~Attractions~ (An Inanimate Insanity AU)

9: Friendly Gifts

(Hey, guys! Instead of just diving straight into the Halloween special, I'm just gonna add in a few more fun chapters cuz why not? And no, this isn't to pass time while I wait for Halloween to ACTUALLY happen...ok, maybe it is...)

No one's POV:

It is now the 9th of October.

Everyone's Halloween spirits were rising, escalating to the point that people were playing pranks on their friends, such as putting plastic spiders in their friend's lockers and removing all the toilet paper from the bathrooms to tee-pee the trees in the school entrance. Even the teachers were starting to get used to the spooky season, playing screaming noises over the announcements and such. It might have freaked out a few students, but hey, it's all in good fun, right?

Well, Taco surely didn't think so. She'd been pranked—twice. Not by her friends, though, but by complete strangers who thought her British accent was a whole act. Truth is, it wasn't. She was originally born in the UK, but her family moved to the United States because her dad was offered a job. She's missed her home country ever since.

She had at least one mutual friend, though, and that friend was Microphone.

Microphone had helped her in a tough situation in seventh grade, when Taco was being teased on...again. By random people. Microphone had driven away said strangers and had started talking to Taco often, checking up on her, and even giving her snacks to secretly eat during class. Ever since then, they'd been friends. Best friends.

Microphone, though, had been a little distant ever since they both started their first year of high school. Taco wasn't sure what was up, and Mic wouldn't tell her. She would often find Mic in random places around the school when it was lunch time, when she would usually go straight to the cafeteria. It was a little odd.

Taco didn't mind, though, she just hoped that Microphone wasn't ditching her. She was her only friend.

However, this time, during lunch, she had found Microphone outside in the football field, and she still wouldn't tell her why she was appearing in random places instead of going straight to the cafeteria.

Since last week, Taco had learned not to question Microphone anymore, so when she reached her, all she said was "There you are! Come on, let's go to the cafeteria."

As they walked, Microphone looked a little fidgety. Taco was always good at detecting body language, so she could tell Microphone was a little nervous. The question was, why? "Are you okay?" Taco proceeded to ask, placing a hand on Microphone's back. "Are you ill or something? Do you need to head to the nurse?"

Microphone was a little startled by her touch. "Uhm...yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just have a question..." Taco raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Well? What is it?" She asked.

"Uh...w-would it be okay if...someone else were to sit with us? Look..." She sighed, looking Taco directly in the eyes. "I...I know I haven't been telling you anything. I've been appearing in random places around the school during lunch because...I've been meeting with another friend. Someone named Soap. I didn't tell you because...I thought you'd...get mad. I'm sorry."

Taco was shocked by this news; on one hand, she was mad that she didn't tell her. On the other hand, she was confused why Microphone thought she'd get mad at her making a new friend. Since seventh grade, it had just been the two of them—she wouldn't mind if their friend group had a few new members.

"Yeah, it's perfectly fine if someone else sits with us...as long as they're friendly!" Taco said, cheering Microphone up a little. "Great! I asked them to meet me in front of the cafeteria, I was just in the football field because I had gym..." Microphone started, and they then continued to talk about Soap and how kind she was. Taco was happy for her.