Out of Desperation (My Friendly Neighborhood and Child!Reader)

Chapter Five

"Get in, loser, we're looking for lightbulbs."
-Y/N and Norman

*****

Norman looks up at the set, and so do I, maybe to see how long it takes to find a lightbulb. Leonard and Ricky are talking way across the Neighborhood, so we can't hear anything they say. I just know they're talking, but I can't really read what they're saying.

I manage to get on the top of some wooden scaffolding and squint at the lights. Norman is right behind me, probably making sure I'm not going to fall.

"Can you see any?" he asks.

"Yeah, right over there," I say. I point at the middle of the ceiling, and he looks closer. 

"I don't see it, bud." 

"In the middle, next to the post office." 

He leans over the fence-like wooden wall. Norman squints his eyes.

"Ohhh there it is."

"The light?"

"No, bud, my lost raincoat."

I look at where he's squinting. There is actually a red raincoat hanging off the post office's "roof". I don't know how it got up there or how Norman saw that from here, but it's really close to the light.

"Look a little to the left," I say. He turns his head slightly.

"There it is!" he replies. He points at the light, the same one I've been looking at. We smile at each other, and I lean back.

And I lean back a little too far.

I accidentally flip over the fence with a yelp. The fence, small and sturdy, stays right it was moments ago. And I'm still falling. I close my eyes and don't scream. I land on something-another puppet-with a thud.

"Oh, dear, are you alright?"

I look up. Another puppet, a girl, with a red and pink dress and white sun hat, is looking down at me. She seems panicked, her green hair frizzled. I can't tell, but she might even be shivering.

"Lillianna! Is George okay?" Norman asks. He ran down the stairs all the way from the fake apartment roof.

"I'm durable, don't worry."

I stand up so the puppet can as well. He doesn't look hurt.

"Hi, there, kid," the puppet says. He has a yellow taxi coat on with a matching hat and red fabric. Did Norman say his name is George? "Don't worry about fallin' on me. We're not only made up of cotton fabric and stuffing. Say, what's your name?"

"(Y/N)!"

We all look at Leonard. Leonard just hugs me and asks if I'm okay.

"Don't worry, George broke her fall," Norman says.

"What was she doing up there?" Leonard asks.

"We were looking for lightbulbs."

"We have a box back there, Norman, you know this."

"Subject aside, the kid is safe. No harm done," George says. He pats my shoulder. "'Sides, they're both children, Leonard. They don't know any better."

"I'm older than you, George," Norman says. Lilliana and I just stay quiet.

Then Lilliana nods and points to the "alley" behind the pizza place. I nod as well and, quietly, I sneak past the others. Lilliana and I walk down the alley, hidden by a bunch of shadows.

"Where're we going?" I ask.

"You've met everyone else here, but there's still two underground who'd love to meet you," she replies.

We arrive at a manhole with Ricky's face on it. I giggle about how silly it kind of looks. Lilliana opens it, revealing a slide with an end I can't see.

"Sit down and I'll push you in," Lilliana says. I do the first part of what she says. I didn't hear the second part as clearly. Probably because I was entranced by how dark it is.

Then I'm down the slide.

*****

Word Count: 735

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