Routine

Rory had yet again messed up her neighbor's routine.

However, who thought that only eating marshmallows for breakfast just because it was a Wednesday, was a good idea? Seriously. Portia was nuts.

However, she really could yell.

Rory tried to shrug off the feelings that it gave her. She was unfeeling, unbothered by human words and emotions. Then why did being yelled at for the 100th time since moving in next to that strange woman, mean anything to her?

She needed to cheer up and calm down.

Just as she started the popcorn and began heating up a pot of milk, in came her roommate. The roommate that sometimes she forgot she had.

Rory braced herself to say hey to Lie, Lie was pretty much her best friend at this point.

Friends don't exist among us.

That stopped her from saying anything. It didn't matter. One look at her roommate's face made her see that she had had a worse day than Rory herself did.

Lie's normally bright brown eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Her face was blotchy, and her hair was a mess.

"Lie?"

Lie said nothing as she tried to use her fumbling fingers to untie her apron.

The world was unkind to waitresses, Rory was glad she was a reporter, and not a waitress, because she would probably slap someone regardless of who they were or whether or not she'd get fired.

Rory's hand reached out to help her, but another saying from her "mother" entered her mind.

Don't help a human or you lose face.

The boiling of the milk, made her snap back to reality. She smiled. Physical comfort wasn't a thing she could do, but she could cheer her up using what she loved about the human world.

"Go get into comfy clothes, I'll get some treats." Rory kept her voice matter of fact.

She let out a sigh of relief when she heard the door to Lie's room shut. Onto the hot chocolate and the popcorn.

Lie exited, seeming a bit better, dressed in incredibly fuzzy purple pants and a purple sweatshirt that covered her hands. She looked soft and young, and Rory felt the need to take care of her, make her forget her bad day.

She settled on the couch, and Rory brought her a bowl of popcorn and two cups of hot chocolate, (made with milk, very important, water was disgusting).

Just as the two roommates tried to get comfortable, Rory's phone went off. Smiling apologetically, she left behind an upset Lie, who tried to hide it.

The contact name made her gulp. Could "Mother" never leave her alone?

Your soft

Are you sure your not a human?

I hate you!

Maybe you belong in the human world!

One thing that that woman used to say to Rory over and over was that she was a human in disguise. That softness and kindness, and the love that feels in her heart would always be her downfall. That she should take a look at the crying human next to her and if she feels anything, which she shouldn't, it should be joy.

Lie sniffles as she stares at her hands, catching Rory's attention. Maybe Rory was more human than she should be, because she did not want Lie to feel upset at anything if she could help it.

But right now she wasn't sure if that was a bad thing.

She hung up, not in the mood to talk to "Mother", and plopped on the couch next to Lie.

"Survivor?"

Lie's face broke into a smile as Rory turned on the cheesy reality show that for whatever reason, Lie liked when she was upset.