You can recover
After Charlie got connected to the digital world where Rocío was, and encountered her, she decided she wants to help. No matter how hard it is, Rocío needs help.
But does Rocío WANT help?
This takes place after the Lacey's flash games demo, if you don't want to get spoiled, please play it first
This fanfic will be re-written once the official full game comes out, so be warned
Chapter 4:No doesn't mean never
Disconnection
Charlie got disconnected from the digital world. She took a deep breath.
"What the fuck?" Charlie sighed, processing everything that happened. "...Did you disconnect me?" She asked.
"Yes." Grace answered. "I lost access to my camera, I couldn't talk to you anymore, or see what you were doing..."
"It was Rocío."
"What?"
"When I went to Petshop, to look for a clue, the game started to slowly become static, until it failed, and Rocío hacked your camera to talk to me." Charlie answered, still processing what had happened. Grace was more pale than she already was.
"Huh, so now it's your turn to be pale?"
"I don't... I don't..." The redhead stuttered.
"You don't what?"
"She...Rocio...she's all over the page, isn't she?"
"I thought that was clear."
"SHE WAS WATCHING US ALL THIS TIME!?"
"Now that you mention it, she told me exactly that."
"Oh my god..."Grace paused.
"I have so many questions..."Charlie thought.
"Is this also for a thesis?"
"It's...it's for my cousin." Charlie lied.
"Didn't we already do your cousin's?"
"My other cousin."
"Why do you have so many cousins?"
"You don't?"
"I..."Grace sighed."Well, you saw what you wanted to see, go back home."
"BUT! I DON'T WANT TO GO YET!"
"Didn't you have to turn in a paper for tomorrow?"
"Homework can wait, I have better things to worry about."
"Like what?" Grace asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ermm...I don't know, maybe, Rocio?" Charlie answered sarcastically.
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie..." Grace sighed. "She's a lost case. How do you plan to help her huh? With the power of friendship? We can't save Rocio!"
"I'm a psychology student..."
"Oh!"
"...Yeah."
"I forgot." Grace sighed. "But anyway, it's not worth helping her Charlie, you'll end up worse than her."
"And how do you know that? Did you even try to help her?"
"I..." Grace stammered.
"I never saw you mention trying to help Rocio, you just complained that she was 'cuckoo and that she loved to traumatize little girls."
"And I'm right! She's crazy! How does she even think of putting such... such disturbing things in games that are supposed to be for girls!? How does she even think of traumatizing girls in such a way!?"
"You're right. That was horrible, but, you, as her coworker, did you do anything to stop her?" Charlie asked. Grace fell silent.
"Go home Charlie."
"I want answers."
"GO HOME CHARLIE!" exclaimed Grace.
"I'm not leaving without you giving me answers!" Charlie demanded. "So answer: Did you do something to stop her?"
"I..." Grace fell silent, looking at the floor."I... I didn't know that Rocío did those things... I just found out when the complaints started coming in..."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, but you could have stopped her. Did you never talk to her?"
"Uh...it's just...it's just..."
"You know, you always gave some kind of clue that I had to do to unlock the disturbing part. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you DID NOTHING. You NEVER tried to help her, and you knew fully well that she wasn't in a good place mentally. And now, she's inside a page, reliving her trauma over and over again..." Charlie was cut off.
"SHE'S FINE! SHE'S FINE IN THERE! SHE ASKED TO STAY THERE AND SHE'S HAPPY IN THERE!" The one with glasses started to scream.
"And how do you know that, Grace?" Charlie looked at her suspiciously.
Grace didn't say anything. She was speechless. She knew she had dug her own grave, she was cornered.
"Grace...answer...How do you know that?" Charlie asked again, trying to be calm but in her tone you could tell she was starting to worry.
"Go home Charlie. Now. Get out." She pointed to the door, serious. But just then, a thunder sounded and...
"Well...it started to rain. What are you going to do now? Are you going to kick me out anyway?"
"Yes."
"Are you really going to let me get wet in the rain? Besides, it looks like a storm is about to start..." Grace looked at the forecast on her phone. And yes, around that time a storm was going to start. She couldn't let Charlie go out in the middle of a storm...
"Fine, you can stay. But let's change the subject now, okay?"
"But..."
"Do you want to get hit by thunder?"
"Okay..." Charlie closed her mouth. Grace stood up.
"I'm going to cook. Do you want something specific?" She asked.
Charlie thought for a minute:
"Noodles?"
"Just noodles?"
"Noodles."
"Really?"Grace sighed. "Okay, sure. Noodles it is..."
Grace went to the kitchen, starting to cook. Charlie took advantage of the time where Grace was cooking to process everything that happened.
Grace passed her mind to the digital world. Then she played Lacey's Wardrobe, then Lacey's Petshop (although at first nothing happened) and then, to see how to break Lacey's Love Meter, she ended up meeting Rocío. And when measuring the love between Lacey and her uncle...all that appeared was the photo of a girl, with black eyes and black liquid coming out of them, which was probably Rocío...
So much happened in an hour.
Charlie couldn't help but worry about Rocio. It was noticeable in the games that she wasn't fine. And what did Grace do to help? Nothing. She just ignored her.
Rocio needed help URGENTLY, but they didn't even know if she was alive. And Grace, the only one who could help her, didn't care. But...when she was in the digital world...that...was Rocio talking to her, wasn't it?
She always knew that she was investigating her, didn't she? She was watching her...
She wanted to interview her but it really wasn't the time.
Charlie thought, until something cut off her line of thought:
"CHARLIE! AT LEAST HELP ME SET THE TABLE!"
"S-SURE, GRACE!" Charlie got up on her way to the kitchen.
Dinner with Grace was awkwardly silent, each one at her plate, waiting for one of them to stop and break the silence.
"Uhm...your cooking is great Grace."
"It's just some noodles with cream, Charlie."
"The best ones I've ever had!"
"Did you get so desperate to break the silence, to the point that you're going to tell me the stupidest thing in the world just to start a conversation?"
"Come on, you were waiting for me to do it too. Something's something, right? Did you want us to stay awkwardly silent all night?"
"Well...yeah, you're right. Staying silent for the whole night would have left me with a bad taste in my mouth to be honest..." Charlie nodded in response.
They stayed silent for a while longer, Charlie watching on TV how the night was going to go in terms of weather. Grace was just in her own world, staring at nothing.
"And..." Grace started. "Why did you want noodles? Do...do you think I'm so useless that I can only make noodles?"
"What?!" Charlie exclaimed. "Of course not! I just wanted noodles! I love noodles!"
"Uh-huh...yeah..." Asop rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious! It's my favorite food!" Grace thought for a moment.
"Okay, fine." She stood up and grabbed the dishes, leaving them in the kitchen sink.
"I'll wash them." Charlie offered. "I didn't even help cooking..."
"Charlie. They were just some noodles with cream."
"Well, I could have done something..." She muttered as she grabbed the sponge to start washing.
When she finished washing the dishes, Charlie approached Grace.
"You know that the storm will end in the morning, right?" She asked.
"Of course, I'm not stupid, I looked at my phone."
"Well...is there somewhere I can sleep?"
"I have an unused mattress, let me get it for you." Grace went up the stairs of her house but turned around. "Unless you prefer the sofa."
"Eh... if the mattress isn't too much trouble..."
Grace lowered a mattress for Charlie,and gave her a sheet and a pillow.
"It's quite late, it's eleven thirty at night. I'm going to sleep, because compared to you, I do have a job."
"Hey!" Charlie exclaimed. "I'm studying!"
"And you forgot the paper you had to hand in tomorrow. Pfft, pathetic."
"Oh and I bet you were perfect at university!!"
"Well, I didn't wait until the last day to do something." Charlie ran out of excuses, and just sighed.
"Well then... good night Grace."
"Good night Charlie." Asop answered and went straight to her room.
Charlie laid down, pulled the sheet over her, and closed her eyes. But she couldn't help but think about everything that happened with Rocio. She had so many questions...she wanted to talk to her. She had to talk to her.
Charlie tossed and turned, until she opened her eyes, and looked in the direction of Grace's room. Would she...let her?
The answer was clear. No. Grace wouldn't let her reconnect to the digital world. Grace doesn't seem to want her to help Rocio, always saying that it's not worth it...
But would she notice?
Before she knew it, Charlie was already in front of Grace's room, slowly, quietly opening the door, peeking inside.
Positive. Grace was asleep.
Charlie quietly closed the door again. Slowly, she walked down the stairs, and walked over to Grace's computer. The TV was still on, so that would help muffle the sound of the computer.
With the computer on, she went straight to the html file of Lacey's page, the familiar shades of pink invading the screen. Charlie tried to grab the computer Grace had her connect to that world with, and copy what she did.
One small problem: she didn't understand how it worked and she didn't know where anything was supossed to go.
While she tried to figure out everything was supossed to go in she swore she saw a new window open, but it closed as soon as she turned around to see what it was.
"Ugh... I bet it's her." Charlie turned around again, to see what the window that kept opening was, but she had no luck.
After half an hour, she managed to put everything in its respective place, and she could now connect.
She just had to close her eyes...
And press that button.
The world turned white for a moment, and in the next, she was physically on the page. Now... she just had to find a way to talk to Rocio.
Maybe she could find her again if she played Laceys petshop again and went to Laceys Love Meter...that's how it was last time.
But as soon as she opened Lacey's Petshop, the error screen appeared. And Grace's camera opened up. She almost had a heart attack, but luckily (for her) it was Rocío.
"Umm...Hello?" Charlie started. Every time Rocío appeared, a voice could be heard humming, probably Rocío. But she never spoke directly. She always, always spoke through text. Did she like singing so much? She could ask her that too...
<hello.again>
The text appeared in a square below Grace's camera.
Charlie was silent for a few moments. She couldn't believe she was talking to the very creator of Lacey's games. Rocío Yani herself.
"How...how are you?" Charlie tried to ask.
<aheavenmadeforme_andnobodyelse>
"...Are you okay?"
<im_in_heaven_of_course_I_am>
"Are you sure?"Rocio didn't answer for like 10 minutes.
<Im_in_heaven_dont_ruin_it>
"...Can_I...ask you a few questions, Rocio?" the other asked.
<Likean_?interview>
"Yes Rocio, like an interview."Rocio was silent for like 3 minutes.
<andwhatifisay_?no>
"Um...if you don't want to then...I guess I can't force you..."Charlie was a little uncomfortable around Rocio. She didn't know why Rocio couldn't just...write things like a normal person. Was there something stopping her?
Rocio was silent for like 10 minutes. Charlie just stared at the distorted photo of her.
<5>
"Five...five what?"
<5>
"Five questions?"
Charlie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. And then she started to think... because even though she had a million questions, she never really thought about them and she would have to organize them...
"Uhm... Why... why did you make the games?" Charlie started. "Were they some sort of vent?"
<why_did_youstart_fromthere¿>
"Uhm... sorry but... it's what stands out the most about you, what else could I ask you?" Rocío was silent for another 10 minutes
"So... why did you make the games?"
<I_liked_proggramming_Ithelped_distractingme>
"So... It was a distraction?"
<yes_atfirst_itwas_for_that>
Charlie thought about Rocio's answer. So at first the games started as a distraction... then why did she make them so... disturbing? Maybe she only liked horror games, but then why did she pass them off as games for kids? So many questions... and Rocio only let her ask five.
"Did you start with the intention of making games for girls, or were they always this... disturbing?" Charlie asked, already knowing that Rocio takes like 10 minutes per answer...
<at_first_I_did_try_making_somethingforkids_?ok>
"So... what happened?" This time, Rocio took longer to answer.
<Ihatedthem>
"Did you hate the games?"
<I_hated_watching_the_girls_playing.>
"...Why?"
<innocence_liesabout_howtheworldreallyis>
"...Did you hate that the games didn't feel realistic to you?"
<lies_betrayal>
"So you felt like the games weren't really realistic...Like you were betraying the girls who played them?"
<yes¡>
"But you know that terrified the little girls, right? I don't think they really took into account that you wanted to show them...'the truth.' "
<who_cares>
"...You didn't care if you lied to the girls or not, did you? That was just an excuse, Rocio."
<you_passed_yourlimit>
"Oh! Umm..." Rocio was right. She had already passed the 5 question limit. But why did she decide to tell her now? It was just so she wouldn't answer, right? But she still wanted to know something else. "Rocio, can I please ask you something else?"
<what_do_you_want>
Charlie felt that Rocio was already irritated with her, even though there was no way to know how she felt about her. Still, she continued.
"Don't you want to...get out of here?" She asked her last, and most anticipated question.
<what_do_you_mean¿_thisismy_heaven>
"Well, for your so-called "heaven" it's...quite a negative place, don't you think?"
<its_not_called_heaven_fornothing>
"Hmm..." Charlie thought. "Then...you like it?"
<yes_ifnot_whywould_it_be_called_myHEAVEN¿>
"Doesn't it hurt?"
<?what>
"All you have to go through, again and again, doesn't it hurt?"
Rocío didn't answer. Grace's camera turned off. And she started hearing a sound that sounded like a scream that got louder, and louder, until it was unbearable.
Charlie thought she was going to go crazy, she felt like she was going to drown or something.
Until suddenly, she returned to Grace's living room. The computer was turning off, and when Charlie looked over, there was the redhead. With a look of anger and annoyance.
"You really are insistent, aren't you?" Grace yawned. "You're lucky I came, otherwise who knows what would have happened."
"She..."
"Go to sleep Charlie. It's 4 AM. And I'm already upset that you woke me up screaming."
"I was screaming..?" The other one cut her off.
"Go. To. Sleep. Now."
"Yes, miss..."
Error 404
The next morning was even more uncomfortable than the night before.
Outside, the sun hadn't risen, the sky was still gray, and raindrops continued to fall. It hadn't stopped raining all night.
The two girls were in the kitchen, having breakfast. Charlie, as always, tried to start a conversation:
"So... how did you wake up?" she asked.
"How did I wake up? Well, even though you ruined my night by doing things you shouldn't have behind my back instead of sleeping yourself, I woke up pretty well. And you?"
"Well..." Charlie looked away, somewhat embarrassed by last night. "I slept well..."
"You only got four hours of sleep."
"Yes, but..."
"And what time do you even start college?"
"Well... I'm on the evening shift, but... I don't think I can make it today in this weather..."
"Excuses."
"And I bet you weren’t absent even if there was a tsunami.." And this time it was Grace who remained silent.
And they returned to the awkward silence. They barely spoke unless it was related to Lacey, really.
"So...what did you study, Grace?" Charlie asked.
"I studied computer science and programming." It made sense. She used to make video games, after all.
"And that's where you met Rocio?" Grace was silent for a few seconds.
"Yes, that's where I met her. We were classmates."
"What was Rocio like?" Charlie began to question.
"Well, at first I thought she was just a goth girl. She was quite distant, and seemed cold. She was always alone, reading or drawing."
"If i’m not mistaken, Rocio did the illustrations in the games, right?" Charlie asked.
"Of course she did, I would never draw such disturbing things!"
"Hey, hey, I wasn't accusing you of doing the disturbing part of the games. We always knew it was Rocio, right?" Grace sighed.
"Well, but someone doesn't know what to expect from you, you know?"
"How come? The things I do aren't that unexpected, are they?"
"Yesterday I thought you really dropped the subject and went to sleep." Charlie looked away.
"Well... but it's just... Rocio..." Grace sighed.
"Look, Rocio isn't the kind of person who's easy to help. It's a waste of time, and you’ll only end up worse than her."
"But... as someone studying psychology, I should learn to help people like that..."
"And you, as a future psychologist, have to learn that you won't be able to help everyone." Charlie remained silent. Grace was right... but...
"Face it, Charlie. It'll be best for you, me, and Rocío.”
"But... at least... could we try to reason with her?"
"Make Rocío reason? ROCÍO?"
"Yes... convince her that... she can get better... and..." Grace sighed for the tenth time that day.
"You have a serious savior complex, you know? But since you want to help her so much, then...
Do your thing. But don't blame me if something happens to you. I warned you," Grace said. Charlie had the face of a child opening her Christmas presents.
"So I can...?!"
"Yes, Charlie, you can reconnect to the digital world..." Grace... sighed for the millionth time. "But if something happens to you, it's your fault, not mine, okay?"
"Okay!" Charlie smiled.
Charlie quickly got up and started running toward the computer.
"HEY!" Grace exclaimed. "Finish your breakfast first!"
Charlie turned around:
"Yes, Miss Grace..."
Charlie ate her breakfast as quickly as possible, and then, as if she'd just been given a new Xbox, he ran over to Grace's computer, and with her help, connected into the digital world.
"So...can I ask you something, Charlie?"
"Yes, Grace?" Charlie tilted her head to the side.
"How...how did you find Rocio yesterday?"
"Umm...as soon as I connected, she was already there..."
"Oh..." Grace thought for a moment while Charlie was on the page. Rocio only appeared quickly when she wasn't there. It was obvious how Rocio felt about her.
Disappointed
But...that doesn't matter anymore. Doesn't it? It happened years ago...and...
Grace sat with her legs crossed, her gaze fixed on Charlie, but whether she was actually processing what was happening was another subject.Her mind was in a totally different place, far from this world.
Or far from this time actually.
She wasn't really looking at Charlie; her mind was somewhere else. On a feeling of guilt that wouldn't go away. Why did she feel guilty? It was over, it wasn't her fault. Everything was fine. Just...
Grace didn't realize when she ran to her room until she was already there.
That feeling of guilt she'd tried so hard to hide, to ignore, to push to the back of her mind, had returned. And stronger than ever.
She couldn't ignore it anymore. It was everywhere, all around her. No matter where she looked, it was there. And she had to face it.
But she was afraid. She was so afraid to face it all. There was a reason she'd been avoiding it for so long. The thought of having to do it made her nauseous...nauseous...nauseous...
"Grace?"
"HUH?!"
Charlie was inside Grace's room, standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing here, Charlie? Weren't you...trying to talk to Rocio?" she asked.
"You left so suddenly."
“...Sorry.”
Charlie and Grace fell silent, Grace looking toward a corner of the room, and Charlie toward her. Charlie could sense something wasn't right. In the...three months she'd known her, Grace had never acted like that. And even if she'd known her longer, acting like that really wasn't normal for anyone.
“Are you okay, Grace?”
“...Just go on with what you were doing…I'll stay here.”
“Are you sure...?”
“Yes.” Grace affirmed.
“But what if something happens to me...?”
“it 's your fault. You wanted it. You signed and agreed.”
“...Uh-huh. Well, see you.”
Charlie closed the door, leaving Grace alone with her million thoughts, including how the hell Charlie learned to disconnect on her own.
Charlie walked down the stairs, that feeling that something wasn't right making her uneasy. She needed to do something, but... she didn't even know why Grace was feeling so bad...
Could it be because of everything with Rocio? Well, that was the obvious answer. Of course it was because of that. Maybe it reminded her of something she didn't want to remember...
She went back upstairs.
"If there's anything you want to tell me, you can always trust me!"
Grace grimaced.
"And you won't upload it to your YouTube channel?"
Charlie remained silent.
"I promise!"
"...You better not. Or I'll report you to the police."
Charlie knew Grace wouldn't. For various reasons, she wouldn't.
"...Will you tell me?"
"...Not yet. Go do what you wanted to do, okay?"
"...Okay."
Charlie went back downstairs. She looked at the computer where the Lacey's flash games HTML file was.
Carefully, she put each item back in its place and connected onto the digital world again.
But this time, it was much harder to find Rocio. First of all, she couldn't even access some games. Yes, she only had Petshop, Wardrobe, and Love Meter, but now she couldn't access Wardrobe anymore.
Well... let's get past Petshop...
Charlie did everything she could to contact Rocio for two hours.
Two hours of just doing whatever on the website and playing Flash games. At this point, they didn't scare Charlie anymore.
Charlie waited for Rocio to give up on hiding and talk to her, but she knew Rocio was hoping she'd give up and leave.
They were both so, so stubborn. Except Charlie was the most stubborn one there.
"Rocíooo..." Charlie sighed, doubting she'd actually listen. "Did you know I'm capable of staying three nights waiting for you to reply?" She joked, but a new text was added to the "about us" section.
<your_body_will_give_up_I_don't_have_a_body>
"You spoke! And you're right, my body will collapse. But are you capable of waiting that long just for me to leave without speaking to you?"
<yes>
"...Really?"
<yes>
"Wouldn't you be bored?"
<bored_in_my_HEAVEN¿>
"...You like this place too much, don't you?"
<SHUT_UP_ALREADY. I_don't_want_to_see_you_talk_about_my_heaven_ever_again>
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything about your heaven, okay? Don't get mad...please. I don't want to go deaf.”
Rocío responded with silence.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, that wasn't my intention."
<what_do_you_want_today>
"What do I want today?"
<yes>
"Just to talk to you! To check on you!" Charlie smiled. Rocío didn't respond.
<check_on_?me>
"Yep!"
<are_you_serious>
"Why would I say this as a joke? Am I forbidden to talk to you now that I know how?"
<?why_are_you_doing_this>
"Well, I just want to talk to you!"
<you_have_GRACE_to_talk_to>
"I know..." Charlie sighed. "But Grace isn't...the best person to talk to, you know?"
<Well_if you_don't_like_talking_to_GRACE_less_will_you_like_talking_with_ME>
"Well, surprise, I'd rather talk to you." Silence.
<?really>
"I mean, you're not telling me every two seconds to go do my college homework."
<you_are_going_to_fail>
Charlie sighed: "Still, it won't hurt to talk to you once in a while, right?"
<I_don't_understand_why_youd_want_to_talk to_me>
"I already told you, Rocío! I just like you, and don't you feel alone here? I mean, no one's really been on this page for years, right?
<flash_died_ofcourse_not>
"And you don't get bored?"
<this_is_my_HEAVEN_made_for_me_of_course_not>
"Well, didn't you miss talking to someone?" Rocío fell silent.
Because, being honest, she didn't think about that. She never thought about that. She's never thought about that in years. In all her time, inside that page, inside that place. She never, ever thought about talking to other people. Because talking to others was always exhausting. They never understood. So...
<no_I_didnt_miss_it>
"Don't you miss talking to anyone? Having some company? Someone to share your thoughts with?" Rocío thought.
<never_had_someone_like_that_in_the_first_place>
"Oh..." Charlie thought. "I guess Grace wasn't...the best company, right?" The other didn't respond.
"...Are you uncomfortable talking about Grace?" Silence.
"...I understand. Sorry.” Charlie thought about what else to tell Rocío, just to talk to her and not leave her alone. She kept calculating what to do.
<youre_lying>
"Huh? Why are you saying that?"
<nobody_talks_to_me_just_to_talk_to_me_you_know_you're_lying>
"Okay, but…”
<what_do_you_want_today? Tell_me_NOW>
"Come on, Rocío... I just want to talk to you..."
<images_videos_or_something_more?
"Rocío, really? Can't you...understand that I just want to talk...god…”
<how_bored_are_you_to_want_to_talk_to_me?>
"So...since you asked, I'm stuck at Grace's house. It's been raining for hours, and she's in a bad mood."
<i_don't_blame_her_for_being_mad_at_you>
"With me? So the issue is with me?"
<?what_did_you_expect>
Charlie thought. She really was very insistent, wasn't he? It was obvious she was going to end up making Grace uncomfortable...
<but_it's_not_just_with_you>
"Huh? Who else?" The screen went blank; there was no response.
“Will you answer?”
...
"Please?"
<enough_for_today>
"Awww...but come on...we only talked for a few minutes. And it was just you insisting I shouldn't talk to you…”
<and_I'm_right>
“Why?”
<what_do_you_mean_WHY¿>
“Why do you think I shouldn't talk to you? What's so bad about talking to you?”
<dont_you_listen_to_GRACE¿>
“Let's take Grace out of this conversation, and answer. Why do you think I shouldn't talk to you?" And as always, everything went blank.
<im_deplorable>
<I_don't_understand_why_you_waste_your_time_talking_to_someone_like_me_when_you_could_be_doing_much_better_things>
“Like what?”
<studying>
“Taking out studying. What could I possibly be doing better than talking to you right now?”
<there_are_a_million_things_better_than_talking_to_me>
<you_could_watch_a_movie_read_a_book_anything_is_better_than_talking_to_me>
“...Why do you think all of that is better than talking to you? Why do you think I could do all of that instead of talking to you?”
<I_already_told_you_I_AM_DEPLORABLE>
“Well...I don't think you're totally horrible, Rocío. And the truth is, talking to you is much more interesting than everything you mentioned...after searching for you for months..."
<it_was_only_a_month>
“Yes, but...it was still hard, you know? Not everyone immediately realizes that the person they're looking for is inside a page…”
<and_why_would_you_want_to_talk_to_me?
“Like I said, Rocío, you're just...interesting. Very interesting. I want to know about you, I want to get to know you! You're actually quite mysterious, and I want to know about you. I'm interested in you, Rocio.”
The other girl only responded by sending Charlie to the 404 error page. Charlie got startled.
"Is this what redemption feels like?
What is the purpose of a girl destined to die over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over?
and over again?
Do you know what it feels like to be cursed with the ironic immortality of a digital body?
It does not matter how many times she bleeds.
It does not matter how many times she suffers.
She will always be back the next time you open your game."
Charlie remembered seeing that page before. Poor kid who got this when the page stopped working.
"Hmm... that was a lot for her, huh?" Charlie disconnected herself out. She was removing everything that connected her, when she turned around and found Grace.
"Oh! Grace, you're out!"
"Yep... I'm out..." Grace replied, trying to maintain her usual enthusiasm.
"How long have you been there?"
"...Half an hour or so?"
"Well... that's quite a while..."
"Uh-huh." She readjusted her glasses and looked at Charlie.
"So you'd rather talk to Rocio than me?" Grace laughed, but she wasn't looking at Charlie.
"Well, she doesn't insist that when she was in college she was better than me..."
"Remember you're talking about Rocio, Charlie."
"Yeah... yeah..."
There was silence for a few minutes.
"So... why did she leave this time? What did you do?"
"Why do you always assume it was me...? But anyway, I told her I really wanted to talk to her and... the page crashed.”
Grace looked somewhat surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Why are you asking?"
"I just...wanted to know."
Silence returned. Grace looked outside.
"Look, it's stopped raining. You can go... if you really want."
"Hmmm... I could study..."
"Could you? No, you have to."
"Leave me alone..." Charlie grabbed her things, preparing to leave.
"But... I can come back, right?"
"...Sure," Grace replied. "If you need something important enough..."
"I want to help Rocio."
"Huh?"
"I want to help Rocio. Just like you heard. And I can't help her in just one day. Can I come back tomorrow?"
"I better get used to you living here..." Grace sighed. "No."
"At least once a week?"
Grace sighed:
"Fine...
"Perfect!" Charlie smiled, her backpack in hand. "See you next week then!" She waved, heading out the door.
"BUT WHEN ARE YOU COMING?!" Grace exclaimed, but Charlie was already gone. She sighed. "These few months will be interesting..."
She tried to show disinterest. But she couldn't help but look at the computer, where the page was still open.
Maybe...
If she tried…
Hide and seek
It's been a few days. It was already April. In sometime of this week, Charlie would come.
Grace stared at the computer. She didn't realize how much time passed, or that she was even looking there. She just stared.
No, she couldn't. She just couldn't. (Or didn't want to?)
Grace stood up and went to light an incense burner, the aroma quickly filling the room. It would help calm her. She took a deep breath. At times like these, she would smoke. But she quit smoking years ago. And she refused to pick up a cigarette again in her life.
She leaned against the wall and very slowly sank to the floor, her knees to her chest. She sighed.
What was the point in suppressing it anymore? Charlie wasn't even there anymore. But she still felt watched; she couldn't let it out.
She didn't know why she felt watched.
Her gaze fell on the computer.
Forget it, she knew why.
She'd never be able to use her computer normally again, knowing that Rocio could watch her from the HTML file.
She wondered several things, like, had Rocio been watching her the WHOLE time? Does she know how she feels? Is she watching her?
Grace looked at the computer's camera.
It wasn't activated or anything. But she stood up anyway, disabled the camera completely, and covered it with black tape.
She felt better now..
Grace sat down in the chair in front of the computer, staring at the screen.
"Error 404: This page was not found."
...She had so many questions. And only one thing that would lead her to the answers. But she didn't want to find the answers if she had to...
Talk to her.
After so much time thinking she'd never see her again, that she was definitely dead. Out of nowhere, she wasn’t. Everything she'd done to ignore everything she felt came down. And now she didn't know what to do.
Well, she did. But she couldn't find the courage. Besides, she was confused.
WHY exactly did she feel bad? Shouldn't this make her feel better? She wasn't EXACTLY dead, was she?
Grace stood up and walked to the kitchen. She put water in a kettle. She was going to make some tea... or whatever would help distract her.
But she couldn't think about anything else anymore. Her mind always returned there, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.
She couldn't avoid it anymore.
She wasn't the good one there.
She couldn't keep pretending. Everyone knew it, and so did she.
The least she could do now was face her cowardice and try to at least talk to her...
But she didn't want to face her right now.
Grace took a sip of her tea. She couldn't taste it; she was so distracted by the computer. Even if she wasn't in the same room as the computer itself, she was distracted, thinking about all the questions she had.
And of course, how could she avoid it?: She was thinking about Rocío too.
Rocío seemed to distance herself more when she was around Charlie, which sent the message loud and clear: she DIDN’T like her. But anyway, who was she to blame her?
But if she wanted to talk to her, how would she do it? It's already obvious that Rocío is going to try to avoid her, but how will she convince her to talk to her, even for a minute?
Well, no matter how much Rocío hides, Grace knew MUCH more about programming than Charlie, which would make it easier for her to find her. That was her game. She did it too, even though she denies it in public.
Although Grace was never as familiar with the game files and the website as Rocio, as Yani would spend entire days just coding and coding, while Grace, well, she had a social life and a job. Between all that time Rocio was coding and Grace was doing other things in her life, a lot of things were added and deleted.
But still, she understood HTML files and flash, so that would make her job easier.
But is it really a good idea to force Rocio to talk to her?
From everything that happened, it was obvious Rocio wouldn't want to talk to her. But it was worth a try, right?
Grace didn't notice, but she had left her tea on the table, getting cold. She headed for the computer.
"Error 404: This page was not found."
She reloaded the page, finding the familiar page full of games and pink stuff.
She activated her camera and grabbed the equipment she used to put on Charlie,putting it to herself.
"Rocío, Rocío, Rocío..." Grace sighed. "How am I going to find you?”
Grace wasn't going to play the games; she wanted to find her now.
She went into the main page's code, checking for anything strange or extra.
When she didn't find anything, she went to the "about us" page, but as soon as she saw anything out of place, Rocío quickly left.
Then she went to check the fan space, but the moment Rocío realized she'd gone there, she disappeared.
Then she went to the music page, but Rocío disappeared as quickly as a butterfly escaping a human's hands.
Then she checked Lacey’s Wardrobe, and yes, she went inside. But as quickly as she entered, she left. And so, she began searching through every game, but always, ALWAYS, Rocío escaped.
“So we're going to play hide-and-seek, huh, Rocío? Come on, I just want to ask a few things.” Grace had already realized. This was going to be a long journey.
And so it was. She went from page to page, from game to game, but as always, Rocio escaped faster.
Grace was getting tired of this game of hide-and-seek, but she was patient. Much more patient than Rocio had ever been in her entire life.
But also, from all the years Rocio had been inside the game, she had lost her sense of time. She was going to stay three hours doing this if she really had to. She did it with Charlie, why not with Grace? In fact, with Grace, she would persist for two more hours.
So, for a long time, they continued their game of hide-and-seek.
But suddenly, no matter which game she played, Grace no longer followed her.
"Okay, I'll just stay here until you decide to talk to me, Rocio." Grace sighed. And then she just watched. She did nothing. She no longer chased Rocio. She just stared at what she was doing for at least half an hour.
Until one of the two disconnected and left. And that was Grace.
Rocio let out a mental sigh. It was time for her to give up.
Or so she thought.
Rocio headed to Lacey's Diner, to continue her own mental torture.
Or she thought she would.
"Aha! There you are! There's no point in trying to hide from me, Rocio. Uh-uh, don't go now!"
<what_do_you_want_GRACE>
"Well... I just want to ask you a few things, honestly..."
<all_this_for_a_few_!questions¿>
"It would be easier if you just stop hiding, you know?" Grace sighed.
<would_rather_wait_10_more_hours>
Grace took a deep breath.
"Well, I've got you now. So... I'd love for you to answer, Rocío."
<spit_it_out_NOW_make_it_fast>
Grace thought for a moment. She reorganized her every thought, sorting out all her questions...
"Where have you been all this time?" she began.
<here>
"Here... What do you mean, here?"
<I_was_here>
"You're Still the same sarcastic girl you used to be, huh? So…let me think." Grace remained silent for a few minutes, wondering what to ask now.
"Are you... the whole page? Are you still alive?"
<no_im_actually_behind_you>
"Oh, you're so funny, Rocío. I bet you can see me laughing. Give me a good answer, will you?"
<okay_I'm_the_whole_page>
"Ahh, see? It's not that hard to answer correctly, is it?." Grace could almost feel Rocio sticking her tongue out at her from the other side of the screen... or well, that is, if there was even another side of the screen, considering Rocio is the whole page.
"So... next question... How long have you been here?"
<what_do_you_mean¿>
"You know what I mean, how long have you been...being the whole page?"
<I_thought_you_would_know_the_answer_GRACE>
"Well, I don't know. Would you mind enlightening me, Rocio?"
<you_should_know_the_answer_you_know¿>
"But like I told you, I don't know." Grace was losing patience.
<you_said_it_yourself>
Grace looked confused.
<You're_not_going_to_get_out_of_there_alive_you_said>
"Oh," Grace was silent, staring at the page for a moment, thousands of thoughts running through her head at once. "Would you mind telling me what the hell you're talking about?"
<It_would_be_a_pleasure> Rocio typed, then proceeded to quickly show flashing photos. From those photos, Grace noticed Rocío’s arms the most. Wires were embedded inside, leaving bruises. Also, after watching some of Charlie's videos, she noticed that the image came from Lacey's Diner.
Grace knew exactly what Rocio was talking about. She just didn't want to admit it.
<oh_are_you_speechless¿_GRACE>
"Oh, shut up, Rocio." She started to get angry. "I just need some time to process the horrors you just showed me."
<youd_be_better_off_being_left_to_REMEMBER_wouldnt_you¿>
"I still have questions."
<well_I_don't_want_to_answer_them>
"Too bad, you'll answer them anyway."
<you_cant_force_me>
"Yes I can. I just put this...and this...and you'll never get out of this game. But you'd rather have freedom, right? Why don't you just answer me so I don't have to do all that? I win, and you win."
<I_HATE_YOU_GRACE>
"Why do you want to avoid me so much?" Grace turned her head to the side, her hand on her chin.
<you_know_WHY>
"I...I know why? Forgive me, Rocío, but if I ask, it's because I don't know why."
<just_remember_GRACE_you_always_had_a_better_memory_than_me>
"Ugh, are you allergic to telling me things directly?"
<I_find_it_more_entertaining_^^>
"Ughh... you're irritating, Rocío... you're IRRITATING..." Grace sighed.
<you_know_exactly_what_I'm_talking_about,_you_just_have_to_stop_hiding_it>
"Oh my god, Rocío, how many times do I have to tell you, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"
<well_then_I_better_let_you_think_about_it_you_have_to_learn_to_stop_lying_to_yourself>
"...Is this because I said I have nothing to do with Yaniaso?"
<including_that_would_be_a_good_start>
"Oh Rocío, I'm just trying not to let your stupidity ruin my life! It's not my fault you decided to traumatize thousands and thousands of little girls. I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU TAKE ME DOWN WITH YOU!"
<aww_you_make_me_sad_GRACE_you_are_trying_to_pretend_we_were_nothing>
<but_the_answer_is_right_in_front_of_you_just_have_to_remember>
"Pshht, pshht. You really hate being direct, don't you?"
<it_wouldnt_be_fun>
"Uh-huh, huh... you just love being annoying."
<you_need_time_to_remember>
<so_why_dont_I_just_give_you_the_time¿>
"Wait, wait, wait, what?!" But as soon as she asked, the HTML file closed itself.
She could have just reopened it, but, really, that was enough for today. And for a long time, really.
Grace started thinking about everything Rocio told her.
"You should remember that, you should remember that..." Grace muttered. "Just excuses to not talk..."
The time was 7:30 PM.
She should make dinner now; this was a waste of time. Plus, she has to go to work... and see Charlie again, God knows when.
She remembered she had her email, so before turning off her computer, she sent her a message.
From: graceasop7@gmail.com
To: charchar887@gmail.com
Date: April 7, 2015, 7:35 PM
Subject: My schedule.
"Look, Charlie, I work from 7 AM to 1 PM, so don't you even think about coming before then, okay? I won't open the door for you. In fact, I'll leave you outside all day."
She hit send, then shut down her computer. Now she had more important things to worry about.
Right?
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING OUT OF THERE ALIVE, ROCIO! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" She yelled, stressed.
“I thought you already knew that…” She smiled. “Of course I am.”
No doesn't mean never
Grace grabbed the door handle, opened it, and headed home after about eight hours of work. After everything she'd been through when she collaborated with Rocío on a game that went horribly wrong, she managed to get a job at a computer repair shop. No other place would take her, given all the rumors that she made those disturbing games that traumatized millions.
She had every right to hold a grudge against Rocio. She had ruined her life. Now she had to constantly "clarify" that she had nothing to do with Yaniaso, and that she didn't know why Rocío had put her name there. Thank God, people were too stupid to connect the dots and realize that their name was just their last names fused together: Yani and Asop. She still remembered when they were making up a name for themselves...
She was going to go crazy if she heard the name "Yaniaso" one more time.
But sadly, she'd definitely hear it a lot today. And not just today, really. Charlie replied, saying she'd be there an hour after she arrived.
She felt an overwhelming urge to cancel everything and isolate herself in her room. But it was easy to realize that it's impossible to stop Charlie of all people. Even Rocío was less stubborn...
Rocío, Rocío, Rocío. It had been a while since she'd heard that name, and now she heard it every two seconds. The first time she heard it in years, she froze. It felt like someone had thrown cold water on her. She never thought she'd hear that name again; she did everything she could to avoid hearing that name again. She wasn't even in the same city anymore. Did she have to leave the country too?
But even so, she decided not to delete that HTML file. As much as she hated it, she simply couldn't. Something was stopping her. She simply couldn't allow herself to delete that HTML file.
It would all be over if she just got rid of that file forever, right? This whole nightmare would be over.
But...she couldn't. She just couldn't. Something was stopping her.
And after that conversation with Rocío, she had even less strength to delete that html file.
But why? She hates her, she shouldn't care. Right? Or maybe she wasn't wrong for not wanting to erase it... or maybe she should just stop thinking about it. But it was impossible. This topic wouldn't leave her mind, and she knew it wouldn't anytime soon. Or ever, really. She could already tell this was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. But she didn't want to admit it, because the thought scared her. She tried to distract herself as much as she could, but now, she couldn't distract herself anymore.
"Ugh... I hate you so much, Charlie..." Grace said to herself. She hated being forced to remember everything that happened after so many years of repressing those memories and that period of her life in general. And she just remembered, it was 10 of april, she had to see her.
She didn't realize she'd already passed her house from thinking so much. She quickly turned around and went back.
This was going to ruin her life.
Knock, knock
"Who 's there?"
"Charlie!"
"Oh," Grace sighed and opened the door, letting her in. Charlie stepped inside, taking off her black zippered sweatshirt and leaving it on a hanger by the door.
"How are you, Grace?" she asked.
"Horrible. And you? How are you today? Weren't you supposed to be at university at this time?" Grace answered casually.
"Err... It’s only my third absence..." Charlie looked at a corner of the room.
"This week, isn't it?"
"Okay... leave me alone. It's my life, and I choose what to do with it." Charlie turned her gaze to the floor.
"You better get a good grade on your thesis, or I'll kill you, Charlie," Grace threatened, her face growing more serious. She looked like an angry mother threatening her son that she’d take away the Xbox if she didn't get good grades.
"Understood, understood..." Charlie went straight to Grace's computer.
She was planning to just go and connect herself to the computer already, but she wanted to talk to Grace, or at least have a little conversation with her. No matter how small, she wanted to talk. Maybe a miracle would happen and Grace would tell her something related to why she was acting so strange the other day. Or maybe she should just bring up the subject directly? Being direct wasn't bad... but maybe it was wrong. Maybe it would be better to let Grace bring up the subject if she really wanted to tell her, to let Grace open up to her. It's better not to force her.
Grace stared at her, waiting for something. Waiting for Charlie to do or say something. Charlie was looking at her too. Waiting for Grace to say or do something. They both waited. It was an awkward moment. Very awkward.
Grace soon realized Charlie was waiting for her to say something. She looked elsewhere, but ended up going back to the computer.
Should she...?
"How does it feel to use that computer, knowing now that Rocío is there?" Charlie asked, as if reading Grace's mind.
Grace thought for a moment. Ever since Rocío disappeared, she felt a strange feeling in her chest. She'd gotten good at ignoring it; she'd even forgotten about it. But ever since Charlie brought up Lacey's, it was harder to ignore that feeling. And now that she knew Rocío was on her computer…She felt exposed.
"...I guess...I feel a little...terrified, you know? You can't blame me anyway. I mean, she could have seen everything I did on my computer...maybe she knows my passwords... that's…creepy...You understand, right?"
"...You're actually right." Charlie thought about Grace's response. Understandable. God knows what would happen if Rocío got angry with Grace and she knew her credit card’s numbers…
There were a few more minutes of silence. For some reason, Charlie didn't want to just connect on to the computer right now. The air was a little tense.
"Yesterday... I..." Grace began. But then she regretted it. "Forget it... it's not important... just do your own thing..." Grace looked away.
"Something's bothering you, Grace. You don't have to keep hiding it," Charlie said frankly. "You know... if you don't want me in your house, you could have just said no..."
"No, no, really... I don't care. I promise. It’s just... just..." Grace fixed her gaze on the floor. She couldn't tell Charlie that she hated that this situation forced her to think about Rocío and herself again. "Just do your thing, okay? Don't pay attention to me."
Charlie frowned. She knew VERY well something wasn't right. She remembered the conversation she'd had with Rocío the day before...
"<I_don't_blame_her_for_being_mad_at_you>
With me? So the issue is with me?
<what_did_you_expect¿>
<but_it's_not_just_with_you>"
The issue wasn't just with her... and if she had to think more, she could easily assume it was with Rocío as well. It didn't take long to realize Grace didn't like the girl very much.
"Rocío..." Charlie trailed off.
"Rocío what?" Grace asked, turning her head to the side. "What about her now?"
"She said you were mad at me," Charlie mentioned. "I told her you were in a bad mood, and she said she didn't blame you for being mad at me. But she also mentioned it wasn't just me..."
"Rocio's just talking nonsense, Charlie." She said in a stern tone. "She doesn't know what she's talking about, I promise."
"...Well, I guess you'd know more about Rocío than I do, wouldn't you, Grace?" Charlie replied, staring into Grace's eyes.
"Err..." Grace looked back at Charlie. "Well...it's not really your fault..." Grace admitted.
"What's wrong? Please, I want to help..." Charlie asked again. Grace thought. Should she tell her? She didn't trust her enough to tell her such serious things yet. They'd only met about a month ago... and the two times she said it was for her thesis, she ended up lying and uploaded it to her YouTube channel.
"I promise not to upload it to my YouTube channel, Grace. I couldn't do something so...horrible.I know how to keep secrets! I promise!"
" ‘This stays between us, okay?’ I told you in the first interview.”
"I know, I know...but that was just an interview...I promise I'm not capable of doing that with personal things. Pinky promise!" Charlie offered her small finger.
"I won't hesitate to cut your finger off, you know?" Grace threatened.
"And I'd deserve it anyway," she admitted.
Grace didn't offer her finger. Intertwining it with Charlie's would mean telling her. Telling her everything. She really didn't want to tell her everything, at least not directly.
"You don't have to tell me everything, okay? And I really promise not to tell anyone. I'm already annoying enough by breaking into your house..." Grace zoned out, wondering what to say. She'd never told anyone about this before... she didn't even know where to start...
"You know... I talked to Rocio yesterday." She started talking.
"Really?" Charlie was surprised. "You talked?"
"Yeah, we talked... if you can call it talking..." Grace sighed. "I tried asking her questions, like where she'd been, and since when... she said I should know, and to just "remember"...ugh." Grace spoke. Charlie listened intently.
"So, did you try to remember to see if you understood what she meant?" Charlie asked. Grace fell silent, looking away.
"That's a no, isn't it?"
"It's just..." Grace rambled. "I...really...no...I didn't plan for all this to happen, you know? I...the plan was to forget about all of this..."
"Why?"
"Why wouldn't I? It was horrible..." Grace shuddered. "I tried everything, I left the city, I got another job, I made a whole new life..."
"No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it doesn't change the fact that it happened, and it's still there. You can't ignore it forever, Grace. It's better to face your problems; that's the real and only way to get over it." Charlie countered.
Grace listened. She knew he was right. She always knew it. She just...didn't think she was ready...Or maybe for a moment, she really thought avoiding it would work. For a long time, no one had talked to her about it. She already had a whole new life, new friends. But it was obvious I couldn't avoid it forever.
"...You're right... Whether you were around or not, I wasn't going to be able to avoid it forever." Grace sighed. "I guess it was going to happen eventually... but I... I really believed I was going to make it."
"I know for a moment you think you are to achieve, but at some point, it was going to come back. Besides, wouldn't it feel better to resolve whatever happened? You have the chance right now. It would be something else if Rocío had really died... But even then, avoiding it isn't the solution.”
Grace took a breath.
"So..." Charlie began. "You asked Rocío..."
"I asked her where she is, if she’s the whole page, and how long she’'s been there. She told me I should know, and to just remember..."
"So... Why don't you try to listen to her? Try to remember, what exactly is she referring to? Maybe the last time you saw each other..."
Remember... The opposite of what she'd been doing for years. She could barely remember the last time she saw Rocío.
"I... I don't remember exactly when the last time I saw Rocío was. At least, not anymore. It was a long time ago."
"What if you start remembering little by little?" I mean, you were trying to avoid that whole period for a long time…”
"You're right..." Grace agreed with her. Rocío, Rocío, Rocío... she remembered what Charlie had asked her the day before.
"And that's where you met Rocio?"
"Yes, that's where I met her. We were classmates."
"What was Rocío like?"
"Well, at first I thought she was just a goth girl. She was pretty distant, she seemed cold. She was always alone, reading or drawing."
She remembered the first time she spoke to Rocío...
They were at university, and the professor had given a group project. God knows how Grace and Rocío ended up being a group. Rocío never talked to anyone, and Grace was stupidly social, talking to anyone. Anyone she considered cool. Grace was very judgmental.She would NOT talk to anyone she decided was “weird”. And Rocio was one of those she decided was weird. But there was no one else left to group with.
Grace wanted to disappear. Did she really have to talk to her of all people? She didn't even know her name, but she really didn't want to know. She'd have to talk to her anyway, whether she wanted to or not. This was for a grade. She put on a fake smile and sat down with Rocío to organize.
It wasn't so bad. Rocío was tolerable; she barely spoke unless it was about something related to the work. Better for Grace. She didn't want to listen to her. She wanted this to be the first and last time she spoke to her.
But wanting to didn't mean it was going to happen.
Rocío often asked for her notes. Grace was a good person and would give them to her whether she wanted to or not. And those were the interactions they had. It really wasn't much.
But obviously if they stayed like that, Grace wouldn't have gotten to where she is right now.
Grace had a lot of friends. A LOT. Her group of friends was huge. And she wasn't really close with any of them. They argued ALL THE TIME. Every week there was a new source of conflict. This was, to put it mildly, exhausting.
This time the whole group got into a fight, and she was left alone again. It really wasn't good for her to be there. It was time for her to make new friends; being in a big group of friends was like not having any if they argued so much. Grace thought these things would stop in college, but they really didn't.
And maybe it was also time for Grace to be less judgmental. "Don't judge a book by its cover," someone once told her. And maybe they were right. Maybe all those people she'd left out would have been better friends than her current friends. She'd have to try.
She looked at Rocío.
In all her time there, she never saw Rocío speak to anyone. Not even during recess. Which meant something obvious: Rocío didn't have any friends. She looked like she didn’t, but she was trying not to judge her by her appearance.
Rocio was wearing her typical black jacket, which was on the verge of tearing, her head was down. She was drawing in a notebook.
Grace approached her and sat down next to her.
"Hello!" she greeted.
"Hello..." Rocío looked up. "Do you need anything?"
"Nothing! I just want to talk to you!" Grace sat down next to her. "What are you drawing?"
Rocío looked up at her:
"It's nothing... just..." Rocío was quite shy. Grace looked at her notebook better.
"Your art is beautiful! Is she from a series?" she asked.
"Thanks... it's an original character." Rocío replied. The girl she drew had her hair down, but part of it was in two ponytails. She had two clips on each side.
"Can I see more of your drawings?" Grace asked. Rocío quickly put an arm up in front of her notebook.
"Umm..." Rocío looked away, hesitant. "They're not that... good."
"But from what I saw, you draw really well! Show me, please?" Grace insisted.
Rocio hesitated to show Grace, but then stuck out her arm and showed her a few drawings. Grace watched with interest.
"Your art is amazing..." Grace praised her. "I draw too, you know."
"Really?" Rocio asked.
"Yes! But I'm more of a background artist... Your characters are quite pretty. I have zero originality when it comes to drawing characters..." Grace complained.
"Really?" Rocio was amazed. I guess Grace didn't seem like the drawing type. "Can... Can I see?"
"Sure! I'd love to show you!" Grace exclaimed, "But I didn't bring my drawings today... I'll show them to you tomorrow if you don't mind!"
"Okay..." Rocío smiled.
The next day, Grace, as promised, brought a notebook with her drawings. She loved drawing places she liked; every day she went somewhere new, she would take a picture and then draw it.
Rocío looked at the drawings of various landscapes in amazement:
"Wow... you really draw very well, Grace." Rocío praised her. "Did you take any classes?"
"Yes, I used to take classes, but only when I was younger. Besides, I moved cities later."
"Wow..." Rocío smiled. "I didn't think I'd find someone who also draws. Let alone you."
"I don't know how to take that, but I'll take it well." Grace smiled. "I like you, Rocío."
The other girl looked at her, surprised.
"Really?"
"What? Have you never had a friend?" Grace teased her. Rocío laughed awkwardly.
"It's nothing, I just didn't expect that from you," Rocio laughed.
And that was it, the first real conversation she had with Rocío. They were a rather surprising duo, to be honest. Grace used to be so judgmental; it was strange to see her with someone like Rocío. Anyone who knew Grace would be surprised to see her even interacting with Rocío if it wasn't just out of obligation.
Rocío seemed so happy...
Grace wondered what happened.
Grace wondered what happened with the Rocío who smiled every time she saw her, the Rocío who was creative and always seemed to know what to do, the Rocío who made jokes, the light in her eyes when she looked at her...
Grace wondered if all of that was even real.
"Grace? Grace! Are you there?" Charlie cut her off. Grace blinked, she hadn't realized she staid quiet for so much time.
"Yeah, yeah, i'm there." Grace sighed. "I just...remembered the first time I talked to Rocío."
"Really?!" Charlie asked. "Tell me pleasee!" She insisted like a kid asking her parents how they met, and what other thing could Grace do other than just tell her?
<