[3] 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 ― p.jackson, l.valdez

017.

「017. nearly getting her groove back 」

GOLDIE WAS like cherry's own cheerleader, sometimes. though the golden mouse was allowed to rome as they pleased, they often resided in cherry's room. sometimes, they'd hum something random, and sometimes they'd just stay silent- usually squeaking and greeting encouragement in their own way. though goldie had been a bit more quieter than usual, he was a lovely type of company for cherry. when things got stressful, when she got upset or angry- goldie was there. when she got embarrassed or confused by leo (because he generally was a very confusion person) goldie was there. goldie might've been the only one holding her together as she tried to pave through and get herself and her friends back on track.

that, and boxing.

it had become therapeutic for cherry. the swinging and the punching. it was nice for her to have some sort of outlet. the punching bag itself was a green colour, and leo had installed it for her. to go with it, she'd had matching green gloves- almost a sage kind of colour. whenever cherry's chest felt tight, whenever she felt like her mind was spiralling- she'd talk it out... with her fists. that, and a lot of other things.

boxing was good for her. when she was mad she could punch it and all the anger would diffuse with each hook and jab. with each hook and jab every i hate you left her body in a healthier way. maybe she wasn't always comfortable verbalising her pain but with a punching bag she could. sometimes, embarrassingly, tears would slip out as she boxed. every hit and jab would shove out a painful memory that was resolved with a kick. every little worry would slip out of cherry's mind when she boxed. it was therapeutic.

it was nice.

but it wasn't her only way of venting out her emotions. since barbie's absence- leo had been another way. though she didn't just trauma-dump on him without warning. they'd usually schedule a time when they could just talk to each other. it was comforting. they'd sit and chat and their emotions would be washed away. but recently, those moments were harder for cherry. not because she felt like she wasn't being honest- but because this was leo. he was the one who grinned so brightly she thought she saw the stars, hair so curly that all she wanted to do was run her hands through it.

but still, she sat with him. the dead of night.

"we'll find them," he'd assured her, holding her hand. it was a normal occurrence now, but it muddled cherry's mind as she sniffled into her other hand. "you know that, right? it's okay to cry. it's okay."

"says ou," she managed through tears, looking at him with a watery sort of gaze, "why won't you say anything? i know how bad this is getting to you."

"somebody has to be the one to crack the jokes, right?" smiled leo in a comforting manner, though the smile looked stretch, "i'll loose my sparkle if i air out my emotions."

cherry wiped away a stray tear, frowning in the direction of him, "sparkle or no sparkle, you're still you. you don't have to always be funny-"

"are you saying i'm not funny, cherry baby?"

"you know that's not what i meant," she rolled her eyes, "you're a delight to be around, elfie."

"i sense sarcasm."

"oh well," she shrugged. she sighed, her hand slipping away from leo's as she held them both up and stretched, staring up at the ceiling of her room. she knew it was night, of course she did. though they couldn't exactly stay up deck, but cherry's room was just as good. in the dead of night, glow-in-the-dark stars twinkled on her ceiling. "i just want them to be back, now."