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“Sadly, there are going to be rules.” She said, “But they’re not mine, their dad’s. Typically, sense you’re, eh, male, my dad will be a little weird with his rules.”
Oh, Garret thought to himself, shifting awkwardly just about at the same point that she did. Rules because he was male, eh? He could see where that kind of thing would be coming from, or, at least, he could see where it would be coming from if he were an actual human boy, though it was a bit surprising still that it would be a concern, what with Garret being a doll and everything. All they had to do was tell him not to... y'know... do it, and he wouldn't. Likewise, if he do told to do something, he would, even if he didn't want to. That was just how it was. He was a little too nervous about that sort of thing to do something like disobey. Well, unless he felt it was something harmless and he wouldn't be caught of course, but that applied more to going for walks before sunrise when he wasn't supposed to, and peeking in on situations that he was curious about even though he was supposed to be in the other room.
“My rules aren't weird,” Ivy's father interjected. Ivy jumped at his sudden approach behind her, but Garret had seen him coming. All he could do was smile at the little blue haired girl's reaction. “They are going to keep you out of trouble and you,” He pointed at Garret, and Garret instantly tensed, “ In line.”
“What could he possibly do? He’s like a puppy, cute and harmless.” Ivy had retorted to her father, walking with Garret as the three headed to where Ivy's father had parked the car. He father ignored the comment, though Garret found himself pursing his lips in protest about being called cute. Not that the action wasn't adorable in itself, and after all, he was just a big five-year-old pretty much all of the time, right down to having no idea how to dress himself. Kind of ironic that he actually was five years old.
“Neither of you are allowed in each other’s rooms after ten, and if you are, the door must be open. Always come home around nine if you’re out, and don’t be idiots. No drugs or alcohol, be good.” He continued, crossing his arms to show that he meant business. None of the rules seemed too unreasonable or difficult to follow, so Garret figured he could handle it. He found himself nodding in affirmation as the words were being said, making sure to take them in and specifically, remember the times at which the things would not be allowed.
“Wow, dad, so strict.” Ivy said to her father, he words joking with that touch of sarcasm. “But I doubt that will happen. Also, I have one rule.” She said, and Garret tilted his head for a mere moment. He hardly had a chance to think about questioning what the rule was, before she completed the statement. “Simply put, be yourself.” She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a light, friendly squeeze.
He bit his lip a moment. Be himself? That was... actually going to be difficult. How could he, after all that time of pretending to be 'real Garret,' and after that, pretending that he was a normal doll? He wasn't even sure what 'himself' really was like. He knew he was awkward, and a lot more introverted than the other Garret. Yeah, he kind of was like a puppy, big and clumsy and tripping over his own feet. He never knew how he should behave or even what to do with himself. How could he be himself if he was always second-guessing? Perhaps... He could be real Garret instead. He could go back to pretending. Maybe she would like him. Well, 'him' being the human Garret. It wasn't hard to act like him, what with having his memories and all.
He pushed forward a smile. How could two little words make up such a difficult request? He thought, wanting to sit and think about it for a while more, but knowing that if he kept quiet for too much longer, Ivy might realize what a difficult request it actually was for him. He didn't want to disappoint her. Not after everything she'd already done for him.
"Okay!" He replied, flexing the smile a little wider, and by this point, he was sliding into the car along with Ivy. "I'll try my best, I promise!"
He smiled back when he saw the girl smiling at him, and took just a moment to look back at Kelley's house one more time before he knew he would be parting for good. Good riddance, he thought, but part of him was solemn about it. It was the human part, the part that belonged to real Garret. Kelley had always favored him in the days when she still had her little cousin, and that was why doll Garret had been left to her. But she'd always hated doll Garret. He was just a reminder of a tragic death, and the sight of a mistake. His appearance made her so frustrated, so angry. Garret couldn't help who he was, though. Or, rather, he couldn't help who he wasn't. There just wasn't anything that could make her like him.
He found himself sighing too late in the process to stop it, and immediately wished he hadn't done so. To cover up the action though, he quickly turned back to Ivy with that sweet smile of his. So innocent-looking with a slight-too-much spacing in his teeth. He was about to speak to her, to say something about how glad he was to be going home with her, how he couldn't wait to see her home - his new home - when the car engine started and he immediately jolted at the noise, scrunching his body and shutting his eyes while he took in a sharp breath. His hands flew to the sides of his head for protection.
It took a few moments for him to open his eyes again, looking every which way around the car before he could calm down, bringing the jittery limbs away from his head and realized there were no other cars in sight - just the one that surrounded him. He was fine, everything was fine...
Unless they ended up going through the city.
He hated being around cars. Being in them was fine - he could even stick his head out the window and not be scared at all - but being in the close proximity of a running car made him so scared. Transferring memories had been very shaky five years ago when they'd done it. Memories from deceased were always charged into the archives and databases of the morgue; it helped to solve murder cases, and sometimes sending the files to family members would console them a bit. Other times the families found it only disturbing, as they requested to see the moments of their loved one's death, as well. Most never even saw the saved memories at all. They just didn't want them. Still, it had made solving crimes a bit easier, as long as the brain wasn't destroyed. The process of transferring the memories then was sort of like the same way that they plugged personalities into the doll's brains, but they had made a mistake in programming Garret; they had given him all of the original Garret's memories. Right down to the hit and run that had killed him. At first Garret simply thought that he'd survived the accident, but after about four months, he'd settled all the confusion in his mind about what had actually happened. Still, the hit and run was a terrible memory, and he had all the fear in him that real Garret would have had.
He slunk down in the seat, so that his eyes wouldn't see the road out the window. At least then he wouldn't see if a car was near by. He looked at Ivy again, this time his look was purely apologetic.
"Sorry," He said, hunching his shoulders and giving a little smile. "That sort 'a startled me is all." He forced a little uneasy laugh, a bit embarrassed at his actions. "But yeah, I was gonna say that I'm really excited to be going home with you! I can't wait."