Close Friends Stick Together

I woke up and saw Sonata playing around next to me. Aria looked away slightly annoyed. I smiled and said,

"Morning."

"Yay, you're awake!", Sonata yelled happily.

"Quiet down, idiot! Are you trying to get us busted?", Aria hissed.

Sonata only smiled as I stretched my arms out.

"We got to head out so I can get some money.", I said looking over to my bag.

Aria looked confused, but didn't say anything. I got up and opened the window. They both followed behind me as I reached the ground. I grabbed Sonata's hand as she reached down and Aria simply jumped down without any warning. We started to walk down into the bustling town. Sonata was walking happily next to me as Aria walked calmly a few feet behind me. As we continued walking, I started to hear Aria's footsteps slowly fade away. I turned around and saw Aria on the ground. Sonata stopped and walked over to her and said,

"Let me help you."

She extended her hand out but Aria slapped it away.

"I don't need help.", She mumbled.

"Aw, don't be a meany butt. Let me help you.", Sonata said with her optimistic voice.

She tried to stand up but her leg gave way and she fell back down with a soft whimper. I walked over to her and said,

"Come on. Don't be difficult. She's only trying to help you.

She mumbled something but I couldn't make it out. I frowned and said,

"Let us help you."

After a few seconds of silence, she reluctantly nodded and Sonata helped her up.

"This doesn't mean anything...", Aria mumbled.

I didn't pay any mind to it and we resumed walking at a slower pace so those two can keep up. After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached town. I scanned around the windows of shops until I saw the sign I was looking for: Help Wanted.

With high spirits, I entered the restaurant. It was an old western styled restaurant with the smell of grease in the air. I saw an employee and approached them.

"Hello, my name is Adagio Dazzle." I bowed. "I saw your sign, is there anything I can do to work?"

The employee took a few steps back and motioned for me to follow. After I instructing them to sit at a table and wait, I followed. The employee, which I learned name was Sweeper by her nametag, lead me to the back of the restaurant to where the sinks are and made a scrubbing motion with her hand. I nodded and bowed once more.

"Thank you, miss." She smiled and left the room leaving me to do my job for the day.

I smiled pitifully to myself. It appeared that she was mute. After about several hours, I decided that it was time to leave since dinnertime was approaching. I let the manager know and he gave me an envelope with cash in it as payment. I saw Sonata coloring with some crayons with the girl I saw earlier smiling over them while Aria simply looked on. She truly was a sweet woman. I walked towards them, the sound of my footsteps alerting them of my presence. They grinned up at me.

"Thank you miss Sweeper for everything. Especially for looking after them,", I said motioning towards them.

When she realized we were about to leave, she stopped us with her hand and jogged to the kitchen and came back with two bags that she gave both of them. They both looked inside to see a box of nuggets, fries, and a cookie. I smiled to myself. I guess I get to eat today. They looked up and smiled gleefully at Sweeper.

"Thank you so much!", Sonata yelled as she gave her a hug and said goodbye.

"...Thanks for the food.", Aria said calmly.

Once we were outside, I ripped open the envelope and smiled sadly at it's contents. It was about twenty dollars. Normally, it would be enough but now... I gazed at them walking ahead of me, bickering about which sauces are better with nuggets. It's been two days at the shelter already, I needed to get more money for our trip to the next town. After all, I have a family to take care of. I jumped up onto the window and opened it. After I crawled inside, I looked around for something that they could climb up. I saw a closet and looked inside it and saw a big blanket. I grabbed it and tied it up next to the bed. After insuring that it would hold I threw the blanket out the window and saw them climb up. After they got inside, we pulled the blanket inside and pulled the blanket back inside. I untied it and threw it back inside the closet. After closing the closet door, I turned around and said,

"I'll be right back."

They both nodded and I slowly climbed down the window.  I walked around for a bit to clear my head. I wonder how I was going to be able to help them and keep them safe. I already lost my parents and they could use someone like me to make sure they feel safe. Sonata is too sweet, too innocent to realize the cold, cruel world. Aria, on the other hand, seems too distant, but I can tell she cares about Sonata. She won't admit it of course, but she's strong mentally like me. After what felt like forever, I walked over to the front of the building and walked inside to see the same women from the other day.  She was smoking and paid no mind to me. I walked past her and gave her a quick glare before returning to my room. As I opened the door, I didn't see them.

"Aria? Sonata? It's me.", I whispered.

The room was silent. I called out again, but there was still no answer. I went over to the bed and noticed two figures in bed. Upon a closer look, I noticed it was Aria and Sonata sleeping soundly. Was I gone that long? I smiled and crawled into bed without disturbing them. I slowly started to drift off...