A/N Hello my darling readers! My apologies about this one taking a bit of time: I started this thing during winter break when I had more time, and now that schools back on I don't have as much leisure time. Anywho, I'm going to put a bit of a song in here called Brick By Boring Brick by Paramore…that I used to listen to while I still like them :/. I just thought it would be fitting for Crash Baby...me. Wow, all of this ends up sounding weird when I place myself in a story.
Crash Baby stripped out of her filthy clothing, and threw it outside the bathroom. Yes, she was slightly embarrassed that among them was a bra, but that was nothing against the immense joy she was feeling. Nothing could have readied her for the kindness she had just received, nothing. No one had ever cared enough to go out of their way and do something like that for her. And while it caught her off guard, it was the most pleasant surprise she had ever received.
Here she was, with people the same as her, and being welcomed with open arms, even after the crying fits she had had.
She turned the water on to the shower and adjusted it to the warmest temperature she could stand. She smiled as the warmth spread throughout her body. It had been a while since she had felt this happy and at ease. She scrubbed her scalp with the shampoo, washing out the grime that had settled. She poured herself a giant glob of conditioner in her hand before running it through her hair, and brushing it through. She sighed and embraced the melody running through her mind, and before she knew it her voice was bouncing off the walls.
"Well she lives in a fairytale, somewhere too far for us to find. Forgotten the taste and smell of a world that she's left behind. 'It's all about the exposure, the lens,' I told her. Well the angles are all wrong now she's ripping wings off of butterflies. Keep your feet on the ground...when your heads in the clouds," Crash Baby inhaled, "Well go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole! To bury the castle! Bury the castle! Go get your shovel and we'll dig a deep hole, to bury the castle! Bury the castle! Ba dah ba ba da ba ba bada!" she sang, sounding slightly quirky. She continued to sing; unknown to her she was being listened to.
"Well you built up a world of magic, because your real life is tragic, yeah you built up a world of magic..." she sighed and sang the next verse will a bittersweet smoothness, "well if it's not real, you can't hold it in your hands, you can't feel it with feel your heart. And I won't believe it, but if it's true you can see it with your eyes or even in the dark...and that's where I want to be yeah!" she sang the chorus again, her voice bouncing off the plaster walls and being heard by Poison's ears. He had come to retrieve her dirty laundry and he ended up hearing her sing in the shower. Didn't that figure? Next thing he heard was her clapping her hands.
"Bah dap bah bah bah bah bada, ba dap ba ba ba ba ba ba, ba dap ba ba ba ba ba da ba da ba ba ba ba ba ba! ba dap ba ba ba ba ba da, ba dap ba ba ba ba ba ba! Ba dap ba ba ba ba ba ba ba dap ba ba ba ba ba ba...!" she finished unexpectedly. He didn't have to see her to know she was smiling wide. There was a long pause.
"Singing in the shower?" she asked herself, "When am I going to stop being a cliché on legs?" she asked herself.
Poison smiled, shook his head and grabbed the dirty laundry. Sometimes he scorned himself for just not being able to focus. He smiled as he came to a conclusion: at least this girl wasn't going to be boring.
The moment Sarah opened her eyes and remembered her surroundings, she shot up and got dressed. She didn't plan on being as mopey and unproductive as she had been in the last few weeks. She pulled on her clothes, brushed her hair and teeth, did her makeup (she carried it with her everywhere she went, safely tucked into her bra) and thought about her words carefully.
She basically read dictionaries in her leisure time, so it wasn't very hard for her to think of a perfect phrase. A perfect place to begin. She took her laser gun out of its compartment in her boot and spun it around. It spun fast and she stopped suddenly with a jerk of her hand, and then put it back in its place. Still just as sharp as she had been. And lastly, she put on her trademark shade of red lipstick. It was the thing that made her Crash Baby. And it was her well known signature among the Dracs. She always left her mark on them one way or another, and it was always the same shade of cherry red lipstick. She strode out of the bathroom with a bounce in her step and a glint of nervousness in her strange eyes.
She stood before the living room, and looked kindly at the sleeping Killjoys on the couch. She took a deep breath. She woke up Poison first, and advised him to do the same for the rest of them. And when they were all awake, they stared at her, shocked and confused. Not that she could blame them; she hadn't shown her face for weeks. But she maintained her knowing facial expression. She cleared her throat. Nervous habit.
"Good morning, Killjoys. I, um... Aw, fuck," she murmured. She ran her fingers through her hair and closer her eyes.
"This is not going to be easy. Me and public speaking have never gone hand in hand," she frowned awkwardly staring at the ground, earning vague smiles.
"But...I wanted to apologize for being such a...reclusive little freak. I didn't mean to be...well, how I turned out to be, over the past few weeks. I should have been more open with you but instead I shut you all out. That," she sighed, "was downright bratty of me. And I shut out the only people who could help me. That was a stupid little funk I was in, and I'm sorry you guys had to bear through it. But then again, I must thank you for the same reason; very few people would have had so much patience with me," she confessed, eyeing Poison, who dismissed it with a little wave of his hand and blushed, "you guys are amazing. Now with that said," she smiled hesitantly, each of the Killjoys studying her, "I'd like to ask for a second chance. I feel as though we started off on the wrong foot."
She held her head high and spoke, her words clearer then crystal.
"Allow me to introduce myself a bit.
My name is Sarah Odette Heller, more widely known as Crash Baby. I live to take down the Better Living freaks. And now I have an even better reason to continue than ever:…to avenge my big sister, Bea...Lady Leach to you guys. Because she was ghosted by them. On a lighter note," she blushed, "My favorite things are my Bedazzled laser gun, my red lipstick, and this leather jacket," she smiled, gesturing at what she was wearing.
"I hope you will accept me here. You seem like the best people I could have ever ended up in the hands of. Now," she grinned, "who is in the mood for pancakes?"
"Me me me me!" Ghoul beamed, breaking the hesitance that had flooded the room. Crash smiled.
"Chocolate or bandanna-nut?" she asked. Kobra piped up.
"Do we even have those things..?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Nope. But I do," Crash chirped.
"How the hell did you manage to get your hands on that?" Jet asked, smiling and full of disbelief.
"BL/ind goons have got a pretty nice pantry," she explained, "You should really try going there some time. It's like Stop & Shop, just a bit more complex and risky."
Jet shook his head.
"You broke into the BL/ind food pantry?"
She smirked.
"Mmmhmmm. Though, I do prefer to use the word 'visited'."
Jet raised an eyebrow and whistled and as everyone roared with laughter, Crash let out a bow. She smiled kindly at them.
"You still haven't answered my question. Chocolate chip or banana-nut?"
They all replied at once:
"Chocolate chip!"
The exchanged glances at one another, shocked at their unplanned unison. Crash started laughing, and it wasn't long before the rest of them were as well.
"Well, that settles that!" she grinned, "Chocolate chip it is!"
Crash watched with fleeting joy as the Killjoys devoured her pancakes whole. She could have sworn that Ghoul had even glanced at her in wonder at one point.
"You guys like 'em?" she asked innocently.
Poison smiled at her, a Chocolate smear on the side of his mouth.
"Are you kidding? This is the first decent meal we've eaten in..." he trailed off, his eyebrows shooting together. Kobra rolled his eyes and finished his big brother's statement.
"...An extremely long time. So long that even he can't remember," he smiled and pushed his blonde hair back. She arched an eyebrow.
"Just decent?" she asked. Poison's eyebrows shot up immediately.
"Did I say decent? I meant delicious." he smiled slyly. Crash rolled her eyes.
"That better have been what you meant or I'll sic my flying monkeys on you," she smiled wickedly. Poison smiled wryly.
"What flying monkeys you kook?" he asked
"The ones you can't see!" she replied with a grin. Poison had to bit his lip in order to not burst out laughing.
"And why can't I see them?" he asked, pretending to play along.
"Because they don't like you!" she snapped playfully. And that was the final straw. They all burst out laughing.
"So heed my warning," Crash Baby said, panting, a huge smile on her face, "Never insult my cooking."
Fun Ghoul was lying down on the couch when Crash Baby walked in. She appeared to be frazzled.
"What's wrong Baby?" he teased. She shot him a playful glare.
"It's either my full name or Crash. Call me Baby ever again and you WILL regret it dearly."
He stuck his tongue out at her and tried again.
"Alright then. What's wrong Crash?" he asked, concerned at her unusual silence. She had come close to all of them in the course of a week, and by this time he knew this was not typical behavior for her.
"Ghoul... I was thinking about it...what was life like before the bomb? I can't remember much."
A/N And another infamous cliffhanger! And you guys are probably hating me for it right now! But don't worry: I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter right now...But the only way you guys will ever get to read it is if you review! Yup, still bribing you guys and it seems to be working pretty well. And let me tell you…the next chapter is awesome. SO BRING ON THE REVIEWS!