(enjoy!)

*Taco's P.O.V*

I just finished talking to Mic via our headset. *Sigh* Lying again. Meh. It's for Balloon's fucking sake.

Speaking of him, I should see if he- Oh. Damn..... He's asleep. Huh. Maybe the whole event at the cliff made him exhausted. 

I walk up to him and he's slumped up against the tree. He's sound asleep. He doesn't snore at all, just breaths in a soothing way..... It's sort of cute. And NOT in a romantic way you damn shippers.

'What do I do with him though?', I asked myself.

I don't want to leave him here. I'm suppose to meet with Mic today at 12 am. Like we do every Friday/Saturday..... Hmmmm....

'I could take him to my cabin. Sure, it's a little messy.... I'm sure he wouldn't mind tho.', I suggested to myself.

Not a terrible idea. It's better than leaving him here and have Mic see him. Eh. Fuck it. I'll take him to the cabin, it's not too far.

I carefully pick him up. I'm going to be honest. I expected Balloon to be a little heavier, being that he was chunky. But to my surprise.... He was light. Something was definitely wrong with him.

I'll worry about that later. I start to head back to my cabin just north of the open area. It's only about 10 minutes from there to here, so it shouldn't take me too long to get there.

Like I said. Only takes 10 minutes. I'm here at the cabin already. I open the door as I also try to keep Balloon in my arms and not drop him. Ah-ha! I got it open!

I head inside the hut. The first thing you see when entering.... was a mess. Yikes. Was I this messy? Oh well. I'll clean tomorrow.

The cabin has 4 rooms. A living room, a kitchen, a restroom and a bedroom. I put Balloon on the couch that was in the living room. What? Just cause Balloon is going to stay with me doesn't mean he gets the fucking bed! I fucking stole that bed for myself!

After I lay Balloon down, I race out of the cabin. I'm heading back to the open area to grab Balloon's belongings and the blanket and pillow I stole. If you're wondering where exactly I stole the 2 things from..... I stole it from Hotel OJ.

Yea. It was fucking risky. But it was super worth it! They have a storage closet full of extra blankets and pillows they aren't even using! Sure, I could've asked Mic to give me the items....

However, we already had an agreement. Every beginning of the month, Mic would get me food the would last that month and nothing more. So, I couldn't really ask for anything else. I had to get a little creative when sneaking into the hotel. 

It was rather nice inside when I broke in. Too much orange in my personal opinion, but what can you do? Anyways, that's where I got the blanket and pillow for Balloon. Speaking of, I grabbed everything that was left behind and went back.

Once there, I open the door, went in and put Balloon's stuff down near the small coffee table. I pick his head up, gently, and put the pillow underneath his head. I rest his head on the pillow, finally, I throw the blanket over his body. 

There. He looks comfortable enough. Now. What time is it? .... Damn. I have no watch or clock. Need to steal one soon. I see that Balloon has a standard watch on his left arm. Nice! I take a look.....

10:50 pm. Good. I still have time before I meet up with Mic. .... But what do I do now? I don't have much entertainment....... *gasp* I have an idea!

I get up, put on some black robber clothing and head out. I was gonna go steal some entertainment!

*1 hour later*

So. I stole some board games from a local game store! I got a good 10 so me and Balloon could play together. I never realized how boring of a life I was living until I set foot in the store I stole these from!

I also stole a phone from a phone store. I realized that I never had a phone, so I stole one. Don't know how I lived without one, but I did. Now.... How the fuck do I work this?

.... Shit. I don't know how to work a phone. It's 11:50. Only 10 minutes til I meet with Mic. Oh! Maybe I can ask her for help. I better hurry to the open area....Soon enough, I make it. Now. To wait on Microphone.

While I was waiting, I was messing with the phone. I've never owned a phone, even before coming onto the show. I..... I think I'm getting the hang of it? 

"Um... Taco?", I hear Mic say.

SHIT! WAS SHE ALREADY HERE!?

"AH! Oh. Mic. *Ahem* Hello there.", I quickly greet back. I hid the phone behind me.

"You good? Wait.... What the hell is behind your back?", Mic asked, with suspision in her voice.

"Um.... Nothing?", I try to convince her.

".... Not bying it", she said flatly.

Damn it. I tried.... *sigh* I pull out the phone from behind me.

".... You have a phone!?", Mic yelled in shock.

"SHH! Mic. Keep it down! Also. I just got this phone like 15 minutes ago.", I said, trying not to make too much noise.

"Sorry! Wait..... Where did you get the phone anyways?", she asked.

"...... Some random person on the street.", I lied.

".... You stole it from the store, didn't you?", she stated.

Damn.... She's good at reading me.

"Yes. Could you help me operate it? I have no clue how to work a phone", I confessed.

"Sure. Here. Let me help.", she said, getting closer to me.

'Shit. She's close.....', I thought. I feel a little red around my face.... 

Again. THANK GOD it's dark out.

We spent most of out meeting getting me ajusted to my new phone....

*The next day*

*Balloon's P.O.V*

I open my eyes. Man. That was a good sleep. I feel refreshed! I sit up, stretch and yawn.

Wait. Where am I? I'm not in the forest nor the open area. It doesn't look like the hotel either....

I get up and walk around a bit. I was in the living room I think, since I was sleeping on the couch. There's two other doors. Well. three doors, but I'm sure one is a closet. I walk up to one of the doors and.... it's a closet. I thought so.

I close it and walk to another one. I open it and it's a restroom, small, but still usable. The last door. I open that one and.... It's a bedroom. Again, a little small, but livable. The bedroom has a small desk, 2 small drawers, a lamp, and a bed. 

In the bed.... is Taco. She looks like she's deep in sleep. I should let her rest. I close the bedroom door gently, so I didn't wake her up. I head back to the 'living room'. 

... I noticed that it's very messy. So. I decided to go ahead and clean it because I can. 

*30 minutes later*

And.... There! I'm done! It wasn't that hard to clean up. Then again... This was a rather small house. I think it's a small cabin....

I sit back on the couch I woke up on. As I was cleaning, I saw my bag next to the coffee table. I left my bag close to the entrance door, encase somebody other than me and Taco found this place. 

Also. I saw that Taco has some games. They look new though... I wonder if she got them recently? I'll ask her later. *Stomach growling* Oh.... 

I guess I should get something to eat. I head to the kitchen. I open the fridge and see she has some groceries still. Hmmm.... What should I make?

I think I'll just stick to making eggs for her. Eggs and...... Oh! She has bagels. I'll toast a bagel for her! I grab about 4 eggs and 2 bagels. I decide to make me some of the same thing.

I grab a pan so I can make the eggs. I put the bagels in the toaster; she has the one toaster that can make 4 toasts at once which was cool. I began to make the eggs.

Not too long after I begin making the eggs, I hear a sleepy Taco speak.

"Who the fuck- Oh. Hello Balloon", Taco says, walking in the kitchen.

"Oh. Morning!", I greet cheerfully.

"You can cook?", she quesions, intrigued.

"Um. Yea. I can cook..... I guess. I'm... not the best at cooking tho.", I answer, not too confidant in my cooking skills.

"Huh. That's cool. I can barely cook myself. I only know how to make eggs.....", she confessed.

"Heh. That sucks. Well. Breakfast is almost done. I made us bagels, could you put some cream cheese on them if you have any?", I told her.

"Sure.", she said, heading to the toaster.

As Taco was getting the bagels and spreading some regular cream cheese on them, I was finishing the eggs. Ok! The eggs were done! I split the eggs in two. Two eggs for Taco, and two eggs for me!

" Taco. The eggs are done", I said.

"Sweet!", she said, excited.

We grabbed a plate and got some breakfast. We head to the living room and sat down on the couch. There wasn't a tv, so we kinda ate in silence.

"Wow! Balloon. These eggs are delicious!", Taco praised me.

"Oh... C'mon.... It's not THAT good", I say, still unconfidently.

"Balloon. I will personally strangle you. Stop doubting yourself! You're a great cook! These are the best eggs I've had in all of my life!", Taco said.

"....... You.... really think so?", I asked.

"Yes! Good god! What else can you make!?", she said, questioning my cooking skills.

"Um.... well.... I can make tamales, enchiladas, tostadas, other mexican foods really, eggs, um..... burgers, fish, and other things I think.", I say, not really remembering the things I can make.

".... Wow. That's a lot! But.... you can make mexican food?", Taco asked.

"Yea. I can make some mexican food. You never had mexican food?", I asked her.

"No. Never had mexican food. You?", she said.

"Well. Of course I've had mexican food! I'm Hispanic, my family almost always ate mexican food when I was young.", I explain, recalling my youth with my...... parents.

I.... I miss my parents sometimes. I love my adopted father don't get me wrong! I just, miss my biological parents at times. I wonder if they're looking down at me right now?

"You're Hispanic?", Taco asked, pulling my out of my thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh. Yea. I'm Hispanic. No many people know that since.... well.... you know...", I stated, frowning a bit.

"Oh. That's cool! Also. Don't worry about the others! You're free from them. You don't need them anymore. They hurt you, so you shouldn't think about them!", Taco stated, noticing my sadden expression.

"..... I guess so.... But. I can't help but worry about them....", I confessed.

I didn't specify who I was worried about. However, I'm mainly worried about Suitcase and Trophy. They were my friends. And I miss them every single day.... 

"Them? Who 'them'? The residents of the hotel?", Taco questioned me.

"..... Sort of........", I say.

"Who? If I may ask?", she wanted to know.

"....... Suitcase..... and...... Trophy.....", I whispered sadly.

"Oh......", Taco trailed.

We sat in silence for a bit. We finished out breakfast a little afterwards. I was gonna get up when-

"No. Let me. You already made us breakfast. I'll handle the dishes.", Taco said as she left to clean the dishes.

I was left in the living room, just stting with my thoughts. A few minutes go by and she comes back.

"Hey. I just realized the rooms are clean....", she took noticed.

"Did you clean up?", she asked after.

"Um. Yea. I cleaned up. I... I hope you don't mind!", I said, a little embarrased.

"Oh.... Well.... Um.... T-Thanks... I guess....", Taco hesitated, but thanked.

Weird. I've never hear Taco say 'thank you' before. Actually. I've never hear Taco stutter before either. I guess it makes sense, we haven't seen her in years and we only knew the 'loud mouth' and 'stupid' Taco.

Man.... People can really change, for good and worse...... 

"No problem, Taco", I said, a little flustered.

We continued to chat for a good while since we didn't have much to do.

"Oh! Hold on! I need to show you something!", Taco exclaimed a little later in our chat.

She gets up and runs into her bedroom. She comes out a few moments later with something in her hand.

"What's that?", I asked.

"It's a phone. Look!", she said, gleeming with excitment.

"You... seem super excited. Have you never owned a phone before?", I questioned.

"Nope! This is my first phone ever.", she confessed.

"What! Really? Interesting. Do you know how to work it?", I asked, getting intrigued.

"I do now. I was meeting up with Mic late last night and she taught me how to use it.", she stated.

"Oh wow! Do you like the phone?", I asked, happy for Taco.

"Yea. It's actually super cool. I'm glad I stole this last night!", Taco giggled.

"..... YOU STOLE THE PHONE!?", I asked, super shocked.

"Um..... yea. I did.", she said, proudly.

"Why!?", I asked.

"Cause I can't buy a phone? Plus. It was just sitting in the storage of the phone store! Might as well.", she stated.

"But.... You know what. Nevermind. I'm not going to argue about this!", I say, giving up on this 'fight'. 

"Pft. Okay. You want to play a board game?", Taco asked.

"Sure. By the way. Those are new! How long have you had them for?", I pry.

"Oh. I stole them last night as well", she gave an honset answer.

"REALLY!? WHY!?", I pry again.

"Because. I live a boring life. I need some sort of entertainment! And you're living with me now! So we can't both be bored living out here in the forest!", she justified.

"..... I guess that's fair....", I say, giving in.

"Hah. I thought so. Anyways. What do you want to play?", she asked, pulling out the games.

There was Monopoly, Checkers, Candyland, The Game of LIfe, Jenga, Uno, Sorry, Clue, Trouble, and Connect 4. Man. What to choose!?

"Um....... The Game of LIfe.", I say after a good long minute.

"Okay! Let me grab it", she said.

She grabs the game and sets it on the coffee table. I grab my pocket knife from my jacket and hand it to Taco.

"Oh. Thanks", she thanked.

"no prob.", I say.

She rips off the plastic wrap from the game with the knife. She hands the knife back and opens the game. Man. I love opening a brand new game!

She grabs the contents and opens them one by one. She sets up the money and shuffles the cards based on its type up and puts them aside.

"What color car do you want to be?", Taco asks, holding the 4 different colored cars.

"Hmmmmm.....", I start.

Man. I'm too indecisive.... There were, pink, blue, green and yellow. God! WHY DO I HAVE TO BE INDECISIVE!?

"Pink. I'll go with pink.", I say finally.

"Pink? That's a girly color, but whatever. I'm not gonna discriminant against it. It's a new era and whatnot.", Taco states.

"Heh. Yea. What color you gonna get?", I asked.

"Yellow. I like the color.", she says quickly.

"Ok.", I say.

We grab our cars and grab a peg to put in the car. I grab a purple peg and Taco grabs a red peg. Hmmm. Where do I want to start? Do I go to college? Or do I just start a career? I'm gonna go to college.

I place my car at the start for college. It seems that Taco is just gonna go straight on the career path. Okay. Let's do this!

*1 hour later*

Hah! I won! I had the most money at the end of the game! I had gotten the enginner career and Taco had the vlogger career. I had a family and a nice house. Taco didn't get a family and had a small house. Overall, we had a fun time playing!

"Man. I can't believe I lost! I thought not having much and sticking yourself was the better option.... Well played my friend.", Taco said.

..... Friend? She..... She sees me as a friend? ..... Did I gain a new friend? 

"Balloon? You good?", I hear her asking.

"Hmm? I'm.... I'm okay.", I answer her back.

"Okay.", she said. "You want to play another round?", she asked after.

"Sure!", I said happily.

She was setting everything up again. It was quiet, I decided to break the silence.

"Hey. Taco.", I started.

"Yea?", she said in a questioned tone.

"....... Do...... Do you see us as friends?", I asked her, curious of her answer.

"A friend? ...... Like how me and.... Pickle...... used to be?", she commented.

"Yea. You.... You called me a friend when you congratulated me for winning.", I pointed out.

"Oh. I did? I didn't notice..", Taco said, flustared.

"So... Do you see me as a friend perhaps?", I pry.

"........ I..... I haven't had a proper 'friend' in a long time.... But that friendship ended because of me........", Taco said solemnly.

She was talking about her and Pickle. Does..... Does Taco feel guilty for betraying us? For betraying Pickle? ......... I'll ask about that later......

".... I suppose. This is a good chance to rediscover what friendship is..... And.... make me remember what it was like to have one.....", I hear her mutter.

....... She's a little like me. She was alone. She had nobody to talk to or go out to. Nobody to be with when times were tough. The only difference was.... Taco was completely alone; Mic didn't count I think. 

Me on the other hand. I have 2 friends. Friends I don't deserve. Sure. I was alone. But I still had them. I was hurting, and nobody came to help me. This was a chance to help Taco.

Help her make amends. Help her feel what it's like to have a friend. Have that someone to go to. That someone to talk to when things are down. That someone that will always be by your side no matter what.

We can help each other. I hope Taco can see this. This is what friendship is suppose to be. Having each others back. Being there for one another. It's not one sided, it's not fake. It's all real. Real feelings.

"....... I suppose...... we are friends. Even if we reconnected only a few days ago....", Taco stated.

"Heh. That's true. So. ready to play again.... friend?", I responded.

"Let's go. I'm gonna win this time!", Taco claimed.

"Sure. Keep dreaming", I say, rolling my eyes playfully.

We got our pieces and got ready to play again. We played this game for another 4 hours, playing more times. This was fun! I was having fun.... with a person who was a little like me.

Two broken people. Broken in different ways. Connecting together to help mend the hurt. Two hurt people coming together to get help from the other.

I was proud to say that I gained a new friend......

*End of Chapter 12*

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Awe! Look guys!

The 2 most hated characters from II1 becoming friends! 

How cute! I do hope nothing happens to them in the future!

*Totally not sus at all*

I hope you liked this chapter!

We'll be taking a trip to Hotel OJ in the next chapter!

Just to check up on them!

See ya!

(I want to call you something..... like how some authors do so....
but I have no clue what.... Should I call you something? or no?)