her stress had been immeasurable. bo hadn't - couldn't - share with her all the details. and lance was far too swamped to do more than answer her texts every couple of days. so she stayed glued to the couch beside eleanor. she sent adelaide home so she could be with her family - she had a daughter in a branch of the league stationed near mt. pyre. 

roman, for once, did as he was told and helped her tend to the farm. they listened to the radio she hooked up outside while they did the bare minimum to keep everything running smoothly - plants watered, clients' pokemon tended to, livestock fed, honey harvested. 

the shop stayed closed the day the meteor meant to hit. and those lonely hours were the longest of her life. and the rest of it was a dream. 

she shifts gears and shakes her head, not realizing she'd zoned back out on her way to go get ollie. she pulls over and fishes out her phone, brows furrowing at the near-indecipherable text from ollie. 

grace's car idles in the street. the windshield wipers fling water to the side and willow looks for a familiar face. when she spots him further down the road, she shifts the car back into gear and ambles over. 

at first, she doesn't intend on parking and getting out, but when she sees the sling and the boot, she frowns. and she steps out of the idling car, leaving the door open, and hurries over to ollie.

"i - ollie...they released you? you can barely stand straight!" but there's no sense making him stand in the rain so she opens up the passenger side door and taps her foot hotly.

ollie morales

☉

he knew she was going to be mad. he was fairly sure that sis would be mad, that anna would be mad, that even penpen might be mad (if she didn't hate him first) if they knew what he was up to. but in his defense, he couldn't help it.

[break][break] staying in that stuffy hospital was awful. being waited on by strangers was awful. the fact that he had even had to be holed up in there for three days — it was insufferable. honestly, he didn't know how wren rourke could handle it.

[break][break] and wren didn't have the connections he had.

[break][break] after all, how could they tell him no when he said that he knew councilwoman PENELOPE LIVY and head scientist Eva Morales ?

[break][break] "yeah," he says chuckling. "can you believe it? guess there wasn't enough beds or something...?" he gives her a sheepish smile, knowing very well how flimsy his lie was. the papers in his hand — which read AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE — were bold enough to prove it, but luckily he's quick on the draw — the moment the door opens, ollie expertly hobbles into the vehicle and stuffs his papers in the council.

[break][break] he flashes a warm grin at her.

[break][break] "thanks for picking me up, wills. i owe you one!"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
FESTIVE FLIRTS

there's not much she can do now short of dragging him back into the hospital. and while she's pretty sure the playing field of strength is even between the two of them right now, she spends too long deliberating and ollie manages to dive into the car. with a sigh, she shuffles out of the rain and plops into the driver's seat. 

her fingers flick and turn up the heat, but she doesn't press her feet to the pedals just yet. her hand moves from the gearshift and over to ollie's. 

"change of plans. i'm not taking you home, morales. you're going to stay at my place where i can make sure you stay in bed. and," she starts, and takes her hand away to roll the car away from the hospital entrance, "you're going to drink a gallon of mom's herbal tea."

a recipe ollie is familiar with - combined with the curative properties that come from her plant pokemons' flowers and the soothing balms of her garden, it does wonders for the body. but it tastes gods-awful. 

ollie morales

☉

morales.

[break][break] oof. this was serious. willow wasn't playing games, using his last name against him. she went full mommy mode.

[break][break] he tries to stay optimistic, flashing a grin at her, but with her hands on the steering well and eyes focused on driving, she's not looking at him. or maybe, it's more purposeful than that.

[break][break] "alriiiight," he says, unable to do anything but conceded. after all, even if he'd wanted to, there was nothing he could do — short of throwing himself out of a rolling car. "i wasn't going to go anywhere, anyways."

[break][break] a lie. he knew neither of them believed that, knew that she knew of his penchant for jumping down staircases the minute anyone called for help. his health always fell short of anyone else's.

[break][break] ollie pouts.

[break][break] "but aw, c'mon. you know that tastes awful, wills. can i at least get some honey in it?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
FESTIVE FLIRTS

she is serious. for the past few months - hell, for the past year, everything has been out of control. the threat of annihilation looming over them might be something hoenn's average joe can get over without any trauma, but willow is still kept up at night over it. and to cycle through those she's closest to, to know they're at the forefront of disaster...it's almost too much to bear. 

if she could turn ollie into a scarecrow and keep him safe on the farm, she would. 

but both of them know he's happiest when he's out there helping others. so she gives him a side-eye when he implies otherwise, and makes a show of rolling her eyes, and shaking her head. she turns her attention back to the road, jaw clenched. 

she doesn't usually drive. after samuel passed, she'd sold off their cars to make ends meet. and even though the business is doing better, she didn't see the point. most places she needs to get to are nearby and anything further than a few miles is enough to warrant taking lou. 

but grace has been incapacitated since the attack on her berry farm so she'd given willow the car to borrow - "it's the least i can do, honey, for all the help you've been doing around the property."

"no, i think i might just make you drink it plain while i eat my combee's delicious honey in front of you."

she sighs. she's never been good at punishment. "of course i'll mix some honey in. do you have any prescriptions we need to pick up on the way?" 

ollie morales

☉

he gapes.

[break][break] "willowwwww!"

[break][break] it's horrifying — the thing she suggests. he remembers when he was a kid and he'd forgotten to take trash out that morning because he'd been too busy playing video games with his brothers. dad had punished him by forcing him to watch all his brothers start dinner before him for like ten whole minutes.

[break][break] luckily for him, however, willow atkins breaks down easy.

[break][break] he breaths a sigh of relief. geeze. remind him to never get on her bad side.

[break][break] "nah, i think they are gonna be delivered to my house. since i'm going to yours, i can just give them a call." his head tilts towards hers, as if a thought just occurs to him. "y'sure it'll be okay staying with you?"

[break][break] pause.

[break][break] "mister lancelot won't mind?"

[break][break] another pause.

[break][break] "roman's dad won't mind?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
FESTIVE FLIRTS

oh, how she's missed their over-the-top dramatics. but she always gives in too easy and doesn't give ollie much wiggle room to complain, which really is a shame. so she's just left shaking her head with pursed lips while she fiddles with the car's stereo system. grace apparently has a couple of cds in the car. 

soft piano and softer violin rumbles through the cabin and willow lowers it down to a nice enough volume so they can still chat. 

she's about to answer his question when he follows with another - that one makes her blush. the other makes her indignant. 

she shoots a look at ollie, nearly missing the fact that the light in front of them had turned red. so she steps a little too rough on the brakes and jars the both of them. the car groans as its gears complain. 

"it's my house, ollie," she says with a little bit more bite than probably necessary. "and regardless, i don't care if they mind. i'm not letting you go home like this."

ollie morales

☉

the scar screeches to a sudden stop, the momentum sending him jerking forward in his seat and his arm banging against the council. his grits his teeth, biting down on the yelp of pain that threatens to rip out of his mouth, as an arrow of pain shoots up his arm. his fist clenches against his chest as he waits for the pain to subside, focusing on his breathing.

[break][break] he blinks his eyes open eventually, flashing a wry smile at her.

[break][break] "h-hey.. mind warning me for doing that next time?"

[break][break] his voice is a bit breathless then, squeezed with pain, before he slowly sits himself upright again. he blinks a few more times, focusing on the blurry red-light until it turns to green, before he takes a breath.

[break][break] "okay, okay," he says. he sinks back into the chair as they roll down the street. the sight of houses blurring in the distance are monotonous as they are comforting, as her boring classical music rumbles from the speakerset. "i deserved that."

[break][break] he bites his lip, turning to her.

[break][break] "but how are you guys? how is he?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
FESTIVE FLIRTS

it's dangerous, really, having him in the car, and that only stresses her out more. because she can't help but cast glances over to him, expression taut with worry (and a bit of leftover anger). she harumphs under her breath when he smiles at her and has half a mind to dump him back at the hospital. 

only he'll probably just call someone else and she'd rather know he's being taken care of. so she gets over it and she says, "i'm sorry," very sincerely and moves her hand off the stick shift to pat his lap.

her focus goes back to the road because the windshield wipers are working overtime but they're not really accomplishing much. she slows to a near crawl and squints through the rain. a couple of local landmarks stand out to her and her relief is palpable.

"bo's okay. tired, i think. he's...had a lot on his mind." he's unsure if ollie had heard about the news CIAN MAHER had 'leaked.'

she blinks. "wait, did you mean lance?"

ollie morales

☉

ollie can never be mad at willow atkins for long - not that he was ever upset at her to begin with. to be honest, it was his fault for teasing her.

[break][break] he turns his eyes over to her as she speaks, talking about Bo Locke. the fact that it's bo she goes to first doesn't surprise him at all, but it does make him laugh.

[break][break] "no. yes, maybe?" he snickers. "both probably."

[break][break] "so how is lance?"

[break][break] willow is easy to read sometimes. especially when it came to her heart.

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
FESTIVE FLIRTS

his snickering does not go unnoticed. she'd smack him topside the head if she wasn't worried he's already concussed. and if she felt comfortable enough to take her hands off the wheel. the rain comes down steadily, despite her attempting to will it away. 

"he's good," she says, with some measure of confidence. "busy. we see each other when we can." she shrugs. "it's hard, y'know? he lives all the way in lilycove."

finally, the old car rumbles up the overgrown lawn to willow's house. her relief is palpable. the engine dies down and the rain replaces its rumble with heavy thumps on the roof. she grabs ollie's papers and stuffs it under her coat (because she's not going to give him a chance to ruin them before she uncovers the truth). 

"c'mon. let's get you inside." she'll set him up proper in the shed later. maybe the rain will let up by then. and before he can get out of the car, she hops out and jogs over to the side, ready to be his shoulder to lean on should he need it.

ollie morales

☉

"true."

[break][break] and he lives all the way in evergrande, but he decides not to mention it. it doesn't seem to be the time.

[break][break] his eyes lift as the car pulls up to her house. something like nostalgia tugs at his chest as the wheels rumble up against the concrete, the floral casings against the brick walls, as the windshield wipers slide away dots of blurry rain.

[break][break] with a bit of effort, he slides out of the car and onto his feet. he gives a small huff, having no choice but to lean against his friend. "thanks," he says, blinking at her with affection, as they hobble into the house together. ollie knows better than to bicker with her now, or try to steal those papers from her.

[break][break] she was more stubborn than she looked.

[break][break] maybe that's why they were best friends.

[break][break] "so," he says, trying to remain as casual as possible. "how'd you guys meet?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
FESTIVE FLIRTS

she's sturdy enough to take the brunt of ollie's weight, but his height is the biggest obstacle for them to overcome. she doesn't often curse her short stature, but right now she bites her lip and scowls, stressing the entire walkway up and up the stairs into the house. 

once inside, and once she's managed to get him on the couch without incident, she finally sighs with relief. she gives him a hard-stared look over just to make sure he isn't bleeding out of any wounds. if his stitches popped, she could fix them, but gods she hopes that doesn't happen. 

from the other room, her mother's voice rings out. willow answers eleanor's frightened call with a, "mom, it's just me."

she tucks her hair behind her ear and goes to fetch a glass of water for ollie (and as per usual, it's fallen back out of place and into her face). "berry picking. i don't think you'd have recognized me, actually. i asked him on a date."

ollie morales

☉