Crumbling Worlds (A Charlotte Cracker x OC story)

Chapter 9: And that makes us...?- Part 1

Cracker of course was more than excited when she finally agreed to his offer. A wicked grin quickly decorated his face, widening as he leaned closer to her. "Splendid! It's gonna be a blast, I promise you that!" for a brief moment his expression turned a bit warmer and he twirled her hair between his finger one more time, then stood up to leave. "Once you're out of this hospital and back at work, I'll make sure to fill you in on all the details~! Hehe, I can hardly wait!" 

"Y-Yeah, I'm pretty excited as well!" Michelle smiled and brushed the strand of hair Cracker was previously playing with behind her ear, before she looked up at the tall man and nodded.

"Get better soon, yeah? I hope to see you back in my kitchen in a timely manner, little Michelle~! Until then!"

Cracker left with a proud grin and his cape majestically flattered after him as he exited the room, and thus the young woman was all alone.

"...Okay. I guess that is really happening then." Michelle whispered to herself, listening to the sound of his footsteps fading outside on the hallway while her heart continued to beat loudly in her chest. It really wasn't a lie when she said that she was excited- even if the young woman wasn't too sure on what to expect. A date with the Minister... no, she did not think that this might ever happen. But... here she was now.

For the rest of the evening and part of the night, Michelle mostly reflected on the events that took place before she woke up in the hospital. It was still rather difficult for her to cope with the fact that she could have died today, if it wasn't for Lord Cracker's interference. He saved her- and, now that she really thought about it, in more ways than just one. Literally speaking he of course rescued her from getting murdered, but there was something else he did that the young woman couldn't stop thinking about. When she was at her most vulnerable, lying on that street, unable to get up again... he was the one to help her and saved her from her shame. If he didn't pick her up, she might have been forced to stay on that ground until someone else decided to help. Did the Minister do it because he felt pity for her pathetic display? Or... was it something else? What other reason could he have? For all she knew, Cracker could have called over a Chess Soldier or used one of his Biscuit Warriors to carry her to safety. Why did he choose to do it by himself...? 

Michelle decided that it would probably for the best if she didn't think too much into it- because even though everything turned out somewhat alright in the end, she didn't want to dwell on that terrible moment anymore. As of now she was still too shaken to really stay focussed anyway, and maybe she'd get the opportunity to ask the Minister about his intentions once she was feeling better and properly processed everything.

Getting through the night in the hospital turned out to be harder than she initially anticipated though, and it took the young woman a lot to not ask one of the nurses if they could give her a Den Den Mushi so she could call her parents for comfort. Being back in a foreign hospital bed, all on her own, just brought back too many painful memories, and that paired with her newly flared up anxieties from being almost killed created a huge feeling of dread within her. It made Michelle super sensitive to everything that happened around her, whether it be a nurse walking up and down the hallway outside of her door or the sound of other patients doing their thing in the rooms next to hers- the young woman instantly jolted up in her bed at every single noise, scared that something might happen to her if she wasn't on high-alert all the time. Michelle felt rather pathetic and kind of embarrassed for being so scared, and eventually she reached the point of it being so bad that she had to ask a nurse for some sleeping pills to get some rest. Luckily the night was over eventually, and the young woman was beyond relieved when the doctor told her that she was allowed to return home the next day. There was nothing she wanted more than to get back to her usual way of living. However, that also proved to be a bit more difficult than than she imagined.