Chapter seven; Sad truths
So, we found Mertil, had a big massive fight with a whole lotta Hork-Bajir, nearly got killed by a truck, and got him out of the same truck before more Hork-Bajir controllers found us.
All in a days work, as Robert would say.
We reassembled in the woods. I'd fixed my wings and flown there. I don't think I could've walked, even on two legs. I was exhausted. Physically, mentally, and… and emotionally.
(I am surprised) Mertil said plainly (that you were willing to risk your lives for me. As I am)
He was holding the stump of his tail tight against his body. Must've hurt. The poor guy. He was ashamed. If there was anything I could do to stop him from feeling that way… I would.
(We don't know what you mean) Cassie said kindly.
(I will explain) Ax said (He means he is surprised that we normal, healthy warriors risked our lives for a mere vecol) he paused, looked over at Marco with one stalk eye (Or as Marco says, someone who is 'differently abled')
(All right, what the hell is wrong with you Ax? You treat it like it's a dirty word. Well, it's not. Three words for ya pal; GET OVER IT!)
(Jeez, why can't we just get over this issue, please?) Rachel added, making me sound nuts (It's not like it's Mertil's fault he got injured. Or that he has an allergy or something. Man, I can name a few people I know who are perfectly healthy and a total waste of oxygen. In my opinion)
(I'm down with that) Marco muttered. Mertil and Gafinilan stayed silent the entire time. Gee, must have scared them.
(Ax) Jake said (You consider Gafinilan a hero of Andalite culture, right?)
Ax nodded.
(Maybe the fact that he's able to overlook physical imperfection is one of the reasons he's a hero. What do you think?)
(Prince Jake, I think the reason Gafinilan is able to overlook his friends deformities because he sees through the eyes of friendship. This is exceptional behaviour. Under ordinary circumstances, in general Andalite society, it is simply not natural to show such concern for a vecol)
Okay, I was about to throttle the guy for being so narrow-minded. Thankfully, Rachel spoke before I could do anything.
(So, friendship isn't natural?) Rachel snapped (It's abnormal?)
(What is normal anyway?) Cassie asked.
(Oh don't get me started) I moaned, rolling my eyes.
(The norm. The standard. The average) Marco said.
(Okay, I'm getting a complex over here) Tobias (I'm a nothlit. A freak. Whatever. My best friend is an alien with blue fur. My girlfriend is human- when she isn't in morph. How about we don't talk about 'normal' anymore. Or 'average' or 'natural'. Please)
Had to give the guy credit, he really knew how to give it to ya.
Then Ax, reluctantly it seemed, 'honoured' Mertil. I guess. Well, as best as I think Ax could. Jake said we'd help the two get back. And then we saw Gafinilan start up some awful sort of shaking. Like we'd seen before. When it was over, he asked us to leave him and Mertil alone. He wanted to die 'honourably'. Well, he'd proven himself to me. I knew he would.
Mertil stood tall and said (As Gafinilan has cared for me, so now I will care for him. It is my duty)
(The visser might not leave you alone) Jake pointed out.
(The visser has proven he has no use for either of us) Gafinilan retorted.
(Well, that's good. Isn't it?) I mumbled.
(He's right Jake) Marco said (If the visser comes after anyone it'll be us. For spoiling his plans)
(Oh goody) Cassie said dryly (You always know how to finish on a high note, Marco)
(Thankyou) he said.
Evil people, I know.
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Well, a week passed. It gave me time to think.
I mean, you go your whole life doing something, and when you're… you know, when something tragic happens to you, all of a sudden you're 'differently abled' as Ax and Marco put it. Stereotypical.
In my team, I guess that's true too.
Robert, the Goth rebel.
Amanda the carer… and worrier.
Also the best friend anyone could have. Seriously.
Ithiell, leader alien.
Me? I wouldn't know. I guess you could say I'm the sarcastic one, but whatever I give, Robert gives back.
Well, I guess you could say I'm the short Aussie girl. There's no way to get away from that Aussie part, at least in America. Short, I can never get away from. I will probably always be short. My mum's genes, you can bet on that.
On second thought, just call me the green-eyed monster.
So, I actually sat down with Rachel and Cassie one afternoon and told them about the 'Marco' thing. Safe to say, neither of them were surprised.
"So… what do you think I should do?" Again, I felt squeamish and a little jumpy. I played with the salt and pepper shakers, then the straw in my cup. We were at the mall, in the food court. I'm surprised Cassie actually came.
"Well, maybe you could go talk to him?" Cassie suggested. Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Really Jade, what do you see in him? He makes lame jokes, he likes to point out the worst in people, he's been treating you like dirt, and…"
"Well, maybe there's a reason. Maybe he's jealous" Cassie said.
"Of what? My invisible friend?"
"You have one of them?" Rachel snorted. I shut up.
"Look, I suggest you just go talk to him. Tell him how you feel"
I blushed "I… I don't think I'd have the nerve. I haven't ever dealt with this guy issue before. Amanda and Ithiell… well, that's different. She's literally dating another species" I managed a choked laugh. Rachel and Cassie shared glances.
"What?"
"Look, it's your call. But if you don't, you might have to feel like this forever. Or… as long as it takes for you to get over him" Rachel said, shrugging.
I nodded "Yeah, well… I… what can I say? I'm a coward"
I got up from the table.
"Thanks guys. Really. It's been good to actually talk to someone about this"
"It's ok. We're here to help" Cassie smiled at me.
About a week and a half later, Cassie asked me to come and help her clean the barn and stuff. Said her dad was out for the day, and everyone else was busy. I gratefully accepted, after babysitting almost every day since then. My mum and dad let me go, happy I was making friends here.
Honestly? I still missed Amanda. We could talk for hours and sometimes really only say nothing at all. Then… we'd been there for each other through the worst… strange how we both worked out though…
I met Cassie at her porch, wearing daggy old bike pants and an oversized white top. If I was going to get dirty, I might as well wear the worst things possible. Cassie let me borrow some 'clean' overalls, and I slipped them on. My hair was tied back as well, so it wouldn't get in my way was as I was cleaning. I must've looked like another Cassie!
She led me into the barn, telling me to wait there for a minute.
"I have to get the shovels from the other side" She said, then shut the barn door, leaving me with all the animals. They made soft sounds, but beside that, it was relatively quiet.
After five minutes I got worried. It didn't take that long to get a shovel, did it?
And when I tried to open the barn door, I realised why.
"Cassie! What are you doing?!" I cried, panicked. She'd locked me in here!
"Don't worry. We're not gonna hurt you…"
"Just help you" It was Rachel "Just stay there, and don't try to get out either. We've got some… others watching in case you do"
(No matter how small you are, if you try to get out, I'll just put you back in there) Tobias was in on this too? What the… what was going on??
"But why? What are you doing?!"
(Just wait. You'll see) He replied, and I realised he must've been somewhere nearby.
I screamed blue murder, before calming myself down with great difficulty. I took off the overalls and climbed up into the loft. Well, they said wait…
I don't know how long it was, before I heard the barn door creak open again, and a voice say 'hey!' before it slammed shut again. I bolted up, to look down at Marco. He looked up at me, shocked, and it finally dawned on me what they were trying to do. I'd seen it in a movie once, hadn't I?
"Now you two talk! I'm sick of hearing about all this stuff" Rachel yelled. I blinked, then made my way down to him. He was still standing next to the door.
"You… you got them to do this for you? You…" I shook my head, looking at him as I dropped to the ground, and headed over to him. He flinched, and backed up a little as I went to the door again. I put a hand out and leaned on it, feeling it take my weight. Too bad I knew it wouldn't open.
"No Marco. I didn't. All right. I'm not that desperate to…" I cut myself off, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks.
"To…? To what?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.
"N-nothing. Just… forget I said that" I went away from the door, walking over to one of the stalls.
"No, it's something. I can see it" I heard him following me.
"You can't see anything. You're that blind to… to things…"
"Blind to what Jade? What am I supposed to be seeing?"
"Forget it. Stupid boys…" I muttered, climbing up and sitting on an empty stall door. I looked at him. He seemed furious.
"Oh, so now we're stupid? You're the one who went off on another… on a…"
"On a what Marco? We had like… and now I see… you're just a… a ladies man, as you said. A desperate…"
"Me?! You're the one that's getting all chummy with Ax?!"
It felt like I'd been hit by a brick then. Ax?? He was jealous of Ax??
Wait, he was jealous?!!!
I stared at him. He stared right back.
"Is that what you think? My god Marco, you're even more idiotic than I first thought!" I barked a laugh. He didn't seem to think it was funny.
"Idiotic. You are… you like Ax, don't deny it" He came up to me, looking up into my eyes.
"As a friend, maybe. If he let me get close enough. But as… as… like that? No. Gee, I'm not about to do what Amanda did. I mean, not that Amanda's chosen wrong or anything. She loves Ithiell, and…"
"Okay then, here's a question" He came close, a bit too close for comfort, and rested his hands on either side of me on the door. Now our faces were just inches apart.
"What do you want from me Jade?"
I sighed "Marco, I like you. A lot. You're the only guy that's been on my mind almost constantly since I got to America. I… uh… didn't you know that? I thought it'd be obvious by now"
I was blushing probably all the shades of red anyone could imagine. I'd just laid my heart on the line for this guy. What was worse, his face was inches from my own. It was more than a little nerve-wracking.
To my surprise, he smiled at me "Yeah, I guessed. You kind of nearly got yourself killed for me. I… I guess that's enough proof"
"Well, uh, yeah. No duh Einstein" I rolled my eyes at him, and he laughed. Then, he surprised me by kissing me gently. Sweetly. When he pulled away I saw he was blushing as well. He backed up a little, and let me jump down off the stall door. When I did I wrapped my arms around him in a big hug. He returned the hug, swinging me around. I was ecstatic, I was…
"Are you two finished being all mushy and that? Is it like, safe to come in?"
"Five seconds" Marco said, giving me a peck on the lips then putting me down.
"Are we, like…"
"If you want to"
"I uh… I do"
"Great. So do I" Then his mischievous smile returned "Man is Rachel gonna be mad after this"
I rolled my eyes and laughed at him. Soon after, the others, all of them, came in and we started talking as a group. Rachel and Marco were having a contest of wits, and Marco was going on and on about something or other. Ax, being the freaky alien he was, just stood at the side, not really understanding any of it. I consoled him as a friend, and Cassie, with the help of Jake, did the animals meds. As she usually did. Tobias sat in the rafters, listening to it all, sometimes putting in a word or two.
And for the first time in months, I actually felt like I was part of the team.
I was an 'Animorph' (even though I didn't morph) and that in itself felt pretty damn good. For now, anyway.
Aaaaaannnnd that's da end of my story! Hope you liked it, and hope I didn't disappoint anyone who reads this. Sorry about it being a bit short, but I don't really do stuff like this (rewriting a book) very often. Actually, I never do it. It's too hard, anyway. Aaaaaannnnnnyyywayyyyy, go read my other stories, especially The Yeerk Reinvasion, and remember; go crazy like me and you'll always be happy