The Virus (Uglydolls AU)

Chapter Six: Sweet And Not So Sweet Dreams

(Third Person POV)

That Night Back With Moxy And The Others...

The gang had spent the rest of the day in Lou's basement, packing items and planning. The Uglydolls were all passed out on the floor. The only light in the room was from the dim lamp lit on the desk. Lou scribbled away at a map, trying to plan out what way they were going to go. Mandy finished laying blankets over top of the Uglydolls, she walked over the Lou with a final blanket over her arm. She leaned on the back of his chair. "Are you going to sleep too?" She asked. "I would, but this map wont finish itself." Lou responded, not looking up at her. "It could?" Mandy giggled playfully. She watched Lou continue scribbling and drawing lines on the map. There were red lines, yellow ones, and green ones, some started yellow and faded to green. "What do the colors mean?" Mandy asked. "Hm?" Lou glanced at her.

"The colors." Mandy pointed to the different lines. "What do they mean?" She repeated. "Oh, yea." Lou put down the pencil he was holding. "The red ones show the paths that aren't safe to go through, filled with robots or riddled with holes and traps." He pointed to a red line. "The yellow ones are risky paths, not super safe, but doable if your careful." He explained. He then pointed to a green line. "The green lines are safe, they shouldn't be a problem." Mandy listened with interest as he explained why some paths weren't safe or why they were risky. As he talked, Mandy couldn't help but notice how tired he seemed. To be fair, it was 12:30 and he had definitely done the most work out of everyone. Mandy wondered if he always overworked himself like this. That would explain how he could be so easily upsettable at times. Finally, he finished his explanation. "Did you get all that?" He looked up at her.

Mandy nodded. "Makes sense to me." She looked at the blanket she was holding. "But you really should get some sleep." She looked back to him. Lou sighed heavily. "Well someone has to finish this map! How else would we know where to go?" Mandy glanced at the map. "Looks fine to me?" "But its not!" Lou exclaimed suddenly, slightly startling Mandy. "This doesn't make any sense, this doesn't look right, this is-" "Lou." Mandy interrupted him. He looked at her, he looked so tired. Mandy felt bad for him, she didn't feel like he really deserved all of this. She carefully placed her hand on his shoulder, sighing softly. "I think you might be being a little to hard on yourself..." She said in what was trying to be a sweet, comforting voice. Lou sighed, folding up his arms on the desk and putting his head in them. He turned his head to the side and looked at Mandy with sad, tired eyes. "Maybe your right..."

Mandy flipped over the blanket in her other hand. "I am right, you and I both know that." Lou didn't respond. Mandy sighed again, more heavily this time. "You know, despite everything's that happened, I do still care about you Lou..." She took a deep breath and stroked the soft blanket. "Your a lot more capable then you give yourself credit for..." Lou still didn't respond. Mandy stood up straighter. "I can understand if you don't feel like talking right now, but I don't..." She paused. "I don't think your a bad person, Lou..." She looked at him. She saw him laying on his desk with his eyes closed, breathing softly and slowly. "Oh..." She giggled softly. She unfolded the blanket and laid it on top of him and the back of the chair. She flicked off the night and smiled at Lou. She softly ruffled his golden blonde hair. "Sleep well, Blondie..." She whispered.

She walked over to the blanket pile and grabbed a fluffy one off the top. She laid down near Lou's desk. She put her hands under her head and pulled the blanket over herself. She smiled softly to herself as she fell asleep.

[Meanwhile...]

(Nolans POV)

I wandered the woods alone, the sun has set and the sky was dark. I shivered, rolling my sleeves down so they covered more of my arms. I climbed a small hill, sighing as I used a tree to lift myself up. I stood on-top on the hill stared out into the forest. The black sky above me was sprinkled with stars, the moon bright and beautiful. I sat down slowly under the tree, leaning my head back on it. I opened the box I had gotten from the puzzle. The pearls sparkled in the moonlight.

"What am I suppose to do with these anyways?" I asked myself. I picked up the bracelet. "I bet Tuesday would like these...." I sighed. Thinking of her made me tear up. I closed the box and closed my eyes. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried to fall asleep. I curled up on the ground, trying to make myself as warm as I could. I ended up crying myself to sleep that night.