For Y/N's eighth birthday, her father got her a special gift, an adorable plush toy that she loves dearly. What she didn't expect was the living, breathing man that came with it. Is her doll really talking and moving around, or is her imagination th...
———————————————— _________________________________ Your POV: ~Two Years Later~ _________________________________
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The divorce, though mutual for both my parents, was quite hectic. Being caught in the middle of it was far from fun, especially when I had to decide who I wanted to live with. Both were clearly happy to take me into their home, to the point where it sparked yet another argument from my mother, who called my dad unfit to look after me. In the end, I decided to stay with her after much consideration and back and forth within my mind. It was a lot to place on the shoulders of an eleven-year-old. Dad was pretty disappointed, but I get to stay with him every other weekend and on some holidays.
He still works a lot, but he tries not to leave me by myself when we're together. He tends to still be distant, though that was far from unusual for me. Sometimes, I wonder if it's just hard for him to express some things. He's picked up some pretty bad habits as well. Our old house has been a mess most of the time, and he's taken up smoking. I never could get past the smell of those cigarettes. Every time I hugged him, he reeked of them, but at least, he never smoked them inside.
While he was struggling on his end, Mom and I moved into our own place after a couple months staying with Uncle Dembers, a nice apartment complex still within the range of my school, so luckily, I didn't have to transfer. It was smaller than our house but super nice all the same. There's a community pool and a courtyard with a pretty fountain. The grounds also have lots of pretty flowers planted everywhere, which always gave off this heavenly aroma. School's been pretty standard. I still hang out with my crew, Darcy and the gang, as we moved up to our second year of high school, but they've seemed to change in strange ways in the past couple years. They've gotten taller and a bit more crude in the way they speak, but they all still treat me as the baby of the group, not that I mind. They look out for me and have been a big help throughout this whole separation thing.
Darcy has even told me about her family's divorce and how they've dealt with it, which helped, but the biggest help through all this bull crap was Max, my knight in shining armor. Of course, my dear Max always tried his hardest to put a smile on my face on my worst days. He would always succeed one way or another. He would comfort me and play with me still, though I felt I was starting to get a bit old for some of our games. We found new ways of spending the night.
I've found a new interest in video games, Sims especially was a favorite of mine and Animal Crossing too. Sometimes we paint or dance, and I've even gotten Max hooked on making handmade bracelets. His always turn out best, though. I always seem to be wearing one on my wrist— A favorite one of mine being a friendship bracelet made out of rainbow yarn. I made ones for him too to fit both his little doll wrist and his human one. I just found them so cute. I've also started crocheting, but I'm not very good yet. I'm getting there, though!
He's been so encouraging in my pursuit of hobbies, and truthfully, I feel that life has gotten a lot better than it was before. I was so used to the sound of fighting that the silence that greeted me at night was so relieving. I can't even remember the last time I cried about anything, though things were a bit bumpy at first, something Max seemed particularly happy about. Even mom was doing better. She no longer looked so stressed, and the tiredness in her eyes had long since gone away. Now, if only dad could get out of his slump. Everything would be perfect, then. I wonder if he's lonely in that big house by himself sometimes? I groan out loud as I screw up on a bunny doll I was making. I could hardly get the stupid arm done.
"Damnit!" A familiar chuckle sounds from above me as I fall back against a lap, looking up at my best friend.
"Don't get frustrated, Y/N. You'll get it eventually."
"Easy for you to say. Your stuff comes out way better than mine!" I whine pointing over to a round, decorative pillow Max crocheted of a yellow smiley face.
"I might've cheated just an itty bit," He admits, pinching his fingers together as I sat up with a gasp.
"You what?!" He giggles more, leading me to slap down on the brim of his hat to cover his eyes, which only makes him laugh harder.
"Cheater." I stick my tongue out at him, and he returns the gesture. Huffing, I dramatically turn away from him, my arms crossed. I'll admit, his cartoonish mannerisms have been rubbing off on me quite a bit.
"Oh, don't you pout, Sourpuss." The big doll embraces me from behind and squeezes me tightly while rocking side to side. "I'll help you fix your bunny to make up for it." I turn towards him to glare, but it lightened up almost instantly upon seeing his face as a smile broke out on my lips.
"Oh, alright." Hooking an arm behind his neck, I pull him down to my side. "I'll forgive you." Chuckling, he brings a hand up to my arm to hold it, wearing that goofy grin of his.
"I knew you'd come around."
"But, you better not cheat again. No more magic on what we make. It's more special when made by yourself."
"Oh, so you don't want my help?"
"... Get to it, Magic Man." He laughs as I hold up my half-made doll, picking up the needles to fix it the proper way for me. This makes me smile. As he does so, I lie back against the pillows on my bed with a long sigh as I gaze up at the twinkling lights across my ceiling. They were not Max's creations but regular, old, decorative fairy lights to make the place all twinkly.
"Man, it's Monday tomorrow, isn't it? I don't want to go to school!" Groaning, I flip over onto my pillow as Max looks over at me with a brow raised.
"Why? I though you loved school."
"I do, but I have a mean, old teacher for biology, and to be honest, I don't think he actually knows what he's talking about. You know the one, Mr. Damael." Of course, I still had a tendency of bringing Max to school with me while he is in doll form. I just like to include him in everything, plus he's good emotional support. I guess I've been doing it for so long now, anyways, that I just do it out of habit. I feel like he'd be lonely and bored at home all day otherwise. I know I would be, but at least, I had the freedom to move around in the daytime, unlike him.
"Ah, yes, that one. Understandable, then. There, all fixed." Presenting me with my unfinished bunny, I sit up to pick up where I left off only for it to be pulled out of my grasp at the last second.
"Wha— Max, come on!" I go to reach for it only for it to be pulled up further, but my determination drove me to grab his shoulder and reach only for it to move yet again. "Not funny! Give it back." I order, smooshing his face a bit as I attempted to grab it.
"Ah, ah, ah, you know the deal." I groan as I glance over at the clock and sit back down when I see it's nearly half past midnight. He taps the end of my nose with a finger and a smile. "No staying up past 12:30 on a school night. I don't want you falling asleep at your desk again. You'll get into a heap of trouble if you keep that up."
"Fine. I'll continue it tomorrow, then." Nodding, the snappily dressed figure gets up to put my project away, and while his back was turned, I muttered, "Meanie," under my breath. Max gives me the side eye, but I pretend not to see as I get up to fix the covers, which had gotten all messed up with the way we were sitting, and without me noticing, he snuck up behind me to pick me up and twirl me around, causing me to yelp as I clung to him before laughing quietly.
"Still a meanie?"
"No, never." Leaning towards his cheek, I plant a small, goodnight kiss on it, making him smile as he tucked me in for the night.
"Tomorrow night, we'll have lots more fun, don't you worry about that, my lady." I smile as he hopped into bed beside me, allowing me to cuddle up to him, as I often would. No pillow beats Max, I swear. He's so warm and squish-able, just like he is in doll form. "Nighty night."
