She raced over to him, placing her hand on the frame as she heard Kane's footsteps fade away.
"Garry?"
"Ib!"
"Oh God Garry! I was so scared! I thought I'd lost you again!" She cried, bursting into tears. She was crying a lot today. Unusual for her.
"Hey, hey, clam down Ib. It's okay. I'm here now, yeah?"
She nodded, clinging to the portrait, "oh Garry! Look! Your new home!"
"Damn, Ib. You have sure aged."
She giggled in response, "I know! My own apartment, my own car…" She trailed off slightly, frowning.
"What is it?" Garry asked, his voice tinged with concern.
"No. I was just wondering," she said, quietly. "Now that you're here, I wonder if I'll still have nightmares."
"Even if you doI'll be there for you when you wake up. You don't have to make late night trips ever again."
Ib beamed,"you're right!"
"Now get some sleep," he said.
"Huh?"
"You heard me! You were up all night yesterday! You told me you had an assignment to hand in on Monday, and it's Sunday tomorrow! Get some rest!"
Ib giggled, and he gasped comically in response.
"Don't laugh, Ib! You need rest!"
She let her giggling fade away, a smile still played onto her lips, "you haven't changed one bit. You're still looking after me, even though you're only a year older than me now."
She imagined him with a frown as he replied, "You're right. But still, Ib, you need to look after yourself."
"I know, I know, I'll go to bed now," she quickly picked up the frame, carrying it to the spare room and placing it on the bed. "You sleep too, y'know?"
"It's all I've done for nine years."
She looked at the painting, a sad smile on her face.
"Oh, eh! Hey Ib, don't look so down! I wasn't alone with you around!"
She nodded, "yeah! Alright, sweet dreams Garry."
"Sweet dreams, Ib."
Sunday passed in a fast blur, and she spent all the day doing her assignment, a piece of her long hair tied around a crack in the frame (it turned out you only had to be connected in some way, not necessarily your hands or skin) and he helped her out a lot.
It turned out he had been studying the same subjects as she was. They laughed together, watched tv (Garry commented the shows had changed drastically since he last watched them) and just generally had a good time.
She was heartbroken on Monday morning when she had to leave for the day.
"I'll be here when you get back, Ib," Garry said softly in her mind. "I'm not going anywhere."
Ib grinned, nodding at him before kissing her hand and stroking the frame with it. She grabbed her bag, a piece of toast in her mouth before she rushed out of the apartment.
Garry blushed as her kissed hand stroked his frame, before he watched her run out of the apartment. He sighed, placing his hand on the glass that acted as his window. He placed his forehead on it, wishing, just wishing he could get out and escape. It suddenly dawned on him,
Shit! I didn't warn Ib about Kane!
He mentally beat himself up over it, and stayed awake the whole nine years she was gone. When he heard the lock of the apartment turn, he jumped up, re-placing his hand on the glass. He saw Ib walk in, before her eyes scanned the livingroom and found him. She grinned, racing towards him, placing her hand on his frame. Garry gasped.
Around her eye was a patch of blue and purple. Garry felt his face heat up in anger,
"Ib. What happened?"
"Huh? Oh…" She touched her eye, wincing slightly. "School doors. I thought I had time to make it before it swung back, but I didn't, and I got hit in the eye."
"Ib…"
"Anyway!" Ib started, smiling. "I forgot! I should have faced you to the tv and put it on! You might not have been so bored!"
Garry ignored her, "Ib. Show me your memories."
"Huh?"
"If you let me, I can see your memories. I want to know more about you. You can see mine, too."
"You…can do that?"
"Yes."
Ib seemed reluctant at first, but he finally talked her around to the idea. She nodded, agreeing, before closing her eyes.
He felt nine years worth of her memory swarm into his mind. He decided to play out today's event…
"Freak!"
"Red-eyed witch!"
Were the jeers called out to the girl with long brown hair, her crimson eyes looking at nothing but the path before her. In her arm she cradled folders, burying the lower half of her face behind them.
"Hey, bitch, you found your boyfriend yet? The one you used to talk about in middle school? You're so stupid. Was he imaginary? Or did he just die?"
Another taunt answered, "anyone would want to die after talking to that freak!"
Many laughs echoed the school hallways, and yet Ib did not falter in her steps. Tears built in her eyes. Not for herself, but for the fact that she had Garry. She mumbled back to the first taunt,
"He's not dead, and he's not imaginary."
The boy who had jeered this smirked, wlaking towards her, and she turned to face him. "What?"
She rose her voice, which was incredibly rare, "I said he is not dead, nor is he imaginary. Can't you learn to listen?"
Smack.
The sound echoed across the hall. Ib's cheek stung.
Shove.
Ib felt herself land on the ground, her files scattering. The other taunter, a girl this time, kicked them around as she laughed menacingly. Ib went to stand back up, but the boy placed his foot across her chest, forcing her back down.
"Where are you going, Witch? And who are you trying to fool? No-one will ever want you, or love you. Don't pretend they do by inventing them up."
"I didn't invent him. Although, someone like me would be smart enough to. Unlike you…"
The sound of knuckles hitting skin was heard as the whole corridor was stunned into silence. Ib held her hand over her eye, which was throbbing violently. No teachers we around. As per usual. She felt saliva land on her face as two pairs of footsteps walked away from her.
"Freak."
Garry was stunned, looking at Ib. She was staring at the ground, and now he noticed. Her cheeks looked sore. There were a few bruises on her arms. His eyes narrowed.
"Ib.."
She did not answer.
"…why did you not defend yourself?"
"Because I didn't see the point in it."
"Why not?"
"Because if I hit them back, they'd just hit me harder and steal my rose."
"I-Ib," Garry stammered, and he saw Ib's eyes widen. "Ib, we're not in the gallery any more. The rose has no connection with you. Nothing! You understand? You're safe now!"
Ib nodded in response, holding the frame close. She then heard him speak again,
"I had a theory. If you chip off a part of my frame and hold it, could you still hear me?"
"I don't want to damage the frame!"
"Ib, it's okay. It won't harm me. I chipped some off from my side. And I'm fine, see?"
"Alright."
She took a knife from the kitchen and dug a piece of frame from the side. She then stepped away from the bigger frame, holding the piece of oak wood in her hands.
"Garry?"
"I think it works!" Garry cried.
Ib gasped, "so it does! You are really smart, Garry!"
"I know!"
She suddenly had an idea. She ran upstairs, grabbing a locket and fixing the piece of wood inside. She hung the locket around her neck,
"Can we still talk?"
"Well, can you hear me?"
"Yeah!" She grinned, before she snuggled down on the sofa next to the painting. She turned on tv and they watched it together, before Garry demanded she go to bed after eating dinner. She made instant noodles before putting Garry in the spare room, and then retiring to her own room for the night.
She clung to Garry's lighter, and remembered the last two nights, nightmares had not plagued her dreams. She smiled, clutching the lighter tighter to her heart, before falling asleep dreamlessly.