Part 1 - Ch. 9: Talk it Out
*Phyllis' P.O.V.*
I cross my arms and glare pointedly at my feet, ignoring the stares I'm obviously getting from Rock, Roll, Ice, and Cut. Grandpa Light and Zero have yet to leave the lab, and whatever they're doing is of no concern to me- as they refuse to let any of us down there.
Whatever. As long as Gramps isn't taking Zero apart down there for more of his memory, I'm fine with this, I think to myself, despite the way I'm drumming my fingers lightly along my forearm and staring up at the ceiling. I'm exhausted- near the point of just passing out actually. Yet for some reason...
"Doc-ette, maybe you'll fall asleep easier if you'd just lie down...?" Cut suggests in a half query, though I don't spare him a glance despite hearing him clearly. At this, Rock laughs dryly under his breath from where he sits- on the opposite end of the couch I'm sitting on. The icing to the cake? Turns out that he's still pissed at me- and it certainly shows now that it's been a couple hours since the incident in the basement with Zero.
I shoot Rock the nastiest side glance I can make, since I can't really say anything about how snooty he's acting. I still want to apologize and clear things up by confessing, but not having a voice sort of makes it... difficult. Not to mention that with every passing second he deliberately shows his discontent with me, it makes me want to apologize less and less.
So with that cleared... It means I have to sit here, grinning and bearing his nonsensical attitude.
I wanna go home... I think, staring across the room out a window. Not to Grandpa Light's place either, I mean home-home.
M eyebrows knit together as I shift my gaze down towards a window to the left where I can't see Rock brooding to himself. It's pitch black with the porch lights off, and even darker with the contrasting indoor lights.
...My eyes eventually make out movement in the reflection, causing my eyes to slightly widen when I see Rock making gestures towards Cut and Ice on the opposite couch, with Roll at the very back making gestures for Rock to either go to me or turn to me. One of the two, I think. It's pretty obvious that Rock and I aren't on good terms at the moment, and the other robots want to fix it.
Rock on the other hand, looks like he's arguing against their pushy suggestions. My eyes narrow on his reflection like a hawk, tracing his frustrated expression as he waves the other robot's motions away with a gesture of his own.
About one hundred percent done with this issue and Rock's arrogant attitude, I let out a heavy huff of air and get up on my feet- the complete opposite of what Cut has suggested I do- and speed walk towards the kitchen without a care about the verbal objections of all in the living room as I make my exit.
"Phyllis-!" I hear Rock say, prompting me to turn and face him with an swift spin so that he skids to a stop before he can run into me.
"What?" I demand, speaking for the first time in hours since the attack. Roll nearly doubles over behind Rock at the sound of my tone and voice- which is gravelly and raspy, yet still retains its feminine lilt as I snap at the brown haired robot.
Surprised at my current voice though, I reach up to touch my neck and make a face of disappointment. I really hope that's not permanent...
My surprise doesn't last long, as I recall the reason for speaking up and look back at Rock pointedly. Rock, however, glances nervously from side to side as if looking for an escape route from my glare. Other than that, he doesn't answer my snappy query.
...
"Phyllis, where are you going?" Ice asks carefully, pushing past Rock so that he's speaking to me instead. Considering it's Ice, I relax the tension in my muscles and swing a thumb over my shoulder to point towards the refrigerator, reaching back and tying my hair into a self-made ponytail to get it out of my face.
With lithe movements, I turn and casually walk the rest of the way into the kitchen. Opening the fridge with one hand, I only open the door a crack when I hear- clink!
Confused, I let go of the metal handle and grab it again. Clink!
Hey, why does the fridge make that noise whenever I grab the handle? I wonder, releasing the handle and grabbing it with my other hand as I bring my right up to inspect it. Before I can really look at my right hand, my left palm makes a similar clinking sound as my fingers wrap around the metal handle, bringing my attention back to the fridge door.
I glance back up towards the living room to see the robots all talking together, Roll, Ice, and Cut visibly chastising and conversing with Rock. They haven't noticed yet...
Sweat coats my brow as I look down at my free hand and turn it over.
The blue marks on my palm are gone. In the place of the dotted circular shape in my right hand is an ovaline crystal that shimmers an ocean green gemmy color, making my hand stiff and unable to bend properly. It sits embedded in the skin of my palm about the size of an egg- half protruding in a flattened dome-like shape on both of my palms as I bring them up to my face curiously.
What...? I think, gaping slightly at the shiny gems in confusion.
"Phyllis?"
I close my hands into fists and rest them on my sides, looking towards the robots and ignoring the odd sensation of my enlarged, inflexible palms with the hard crystals embedded in them. Where did those oval spheres come from? When did they appear? Zero was with me near the end of the incident... Did it maybe happen during the time I was hiding?
...Was I really hiding, or did I get found and just have my memory wiped? Were they not expecting Zero to be able to catch an image of them in his memory? Is that the only real reason I can honestly now say that they're real?
...And what are the purpose of the stones in my hands?
"Hello? Doctor Phyllis?" Roll snaps me out of my musings, bringing my attention down to them after I gaze off into the distance. Confused by the look of concern on the blonde Phylbot's face, I relax my features and raise a simple questioning brow. Upon my look, Roll looks back towards Rock and frowns, grabbing his wrist and pulling him in front of herself to face me. Rock looks like a cornered rabbit, and I can't help but want to giggle a little at the sight despite the irritation I still feel towards him. "You two need to talk things out. Right now. Cut, Ice, and I will be upstairs!"
Before Rock can make an objection, he turns only for us to see the Roll dragging Cut and Ice quickly towards the living room, the expressions of blank surprise evident on both Cut's and Ice's faces as they vanish around the corner and out of sight. With us alone, I look back down at Rock and relax my features into an apologetic stare so that when he turns to face me again, his prepared expression of defiance dissolves immediately.
We're silent for a good five minutes, staring at each other quietly until I let out a soft sigh.
"I'm sorry," I manage in a quiet raspy voice, making sure only Rock himself can hear me. Even if the other robots are trying to eavesdrop, they won't hear a thing. Rock looks surprised- which is reasonable since it's usually it's him who apologizes first. He knows how stubborn I am, so he tries his best to avoid holding a grudge for so long. Once I'm sure I have his attention, I continue, even though it hurts my sore throat. "You asked me if I had feelings for you... To be completely honest... I don't understand what those feelings actually are. I will say that I do feel something, though I don't know what it is yet..."
Rock blinks, his blue eyes beginning to shine that bright hue that confuses me all of the time. Considering my news, I have no idea what causes him to make that expression as I continue.
"My real answer isn't that I don't have feelings for you... It's actually that I don't know if I have feelings for you," I reply, looking down at my feet and hugging myself to rub my palms up and down my arms. "...Not that it really matters anyways..." Considering you said you don't have feelings for me like that whatsoever. "Just wanted to be honest. I didn't realize this until you stormed out before."
Rock hesitates to speak, but eventually lets out a small nervous laugh and reaches back to scratch his head anxiously with red cheeks. "Wh-what do you mean it doesn't 'really matter'? Of course it matters... They're your feelings. Those are important," Rock explains easily, smiling despite his bashful body language. "I might not be your prince charming, but I know for sure that someone out there will see how amazing of a person you are."
"...Right," I reply shortly with a stiff scratchy voice, sneaking a glance at one of my palms to see the shimmering stone embedded in my palm. "I'm trying to be honest here, Rock. So let's be completely real for a moment."
Rock's smile fades when I look back down at him, my expression flat and tired.
"I'm an eighteen year old girl who's spent her whole life making robots for a living. A girl who's spent a good three years dealing with 'hallucinations' and therapists over something I thought was entirely in my head. I've seen five different doctors because of cuts becoming infected along my body, my parents have never truly loved each other, I've been told that everything I've been seeing is just a manifestation of my insecurities and stress in life- like I'm a piece of glass. The only times I've gone outside since I started seeing a therapist and dropped out of public school to take private homeschooling lessons three years ago, was for the robot unveiling... And to get a dress for the date I'm not going on tomorrow," I explain casually, drumming my right fingers along my arm quickly. "For an organic person, it means my social skills have probably dwindled quite a lot for that three year period. I haven't even been able to speak to my friend Cecilia because I'm worried I'll say something socially awkward."
Rock looks speechless by my words.
"...Is it sinking in yet?" I say more than ask, with my expression never wavering. "That guy's going to eventually figure out that the Wily-Light kid who supposedly became schizophrenic isn't one of my brothers. Especially now that they know who's the grandchild that builds robots in the family."
"Phyllis, you're not crazy though! We figured out that what you've been seeing is real and-!" Rock starts, but I cut him off with a soft, humorless laugh.
"No one is going to believe that, Rock. Come on... I wouldn't like me either if I was given the option," I finish, turning towards the fridge nonchalantly- as if we're talking about casual life gossip rather than personal feelings towards my self-worth.
I pause as I hear the clinking of my oval crystals against the door handle as I grab it. Rock, once again, is too busy gaping at me to notice. Which makes me realize yet another thing.
"...It's been three years and they came back," I speak up again, my raspy voice becoming a painful sensation of grating vibrations in my throat as I continue to talk. Rock looks like he wants to say something, but stays silent as he stares up at me despondently. "...No one is going to see how 'amazing' of a person I am. Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead before then."
Rock audibly gasps and slaps his synthetic hands over his mouth in shock, fear flashing across his blue irises. "DON'T SAY THAT!" He shouts in horror, but I ignore his outburst by pulling the fridge door open and reaching in to grab a bottle of water I'd put in earlier that night.
"Why? I'm just being honest. I thought that was what you wanted," I spit back lowly, hands fisting painfully hard to the point that my knuckles turn white. My heart skips a beat when I look at his face, filling me with that strange feeling I get when I look at him. I ignore it and refuse to acknowledge the feeling due to my stressed state- knowing that mentioning it to Rock will only stress me out further.
Rock gives me a mixed look of frustration and worry, like he's not sure which emotion he should be giving priority to. "That's not being honest, that's being morbid! You can't possibly believe that, Phyllis... I mean, I wasn't completely honest with you earlier either! I-"
"I don't want to hear anything else, Rock!" I argue, stomping a foot into the ground in hopes that the loud sound will make him shut up. My throat feels raw and dry like sandpaper, and raising my voice hurts. Rock keeps on trying to make me feel better... But it's just making me feel worse with every attempt! "Just leave me alone! I'm done talking to you! I'm done talking to all of you!"
I skirt around Rock on quick-footed steps with my water bottle at hand, racing past him and the three robots that are huddled behind the side wall leading to the kitchen. I shoot past them and up the stairs, running for the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind me with a lock.
Once I'm secure and solitary, I lean back against a wall and slide down all the way to the floor, pulling my knees up against my chest. My heart is pounding like crazy and it's a little difficult to breathe, but a few deep breaths and I manage to calm myself down again. Squeezing my eyes shut, I gently thump the back of my head against the wall and resist the urge to break down into tears again.
This gives me an oddly familiar sense of déjà vu... I think to myself, sinking my nails into the sides of my knees as I recall the horrible feelings of helplessness I'd experienced back when I was fifteen. When I broke down in this same house... And Rock sat down on the other side of the door to comfort me. Not this time though... I don't want comfort- I just want everything to stop.
I run my hands through my hair, grabbing tightly on the wavy green tresses with a painful grip as I look up to stare across the bathroom. There's no one in here but me.
And there's no one on the other side of the door.
...
I want to go home.
My legs automatically bring me up onto my feet, even before I register that I'm moving. Something about the action feels completely right... It's probably a risky plan, but after all that's been happening this night, I just have the unavoidable urge to go back home- even if my mother doesn't want me there.
I don't care, I want to go home, I realize, walking across the bathroom to a small window above the toilet that can be opened and easily crawled out of.
I carefully stand on the toilet lid and use slow movements to open the window as silently as possible, only halting once it's a good width for me to climb up and slide through. I push up with my arms quickly, my bare feet in midair as I begin to climb through the window with my arms and-
"Meow!"
I halt and look towards the bushes ahead of the window to see a small white and orange tabby peeking at me through leaves, prompting me to blink back at it in surprise despite my previous urges to get back home. I've never seen this cat before- and the many cats I've usually seen around this area aren't small like this little guy.
While I lay there with my body half sticking out of the window, the kitten takes a couple rather bold skips forward towards my face, leaning close with it's curious gold eyes and sniffing my nose studiously. I can't help but look around for another cat- where is this little thing's mother? In my search, I eventually shift forward a bit more and look down the side of the house, past the driveway where I can see the street.
My heart sinks when I catch sight of something white and brown laying on the road, which looks like the only answer I need to my previous question.
"Meoow!" The kitten mewls again, pawing at my hair as I turn my face back to look at it. I can't help but snicker when it flops on its side to kick and gnaw at my hair playfully. I flick my eyes one more time towards the road, my escape route to get back home... And pull myself the rest of the way out of the window with a yawn.
I don't wanna stay here, but I also can't exactly go home and face my mom either. So where do I go then?
I push myself up onto my feet and turn to close the window- but after a second, I decide to leave it open. It's less risky than closing it and making a possible sound.
"Meow!" The kitten mewls again as I walk past it to the brown and white thing in the street, following and forcing me to carefully watch where I'm placing my feet when it continues to walk in my path. I have to be careful, or else I might trip and hurt it- or hurt myself.
With little lighting to see, I fish my communicator out of my short's pocket and turn on the built in flash light as I approach the street. I'm close enough to see the blood under the matted fur of the large house cat as the light from my comm. device illuminates the area, making my expression fall with sympathy as the kitten paws at the limp tail of the cat before meowing at me more.
...Poor thing must feel so alone, I think somberly, turning the light off and kneeling down to console the kitten.
I feel bad that the mama cat is dead, and half of me wants to take care of its kitten... But Grandpa Wily is allergic to cats. Most of all though, I've never had a pet in my entire life. I wouldn't even begin to know how to take care of a cat- much less a kitten.
...
I open my contacts list on my comm. device and send a call to Cecilia, despite all my nerves screaming at me not to. We're not friends- but we aren't enemies either. Last I talked to her, she'd been wanting a cat pretty bad... Maybe she still wants one? That is, if she doesn't already have one by now, considering it's been two years...
I patiently walk away from the carcass on the street with the kitten following me diligently over a grassy hill across the street from Grandpa Wily's house. My footsteps are somewhat slow and casual as I walk, enough for the kitten to keep up with me as I listen to the connecting sounds of my communicator linking with that of my ex-friend's comm. device.
"What? Now you want to be friends again? What do you want," Cecilia's voice cuts in immediately, causing me to wince slightly at her tone as I take a seat on the grass once I'm over the hill at a good level where any robot in Grandpa Wily's house won't be able to see me if they look out the window.
"That's not what I'm calling for. I just wanted to know if you had a cat yet- there's a kitten who's mother got ran over on my Grandpa Wily's street and I can't take it in. I was wondering if you-"
"No," she snaps before hanging up on me and leaving me the dead tone of the broken line, which is as broken as our friendship. I let out a sigh and pull my comm. device away from my ear, prompting the kitten to jump on my lap and swat at my communicator on the other side, entranced with how quickly I'd moved it.
I roll my eyes but still crack a smile as I stroke it's orange colored fur gently, which doesn't seem to bring its attention away from my communicator. When my comm. device suddenly starts vibrating with a call, the kitten tries to attack it playfully, but I bring it back up to my ear as I answer it without checking the caller's info.
"Hello?" I ask dryly. I don't really want to talk to anyone anymore, but there's a slim chance that it might be...
"...What color is it?" I eventually hear the voice of Cecilia question shyly, which has me snorting with laughter. This is something she used to do when we were still friends. Saying "no" to something and then thinking about it before coming back to gauge a few more details out of me.
"It's an orange tabby." I look down at the kitten, which is now using it's little claws to climb up my shirt like Velcro. "...With white socks."
I hear her gasp and continue with a small voice, "With pretty golden gems for eyes...?"
"Yes, Cecilia. With pretty golden gems for eyes," I confirm, moving my hair to my other shoulder when I feel the kitten getting itself tangled in my wavy tresses as it swats at the moving locks. "Hey, stop attacking my hair and climbing me! Do I look like a human jungle gym?!"
"Yus," Cecilia answers for the kitten, causing me to drop my hair with a flat look of annoyance.
"I was talking to the kitten," I say, which she replies immediately with, "I am my kitten's voice."
...
"I'm almost there, I just needed to write a note for my boyfriend," She says after a couple minutes of shuffling on the line.
"Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend?" I ask curiously. Of course, I expect no less from her, Cecilia is really pretty...
"Yeah. I met him a year ago. You'd have known if you hadn't started ignoring me," she throws out casually, causing me to sigh heavily once again.
"I didn't mean to ignore you, I just...!" I pinch the bridge of my nose, as if it will help me find the right words to express. "You don't wanna hang out with a crazy person like me, Cecilia. It's not healthy for you."
"Um, that was my decision to make. Not yours. Maybe I did want to hang out with a crazy person. Maybe I didn't even think you were crazy at all," Cecilia blurts out, her voice raising as she continues. "If you really didn't want to be my friend anymore, you should have just said it to my face instead of blaming it on excuses."
"Cecilia, I did want to stay your friend! Hell, I still want to be your friend right now! But I didn't know how to talk to you after I-!" I cut myself off stiffly, my own raised voice startling the kitten in my hair enough to make it tumble out of my wild tresses and on the grass to scan the area for danger. Man, I seriously have a temper...
"Wow, okay. No need to be so pushy," Cecilia suddenly continues with a snicker, but I flinch in surprise when I hear her voice half outside of my communicator's speaker.
Confused, I look around until I spot a slightly familiar thin girl with short brown hair standing at the top of the hill behind me. My eyes take in her height, which now surpasses my own by a good five inches or more when I too get up on my feet to greet her.
She visibly hangs up and sticks her communicator in her pocket, giving me a familiar fox-like grin that has me raising an eyebrow. "I'll be your friend again if it's that big of a deal to you," she finishes, shrugging in mock nonchalance.
"...Hey, wait a minute-!" I realize, causing her to suddenly start cackling in laughter when I replay our entire conversation in my mind. "Wait, wait, wait, did you start an argument just so I would-?!"
"Admit you still wanted to be friends? Yes. Yes I did," she says brightly, kicking a spare dead leaf down the hill as she closes the distance between us at a moderate pace and continues with a slightly sober tone. "I'll admit that I was sort of afraid you'd say you ignored me because you specifically didn't want to be myfriend anymore... I'd been scared about that idea since we stopped talking, but I decided against asking you and tried not to think about it too much. Before I knew it, it was already a year, and I felt like I couldn't ask anymore after so much time passed."
My expression drops with guilt. I had no idea she felt like that... And it's my fault for not speaking to her and explaining myself earlier.
"Never. I never wanted us to not be friends. I thought... I thought distancing myself from you would make things easier for the both of us. You had other friends too, you know? I figured-" I begin, looking down at my bare feet where the kitten is slowly inching away towards Cecilia's black sneakers as she stops a good five feet away, crossing her arms and pulling her leather jacket closed a bit more to conceal the cropped blue top she has on underneath.
"Phyllis, your best friend may have been Rock, but you were my best friend. I told you everything. I thought we could never be torn apart because we'd been together since we were toddlers. When you stopped talking to me, I tried to make a bond like that with my other friends, and all I got were cheap imitations... I didn't want a replacement, I wanted you," she clarifies, looking back up at me and meeting my eyes unflinchingly.
My throat feels tight and sore, like I've got an ice cube lodged in my already mangled airways. If there's ever a time I've felt like crying in front of someone willingly, now's certainly feeling like that time.
"...Can we start over? Clean slate?" I ask with a soft smile, just as the kitten has jumped on Cecilia's leggings to climb up with insistent mewls for attention. At this, Cecilia looks down and laughs, peeling the kitten off of her pants to gather it in her arms.
"Of course we can!" She blinks innocently at me, and then drops her smile to gaze at me in mock wonder. "Hey, hey, do I know you? You look so familiar! I'm Cecilia Johnson, what's your name, stranger?"
I make a face despite my smile. "On second thought, never mind. You're a dork," I say as I turn to leave, resulting in an arm slinging around my shoulders to turn me back around.
"Nope, we're taking you back to your Grandpa's house. I still know you, Phyl. You came out without letting any of them know, right? For shame! Bad girl! Besides, you look like you need sleep," Cecilia chides playfully, directing me up the hill until I can see the front of the house and an unfamiliar car parked on the street closest to the hill. Must be hers, but that's the least of my worries as I stare at Grandpa Wily's house for a moment... And grimace immediately.
"Ugh, I can't... There's some huge drama between Rock and I right now. Grandpa Light came up to the both of us at different times today because he thought we had a crush on each other," I explain as we pause at the top of the hill and take a seat to stare at the lights in the house flitting through the closed curtains of the living room windows. "Now it's all awkward between us..."
Cecilia's eyebrows shoot up in shock as she faces me. "You don't have a crush on Rock? I've thought you liked him since we were in the junior high," she confesses, causing my eyes to nearly bug out as I look back at her.
"What? What made you think that?" I ask in honest bewilderment, cocking my head slightly to the side.
Cecilia blushes slightly. "W-well, you always talked about how sweet and cool he was... You also had this really happy and bright look in your eyes whenever he was brought up in a conversation."
I pause to think back to when we were in junior high, but I can't remember the specifics of our conversations- a guilty reminder that I probably should have been a better friend than I actually was. I truly don't deserve this girl in my life...
"Actually..." She adds thoughtfully, touching her chin and looking up at the trees above us. "Now that I think about it, you kind of used to talked a lot about him."
My face gets unbearably hot as she turns a studious eye on me, leering as if it will help her find answers to the mystery between Rock and I.
"...Yeah, this is what our current issue is about. We haven't had a mature conversation since earlier tonight. At first, I told him I didn't have feelings for him because he said he didn't like me back either- and I thought that would be it... Until he started accusing me of lying since I've been stuttering and getting ditzy around him from the moment Grandpa Light brought it up to me. I guess I completely lost my sanity and blew up at him to get out- but later I told him that the truth: that I do feel something, but I'm not sure what it is."
Cecilia looks overcome with delight when I look back at her to see the big stupid smile spread across her cheeks. "Keep going. Tell me more about what you feel."
I can't tell if she's happy that I'm confiding in her, or if she's in awe at the whole issue between me and Rock. At her urging though, I hesitate slightly and purse my lips before I continue where I've left off.
"Well for starters, I thought I was just getting angry at first. When I started feeling it when I was relaxed though, I started to suspect it wasn't that I was mad. I feel that weird way whenever I'm around Rock, to the point that I can't maintain eye contact like a normal person. My hands will get sweaty- I'll feel like a million eyes are judging me- there will be these spinning, fluttery feelings in my chest... Also, I completely forgot how to English earlier today and ended up stumbling about his 'weight' and 'great'. I really don't know what's wrong with me..." I finish, burying my face in my hands and wincing back when I feel the pain of the stones hitting my cheekbones too hard.
"Phyllis," Cecilia speaks, urging my gaze to slide from my palms to her stare of amusement. "You totally have a crush on Rock. It's completely obvious- that feeling is you being nervous around him! Your hands get sweaty and you can't maintain eye contact with him because you think he might not like you back! You're scared of rejection!"
I gawk at her in shock, but resist the urge to deny since I don't really know much about the feeling. Hell, she's the one with a boyfriend. She must have experience with feelings like these! How could I oppose her points without an experience of my own to counter?
"I use to get like that all the time before I asked my boyfriend out!" Ah, there it is. She does have experience. "And even though he could say no, I jumped in and took the chance... Thankfully, he ended up liking me back!" Cecilia grins and nudges my shoulder imploringly with her own, brown eyes sparkling like diamonds. "You should confess now that you know what your real feelings are...! Ask him out! He might have just said he didn't like you because he was afraid of rejection too! If you're completely honest, he will be honest too. Besides, he trusts you."
I bite my lip and shake my head, looking down at the kitten that was now weaving around our hips curiously and still swatting at my hair behind me. "I don't know... Maybe this is a bad idea."
"Hmm... Why don't we go inside and have a talk with Rock? Or in this case, you talk to him- and I observe his reactions from the sideli-"
"Nonononono!" I blurt out in horror, kneeling to face her properly as I make eye contact with the grinning brunette. "I can't do it! The last thing I said to him was that I was done talking with him. I can't just go back on my word twenty minutes later! Besides, Grandpa Light already vetoed the idea of Rock and I creating a relationship. He said I needed to stick to dating huma-!"
My communicator vibrates and cuts me off mid sentence, prompting me to pull it out and scan the screen as I open my messages up.
Home2: "Phyllis, where are you?! Why did you climb out of the bathroom window?!"
"Is that Rock messaging you?" Cecilia asks as she leans closer to read.
"Considering the near perfect grammar, the inclusion of alarmed punctuation and the exclusion of mentioning who is sending the message due to their alarm: Yes. It's definitely Rock," I sourly reply, opening my keyboard to message him back despite really not wanting to since...
...Nah, texts don't count!
Phyllis:"Look around outside, bozo. I'm literally in plain sight."
I wait patiently after sending, looking up at the house before I feel a hand touch my neck curiously. I jerk a bit in surprise, until I see Cecilia staring at my neck in concern. "What happened to your neck...?" She asks in disbelief.
Her curiosity of my neck makes me self conscious, and I pull back slightly as I make an uneasy face. "I got strangled by a hallucination, I guess," I reply, considering I don't really have a concrete answer to explain it. "Zero got a picture though- so it's not as much of a hallucination as we all originally thought it was. Other than that-"
"Zero? Who's 'Zero'?" She interjects curiously, whom I quickly fill her in on before continuing on about the hallucination.
"I didn't get to see what Zero caught, and I haven't been able to talk to him or Grandpa Light since the attack happened. But that's why my voice sounds raspy and throaty, in case you were wondering," I say, speaking a little louder to show her.
"Oh... I thought you were doing too much hookah or something," she admits, an attempt to brighten up the mood that makes me snort with a playful scowl and push her over so she tilts completely onto her side. At that, the kitten races to her head and swats at her short hair vehemently. When my expression becomes anxious and my worries that she'll shrug off my claims as just crazy talk begin to envelope me, she speaks up again. "I believe you."
My eyes shoot back up to her, shocked by her words even more than she appears to be shocked by mine. "You do?" I echo flatly in disbelief.
She smiles at me honestly, head tilted slightly as she sits up and brings the playful kitten on her lap to play with. "Of course I do. Until I'm proven wrong, I believe everything you say... With a grain of salt of course, but regardless if it's true or false, I'm here with you every step of the way. I'm not going to let you ignore me anymore- don't worry!" Her face becomes a creepy grin as she leans closer mockingly. "You'll never get rid of me."
"Oh-kaaay! Lemme stop you right there before you go all 'seven days' on me..." I tease as she stands back up and grabs my hand to pull me up with her. Of course, as observant as she is, she instantly feels the strange cool stone in my palm and pauses to blink and look down at my hand curiously.
"Whoa...! Pretty," she comments upon turning my hand over and back to touch the cool stones. When her fingers graze the stone, I jerk in surprise and she yanks her hand back to look at my shorter form in confusion. "What? Did I hurt you? Sorry!"
"No, no, it didn't hurt. It kind of tickled...? You're the first person to notice those actually. They just kinda appeared on my hands after the attack in the lab earlier... I have no idea how they got there," I state, tapping the stone with my other finger.
"'They'?" She inquires, which makes me raise both my palms to reveal both blue-green hued dome crystals.
"'They'," I confirm with an uneasy nod.
She takes one of my hands again to gently touch the stone. It's definitely a ticklish sensation that her touch is giving the rocks, but how can I feel it? Are the stones organic? What even are they?!
"This is crazy...! Because this is totally proof that you're not crazy!" Cecilia states, holding my hand tightly and looking back up at me as if she's had an epiphany. "Phyllis, you yourself are your own proof that everything that's been happening to you is real! I mean-!"
"HEY!"
Cecilia and I look back towards the house to see the familiar short figure of Rock running over to our hill, his breathing completely stable as he reaches us and suddenly halts when he notices Cecilia beside me. His expression becomes shocked- his left eye twitching slightly when his eyes drag down to our linked hands.
"Oh. Am I interrupting something?" He asks rather shortly, causing me to look down and narrow my eyes on Cecilia when I see her eyes flash with purpose. Before I know it, she suddenly shifts closer to my side with a seductive air to her body language, an obvious attempt to get a rise out of Rock.
"I dunno! Phyllis, is he interrupting something?" She teases with a sultry voice and a pucker of her lips as she leans closer- to the point that I have to plant a hand on her face and push her back a foot away.
"No, you are not interrupting anything- because there is nothing to interrupt," I comment dryly as Cecilia shifts back from me and drops my hand- not before sending me a look that says our conversation will continue later.
"Anyways, nice to see you again, Rock! Phyl, I'd love to stay, but I better head back before my boyfriend," I roll my eyes and grumble incoherently at her emphasis, "wakes up and finds me gone. After all, he hates waking up without his morning cuddles~!"
Dear God, I think with a single raised eyebrow as she scoops up the kitten and uses it's paw to wave at me. Before she shifts back to leave, she walks back up to me and hugs me quickly. My heart immediately warms with comfort, until it's broken by the kitten climbing to her shoulder so it can swat at both of our hair. At that, she snickers with laughter and untangles the energetic cat from my tresses.
"Say bye-bye, kitty-kins!" She chirps as she's walking down the hill to her car, opening it up with fingerprint and hopping in with the kitten. Before she zooms off, she gives me one last wave that I return- and she leaves with a leftover flash of her red tail lights as she eventually turns a corner.
...
"Who was that?" Rock demands a little bit after, his blue eyes turning away from the street to look at me.
At first, I feel a spark of anger at the way he asks me that question, but a quick exhale later, I stop my emotions from bursting.
"That was Cecilia, Rock. You didn't recognize her? I called her because of that kitten she took. That's its mother down there," I explain, pointing down at the cat in the street that he might not have noticed until then. Considering his visible surprise, I'm guessing he was far too concerned with me to pay attention to it upon crossing the street before.
"Oh, that was Cecilia? Holy crap, she's grow-" Rock starts, before halting his words immediately. I can't help the way my face twists in immense amusement when I remember the last time he said those words. Apparently, Rock remembers it too, because his face goes tomato red beside me as he realizes what he's repeating. Things are still very awkward between us- and I know an argument can break out at any moment if I don't control my feelings or what I say, but I'm just too amused not to say anything after this. Besides, we have to forgive each other sometime right?
"Has she now? Hm. I didn't think you'd be able to tell-" I nearly sputter with laughter as I prepare my jab, "-with her clothes on...!"
Rock whips his head in my direction to scowl at me in warning. "Excuse me?! I'm trying to make things as non-awkward as possible! You're not helping!" He accuses, which makes me abruptly stop laughing to say something.
"I like you," I drop as casually as possible, right before immediately walking straight past him and back towards the house without checking behind to see his reaction. If my jab didn't make things awkward before then that definitely is the icing to the cake that is the air of awkwardness between us.
Did I really just do that? Oh my God, I really just did that, I think with hollow disbelief. That was totally not the right time to drop the bomb on him, oh my God, what have I done?
My face is an expression of horror as I enter the house through the front door, visibly startling Ice as he passes the front door with Cut at his side. When Ice slaps a hand on Cut's arm to get his attention on me, they both halt dead in their tracks to give me gawks of surprise.
"Uh, you okay there, Doc-ette? You look like you've seen a ghost... Which I wouldn't doubt you for at all considering what happened earlier," Cut says carefully, speaking as if any wrong word will shatter me like glass.
"I'm just tired," I lie right to their face- and by the looks of it, it's a terrible lie as per usual.
"...Okay then. Sleep tight," Ice answers, despite the expressions on their faces that show exactly how much they believe my words. My guess is that they're sparing me of their questions so I can get some sleep...
"Hnn..." I grunt in reply as I drag myself up the stairs like a zombie- partially due to the repercussions my confession may have on me later, and half because I'm just in desperate need of sleep.
When I reach my bedroom, I don't even bother to close the door- walking in and landing face down on my bed. The nice feeling of sleep takes over my mind like a blanket, and for a moment, I can't help but smile at all the drama and distractions in my life. There's so much that it almost makes me forget about the shadow creatures that are, confirmed as of tonight, still following me.
...
Does this mean I don't have to go on that date tomorrow?
A/N: Guys, guys, guys- Part 1 of this story (the Classic fraction) was originally only supposed to be four chapters. FOUR!
I was so impatient about getting to the X Era (Part 2), but I actually enjoy how well taking my time has improved on Phyllis character. At first, I wasn't putting too much thought in her characterization until the X Era, but with a little spice here and sugar there... This has been a good first half.
