Winds of Change-A Monsters, Inc. fanfic
Chapter 8
"So you're asking advice from me this early in the morning? If I didn't know any better, Randall Boggs, I'd say you're in lo-O-ove."
"Listen, you cretin! You—!" Randall stopped after realizing that he snapped and wished to stabilize his emotions, starting to run to the faucets of the locker room to wet his fronds and calm down around Wazowski.
"If it makes you feel better, you said 'cretin' correctly this time." Mike said, catching up to the lizard.
"I'm NOT in love with her." Randall said under his breath. "I just... Kind of have a crush on her."
"Oh, Randall," the spherical cyclops said. "There's no shame in confessing your love for someone. Why, when I told Sulley that I was in love with my Schmoopsie-Poo, I was so elated and carefree!"
"It's so easy for you." Randall said. "I don't know how to say that without... Without sounding like a creep."
"She wouldn't judge you like that... Would she?" Mile asked.
Randall paused and shook his head. "I don't know. She's been the first person to ever get this close to me. Do you know how I felt when we first hugged?"
"How?"
Randall recalled that hug. How soft her red mane felt. How flowery she smelled. How soft and smooth her skin was. It was guilty pleasure to him he remembered every time he saw her, . "I was off-balance. It was nothing anyone else ever did to me. It felt warm, comforting and... AUGH!" he slammed at one of the stalls behind him, making Mike jump in shock. "How come I can't tell her that?!"
"Take some time to get a bit closer, I guess." Mike suggested. "I mean, I see you're still a bit insecure with your feelings. It's very complicated to think about. It is. But I can tell you, it's an amazing thing to know that someone you love loves you back just the same. I know it is after having Celia."
Then Randall remembered what Vanessie said about Mike and Celia days ago, "They look cute." He thought that she was probably thinking about having that amazing feeling sometime in her life, and she was willing to wait. But he wanted to show her that possibly that someone was there the whole time. He frowned.
"Still," Randall said. "Sometimes... I feel like I don't deserve her. I mean... Can you picture us?"
Mike thought about it. "It does seem like a weird match, but love has no conditions. All in all, let her come to you and then you can express how you feel. Just be patient."
"I don't know," Randall replied.
Mike lowered his brow and said, "You're very stubborn, Slick. Fine, you want me to tell you what you want to hear, then listen. Do you know what the company is doing today?"
Randall lifted his head in interest. "What?"
"They're coming up with another method of collecting laughter, but from our own world. They're going to start using this method once a month. So they close down the laugh floor for us to do this in. Do you know what it is?"
Randall waited for the answer.
"Dodgeball."
'That... Sounds very stupid...' Randall thought as soon as the word slipped out. "And that's gonna help me... How?"
"Randall, it's a sport. If you're teams with Vanessie, then you can try to save her to dodge the balls. Sweep her off her feet. Get it on, Slick. I mean, you're swift and quick, if she gets close to being hit, you could rescue her."
Randall grinned at the thought. "That is clever." He could picture himself saving Vanessie from a ball hurling at her in full speed. Randall was the gallant hero and Vanessie fainted at his epic heroism, him catching Vanessie before she hit the ground. "It might work."
"Hey, Randy," Vanessie said with a smile, then pointed at him. "I see you've been using the medication I gave you."
Randall looked at her and noticed that the skylight of the Laugh Floor made her red hair look more vibrant and fiery. He wanted to run his hands in it to feel the downy softness of it; if it were as soft as her mane. 'Soon,' Randall thought to himself. He touched his scar, which was slowly fading away.
"Yeah, I have, " he said with a half-smile.
Vanessie looked around with wandering eyes and had a questionable look on her face when she came next to him. "What's going on? We're not using doors today?"
"No, they're using a new method for collecting laughs."
"Oh, what is it?"
Randall tried to sound like how Mike said, "Dodgeball."
Immediately, Vanessie reacted the same way he did in the locker room. But she had more of a worried look on her face.
"Oh, GAD, you serious?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I hate dodgeball!" she said in disgust. "In middle school, I used to get hit all the time."
Randall then wanted to say, 'I'll protect you this time.', but after realizing how cheesy and stupid it sounded, he remained silent.
"Well, I'm a big girl now. I don't think that dodgeballs can hurt me as much as being a kid." Vanessie said in a hopeful voice.
They chatted there for a while until more confused monsters came in, with them explaining them what the occasion was. They all reacted the same way, in the same weirded out expressions and tones.
It was until Sulley came into the floor with a smile, the monsters crowding him with endless questions. Sulley raised his huge arm to silence them without effort, and they did become quiet. Vanessie and Randall remained at their station and looked at a distance.
"Please tell me it isn't true," Vanessie said in a low whisper.
"Alright, men," Sulley said. Vanessie cleared her throat rather loudly. "And one lady," Vanessie sent him a thumbs up. "I see you have heard that we're doing something a bit different today. Now, I do understand you guys. Why are we going to play a middle-school game? Well, I think that sometimes, we just have to loosen up and have fun. Isn't that what work is supposed to be like?"
There were murmurs of agreement in the crowd.
"So then I thought this would be an opportunity to get us closer together. I mean, we all seem like strangers. The only person you know at work is obviously your partner, but this could make work fun by mingling this way. What do you guys think?"
The crowd of monsters agreed once again.
"I guess it's a legitimate reason," Vanessie said. "But I don't want to get hit. I can't get hit."
"I think they'll go easy on you," Randall said.
"Why?"
"Because you're the only female here." Randall replied with a chuckle.
"Now, that is sexist."
"And also realistic."
Vanessie gave him her signature punches on the shoulder again. He didn't mind it at all and laughed quietly at her.
"So, we'll form the teams!" Sulley announced. "I will choose the captains. It will be Mike Wazowski and Randall Boggs."
Randall's chameleon eyes widened at the mention of his name and flinched. When he saw everyone's eyes on him, he paled his color slightly. Mike came out from the crowd and approached Randall with a grin, reminding him of the talk they had, making the awkwardness worse with Vanessie right next to him.
"What's wrong?" Vanessie asked.
"Nothing, nothing." Randall replied, trying to compose himself before Wazowski came and lifted his arm towards him.
"Good luck," Wazowski said as he shook Randall's hand. At that, Randall sighed, hoping this game would end well.
"Vanessie. My team." he said.
Vanessie groaned loudly in feigned annoyance. "I know that you'd pick me sometime, but calling me first, Randy? This'll be torture."
"Don't worry." Randall said, then breathed in before he said, "I got your back."
Vanessie's frown turned upside down at his remark. When Randall turned his head to face the monster crowd, he sighed a sigh of relief. For once, a cheesy line didn't backfire. Beginner's luck.
Randall chose a few more monsters on his team, taking turns with Wazowski. He chose the strongest monsters he could pick that Mike didn't take from him, but in the end, he had to choose Needleman and Smitty because they were the only ones left, to his dismay.
They were explained about the rules and information, which all startled all the monsters. It was not an ordinary game of dodgeball at all. There was a monster with numerous eyes left in charge to keep track of how many times each monster hits an opponent or gets hit. Any hits by a team would add points, and any member getting hit by an opponent would decrease points. Also, what confused them the most were the balls they had to use. There were so many. There was a pet ball that follows the monster it hits for half a minute, a hamster ball that would put a monster hit by it into a huge hamster for the same amount of time, half a minute, and also a disco ball. All the extreme ones had time limits. The only ones that didn't scare them much were the normal red balls. Still, it was an interesting game to wait for.
"Jeez," Vanessie whispered to Randall. "Plan my funeral. I'm gonna die today. I know it."
"Just don't worry about it," Randall reassured in a cool tone. "I have to say, they really thought this through."
"It's like they know when my death date is," Vanessie said. "I bet they even got a tombstone ready for me."
"Now you're exaggerating." Randall chuckled.
"No, I'm scared."
"Oh, Van—"
"Shut up," Vanessie said urgently. "Sulley's got more to say."
"Now, we want a clean and fair game here," Sulley announced. "Remember, we're doing this for fun and for all you guys to team with each other."
The teams mumbled a bit. Everyone moved to their selected teams; one on one half of the laugh floor and the other team on the opposite side.
Randall took note of Vanessie staying close to him as possible, of course, without making contact with him. But even so, Randall chuckled a bit to himself.
It was until she came a bit too close to him and her arm brushes slightly against one of his, causing her to flinch.
"I'm sorry." she said, blushing.
"It's alright," Randall replied, half-smiling. "And don't worry."
"Keep me away from those disco balls." she said.
"Why?"
"Just... Just help me with that." she said uneasily as she nervously watched a lone disco ball on the floor, just waiting to be thrown at.
"Okay," Randall said. "I will."
Then they heard the countdown commence. "We are on in seven... Six... Five.."
Randall looked at Vanessie in the corner of his eye and noticed the irises of her eyes shrink to slits. He didn't know how he did it or when he worked up the nerve, but he suddenly held her hand in his, gently squeezing it in reassurance. At the gesture, Vanessie quickly looked at him, her pupils now dilated. She returned the gesture by softly gripping his hand in hers.
When Randall wished the moment they looked at each other lasted longer, the siren blared and Vanessie immediately hid behind him with a faint squeak.
After two seconds already, balls were flying to and fro, with three monsters already hit, one of them being hit by a chicken. Fortunately, Randall's team hit five after that.
Randall took a few steps back, telling Vanessie behind him, "Get back, get back."
She obeyed and moved to the back of the monsters playing with Randall coming beside her.
"Vanessie, come on, are you doing this or not?" Randall asked, grabbing Vanessie's shoulders tensely, but gently.
"I don't know," Vanessie replied uneasily. "Look, it's not the game. I just get paranoid when things come at me so fast. Especially in a game designed to hit others VERY hard..."
"Vanessie, trust me," Randall said, his hands sliding down from her shoulders to her elbows, not feeling to let go. "Just stick around the back of the middle and you'll be alright."
"Okay," she said softly, her expression now serious as she looked into Randall's eyes. "But I'm passing the ball to you if I ever catch one. I have a suckish throw."
Randall chuckled at her.
At that Vanessie slowly but steadily moved herself to the middle of the team, knowing that she's making progress. Already she saw monsters in the other team in hamster balls and being chased by chickens. She couldn't help but giggle at the amusing sight.
She turned her head to see Randall playing and when she thought surprised her. She noticed how slender and agile his body was. She was very impressed by his quick and slick movements that she considered it as eye candy. Especially for an artist like her, who notes interesting forms, she couldn't stop looking at him without blushing a little.
She also noticed how much of a leader he was then; he commanded the members of his team, but in a way that was not severe and demanding. He did it in such an organized way. She knew if the old Randall were to be a team leader, he would be biting and nasty, but now, she noticed a huge difference in all that. She smiled as she watched him.
It was until she felt something hit her quick and sudden. By the time she fell to the floor, she looked next to her and saw what hit her; it was that darned disco ball. "Oh, crud." she mumbled to herself as she got up before the effects kicked in, her eyes glowing, as if what she was about to do was beyond her own control.
Randall looked back to where Vanessie stood to find her trying to get up from the ground. "Oh, crap." he said to himself. He felt as if he failed doing what he was advised to do. He looked over at the other team and saw Mike, obviously knowing what happened and shrugged.
Then he heard random music playing and turned his head back to Vanessie.
i"Now here we stay
It's all that we're worth
I've been through the pain and
Been dragged through the dirt
Whatever they tell you,
We're bigger than words
I've been where you're standing,
I know how it hurts"/i
As he heard Vanessie sing the words, he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to react. He just stood there and listened to her voice in aghast.
i"Let this be our song now
Let this be our day
That we stand together
We'll be okay
Cause we're survivors
We're making it work
Expecting the best
When they hope for the worst" /i
Just then, Vanessie came back to consciousness, she looked completely confused and shaken. Randall scurried after her as fast as he could and kept his arms alert if she were dizzy enough to fall.
"What happened?" Vanessie asked curiously. "What did I do?"
"It's alright, Van, I'll tell you later." Randall said.
Vanessie's pupils shrunk fast as she yelled at him, "Randy! Watch out!" and pushed him down from an approaching ball coming at them.
"What was that?" Randall asked breathlessly.
"I don't know," Vanessie said. "It's like I felt a rush or something..."
"Well, keep that rush. We could've lost ourselves if you didn't save us there."
Vanessie laughed. "We make it sound like we're in a battlefield or something."
"Then let's make it like one." Randall grinned as he got up and gave Vanessie a hand up as well. "We're winning so far, so let's keep it that way."
"Cool," Vanessie smiled.
"OW!" Randall shouted after he got hit by a regular harmless ball. Vanessie's eyes followed the bouncing ball going away and looked back at Randall with a cocked eyebrow.
"Now that was your fault."
"We're still winning," he said with a grin. "Let's get out there now."
"Right."
Vanessie moved a bit to the front of the team, still shaken for what she was doing. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, somehow hearing a beat within her that shared the same rhythm as her heartbeat, rising in anticipation and boldness. Even though she didn't know exactly what she did, she knew that the effects are still there, for she still heard a song in her head, somehow giving her encouragement to get up there.
She noticed a huge dark blue monster in the back of the crowd about to throw a ball at her and in less than a second, it came right at her. She closed her eyes tightly as she stretched her arms out to try to catch it. It did land in her arms, but the speed of it pushes her backwards, her holding onto the ball tightly against her to not escape, Randall keeping an eye on her if something went wrong again. She opened her eyes and looked down to realize that her claws keeping her on the ground made scratches on the floor. Randall winced a little as he noticed, too. "Shoot." Vanessie mumbled.
But when she looked up at the monster who aimed at her, disappointed, she grinned, "Yeah, don't underestimate me just because I'm a chick."
She passed the ball to Randall with a smile. He grinned at her back. "So how's it for you?"
"It's kinda fun," she said with a giggle, feeling her heart pump rapidly with the music in her head. "Let's do more."
For the remainder of the game, Vanessie seemed to have more confidence in playing the game, although she still passed any ball she caught to Randall to throw; she tried to throw it at an opponent, but it was the weakest throw Randall ever saw. Vanessie thought so herself, too. In the end, Randall's team won, with Randall not even taking note how many points his team earned, but he took pride in it anyway.
The rest of the day was like a regular day where they made kids laugh. The whole time, Vanessie kept asking Randall what she did when she was hit by the disco ball.
"Van, when are you going to give up on that?" Randall said to her lightheartedly. "I told you that I'll tell you later."
"How much later?"
"After work, I promise."
Vanessie crossed her arms and after five second she nodded and said, "Alright. You should've told me that instead of making me wait with suspense."
"Wow, and I thought I wasn't so patient." Randall chuckled.
"Shut up." Vanessie replied with her signature friendly punches. "Now go in there. We got work to finish."
When they worked again, Vanessie found herself mesmerized by Randall's behavior with the kids he made laugh. She could tell that little by little each day, he was adjusting to liking the kids. She noticed mthe names he called them; Squirt, Shorty, Slick, Squeak, most of which Vanessie noticed started with "s". She always watched him on her monitor screen with her hand on her cheek thoughtfully, her flipper-ears loving the sound of Randall's voice in her earpiece. Every time he came back to the Monster World, Vanessie felt a flush of happiness as she saw his glimmering emerald green eyes. She also felt warm every single time he walks up to her with that cocky yet kind grin on his face after a door was used. She couldn't help but smile in his presence.
A little while later Randall saw Mike approaching him and excused himself from Vanessie. He walked a bit of distance to see if Mike was going to talk about how he did.
"So, Randall," Mike said. "What you did was not bad until..."
"I know," Randall said. "I let her get hit."
"Well," Mike glanced over to where Vanessie sat, noticing her contentment. "She doesn't seem to take it too hard."
"Yeah, she had fun with it, at least." Randall said.
"You can do better, though," Mike said. "Well, it's your first try. I know I screwed up when I tried to make a move on Celia."
"No," Randall said sarcastically.
"Yeah, I was so shy and embarrassed. At least you had a bit of confidence today."
Randall looked back at Vanessie and saw her fixing up the paperwork. He noted her dainty black-gloved fingers flipping through the pages thoughtfully and carefully. He recalled holding those small, feminine hands. So warm and soft. Then he pictured her touching his face the past weekend when she held on to his jaw gently, how tingly he felt. That was all she was; gentle, sweet and caring. Especially caring knowing how much she was concerned for him and willing to help him out.
"Wazowski," Randall said quietly. "I think you're right."
"About what?"
"About me," Randall paused to take a deep breath before he finished, "being in love with Vanessie."
Everyone started clocking out minutes later, Randall waiting patiently for Vanessie to finish her paperwork.
"Just one more minute," she said.
Randall would reply, "Yeah, I'll wait."
Five minutes actually passed, but Randall didn't mind one bit. Just knowing that she was around satisfied him enough. She turned in her paperwork to Roz, had a bit of small-talk with the slug and started leaving with Randall escorting her to the front of the company. Like often, they were taciturn to each other, but with Vanessie beside him, he wouldn't have it any other way. He wished he could hold hands with her without feeling like such a fool. He also didn't want to make her uncomfortable, for he knew that now, she didn't feel to him as he does to her. Then Vanessie spoke.
"So what did I do?"
Randall remembered that he promised to tell her after work. He sighed before he said, "Well, after you got hit... You sang."
"I sang?" Vanessie said.
"Yeah," Randall replied. "You did." He turned to look at her and saw her look away, probably embarrassed. "You alright?"
"That stupid ball made me do something I can't even remember and I find out now that it was me randomly singing without knowing it." she blushed.
Randall didn't know how to comfort her then. When they made it to the front doors, all he could sum up to say was, "You have a nice voice."
She turned to face him again before she could push the handlebars of the door, her eyes glossy. She sighed as she looked back at the floor. Then she said quietly, "You're just saying that." and opened the doors.
"No," Randall said in a pleading voice following after her. "No, no, I'm not."
"Then what are you saying?" she asked him with a sigh.
"Look, I wanted to save you from that ball," Randall admitted. "I really wanted to. Hearing how much you hated to be hit, I didn't want to risk you having that to happen to you."
Vanessie breathed in deeply.
"And now I feel bad for letting it happen—"
When Vanessie started walking away with a huff, Randall was confused what he did. He thought of what he said immediately and realized that she thought he meant: that he lied about her voice being "nice."
"No, Van! Vanessie!" Randall yelled as he tried to catch up to the loch ness and grabbed her shoulder. "Vanessie, wait!"
"What?" she said as she turned to face him again, her eyes even glossier.
"I didn't mean it that way. I meant that I felt bad for letting you do something without you knowing it. But your singing was..." he paused to think about how to say it. "It was really something." He heard her sigh and he continued, "I know it doesn't say much, but you know I can't easily express myself. I don't know how to say how I feel without sounding like an idiot, like how I love yo–OUU–r work ethic." Randall said looking away so Vanessie couldn't see his nervous state. Fortunately, she didn't notice. "But I am sorry for not saving you from that ball."
Vanessie brushed her scarlet bangs away from her eyes silently and sniffed. It was cold out. She looked back at Randall and breathed, "You know what? It's alright. I guess I just need some coffee. I get the nerves when I don't have any." Then she made a small smile. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm cranky tonight for some reason."
"Don't worry." Randall said, grinning again after knowing that it's alright between them again. "I've had those kinds of days, myself."
She laughed. Then her eyes widened a bit. Her smile grew. She raised her hand to his shoulder so suddenly that Randall flinched a bit. "Do you have anything to do right now?"
Randall always wanted to spend a bit more time with Vanessie on their work days, and he didn't have anything planned. He never did. All he did at home after work was just drink a cup of coffee by himself, thinking about his day with Vanessie. Of course, he didn't want to tell her that part. "Uh, no, I don't. Why?"
It seemed she thought about what she wanted for a second before Vanessie's smile lessened and swiped away her hand from his shoulder. "Nothing," she said. "I'm sorry, it was just a random thought."
"What is it?" Randall asked. "You can tell me."
She let out a breathy laugh and ran her hand through her bangs that tried to cover her face. Randall was thankful for the wind that moment. He thought that gesture she made was sexy. "I was... Just wondering if you would want to come to my second job and... I don't know, have a cup with me?"
Randall felt his heart skip a beat then. Then he felt embarrassed; date or not, she was the first to ask him someplace. But he was grateful for her request anyway. He hoped it'd be a step closer to something.
"Oh," Randall said, chuckling shyly. "Y–Yeah, sure. I'd love to."
"Great." she beamed.
"Is it far?"
"Nah, it's about ten minutes walking distance." Vanessie pointed to the direction. "Do you know the Hidden City Café?"
"Oh, yeah," Randall nodded. "You work there?"
"Yeah, but everyday except Saturday and Sunday." Vanessie said. "I took the extra Saturdays sometimes, though, to make enough dough for myself."
"Oh, no wonder I never see you there; I usually go on Sundays when nothing goes on."
"I guess so," Vanessie giggled. "So, shall we?"
"We shall."
On the way to Vanessie's second job, she and Randall talked to one another, Randall asking about how her little hair all Chimmy is doing and Vanessie getting an update of how Randall was finding methods of making himself more patient. There were laughs between them, and warm smiles sent. They walked at a rather slower pace than Vanessie usually did by herself on her way to work, which Randall was concerned with when he assumed more than ten minutes passed on their walk. Vanessie told him it was alright and there was nothing to worry about at all. She said something about her being always twenty minutes early at work, which eased Randall a little.
When they made it, Randall opened the door for Vanessie, her being astonished by his gentlemanly gesture. She fixed her bangs away from her eyes and laughed faintly. "My, I guess chivalry is still around."
"It's just opening a door," Randall grinned.
"Don't be so modest, Randy," Vanessie giggled. She walked through the door Randall so politely opened for her and he followed behind her.
The inside of the café was like it always was; very clean, comfortable and always smelling like fresh coffee. Randall remembered when he used to come here often to study for classes at MU. It was always quiet, warm and just so darn calm. A few people were in the building now, just minding their own business.
Vanessie went to greet a few of the people there, Randall guessed they were regulars at the joint. She made a wave here, a "How are you?" there, she made herself feel welcome. Then they asked her who "the guy" next to her was.
"Oh, he's a friend at my first job." she answered.
"You mean that guy that was on your nerves?" an old lady monster with six tentacles asked before sipping a cup of tea. Randall's eyes blinked upon hearing that. He didn't exactly feel hurt, but surprised instead.
Then Vanessie expressed an awkward laugh, running her hand through her red hair again. Randall assumed that anything Vanessie did with her hair was a nervous habit. "Mrs. Williams... Ehh.. Heh heh... Yeah, I should've updated the story on that..." she said before catching a quick glance at Randall's reaction. Apparently, she looked away as fast as she attempted to look at him. "Umm, but we're good friends now for quite a while. He's very reliable."
Randall was relieved to hear that and felt a warm feeling in his chest.
"Oh, we'll that's good." another monster with a fedora said. "Forgiveness and trust are good stuff."
"Very true, Mr. Gordon." Vanessie smiled, still looking embarrassed and uneasy. "Umm, will you excuse me?"
She led Randall to the end of the café where it was silent and no people sat and she said with a guilty expression, "I'm so sorry about that. It was so unexpected."
"Can't say it wasn't," Randall said. "But it's not a problem."
"Still, I feel bad about it. It was the day of our biggest fight; the day before we made up. I was mumbling under my breath of how much I hated you then and... Well, some of the regulars wanted to hear it, saying that it'll make me feel better if I let it out. I guess they wanted gossip out of a boring day. But I should've told them that it's different now."
"It is different now, and you shouldn't worry about it anymore," Randall said.
Vanessie's frown turned upside down then. "Okay. I just wanted to let you know about that... Y'know," she looked down to the floor fingered at the hair behind her flipper-ear; that nervous habit. "In case you were wondering."
Randall chuckled. "Come on. Let's have coffee, on me."
"Okay, let me just greet the boss and I'll serve us some," Vanessie said as she passed Randall and jumped as she saw her boss, a green short-haired fuzzy monster that resembled a bit like a fat dragon with tiny wings, come out of nowhere. "Dude, Tío! You almost scared me!"
"Hey, Vanessie. Sorry bout that." the monster said with a chuckle, then eyed the reptile monster behind Vanessie. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh," Vanessie, smiled as she turned to introduce the two. "Tío, this is Randall Boggs, who IS my friend now. Randy, here's Luis, or I call him Tío because he's like an uncle to me."
"Friends now?" Tío asked Randall as he reached out his hand for a handshake. "Well, very nice!"
Randall shook the monster's hand, not having an idea what to say, but smiled politely.
"Yeah, I just wanted him to come over to see how it's like here and we could have a coffee and such," Vanessie said.
"Oh," Luis said. "Well, there's not much people requesting for a portrait from you now, Vanessie. If you want, you can hang around with your friend."
Vanessie noticed her boss winking at her, wondering why he did so. She shook it off and said, "You sure?"
"Oh, yeah. Take a load off until someone does come for your talents." he said. "Here, I'll get you two—"
"No, no, allow me." Vanessie said as she went behind the counter to pour some coffee for herself and Randall. "I did invite him over anyway. I want to be a good host."
"You surprise me in many ways, Vanessie."
Vanessie laughed as she poured. Then she heard Luis say, to Randall, she knew, "That's how she always is: taking things into her own matters. Even I offered to help her out when she was a teenager. She told me that she had to do it all herself."
'That isn't really much new,' Randall thought, but he listened with amusement anyway.
"I wanted to develop my responsibilities on my own, Tío." Vanessie replied with a laugh. "I was a stupid teenager; I was bound to make stupid decisions."
"You weren't a stupid teenager. You were just... Out of hand with your choice of doing things yourself."
"Well, it's a good thing she grew out of it." Randall cut in, then saw Vanessie return with two mugs with her. "Even if she still can be insistent on being the host of almost everything."
Vanessie punched his arm again.
"It's funny," Luis said. "It seemed she grew out of it for the past weeks."
"Yeah," Vanessie said. "Right after we made up."
Randall looked up and saw Vanessie smiling at him. She didn't say anything at all. His only reply was a smile back. He knew he was responsible for Vanessies change in becoming calmer and making her realize that she can't do all things herself. He knew that she counted on him on many things, and he always wanted to be by her side. He figured that was why he smiled back.
"Well, I'll leave you two, then." the boss said before he left Randall and Vanessie alone.
"So, he's like your uncle?" Randall said as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Well, yeah. He saw how needy I was for a job to take care of myself when I was a teen. He did provide for me for a short while before I told him I could do things myself without help. But I've been working here for the longest time. Every other second job I couldn't handle. But here is just as close as it gets for me having my dream job." she said before she, too, took a sip.
"He seems like a nice guy,"
"Oh, he's quite the jokester. And an optomist." Vanessie smiled.
He nodded. What Vanessie didn't expect was what he asked her next.
"Did you ever wish you had a chance?"
She sent him a puzzled look. "A chance for what?"
"To go to an art school. And to have that dream job of yours."
Oh, she has. A hell of a lot of times. The was not one moment in the day where she didn't think about herself being a professional artist. Being able to render any kind of medium of art. Something her parents always encouraged her to do since her childhood.
She laughed sadly and quietly. "Of course I have." she took a long sip of her caramel coffee before she continued. "Many times. But you know, I don't worry about that so much now."
Randall blinked confusedly. "Why?"
"Because I get to work with a great friend like you." she beamed sweetly.
He felt so flattered, but there was that word: friend. He wanted her to see things the way he did. He was in love with her. He loved her little nervous habits, the teasing way she punched him on his arm, he loved the way her chocolate brown eyes shimmered brownish-gold in the sunlight, or any light. Most of all, he loved her tender and sensitive nature. Everything she did was for a good purpose; her getting the job in MI for her mother, taking in her kitten to care for it as her own, her forgiving him for being nasty to her in the beginning when most wouldn't. He knew her influence came to him, too, wanting to do things for good purposes. He wanted her so much. Course, that can't happen. At least now it can't, since Vanessie doesn't seem to be ready for something like that.
"You're a great friend, too." was all Randall could say. He felt a sense of hope when he swore he saw Vanessie blush a bit—followed by a brush of her bangs.
"What school did you go to?" she asked.
"I went to Monsters University," He answered. "It's not what you would like, I'm sure, but I majored in scaring there."
"I've heard of it." Vanessie said. "It was never my first choice. Especially since it has a major in scaring, something mom and I opposed; no offense."
"It's fine. It is better to make kids laugh," Randall admitted. "But it was a really nice school."
"I bet it was expensive."
"It was," he said. "I did earn a few scholarships, but my mother did set me up for the most part. We're a pretty wealthy family."
"Yeah, right."
"I was. Still am, but I know how to manage my fortunes, you know. How do you think I paid off my apartment when I came back?"
"Shoot, and all this time I thought you were just a regular guy. Now I find out you're a rich guy? I didn't know this." Vanessie joked.
"I didn't think it was important." he said.
"Well, that's humility for you." she said as she lifted her mug. "That's alright, it isn't. But umm..." she thought, then laughed. "If it were, I have my eyes on high quality pencils at a local art store..."
"Oh, Van,"
"I'm just kidding." she giggled again.
"I knew you were." he smiled.
"It's a shame your father wasn't part of your life." she said.
"Yeah," Randall said with a sigh. "He only wanted to marry my mother for her money. Once he found out that my mother was having us, he just left. So it was just me, my brother Ned and mom. But she was always there. She was kind of like you describe your mother."
"Aww, that's good." she said. "So you have a brother named Ned?"
"Yeah, he's the oldest. He's not my color; he's green." Randall said, then grinned. "We were best pals. We really got along fine. He really gave me the influence of going to college. My mom, yeah, but Ned encouraged me more. I haven't talked to him in a log while..."
"Oh, you should contact him." she said. "He sounds like a nice guy."
"He really is. He was the optimistic one. He gave me hope for getting accepted to MU, so he's a great role model to me."
"Aww, how sweet."
"Yeah, he was my only best friend. If it hadn't been for him being my brother, I would've been miserable. He was so reliable. But now he has his own life and all."
"Phone him sometime. I'd like to meet him, too." Vanessie smirked.
"He'd like you. He's very likeable. But maybe I will call him sometime. It's been a long while. Plus, I bet he doesn't know about me disappearing for months. He lives quite far."
"Awesome." she said heartily.
Randall took note that he also loved Vanessie's cheerfulness. It made things lighter.
"But for now," Randall said, trying hard to think how to say it naturally. "I can say that you're my new role model."
"Really?" Vanessie blinked in a surprised manner.
He nodded.
"How? I mean—"
"Your persistence. Your now hopeful nature. The way you care for the littlest creatures. You did all that... Because you know it has a purpose and you love doing it. I never was acquainted by that before."
"Randy, it seems that you're putting me on a pedestal," Vanessie said with a breathy sigh. "I have my flaws."
"I have mine, too. Yet you still value me."
Vanessie giggled softly behind her mug again. "I know. I just don't like being on the spot. I'm not that special."
"You deserve to be on the spot." Randall said seriously before he took another sip of coffee. "Don't downgrade yourself, Van. I'm sure Nessie would say the same."
"She would." Vanessie said, then looked up to his eyes. "Thanks."
Randall couldn't lie to those eyes at all. He knew he said the truth to her, but not all of it. But he didn't want her to think slightly low of herself. He valued her so much, he wanted her to value herself. Besides, she helped him see that.
"You're welcome."
Vanessie had a great time in her second job with Randy. She appreciated the fact that he accepts her company since she hardly had any friends since a long time. As she drank her coffee, many times she was distracted by his emerald green eyes. This happened as they talked and Randy waited a few seconds for Vanessie's reply. Vanessie's only excuse for that was, "Sorry, I went blank."
But she just couldn't resist his eyes at all. She found them serene, vibrant and just drop-dead beautiful. She also thought of them like windows to his soul, now seemingly calm and patient, just like how he wanted to be. She was very proud of him and the great progress he made. She smiled warmly as she looked at Randy talk to her in that comfortable way. It's like he knew that she wouldn't judge him for anything now. And because of that, she was so comfortable around him. Why else would she invite him over to the café?
Still, she regretted for calling him her friend. She wasn't oblivious of what she was feeling. She knew it every time she stared into his eyes. She knew it those times she saw him making those kids laugh but she only regarded it as a crush and nothing more. Even though reasons were hard to think of, she didn't think they would be compatible. Besides, she didn't want to feel weird to have a relationship with her own partner... But she did fantasize about it, especially after feeling Randy's hand curled into hers. Even though he's a reptile, his hand did feel warm and lively. She wanted to feel that again. She shook it off. She was thinking all that while starting into Randy's enticing eyes again. "Sorry, I went blank again."
"It's fine," Randall replied with a grin.
There was that grin again, making her giggle.
"What?"
"Nothing. You just look silly with that grin," Vanessie said behind her mug.
"Silly? I'm silly with human children, but not in this world." Randall chuckled.
"Callaté, moradito." she giggled.
That whole time, the two talked and laughed, having a swell time together. Vanessie didn't want it to end. She wanted the moment to last longer.
When it was close for Vanessie to punch out, she said goodbye to her boss and escorted Randy to the door with her. But again, he showed his chivalry by opening the door for her, something so simple yet she valued so much in him. She accepted the action, blushing a bit at his considerable and generous gesture.
He offered to walk her home and she agreed. Feeling gracious for his protective nature over her.
When they made it to the apartment building, they walked up the steps to the entrance, where they both stopped.
"Randy, thank you for coming with me," she said happily. "It was very fun. We should do it again sometime."
"Yeah," Randy said with a smile. "We should."
Vanessie then wrapped her arms around Randy's neck and hugged him. She felt him jerk slightly, but she gave him an encouraging soft grip and felt his four arms wrap around her. The "friendly" hug was just an excuse to feel his arms around her again. She then recalled when she first hugged him and how secure it felt. So warm and comforting. She just wanted to feel that again. She was sure he wanted to as well.
To not make things weird, she unlocked her arms, him following her action. She sighed before she said with a half-smile, "Goodnight, Randy."
"Goodnight, Vanessie. See you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow," she said.
Then she saw him walk home, in that slow but organized way he walked with those four legs of his and stood there until he was well out of sight.
She took a deep breath as she went inside the apartment complex and made her way to her room.
Her batcat greeted her with a long wail and rubbed against her leg affectionately. Vanessie laughed lightly in amusement of her silly fluff-ball and took a long warm shower. The warmth made her drowsy and vowed once she got out, she'll go to bed. She dried herself and slipped into bed, letting out a soft purr at the comfort and soft warmth of the blankets over her and had Randy in her thoughts before she fell asleep.
It was midnight when she had a dream of herself sleeping and someone curled in with her and held her tightly... Something with four arms wrapped around her carefully and affectionately and she purred at the touch. She woke up with a jump and only saw Chimmy lying next to her and nothing more.
The kitten mewed curiously at her owner.
"I don't know what happened..." was all she replied before she tried to sleep again.
