Reggy was still crying when he noticed the sound of his name being called from the stairwell. Thankfully, the heaving sobs had abated and his shoulders had stopped shuddering, but tears were still rolling down his face. His boss, Miss Treble (he'd never been able to work up the nerve to call her 'Trebs,' even behind her back, even if she wasn't that much older than him) stood over him, one hand extended to help him back to his feet. As he looked up, he realized his eyes were probably red, but at least the rain washed away any trace of his tears; there<em>might</em>have been a chance she wouldn't realize he'd been crying. Oh God, he hoped so; he wasn't sure he could handle it if even someone as cool as Allison knew how pathetic he was.<br/><br/>"It's pouring out here, Reg! Come on, let's go back inside," she said over the storm. For a brief moment Reggy looked at her offered hand as if he didn't understand what to do with it, and he ran one hand over his face as if he were wiping away the rain before taking her hand tentatively. She wasted no time in hauling her errant employee back to his feet; his palm felt clammy in her grip, and he prayed that too would be attributed to the rain. Reggy gave a silent nod and followed her back downstairs, hunching his shoulders slightly to protect the book from the wet.<br/><br/>Upon reaching the bottom landing, the pair stopped by the employee fire exit to let some of the excess rain drip away; no sense leaving any more of a trail than they had to, especially since it would only have to be mopped up later. Probably by Reggy, seeing as none of the other employees apparently knew how to operate a mop, and it was his mess anyway.<br/><br/>"I, um, I'm sorry, Miss Treble. I was...just on my break, and I didn't realize I'd been gone so long," Reggy said, offering a weak explanation for disappearing on shift.<em>'Probably I'll get written up for this,'</em>he thought, eyes downcast.<em>'And why not? Not like I can explain myself. "Oh, I was up on the roof talking to a rat-creature that turned into a naked man about magic, but he ran off like some kind of C-list action hero and the emotional toll of the whole experience was just too much for me to process so I broke down crying like some little bitch, that's all, boss!" Yeah, she would totally buy that. And then I can get fired for suspicion of drug use while on the clock. Great plan, Reg...'</em><br/><br/>After the two had drip-dried a little more, Reggy stuffed the book back in his locker under his coat. He'd stop off in the bathroom and give his vest a thorough wringing before he went back out to the counter. They parted ways at the office, and Reggy looked back at Miss Treble before heading back out to the front. He thought about the look that had been on her face when she'd come to look for him on the roof. It was probably just his imagination, but she'd almost seemed concerned. About<span class="bbc_u">him</span>.<em>'Ha, wouldn't that be nice? Like that would ever happen.'</em>Of course, she was probably just worried he was going to step off the roof and leave her short-handed or something. Reg plastered a smile on his face and laughed softly. "Sorry again, Miss Treble. You know me, scatterbrained Reggy. It won't happen again, I promise.