Lunch went by pretty quickly. S just got a slab of chicken, I decided it'd probably be a good idea for me to start eating a little heathier, so I got that same incredibly simple salad that Catface ordered here that one time, Michaus got the same thing, and Sis wondered whatever happened to those french fries she got from that one restaurant we ate at before our encounter with the explosion dude.

Which was a really good question, to be honest. Guess we must've left 'em somewhere.

. . . Wait, where did my soda from last night go? 

? ? ?

Well, that's probably not important. 

After that, we made our way to Charolette's place, just across the street and to the left. Naturally, I was incredibly excited. Of course, I felt bad for Zramazos and all that, but, like, I was incredibly curious about what might be happening behind those doors. I wonder if she nursed him back to health herself? Ooooh, what if she, like, cooked something for him and sat at the opposite side of the bed, insisting that she watch him down each and every bite of it so that she could be sure he's getting better, as he slowly and weakly eats and they both deeply blush because the romantic tension's so thick that it's suffocating - OOOOOHHH WHAT IF SHE FED HIM HERSELF!! AAAAAAHHH!!

... I think not having access to cheeseball romantic comedies might be deteriorating my mental state a bit. 

. . .

I hope we wont be interrupting anything when we get there.

Actually... Why don't I check? A little peek never hurt anyone, rrrriiiighhht?

"Right, Michaus, is there somethin' weird going on at your place?" S asked as we walked and I subtly stepped to the back of the pack, putting my hands together in my sweater pocket. 

"Our place? Hmmm... No. I mean, everyone's a bit concerned about Zrama- OOH! We got a dog! Why do you ask?" Michaus said as I made just a tiny little hole in front of me that lead to Charolette's place.

"A dog, huh. Right, I've just gotten this... Sickening feeling every time we've walked by your place." S explained as I peeked through.

Hm, now where- Ah, they're on the couch, and... HWOOGH!! THEY'RE SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! THEY'RE PRACTICALLY TOUCHING!! EEEE! SHE'S GOT HER HAND ON HIS LEG! AAAAH!

Hmm, I haven't seen Zramazos wearing those clothes before. They look a little big for him, to be honest, a little baggy... HWOHH! Do you think she might've let him borrow her dads clothes while he's been staying with her? Ouuuuoohh, maybe at some point, when she wasn't looking, he smelled the sleeves of his shirt and thought 'They smell like her...' or something??!? Aaaah! A-and maybe, when she was taking his old clothes somewhere, she did the same thing! Aaaaeeeeeeee! 

"That's weird!" Michaus made an excellent point as I tried not to squeal. "Ooh, it might be because of the worms!"

"Worms? Right, you should probably get it checked out. Not sure where you'd do that around here, though..."

"Oh, no, I don't mean-"

Charolette's door opened before they could finish their conversation.  "Who- Oh, it's you guys!" She said, going from a look of mild irritation to one of a sort of light excitement. I bet she's feigning it. She's probably pissed that we interrupted their alone time. I hope so. 

"Hi Charolette!" Michaus shouted, not to be outdone in enthusiasm. "How are you doing?"

"Good, we just had lunch. I take it you guys are here for Zramazos, right?"

"Y-Yup!" Said Michaus.

"Where is he right now?" Sis asked with intent in her voice. Wonder what that's about? Oh right, she's a fan of Charolette, isn't she? Maybe she's just as interested in current goings on as I am!

"Resting on the couch right now. Anyway, you guys should come in, no reason to just stand outside!" She said with a bit of a hurry in her voice.

They were cuddling before this, weren't they? Weren't they? 

As we walked in, Charolette and I made random mutually uncomfortable eye contact for no apparent reason. I got the odd feeling that she had something she wanted to tell me.

At first I thought I was just being self conscious, and while that's still probably true, I also remembered that the last time we spoke I threatened to kill her while sporting the nastiest look she's probably ever seen in her natural life.

And I don't say that lightly. It's very unlikely she's ever faced a look worse than that. It's not something I'm proud of. It's a byproduct of my face being the way it is. If I squint the right amount, they almost contort in ways that... Well, they aren't good. 

Ever since the first time I figured out I could do this, I've wondered whether or not it was intentional. I wonder if they wanted me to be able to do that.

After about a third of a second we looked away from each other and proceeded as normal. 

"Hm. She didn't ask us to take our shoes off." Sis quietly noted as we made our way to the living area.

Oh yeah. She didn't this time. Odd.

. . .

Y'know, we came here because Michaus didn't know what to do to properly console an injured person, but... I don't really know what to do, either. Most I've ever done is sign the class 'get well soon' card. Wasn't me coming here a bad idea? I can't imagine apathy is the desired look for this sort of thing. 

Maybe if I put my hood up it'll be less noticeable. 

There were a lot of us and not very many seats, so we all just kinda congregated around the couch where Zramazos was. I intentionally stood behind the couch where hopefully no one would be paying too much attention to me. Which was doubly good, 'cus it put me in a good location to quietly observe Charolette and Zramazos. 

Charolette sat back down right next to Zramazos, though an inch or so further than they were previously. That being said, she still put her hand on his leg, which was VERY GOOD. 

"Hi Zramazos!!" Michaus shouted as we took our places by the couch.

"Hi, Michaus." Said Zramazos, warmly.

I think Michaus had intended to say something after that, but instead he just froze with his smiling mouth agape. 

"I-I'm alright, Michie." Zramazos said with a smile, giving Michaus a soft, playful noogie with his hand. Dawww, that's adorable.

"It's the third time he's done this." Charolette said with a chuckle. "Looks like he's brought backup this time." 

"Right, that seems to be the case." S said, half joked before turning to Zramazos. "Michaus told us what went down. Sorry about what happened."

 "O-oh, it's, uh, fine, m-mostly. I-I was m-mostly fine by the time I-I woke up." Zramazos shakily explained. "J-just some muscle aches, mostly."

He said 'mostly' 3 times in 3 sentences.

"Th-thanks mostly t-to Charolette." He said, surprisingly not blushing. Hooh! Does that mean they made progress?!

"Well, technically Oxt did most of the work." Charolette admitted. "Still, I did do pretty damn good." 

Just accept the friggin' complement, sheesh! -2 points!

"And... I was happy to do it. I'm glad you're doing better." She concluded.

Aaah, much better. +5 points.  

It was hard not to notice S sporting a look that said "I wanted to ask who 'Oxt' was but now the moment's passed and I'm left curious and alone." He's got some real specific looks.

"T-Thanks." Zramazos added. "F-for everything."

"You're welcome, but I should be thanking you, too."

Daww, how nice.

Wait, what? Why? What did he do?

"N-Nah, all I've had to do is s-sit here and-"

"Please," Charolette said scooting closer to him. Oh? OOH? OOOOOHHHH? "You've helped me more than you know."

OH, ARE THEY GONNA- OHHH HOW BOLD! AAAH!

"How are you feeling, by the way?" She continued, practically leaning up against him.

"C-cold. Like usual." 

Wait, what?

"Great! I'm glad the suit's still working!"

Eh? The what now? That's a metaphor or something, right? "Huh?" I accidentally said out loud in desperation. 

"Hm? Oh, right, I haven't told you guys about the suit yet! How could I forget?" Charolette said, increasingly excitingly, and getting up as if she was going to give a presentation. 

"Didja make another thing?" Michaus asked.

"Yes! While Zramazos was out, I decided that now was a good time for a medical kick, so I asked Oxt how Zramazos might feel when he woke up. He said he'd probably ache all over. With the understanding that cold numbs a pained area, making recovery more pleasant, I decided to make his whole body cold! So I made this!" She said, gesturing to the large, baggy clothes Zramazos was wearing. "The thing's made out of a mesh that decreases the temperature of the air that passes through it! Now, how's it feel, Zramazos!?"

"Oh, uh, it's, uh, p-pretty good. Helped a lot." He said.

"There you have it!"

"Whoooaahhh!" Michaus said, his eyes practically glowing. I thought Sis was gonna say something, too, being a fan of Charolettes, but to my surprise she stayed silent. I got the feeling that she was waiting for something. 

"Right, how the heck did you make this?" S asked.

"Eh, mixed a refrigerator, some old clothes, a bundle of leaves, 6 and a half meters of fishing line, fif-sixteen hours of sewing and a surprising amount of blood."

"W-Wait wh-"

"You sewed a refrigerator?" I asked.

"You'd get it if you were there. Or maybe not. Most of it came to me in a dream."

"A dream? That's cool!" Michaus said.

"Yeah, happens a lot. I get weird dreams. Anyways, I'm quite proud of this thing. It ain't perfect, it's a little finicky and likes to shut off sometimes, but even in this prototype stage it's been working pretty good. Feel free to be impressed." 

. . .

Haaah... There's a rather obvious follow up question after that last bit. Unfortunately, the answer to said question would absolutely destroy the beautiful illusion I've made for myself. Because of that, I really don't wanna ask it...

So I'm not gonna. Illusion maintained, good job fellas.

"Ooh! Is that why you guys have been sitting so close together? I thought that was weird!" DAMNIT, MICHAUS!

"Y-yeah, she's gotta be close s-so she can f-feel when it shuts off. S-so she can fix it." Zramazos said. "E-Especially this leg bit, I-I think."

DANGIT! LET ME HAVE MY UNDERDEVELOPED JUNK FOOD ROMANCE FANTASY! DANGIT AGAIN! 

".  .  . Oh, uh, yeah, that's definitely why. For sure. The only reason." Charolette said, following a suspicious pause.

. . . Oh?