They need Charlie to come back, they can’t do this alone. They feel warm tears forming at the corners of their eyes. They just want to lay down and sob, scream at their problems, why them? Why was Ranboo chosen to have a difficult life? Why were they chosen to be taken by Showfall? 

Ranboo turns back into the alleyway, going to the mattress where they had last been with Charlie. They lay down and close their eyes, praying Charlie will come back for them, praying they weren’t abandoned. Their head hurt from trying not to yell out, though they had just woken up, they felt exhausted and wanted to sleep their problems away.  They tightly wrapped themselves in the thin sheet that had been messily laid out on the makeshift bed, sobbing as they tried to calm themselves to sleep.

Their long-awaited slumber was quickly interrupted by the feeling of the mattress sinking down, someone else had sat down on the edge. Ranboo kept their eyes closed, they were sure Showfall had come back for them too. They held their breath, trying to stop themselves from breaking into a crying mess, I can’t let them know I am weak, I need to show them that I can stand up to them. They tried to think of some way they could escape, the knife! Ranboo slowly reached into their front pocket, quietly unsheathing their knife. Their hands were sweating as they held the handle as tightly as they possibly could. Five… four… three… two… one… Ranboo’s eyes burst open as they broke away from the sheet and lunged at the figure sitting on the edge of the bed. They pushed them to the concrete floor, pinning them by their shoulders, ready to stab them, and- “RANBOO STOP!” The figure cried out, Ranboo’s eyes focused on their face, “No- no no no no- Charlie- Charlie I’m so sorry,” The knife fell to the ground as Ranboo quickly got away from Charlie. “This is all wrong- you- YOU LEFT ME!” Ranboo felt their anger boiling up inside them, “HOW DARE YOU- HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME, YOU PROMISED WE WOULD STAY TOGETHER CHARLIE!” Charlie’s eyes widened, with fear. Was Charlie scared of Ranboo? No… he can’t be, they are friends aren’t they? They trust each other with their lives, right? 

Ranboo breathed heavily, bringing themselves to look Charlie in the eyes, “Ranboo- I’m sorry- I thought I would try to find us some real food and well- you looked so peaceful- so happy- sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb you and-” Ranboo cut them off, “Charlie, it’s fine I guess, you just- you just scared me.” Charlie stood up and slowly approached Ranboo, bringing them into a hug, they stayed there for what felt like hours, Ranboo wanted to stay there forever. Charlie finally pulled away, holding Ranboo’s hands, “Ranboo- your arms-” Ranboo looked down at their forearms, shit, there were numerous fresh scratches that were bleeding, they must have done it while they had been screaming. Charlie let go of Ranboo’s hands and went to grab the backpack. He unzipped the pocket that had been holding the strips of green fabric they had cut up, he also grabbed a half-empty bottle of water.

Ranboo watched as Charlie poured the cold water over their arms, red-tinted water running off their forearms and onto the ground. Charlie used one of the green rags to gently pat off the excess water and he began to carefully wrap the fabric around their arms. Charlie stood back, admiring his work, “That should be fine for now, but we could really get some alcohol or something to keep them disinfected, proper bandages would probably be way better too, but I don’t know where we are going to get those.” 

Ranboo ran their fingers along the scraps of fabric that were now tied around their arms, “Maybe we could go to that grocery store down the street?” Charlie looks at them confused, “Do you have money that I don’t know about?” Ranboo shook their head, “We would have to steal them, but it can’t be too bad, right? It’s something that we really need, and we could also get some actual food while we are there.” Charlie seemed to be deep in thought, thinking over the consequences that could occur. 

Charlie finally looked up at Ranboo, “Alright, get your backpack, let's go.” Ranboo quickly walked over the grab their bag, also touching their face to make sure they had their paper mask on, they threw the bag onto their back and rushed to meet Charlie, who had started to slowly walk out towards the street. 

Ranboo felt the cold breeze blow over them as they reached the entrance to the small grocery store. It was about midday by now and the store seemed to be in its peak hour. People walked in and out of the store, some holding hands with their little kids. Ranboo took a deep breath and stepped foot into the store, following Charlie. The store felt nice and warm, compared to the cool weather outside. They passed through the second sliding door and were greeted by a table full of packaged pastries, that looked like they had just been put out. Charlie grabbed Ranboo’s hand and walked quickly past the bakery section, down a long aisle towards the pharmacy. Charlie kept a tight hold on Ranboo’s hand, he seemed just as nervous as Ranboo was. “Ok, we just need to get the essentials and then get out, I don’t like the idea of stealing from here, but all these people should help keep the employees busy,” Ranboo nodded and started scanning the shelves for bandages. Their eyes caught on a package of three black masks, they quickly grabbed them and shoved them into their backpack. Charlie was too busy looking for what they needed to notice. Charlie finally found the first aid section and grabbed a few variety packs of bandages, as well as Neosporin and hydrogen peroxide. “I guess this will do, I don’t really know much about first aid,” Charlie put the things into Ranboo’s backpack. 

“Alright now we just need to get some food,” Charlie held Ranboo’s hand as he led him towards the endless aisles of shelf-stable food. Charlie stopped at an aisle that was full of dried fruit and nuts, he scanned over them, grabbed a few seemingly random containers, and threw them into the bag. Ranboo began to feel like a toddler, being led around the store by their older brother as he made all the decisions and Ranboo just watched. 

Charlie had rushed them all over the store, grabbing all sorts of food, and even a few treats for Ranboo to enjoy later. The pair started to make their way to the front of the store, and as a rolled-up blanket caught Ranboo’s eye, they stopped, pulling Charlie along with them and pointing to the grey blanket. It was thin enough the fit in the backpack, but would be good for keeping them warm at night. Charlie smiled and grabbed the blanket, moving a few things around in the backpack to make it fit. 

They walked towards the exit, they could feel their heart pounding out of their chest and their hands starting to sweat as they passed an employee standing by the sliding doors, “Have a great day!” The employee said with a smile on her face, “Y-you too!” Charlie smiled back as the quickly walked past. Ranboo suspected she may have known what they were doing, but she probably didn’t get paid enough to deal with that anyway. 

Ranboo felt shaky as they exited the store, relieved that they had managed to get their things without being stopped, but still anxious about the crime they just committed. Charlie seemed to be trying to avoid the thought of it, blankly staring forward as he marched back towards the alleyway they seemed to call home. 

The sun was still high in the sky, beating down on Ranboo, but they still felt cold as the wind swirled around them. As they reached the entrance to the alleyway, Ranboo began to think of the meal they were about to have. It probably wouldn’t be much bigger than usual, but they were still excited to try some different foods. 

Charlie and Ranboo settled down on the edge of the mattress, setting the backpack out in front of them and laying out the things they had gotten. Charlie had grabbed a pack of napkins while they had been at the store, so he used one as a plate for Ranboo’s food. Ranboo watched excitedly as Charlie portioned out their food, he put some dried fruit, nuts, and a few crackers out on the napkin and slid it toward Ranboo. 

Ranboo waited to start eating their food until Charlie had gotten his portioned out. They started to eagerly eat the little amount of food they had been given, but they were happy to be eating something new. Ranboo decided that dried pineapple was their favorite as they finished up their lunch. They watched as Charlie finished, and jumped at him for a hug. Charlie seemed surprised at first but laughed and held Ranboo tightly. Ranboo was smiling as they whispered “Thank you” to Charlie. They felt safe.

Chapter Text

Ranboo lay on the springy mattress on their back, watching the clouds blow along the sky as they were wrapped in their new fluffy blanket. Charlie is busy doing something across the alleyway, and Ranboo doesn’t really care what he is doing. It had been a few hours since they had eaten, and Ranboo was happy that they weren’t as hungry as usual. As Ranboo uses their fingers to trace the clouds, Charlie gets up and approaches them, he is holding a few bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and a couple of napkins. “So... I was thinking that we should probably replace those,” Charlie pointed to the green rags that were wrapped around Ranboo’s arms, now with some splotches of blood that had made their way through the thin fabric. “And maybe I could finally try to get that mask thing off of you,” Ranboo hesitated for a second, before reluctantly nodding, “Yeah, I guess it had to happen sooner or later…” Ranboo sat up and carefully folded the blanket, they didn’t want it to touch the nasty alleyway floor. 

They walked away from the makeshift bed and across to a lighter part of the alleyway. Charlie arranged his “medical supplies” in front of them before he carefully unwrapped Ranboo’s arms. The scratches looked almost the same as they had earlier, Ranboo didn’t know if that was good or bad. Charlie poured hydrogen peroxide onto a napkin and started to rub it over the scratches, “Ow! What the hell?” Ranboo pulled away quickly, looking at Charlie with wide eyes. “Ran, it’s going to hurt a little bit, but it will be worth it when you don’t get an infection.” Ranboo rolled their eyes and held their arm out to Charlie, “Fine, just hurry up.” Charlie tried to quickly clean off the scratches, holding Ranboo’s hand as they flinched occasionally. Charlie used a few large bandages to cover up the wounds before he moved over and did the whole process over again for Ranboo’s other arm. 

“Alright now for your mask…” Charlie examined the structure of what was left of Ranboo’s mask. “I think the power source might be dead since it hasn’t turned on at all this whole time,” Ranboo nodded, then hesitated, “Are you completely sure? ‘Cause I really would not like to get zapped by exposed wires today, thank you.” Charlie continued to pick through the wires, “Well I can’t be completely sure, but it might be a risk we have to take, if the mask is able to track you, then we don’t have much time left to get it off.”

Ranboo sighed, “Okay, I guess you can try to take it off if it means Showfall won’t be able to get us.” Charlie took the knife out of his pocket, pointing the blade upwards and singling out a red wire. Before Ranboo could pull away, Charlie had sliced through the wire. Nothing happened. Ranboo froze, “You cut it?” Charlie nodded, “Yeah, and everything seems to be fine so the battery must be dead.” 

Charlie carefully cut through the wires on either side of the mask, “Alright, now we need to detach this thing,” Charlie was inspecting the big Showfall logo that was on the back of Ranboo’s neck. “Oh god…” Charlie shuddered “Ran, this is stitched into your skin,” Ranboo’s eyes widened, “What? What do you mean? How are we going to get it off now?” Charlie continued to look at the near-perfect stitching, “I can try to cut the thread with the tip of my knife.” Before Ranboo can start to panic or disagree, Charlie steadies Ranboo’s head and begins to cut each individual thread carefully. 

Ranboo tries their best to stay still, but still suffers a few minor cuts during the process of Charlie removing the black disk. Charlie hands Ranboo one of the green strips of fabric, “Hold this against the back of your head to stop the bleeding,” Ranboo does what they are told as Charlie starts to look at the front of the mask. “Ugh, there are more wires that I need to cut through,” Charlie pulls away and gasps quietly, “They look like they are embedded in your cheek! Why didn’t you say anything?” Ranboo looked just as surprised as Charlie, “I didn’t know they were there!”

Charlie had cut through the remaining wires that were mostly keeping the mask in place, “Alright, it seems like the wires in your cheek are what is left, and I think the mask is glued to your face or something, so I’m probably going to have to yank it off at this point.” Ranboo’s hand shot up to their face, “No! What? That's going to destroy my face, Charlie!” Charlie looked defeated, “Ran, there isn’t much else I can do.” Ranboo lowered their hands, “Alright, I trust you, but please just make it quick.” 

Ranboo sat straight up, staring ahead at the brick wall across the alleyway, they tried to focus on the sounds of the cars rushing by. They desperately tried to distract themselves from the fact that the mask that was stuck to their face was about to be ripped off. Charlie wrapped his fingers around the sides of the mask, “Are you ready?” Ranboo let out a shaky breath and nodded, closing their eyes and bracing themselves. Ranboo felt searing hot pain all over their jaw and cheeks, they could feel the wires being pulled out of their face, and with a crack , the mask was off. Ranboo’s senses felt muted as Charlie tried to stop the bleeding from all the new wounds on their face. They could hear Charlie talking to them, but could really make out what he was saying, it sounded urgent, but Ranboo didn’t care right now. They could feel blood running down their throat as they gasped for breath. Ranboo could feel Charlie’s hands trying to keep them still, also while holding pressure on the deep cuts in their face. Ranboo started to cough up the blood that they had been swallowing, everything felt far away. 

Ranboo felt faint as Charlie finished putting bandages all over their face. They felt themselves coming in and out of reality, fighting to stay awake for Charlie. Ranboo was able to catch a glimpse of Charlie’s face through their blurry vision, he looked panicked, as he was trying to figure out what to do for Ranboo. They watched as Charlie ran over to the backpack and grabbed a couple of water bottles, Ranboo desperately wanted to stop him. Charlie shouldn’t be using all of their precious water on them, they don’t deserve it, they couldn't even handle a little pain, and now they feel like a zombie, unable to control themselves. Despite Ranboo’s silent pleading, Charlie let Ranboo drink some water, Ranboo could barely swallow but managed to take a few sips. Charlie poured water onto the green rags and began to wipe the sticky blood off of Ranboo’s neck. He also made a small attempt to clean off some of the blood on their shirt, but it didn’t do much good. 

Ranboo leaned against the hard brick wall, it felt warm from being in the sunlight. They couldn’t tell anymore how long they had been sitting there after Charlie gave up his efforts of trying to get Ranboo back to their normal self. Charlie was sitting next to them, Ranboo liked the company, it was a comfortable silence. Though they had gained some of their senses back, they still felt very faint and didn’t even want to try getting up. Ranboo had almost started to enjoy the lack of senses, the feeling of nothingness. Charlie was holding their hand, rubbing his thumb up and down repeatedly on the back of it. Earlier Charlie had eaten his food, and he tried to offer some to Ranboo, but they refused. Ranboo was broken out of their thoughts as Charlie stood up, then crouched down to pick up Ranboo. Charlie seemed to struggle to pick them up for a moment but managed to stand up steadily. Ranboo wrapped their arms around Charlie and closed their eyes as they were carried over to the mattress. Charlie laid them down, took the nicely folded fluffy blanket, and laid it over them. Ranboo closed their sleepy eyes as they felt Charlie carefully lay down next to them. Charlie began to run their fingers through Ranboo’s hair as Ranboo drifted off into sleep. 

Chapter Text

Ranboo squinted their eyes at the bright overhead sun, they were wrapped in their blanket and lying in bed. They turned their head to see Charlie sitting against the brick wall on the opposite side of the alleyway. He was watching cars rush past until he realized Ranboo was looking at him. “Hey Ran! Do you feel better? You were sleeping for a really long time, almost a full day.” Ranboo sat up and listened as Charlie rambled, it seemed like he had missed having someone to talk to. Ranboo moved their hands up to their face, memories of their mask being torn off flooded back to them, “You know, it got really boring without someone to talk to, but I didn’t leave you this time!” Charlie’s voice started to sound further and further away as Ranboo was swallowed by their thoughts. It’s okay, Charlie said it was the best thing we could do, Showfall can’t find us now, right? They could barely hear Charlie’s voice now, they felt as if they were stuck in their own head. Oh god please, please let me go, I want to go home, please! Ranboo didn’t really know where home was, or what it looked like, they just wanted to feel safe again, they wanted to be truly happy again. They longed for all their friends, but, I have Charlie… that’s enough, right? God, I am so ungrateful, I could have been dead, but for some hellish reason, I am here. Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this? I killed all those people- my friends and- “Ran?” Ranboo blinked their vision back and saw Charlie sitting right next to them, holding their hands. “Ran, are you okay?” Charlie said softly, Ranboo could see Charlie desperately trying to stay calm. 

“Yeah- I’m fine” Ranboo was silently thanking Charlie for pulling them back to reality. Ranboo pulled their hands away from Charlie and threw the blanket off of themself, before standing up. They ran their fingers through their messy hair, they hated how greasy their hair had become. When they were at Showfall, it had always been kept perfectly clean and fluffy. Ranboo even had vague memories from before Showfall, they would always wash their hair every day because they hated the feeling of having dirty hair. Their hands had become greasy too from their habit of repeatedly running their fingers through their hair. “Hey Charlie, do you think we can make a run to the store to get some hair stuff?” Charlie, still sitting on the edge of the mattress, looked surprised, “Are you sure that you're up for that? I mean you’ve been resting for a while and all, but I don’t want anything…” Ranboo watched as Charlie searched for the right words, “...I don’t want any incidents while we are there.” Ranboo rolled their eyes and tried to play it off with a smile, quickly stopping when they realized it hurt to smile, “Charlie, I’ll be fine, plus we really need to get cleaned up at some point, my hair is driving me crazy, and don’t you think I’ll feel better and refreshed once I’m all clean?” Charlie sighed, looking as if he didn’t believe Ranboo, “Fine. But it is going to be quick, we don’t need anyone becoming suspicious of us.” Ranboo excitedly went to grab their backpack, they opened up the pack of black masks that they had managed to grab last time and put one on. They emptied out most of the things from the backpack onto the mattress, so they had room for the new stuff that they would get. Ranboo finished up by covering their stuff with the blanket and stood up. 

The warm sun complimented the cool breeze perfectly as Ranboo walked next to Charlie down the straight sidewalk that led towards the grocery store. Ranboo was imagining how nice their hair was going to feel after they washed it and- wait- “Charlie, do we know of any place we can take a shower?” Charlie shrugged, “No? I’m sure we’ll figure it out though, just keep a lookout for a place that might have one.” Ranboo nodded and began to read all of the signs on the front of the buildings, their eye caught a small public gym, and they pointed it out to Charlie, “ Do you think they will have one there?” Charlie studied the sign, “Maybe, sometimes they make you pay to use the showers though, but maybe we’ll get lucky!” 

As they approached the store, Ranboo could see there weren’t nearly as many people as the last time they were there. They almost felt relieved, there wouldn’t be so many eyes burning into them, but it could also mean someone might catch them this time. Charlie grabbed Ranboo’s hand as they walked through the two sets of sliding glass doors, Ranboo felt Charlie immediately pull them away from the bakery section that greeted them at the entrance. Ranboo looked around as Charlie was reading the signs on each shelf. Ranboo followed along as Charlie led them to the hair section, “Alright, what do you want?” Ranboo felt overwhelmed with all of the choices in front of them, they grabbed a two-pack of shampoo and condition, there was no way they were going to be a freak who used that 5-in-1 crap. They also grabbed some dry shampoo, for the days when they weren’t able to wash their hair. Ranboo grabbed body wash and a pack of wash clothes, he remembered that Charlie would need one too. They also got a hairbrush, they had regretted not picking one up on the last shopping trip. They finished up by grabbing two small zip-up bags and a pack of empty, travel-sized bottles. Ranboo threw everything into the backpack and zipped it up. Charlie smiled at them, “Alright, do we want anything else?” Ranboo stopped and thought for a minute, “Well, I think we’ll need to grab some towels and maybe some new clothes?” Charlie nodded and grabbed their hand. 

Ranboo searched for a few pairs of jeans that would fit them, Charlie was doing the same. They finally found a paint of dark blue jeans that were their size, as well as a pair of sweatpants. Charlie has a couple of shirts in his hands, as well as a pair of jeans for himself. Ranboo quickly grabbed a pack of black socks off of the rack and put them into the backpack with the rest of the things they had collected. “Are we ready to go?” Charlie asked, Ranboo nodded, “Yeah, I think we got everything.” Charlie and Ranboo walked quickly toward the exit, there wasn’t an employee standing at the door this time, thankfully. Ranboo looked to the left, at the cash registers, there were only a couple of teenagers working, and they seemed occupied with helping people check out. Ranboo held their breath as Charlie tightly held their hand and they rushed out of the store. They breathed out in relief when no one came after them to stop them. 

“Alright, do we want to go see if that gym has free showers?” Ranboo nodded quickly, they forced themselves not to smile as they crossed the street to go over to the small gym. Ranboo saw Charlie take a deep breath before opening the door, there was a girl sitting at the front desk, doing something on her phone, she looked to be about seventeen. She had her light brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail and was wearing a pink tank top with the gym’s logo on the front. She scrambled to put her phone away and smiled at them, “Hi! Is there anything I can help you guys with?” Charlie nodded slightly, “Yeah, um, I was wondering if there were any showers here?” The girl stood up and walked out from behind the desk, “Yeah, of course! I can take you over to them now if you want,” she waited for a response from Charlie, who nodded, before leading both of them through a small hallway. Alright behind that door is the men’s locker room, you can choose a locker you want to keep your stuff safe in while you shower.” Charlie nodded and hesitated before asking, “Are the showers free without a gym membership?” The girl smiled, “Yes! The only thing you would have to pay for is any soap or towels, but if you brought your own stuff that's fine too!” She gestured to Ranboo’s backpack. Charlie smiled, “Okay, thank you for your help,” The girl smiled, “Of course! I’ll be at the front if you need anything!” 

Ranboo went in front of Charlie and went inside the locker room, there was no one inside. They sat on a bench and began to unpack all of their new stuff. Ranboo took out the travel-sized bottles and filled them up with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash; they made sure to do a set for themselves and Charlie. They also grabbed the towels out of the backpack and laid them out nicely, along with a new set of clothes for each of them. Charlie had been sitting across from Ranboo, watching as they worked. Ranboo looked up and held out Charlie’s things. Charlie smiled, “Thanks,” Ranboo watched as he walked over to a shower. Ranboo hurried and finished getting their own things together before zipping the backpack shut and putting it into a locker, they took the key and held it tightly in their hand. Charlie had been in the shower for a few minutes when Ranboo walked over and turned on the water for their own shower. They were surprised at how cold the water was at first before they remembered they needed to let it warm up for a little bit. Ranboo mirrored what Charlie had done with their things, hanging the towel and clean clothes over the top of the door. Once Ranboo felt the water was warm enough, they stepped inside, careful not to get their clothes and mask wet. They hung their dirty clothes over the door, carefully setting them away from the clean clothes and towel. They took off their mask and did the same. 

The warm water was a nice contrast from the cool air outside, Ranboo wished that they could stay there forever, but knew they had to hurry so Charlie wasn’t left waiting on them. They opened up the little bag that they had chosen for their things and brought out the shampoo, they tried to use as little as possible but quickly realized that they needed a lot because of their thick hair. They scrubbed hard, making sure to get all of the dirt and grime out of their hair, as well as some dried blood from… yesterday. 

Ranboo lost their sense of time as they showered, they assumed Charlie probably did too, considering his shower was still running. Ranboo put conditioner on the end of their hair and washed the dirt off their body using the wash cloth and body wash. Ranboo also wiped their face as well as they could, while avoiding the bandages on the lower half of their face and their arms. Ranboo stood in the warm water for a moment before rinsing out their hair and turning off the water. Grabbing their towel off the top of the door, they wrapped themselves in it tightly.

Ranboo stepped out of the shower in their new set of clothes, they had chosen to wear the sweatpants and a blue shirt that Charlie had picked out for them. They walked around the corner and saw Charlie putting on his shoes while sitting on a bench. Ranboo sat next to him and did the same, rushing to catch up with Charlie. “You might want to dry your hair a little bit more, you’ll be freezing once we get outside,” Charlie commented, Ranboo realized that their hair was still dripping wet. They grabbed their towel and tried to dry their hair as much as they could, though their hair was still quite wet after all their efforts. 

“Alright, are we ready to go?” Charlie asked as he stood up, Ranboo nodded and went to the locker to grab their backpack. They had thankfully remembered to keep track of the key and used it to unlock the door. They folded their towel, along with Charlie’s, and put them at the bottom of the bag. They also folded their dirty clothes and threw them in the bag, topping it off with their shower supplies. Zipping up the backpack, Ranboo slung it over their back and followed Charlie to the door. 

Ranboo was slightly disappointed to see that the girl who had helped them was no longer sitting at the front desk, she must be busy helping someone else. She had been so nice and helpful to them, Ranboo wished that they could have been able to thank her as they left. Anyway, they will probably be able to see her again, considering this likely won’t be their last time coming here. 

Ranboo followed close behind Charlie as he opened the door that led outside, god, Charlie was right, It is freezing out here! Ranboo was surprised at how much colder they felt with wet hair, their ears, and face felt like they would freeze instantly. Their mask and the thick layer of bandages on the lower half of their face helped protect them from some of the cold, but it only did so much. The sweatpants Ranboo chose to wear were nice and warm, but the long-sleeved shirt was quite thin. Ranboo looked ahead to Charlie, he was crossing his arms, looking just as cold as Ranboo was. The sun was still bright enough to give them some warmth, but not nearly as much as earlier. “Come on Ran, let's get back to the alleyway, we won’t feel the wind there,” Charlie said as he looked left and right before jogging across the street. Ranboo ran to catch up to Charlie, a car honking at them as they reached the other side of the road, I really need to get better at paying attention to cars .

Ranboo followed Charlie down the sidewalk to the alleyway they had been calling home, then rushed ahead and threw off their backpack. They flopped down on the mattress, landing straight on top of all of the things they had left behind. Ranboo quickly sat up and uncovered their things, making sure they hadn’t damaged anything, though it was mainly food. Everything seemed to be fine, so Ranboo carefully moved everything to the side, and lay down on the bed, tightly wrapping themselves in the grey blanket. They realized that Charlie had seen the whole incident, as Charlie had been giggling as he sat down on the mattress. “Long day, huh?” Ranboo looked up at Charlie and nodded, “Yeah…” Charlie smiled, “Well are you hungry?” Ranboo had almost forgotten about food, but quickly realized they felt like they were starving, they frantically nodded to Charlie. Charlie smiled and began to portion out food for himself and Ranboo. They watched and patiently waited for their food, today had been a good day.

Chapter Text

Ranboo woke up to the bright sun blinding them. He had begun to miss the cool winter breezes that had seemed to leave them all too soon. They sat up, realizing that they had thrown off their blanket in their sleep, ugh it was getting way too hot to be sleeping out here . Ranboo looked across the alleyway they had begun to call home and saw Charlie staring down the dirty concrete passage. They reluctantly heaved themself up and began to shake the dirt off of the blanket, alerting Charlie that they had woken up. “Hey! You’re up late,” Charlie called to them in a greeting. Shit, what time is it? Ranboo fretted that they may have messed up their daily routine. This routine usually consisted of eating something quick as the sun rose, then walking around town to find something to do for the day. Then at the end of the day, they went to the gym to shower. Charlie actually used the gym, while Ranboo just watched and talked to him. This routine had been suggested by Charlie, to ‘help them pass the time’ but Ranboo knew he was scared of being discovered by someone, so they had to fit in as much as possible. Charlie liked to make sure that they only stayed in the alleyway to sleep and eat. 

Ranboo broke out of their thoughts and jumped up, rummaging through the backpack and looking for something quick to eat. They found a protein bar, even though they hated the taste of it, always had some sort of artificial sweet flavor. They quickly went back to the mattress and grabbed the mask that they had left by their pillow. Charlie seemed to notice how stressed Ranboo was, “why are you panicking?” Ranboo stopped and looked down at Charlie, who had gotten up and walked closer to Ranboo. “We need to go! It must be 11 by now, I ruined the whole schedule!” Ranboo sputtered, starting to make their way around the corner. “We don’t have to do the same exact thing every day- you know that don’t you?” Ranboo stopped, “Yes but- we can’t stay here for too long, someone will find us, and- what then?” Charlie lowers his voice, “I know you are just as scared of being discovered as I am, but sleeping in isn’t some horrible life-threatening mistake.” Ranboo rolls their eyes, “Don’t get all sympathetic with me! Let's go.”

They sat under a tree in a nearby park, it was noon now and the sun was beating down on them. Ranboo could feel a hot burning sensation on their arms and they tried to scoot closer to the shade. They sat in silence next to Charlie, who had his eyes closed and was laid out on the grass. Charlie seemed to be enjoying it here ever since it got warmer outside. Ranboo wishes that they could be as gleeful and happy as Charlie. They knew they could live like this forever, they were just going back to their roots at Showfall, following a routine, doing the same things over and over. They needed to leave. 

Ranboo tried to think of where they could go, they hoped for a different town, but they had already established so much here and it would be hard to let go of what they had. Ranboo couldn’t let go of the guilt that they would carry, taking Charlie away from somewhere he seemed so happy, but they couldn’t camp out in a dirty alleyway forever. “Hey Charlie,” Ranboo started, looking over at their friend. Charlie didn’t respond, he was sleeping, Ranboo gently shook him. “What-?” Ranboo smiled slightly at Charlie’s messed up hair, “I’m sorry, but this is important- Charlie, I think we need to leave.” Charlie rubbed his eyes, “Why? The sun is so nice today, we should stay at the park for just a little longer-” Ranboo cut him off, “No, we need to move to a different town, the longer we stay here, the more danger we are in and the higher chance that someone discovers us or Showfall finds us.” Charlie went silent, pausing to think, “I guess you’re right, but we have everything we need here, do you really want to start again?” Ranboo nodded, they hated the idea of having to establish their safety again, but it was necessary.

Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Ranboo ran their fingers along their mask, feeling the scabs and scars left over from the removal of their Showfall mask. They thought about how Charlie scolded them in the beginning, telling them not to touch or pick at the wounds, fearing that they would get infected. Ranboo had a hard time listening and often found themself picking at them when they were anxious. It was still a bad habit of theirs, but they made an effort to hide it from Charlie, Ranboo knew that Charlie was likely aware of this. Ranboo now wore their mask less to hide the scars and more to make an attempt to break their habit of hurting themself. Ranboo continued to gently run their fingertips along the mask as they watched Charlie count their supplies. They didn’t want to disrupt or mess up Charlie’s count, so they stayed silent. 

The sudden sound of Charlie’s voice startled them, “Alright, I think we should have enough of everything to make our trip, the next town doesn’t look too far, considering we can see it from this one. Though I don’t know if you’ll want to stay in the next town, maybe we should go farther- or find a free bus, if that exists?” Ranboo listened to Charlie’s rambling, they loved hearing Charlie talk, it helped distract them from their internal thoughts. “I think we should just go wherever can give us the most shelter and stability,” Ranboo replied. Charlie nodded and packed all their things into the backpack. Charlie looked back at Ranboo and tilted his head, “When do you want to leave?” Ranboo hadn’t thought about that part yet, “Tomorrow, early so no one sees us leave.” Charlie nodded, “You’re sure you don't want to sleep in again?” There was a tinge of humor in his voice and Ranboo smiled, “No, I’ll be ready.”