When Opposites Attract - Chapter 8

Quite some time had passed after the party. It had been around a month and things reverted back to normal... whatever "normal" was; people weren't as awkward around me anymore, once they had seen how quiet I was around Flippy. It was almost like they didn't want me near him. They acted as if I was too naive to see it, but I was far from that. The more I thought about it what he told me, the more sense everything made. To an extent. I was almost hyperaware of what people said to me and how they said it, always subconsciously looking for hidden meanings that I never deciphered. Something about Happy Tree was dangerous. What was it? Why wouldn't anyone tell me?

Ever since Flippy's apology, I thought we'd be possibly be able to speak to each other- maybe not like we had previously, but something at least. Instead, he remained silent in the few classes we had together. He didn't even look at me anymore. After a multitude of failed attempts at getting him to talk to me, to even acknowledge my existence, I gave up on it completely, tired of talking to a brick wall. I was left in the dark, totally confused why he turned into a blank slate.

Splendid didn't mind, though.

Instead of keeping his distance from Flippy as usual, he would confidently talk to me in class, crossing the invisible barrier the two had between each other at all times just to interact with me. He didn't even regard the green haired boy's presence, just like Flippy ignored mine. All the while, Flippy would stay silent, fiddling with a pencil like he always did, keeping his eyes glued to his notes or straight ahead at the whiteboard. I got the feeling that Splendid enjoyed the new aura between Flippy and I; like the more distant he became, the better it was. Still, I never found the courage to ask Splendid about Flippy, although was obvious the two were rivals of some sort. I just stopped asking questions altogether. Life seemed to get easier for me here when I didn't pry. So I didn't.

"Flaky? Are you listening to me?"

I sighed, meeting Giggle's exasperated gaze with a sheepish look. I supposed my mind had drifted elsewhere when she was talking to me.

"You're still sleeping over tonight, right?"

I nodded. She'd been planning this sleep over for about a week. It was silly to me that this was even happening, since Giggles lived directly across the street from me. But she insisted on me coming over anyway, and once Giggles made up her mind about something, there was no arguing with her.

"We're going to the movies too." she declared, standing next to my desk as the bell rang, signaling that class was over and the lunch period began.

"What movie are we seeing?" I asked absentmindedly as I gathered my things into my backpack, heading out into the corridor with the rest of the students.

"Flowers in the Wind, of course!" she squealed, and I held back a groan, mimicking her excited smile with my own.

"Oh... great!"

Personally, I hated romantic comedies with the whole of my existence. They were too... mushy for me. And as ironic as it seemed, I held a preference for horror movies. They gave me a chance to be scared for a valid reason, and that was certainly an empowering feeling; to be able to scream in a crowded room and not get looked down upon because everyone else was screaming right along with you.

I fiddled with the combination of my locker's handle, speaking more to metal wall in front of me than Giggles.

"A-are you sure we can't see anything else?"

"There's that new horror movie, but why would we see that? Too gory." she waved it off, and smiled. "Besides, romantic comedies are great for dates. Guys love them."

I was pretty sure that guys didn't love romantic comedies, but who was I to question it? Giggles had practically every guy in school drooling over her; she had to know what she was doing.

Maybe it's a reverse psychology sort of thing... I thought as I finally got the locker open, before I froze up.

"D-did you just say... date?"

Giggles laughed, patting me on the shoulder.

"Yes, a date. I'm going with Cuddles, and Petunia's going with Handy."

"B-but"-

"Oh, don't worry! I got you somebody too!"

I shut my eyes, exhaling quietly. I already knew who Giggles effortlessly invited on my behalf, and I knew for a fact that it wasn't who I'd rather watch a crappy movie with. Splendid was nice, but I didn't like him that way- he was a good friend as is. I bit my lip as my thoughts flickered to the one who was currently ignoring me, for unknown reasons. Immediately after, I tried to shove that train of thought far away to the back of my mind. Why the hell would Flippy go on a date with me? He didn't even want to talk to me anymore. Any hopes for that were dashed away a month ago.

"Giggles, y-you didn't have to ask S-Splendid"-

"Splendid?" She looked confused for a moment. "I didn't ask Splendid. Did you want me to?" she adopted a thoughtful expression, grinning from ear to ear. "Because I can make that happen, and"-

"N-no! T-that's not necessary. W-who did you ask?" I stammered.

"Shifty."

Shifty. The twin brother of Lifty. The one who was an obvious troublemaker, and excellent partner in crime. The one who wore that stylish fedora, the look of it just screaming that it was stolen, but he obviously didn't care.

What the hell was Giggles thinking?

"Shifty..." I repeated.

"Yeah. The guy loves how cute you are." She laughed "Especially your outfits."

I made a mental note to not wear any jewelry tonight.

I sighed, shutting my locker closed with a little more force than necessary. Giggles meant well, but she put me in situations that I didn't wish to be in. A lot. I racked my brain for any valid excuse to cancel, but I couldn't come up with one. I had to go. Giggles, who was totally oblivious to my mood change, happily kept up with her chatter as we made our way to the cafeteria, while I only contributed with single word answers every once in a while. She didn't seem to mind. We eventually made it to the usual table, everyone sitting in their same spots and already eating their lunch. I didn't bother with food, having lost my appetite at the thought of what could happen tonight. Impossibly disastrous scenarios streamed through my mind, and I found myself clutching the edge of the table, my knuckles turning slowly turning white. I watched how light my skin would get from the tension, before I finally released my grip to see my hands flush bright red.

It felt like hours had gone by, before a hand suddenly clamped on my shoulder. A surprised yelp forced itself from my lips before I could stop it, and I tried to ignore how the sound made a few people from nearby tables glance over in my direction.

"Hellooo? Earth to Flakes. Are you alright?" Cuddles asked, curiously looking me over.

"J-j-j-just f-fine"- I managed to stutter out, my hands beginning to shake.

"Flakes looks like she's about to explode." Lifty snickered.

Shifty began to laugh in agreement, before Splendid shot the twins a look, silencing them instantly. I was hardly paying attention to the others, my focus drifting back to a nondescript stain on the table. Before I knew it, the list of symptoms my doctors gave me began running through my head. Symptoms for incoming anxiety attacks. It had been so long since my last one, but that didn't mean it was too far fetched for another to happen now.

Spacing out? Check. Muscles shaking? Check.

I stood up, being met with worried looks all around the table. Splendid looked as if he was going to stand as well, but I stopped him.

"Y-you d-d-don't have to do th-that." I stammered, quickly exiting the cafeteria before he could respond.

I knew I should have asked where the nurse's office was first, but I was already shaken up enough. I couldn't bring myself to walk back and ask either, the embarrassment would be unbearable. That and I couldn't stop thinking about what Petunia had told me so long ago. If I panicked, people would get hurt. I still didn't figure out what that meant exactly, but I figured panicking alone in the nurses's office would be better than panicking in the crowded lunch room.

Fear of making a fool of myself? Check.

Where the hell was it? I crossed my fingers, unsteadily making my way up the stairs, hoping the nurse's office was on the second floor. If not, I was screwed. Majorly. "Ah!" I grabbed for the railing, barely catching it at the last second after I tripped over the last step. I rested for a beat or two, leaning most of my weight against the railing and making sure I regained my equilibrium before I started off again.

Unsteadiness? Check.

"C'mon Flaky... y-you're almost there..." I croaked to myself, coughing as I felt my throat tighten up.

Choking? Check.

I stumbled onto the landing and carefully began walking down the hallway, keeping my hand pressed against the wall while I pushed forward. My feet felt like lead; like they were only things keeping me tethered to the ground and not floating away. I looked at the doors lining the corridor, but none of the signs read "Nurse's Office".

Biting my lip to keep from crying, I ignored the tears burning in my eyes and turned around to return to the stairway and hopefully start over. I failed miserably when I smacked right into an opening door. Staggering back, I began to feel my heart slam against my ribcage, like it was about to burst.

Chest pain? Check. Pounding heart? Check.

I heard somebody humming an unfamiliar tune. It sounded very melancholy, like a bittersweet memory of some sort. The voice, however, was very familiar. I gasped for breath as the color drained from my face, and wiped the beads of sweat that began to form on my forehead.

Flippy exited the room, and paused before looking behind the door. His humming drifted off into a deafening silence. I quivered, seeing spots in my peripheral view. They flashed for a moment before disappearing, quickly being replaced with new spots. I tried to blink them away. It didn't work.

Spots in the vision? Check.

For a moment, I thought Flippy would ignore me as usual and continue on his merry way. He had the same blank expression his face like he did in class, but he spoke quietly.

"You don't look okay."

Wow. What an insightful observation.

"Gee, r-r-really? I-I thought I l-looked f-f-f-fucking amazing, Flippy. N-no, you're a-absolutely c-correct. I-I'm okay. J-just peachy." I said dryly.

Dramatic mood swings? Check.

Flippy arched an eyebrow at my response, a ghost of a smile barely hidden beneath his lips, before he composed himself and tried to speak again. I quickly interrupted, despite it being out of character for me.

"J-Just tell me w-where th-the nurse's o-office is."

He snorted, allowing himself to smile, and pointed at the sign on the door that was directly in front of my face. Nurse's Office. I started to inwardly curse at myself. How could I have missed that?

Oh, right.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I saw his lips move, but heard no sound come out. Instead, it was replaced with an incessant and piercing sound in my ears.

Ringing in the ears? Check.

His amused expression was immediately replaced with one of worry, and he carefully reached towards me. I wished I could read lips.

It was as if my legs just didn't work any longer. I felt myself tilting back, and the floor came up to meet me, only for my free fall to be brought to a screeching halt. I was inches away from the hard linoleum floor, but felt two secure hands on my back, preventing me from moving any further.

Dizziness? Check.

I looked up, instantly regretting it. Flippy was so close... if it weren't for the current situation, I would've blushed. Instead, I concentrated on the lights on the ceiling, turning his face into a shadowy silhouette. There. Distraction eliminated. Now I could focus on other things, like the wave of uncontrollable drowsiness that fell over me. It became a battle to keep my eyes open, and the corners of my vision began to darken.

"Flaky!"

What had he said?

My attempt to respond was only a garbled mess of nonsensical words, becoming even more unintelligible as everything faded away.

Blacking out? Check.

Sarcastic Flaky is sarcastic.