a second chance ?

arrival.

   taco and knife arrived at the hotel, the towering burnt orange colored building was festive, it had recently been cleaned by the contestants. it was definitely occupied, shown clearly by the loud blasting music and flashing colors from inside. was it... really that fun? what had Taco been missing out on?

   "we're here. follow my lead." knife said, peering into the hotel. he stood there, the first floor was occupied. it was bright, the once somewhat muffled music blasted in their ears. knife quickly shut the door. knife looked up, in thought, trying to make some sort of alternative course of action. then, he grabbed a plastic grocery bag that had been left outside nearby the trash cans, and pointed to it.

   "alright, new plan. get in the bag." he said, holding the bag out for taco to climb into.

   "it that really necessary?" taco asked, wincing as she eyed the bag warily.

   "yes. do you want  to talk to mic or not?" knife retorted, impatiently.

   taco scoffed, stepping into the bag. "you better not fling me around!" she whispered, a bit angry.

   knife scooped taco up in the bag, closing it and entering the hotel. he nodded curtly to those who greeted him.

   "knife ! hey! what's in the bag?" fan said, waving to him as he entered the hotel. he looked at the bag, curiously.

   knife shrugged. "just some. . art supplies.." he had responded somewhat meekly, almost seemingly nervous when asked about the subject.

   "ooooh. . art supplies?" fan looked at the bag, and then back up to knife. "well, i for one didn't take you as an artsy sorta guy." fan joked, chuckling. "whaddya' plan on doin' with it?"

   "oh. . i'm making something,-- just, don't worry about it, fan. it doesn't matter." knife anxiously retorted before going up the elevator and onto the floor his room was in.

   the bag had begun to get stuffy, but taco didn't complain. she coughed lightly as the elevator came to a stop on the higher floor.

   knife stepped out of the elevator, and entered his room. he set the bag down and let taco step out of it. 

   taco stepped out of the bag, breathing in the fresher air gratefully, even if his room sort of stunk. she shook it off. knife didn't seem like he'd be overly neat,-- maybe that's just what taco was used to.

   "okay, so. . you're going to get mic to come in here, right?" taco asked, sitting down on the bed, looking at knife who lingered near the door.

   "yeah, yeah whatever. stay here, and don't touch anything." knife said defensively.

   taco nodded, watching as he left. she looked around, it was a pretty big room for a hotel. it made her wonder what it would've been like if she got the opportunity to stay here too. a part of her knew that what happened would've happened either way. she had chosen to act, and if she won she would have this hotel to herself if she dropped the act. she would've ended up alone either way.

   that was a hard conclusion to come to. but it was inevitable. 

  taco shook her head, trying to brush off the thought entirely. she stood up, wandering around knifes room curiously. dishes cluttered the room, creating a pretty bad odor. there were rips in the bedsheet and even mattress because of his blade. she chuckled, how unfortunate.

   anything that she could do to keep her mind off of the situation was somewhat helping, she snooped around his room, though there didn't seem to be much of interest to taco. his room was boring, the dirty dishes were set on the floor, tables, and there were a few stains on the bed. she couldn't imagine living like this..

   then, she heard voices outside of the door. two that she recognized in specific.

   knife, and . . mic. mic's voice.

   her heart froze for a second, and she stopped dead in her tracks. adrenaline coursed through her, and she panicked. what was she supposed to do? just stand there? hide?

   eventually, she decided on hiding. she quietly rushed to one of the walls that faced outward toward the hallway, trying to overhear the conversation, but they had stopped talking, and footsteps approached the room.

   she held her breath as the door opened.