Author's Note:
Well look at that... I'm on time with posting! Hooray!
I should try this more often!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's quite angsty but I love angst and its a lead up to some issues that need to be faced.
I will do my best to get the next chapter soon!
And Kudos to whoever can guess the artist of the song I used for the title!

Disclaimer: I don't own Auggie, Annie, Stu, Conrad or Jai but I own everything else! In yo' face!


Two Planets

By the time Annie made it to her locker, she was positively breathless, her heart pounding a heart attack in her chest. With trembling fingers, she spun her locker combination, having to try three times before getting it right. Everything just seemed so surreal, so wrong. A nightmare. It astounded her, how stupid she'd been, letting herself go like that. It felt like there was a target on her back and she had been the one to put it there. Using the cover of her locker door, she shut her eyes and wiped away the tears that were rapidly drying in the chill high school atmosphere.

She felt spent, like all of her energy had been sapped from her skin. More than anything she wanted to scream, there was so much built up inside of her that she wasn't sure how much more she could handle before exploding. She slammed her locker door with a flourish, the metallic clash echoing up and down the near empty hallways. And there he was, heading towards her, still looking like the happiest boy on Earth. That was it, she couldn't take anymore.

Tears spilled down her face and she made no effort to stifle them, there was no one around to see. As she brushed past him, he stopped and turned towards her retreating form.

"Annie," he called, sounding confused, maybe even hurt.

But Annie was dying inside, she couldn't care less if he was hurt. She burst through the doors to the girls' bathroom and hastily locker herself in a stall, hitting and kicking the metal walls because she had no other way to get out what she was feeling.

Not two minutes later and she heard the bathroom door open and Auggie's cane sliding across the tiles. She rolled her eyes- the last thing she wanted was to have a talk with the second boy who fooled her. And this one hurt so much more.

"Annie," he knew she was in there and Annie knew that she couldn't pretend otherwise, "Come on, I know you're in here, you may as well talk to me. What's wrong?"

"How can you ask me that," she choked out, her voice catching painfully on the lump in her throat.

"Annie," he sighed, "I really don't know what you're upset about."

She could feel him leaning on the other side of the stall and she wondered if he could feel her heart pounding straight through to his side.

"Oh I get it, you think I'm stupid because I'm blonde, right," she grumbled, "Well I'm not and I-"

"Wait a second," he cut in, "Oh damn, you saw, didn't you?"

The sound of realization in his voice cut her to pieces, had he honestly not thought of that? Did she really mean that little to him that he couldn't even connect the neon dots flashing in front of his face?

"Yes I saw," she practically yelled, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Tell you what," he retorted, "That kiss meant nothing, Annie. Nothing!"

"Oh god, you do think I'm stupid! I saw you, Auggie, I saw the look on your face after you kissed her, I'm not blind!"

Her words bounced off the cinderblock walls and she sucked in her bottom lip. This anger surprised her, she wasn't used to feeling this way, to yelling at people she- she cared about.

"I know," he said softly, "Just let me explain, I-"

The bathroom door opened again and Annie could hear someone gasp on the other side, no doubt shocked by the sight of Auggie standing in the girls' bathroom seemingly having a conversation with himself. Were she not so angry, she would have laughed.

"Auggie," the girl's shock wore off and Annie couldn't help but feel disgusted by the fact that the girl accepted the fact that he was in there simply because he lacked one of five senses. Like that was an excuse! He knew perfectly well where he was. "Oh god, you realize you're in the girls' room, right?"

"Bea, I-"

"Do you need help, I can walk you to the boys' room if you like, it's right-"

"Bea," Auggie said more assertively, "I'm not lost, I'm trying to have a private conversation here."

With a sigh, Annie stepped out of her stall.

"Annie!" Bea exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize- Hey, are you okay?"

"Yea," Annie mumbled, "I'm fine, we were just talking."

"Oh, sorry."

She gave a weak smile and backed out of the bathroom, leaving Auggie and Annie alone once again. What a mood killer. Annie found that she was hardly even angry anymore, just disappointed. Just sad.

"Just answer two questions for me," she said before he could get another word in.

"Okay," he surrendered, his shoulders collapsing in defeat.

"You kissed Corrine?"

"She kissed me," he argued.

"And you let her," she all but whispered.

"It just happened, it was just a reaction," he groaned but she'd heard all she needed to know.

"That's all I needed to hear," she said shortly, brushing past him to leave.

"Annie," he called desperately, "Please, let me explain what happened! There's so much more than that that you're ignoring!"

"I saw what happened, August, so save your breath," she retorted, "Just leave me be."

xXx

The car engine faded to nothing and immediately he felt stranded. There he was at Annie's front door, no back up, no script, just real life happening right in front of him. The best he could hope for was that her father wouldn't be home. With timid steps, he tapped his way to her front door and found the bell, pressing the button jerkily. Were he anymore nervous he would pass out on the spot.

The front door creaked open and Auggie put a smile on his face, trying his best to not look terrified. From the perfume he surmised that it was Annie's mother. So far, so good.

"Hello," she said brightly, it was strange how much Annie sounded like her mom, "Can I help you?"

"Uh, hi, Mrs. Walker," he cleared his throat, "I'm Auggie Anderson and I was wondering if Annie is home? I kind of need to talk to her."

"Oh, yes!" She said, sounding even more friendly than before, "Please, come in!"

The warmth her voice held eased some of his nerves and he followed his cane over the threshold, taking a few steps inside. It was comfortable in the Walker house, a pleasant escape from the icy air of the great outdoors.

"If you come into the sitting room, I'll go get Annie from her room," she said, touching his arm lightly, "Would you like to take my arm?"

The question caught him off guard, most people didn't ask him that, they just assumed and dragged him around. It was nice, her courtesy, though he still felt heat slithering behind his ears.

"Thank you," he smiled lightly, allowing her to guide his hand to her elbow.

She was soft, her steps light and her perfume like flowers, motherly. The echoes that bounced around above his head told him that the house was large and somewhat empty but it was strangely peaceful and quiet. Mrs. Walker took his hand and placed it on what felt to be a suede couch and he took a seat once he made sure he was sitting on it and not beside it. He'd done that one before and it wasn't fun.

"Make yourself comfortable," she said as her bare feet slapped away on the wooden floors, "I'll go get Annie."

As he waited he folded up his cane and placed it beside his messenger bag on the couch, taking in his surroundings by listening to where Mrs. Walker had gone. He knew that the stairs were to his left and the front door left and back, the kitchen just to his right and forward or so the swooshing dishwasher told him. He laid back his head and slowly took in a deep breath, trying to settle his vibrating nerves. It seemed the balance in the world had been restored, Corrine was off his case and functioning like a person but now Annie had him on her hit list.

There was some thumping upstairs and a muffled voice yelling. He squeezed his eyes shut, this had been a mistake, he should never have come here. He leaned his elbows on his knees as he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, his ears prickling as he tried to listen in to what was going on upstairs but there was nothing.

Finally, quick footsteps met his ears and he looked up- a recycled habit- but it wasn't Annie.

"She'll be down in a moment, Hun," Mrs. Walker said, sounding somewhat flustered though still friendly, "She's just getting dressed."

"Thanks," he mumbled, unsure of what else to say.

It wasn't much longer that he had to wait before he could hear Annie's footsteps or rather, what he assumed to be Annie's footsteps. Though he could certainly feel her eyes boring into his skin. He waited for her to speak only because he didn't know what to say.

"I want to talk to you," she said softly, perching herself on the arm of the couch he was occupying, "But not here. Will you take a walk with me?"

He was relieved that she didn't yell at him but this quiet seriousness of her tone set him on edge. But he would take it, at least she was talking.

"Yea, of course," he stood and took her arm after she signaled him with a tap on the back of his hand, it was another thing he loved about her. He didn't have to teach her about his blindness, she figured things out on her own, learned by observation.

For a long while they didn't talk, just walked as evening fell and the air grew cold. Yes, he had planned to spend his Friday night with Annie but no, he didn't expect it to be bound by stale silence. There was tension between the two, like two planets in orbit, attracted by nature but always keeping one another at a distance lest disaster take place.

She paused for a moment and took a step down, he followed suit, unfortunately, she forgot to warn him about the step back up.

"Sorry," she mumbled as he used her for support to right himself.

For a moment he considered using his cane, just to make himself more comfortable but no, he trusted Annie, they were both just distracted.

"Look, are we going to talk about this," he asked finally, frustrated by the prolonged silence. These were the times when he hated being unable to read people's faces. "I can tell that you're still unhappy."

"Unhappy," she laughed mirthlessly, "Well, that's one way of putting it."

She threw her arms up and Auggie let her go, might as well let her get it out.

"If you let me explain, you'll understand," he reasoned, trying to keep his voice calm.

"No! I've heard and seen quite enough," she replied, her voice bordering on hysteria, "No, I just want you to listen, to understand why this time things are going to be different."

"This time," he puzzled, feeling rather confused.

"Yes, this time," she sighed and he could hear her pacing. "In my entire life, I've only had one long term, amazing, perfect relationship. His name was Ben and I was his world and he was mine. My father didn't like him, he didn't understand because Ben was older than me by a few years, but my dad, he just didn't get it! Ben loved me! So of course, it didn't matter what dad said because I knew better, little sixteen year old me just knew.

"Ben was so much to me, he took care of me, made me feel at home, showed me a good time. We did everything together. By the time we'd been together for a month or two, I knew that I loved him, that he would stay with me forever. He was going to move away with me to college because he would have graduated from UCLA by then. Next thing I knew and we were in bed," her voice broke and so did Auggie's heart, "It was beautiful but when I woke up the next morning- he was gone!"

It was quiet, painfully quiet but just as Auggie was going to say something – anything – Annie continued, her voice just over a whisper.

"The next time I saw him was almost a month later, he was with a woman, and when I tried to talk to him- I couldn't even yell at him because I thought it had all been a mistake- he pretended that he didn't know me!"

"I'm so sorry, Annie," Auggie whispered, no wonder she was so angry, so hurt by what she saw, it had ripped open a past wound. "But that's-"

"I gave him the only thing that was truly mine and he ruined it," she yelled, the cool air holding her voice above their heads. "When you came along I thought things would be different, you were more gentle, less silky, and funnier. And when you kissed me I was the happiest girl in the world. But then you went and ruined it."

She made a noise that screamed her frustration and he could hear her footsteps pulling away from him. A bubble of panic formed in his throat but he wasn't sure why. He couldn't help but feel like he'd forgotten something.

"Annie," he all but yelled, "What you saw, was not what you thought it was! I'm not trying to avoid you, to pretend I don't know you! That's not what I want, I just need to explain!"

"You're just another Ben Mercer," she yelled back, it sounded like she was on the other side of the street, "I will not let that happen to me again because- because I'm worth more than your games!"

"I'm not Ben, Annie!"

She didn't answer him, in fact, he couldn't even hear her footsteps anymore. That bubble of panic in his chest burst.

"Annie," he yelled but to no avail.

He took a deep breath, there was no need to panic, he could find his way back all he needed was his-

With almost frantic hands, he searched for his cane in the bottom of his leather bag but he couldn't find it. Cold swept through his body and gathered in his head, making him feel dizzy. He didn't have it, he'd left it at Annie's house on the couch! It was something he'd been doing a lot of lately, if he couldn't see it, he didn't remember it and this time it screwed him over.

Fear swallowed him all at once, he depended on his cane, it leashed him to the ground beneath him, told him which way was up and without it he was floating helplessly in the middle of nowhere. He felt out of breath, like he was drowning, his chest constricting painfully. He was going to be sick. All he could hear was the sound of his pulse behind his ears.

"Help me," he breathed, unable to find his voice.

The feeling of being lost made the ground pitch beneath his feet, this had never happened before, he didn't know what to do!

He took several steps, reaching out with wide arms for anything that would keep him from falling to pieces. Almost immediately his toes teetered on the edge of the curb but to him it was a cliff and just like that he was falling. His legs collapsed beneath him.

His hands shook violently as he dug his phone from his bag, he needed help. After several failed attempts at dialing he finally got it right and on the third ring the other side picked up.

"Hey, son," his dad said on the other side, "What's up?"

"Dad," he sounded panicked, the air rushing too quickly in and out of his lungs. He was hyperventilating. "You have to- you have to come get me-"

"Son, what's wrong, are you alright," his father's voice had turned serious, protective.

"No," he nearly cried, he'd never been alone like this, he'd never been so blind before, "I'm not. You have to help me-"

He couldn't get air into his lungs, the world was caving in around him.

"Where are you," his father demanded, the sound of his voice keeping Auggie afloat. "Where are you, son, I'll come get you."

"I- I don't know, I don't know where I am!"

"Alright, just breathe," his father understood now, what was wrong. "How did you get where you are?"

"I- I was at Annie's house and we- we took a walk- um-" he pushed through the clouds of his mind, knotting his fingers in his hair, trying to remember what direction they'd gone, he hadn't been paying attention. "We took a lef- no a right and we walked a while and we crossed- we crossed the street- Please, come get me!"

"I'm on my way," he answered assertively, his tone more calm now, trying to comfort his son, "I'm in the truck now, it will only take me a few minutes."

"Don't hang up," he cried, no longer able to keep his tears down, "Please don't leave me alone."

"Don't worry, August," his father said, trying to keep his own emotions at bay, "I'll never leave you alone. Never."


Author's Note:

Hooray!
So, penny for your thoughts?