Worrywart.

Talking about serious topics, like most things, didn't come naturally to Tess.

This was inherently quite frustrating to her. She wasn't spoiled per se, but she'd definitely been coddled. She wasn't used to having to stretch her wings to fly fairly, if a bit below average.

She shifted anxiously while she waited for Charlotte's break. Three minutes turn to two. The countdown was stressing her out.

And then… Nothing. Tess waited in their usual spot for an unbearable eternity, trapped under the heavy anxious feeling, but Charlotte didn't show up. Sighing, she stood up and carefully dusted the back of her pants. Stalling, but for good cause. But in those last awkward seconds, no miracle appeared over the horizon.

Staccato footsteps made their way down the corridor, Tess quaking with each footfall. She shouldn't be reading into this so much. Everything was fine, Charlotte was probably just caught up talking with a coworker, or radioing the manager. Nothing wrong, nothing wrong. She kept telling herself this, but every reassurance made the pit of her stomach feel so much heavier.

She found Charlotte sitting, knees pulled up to her chest and gold-trimmed blue coat draped delicately over her frame, next to the door of F-01-02. Scorched Girl? It seemed odd, but Charlotte appeared far more composed than when they'd last spoken. If you can even call that speaking, Tess had thought to herself as she approached. But she knelt down in front of Charlotte all the same, causing the woman to jolt as she noticed Tess.

"Hey, Lottie." Tess offered, a small smile painting over her nervous feelings. Charlotte examined Tess for one aching, palpable second and fidgeted with the match in between her deft fingers. It was covered in tooth marks from being chewed on, but it was never thrown out. That was something Charlotte had always been adamant about, that match was special. The Fourth Match Flame, as Charlotte had once proudly called it. Now it flickered between fingertips, a miniature baton guiding hazy blue eyes.

"Go away." Was Charlotte's response, punctuated by a flick and catch of the match. Her voice was far rougher than usual, and Tess concluded it was from the crying and screaming. Not that it was intense mental gymnastics, by any means.

"Lottie, please, I—"

Charlotte got to her feet, looming over Tess. "I said, go away."

Tess stood, hesitantly at first, though she quickly gained her footing. Even from this position, Charlotte had a handful of intimidating inches on her. She craned her neck to lock eyes with Charlotte, but she wanted to cry. To ask what was wrong. Confrontation had always terrified Tess, ever since…

She took a step back. Now was not the time to make undue comparisons. Charlotte was different, Charlotte was her friend. Charlotte would never hurt her.

"Lottie, Charlotte! I need to talk to you, please!" Tess pleaded softly.

"Theresa McIntyre, I told you to leave. Get out of my sight!" Charlotte hissed, her voice raw and, to Tess, frightening.

Tess eyed Charlotte cautiously, a deer in the headlights. Her eyes played out worry, hurt, fear. Concern.

She took a step back. One, two, and she couldn't stop. She wanted to stop, to stand up to Charlotte. But she was fleeing, and she didn't know why. Did she? She might, in some small recess, but she sputtered backwards as Charlotte staggered her way back into the containment room of Scorched Girl. And if she listened close enough, she could hear something, still strange but familiar.

Weeping? It sounded like crying. But in a moment, Tess was gone.

After a listless wander, Tess ended up in the company of Johnson. She was definitely not particularly close with them, but they weren't unfriendly either. Johnson had been employed far longer than Tess, and she saw them as someone to look up to. A cheerful but hard worker, prudent and a friend to all. Really, the parent to all of Records and the glue of the team.

"Agent McIntyre? Whassup? Ya look real glum, little Missy." Johnson asked as they approached Tess, who'd taken to spending the rest of her lunch break sitting in the cafeteria with her head on the table, like she'd done not long ago in high school. Some things never change, she thought to herself.

"I dunno, just…" Tess changed the way her face was resting. She appreciated the company that came with Johnson flopping down with their lunch, but they were keen, far too keen. She felt vulnerable under their soft gaze. "Charlotte was mad at me. I don't know what I did."

Johnson tsk'd softly. "Gosh, I'm sorry Mac. Agent Gagnon does that to everyone. She's a real pain in the behind." Their accent was unfamiliar to Tess, but it blanketed their words like the comfort of warm milk. "She works and works and works too hard, and when she breaks, she forces out everyone who saw it happen. Cuts 'em right out of her life like a soft block o' cheese."

Tess shifted to look at Johnson, who was nonchalantly eating a salad. "What do you mean…?"

"Well, yesee, Gags don't like to be seen as weak. Frankly, I think she's scared of it. She ain't never told me where she came from, but there are some things that really point to that." Johnson explained. "I've been here long enough to tell she got it rough, little miss. She'll talk to ya, eventually, and you can sort things out then."

"Does she hate me…?"

"Not in the slightest." Johnson chuckled softly. "Betcha she's more embarrassed that her crush saw her cry than anything."

"Her crush?" Tess sat bolt upright, immediately flushing. "N-no, no, she doesn't think of me like that! She just keeps me around cause I bother her, and, hahaha, no way!" She waved a hand, perhaps a bit too frantically, and Johnson raised a mischievous eyebrow.

"Have you seen how she treats you compared to everyone else?" Johnson teased. "Ah, but don't worry your little head off. I'm just jokin'."

"Ah, ahaha, a joke, yeah..!" Tess laughed nervously. Totally not going to be thinking about this for the rest of the week. She sighed, and glanced at the clock on the wall. 

"Oh, um, I think break is over! I'll see you later, Mx. Johnson!" Tess smiled, stood up, and waved. Back to work for her!