One Word
There was something that Glitch never told you in your time together; something that he most likely wanted to keep a secret. Of course, you two hadn't been together all that long, and now sitting alone in your room at Dance Central HQ, Glitch was all you could think about. The previous night something amazing had happened. You had been sitting there with him and he kept looking at you while you played with your hair and did other nonsense stuff. You were with him, the tv was on, and you were bored, so you got to braiding. You never noticed some things about Glitch, but maybe that was because you yourself had never actually taken the time to bring up the past or anything that could strike too deep. You were worried about saying one thing wrong and then Glitch would shrink back into himself. Mo had told you about those days- about when Glitch did nothing. Back when he was just a kid on the street, too kind to hustle, but not pitiful enough to beg. How Mo had found Glitch was something you were never supposed to know, and Glitch didn't even know that you knew, so you kept your mouth shut. That night, though, one word was said that changed it all.
The tv was playing Grease and you had seen the movie a thousand times. Glitch could basically act out the whole movie himself, so he sat down on your bed propped up with pillows and watched you mess with your hair. It had been a long day of practice for whenever Tan came back. At least now you guys had Oblio on your side. That weird emo guy who turned out to be Tan's son, but was a decent dancer and was against his dad, so why not? You looked at Glitch and smiled weakly, unsure of what to say, so you kept your mouth shut. You were thinking about what Mo had told you, about how Glitch used to be, but you wouldn't dare bring it to Glitch's attention. Glitch kept his eyes on you, though, and eventually you got a bit weirded out, "W-what's up, Glitch?" you asked and stopped what you were doing to face him. The Korean just tilted his head a bit and you swallowed.
Glitch's eyes were captivating on his round baby-face, but ever so often he got these times where he would actually look his age, and that was now. "You know how you say things a lot and they start to not sound like a word?" he asked and you nodded, a bit confused, but you understood. Glitch looked down and wet his lips a bit, his eyebrows furrowed, "Well, I was thinking about the word 'past' and I wonder if a word can lose its meaning as well as its ability to sound like a word."
You turned your head at that, obviously a bit confused by what Glitch was trying to say. Did he know about what Mo had told you? Was he saying that he didn't want to dwell on the past? Was he saying that he had been thinking about his past a lot and now it didn't seem like his? You were at a loss, "Well, I don't know," you admitted and blinked, "Though, even when you say 'bowl' a lot you know that it's still a bowl, its use is still in your mind even though the word doesn't seem real," you bit your lip. You were trying to figure out what he was thinking, and in turn your mind started to wander.
Glitch sighed lightly, "Why do people put so much pressure on the past? How come that one word means more than most? What is so special about what happened when what will happen should matter more? What happened defines you, but people change, right? Then, why do we still think back on what's done and done? It won't come back, so why can't we drop it?" He sounded a bit agitated, but you weren't too concerned with his tone. What was bothering you about this was what he was trying to say. Growing up, English was your favourite subject, and now was your shot at deciphering the deeper meaning behind a form of spoken literature. Something was bothering him, but it wasn't just his past in general. There had to be something more than just his past that was bothering him. There was something more going on, but then again, past was just one word and there were a billion different pasts that he could be speaking of.
You shifted your weight and walked across the bed on your knees as you sat down directly in front of him, "Glitch," you said his name a bit seriously and the boy you had grown to care more about than anything looked back at you, "I can't help if you don't talk to me."
Glitch's green eyes shown, looking a bit wet, but still bright as he finally did just that, "When I joined Dance Central I was 14, but before then I was a kid who lived on the streets. I had to fight for my life every day, and now I have it so easy, but the people who know that I came from the wrong side of the tracks give me looks. They know that I don't belong here like Miss Aubrey does or Mo or Taye or anyone. I'm not where I belong and it's because of my past, but I've proven myself, right [f/n]? I dance with Mo and pay attention to everything he says, but Rasa still thinks I'm bad. What did I do to have my past haunt me to this day? Why can't everyone see that I'm better now? I actually want this and I'll be damned if I ever end up back on the streets," he looked at you and your breath caught. His past had made him who he was and he was trying so desperately to change. There was nothing you could do. There was nothing that could make him see how wonderfully changed he was.
Your [eye colour] eyes softened as you looked at his green ones and with a deep breath you opened your mouth to speak, "Glitch, I-"
"EVERYONE IN DCI HQ HEAD TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN OUR PLANS ON DR TAN. PLEASE, EVERYONE HEAD TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE. DR TAN COULD BE NEAR. COME IN YOUR CREW CLOTHES. I REPEAT, COME IN YOUR CREW OUTFITS," Rasa's voice spoke out from the intercom and Glitch stood up, no words needed to be said. They were in the past.
Past. One word with so many possibilities, but only one that really matters.
One word. Past.
