It was a tough day at school and 0.2 had wanted to just go home and rest. But he had responsibilities back at the Treehouse too. His duties as a kids next door operative came first, over everything else. And he wasn't about to let his teammates down just because he felt a bit overwhelmed. But as soon as he entered the Treehouse, a crowd of familiar faces formed around him and badgered him with requests.
0.1 was the team leader. But 0.2 was the one everyone came to for help. He was so reliable and organized. If anyone could get a job done, it was him. And they admired and respected him for those qualities. But it could be a bit much at times. David started feeling anxious and wished he could just disappear for a moment, so he didn't have to deal with everyone else's needs. But he pushed the feeling down and held his head up. "Alright, alright. One at a time!" he shouted at 0.1, 0.4, and 0.5. They all backed up a bit to give him space and he pulled 0.1 aside to see what was up. As leader, 0.1's needs came before the rest of the team and 0.2 would stop at nothing to be of use to him.
Despite the fact that he was feeling stressed, David agreed to help his teammates with their issues one by one. Exhausted after all the hard work, all he wanted to do was rest. 0.3 had been watching him this whole time. Poor 0.2. He worked himself to death day in and day out, just to please his comrades. She had offered to help. But he just pushed her aside and told her that she "wasn't cut out for this type of work." Or he thought she would just get in the way and wouldn't even bother to listen to what she had to say.
Even so, 0.3 decided to approach him. He spotted her out of the corner of his eye and thought she was coming to ask him for a favor. Either that, or she planned on making fun of him at his most vulnerable. "What do you want?" He muttered in an agitated tone. "Nothing..." 0.3 gazed up at him with a worried look on her face. "Come on, spit it out." All of the rest of his teammates wanted something. Surely she had shown up in the knick of time just to sap the last of his energy out of him.
0.3 didn't say another word and tried to touch 0.2's face but she wasn't tall enough to reach it. He had no idea what she was trying to do but he was too exhausted to care. He roughly pulled her hand away and coldly stated "I don't have time for your shenanigans right now." Then he wandered off to his room and slammed the door tightly shut.
0.2 always pushed himself way too hard. And he always blamed himself when things didn't go according to plan. 0.3 knew that he was hurting. She could just tell. But he never wanted to talk about his problems. She hated seeing her friends in pain. But the feeling was even worse when she knew someone was in pain and there was nothing she could to do to help them. How could she be happy when she knew someone dear to her was suffering?
It wasn't just her though. David wouldn't open up to anyone. He liked to pretend he had no feelings. He didn't want to burden the rest of the team with his own problems. So he buried those problems deep inside his heart where no one else could ever find them. His heart was safely barricaded with foolproof steel, to keep out any prying eyes. No one could get in, try as they might. But that sure as heck wouldn't stop 0.3 from trying. It wouldn't be easy. But she would throw herself at that barricade headfirst, as many times as it took. Until she managed to somehow make a dent in the frigid steel barrier.
She would beg and plead and continually pester him to talk to her but to no avail. She would ask him a barrage of personal questions in hopes of getting some form of answer out of him but he would just walk away with an annoyed frown on his face. She would tell him her own personal insecurities and worries. She would tell him everything about herself. Even the dark and gritty parts that she'd much rather forget. She would go to great lengths. Just to get him to trust her. But still, he would not let her in.
No matter how hard she pushed and pulled. His heart stood rock solid. Firmly planted to the spot.
It was no use. Every time she thought she successfully broke down one of his walls, he'd somehow prepare a brand-new barricade in advance. It was so frustrating, agonizing even.
Ashley hated being treated like a child. She wanted to be seen as a big kid like everyone else. Heck, she was older than most of her teammates. But they still treated her like an immature child. No one took her seriously. No one ever depended on her or came to her for advice. No one trusted her with their deepest innermost thoughts and secrets. Even though she wanted so badly to be relied upon. All she wanted was to be of use to someone. She could help if only they'd just open up to her. If they confided in her. But they had to do so willingly. She couldn't force answers out of them if they didn't want to talk.
0.3 was always overshadowed by those who took their jobs more "seriously." All she ever did was act like a total nuisance and get in trouble for it. All she did was get in the way and drag down the rest of the team. And 0.2 let her know this on no uncertain terms. He was always yelling at her for one reason or another. Telling her to stop goofing around on the job. Saying she needed to take her position more seriously. Even though 0.1 and 0.4 acted similarly. She was always the one that David scolded. It wasn't fair. He was always picking on her. Even though she tried so hard to make him happy...
And it frustrated her to no end that she couldn't help him. No. That he wouldn't let her help him.
It made her feel useless. Completely and utterly. What good was she to her team if she couldn't even make one of her teammates happy? What good was she to anyone if she couldn't be of use somehow...
Sure she could go a bit overboard at times. But all she really wanted was to make David smile. He was so worked up and stressed all the time. No matter how hard she tried he always wore that same stoic look on his face. He needed to loosen up a bit and have fun once in a while. Instead he worried about everything being perfect all the time and pushed himself to extreme limits to get satisfying results. If she didn't take her job seriously enough, then he took his job waaay too seriously.
All she could do was stand outside his door and listen to him cry. She slid silently to the floor and buried her head in her knees. All she could do was sit there silently and listen to the aching moans of a wounded heart. A heart that she knew full well wasn't hers to heal.
Silent tears seeped from her moistened corneas, conveniently hidden beneath the darkened threads of her favorite sweater. If only her words could reach him. If only she could look deep into his soul and know the exact words to move his stubborn heart. If only she could flash him a loving smile and heal him with the flick of a wrist. She silently laughed at herself. He would call her a fool for having such thoughts. No one can force another person's happiness. Even she knew that.
She gently brushed the tears from her face. She wasn't supposed to cry. Surely David was suffering more than she was. It was his tears that she should be wiping up. She heaved a heavy sigh and fell backwards a bit which caused 0.2's door to pop open just a crack. Huh? David usually kept his door locked so she had no idea it had been open this whole time.
Ashley was nervous but she crept in a tiny bit. To be totally honest this was probably the first time she had seen, let alone entered the inside of 0.2's room. It was kind of exciting and kind of terrifying. She knew she'd get yelled at if she got caught. She'd just take a quick peek and then leave.
The room had grown awful quiet all of a sudden. Should she really be doing this? She felt kind of nervous. After taking a few seconds to question the morality of sneaking into a friend's room to spy on them while they're crying, 0.3 ultimately gave in to her guilty conscience.
She would...just check in on him. That's all. Then she would leave. Her heart started beating rapidly as she stealthily snuck across 0.2's floor. She came in sight of his bed. There he lay, hunched over, fast asleep. So that's why the room got so quiet. Wet tears still stained his troubled face.
She really shouldn't be in here right now. 0.3 was about to leave, when she clumsily tripped over a loose nail in the floorboards. She landed face-first onto the mattress and made a loud thunk noise. Ashley froze in place for a second, thinking for sure that 0.2 would wake up this time. But he just mumbled a bit in his sleep.
Without thinking twice, Ashley instinctively reached her hand out and proceeded to wipe up David's tears. All she wanted in that moment was to be there for him. To protect him from all the things that made him cry. And to comfort him in his times of need. It simply broke her heart to see him in such a state. And not being able to do anything just made her heart sink even deeper. She wanted to cradle him in her arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay. She wanted to. But she mustn't. That wasn't her right. They were just teammates. Nothing more. And that's all they'd ever be.
Before 0.3 had a chance to regain her composure, she felt warm arms wrap around her waist. "Huh...?" She stopped breathing for a second while her brain tried to process what in the heck was going on. Her cheeks flared up at the realization that 0.2 was hugging her. But his eyes were still closed. He wasn't consciously aware of his surroundings. He had probably just mistaken her for a rather large stuffed toy that he was too embarrassed to admit he actually owned.
Still, this was awkward. 0.3 tried to gently shake him off but his grip was too tight to escape from easily. So she lay there in embarrassment, waiting for an opportunity to leave. Suddenly David cried out in his sleep. "Don't...don't go..." 0.3 glanced at his sleeping face. "Don't...leave me..."
Ashley gently wiped up his tears with a somber smile on her face. "I'm here. Don't worry." She gently embraced him, careful not to wake him up. "I promise I'll never leave you."
There they lay in each other's arms for what seemed like hours. After a while Ashley had fallen asleep without realizing it. When she opened her eyes, bright morning light shined through the room. Once she remembered where she was, she panicked. She was sure to get a stern scolding once 0.2 woke up. Heck, he was already up wasn't he? He was always up. He made it a point to wake up at the crack of dawn so he could get a head start on his responsibilities.
She looked around the room and sure enough, 0.2 was nowhere to be seen. But oddly enough he hadn't bothered to wake her up and yell at her...She quietly arose from the bed and made her way out of 0.2's room. 0.1 just so happened to see her on her way out and got a wicked smile on his face. "Well well. What do we have here? Wait til 0.4 hears about this!" The boy cackled wildly with a look of sheer amusement and mischief on his face. 0.3 just twiddled her thumbs and look down awkwardly.
That was strange. 0.3 usually gave more of a reaction when 0.1 teased her about her crush. But today she seemed more serious, so he decided he'd keep this little incident to himself. He decided to change the subject but 0.3 still seemed distracted. "Hey!" 0.3 heard 0.2's voice as she entered the kitchen and tensed up. "You're late for breakfast." 0.3 was expecting him to scold her but instead...
David gently ruffled her hair and handed her a plate of waffles. That's right. 0.2 was cold and uptight. But he was also kind and nurturing. 0.3 bit into the waffles. They were fluffy and warm. Why was he being so kind all of a sudden? It confused her poor lovestruck heart. She had violated his privacy and invaded his personal space. He should be furious. But instead he was rewarding her with a delicious breakfast? This was a joke. And as much as 0.3 loved a good joke, she could not stand for this.
Suddenly 0.3 got up on one knee, climbed on top of the table and stared 0.2 directly in the eyes. "YOU." 0.2 stared back with a calm expression on his face. "There something on my face?" Just then, Ashley ran across the table at a breakneck pace and whispered "There is now" before leaving an unexpected kiss on his cheek.
0.3 hadn't really realized what she'd done until it was too late. Now she was really in trouble. But David only blushed and became speechless. "I...am...so sorry...It won't happen again!" But before she could flee, David grabbed her shoulders and kissed her on the lips. "That's revenge," he winked, coyly. Ashley was confused for a second. "You know...for last night." 0.3 just muttered "Uh huh..." and proceeded to faint without further notice.