Disclaimer: I don't own The Mr. Men or any of its characters, but I do own Mr. Thoughtful.
As soon as Mr. Thoughtful climbed into Mr. Happy's car, loud polka music assaulted his ears. He shook his head and took a deep breath. This was really happening. He was going to a party where all of Dillydale will be. At least with the loud music he couldn't hear Mr. Happy's thoughts but he felt his forced happiness and hidden anxiety as he climbed in the driver's seat.
To his disappointment Mr. Happy turned the music down and he heard him think he needed to make conversation.
No you don't, Mr. Thoughtful replied to the Mr. Man's thoughts inside his own head. But he said nothing as Mr. Happy figured out how to start the conversation while he started up the car and began to drive.
"So have you met many people yet?" the yellow Mr. Man asked.
"A few," Mr. Thoughtful replied and then started naming the people he's met: "Mr. Nervous. Mr. Bump. Mr. Nosy and Mr. Small. And you and Miss. Sunshine."
"Well hopefully tonight you'll get to meet everyone." Did that sound cheerful enough? "Dillydale is truly a great place." So why am I pretending to be happy all the time?
Mr. Thoughtful felt bad for Mr. Happy. He wished he could help him, but he couldn't without revealing that he can hear his inner thoughts. "Uh, how many people are there in Dillydale?" he asked anxiously.
"Oh, there's Mr. Grumpy. Miss. Whoops. Miss. Helpful. Mr. Scatterbrain…" And he kept naming people. Mr. Thoughtful's head spun. How was he going to get through this? But he had to go, to save Little Miss Sunshine from being yelled at, if he could. And without exposing himself. He sighed, which made Mr. Happy paused in his naming of the citizens and he felt his attention turn to him.
"Do you really want to come tonight?" he unexpectedly asked. "You can be honest," he added when Mr. Thoughtful hesitated.
"I have to come," he said simply, and he felt Mr. Happy's surprise.
"Why's that?" he asked. Why does he think he has to come? Mr. Happy thought, feeling confused.
Worried he said something that could reveal his powers, he quickly said," I mean, I want to come and meet everyone. I'm just… nervous, I guess," he added, sighing.
"I understand meeting a lot of people can be overwhelming," the other Mr. Man told him. "But let me make you a promise." Curious, Mr. Thoughtful turned toward him. "If you feel like you've had enough…" He trailed off, lost in thought to figure out a signal that Mr. Thoughtful could use. "If you feel like you've had enough, you can whistle to get my attention." He paused. "Can you whistle?"
Mr. Thoughtful nodded, whistling to show that he could.
"Whistle when you feel overwhelmed and I'll pull you away from the crowd or whatever, or I'll make up an excuse that we have to leave early. Does that sound good to you?"
"Yeah," Mr. Thoughtful said, suddenly thankful for this Mr. Man and for the first time all day he felt calm. "Thank you, Mr. Happy."
"No problem." The car slowly came to a halt and Mr. Happy said," Okay, we're here. It looks like most of Dillydale is already here. Miss. Sunshine must have started the party early."
Once again Mr. Thoughtful was very nervous and close to panic. He didn't even realize Mr. Happy had gotten out of the car until he felt his door open and the yellow Mr. Man grabbed his arm to gently pull him to his feet. He blinked at the vision that came on suddenly. He saw himself walking down the street, but in the vision he was Mr. Happy who walked alongside him.
"I'm glad you came to Dillydale," Mr. Happy said, and Mr. Thoughtful saw himself smile.
"Me too," he replied, and then blackness slammed into Mr. Thoughtful's vision as Mr. Happy let go of him once he was standing outside the car. Mr. Thoughtful blinked in confusion. Sometimes it was hard to tell what a vision meant, but he had felt something strong while inside Mr. Happy, and he was surprised at it. What did the future hold for himself and this Mr. Man?
He was knocked out of his thoughts when Mr. Happy said," Stay close to me." He seemed to hesitate, and Mr. Thoughtful heard him think, How can he stay close if he can't see me?
Frustration pricked at Mr. Thoughtful's head. "I can stay close to you," he assured him, and Mr. Happy seemed surprised, briefly wondering, Can he read my mind?
Quickly Mr. Thoughtful changed the subject. "Is there anyone out here?" he asked, glancing around but of course seeing just his blindness.
"Just a few people," Mr. Happy answered, and Mr. Thoughtful winced when he felt his suspension, but was thankful when Mr. Happy didn't think anymore about him reading his mind. "Look, there's Mr. Quiet," the yellow Mr. Man said, and Mr. Thoughtful felt him walk away. He hurried after him.
They stopped in front of someone, and Mr. Thoughtful felt a quietness about him. Even his mind was hard to hear.
"Hello, Mr. Quiet," said Mr. Happy. "This is Mr. Thoughtful."
The quiet Mr. Man murmured something, but Mr. Thoughtful didn't really catch what he said. He shifted standing positions, hoping he didn't ask him a question or something that he had to respond to. This Mr. Man was curious about him, he could feel that, and he felt him thinking, but he couldn't make out anything.
For a couple of moments, Mr. Thoughtful felt awkward just standing there. Then Mr. Happy exclaimed," Oh, there's Mr. Noisy!"
This time Mr. Thoughtful heard Mr. Quiet muttered," Oh great!" as someone with what sounded like heavy boots walked up. He gave a booming laugh and Mr. Thoughtful felt his gaze flick over him.
"Is this the new guy?" the Mr. Man yelled, and Mr. Thoughtful covered his ears. Even this Mr. Man's thoughts were loud. He was the exact opposite of Mr. Quiet. Mr. Thoughtful felt him slapped his back and in that brief contact Mr. Thoughtful heard loud music and yelling and figured this was Mr. Noisy's original day to day.
Shaking his head to clear it, he stammered," H-Hey. I'm Mr. Thoughtful."
"Good to meet you," Mr. Noisy boomed, and Mr. Thoughtful covered his ears again.
"Come on," Mr. Happy said, nudging him away and Mr. Thoughtful saw a forced grin in a vision and hidden sadness. Then Mr. Happy let go of him and Mr. Thoughtful let out a sigh. He'd only met two people and he's already exhausted.
"You okay?" Mr. Happy asked as if he could read minds.
"Yeah, just a little tired," Mr. Thoughtful confessed.
"Let's go in and get something to drink." Mr. Happy moved away and Mr. Thoughtful quickly followed him.
They entered the house and immediately Mr. Thought felt a rush of feelings and thoughts. He staggered, bumping into someone and a vision of endless bouncing crashed over him as the Mr. Man he ran into bounced away. He heard something fall over as the bouncy Mr. Man knocked into something. He heard someone growling under their breath and felt them sweep past, brushing against Mr. Thoughtful and he felt frustration and a constant need to be clean and tidy.
Over the rush of noise and activities, Mr. Thoughtful heard someone calling his name. He turned toward the voice and realized it was Mr. Happy.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Mr. Thoughtful blinked, desperately trying to push all emotions and thoughts out of his head. It was impossible with everything happening around him. Back in his old home, he always avoided big gatherings and he had grown so used to everyone he knew he had learned to block out most of their feelings and even the visions he'd get when he touched someone. But now he was in a new town, meeting everyone new, he was unable to stop the constant visions and the new emotions that slammed him on all sides. He knew coming here was a bad idea.
Yeah, he had a vision of Little Miss Sunshine crying but who knows if he can stop what's going to happen?
He jumped when he felt someone lay a hand on his shoulder and he found himself sitting on a floor with someone leaning over him, comforting him. He blinked and the vision vanished. He let out a whistle, praying Mr. Happy was still close enough to hear it. Then he heard Mr. Happy say," Follow me."
Taking Mr. Thoughtful's hand, he pulled him away and through the crowd. A vision was pressing in on him but it wouldn't come even though Mr. Happy was touching him.
He just let Mr. Happy pull him and then he slammed to a halt. He heard Mr. Happy, feeling frustrated and impatient, say," Miss. Sunshine, can we pass?"
"Where are you going, Mr. Happy?" the Little Miss asked. "I wanted Mr. Thoughtful to meet Miss. Helpful over there."
"Not now," Mr. Happy said through clenched teeth. "I'm taking him–"
"Come on, Mr. Thoughtful." Someone else grabbed Mr. Thoughtful's arm and pulled him in another direction. "Miss. Helpful wanted to meet you." It was Little Miss Sunshine trying to pull him away.
With both of them pulling on him, Mr. Thoughtful was suddenly yanked out of his body and he was floating in the air. He could see himself being pulled one way and then another. Mr. Happy, struggling with staying calm, told Little Miss Sunshine," I said, not now, Miss. Sunshine. I'm taking Mr. Thoughtful somewhere quiet."
"But why? It's a party!" the Little Miss declared, pulling Mr. Thoughtful toward her.
Suddenly Mr. Thoughtful realized what was about to happen. He willed his floating spirit to go back into his body to stop this, but he knew whenever he found himself looking from the outside, he was powerless to stop what was about to happen from happening.
He saw Mr. Happy's eye twitch and he glared at Little Miss Sunshine. "Let go!" he shouted, and suddenly the music stopped and the talking hushed. Everyone turned to see what was happening.
Little Miss Sunshine gasped and let go of Mr. Thoughtful. Suddenly he was slammed back into his body and his blindness covered his vision once more. All was quiet around him and he could feel surprise and shock filling the house as everyone watched.
Mr. Happy, lowering his voice, said to Little Miss Sunshine," I said not now. I'm sorry, Miss. Sunshine. We'll talk later."
Then Mr. Thoughtful felt Mr. Happy grab his hand and he felt guilt hit him. Mr. Happy pulled him away and suddenly they were cut off from the rest of the party by a door. Mr. Happy let out a long sigh and sat down in a chair.
Mr. Thoughtful stood there, mind racing with his own thoughts and Mr. Happy's. He thought he could prevent Little Miss Sunshine being yelled at but he was the cause!
I shouldn't have come after all, he thought, feeling guilty. But part of his guilt was coming from Mr. Happy who felt overwhelmed with guilt.
Finally Mr. Thoughtful stepped forward. "Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.
"I'm a horrible person," Mr. Happy said, and Mr. Thoughtful shifted positions. What could he say to make him feel better? His mind was too worked up with Mr. Happy's guilt and sadness to think straight. He took a deep breath and focused on Mr. Happy's thoughts and feelings to see if he could help in any way.
Please review! Thank you!
I'll post the next chapter soon!