As Grayson laid against the cart, it was honestly tempting him to just stay there for the rest of the night. He was sure the smell of his cooking would draw in some people, he'd just have to be sure to be subtle about the cream puffs and their surprise. Offering a muffin instead, saying they were made for the Mayor, that sort of thing. It seemed foolproof enough, and if it wasn't for the fact that picking himself up seemed like the last thing on his to-do-list, he probably would have already gotten to the Mayor with his special treats. A decision he'd later regret...
His mischievous thoughts, however, were soon interrupted by the sudden flash from a camera, capturing his rather beat down appearance and his grin about the cream puffs. To rub it in his face, she waved the photo in front of herself like a fan instead of his, saying he looked his her brother after hours at the forge, causing him to simply roll his eyes but maintaining his smile. She offered him some water, and he thanked the goddess someone was seemingly taking an interest in his well being. Gladly snatching the water, he told Hope
"Heh, thanks for this. I was afraid I was gonna die here by my cart from thirst," before chugging the glass. While he did so, she told him it wasn't a compliment, which he sort of assumed. Being the blacksmith and all, he was sure Red probably looked worse for wear every time he left the blistering heat of a forge, and in a way, Grayson could easily see where Hope was coming from. Though, mentioning Red did make Grayson wonder where her brother was...
By the time he finished the glass, he glanced up to say thanks once more, only to be met with a horrific sight. Hope had snagged a cream puff and was about to eat it, causing Grayson to stare in alarm for several seconds, wide-eyed and mouth open in shock as he watched her take a bite. He winced at that moment, knowing well what was about to happen in the hours to come. It made him realize he probably looked extremely out of place from what one would expect from a compliment, and so he shook himself out of the daze he was in, telling himself everything was fine. He could still get them to the Mayor and everything would be fine, there'd just be a single, acceptable casualty in his prank. He'd make it up to Hope if she ever found out the cause.
The situation, however, left him completely speechless as he attempted to come up with a plan to minimize suspicion from Hope, and luckily the Rosemonts had come so that he could simply take his time to mentally calm down. While not entirely at a hundred percent, he felt well enough to stand up while they bickered with one another about his cooking, causing him to lightly chuckle once more. Who knew his cooking would be such a topic of interest? Sure, they were focusing on the ONE THING he didn't want anyone to really focus on, but he dare not admit his prank at this point. As he brushed off the dirt and dust from his clothing, thankfully Mr. Hawthorn seemed to break up the minor argument, giving Grayson a nod as his acknowledgment which Grayson simply did the same.
While Hope talked with Daisy about taking the rest of the cream puff, Grayson HAD to get these stupid things over to the Mayor before someone else came along and took more. He felt if too many people came around and took them, it'd be easier to pin the blame on him... Right? Besides, if both Daisy and Hope ate just a single cream puff, he felt the effects wouldn't be as bad as if they had each eaten one.
But before he could make a move towards the Mayor, Waconia came along and said it looked amazing as always, causing Grayson to rub the back of his neck from embarrassment thanks to the praise. What wasn't good, however, was that she too took a cream puff, and while he could have stopped her, it would again raise suspicion. Swearing in his mind, he did his best to keep a smile for her.
"It's nothing special Waconia, though after tonight I think I'm gonna need a few of your drinks... Uh, and sure, I wouldn't mind working together on something sometime!" He told her, doing his best to stay calm. Did he feel like an awful person now that people he didn't want to affect were going to get affected, sure, but he'd come too far to regret it! If he could just get the Mayor to eat the rest of the cream puffs he still had, THEN it would be worth it. If he couldn't even manage that, he felt this prank would just be a bust. But first, he needed a drink...
Having taken several of Waconia's drinks back to his cart, he noticed a lot of commotion near the entrance. He chugged the last of the first drink before slowly making his way over, curious as to what was going on before rushing over when he noticed the passed out girl, shoving several of the townsfolk out of the way in the process before kneeling next to Waconia. Nobody seemed to know her, and she looked in rough shape to say the least... Someone had to think of something to do, but first, he felt he needed to do something himself.
"Oh come on people, don't crowd the poor girl! Give us some space would you?! Find the doctor or do something useful like find out where she came from!" He shouted at the crowd, turning his attention back to the little girl. She looked awful, and it hurt him to see someone so young in such a bad shape. She had to be exhausted, much more than he was earlier, but there had to be more too it than that. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure at all at how to help the girl outside of finding a place for her to rest. He turned to some of the villagers who still remained, trying to think of some solution to the matter.
"We should take her inside, anyone have a spare bed in their house where we can have her rest? It'll be better than having the poor girl out here with everyone crowding her on the ground." He asked, willing to take her back to the cafe if he had to. Outside of letting her rest, he wasn't sure what to do or if that was even the best thing to do. But at least, he thought, it was something.
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