Chapter Text
The weeks following the Big Wand incident and the failed Anti-Fairy coup were mostly filled with empty, boring hours. Sure, Peri occasionally joined Hazel and his parents on one of their many wish-capades and hijinks but most days saw Peri lounging in his own apartment in Fairy World. Time flew by him with a rotation of chores, television, and staring at the wall in boredom.
His current time killer was the hottest medical procedural which had just dropped the entirety of its new season, filled to the brim with drama, betrayal, and wild diseases that no one had seen in centuries. Peri stared at the television with a vacant expression, letting the heavy handed dialogue wash over him as he mechanically shoveled another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.
It hadn’t been so bad at first. Peri appreciated the chance to relax and recover not just from the magical backup but all the stress that had built up in the weeks leading up to his imprisonment. There was a certain enjoyment to be had to go about his day without the pressure of failing a godkid and his first job constantly sitting on his shoulders.
Being unemployed certainly had the perk of giving him a lot of ‘me time’ to work on his mental health.
Though a con of being unemployed included being unemployed.
And bored. No one ever really talks about how boring it can be.
Okay, so technically Peri was not unemployed. He technically was still a fairy godparent. But with everything that had happened, Jorgen had seen it fit to put Peri in mandatory vacation until he was fully recovered and-or they found a case file that he thought would fit Peri best.
Because his last godkid had been such a…failure…right…
Peri shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, letting its sharp cold sting distract him from the depressing thought.
A bright puff of smoke suddenly filled the room and Peri yelped as two figures appeared, blocking the climactic kiss happening on screen.
“Peri!” His parents cheered, closing in for a hug.
“Mom? Dad?” Peri dodged their tackles and quickly miracled away the ice cream carton and stains that had dripped on his shirt. He chuckled nervously as he frantically reorganized his throw pillows and blanket into something that didn’t scream “I haven’t moved in hours and wasn’t planning to do so anytime soon.”
“Wh-” Peri forced himself to lean casually against the couch. “What are you doing here?”
“What? We can’t come check in on our little boy?” Wanda cooed as she pinched Peri’s cheek. Peri pushed her away.
“Not without some notice first!” Peri whined. “This is my apartment! You can’t just barge into someone’s apartment!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Peri,” Wanda said. She glanced at Cosmo. “You’re right. You’re an adult now, we need to respect that.”
Peri nodded. “Right because–”
“It’s just so hard,” Cosmo cried, slamming into Peri to hold him in a tight hug. The breath shot out of Peri. “Knowing where you live and not seeing you for days! What are we supposed to do? Just wait for you to visit?”
Peri wheezed. He could feel his face starting to turn blue. “Yes?”
Cosmo released his son and stared at him with wide eyes. “What kind of insanity is that?”
His mom, ever the more reasonable one, pushed between the two. She looked at Peri with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, squirt. We know you're an adult now and can do what you want with your time. It’s just…”
Dread filled the pit of his stomach as Peri watched his parents exchange concerned glances. Of course they were worried for him. He should be thankful that they were thinking about him in the aftermath of almost dying and losing his first godkid. Still, it stung to warrant those worries at all. Years and years of fantasies, imagining what his successful career would be like and the pride that his parents would shower on him as they saw the skill and magic he brought into every child’s life. All of it crumbled before him, leaving nothing left but the anxious buzz of failure crawling underneath his skin and the looks of pity on his parents’ faces.
The smile on Peri’s face was strained. “Well, don’t worry. I’m doing fine .” His parents looked back at him, unconvinced. “But anyway – you’re right! I haven’t seen you in days, how are you guys doing? How’s Hazel? Any fun wishes lately?”
Cosmo and Wanda shared another glance.
“Hazel had a bit of a tough day today,” Wanda said.
Cosmo leaned in close to whisper into Peri’s ear, “Having to do with D-E-V.”
Peri pushed him away again. “Why are you whispering?” A pause. “Wait, why did you spell out Dev’s name?”
“No, it’s too early to say that name!” Cosmo cried dramatically, falling to the floor on his knees. “The wounds are still too fresh!”
“Dad, it’s fine,” Peri rolled his eyes and pulled him up by the arm. “You can say Dev’s name.”
Cosmo let out another pained shriek. Wanda pushed him aside.
“Hazel’s having a hard time figuring out where she stands with Dev after everything,” she explained. “And that boy sure doesn’t make things any easier.”
“You’re telling me,” Memories of the boy’s vague demands and belittling comments echoed in Peri’s mind. Dev was…complicated, to put it simply. Spoiled and frustrating, for sure, Peri could vouch for that. But beneath that was a boy who loved to share about the newest update to his favorite manga, a boy who enjoyed color coding his school notes to help him study later on, a boy who was fiercely protective of the few friends he did have before…before everything kind of blew up.
Some of it – no, most of it – was Dev’s own fault but still. Peri rubbed the back of his neck. At the end of the day, Dev was just a child who clearly needed a fairy godparent. He needed something more than what Peri could apparently give him.
And despite the hardship between them, Peri did miss Dev. How could he not miss his first ever godkid? How could he not think about those rare moments where Dev was content? The fond memory of Dev happy to just sit and watch a movie with Peri came to mind. And the elation Peri felt seeing Dev’s timid smile shining bright all the same when Peri suggested that they turn the single movie into an all night marathon with popcorn and snacks. Small gem of moments with Dev that added to the complexity of the entire Dimmadome situation.
Damn, failure stung like a bitch.
“What did he do this time?” Peri asked.
“Something about the new Prime Meridian movie that’s coming out and the kids were all talking about getting midnight release tickets,” Wanda said.
“And let me guess, Dev bought all the tickets so no one can go?”
Cosmo and Wanda nodded.
“And instead of being a nice person and sharing them he got all snooty and defensive toward Hazel?”
Another nod.
Peri sighed. “Yeah, figures.”
Wanda bit her lip. “I am worried about Hazel. It’s clear she wants to be friends with Dev.”
“But even Hazel has her limits!” Cosmo chimed in. “Can’t be friends with someone who’s being difficult. Even if friendship would probably make them less cranky.”
“I hope they find that boy a new fairy godparent soon,” Wanda fretted. “As bad as he can be, he is just a lonely boy. He deserves better.”
Peri’s face fell. He avoided looking at his parents. “Right, better, yeah.”
“Oh, Peri, that’s not what I meant!” His mom wrapped her arms around him. Soon after he felt his dad’s arms encircle him too. “You did as best as you could with what you were given. Anyone with a father and upbringing like Dev’s was bound to be a tough case for any fairy.”
A father like…Dale? Right, there was no doubt that most of Dev’s insecurities came from his dad’s neglect. That was clear from a mile away to anyone who bothered to pay attention. But ultimately, most of Peri’s time with Dev had been so Dale-free that it never occurred to him to suggest a wish that involved the absent father. Dale being busy or at work had seemed like such a given that both he and Dev filled the void with anything and everything else they could think of.
But if all of Dev’s problems came from Dale, didn’t it make sense to attack the issue at the source?
His mom was right, Dev did deserve better. A better life, a better father, a better fairy godparent.
Well, he wasn’t his fairy godparent anymore but he did find himself with more time on his hands than he knew what to do with.
“Hey,” Peri felt his parents release their hold on him and floated backward to look at their faces. “Do you guys have any tips on fitting in in the human world?”
Peri was close to saying he hated pretending to be human. His parents made it seem so easy and simple to copy the way humans walked, talked, and breathed. There were also so many unspoken rules that people were just supposed to know and if he accidentally broke one of those arbitrary rules all eyes would be on him. Which, as a fairy, was never a good thing to have. It was just so much easier to be Dev’s headphones, or his game console controller, or his fancy pen that could switch between five different shades of purple. At least then he didn’t have to play any social games other than ‘stay completely still.’
But for his plan he couldn’t be just anything, he had to be human. Ugh.
Peri stood on the sidewalk in the middle of downtown Dimmadelphia, opposite the towering Dimmadome Global building. Next to the gaudy tech company was the Lily of the Valley cafe, its white and gold accented building a clue to whose company owned the business and probably also its price point.
Sitting at one of the cafe’s outside tables, disposable coffee cup and salad sitting untouched, and neck craned down to stare intensely at a tablet screen, was Dale Dimmadome. Peri grimaced when he glanced at Dale’s ever present boots. He forgot how ugly those were.
Peri stared at the man a bit longer, working up the nerve to follow through with his plan. It was one thing to say he could make Dale a better person, and by extension a better father to Dev, it was another to actually try. Everything about Dale just oozed sleaze and greed. Any attention voluntarily given by the man was wrapped in a layer of lies and manipulation.
Peri gripped the head of his cane tighter. Shit, how was he going to do this?
Before he could talk himself out of it, Peri tapped the end of his cane on the ground. With a poof of magic, the cafe suddenly seemed to be busier with customers. Peri straightened and crossed the street to the cafe.
It certainly was busy on the inside. A line crowded near the front register as another mob of people waited to the side for their order. Seats became more and more scarce as office workers, who normally took their lunch in their cubicles, suddenly had the thought that they deserved a nice change of pace and liked the idea of sipping their drink in a cute, quaint coffee shop.
Peri fought the urge to fidget the entire time he stood in line. His eyes kept darting back to Dale who sat practically motionless at his table, the only movement being the swipe of a finger to scroll through whatever was on the tablet. Peri looked back at the large menu behind the counter, beautiful scrawlings of drink options laid out before him.
What did normal human men drink? Peri tried to think back to if Dev or Dale ever mentioned a coffee order but came up blank. Most of the time the au pairs had whatever they wanted to eat or drink already memorized. Which drink would Dale respect the most? Would Dale mock him for his drink choice?
Peri shook his head furiously. No, no, that was bad. He was thinking like Dev. The point was to get Dale to be a good person no matter what Peri – or Dev– did. His opinion on his drink shouldn’t matter. Still Peri couldn’t help but hope that his peppermint mocha with extra whipped cream wouldn’t make his plan with Dale more difficult than it was already going to be.
With his drink eventually in hand, Peri scanned the shop. It was still fairly crowded but more importantly, Dale still sat alone at his table. He had apparently started eating at some point, his salad plate now less full, but his eyes were still scanning the tablet.
Peri took a deep breath and strolled outside. He stood just behind the empty chair opposite Dale Dimmadome, CEO of Dimmadome Global.
He cleared his throat. “Um, excuse me, may I sit here?”
Dale didn’t look up. “Do I know you?”
“Uh, no,” Peri pushed through despite the uncertainty prickling at his skin. “But it’s pretty busy today and all the seats are taken except this one so…”
“Do you know who I am?” Dale asked in the same bored tone. He swiped to another page in his document.
Peri beat down the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah but you know,” he shrugged. “A seat’s a seat, right?”
Dale shot up from his seat so fast his chair skidded backward. Peri yelped at the sudden move, his arm jerking back and spilling some of his mocha onto his hand.
And Dale still was looking down at his tablet, oblivious to the ruckus.
“You’re right, this is just a seat.” He grabbed his coffee cup without looking. “You can have it. I have a better one in my office. Made of gold .”
Peri watched, speechless, as Dale made the short walk from the cafe front to the doors of Dimmadome Global, eyes firmly glued to his work.
Unsure of what to do, Peri dropped into the empty chair in front of him. He stared at the vacant space Dale had just occupied. He took a sip of his mocha.
Well, shit. Okay.
Obviously this was never going to be easy, Peri told himself. If it were that easy to engage Dale in any sort of conversation, Dev, his own son, would have done it by now. So right, yeah, going up to him as a complete stranger in a coffee shop was never going to work.
But damn, it would have been so nice if it had.
“I can’t believe I was worried about my drink order,” Peri muttered to himself, taking another sip.
Onto Plan B then. Whatever that was.
“Free sample, sir?” Peri lowered a tray of miniature cupcakes down toward another businessman. The man’s eyes brightened at the treat and eagerly popped one of them into his mouth without even a ‘thank you’ thrown in his direction.
Peri ignored it before moving onto the next person. He was used to it at this point in the afternoon. Donned in the apron and visor uniform of Bluebell Bakery , Peri wandered around the grounds of the Dimmadelphia Fall Festival with a tray of mini desserts. It had been an antagonizing slow day of forcing a fake smile at patrons while his feet ached more and more by the hour.
He didn’t know how humans could work in such conditions.
But the festival had boasted a special guest appearance from the Dimmadome family, so Peri needed to at least try and be present. All the vendors for the festival had made it a point to put out their best products in hopes of catching the family’s attention. It hadn’t been hard to magic himself a uniform and join the ranks. The manager had given him a suspicious look but ultimately didn’t seem to care who was out giving samples, as long as it got done.
Peri had just finished clearing off another tray and poofing another batch in hand when the overwhelming sound of helicopter blades filled the area. Everyone stopped and stared at the helicopter that hovered above the festival, watching as its side door slid open to reveal two figures.
Dale and Dev Dimmadome, donned in their classic white and gold.
Peri felt a pang in his chest from seeing the young boy. It had been weeks since he last saw Dev in the flesh. He looked…the same, honestly. It was hard to tell with the distance and the sunglasses but Peri wasn’t sure what he expected. In Dev’s mind, nothing had changed. He never had a fairy, he never had any wacky magical adventures, he never staged a hostile takeover of Fairy World. He was the same young boy with a shitty father.
Speaking of the shitty father.
Peri navigated through the crowd as the two stepped onto their respective drones that drifted them down to ground level.
“What is there to even do here, dad?” Peri heard Dev whine as he drew closer.
“Potential investments, kiddo!” Dale smiled at the crowd gathered around them, waving to a few of the businessmen he recognized. “And good publicity. Speaking of which – smile!”
Dale grabbed Dev’s shoulder and dragged him in close until they were cheek to cheek. Before Dev could say anything else, a camera flashed in their faces. Dale let go of his son as soon as the cameraman was turned away.
“Remember, Dev,” Dale said, looking away. “Wealth makes people jealous and suspicious of you. You sometimes have to come down to their level to get their trust, and money, back.”
Peri heard Dev scoff as he approached them.
“Free sample, sir?” Peri presented the tray to Dale.
Dale turned to look at the offerings. “Free, huh? Won’t make much of a profit from that.”
Peri gave him his best customer service smile. He had a lot of practice in the last few hours. “Building up consumer interest, sir. Guarantee you’ll buy a dozen after one taste.”
“Ha!” Dale barked. He barely lifted his gaze to Peri before waving him away with a hand. “I like that! But I’m not one for sweets. Try the kid though.”
With that Dale continued on his way, parting through the crowd with all the charm of a shady car salesman. Peri groaned in frustration. His eyes shifted down to Dev who was staring at him over the rims of his sunglasses with wide eyes.
That’s weird. Peri quickly glanced down at himself to make sure nothing was out of place. He didn’t look weird, did he? He poked at his face as casually as he could to make sure all body parts were in their appropriate place. Everything seemed right.
“Uh,” Peri kneeled down to Dev’s level. “Free sample, sir?”
Whatever trance Dev was in seemed to break in that moment. He shook his head as if to shake off whatever weirdness clung on.
“No,” Dev squeaked and then cleared his throat, trying again with a more steady voice. “No, thanks. Can’t eat anything with –”
“Let me guess,” Peri shifted his tray just out of Dev’s sight and poofed a new set of treats on it. “No dairy, right? No problem, sir. It’s a common enough allergy that we have a whole line of dairy free desserts, just as delicious.”
He presented the tray of full sized cupcakes to the boy with a flourish. Dev stared at it with uncertainty.
“They’re all –?”
“All made with milk, cream, or butter alternatives,” Peri reassured. He rotated the tray so that a chocolate cupcake with hazelnut swirl frosting on top was front and center. “May I recommend this one? One of our best, I think.”
Dev took the cupcake cautiously, looking like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. He took a tentative bite of the treat.
Dev chewed on it for a moment. “It’s good,” he said quietly.
Peri’s heart fluttered. A compliment! From Dev!
Dev took another, more sure, bite.
“Most people don’t usually bother to make dairy free desserts,” he said after swallowing. “Too much work, I think.”
“Well, I think that’s just a shame,” Peri straightened up. He gave Dev a small smile. “Doesn’t matter how hard it is, right? Shouldn’t you get to enjoy sweet things too?”
Dev’s eyes went comically wide. In an instant, he shoved the whole cupcake in his mouth, some of the frosting smearing on his face. He said something unintelligible through the mess of chocolate before darting away giving only a hasty wave goodbye in Peri’s direction.
Peri sighed. Back to the drawing board, he supposed.
Peri grabbed the whiskey glass that was beginning to leave a water stain on the bar. “Can I get you another, sir?”
Dale gave an affirmative grunt as he scrolled through his phone, head perched up by his other hand. His elbow and upper body leaned heavily against the bar, clearly not caring about appearances. Quite the opposite to Peri, honestly, who felt increasingly out of place in his current predicament.
Plan C found him behind the bar of probably the fanciest resort he ever laid eyes on, clearly meant for the upper crust and the upper crust only. Everyone, from staff to guests, seemed to make it a point to look their absolute best – and most expensive. Even a quick jaunt to the front desk apparently warranted a coordinated outfit that screamed ‘luxuriously casual.’
Peri had a general understanding of money in the human world. People worked for it, most of the time. A lot of people had it, but some people had more than others. Way more. Like a stupid amount more. Things cost money and the general rule of thumb seemed to be: the better it was, the more money you needed. Peri had seen enough of the Dimmadomes to know that last rule wasn’t even close to true. But everyone seemed to want the more expensive things, whether they had the money for it or not. As a magical being that could conjure up most things for himself, Peri didn’t quite understand the want for material things.
But what really baffled Peri about human money was that: the more you had, the more people looked at you differently. There seemed to be a whole new set of unspoken social rules you had to follow when you were around rich people. Sometimes that meant you could break rules but other times it meant all eyes were watching every move and one fuck up left you destroyed.
Peri’s head hurt trying to wrap his head around it all. Why couldn’t humans just be normal and say what they wanted?
Regardless though, Dale had an out of town business weekend trip which required him to stay at the Dimmadome Hotel and Resort where everyone abided by those unspoken rules and waited with bated breath for someone to fuck up.
Peri really hoped he didn’t fuck up.
Hands hidden below the bar, Peri poofed another drink for Dale. He carefully laid a new napkin on the bar and served the amber drink to the man.
Dale continued to stare at his phone. Peri stood there awkwardly, fingers thrumming rhythmically against his thigh.
Peri worked up his courage and opened his mouth.
“And what is that?” Dale asked, not looking up.
Peri’s eyes brightened. An opening! Yes! “That sir, is a whiskey on the rocks like you ordered but if you notice a slightly different taste it’s because –”
Peri trailed off as he watched Dale turn his gaze toward him, expression confused and a touch irritated. He shifted again so Peri could see the earpiece that had been out of view previously. Peri flushed in embarrassment.
“Yeah, Rogers, that’s the point,” Dale continued to the person on the other end of the call, glancing back down at his phone. “That’s not my job, that’s yours and…what’s her name. The one from marketing.” He nodded absently. “Allison, sure. Doesn’t matter, just get it done. Fast.”
Dale finally set his phone down on the bar, apparently ending the conversation. He grabbed the tumbler and sipped at his drink.
Sweat poured down Peri’s face. Damnit! Damnit! He already messed up. He needed to salvage this somehow.
“Rough night?” Peri tried, forcing his voice to stay steady. That was an appropriate question to ask, right? Everything he read and every television show he watched told him that people talked to bartenders all the time. All you needed to get people to open up apparently was some alcohol and a friendly ear.
Dale hummed and continued to look ahead, past Peri’s shoulder. At this point, Peri would consider just making eye contact with the man a success.
Peri pushed ahead. “Sounded like a tough call. Heh, deadlines, am I right?”
Screams of distress echoed in Peri’s mind. I have no clue what I’m doing. His eye twitched.
Silence stretched between them.
“Well, I better –!”
“You said this has a different taste to the last drink?”
Peri scrambled his thoughts together from the sudden question. His eyes darted around the bar and to Dale’s phone to make sure it was hundred percent him that Dale was talking to.
At least ninety percent sure, Peri nodded. “Yes, sir. Um, can you taste it?”
“Hmm, yeah,” He swished the liquid around in his glass. “It’s good.”
Fireworks fired off in Peri’s mind as he mentally threw a fist in the air. Success!
“What is it?” Dale asked, taking another sip.
Come on, come on. Look up, look up!
“Recent shipment from a new local distillery,” Peri lied. “You know that stuff we have on uh, top shelf? This is, like, more. Top shelf, I mean. The highest shelf we have even.”
Dale chuckled and downed the rest of his drink.
“Local, huh? That’s good!” He pushed the glass back toward Peri. “People can’t get enough of that ‘support local businesses’ schtick. Tell your boss to stock more of it.”
“Right,” Peri watched as Dale pushed himself from the bar, reaching for his phone. Instinctually, his hand shot out to slam on the bar top. Not on Dale’s phone but close enough that Dale pulled his hand back to avoid touching. He was getting somewhere. Dale spoke to him! He couldn’t let this end just yet. “Um, would you care for another drink, sir?”
Dale looked at the hand lightly brushing against his phone case in disgust. He gingerly reached around Peri’s arm to grab the device.
He flashed Peri a photo perfect grin, his eyes distant and clearly not looking at him. “No thanks! Got to hit the hay early tonight. Early morning meetings, am I right?”
Peri watched the man stroll back toward the hotel elevators back up to his room, whistling a tuneless jingle all the while.
A loud bang rang through the lobby as Peri’s head slammed into the bar top. It was soon followed by a frenzied scream of frustration.
“Ugh, Hazel, I need your advice on something,” Peri laid sprawled out on his parent’s couch, arm draped across his eyes. After the bar he had gone through a montage worth of scenarios trying to catch and hold Dale’s attention. All of it had resulted in nothing more than brief remarks at best and passive aggressive silence at worst.
Hazel, seated at the other end of the couch, looked down at Peri’s feet which rested on her thighs and shot Peri a concerned look. He could hear his parents somewhere further into the apartment giggling and shouting something about kidnapping princesses, continuing the game they had been playing with Hazel earlier.
“Sure, Peri,” Hazel said. “I don’t know what I could give advice on though.”
Peri groaned, dragging his hand down his face. “It’s about friendship.”
“Oh yeah!” Hazel perked up and beamed with pride. “As someone with at least two good friends who would go to fairy war with me, I think I’m probably qualified to give advice!”
Peri sat up groggily. He looked at Hazel with tired eyes.
“How do you make friends with someone who so clearly does not want to have any meaningful connections in their life?”
Hazel’s eyes went wide in surprise before it morphed into something sly. A large smile stretched across her face.
“Ohhhhhhhh, I gotcha,” Hazel chuckled and gave Peri a conspiring glance. “And is this person you’re trying to be friends with someone we both know?”
Peri nodded.
“And is it so clear to everyone around them that their life would be so much better if they had friends?”
Peri nodded furiously. “Yes! But he’s being…unnecessarily distant? Like how does a human function like that? Just being alone with money?”
“Yeah Peri, I’m with you,” Hazel patted the fairy on the shoulder in solidarity. “And then he turns around and makes it everyone else’s problem.”
“Exactly!” Peri floated up in agitation. He looked at Hazel in desperation. “How do you deal with it?”
Hazel shrugged and rubbed at her arm, suddenly less confident. “To be honest, Peri, I don’t know. Just trying to be a good person, I guess. It helps that I’ve seen more to Dev than most other people. At least I know there’s some good in him.”
Peri froze. Dev? Oh right. He did tick all of those boxes too, didn’t he? Hazel and his parents didn’t know about Operation: Make Dale Less of a Piece of Shit so it made sense she would assume he was talking about his former godkid.
Still, she did give him something to think about.
“Something good?” Peri tapped his chin in thought. Hazel nodded.
“Yeah, I mean, underneath everything is a Dev that deserves to be happy, you know?” Hazel’s worried face caught Peri’s eyes. “But even if that’s true, I’m not going to fight this battle forever. It’s only a matter of time before my arm starts getting tired from holding out that olive branch.”
She took a deep breath, as if steading herself for what she said next.
“It hurts but if Dev doesn’t want help or…or if he keeps hurting and pushing us away, then I think we need to step back. It’s not my job to try forever if he won’t meet me halfway.”
She gave Peri a shaky smile. “It’s not your job either, Peri.”
Peri drifted back down to the girl and placed a gentle arm around her shoulders. It was always incredible to see how mature Hazel was for someone so young.
“Thanks kid,” he said.
“Did that help?” Hazel asked, hopeful.
“Yeah,” Peri gave her a comforting squeeze. “I think I know what I need to do next.”
One more try.
He’ll give Dale one more try. He’ll look to see if there was something good underneath it all, some kind of proof that all of his effort would lead to something, anything substantial. After that he would stop. Hazel was right, no use helping someone who didn’t want help.