[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/937793886384967690/1002351353500270743/Untitled78_20220728190539.png[/img]
Time: 1:18 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. 
Loc:  Vordaunt Residence -> Dolly’s Apt.
@: N/A
Interactions: Blossom, Nigel Vordaunt
Equipment: HEDD
[hr]

Dolly couldn’t feel anything. It was great. A smile pulled at his lips and his head was lolling as he swayed slightly in place. It was fine. This was fine. He couldn’t really think if he tried, but that was okay. At that moment, everything felt okay. Dolly stumbled forward and almost fell, but he was quickly caught by a pair of arms that didn’t belong to him. They were Nigel’s. Standing in front of him was a taller, older man with grizzling hair. His expression was neutral, almost a bit stern. 

[color=7B68EE]“You should probably go home,”[/color] he remarked while tilting his head.

Dolly gave a small giggle as he tried to regain his footing. [color=FFF0F5]"Yeah…”[/color]

The young man wasn’t particularly concerned about what was happening or what would happen. He just continued to smile stupidly with flushed cheeks and half-lidded eyes. He seemingly melted into Nigel as he was hoisted into his arms. He usually hated being carried, but he couldn't summon the willpower to do anything other than lie there. He was utterly exhausted. How could he not be? He hadn't slept properly in days. This was actually the most relaxed he'd felt in a good while.

That's why Dolly willingly let Nigel spike his drink. He wasn't sure what was in that quarter-full whiskey glass given to him, but it took the edge off-- especially after his little nova-coke binge early that night back at the venue. It was worth whatever would ensue, as he wouldn't remember it, anyway. And that was fine. That was okay. At least he had convinced himself it was. He was a proper junkie, pretty much willing to do anything for his next fix. It was getting quite hard to keep his head up. The tips of his fingers that hung limply from his arm were tingling slightly. That meant it was working. The world was a lot fuzzier here.

Nigel wasn't escorting the little musician to a car that would chauffeur him back to his apartment. Not yet anyway. He carried him deeper into his residence, where the lights were dim, and the music was soft.

[h2]9:00 A.M.[/h2]

Mornings were designated for mood crashes. From the second he opened his pale eyes, the pit in his stomach opened. It felt like all of his organs had fallen into it. Simultaneously, the overwhelming urge to vomit hit him like a truck. He shivered at the sensation of saliva welling up in his throat. The taste of his own mouth was nauseating. He had to go do something about that… If it wasn’t for his physiological hangover symptoms, he probably wouldn’t have crawled out from his bed for another two hours. Dolly rolled over from the comfort of his warm blankets and dragged himself to the closest trash can. He didn’t have the willpower to make it to the bathroom. While running a dainty hand through his hair to hold it back, he proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach into it. His body shuddered rather violently again- well, maybe not. Any mildly exaggerated action could be “violent” in the context of his frail body. It was disgusting. And he was also getting cold while kneeling on the floor. 

And yet he stayed on the floor, completely still and silent. The only noise he made was in an effort to keep his own snot from dribbling out of his nose. Although he was almost always on the verge of tears, that wasn’t the reasoning behind his little sniffle. It was like a timer. Silence. Sniffle. Silence. Sniffle. Rinse and repeat. In actuality, his nasal passages were irritated. He gently rubbed the fleshy bit of his nose. It was a little pink and stung a bit. This was what he got for spending his night snorting nova-coke. Just another nasty little habit of his. Add it to the pile. He…needed a second. He was debating whether or not he’d sit there, go back to bed, or take a shower.

His brooding was interrupted by the rhythmic steps of a pink cybercom- his cybercom. She was a rather cute thing, modeled after a bunny like some sort of cyborg plushie. She extended a mechanical, pink paw towards its owner and offered him a water bottle. When Dolly looked up at the rabbit android, it became abundantly clear that he needed to go rot under a shower of hot water for a while. Rather reproachfully, he took the bottle and raised it to his lips. Blossom, the little robot, always made him think of Nigel. After all, he was the one that purchased her. Everything seemed to loop back to Nigel. God, he hated Nigel. Sometimes he felt like he could still feel the older man’s hands on his hips. It was mostly forgotten, but the events of what had taken place at the Vordaunt Residence were floating hazily in his head somewhere. Finally, it registered that he had somehow gotten back to his apartment. This was alright with him. Dolly tilted his head back and swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. Maybe it'd help him resist the urge to throw up again.

With some help from his bed frame, Dolly managed to pull himself off of the floor. The cool tile was sapping away his body heat, along with his will to live. He passed the water bottle back to his cybercom and then stifled a yawn. He was still tired. He must've slept…almost six hours? That was actually a record. He was lucky if he caught even four consecutive hours of shuteye. Another reason he'd been threatened with being replaced by a fuckin' robotic clone. Back on the topic of robots… He cast a glance back at Blossom.

[color=FFF0F5]"Rabbit, time?"[/color]

If it wasn't clear that he didn't like her, it was now. He'd never called her by her proper name. Ever. She was just Rabbit, sometimes with The added to the front of her title. Blossom also had no proper voice. She was fitted with some of the highest quality speakers available in her upright ears, but those were for playing music (mostly). She could, if needed, use text-to-speech, but Dolly never had any use for such a function. She trotted up to the human, her cartoonish eyes flickering away. The screen that made up her face now displayed a few lines of text. He paused to read it.

[color=FFF0F5]"Mkay,"[/color] Dolly mumbled and then gently shooed her away. 9 A.M. It should be raining again. No new messages from Hiro. Seven unread from Buck. 417 suspected spam. Whatever. He padded into his apartment's cramped bathroom- it wasn't too bad for him, as he was short and skinny. It was pretty much perfect for his size. That didn't mean he was very fond of it, though. His mood further dropped when he finally got a look in the mirror. as he saw the marks staining his white skin. Deep purple spots, some mauve and tinged with pink, littered his neck. A parting gift from his boss. He only ever had one rule: no marks. Of course, the rules didn't apply to a man like Nigel. Dolly watched eyes turn glossy and he quickly looked away. He needed to turn on the shower tap. So that was exactly what he focused on doing. 

Silent crying was an art he'd mastered thanks to the same man. Dolly wouldn't even cry audibly in the privacy of his own home anymore. He wasn't some stupid crybaby. In fact, he didn't even think he had a good reason to be upset. Marks fade! He had makeup! It was fine! He was fucking fine! Nigel hadn't even hurt him this time, so this was better than usual. His vision blurred momentarily before he felt a tear roll down his cheek. Goddammit, stop crying. Stop crying. He swallowed thickly, removing the curled index finger that he was not-so-gently biting in an effort to stay quiet. This was fine. He was fine. He hurriedly dropped his clothes, which consisted of a white tank top and light pink undershorts. He didn't remember changing into this, which meant it was probably Nigel who did it before sending him home. Christ. 

The sound of the pattering hot water masked that his breathing had gone funny. Dolly hopped inside, sighing as he felt the warm droplets wash away the tears cascading down his face. His shoulders slumped as he managed to relax, but only after a shiver ran down his spine. He was probably going to take a while, which was whatever. To hell with utility bills, Nigel would pay for them. The rising steam soothed his nose, thankfully. The irritation combined with the congestion brought from sobbing forced him to resort to mouth breathing. It made him feel stupid. Sleeping with his boss made him feel stupider. Everything else made him feel like one of the stupidest morons to grace this bitch of an earth. The thought alone made himself suppress a pained whimper. He loathed his self-awareness. 

Dolly's time in the shower switched between looping thoughts about how much of an idiot he was, and what color he should temporarily dye his hair for the next show. It helped calm him down before he inevitably made himself cry again. Blue. He liked the color blue. A few streaks of powder blue would provide good contrast, as most of his wardrobe was pink. He was getting a bit tired of it. He wanted to get the stuff that glows under blacklights, as his natural hair color (or lack of it) shined brightly under them if he used the right hairspray. When he exited the shower, the reddening in his face had mostly faded. Although, the whites of his eyes were still a pinkish hue. 

[h2]10 A.M.[/h2]

By the time he was dried, dressed, and finishing his makeup, an hour had passed. He would've liked to go back to bed, but that would have proved to be redundant- sooner or later, he was probably going to be summoned to do something, whether it be an interview, meet-n-greet, or a PR stunt. Instead of resting, he put on one of the most oversized jackets he had (it was a shade of bright pink that matched his cybercom) and sipped on an energy drink. It tasted like battery acid and cough syrup, but it was one of those things he was used to. Breakfast consisted of caffeine, aspirin, and a leftover Chinese takeout. He shooed Blossom away every time she tried to hand him his water bottle again. He was very short with her, as he was adamant about not needing her help. Sure, his head was throbbing, and his muscles ached, but he was just fine. Maybe if he kept telling himself this, it’d come true.

Dolly finally relented to the rabbit’s fussing, but this was only because he needed something. After snatching the bottle, he plopped himself onto his bedside and called over to the android, his elbow resting on his knee as he supported his chin in his palm.

[color=FFF0F5]“Rabbit, I need to send a message to Hiro- a private message, for Hiro only.”[/color]

The cybercom approached and let out a soft chim to signify she was recording. 

[color=FFF0F5]“Hey, so…”[/color] Dolly mumbled. He inhaled sharply to try and regain himself. [color=FFF0F5]“I just wanted to ask if you wanted to meet up at Happy Noodle again. I know we already went, but…I dunno, I’m just bored. End message.”[/color]

The phrase [i]“I dunno, I’m just bored”[/i] was Dolly code for [i]“I really need some help right now”.[/i] Hiro knew that, and he was probably the only one fluent in such a cipher. Dolly was never really honest around Blossom. He was stupid, but not [i]stupid[/i]. Nigel had remote access to her, which meant he could go through all of his messages, history, and even spy on him in real time. He stopped caring about the privacy violations long ago. Dolly let out a sputtering sigh that made the locks of hair in his face fly forward momentarily. And now he would wait for a response. It could be minutes. It could be hours. Hell, maybe even days. Hiro was an elusive and busy guy. Honestly...Dolly didn't know that much about his personal life.