Ace remembered something that had happened between him and Arturo. It was a couple of years ago, a few days after Arturo's father was arrested and the little guy had started living with the Gangreen Gang.
Ace had woken up in the middle of the night to find Arturo in bed with him, clinging to his chest. Obviously, he was still shaken up over everything that had happened recently, and was longing for some human comfort.
Ace didn't really care about that at that moment, and when he let out a shout of surprise and anger, Arturo woke up as well and sat bolt upright. He began to apologise but was drowned out by Ace yelling at him to get the hell out of his bed and find someone else to snuggle with.
Arturo got out and dejectedly went over to Snake, who had also had his sleep disturbed by the commotion. Snake shook his head, and so Arturo went over to Big Billy and crawled under the covers. Billy was still half asleep, but didn't seem to mind his new cuddle buddy, as he draped an enormous arm over Arturo's tiny body.
Ace had just randomly remembered it now, as he lay on the mattress on his back, staring up at the drab ceiling of the holding cell, Lil' Arturo curled up asleep in the crook of his arm. He could feel his arm begin to tingle with the first warnings signs of getting pins and needles, but he wasn't about to make Arturo move. It made him feel a little heartless.
And, secretly, Ace wanted the contact. It brought a feeling to his heart; a feeling he hadn't felt in years. The feeling that he was needed.
Arturo looked up to him as a surrogate father. Ace's own parents could go fuck themselves. They'd screwed him up beyond repair. It was clear that Ace was not suitable for that kind of role. And yet…
It was probably just because he was the leader, the boss, the decision-maker, Ace reasoned with himself.
But he didn't expect the job description to include being a cuddle pillow for everyone. He didn't feel up to this. He wasn't quite used to giving emotional comfort, especially when he needed it himself.
He briefly wished that he was a small child again, so that he could let all his thoughts and tears out and the adults would listen and soothe him, instead of just mocking him because everyone knows that teenage boys don't cry…
Ace's legs were getting pretty sore, too. Snake was using his ankles as a pillow of sorts, his long dark hair tickling Ace's bare skin. But Ace decided not to kick him off either.
All of these thoughts were a nice change than hypothesising prison life.
Bubbles was the only one who wasn't eating, even though the Professor had bought fish and chips, a rare and special treat. Buttercup was shovelling chips into her mouth ravenously, and Blossom was eating too, albeit a lot slower than normal.
"Is everything okay with your food, Bubbles? You love fish and chips." The Professor said, concerned.
Bubbles spoke her first full sentence for the day. "I'm not hungry." Her stomach rumbled just then, but she didn't feel any pangs. The rumbling seemed more like shivering. She ignored it and got down from the table.
"Bubbles…" The Professor began before letting his words trail off hopelessly. Her spark and joy had all but disappeared.
He noticed that Blossom and Buttercup had stopped eating as well. They looked at Bubbles' retreating back, then at the Professor, who buried his face in his hands.
The therapy hadn't quite gone as planned. Blossom and Buttercup had opened up quickly about their feelings, but Bubbles stayed silent.
Bubbles just couldn't figure out how to put her swirling emotions into words so that they could be understood. She'd never felt so lost before. Her heart ached for Mr Kendall, his wife and four kids, one of whom was in her kindergarten.
But a tiny portion of her heart, the very bottom of her heart, also felt pity for the Gangreen Gang. Once, a few months ago, the Professor was reading an article in the paper about a sixteen year old boy who had just been arrested in the northern suburbs for stalking and breaking and entering, and the Professor had made an off-hand remark about how "a teenager in prison is very sad to hear about". And that's where she suspected this minuscule amount of sympathy came from.
But how could she explain that to the therapist? He might think that she was on their side and that they deserved to go free, even though they are criminals. He might hate her for that.
Not to mention the fact that she just couldn't get the images of the crime scene out of her head. She knew he was trying to help her move past it, but it wasn't working.
And so Bubbles had kept her mouth shut tight, only opening it to cry loudly when she felt the weight of her thoughts crushing her. But even then she did not speak. And eventually she was dismissed.
She hoped that the Professor wasn't upset with her for not talking.
