So Much To Lose

Ch. 5 Assurance p.2

Lightbulb seemed ecstatic at her correct guess, doing the nerdiest air fist bump she could muster. Her energy was starkly contrasted by Taco's annoyed grumble, now that she had agreed to Lightbulb's 'help'.

The bright light turned to her absolutely beaming, both literally and figuratively, with excitement, leaving Taco in a confused state of mind.

She had just been contemplating what she would do about Mic, and despite her apparent distaste towards lightbulb and her positivity, she couldn't deny that she was good at making friends. That and her optimism was infectious.

Taco was snapped out of her train of thought by Lightbulb.

"Sooooo we gonna find somewhere to talk about this or what? We're still a few minutes walk from the grounds, and ya seem kinda jumbled up about this," Lightbulb asked, in genuine concern.

Taco stared at her blankly for a second, not expecting her to pick up on her secrecy about Mic, though it was a pleasant surprise.

"Yeah, I've got a place deeper in the forest that I usually hang around, follow me."

"Oooooo, spooky!" Lightbulb replied, beginning to follow Taco as she walked away from the tree Mepad was still in, Taco could always just come back for him later.

As they walked it came to Taco's attention that, by some strange method of the universe, Lightbulb of all objects would be the first person to see where she had been living for the months after she ran off.

It was a strange thought, that in all her hesitation she had kept Mic from seeing where she lived, yet in the span of a few minutes she had agreed to let the biggest klutz she knew into the only place she could really consider 'home'.

Taco assumed it was just desperation, the whole night since Mic had left Taco felt like she had been in another headspace entirely, certainly the first time she'd felt pure sadness in a long time.

Put simply, she had nothing left to lose, as she pulled away the leaf covering that served as a door to her dwelling.

The space had a different tone from what it usually felt like, because of how long it had been since Taco had visited it, being wrapped up in the game, as well as the dull glow the room held, as Lightbulb turned herself on when she stepped inside.

If not for the object beside hers light, the room would be rather gloomy, somewhere in between a makeshift lodging you might make at a wilderness survival camp and a hut. The entire space was formed around a small outcropping in a stone wall, but not quite a cave. A pile of blankets more akin to a nest than a bed sat in the corner, as well as a few gadgets Taco had been fiddling with that scattered the floor.

For being outside, it was quite clean, a rug covered the dirt floor almost entirely, and a spotless writing desk was positioned next to the blankets, acting as a sort of bedside table.

After realizing they had been staring in silence for almost a minute, Taco glanced up at Lightbulb, who glanced back.

Her expression was hard to read but if Taco had to hazard a guess she'd describe it as disappointed.

"What?" The British object asked.

"It's just... you live here?" Lightbulb responded

Taco bristled a little at that, her tone becoming mildly annoyed "Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing, it's just kinda sad."

Taco scoffed "What was I supposed to do, send out invites, it's not like anyone but me was going to have to deal with it."

"Yea but... I dunno, I feel bad! I know everyone kinda doesn't mention you anymore but that doesn't mean you should have to live like this, even Balloon snuck into the hotel sometimes to get a place to crash for the night."