Prologue
Good morning, Frankie. I hope this letter finds you leagues off from how I am now.
Isn't it so intriguing being in the clutches of support? Currently, my mind acts like tape, you take it out and rip it, roll another piece and rip it again, over and over until you run out. And to you, Frankie, for the ink drips from the walls and my back rests on it, the tank shattered, creating a mess, but somehow, my mind finds something new about this scene every time I look at it. I know you know. The tape hasn't run out for me yet, even if it has for you. It doesn't look like I'm being cared for, and yet, you talk about, recovery. From what? All your life you've had support, through the many changes that came up knocking. When you asked "who is that?" at the mirror in front of you, voices noticed. People were there for you, always next to you, someone could hug you and another could put their hand on your shoulder. Reassurance has always been around you.
Yet, the dark is my safety net.
For what they always said, "If you ever go to the square, love, you should always cover your face up, and if you ever slip or trip up, you could play it off as a haircut."
Ah. All of those rhymes I learned to keep me safe. "A bad man on a bad day, if they see you in the light. Could slash away, put their anger away! And cause the bawling of that night."
For thirty four years in a sophisticated sewer sounds better than seventeen in a "house".
At least school got me out.
The Plaza of Yesteryear.
Chapter 2: Frankie.
Hey!
Somebody's life can certainly be some piece of work. Every word, every sentence, every friendship and interaction. It'd have all the ups and downs and in-betweens of a cult classic!
If you wanted that.
Classes are off. And usually that would mean I'd be stuck within this house until the end of summer. But, well, some friends have decided to keep in touch, and they barely know anything about me. I do like their company though, in any means. If it be texting, calling, or actually seeing each-other, it's good to get out of the house. I like them more than anybody my age in my family. My presence with them is always, understated. I wish I could be more out-going, and it seems like that day could come soon, but for now it seems as if the hoodie is still something I always have with me. In recent years, I've gotten a bit more lax with it however. There have been times where I could of gone an entire night showing my face out. But never in the daytime. Ever. Hence my understated presence. I'm trying to be quiet.
Which is why I actually quite like calling and texting. They never see me, you know? We all have similar voices, we're similar people. Just, different breeds. I hate to say it like that, but it's also how I see it. If they can't see me, and don't pick up on certain expressions, then maybe, just maybe, I'll pass off as one of them. All I need to do is pass off, and I'll be safe.
Fear for my safety hasn't stopped me, however. It's my main family that's stopped me. The adults in the room. I don't like my age group that much, at least within my heritage, I'll admit that without ever stuttering. But it's the more mature part of my family that's always given me a warm welcome. Often I'll find the kids and teens playing around the house, while I'm in the middle (or even have started) a conversation with the parents. They find my story interesting, unique, and something to be proud of, even. I love them. I love those talks. Which is why I don't want to get hurt from an outside source, it's for their sake, not mine. If I didn't have that connection, I'd be showing off my face in the square as we speak, nobody seems to mind the fact an Octoling is around over there at all. But, my parents call me back.
I never want to disappoint them, because they've never disappointed me. Even in my most horrifying moments, they've never let me down. Always, always, my parents have been there to support me. Through everything to do with my identity, who I thought I was and who I really am, being given the perfect amount of alone time to fully deal with something (or close enough), yet short enough to not get the thought "did they forget?". No. They never have. And don't even mention what's happened recently. They treasure the absolute hell out of me, love me to death. My mother and father have been spectacular parents, and have yet to be anything short of it.
Within the household.
Outside of the house, they're a mess. A worried mess. Always on top of me, scared for their life, in an obvious way or not. Scared every breathing moment of the day, if they were anywhere but in the comfort of our home, or a relatives home. "Don't look at anybody on the train! They could see your eyes!". Yeah, they probably could. I've even looked at my own eyes. It's called a mirror. Glass. I wasn't even supposed to look out the window. Just, keep your head down. Any kind of transportation was pure hell. And if there were a lot of cars on the road, you bet your hoodies are on, sunglasses, everything. The whole deal. Does it work? It works well enough. And it work well enough for them too, even though they're a nervous wreck talking to Inklings. An absolute wreck. I don't even know how they get food bought without staying awfully quiet at the register, or nervously laughing their way through what's meant to be peaceful conversation. Not every Inkling is out to get you. It's not what it used to be. Sadly, my parents never even saw the surface as children. I don't know anything but the surface, and sometimes it feels like I know nothing outside of my own house. They love me, probably too much. I don't know what it feels like to let go. All I know is that, I have an urge to do so. My good friends that are around my age are Inklings, end of story. And my parents try to convince me to give another shot at the other kids in our family. It's always them, ha. You really did shoot your shot, Catherine.
And I thank you for it, mother. I thank you for everything.
I went on my phone to text my little group of friends, like usual. I was happy to hear that Cerl was in the plaza, but, curiosity got the better of me until I read the rest of the message. She learned about what happened with me. My attempt. And now I wait for her to say something, if anything.
They said that things were talked out, and that if I could of been there maybe things would have gone better. At this point, I felt torn; I wasn't exactly invited by Corbi because, well, she's kinda hard to understand. It's much more of cryptic hints than anything, and we all have our moments, but for her it was the norm. And I couldn't read it that time. If Corbi was right here, right now, it'd be difficult for me to tell what she's looking for. They're like that. Lovely, but so, unique. You need a different mindset to understand things.
I'm gonna give Evi a ring soon and see where that goes, but for right now, I'm gonna get ready to head out. This whole transition thing is absolutely insane, because the two spots are so different. It's not even fair, just complicates matters even more. The Great Zapfish is still in the plaza, so, why develop an entire new spot in the city when it doesn't have adequate power to even do anything? Whatever, just ideas being thrown around. I, for one, like the surface. When I get to experience it. And there's quite a few times where I'm stuck debating over my safety or entertainment.
Anyways, I'm all ready to go. Like usual, I won't disclose what I'm wearing, because, I shouldn't rat anybody out of business. Just know that, everything is in its proper place, and that I'm not trying to get into any trouble so I don't show much skin. I got out of my room, and went downstairs straight to the door. It was going to be another time where the sun coming down would benefit me, even though that was hours from now. And, uh. That's what would of happened.
"Frankie! You're going out already?"
A paranoid person can cause other people to be annoyed. Fun fact!
"Do you want to see me?"
"Of course, honey! You wanna have a chat?"
My father sure loves talking, however, I wouldn't mind a chat. I'll go sit down on the sofa. Again; I didn't want to disturb or startle them anymore than I already have during recent times. Life has been, eventful. So by no means do I want to make it worse. If anything, I'd prefer it if things got better. A lot better. I'll think of something.
"Sure. I'd be good with one."
"How have you been feeling lately?"
I enjoy usual check-ins, but I know exactly why this is being asked. If anything, I'm constantly asking myself if my life is ever going to be the same. I remember when, why, how, my entire plan, and it would of worked. Everything would of gone perfectly right in my favor. Yet, even with that being said, my favor was very separate from theirs. From anybodies, really. I know what I wanted was wrong, I get that now. Weeks later, I understand, and get reminded of it every day. Hence the curiosity. I know, not even an entire month yet, but last time something on this scale happened, well. I still think about that thing.
We all have different definitions of that thing, but, we all get what we mean. No need to share, however.
"I've been feeling fine. More calm. More time to think."
..
"You understand why we care about you, right?"
Heh. "Why wouldn't I?"
More silence came about. No matter. Just us sitting on the sofa next to the front door. A usual occurrence.
"You keeping up with your friends?"
"Yeah! Yeah. I know not many have me on speed-dial, but I still make a constant effort. One of them just learned about what's happened, actually."
Hm. It has been a while since I've sat down with Cerl.
"You know their concern is justified, Frankie."
"I'm aware."
Well aware, actually.
"And how's Evi?"
"Evi's fine."
"You think you'll have any of your friends over at any point? Evi's someone I trust over, you know."
Yeah, well. My father still thinks Evi is one of us. But I don't often make conversation with Octolings, period. That'd disappoint my family, however, I just don't like them too much. They really easily get on my nerves with the latest fad, talk about how the surface is a Utopia. I don't want to hear it sometimes. But, back to the conversation.
"You're aware I could bring over some friends within the day, right?"
"Whoa, whoa! We're not in a rush, Frankie."
"You and me both."
Cerl has plenty of free time to burn, if I've read the chats correctly. I might ask her to come over, if that's the case. There's enough that checks out; we go to the same school, she's in the plaza practically on the ready, and it would be nice to have a one on one since that's, rare. But, I think we both know the problem here, past dweller.
So I'll try my shot.
"But I've got a friend that's been dying to see me."
"Oh! And who's that?"
I took a little pause, then continued. "You remember the name Cerl?"
"A little bit, I hear it come out of your mouth from time to time. Who are they, though?"
"We go to school together. She's really nice, actually, and just has been out of the loop for a little bit. Sometimes you need to get, off the grid."
I was cheering up, in all honesty. Made my father giggle as well.
"And what's the case with her? There a reason she's dying to see you after that while?"
"Well, she's in the Plaza currently, so it'd be easy to get her over. You won't need to talk to her parents either, I can just ask and have her here before sundown."
"Sounds great, we aren't doing much tonight anyways and I'm just waiting for your mother to get back from the usual. There's always a catch though, remember that?"
Fuck. I very vividly remember that.
"Yeah, there always is, isn't there?"
"So what's the deal with Cerl?"
Arrgg, this isn't good. "You're not gonna like hearing this.."
"What? Does she get on her knees for Octavio?" He chuckled at his own, disgusting remark.
"Wha.. no, that's fuckin' gross."
"Hey! Watch yourself! And what's the gig all about?"
Fine. I'll just say it. "She's an Inkling, dad. And I know how you feel about them."
"WHAT? Do you know what's good for yourself!?"
"Dad, we've been loose friends for at least three years, and close friends for like one, it's not that big of a deal."
"Yes, it is! Why would we ever have an Inkling in this house? Besides, Evi isn't one of them, why can't you just talk to him more?"
"Poor choice of words. Besides, I already talk to him everyday."
"'Poor choice of words'? You're telling me that.."
"YES. Yes. I don't talk to Octarians on the surface. They're absolutely nothing like how you describe them in the valley, you might as well pass them off as Inklings with a more desirable fashion sense."
"You've got to be pulling aged strings, Frankie."
"LOOK. Cerl isn't one to think twice about how someone looks or where they're from, outside of curiosity. If anything, she might be able to help you talk to Inklings a little, bit better..?"
"I'm fine with them, what do you mean?"
No, they're not.
"Ya know, uhh, experience!"
"What, you think I'm not experienced!"
Yes. "I'm not thinking that. What I'm thinking is that, you should give this a chance."
A silence fell, sadly. Cerl could straight up deny this event and my father would have the one up on me, the 'I told you so!' and he will never let go of it. But if I'm right, and she does come over to see how I'm doing, ask about what's happened, then I can have the one up on my father. But first, I have to get this green light. The "OK" from him. My mother isn't even home yet, and to be honest, it's usually my dad that's in charge of this household. I think she'd give in this chance anyways, you know? I think it's just how sh-
"You did me a great favor by not following through your plans. You did everyone a great favor.
"I'll return it."
PHHBT. "You're kidding."
"Wasn't joking one bit."
I immediately pulled out my phone and asked Cerl to be here for dinner. I gave her my address, what train to take, everything. After waiting a few minutes for a response, I'm greeted with the text: "Already on my way."
And now we wait.
And while I waited, I gave Evi a ring. Oh boy, was I excited to tell him the news.
Like usual, he was the first to speak. "Hello?"
"EVI!" I, admittedly, yelled.
"Jeez, take it easy Frankie, haven't heard you that excited for a while."
"You don't understand, something amazing has happened! Like, crazy-"
"What? What could possibly get you this excited?"
You have no idea how happy I was to tell him that..
"My father agreed to having Cerl over for dinner!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"
"YEAH! I'M SERIOUS!"
A little moment of silence for those words to process, I'd imagine.
"Fuck, Frankie! I thought your father was the runner up for the classic 'blind rage' award, right below Octavio himself!"
"I know, I know, I know, I know!"
I was bouncing off the walls. The forecast was well, there weren't any train delays, and there was quite a bit of time for Cerl to come over before the sun came down. But most importantly, I was about to have a completely new experience: an Inkling, finally within the walls of my home. Ahhh, how exciting! Never, ever, EVER, in the history of my entire family tree, has this happened before on the surface!
"But, if you don't mind me asking."
"Yeah?"
"Why Cerl?"
Oh. Uh. Yeah.
"I'm not trying to break the moment Frankie, but, between you and me? I think she's got some new friends in the plaza."
Admittedly, I stepped back.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Not a whole lot, actually. But, when she was leaving, she was looking down more at her phone than Corbi ever would. And you know how connected Corbi is."
"Yeah, more like me." I mumbled.
"When I asked who she was texting, she said it was somebody she'd be spending the night with. A girl named Caroline. They met on the train, apparently."
"The train? To where?"
"Exactly! I didn't even get a chance to ask, apparently she takes the train everywhere, any location she goes to it's by train! Blows my mind into bits."
"Yeah... I'd imagine."
I stared at the ground for a bit. Who in the world would even take a shot like that? Why is this important right now? Fuck, has it gotten that damn predictable?
"Anything else, Evi?"
"Not really, that should do it for gossip of the day. You already know about what was said yesterday. You should probably expect that to be brought up. We talked for hours about it. And then, she had to leave. For Caroline."
"That's really out of character for her."
"I know! I know it is! So, I'm just curious, why did you pick her over someone like me? Because now you don't know if she's bringing this illusive 'Caroline' with her!"
Fuck.
"I did because it's been a while since I've talked to Cerl as a one on one, you and me do it pretty much every day! I- I'll go tell her my concern."
"Yeah, you wouldn't want two Inklings there when you promised only one. Give me a ring when you're free, I can tell you're gonna be busy for the rest of the day."
"I won't hesitate, Evi."
I started heading into my room, thinking about this, girlfriend fiasco, just for a bit. Admittedly, it peaked my interest. Cerl wasn't one who seemed to pick up on chances like that, eesh. Before I could go any further though, Evi was still on the line.
"Oh, and for the record. Don't forget how we met."
He acts like I could forget.
It's December. Middle school is in full swing, and everything is going A OK. Every class is under control, with a proper high grade, just to help my parents hug me with a smile and be proud. Tests were my favorite; I could spend the night before having a crack at books and endless amounts of text, thousands and thousands of words being digested with no stopping in-between, remembering every comma placed, and applying it to (at the time) only three sheets of paper! It was so simple to succeed, as every class had some sort of rhythm that you can outperform. Go faster than the pace of it, and when "new" material came up, act as if it was review! Like hitting refresh, it wasn't the first time, and hopefully it would be the last. It was so simple to understand, get the work done, and love your life. Until it wasn't that easy.
You see, as much as school was a way to make my parents, and to an extent, my family happy, what happened within that building stayed there. And if you're expecting a sob show, expect to be disappointed, in case I did forget. If anything happened within my school, it was usually bad. Some kid does something really stupid, or some teacher gets into a predicament with water, but, that was rare. Not much happened. At all, really. It was a fairly loud place and all, kids talking to each-other from every angle, showing off what each of them could do, or what they had. Maybe the fad of the month that claimed to grant a utopia, or maybe a little bit simpler, a toy that brought "permanent" joy. Of course, not a whole lot of this was permanent. The fad changed. So did the clothes. Ever so often the music we were all blasted with in the halls. But what didn't change is how these were consistent staples within my grade that followed me as the years went by; and how I had absolutely no involvement with anything.
I can get excited. I can be happy. I can bounce off the walls. It happens when I'm blown away, or simply didn't expect such a thing to occur. I like being surprised, in many ways. But, it never happened there. Some new faces would be around a locker, and after hearing five minutes of talk, I'd know every little detail of said people to never tune into any conversation from there again, absolutely ever. I put my hood up and forgot they were even there. To me, and to everyone else, Frankie Nicastra was a ghost. A name for attendance was said. A hand, my hand, was raised. And it was put back down after a pen swiped a specific spot on a piece of paper, and then? I'd go ghost. Usually. I could walk the halls, deal with my ears wanting to drip, keep my head high and forget part of my childhood happened but I was still, just someone. I wasn't picked on, either. Nobody came over to push my buttons or even bother me, even call me names or acknowledge my existence. I wasn't bullied, I wasn't called on, and I never tried to fix any of this, due safety concerns. But this is what I'm getting at. I was neutral, in the greatest sense of the word. I walked the halls owned by the boys. I listened to the endless amounts of gossip and rumors from the girls. I'd sit down at the stairs and eat my lunch, while tending to my boredom with the conversation next-door; the teachers room, during their break. I would even stay after-school, and quietly, secretly, with only a few people at a time listening, play the piano near the cafeteria. Slowly play the notes, as you'd never want fireworks at the wrong moment.
I was a ghost. And everybody knew it. Which is why my history teacher really got on my nerves.
Ah, history class. I learned many stereotypes in there. Of course, this is early in middle school, but even in high school my practices stayed mostly the same. Stay. Quiet. Keep your mouth shut. And, for the most part, even now I do. However, this wouldn't shake a Mr. Greggory from trying his absolute hardest, his one-hundred and TEN percent effort, to make the classroom more open, more social. Obviously this meant the end for me. Those fifteen other in the classroom, they were probably the only fifteen to ever hear my voice respond to anything at all without a vague "hm?". So, let me get to the point.
Mr. Greggory, our fairly aged and wizened history teacher who I've already established, makes his class do two projects every year. I didn't know this going in, ticking the box for it. You see, projects are complicated. But not in a bad way, simply put, your study is your output. Unlike tests, which are a piece of paper and some time, projects are dedication, in a burst. Greggory wasn't exactly known for making easy projects either, which meant a decent amount of time dedicated to keeping those scores high. The first project was time consuming, but rather simple. "Forge a letter that would of change the outcome of a select war." And what I did, was fabricate a super-weapon, details and everything within one scroll, like how the Octarian army used to do it. I took out some oldies from my fathers shelf (I'm a reader, you know) and got to work, aced it (he was really impressed actually), and moved on with the conventional pace of the class. The next project, in theory, would of actually been easier. Pick a subject we've learned about, and get another perspective on it. Essentially, evaluate both sides in detail. But there were a couple of problems. There had to be a presentation, but you didn't have to present. Your partner did.
I was horrified. My eyes widened like never before. I remember thinking so vividly, "you've got to be kidding me". Jeez, I was so ready to ask the teacher if I could do it alone, something like that even takes courage from me. But by the time I had gotten out of my seat-
Everyone already had picked everyone. A class of sixteen, there were only two people left. Me, and a kid in the back.
"Well, this isn't my lucky day, now is it?"
Smart-ass. The entire class started laughing. I immediately sat back down and clang onto my desk, making sure I got no weird looks or anything of that sort. God, I was embarrassed. Disgusted, to an extent. Why would anybody green-light a project that requires another person! Idiot.
"Ms. Nicastra!"
Fuck. The entire classroom went silent.
"Ever since the first day, your appearance hasn't changed one bit. You've always decided to keep your mouth closed, even when it could serve you better to open. As a teacher who doesn't enjoy a lot of noise, and would prefer if some kept their traps shut... something about you participating makes me feel as if I've gotten something, extracted from you! I've only heard your voice in the early double digits, but every time I have, I've recognized something."
Ugh, what in the fu-
"I've seen your tests. And I must say.. even if you are relatively shy and mute, you're a pretty hard worker."
I still clung onto my desk. At this point, he walked all the way over there to tower over me. Even if I did stand, Greggory would be taller. He'd have the one up on me. Damn, I hate seeing it like that.
"I hope you enjoy working with Evi, because everybody else is taken, and I won't allow solo work for this piece."
Admittedly, I was even more terrified. I wanted to run. Badly. He knowingly said exactly what I was hoping he wouldn't say.
Until I hear the smart-ass.
"Yea, yea, point fingers all you want. Just switch seats already, jeez."
And there he was. Walking over to sit right next to me. Usually, Amanda would sit there (and she never bothered me), but someone already chose her. Everybody knew each-other, except for me, I thought. I guess Evi wasn't well known either, although he was certainly someone with an attitude, one strong enough to attract attention. But, what do I know.
I swear, he walked as slow as possible, almost as if he was on my side and didn't want to work with anybody, because I sure didn't. To be fair though, I got curious, I'd known about him through another class primarily, and he wasn't necessarily a hot shot here, but he was popular enough to enjoy school life. Evi wasn't a problem kid either, although there weren't too many. If anything, he was always credited with having the best looks. And not facial, not at all. "Man, he has a strange sense of fashion. but it works!". Even when I first met him, his outfit would pass by as fresh today. I'm not kidding, a part of me wishes I was so I could at least feel like things have lasted longer. But, wow. I guess things really do fly by.
He greeted himself to the empty seat next to me, and stared into my eyes for a little bit. He honestly seemed, happy, even though his tone of voice didn't share the same expression. Just, that glimmer. Fascinated, or happy. It honestly could of been both.
And he didn't even know who I was.
We met at the library. Just the two of us, the one next to the school. Not many people know those little spots of the library with tables for two, or even four. Of course, it's not a restaurant, but it's not a cavern either.
We had to start working on our project, together. I understood this. Evi understood this. And my parents, weren't really in the know. I don't think they found my school to be the safest place to learn, but rather, the safest place on the surface. So, I had to lie. Said I was doing some stuff after-school, retake a test in specific. They were fine with it, just asked that I took the train and wore my usual getup for the surface, which I didn't dare take off unless at home. Well, you'll see.
I got there with most of my books for the class and any tech I needed. We had arranged this meeting at school, actually. Really quick, really simple, just a couple of words thrown around and me nodding most of the time. Like I mentioned, I could say words, I just didn't say a lot of them.
Anyways, I'm there. The building is in front of me. It's horrifically vivid in my mind, even sitting down and going back, I can still see individual bricks on the wall, the old way things were built. Admittedly, I was scared, yet again. Evi is someone who, yes, I shared classes with, but still didn't really understand. The most I knew of him was that one time where his voice didn't match with his face, like what I was hearing and what I was seeing were completely different things. And, that wasn't deathly long before this. So, I breathed in...
And breathed out...
I made sure my hoodie made my face incredibly hard to see, and pushed the doors open. And from this point on, I was terrified.
Petrified, even.
The first thing I saw was an Inkling doing their job, talking on the phone with somebody, and they immediately looked at me the moment I came through those big double doors. I became scared, and really, really stressed out. I could feel my body heat just rising and rising, slowly but surely averting my eyes away from the person who just wanted to help me out... and the more I turned my eyes the more I saw other Inklings on every corner, well aged and well dressed, mannered and conversing, not even curious to a wanderer like me. I felt like I needed to leave, that I wasn't meant to be there, oh please, no-
*beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!*
They hung up the phone. And got up.
And looked at me.
"Hey! Haven't seen this outfit before. If you need anything, I'm your line. And don't make a lot of noise, for me, yeah?"
God, I must of froze. All I remember after hearing that and staring into this Inklings yellow eyes was nodding up and down, watching his every muscle movement, head twitch, everything. Nothing else registered but him.
"Ya know, there was a kid who told me to expect a fit like yours, so if you happen to be the one he mentioned, he's upstairs. He also told me to give you his card, in case you need to snag something for the next couple of weeks. Already paid for, registered today. Don't care if you're not the one, he can always ask for a replacement and make that one defunct."
He slid said card onto his desk, but I wasn't moving an inch. I was sweating like hell, shaking just a little, and grabbing my right arm with all the force I had on my left to keep it together. I knew my parents were bad when it came to interacting, and sometimes even filled in for them, but this really was something different, being alone. School, the city, just walking the streets and using public transport, it's all fun and games until somebody speaks to you. And then you burn. And then you freak.
Before I knew it, I was looking at the ground, walking over to the desk to pick up the card. I gave a brief bow, and went upstairs. It felt as if a thousand pairs of eyes were staring into the tip top of my head, I couldn't get it out, only look down. Up the stairs, down at the wood. Up, and up, and up, until, I stopped. And looked straight.
The upstairs room was really, really simple. There was a table, next to it was the one window peeping into some cars and some green. The walls were a light grey, bookshelves stacked the first half of the left and the table section was right in front of me, which was the right half of the room. Everything was wood, except for this specific floor, which was an old, dirty rug, with papers scattered all over the floor. And last, but not least.
Evi was already sitting down. So, I sweated my way onto the seat that was empty. And once again, started to avert my gaze.
"Oh come on now, my public attire isn't that bad." I nodded no.
At this point, I started to clutch my chair a little. I was getting really worried, this entire place had been giving me the creeps and I had no idea what to do about Evi. Simply put, I was in a mess of a place, and was being a mess. Not a great combo.
A minute went by, Evi was getting books out of his backpack, while I stayed frozen and shaky. My eyes were fixed on one spec of dust on the floor, as he proceeded with, you know, project stuff. The zippers going up and down the bag, his hand reaching in for the mix of plastic and paper, pencils bouncing off of each-other, the weight shifting back and forth. I heard all of it, I just didn't see any of it. I was so focused on this spec of dust. This dot. The only thing that felt like a bridge for me and this place. The noise kept going and going, my vision fading into nothing but black and white, only for the noise..
to stop.
I heard Evi sigh, and then, I hear. "Frankie, be honest. You're scared of me, aren't you?"
After a couple of seconds of pure fear and adrenaline, I nodded up and down.
"I can tell you're really tense, so why don't we just try to calm down, alright? You don't have to like me. You don't have to be comfortable around me. But I'm not what you might think at first, okay? I'm willing to help you out. Just breathe. In, one... two... three... four. Out, one... two... three... four."
And he just kept saying that. In, one... two... three... four. Out, one... two... three... four. A process. I started to breathe following it. And slowly, but surely, I got cooler, more calm, I stopped staring at the spec and focused on other things, my pulse was slowing down, hitting the breaks. My mind, stopped focusing on so many things and just became dead centered on breathing, in, and out. In, and out. In... and out.
And while I calmed down, started to look at Evi, while still following the process, I tried my best to respond. My best to give something back. But that would be too much stress, just follow his directions, he's still going after all. In, one... two... three... four.
He leaned in and took off my hoodie, so damn suddenly. I felt his hand on my ear, as he tried to get a peak of what I looked like. We stared at each-other, and for a split second, even with my hood down, the mortal sin of my life, I wasn't even focused on it. I was dead set on breathing.
Out, one... two... three... four.
Author's Notes:
Like anything, this is probably a horrible place to A: put notes, B: end the chapter, and C: even start a story. But if this wasn't out and September hit the calendar, I'd have a problem with myself. This is the beginning of the timeline for all of my works, so if there's one story to read first, it's going to be this one. I really hope you enjoyed reading only these two chapters. It's a blast to write this thing and to see all of these characters come to life. And you know, I end things off on a cliffhanger.
If anybody is actually reading this, feel free to review, even if it's just something simple or a smirk comment, I really enjoy getting them. I also hope Mirror was a pleasant one-shot demonstrating new forms of formatting that, I at least feel, make things easier to read. And remember; my PMs are open.
Thank you for your time. And to the one in the shadows, well, you know who you are. Thanks for everything. Really.