Backstitch

Chapter 2

The staring should have been the easiest aspect of this endeavor to tolerate. Lou had spent most of his time in UglyVille being gawked and sneered at. This time, the only difference was that the looks cast his way were a mix of bewilderment and surprise. Lou couldn't blame them. He couldn't quite believe himself that, one moment, he was slaving away at the pavement, and now he was walking hand-in-hand with one of the dolls that had ruined him. Stranger still that Nolan was either undeterred by the looks or didn't notice them. He had that same dopey smile plastered on his face as he led the blonde down the streets. Lou felt his face flush the more dolls that noticed his new circumstances, "Uh," he drawled out when the doll's name was lost to him.

Nolan turned his peripheral toward him. He noticed the red hue dusting Lou's cheeks and got concerned, "Is everything okay?" Was he sick? Mad? Oh, what if he was mad? Maybe he was angry about being in such a position to need help from a doll like Nolan. After all, Nolan wasn't perfect—far from it, really—and to be helping The Per—er—once-perfect Lou, it must be doing something detrimental to the blonde's self-esteem.

"I can—"

"Hey, Nolan! Hey...Lou?" Mandy's greeting died on her lips as she noticed who the brunette had in tow. Her gaze instantly caught onto their interlocked hands—Nolan doing most of the work of keeping them entwined.

Not catching any difference in her demeanor, Nolan smiled widely and yanked his arm forward to bring Lou closer to his front, "Hey, Mandy!" He leaned to the side to whisper to Lou, "See? She said hey. That's a good sign, right?" Lou merely scoffed and swept a glare in Nolan's direction. He was already caught between a rock and a hard place. A part of him wanted to let loose of Nolan's hand and insist that he could follow without being led like a child...and the other was becoming more desperate to stay attached to the lifeline Nolan had provided himself as. The looks of the other dolls, though, were veering Lou toward his former inclination.

Mandy tilted her head at the two, "What is he doing with you?" her voice was sharp.

"I'm—"

"His yard is infested with weeds," Lou quickly butted in, "he saw me pulling some down the street and figured I'd be—perfect—for the job." His smile was wry as he regarded the distrustful glare Mandy was giving him. Nolan had given him a confused glance, but the blonde made a point to ignore it.

She hummed, eyeing them a moment longer before beginning to walk past. "Well, don't let me hold you up from doing your job," she scrunched her nose at Lou before leaving them.

Nolan's lips formed a fine line, "Why'd you lie?"

"You can't be serious," Lou gave the doll an incredulous look, "if Mandy found out you were trying to help me, she'd get Ox involved. You can kiss your master plan goodbye if that bunny ever hears about this."

"I'm sure she'd warm up to you," Nolan smiled reassuringly.

Lou squinted his eyes at the doll, mouth parted slightly, and unable to find his words for a moment, "Were you just born yesterday?"

Nolan seemed to deflate a little, "Actually, I was born three weeks ago—Why does everyone keep asking me that question?" His cheeks puffed in annoyance as he swept a contemplative glare to the sidewalk. The expression barely deserved any reaction, but Lou found a laugh bubbling in his chest, and he only managed to subdue it to a snort of air through his nose as he smiled at the brunette. Nolan looked back at him quizzically, "What?"

"Nothing," Lou couldn't wipe the grin off his face, so he gave up trying to, "you're really cute." Not bothering to acknowledge the red hue on Nolan's face, he pressed onward in the general direction the heterochromatic had them going in.