Deliquesce

Chapter 8: Four

Rated: T

Warnings: Nothing

Disclaimer: Nothing. I own nothing.

Song: "Cruise" By Holobody

A/N: Here is the next chapter. Please review and give me some constructive criticism. I'll take anything I can get. Oh yeah, changed my name again by the way.

It was… four. Four in the morning when I woke up. I was groggy. The room was dark. My heart was pounding, eyes still closed, fists clenched with the lingering sense of fear from the dream I had. Or, flashback. It wasn't uncommon for me to wake up this way, the memories flooding back to me in my sleep.

I got up, and turned the light on. I looked out the window, the curtains were wide open still. It was a clear night. I could see the stars. The little-over-half moon. Calming.

I slipped on the robe at the end of my bed, and the matching pair of slippers that were too big for me and slipped out into the common room. It was mostly dark, the only lights on were the dim kitchen lights over the other side of the large room and an also dim table lamp in the corner, in between the wide window that stretched from floor to ceiling and overlooked the city, and a bookcase.

I wandered over to the bookcase and the lamp, picking out a book and sitting down on the floor next to the lamp and the window. It was nice. It was warm. Safe. I felt better. It was nice, waking up from a nightmare and feeling secure for once. Usually it was waking up from a nightmare to continue where I left off.

I flipped through the pages of the book. It was a novel. A romance, I'm guessing judging by the flowery language. The pages felt old, you know the kind you pick up from a second hand bookshop and the pages are sort of yellow and rough? Yeah.

I read for a while, then decided to switch books. Romance novels weren't my thing. I found a non-fiction one on birds, to which I was quickly immersed in.

I was startled when I heard the ding of the Wonkavator. My head popped up immediately, and I saw Wonka come in holding a big box of stuff. He went over to the kitchen, humming a tune to himself, and began setting each piece of food in the cupboard. I wondered who had put them in there last night.

He gave off the air he didn't care all too much about his guests in the interaction he had with Jackson, but this seemed to say otherwise.

I sat there and watched him go about his business, not too sure if I should say hi or not. I found myself admiring his form. Couldn't see much in the dim light besides the silhouette. It was tall and slim. Even at 4pm, seemingly alone, he was stilled dressed up to the nines. Top hat and all.

I heard a gasp.

"Oh Ember, I didn't see ya there! You frightened the living daylights outta me!" He put a gloved hand to his chest and exhaled, before setting the box on the ground and walking over to me.

"Sorry. I was just reading. Couldn't sleep. Hi,"

"Ah." He peered at the page I was on, but still maintained his distance. "Birds? Birds! Cool!"

"They're pretty cool." I cracked a smile. I realised it felt odd. Probably because smiling wasn't really a common thing for anyone anymore. Besides Wonka of course, but he probably cracked just as many 'genuine' smiles as the rest of us.

"How did the thing go today?" He asked.

"It went well. We secured the first bit without trouble. Here." I pressed my finger against the window, pointing to the visible barriers we had set out outside the factory gate.

"Excellent!" He grinned. Fake, of course.

"Pretty view. I bet it was even prettier before all this." I said, looking at all the snow and he stars and ignoring the torn down city.

He hunkered down next to me, staring out the window like I was.

"Oh dear, it was sensational" Wonka gave a small smile. A real one this time. "All the lights and the clean streets. It was lovely."

I looked over to him. I could see the stars in his eyes. Literally, the stars were so bright you could see the reflection in his eyes.

"What are you doing at four in the morning putting food into the cupboard?" I asked, cracking a smile.

He straightened up again. "Oh, heh. Just figured I might as well since no one has gotten anything from the other kitchen yet."

"Fair enough."

"Do me a solid and eat, please. You look like you stepped out of Auschwitz."

I laughed. "I will. I do. I've been trying to eat as much as I can without feeling sick. My stomach is even poking out a little too, now!"

He pulled a big lollipop out of his pocket. "Here."

"I'm twenty four. I don't think twenty four year olds eat colorful lollipops, do they?"

"I'm forty four. Doesn't stop me!"

I laughed and took the lollipop from him. "Thanks."

'Well I'll leave you to it then. Have a nice rest of the morning." He smiled at me.

"You too." I watched him leave, and smiled to myself.