Here's the new update! And there's a mention of a drug in here (don't worry, it's just Anxiety medicine, Xanax. Nothing illegal, and no illegal use of said medicine)

Enjoy!

~Infinity Guitars

When Opposites Attract - Chapter 4

When school finally let out, I watched as the students happily rushed through the corridors, talking with their friends about anything other than classes. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, walking outside into the chilly fall air. It was starting to get a little brisk outside, but not enough for me to wear a heavy coat just yet.

"Hey, Flaky."

I turned to see Petunia, holding a blue messenger bag that was perfectly in shape. It seemed all of her things were in pristine condition as well. I gave a polite wave in greeting, and she walked over.

"Hi, Petunia. What's going on?"

"Well, I have to finish up a report, and I wanted to know if you could tag along to the library with me."

"Sure!" I said excitedly. Petunia looked taken aback, and I immediately turned red, looking at the ground. "I-I mean, I love books, and peace and q-quiet, a-a-and I didn't get a lot of i-it on my first d-day, and"-

"Flaky, calm down!" she laughed. "I understand. Let's go!"

Before I could respond with a string of mumbling and stuttering, Petunia took my hand and led me over to her car. It was also, I soon discovered, in perfect condition; the extremely clean, glossy blue paint shone in the sunlight, practically blinding me. Once Petunia opened the door, my nostrils were hit with a wave of new car smell, with hints of pine and antiseptic on top of it. I slid into the car, and Petunia did a double check of everything before she even started it. Then she placed her hands on marked sections of the wheel, and kept them there the whole drive. It was peaceful, though. Petunia was the epitome of safe driving. Giggles... not so much.

Eventually she pulled in front of a fairly large building, which was nearly identical to the ones on our campus. The sign that read "Happy Tree Public Library" was the only thing that made it possible to tell the difference. I happily walked inside with Petunia, and she told me to look around as she went to the computer lab upstairs. I watched her ascend the huge staircase, until she- and the scent of pine- disappeared.

Walking down the aisles of books, I inhaled, taking in the scent of aged paper. It was calming to me, and calm was definitely what I needed. I glanced around, before closing my eyes, and blindly picking a book off the shelf. I used to do this when I was a child, and read plenty of good, new books that way. I struggled with the one I chose, though, and tugged on the binding, trying to get it loose from the shelf. I eventually succeeded; but felt a massacre of books falling on top of me afterwards. Trying to hold back my scream, I squealed instead, and failed to avoid the books tumbling from the shelf. They sent me to the floor, and I tried to hold back tears of embarrassment.

"...Flaky? Are you okay?"

I looked up to see blue eyes filled with worry. I also noticed a sign next to them, which said that the aisle was the encyclopedia section. I immediately stood up, feeling the stares of the patrons and librarians all around. My pulse immediately quickened, and I ran past Splendid, rushing out of the library.

I didn't care if I had a car or not; I was getting home. I urged my legs to run faster, and ignored the calls of Splendid and Petunia, who came downstairs to see what all the commotion was about.

The wind whipped at my face, and I attempted to keep my hair away from my eyes as I sprinted down my street. My hair was becoming so messy that I eventually just gave up, and dashed up to my front door, quickly shutting it behind me.

It was then when I sank to the floor, finally allowing myself to cry. This was all so embarrassing! The most nerve-wracking thing was trying to face everyone in the library after I made a mess of the section. They probably all thought I was a clumsy idiot.

I... I am a clumsy idiot! I thought bitterly, beginning to sob into my couch. I heard a knock at my door, and refused to answer it.

"G-G-Go away, S-Splendid." I said shakily.

The knock sounded again, and somebody cleared their throat.

"Ah... it's not Splendid. It's Flippy."

I looked up at the door, sitting for a few minutes, wondering what I should do. I stood up quietly, but didn't take a step towards the door.

"Flaky... I heard you rush in here and start crying your eyes out. I wanted to see if you were okay." he explained, worry creeping into his voice. There was a pause, and I heard him shift his weight outside. "Are you okay?"

I sighed, and opened the door. Flippy looked surprised at my appearance. I was most likely disheveled; my face water-stained, my eyes red and puffy, and my hair a tangled heap because I ran home so quickly. "D-Do I l-l-look o-okay?" I mumbled. My voice cracked as more tears slipped down my cheeks, and I attempted to catch my breath. It didn't work this time, however, and my hand went to my throat as I began to hyperventilate.

Flippy's eyes widened, and he quickly walked inside. "Do you have a paper bag in here?"

I frantically gestured to the kitchen, gasping for air. Flippy was in there for only a moment, and he returned with a paper bag, a plastic white bottle and a glass of water. He handed me the bag, and I desperately breathed into it, my respiration eventually slowing back to normal.

"...T-Thank y-you..." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I glanced at his hand, and noticed he was holding my bottle of medicine. Xanax. My doctor had prescribed it to me after I was diagnosed with a pretty severe Anxiety disorder. I had been dealing with it most of my life, but had only started taking medicine for it pretty recently, after I lost my mother.

"Did you take this today?" he asked.

I realized I hadn't. In my rush to get to school today I completely forgot to. Looking sheepishly up at Flippy, I shook my head, and gratefully took the bottle and glass. This was totally embarrassing. I had promised myself that I would get better, or at least try to, and I couldn't even take my medicine without somebody reminding me to do so. It was something that my mom would've done for me without even thinking about it, but I didn't have her anymore. I was all on my own.

I really had to get my act together.

"N-no..." I popped the cap open, and quickly swallowed the pill, following it with the glass of water to help it down. I leaned against the wall for a bit, listening to my pulse slowly return to normal. Eventually it calmed down enough for me to not feel panicked anymore, and my eyes cracked open to see Flippy watching me carefully. A beat of silence passed between us, but curiously enough, he seemed to be the uncomfortable one in the situation.

"Hey... I know what you're going through." he said quietly, glancing away. "Just be careful, alright?"

"A-alright..."

What did he mean? And what exactly was he going through? My thoughts formed on my tongue, but I never got up the courage to ask him about it. Instead I walked him to the front porch. Flippy threw me a tiny smile, before leaving for his house next door.

I closed the door, and groaned, walking upstairs to my room. I got my stress ball, and flopped onto my bed, tossing the stress reliever up to the ceiling from time to time. The repetitive movement was almost hypnotic, and my eyes grew heavy. Soon, I was asleep.

All I dreamt about was the color green.