PANIC.EXE INITIATED
The way Amelia lit up as he accepted her offer was enough to comfort and reaffirm his decision: Admittedly this had been a bit more exciting than he was expecting, and despite all the suddenness he wasn't exactly going to be doing much else, so why not take up her offer right? Without much hesitation he was following after her; Squirrel in tow as he locked up the room as to not have any unwanted intruders while he was out. He actually had to put in a little effort to keep up with Amelia as she was speeding along, seemingly desperate to get to the diner for breakfast. He couldn't really blame her as he was hungry too; Hopefully by the time they arrived breakfast would still be being served.
As they made their way into the dinky diner, a somewhat nervous Ludwig following behind the energetic and enthusiastic Amelia found themselves at a booth to sit down at. He took her table patting as a signal to join, so he sat across from her and got comfy. Moe was snug against his neck, simply looking cute and innocent... Probably to try and get food. He paid it no mind; Instead figuring he should focus on addressing Amelia as they had things to discuss.
'Course, things weren't always simple. A voice startled him; Loud, but kindly enough sounding. He turned his head to find the source; And felt like his neck could retract to allow him to turtle his head between his shoulders with shock at the sight of the large man in front of him. Ami? He quickly glanced back at Amelia then shot a look back at the large lad himself, piecing the nickname together quickly. They knew each-other? Or had, in the past, if his words meant anything. He would have spoken, but really, it wasn't his place to interrupt.
Attempting to awkwardly look away from the situation, his eyes made contact with the entrance as if he had intentions to run; Instead, he saw it open and a blonde kid come through. He thought nothing of it, until their eyes momentarily met, causing Ludwig to once again look back at Amelia, before the blonde boy in question caught his eye again. They looked similar, in a lot of ways. That must've been her brother. And maybe it was the paranoid boy inside of him, but he didn't seem terribly comfortable with a stranger sitting across from his sister? This left Ludwig's legs becoming a tad shaky; Even if he wanted to run, he wasn't sure if he could. Oh, jeez. He wasn't going to be mean, was he? He wasn't going to take this the wrong way, right? Oh man, oh man... Ludwig swallowed hard as he sat down next to Amelia; And truly, he attempted to croak out a reaction... But this guy was already going off about Mr. Tall, who was apparently a lad named Jeremy. And dear god; There was
another person too. But he didn't seem like a kid; Rather, an adult. Mr. Pollard, that blonde boy called him. Noted.
Of course, this whole situation grew a bit weirder as Amelia's sign language got thrown about. Ludwig knew nothing about that; But these guys seemed to, so that was good enough for him. It figured that friends and supposed family would have learned how; Heck, if he had known, he would have prepared! Maybe he'd ask Amelia to teach him a few things sometime. If it was more comfortable than writing for her, of course.
Speaking of writing, Ludwig's eyes sank to the table as Amelia began to write something. He saw the clap but it still startled him into reading; And what he saw made him sweat bullets. Oh no, no, no... She was putting him on the spot like that?! This was ten times worse than Ein; No, twenty times! A hundred times! There were so many; Sheesh, where would this even start? He figured he didn't have much of a choice but to go through with it since his legs weren't ready to work, and if he didn't address it and calm down he was on the route of a heart attack from sheer panicking.
Mr Pollard's words kind of ended up in a void as Ludwig was presented with Jeremy; Laughing nervously as they shook hands due to the sheer difference in size. The guy was like a bear; A big, admittedly friendly, bear. And honestly despite his eager tone kind of upping Ludwig's level of anxiety, at least the guy was nice. Ludwig could appreciate that.
"Ludwig Blanchard: It's-- Uh, a pleasure to meet you, Jeremy. If I have any questions I think I need answered, I'll definitely let you know." He darted around the booth, noting he should probably address the others...
"Heya, buddy!"
Sidney was still busy being amazed by how tall Jeremy was; But found herself laughing at his response to her. At least, until he mentioned her hair. The dots that were her eyes enlarged slightly at him noticing that detail; Nobody really brought that up often, that her hair was dyed. The only reason she ever noticed was due to it being mentioned as 'weird' in the past which drove her to make an aesthetic change to avoid that. But Jeremy was never mean about it; And his support now was pretty heart-warming.
"Oh yeah? Thanks, Jeremy! I did think it was nice, but hearing that makes me way more confident!" She responded, allowing Jeremy to go on his own friendliness warpath; First with Mr. Pollard, then he got all excited when he took notice of Amelia.
Sidney went quiet, just letting things unfold. It wasn't truly her business, as he was just trying to say hello to everyone. Sidney did note that Amelia was sitting with a boy she hadn't seen before; New faces were always exciting. But then it just seemed to turn into a pile of people at Amelia's booth: The new kid, Jeremy, Mr. Pollard, Amelia herself, and some blondie that came in and sat right next to Amelia! Wowza, what a crowd! She was staring at them, but was sort of nervous to make any sort of move. Jeremy was nice though, and so was Amelia, so surely their friends would be nice, right?
Her urge to join in was presented with an opportunity; Mr. Pollard giving her a hint to throw herself into the mix. Without hesitation she took a big gulp of the water at her table, before bringing her coffee and plate with her as she approached the booth; Climbing up behind Ludwig and plopping down in the seat beside him for a peaceful invasion of his personal space.
"Heya, Squirrel-dude!""S-Squirrel dude?" Ludwig questioned, glancing down at the new girl who took him by absolute surprise; He almost yelped from her sudden entrance. Moe irritably glared at her, but ended up with a look of confusion as the girl stared in an adoring way; Almost making the green squirrel uneasy.
Sidney was temped to grab the squirrel but simply admired it instead.
"Aren't you the cutest little fella ever? You shine like the stars, don't you? Dooon't you?" Figuring the fact the squirrel went into hiding was enough of a sign to quick, Sidney simply offered a big nod to Ludwig as she sat her food and drink on the table.
"Name's Sidney! Good to meet'cha, Ludwug!""Ludwug? Oh, eh... Likewise?" Ludwig managed as a response, blinking momentarily before adjusting his glasses. What was he about to say? Her appearance made him lose track... Oh, right.
"It's good to meet all of you, really! I really didn't expect such a welcome, sorry if I'm a bit overwhelmed!" He tried to offer a small laugh, but it was more of a semi-weird croaky as his voice didn't permit it: These people were a bit too much to take in all at once, but he figured he'd survive. The introductions were mainly out of the way, anyhow.
Sidney, attention turning from Ludwig, instead met with the boy sitting next to Amelia; At least, before she leaned across the table, arm wrapping around Amelia before questioning her in a quiet but aggressive whisper.
"Where'd you find these two guys? That one even has your hair-color. I kinda like it!"
