Author's Note: Chapter IV's title comes from "The I Love You Song" from the 24th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical. This is one of a handful of songs that leaves me feeling a little bit like I want to cry as Olive struggles with her fantasy of her parents coming to see her spell and the reality that they aren't coming, and that they may even be splitting up. I highly recommend giving this song a listen!

Chapter IV: Chimerical. C-h-i-m-e-r-i-c-a-l. Highly unrealistic, wildly fanciful

When Maeve pried open eyelids tacky from crying, she had a brief moment where she thought maybe it had all been a bad dream. Maybe she'd just fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Mom and Dad to finish their morning routines so the three of them could go pick up Grayson. Then she stretched and both knees throbbed in pain at the movement, shattering the illusion. She pushed herself upright, carefully avoiding using her injured hand, and forced down the fresh batch of tears that were threatening to escape. Crying wouldn't change the fact that she'd been somehow transported from a car accident to a video game. It would only make her feel worse, and she felt bad enough already.

Standing was more painful than stretching as her muscles reminded her that she hadn't stretched properly after all the unexpected sprinting she'd done. A cramp after her first step forward nearly took her down and she let out a little whimper of pain as she barely managed to catch herself on the edge of a dresser with her wounded hand. Blinking back tears, Maeve sucked in a deep breath and then carefully lowered herself to the floor, legs stretched out in front of her. Her cramping leg throbbed in protest but she pushed through the pain and started stretching, gradually leaning deeper into each one as she worked on relaxing tense muscles. She fell into a kind of dream like daze that the buzzing of her panicked thoughts couldn't quite penetrate as she worked her muscles loose with the kind of patience that came from long practice. By the time Cindy came in to check on her, she was folded pretty much in half with her fingertips stretching towards her toes and her nose almost pressed against the floor.

"Good morning," the blonde chirped and Maeve lifted her head to stare blankly at the other girl. Morning? Sure, it had been late afternoon when she'd crashed into a sobbing heap on the floor but she hadn't thought she'd slept that long. Cindy giggled at the dumbfounded look on Maeve's face and the strawberry blonde sighed, sinking back into her stretch for a moment longer before straightening up. "I think I can dig out some of my old clothes that should fit you if you want to get cleaned up," the blonde offered.

Maeve, suddenly conscious of her greasy hair that hung limply against her cheeks and the back of her neck, nodded. "That would be great," she rasped out, gratefully accepting Cindy's offered hand and allowing the blonde to pull her to her feet.

"Great," Cindy said brightly. "Bathroom's down the hall and I stuck a fresh towel and wash cloth next to the shower for you. I'll dig out some clean clothes and set them just inside the door for you."

"Thank you," Maeve said, feeling pathetically grateful, and Cindy waved her away with a smile.

The warm water felt heavenly on her sweaty, dirty skin and Maeve had just resolved to scrub every inch of her body twice when someone rapped on the door. Maeve flinched before Cindy called, "It's just me. I'm leaving the clean clothes right inside the doorway."

"Okay," Maeve called back and a moment later she heard the door click shut.

Half an hour later Maeve was scrubbed clean and dressed in Cindy's old clothes, a pair of jeans that had to be cinched to her narrow hips by a belt and a grey t-shirt with a bright yellow bird on it that was too loose in the chest. Thankfully the underwear and training bra that Cindy had dug up from somewhere were actually the right size so Maeve didn't have to wear her nasty undergarments. She scooped her sweaty, bloody clothes and carefully held them away from her body, stepping out of the bathroom to see Cindy sitting on the floor waiting for her.

"Feel better?" the blonde asked and Maeve nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks for the clothes."

"No problem," Cindy replied dismissively. "Do you want your old clothes washed or should we just pitch them?" Maeve gnawed on her lower lip for a moment, considering her options. In all honesty, her jeans were ruined and her sweatshirt had a huge gouge in the side, probably from when she'd gone flying across the desert. Her bra, underwear, socks, and tank top were salvageable, but she wasn't sure it was worth saving them.

"Pitch them," she said finally, holding them away from her body, which made Cindy laugh.

"Sounds good. Let's head downstairs. You can pitch your clothes and grab something to eat and I'll fill you in on what you missed while you were sleeping." Cindy bounced to her feet and slung an arm around Maeve's shoulders, leading her down the stairs and past the front desk for the garage. They slipped through a side door and into a surprisingly sunny looking kitchen. The walls were painted a warm lemon yellow and there were a few battered looking pans hanging above the stove. Cindy began digging in a dented refrigerator as Maeve dumped her tattered clothes in the big trash can sitting at the edge of the small island. "Fruit and yogurt okay?" Cindy asked and Maeve nodded before realizing that the other girl couldn't see her.

"Yeah, that's great," she replied and moments later Cindy was shoving a bowl of granola, yogurt, and fruit Maeve's direction, along with a big glass of water.

"Eat up," she ordered cheerily, leaning against the opposite side of the island with her own bowl. The blonde waited until Maeve took her first couple bites of food before launching into a summary of everything she'd missed while she was sleeping. "Officer Mora came by late last night to give me an update." Cindy hesitated a moment, eyes welling with sympathy, and Maeve dropped her spoon into the mostly full bowl before the blonde continued. "She said they retrieved two bodies from the crash site and that it looked like they'd both died from the impact. She said you can give her a call anytime if you decide you want more details than that." The blonde dug around in the pocket of her grease stained jeans and came up with a business card that she slid across the table. "She and Officer Velum also said to let you know that they got in contact with your brother. He's still in Gladin Quay right now trying to find a ride to get here. She said he'd call the garage some time before lunch and give you an update."

"Okay," Maeve said, voice sounding scratchy and frail as she fought down tears again. The idea of talking to someone else's brother when her own was probably sitting in a police station by now hearing some officer read him an incident report or, worse yet, still at the airport frantically calling their cell phones to no avail, made her stomach twist uncomfortably and her eyes burn. She jumped when an arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close to a warm body. She turned slightly and that was all the encouragement Cindy needed to pull her into a tight hug. Maeve was so very tired of crying, but that didn't stop the tears from coming as she sobbed into the other girl's shoulder.

It took Maeve considerably less time to calm down, which was an improvement over her last couple of sobbing sprees, but her eyes still felt sandy and sore after she finished. She sniffed a little and pulled back a little to wipe her nose, managing a weak smile for Cindy when the blonde pulled a handkerchief from once of her back pockets, handing it over and gently rubbing the shorter girl's shoulder. Maeve blew her nose, strangely comforted by the scents of grease and hot metal that lingered in the fabric. It reminded her of summer afternoons sitting in the garage with Grayson, handing him tools while he changed the oil on his truck. Or the air filter, or the battery, or really anything else he could fix on his own that had broken down on his ancient vehicle. She sniffed again and swiped at her face, brushing the last of the moisture away with the handkerchief still clutched tight in one hand. "Sorry," she mumbled with a sheepish smile and Cindy rubbed her shoulder gently again.

"It's okay. Cry as much as you want," the blonde told her. "I know I sure did after my parents died."

"Sorry," Maeve found herself saying again and Cindy smiled at her.

"It's okay." Cindy squeezed her shoulder gently and then added, "How about we go back to our breakfasts and I'll fill you in on what the boys got into while you rested up?"

"Sounds good," Maeve told her, and was surprised that it was actually true. Standing in the sunny kitchen eating breakfast and chatting with Cindy sounded like the best thing that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Cindy beamed at her and launched into the dramatic retelling of the hunt the boys had gone on to help pay for car repairs, complete with enthusiastic arm motions. Maeve found her giggling partway through and Cindy was grinning at her, eyes bright with shared amusement. From there the blonde launched into stories about some of the more ridiculous customers that had come into the garage over the past few years, so they were both laughing when thundering footsteps approached them.

"We're back," Prompto practically sang as he skidded around the corner only to yelp and flail wildly to avoid crashing into the island the girls were leaning against. All his efforts were made useless when none other than Prince Noctis crashed into him, sending them both into the side of the island. The big trash can Maeve had dumped her filthy, ripped clothes into earlier rattled as they both scrambled to find their footing, Prompto clinging to the countertop as if it was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Well I think the whole neighborhood knows that now," Cindy said, eyes sparkling with good humor, while Maeve struggled to hide her laughter behind her fingers. Prompto flushed, the color bright on his pale, freckled cheeks. His blushing wasn't quite as bad as Maeve's always got, curse the red in her hair and her naturally fair complexion, but it was close enough that she sympathized when he buried his face in his arms. Behind him, and righting himself much more gracefully than the blonde boy, Noctis was also flushing, but the color was much lighter despite his equally light skin. Maeve wondered if he was willing away the embarrassed blush with sheer willpower, and the thought had her giggling again. That set Cindy off and soon both boys were staring at them in embarrassed bemusement while they laughed.

The shrill ringing of a cell phone silenced their merriment as quickly as it had begun. Cindy fished a tough looking flip phone out of her back pocket, frowning when she saw the number before lifting it to her ear. "Hello?"There was a pause as she listened to the person on the other end and her expression lightened slightly. "No, I'm Cindy Aurum. Maeve's been staying with me. Give me just a moment and I'll hand the phone over to her, okay honey?" She nodded after a moment and then held it out to Maeve. The strawberry blonde took it with the same ginger care she would a loaded gun and hesitantly lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?" Her voice wavered just a little as she turned away from the others, staring blankly at the wall.

"Maeve?" Grayson's voice asked and Maeve choked out a little sob. She'd expected to hear a stranger's voice, so hearing her brother's made her feel as if all the air had been knocked out of her. "Maeve are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, voice coming out watery and weak. "Yeah, I'm not hurt."

"Yeah, but are you okay?" Grayson insisted, his own voice choked up like it always got before he started crying and the sob that hitched in her chest was almost painful.

"I will be," she told him and was rewarded with a watery laugh. She smiled despite the tears pouring down her cheeks and leaned heavily against the island behind her. "How about you?"

"I'm doing okay, holding it together," came the honest reply. "Better now that I'm talking to you though." Maeve made a weak sound of agreement at that. "I've been trying to find a ride to get to you but I haven't had any luck yet." He let out a rough laugh and added, "Its starting to seem like the real reason everyone goes on vacation at Galdin Quay is to get flat out drunk on the beach." Maeve let out a watery giggle at that and Grayson snorted. "You would think that was funny."

Maeve hummed softly, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before saying, "Maybe I could go to you?"

"No," was Grayson immediate response. "You are not jogging in the desert all the way to Galdin Quay. Mom and Dad would come back from the dead just to kill me over that."

"That isn't what I meant!" Maeve squawked indignantly, planting her free hand on her hip and scowling fiercely at the wall while Grayson laughed at her on the other end of the line. It felt so normal that, for a moment, she could trick herself into thinking that everything was fine and she was just talking to her brother over a secure line while he was deployed. Her throat felt tight at that but she pushed forward anyway. "I meant maybe I could find a ride from here to Galdin Quay."

"Hammerhead is a wide spot in the road. How are you going to find a ride faster than I am?"

Maeve bit her lip, eyes welling with tears as her mind screamed that she wanted her brother. "I-I don't know," she stammered, feeling despair heading towards her with all the overwhelming speed of a freight train.

She was so caught up in a whirl of negativity that she almost jumped through the ceiling when Ignis said, "We are heading to Galdin Quay as soon as the Regalia is repaired. It wouldn't be too much trouble to take you with us."

Maeve stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, brain catching up to what had just been said as she clutched the phone to her ear. It was Grayson's voice calling her name in an increasingly panicked sounded tone that had her shaking her head slightly to clear it before saying, "Grayson, breathe. I'm okay." She tuned out his response to that, something along the lines of how he should be the one asking her that, to focus on Ignis. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"It won't be any trouble," came the matter-of-fact response and Maeve found herself smiling.

"Thank you," she gushed genuinely and Gladio snorted from the doorway.

"You may not be thanking us after a few hours in a vehicle with those two," he said, gesturing towards Noctis and Prompto.

"I think I'll be fine," Maeve replied. "After everything I've already been through, this part should be a piece of cake."