"... and then the boss flipped out at that point. Poor Mitch was lucky he didn't get fired on the spot!" Tim laughed at the memory. He had spent the last few hours catching up with Rachel at Chickadee's. TB had given them a ride and hung around to grab dinner, Ashley still sulked at the counter, and TF was trying to sell TB some stuffed animals. "So how have you been lately, FunFred?" Tim picked at his fries with a plastic fork. "Well… money's been hard to come by lately, I've been jumping around towns for jobs." Rachel nodded. "Yeah. Not much work for me either. I came down here to help out my cousin's tech store, though I don't really know much about technology." Tim shrugged. "Least you have a job." "Hey, I'm sure Foxy would be willing to take you in. He seems to like you."
Tim shook his head. "Store work isn't really for me." Tim sighed again. "Look, I'm glad I found you, but this town is kind of depressing. I kinda want to get out of here… before I end up like Ashley." Rachel frowned. "You can't say that. I've been here for a while now, and I'm convinced I can save this town." She stood up. "I could use your help, but if you think this town is hopeless, maybe you should leave. You know where to find me. See you tomorrow, hopefully." Rachel left the diner with that. Tim frowned, staring at his fries.
He had blown the chance to talk with her. "Hold up, Rach, I'll give you a ride." TB called as he paid and left. Tim sat in the booth for a bit before he got up and left. TF glanced over at Ashley, who was still there. "Ahem. You may want to have a chat with her." He winked at Chica before he left as well. Chica knew what he meant, as she had become close friends with Ashley.
Chica frowned and left the counter, walking towards her. "Closing time, hun. You should get going now." Ashley just shook her head. "Don't have a home anymore… got evicted." Chica sighed and slid into the seat across from her. "Ash, where have you been sleeping?" "My car." Chica sighed again. "That's no way to live." Ashley said nothing, just stared into a cup. "Ash, you can't keep doing this to yourself." Chica frowned as she thought about how Ashley came to the diner and stayed pretty much the entire day. "You need to get out there, live your life." Ashley just sighed. "No point. Not after Ryan."
Ryan was Ashley's brother, a policeman, who was killed a month ago. "Tell ya what. You can stay at my place until you get your own place." Ashley looked up. "Are… are you sure? I don't want to bother you-" Chica shook her head. "Nonsense. Get in your car, I'll drive." With that, she turned and left. Ashley knew there was no changing Chica's mind when it was set on something, so she sighed again and left.
A/N: Shout out to all the people who have favorited so far! Thanks for the feedback. Also, to answer fanficlovingperson's question, Mangle and FuntimeFoxy are different people in this story.