I said my goodbyes to Liam and Derrick when I had what information I needed, and I expected that to be the end of it. But I should have known better.

"Oh, Harper, you're so precious. Don't worry - we'll come with you!"

Derrick and I both gaped at him before speaking simultaneously.

"You will?-"

"-We will?"

The building inspector glared at me, as if somehow this was all my fault. Which, maybe it was. I had used his partner against him.

"Of course!" Liam said in a bubbly tone as he leaned forward to collect our various plates and cups onto the silver tray once more. "We know where to get the wire wool, and Derrick will be pleased to show you how to install it."

I immediately thought of Mel, and how incredibly unhappy she'd be that humans randomly showed up in her space. She'd need to get over it fast (otherwise what kind of eatery would we be running?) but I hoped to ease her into it. "That really won't be necessary," I said, even though I knew it was futile.

"See? He's fine. Harper's a smart kid."

Somehow I doubted Derrick had ever thought that about me ever.

In fact, I was pretty sure he thought the opposite a lot.

"Right. And I've got other stops to make in town..."

Liam laughed and shook his head. "No, no. You're both being silly. It won't take us long, and it'll be nice to get out in the town."

"You just got home," Derrick muttered in a grumpy tone, but Liam ignored him.

When I was growing up, I had an aunt like Liam. She was pushy and strong willed, but also had a giant heart full of empathy for others. It was a great barrel of traits to have, even if to temper Derrick's absolute lack of humanity.

I knew it was useless to argue anymore. I'd politely declined and he countered with an instance. If I declined again, it would seem rude.

"Well, if you insist..."

"Of course we do."

Derrick turned to complain and Liam spun on him before he could get the first word out. "I am not asking you to inspect the property tonight, Derrick. I just want us to lend a neighborly hand."

"Well, technically, we aren't his neighbors."

Liam smiled, but it didn't move past the corners of his mouth. "Everyone in Mystic Falls is our neighbor, and they are all deserving of friendship and assistance when they need help."

It was said in such a matter-of-fact tone that I wondered if this was a frequent argument they had.

For the first time in my life, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Sure, I could interject with some quip about how Liam was technically correct, if one used the origin of the word and not the literal definition favored in modern times. But Derrick already hated me. I really wasn't sure pissing him off more would be good for my upcoming inspection, or my health.

I still got glared at, though.

Maybe it was because I had a giant, shit-eating grin on my face.

Eventually, the three of us made it out of the house. It still took another half an hour or so, because Liam kept insisting that I could take hand-me-down items home. All of my declining got me nowhere, so I eventually talked him down from a literal cart full of crap to a handful of old mixing bowls (something we would definitely need) and a handful of rags that could be used as towels to clean tables or whatever.

When I tried to just carry everything out the door under my arm, Liam fetched a decently nice leather bag for me to put them in.

"It was my mother's," he said. The words were solemn, but he didn't explain. "I'm sure she'd rather it get used than sit in my spare room."

"I appreciate it. I'll be sure to care for it well."

Our stroll around the market was fruitful. Derrick was quick to show me a hole-in-the-wall shop that sold building supplies, and we grabbed a good few handfuls of wire wool (which just happened to be a bunch of fine metal filaments all wound together) and some sticky glue stuff Derrick called rubber cement. It looked like molasses, other than the color, and smelled like tar.

I took Liam and Derrick with me to the blacksmith to get another ice chest, and then took them both by the pastry shop Mel had told me about to pick up some replacements for the savory pastries that were lost in the rat attack.

Before we left the market, we also stopped by the Corner Produce stand and I picked up a handful of fresh fruits that Antonio sold to us at a steep discount.

When it became obvious that we didn't have any other errands to run, I led Liam and Derrick towards the eatery.

I debated running ahead so I could warn Mel. But things were already awkward enough with Liam and Derrick, and I really didn't feel like making it worse.

It was fine.

Fine.

Definitely fine.

She would just have to get mad at me later.

Or maybe it really would be fine.

Who knew with Mel.

Ambition was quiet as we approached, but I could tell that Mel was inside. Her presence was a pleasant warmth, like the scent of freshly baking bread.

"Mel, I'm home! I brought friends!" I cried out as soon as I opened the door.

"Liar!" I heard from somewhere in the kitchen. "You expect me to believe you have friends?"

Derrick snorted with laughter.

I looked to Liam and sighed exaggeratedly, as if I were exasperated. "She's really quite lovely, I promise."

He smiled that secret smile of someone who understood my pain.

The three of us entered the kitchen, and Mel looked up from the little construction project she seemed to be engaged in.

"Welcome home, Harps. And I thought you said friends? I only see these guys, one of whom is the building inspector, right? You said he was-"

"Derrick," I said, quickly. "His name is Derrick, Mel."

"-kind of a dick, is what I was going to say."

Liam erupted into laughter. "Oh, you're a delight. Mel, was it?"

I went around and did the range of introductions, which was kind of a moot point since Mel had basically done them already. But it meant I didn't need to address Mel's very correct assumption about Derrick, nor did I need to face his frustrated glares.

After everyone was on a first-name basis, Mel shared her project with us. It was a table, only it had an incredibly long center leg that split into four feet. It looked as if we would just stand at it, rather than needing to add chairs.

"Oh, I've seen one of these," Liam said, fawning over the rough construction project. It was still in need of obvious work, like sanding and painting, but it seemed to be well made. "It's a pub table, right?"

"Yep! One of the lovely gentlemen in town helped me get the parts together for it - I figured it'd be a hazard to put a table and chairs back here, but Harper should have a place to rest if he needs. We can always get a tall stool or something made for it."

I don't know why, but I was touched. Mel went out of her way to do something for me, without there being a real benefit for her. It was... odd. Something I'd never experienced before. But it was pleasant. Is this what friendship really was?

"Oh. Speaking of things for Ambition..."

"What the hell is Ambition?" Derrick asked, interrupting me as I was opening the ice chest.

"The name of the eatery you're standing in."

"It's a dumb name."

"I rather like it," Liam said, sniffing.

"I'm pretty sure adventurers will love it, too," Mel said, almost as if she were defending me. "And since that's the clientele he's trying to attract, it's a good name."

I returned to pulling things out of the ice chest. "So, I stopped by the blacksmith and got this, obviously, but we also made a little detour and got more pastries for you." Mel made an excited, squealing noise, and I grinned. "But, I also saw Antonio had a few bushels of marionberries for sale, and I know how they're your favorite..."

"Harper Emerson, you spoil me!"

"Do you seriously have two first names?"

I rolled my eyes at the building inspector's sarcasm. "Eat a dick, Derrick." Thankfully, he laughed, as did the rest of us when Liam made a crude comment.

It was honestly weird. Standing here, in this place, laughing with people I knew. If I had told past me that this would be happening, he wouldn't have believed me. Or even recognized me. I was freshly washed, keeping halfway decent care of myself, and staying busy.

Depression, who?

After giving Mel her treats, I also showed her the bowls and towels that Derrick and Liam had donated to our cause, which got Mel and Liam talking about things Ambition needed. They went on and on about things and places to buy those things and all I could see was gold coins dancing out the door before I'd even earned them.

I must have looked uncomfortable because Derrick sidled up next to me and touched my elbow. "Want me to help you install that wire wool?"

"Oh gods, please."

I took Derrick into the cellar, and he complimented me on the construction of the stone stairs. I really hadn't done much aside from following the instructions the building menu gave me, so I didn't languish in it.

Finding entry points for rats into a cellar isn't easy. It involved a lot of being down on your hands and knees and poking your face a lot closer than you'd normally like to holes in the wall. I kept imagining that the rats were going to dive out of the walls and rip my face to shreds, even though the countdown was still just under three days.

Once we found a hole, Derrick would take a small amount of the wire wool and shove it in the hole, and then seal it with the rubber cement and a bit of [Cut Lumber] that we then nailed into the wall.

Apparently, the wire wool would discourage the rats from chewing new holes. Not only was it painful to chomp on, but the filaments were very sharp, and would cut up their mouths if they tried. If the creatures got desperate enough, it could even prove deadly if they swallowed it, since it would cut up everything from mouth to, uh, tail.

We poked around the cellar for a long time, carefully filling every hole and sealing it up. Eventually, the cooldown removed itself from my vision.

"Hey! I think we're done!"

"Oh, good." Derrick stood from where he was edging around the wall and brushed dirt off his knees.

"Thank you for your help," I said. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"It's no worry."

"No. I'm serious. This has been..." I sighed and went to run my fingers through my hair, but thought better of it when I realized how dirty they were. Instead, I awkwardly dropped my hands back to my sides. "It's been rough, okay? Like, we're doing everything we're supposed to, but things still aren't right. And so I appreciate the hell out of you taking time out of your day and helping me, even if its only because your partner gave you shit."

"Harper..." It was Derrick's turn to sigh. "You're a good kid. I don't know what drove you to this current choice in life, but its obvious you came from something a lot less nice. And so I am happy to help where I can. I just wish you'd stopped by and talked to me before renting this heap."

"Yeah, well, hindsight is 20/20. Next time I'll ask the town building inspector before I invest in a place."

"Hopefully, next time, we're building you a permanent eatery here in town. Maybe a tad bit closer to my place."

Derrick reached out to clasp me on the shoulder, but then looked at his hand. It was almost as bad as mine. He just kind of... hovered there, unsure of what to do.

"Don't worry about it. We can... um..." I held my elbow out from my body at an awkward angle. "Touch elbows."

"That sounds dirty."

"Less so than shaking hands, somehow."

After a friendly elbow touch, and a good, hearty laugh over how weird it was, we went back upstairs. Mel fetched some water for us to wash our hands in, and then presented a half-eaten plate of berries and clotted cream to both of us. I wasn't sure where she'd gotten the clotted cream, but I tried not to ask questions. Instead, Derrick and I joined her and Liam at the roughly-crafted pub table, and the four of us talked and joked well into the night.

I wouldn't say it was anywhere close to how I saw my day going, originally, but it was a lovely ending.

Friendship, as it turned out, was kind of nice.