A/N: Song is Stand By You by Rachel Platten.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vDfJnDtzK
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Arguing. Let me know if I missed any other possible triggers.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOrJkdfZEx
309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtcVoKZhb4
Hands, put your empty hands in mine
309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq894NAMin
Sophie grabs her toast out of the toaster as it springs up, spreading some peanut butter on it and plopping it onto a plat. She looks up and smiles as Penny enters.
“Good morning, Penny!” She says happily, albeit a little shyly. Penny looks up at her and smiles a little back.
“Morning, Sophie.” She replies, going over to the cupboard and begins to get a cup of tea ready.
And scars, show me all the scars you hide
Sophie heads into the dining room with her plate, sitting at the table. Arif is already sitting there, sipping coffee out of a mug as he reads out of a thick book. Sophie begins eating her toast, watching Arif not even noticing her as she watches him read.
And hey, if your wings are broken
Peggy enters the kitchen just as Sophie is cleaning off her plate in the sink and putting it into the drying rack. She turns towards them and smiles.
“Good morning,” Sophie says softly as Peggy heads over to the fridge and digs through it, pulling out the milk and drinking right out of the jug. They look blearily at Sophie, smiling tiredly.
“Sophie… Good morning…” They yawn, replacing the cap on the jug and placing the milk back into the fridge.
Please take mine 'til yours can open too
“What do you want for breakfast?” Sophie asks, walking over to the pantry and pulling open the door. Peggy bobs their head up and down slightly as they reply.
“Just… some cereal, please… thanks…” They say slowly as if they aren’t fully awake yet.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you
After Sophie gets Peggy their bowl of cereal and places it next to their perch on the counter, she heads back into the dining room and sits down across from Arif.
Oh, tears make kaleidoscopes in your eyes
“Hey, Arif…” She says softly, leaning forward a little. Arif looks up from his book, raising an eyebrow slightly. When he sees the look on her face, he sits up a little straighter and pushes the book aside.
“Salutations, Sophie. What can I do for you?” He asks, eyebrow still raised.
And hurt, I know you're hurting, but so am I
She hesitates before replying. “I was just wondering…” she starts shyly. “If you would like to go out to dinner with the rest of us tonight? It’s Saturday, so I know that you don’t have any schoolwork to do and none of us have work.” She rushes out after a pause, looking hopefully at Arif. He frowns slightly, sliding a bookmark into his book and closing it softly.
“Have you already figured out which restaurant and confirmed that this is alright with the others?” He inquires, raising both eyebrows in question now. Sophie blushes.
And love, if your wings are broken
“Um… no, not yet. I wanted to confirm that it was alright with you first since you usually like to work ahead on your schoolwork. I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to, I just really wanted to have a nice dinner with all of us after… what happened last night-” Arif holds a hand up to stop me before she starts rambling too much.
“Sophie, it is fine. I would be willing to go out to dinner if the others would like to as well.” He pushes his chair back as he stands up, picking up his book as he does. Sophie sighs quietly in relief as he nods slightly at her and walks away, heading up the stairs to his room.
Borrow mine so yours can open too
Sophie also stands and heads into the large office where Penny went after making her tea. She stands beside her spinny chair and awkwardly clears her throat, causing Penny to look up at her and smile brightly, turning her chair towards Sophie.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you
“Hiya, Sophie! What’s up?” She asks, and Sophie looks down at the ground as she replies.
“I was just wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with the rest of us tonight… it’s Saturday, so I thought that it would be okay…” She swings her arms back and forwards a little, just lightly enough and standing far enough away from Penny that she doesn’t wack her friend in the face.
Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through
Penny stares at Sophie for a couple seconds before replying brightly. “Of course, I would love to! We will just need to figure out where.” She smiles. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to this.” She gestures to her computer and Sophie nods quickly.
“Oh, of course! Don’t let me bother you!” She smiles slightly and quickly walks out as Penny smiles fondly and turns back to her computer.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through hell with you
Sophie walks into the kitchen where Peggy is still sitting on the counter, their now empty cereal bowl sitting beside them on the counter. She hops up beside them on their other side and Peggy looks over at her.
Love, you're not alone 'cause I'm gonna stand by you
“Hey, so we were all wondering if you wanted to come out to dinner with us tonight?” Sophie asks them, getting right to the point. Peggy stares at her for a few seconds until they register what she said and nods, smiling slightly.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you
“Yeah, sure, that sounds great. Let me know where we are going.” They reply, hopping down from the counter. Sophie follows them, nodding a little.
“Okay, will do.” They both go their separate ways, Sophie running upstairs to her room and Peggy probably going into the living room.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you
Sophie plops down onto her bed and pulls out her phone, deciding to figure out which restaurant to go to.
Love, you're not alone 'cause I'm gonna stand by you
♪🌠♪
Sophie hops into the driver's seat as everybody else piles into the car, Peggy quickly claiming the passenger seat, Arif sitting right behind Sophie in the back and Penny right behind Peggy. Sophie sets up the directions for Olive Garden before beginning to drive, Peggy grabbing the aux cord and playing some music as soon as the car pulls out of the driveway.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQ4n0aXBYh
309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Wo0OkuklR
Yeah, you're all I never knew I needed
They pull into the parking lot, quickly parking and getting out. They head inside and get a booth table and some menus. Sophie and Arif are sitting next to each other, Peggy right across from Sophie and Penny across from Arif.
And the heart, sometimes it's unclear why it's beating
Once they all order their food and waiting for it to come, they relax a little, although there is still an obvious tension in the air. Sophie takes a long sip from her water, since they had all just ordered water for a drink and gotten it pretty quickly, and then clears her throat, causing the others to look over at her.
And love, if your wings are broken
“So, uh, Arif. Penny,” She looks at both nervously as she says their names. “Uhm, do you two have anything, uh, anything to say to each other?” She looks a little hopeful too now, smiling slightly. Peggy sits up a little straighter.
We can brave through those emotions too
“Nope, I don’t think so.”
“I am currently unaware of anything troubling either of us.”
Arif and Penny speak at the same time, pointedly not looking at each other as Penny plays with her straw wrapper and Arif looks Sophie directly in the eyes.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you
Sophie glances at Peggy, who is looking extremely annoyed and obviously suppressing the urge to sigh or groan loudly. Sophie looks back at Arif, smiling a little stiffly.
And oh, truth, I guess truth is what you believe in
“You sure? No…. events occurred yesterday?” Peggy speaks now, nudging Penny a little with their elbow. Both of the addressed are still stubbornly not looking at each other.
And faith, I think faith is having a reason
Finally, after a few more minutes of this, Sophie sighs, frustrated. “Well, then, I’ll just come out and say it: what happened yesterday?” She snaps, splaying her fingers apart and showing a rare emotion of anger and annoyance. She is generally too shy and quiet to act upon either, so this really draws the attention of Penny and Arif.
No, no, no, love, if your wings are broken
After a couple seconds of silence, all hell breaks loose as Penny and Arif begin to talk at the same time and Sophie and Peggy can only catch a few words here and there.
“Never lets me work-”
“...join the family nights-”
“There’s a reason-”
Peggy and Sophie just sit there, staring at them as they both rant, seeming to forget that they are in a public place.
Borrow mine so yours can open too
Suddenly Peggy breaks through their daze and stands up, leaning over the table and putting her arms out between the arguing pair, breaking them apart just as the argument reaches such a height that people are beginning to stare.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough! One at a time, okay?!” Peggy says, desperately trying to gain some peace around the table again. “Let’s start with you, Arif.” They look expectantly at Arif as Penny huffs and leans back in the chair, crossing her arms and Sophie stands up, sending awkward, apologetic smiles to the customers and staff who are staring. They begin to look away, a few glancing back every now and then.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you
“Well, yesterday at exactly 7 pm, I was calmly working at my desk in the office, with the door wide open in case someone wanted to have a conversation.” Arif begins, looking at Peggy. “At about 7:30, Penny comes walking into the office and almost immediately begins to rant to me about how I am working too much and other topics similar to that.”
Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through
Arif looks sharply at Penny as she takes in a breath as if to interrupt, causing her to quickly shut her mouth. He turns back to Peggy as he continues.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUccV98Wkj
“I reply in what I think is a civilized manner, and from there it escalates until there is a full out fight. Apparently hurtful comments were thrown, and here we are now.”
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you
Before either Sophie or Peggy can reply, Penny begins to speak as soon as Arif shuts his mouth.
“Don’t you play innocent! That is not how it went, and you know it!” She snarls at him. If looks could kill, Arif would be a pile of ashes. “I came in when Peggy here came to me as soon as I got home and informed me that you were still working, so I went to get you off. What I was ranting about was the fact that you overwork yourself and that you have missed every other movie or game night for the past two months!” All hopes of a peaceful dinner are now shattered as Penny jumps up before Arif can reply, glistening tears beginning to pool in her sky blue eyes. And before anyone can stop her, she storms out of the booth, Peggy jumping quickly out of her way so that they don’t get run over, and stalks down the aisle until she is out of sight.
Love, you're not alone 'cause I'm gonna stand by you
The rest of the group all exchange glances. Sophie has wide eyes and looks extremely nervous and as if she is about to burst into tears just like Penny did. Arif has a mostly neutral face, although his pale green eyes are a little wider than usual as he runs a hand through his black hair a little nervously, seemingly without realizing he did so. Peggy’s expression looks like a mix of shock and anger, their eyes wide and eyebrows raised, but their mouth set into a thin line.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you
“I believe that you should go after her, Arif,” Peggy says, saying Arif’s name sharply. Sophie moves from her seat to let Arif out as he stands up hesitantly.
“We all know that I am not one that does well with emotions.” He protests even as he is walking out of the booth. A severe glare from Peggy causes him to shut up and nod, turning and walking quickly after Penny, adjusting his tie as he does. Peggy falls back into the chair, rubbing their eyes with the palms of their hands. Sophie sits beside them, pushing them softly as she does so that they will slide a little further down the bench.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you
“You okay?” She asks quietly, putting a comforting hand on their shoulder. Just as Peggy is about to reply, a waitress appears with the food that they had ordered what feels like hours ago. Sophie sets out the plates in all of the spots that they had been originally sitting at, then turns and focuses her whole attention onto Peggy. “What were you about to say?”
Love, you're not alone 'cause I'm gonna stand by you
“I just… didn’t expect this to go so badly.” They reply, for once speaking so quietly that Sophie has to strain her ears a little to hear. She smiles sympathetically.
I'll be your eyes 'til yours can shine
“I know, but there was no way that you could have predicted that. I didn’t think it would take such a sharp turn south either.” Sophie rubs Peggy’s shoulder. She has to admit, she didn’t expect to go very well but definitely had not expected to go as bad as it just did.
I'll be your arms, I'll be your steady satellite
Peggy looks up at her, placing their hands in their lap and folding them together.
“I hope that Arif fixes this.” Then they laugh. “Of course, knowing Arif, he might be so emotionally deaf that he will just make it worse without knowing that he did.” Sophie snorts out a laugh, covering her mouth as she does.
And when you can't rise
The happy mood quickly sobers, and the two go back to their previous seats, beginning to eat so that they can at least have something to do while they wait.
Well, I'll crawl with you on hands and knees
Sophie attempts to make some small talk between bites as they wait, but it doesn’t really work very well, both of them worried for their other two friends.
'Cause I (I'm gonna stand by you)
As they finish, Sophie glances over at the other two plates that are surely cold by now and sighs sadly.
Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through (come on)
“Should we give the plates to the waitress or get a box to take them home?” Sophie asks, glancing over at Peggy from the corner of her eyes.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you
Peggy ponders it for a second, then holds up two fingers.
“Second one. I’m sure that Arif would probably go on this long rant about wasting food, and I know that both you and Penny would feel bad about wasting the food that other people put ‘such hard work and time into making it for us.’.” Peggy makes their voice a little higher at the end and uses quotation marks in the air with her fingers, imitating Penny.
Love, you're not alone 'cause I'm gonna stand by you
Sophie laughs softly and turns to the waitress once she comes back to check on them and gather the empty plates. She asks for two large boxes and the waitress smiles and nods, leaving to return the dirty plates and grab the boxes for them.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you
Peggy puts the food into the boxes once the waitress comes back and said waitress takes the now empty plates.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you
Now that they have nothing to do, Sophie and Peggy lean back in their benches, Peggy picking up the little dessert information stand that is in the corner and reading it while Sophie bites her lip nervously, playing with her fingers.
Love, you're not alone 'cause I'm gonna stand by you
Peggy begins to read the information aloud.
Love, you're not alone
Half an hour passes and the other two are still not back. The remaining two begin to play tic-tac-toe on a piece of paper that Sophie found in her purse.
No, I'm gonna stand by you
After several games of tic-tac-toe cover the paper, they both lean back in their benches again, exchanging worried glances. A whole hour has passed in complete silence from either one.
(Even if we can't find heaven, heaven, heaven)
I'm gonna stand by you
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