I'll pretend it hasn't taken nearly me a whole year to update this already completed chapter.
Lots of research went into this chapter, especially for the second half of this chapter so all the medical details can be as accurate as possible!
I'm also introducing three OCs(two of them courtesy of moreroads on tumblr) who'll play a big part in later chapters.
10. A Dosage of Friendship
Morning time rolled around, sunlight beamed softly in the room. A peaceful silence reigned over Star and Chrona as they slept. Eventually, Star woke up, sat up in her bed, stretched her arms out and rested her against the wall. She rubbed the bleariness out of her eyes before she reached out to grab her phone, raising an eyebrow when she saw the missed calls and panicked texts from Kwan, Dash and Paulina.
'Time to face the music.' She thought with a grimace as she typed out, Morning babe!3
Kwan: ….
Kwan: morning? you disappear, bail on us and not answer our calls or text and all you have to say is 'morning'?
He's pissed, Star noted. Rightfully so.
Star: I'm sorry about that, something came up
Kwan: ...something came up? i would understand something coming up but please, tell me, what could have been so important that you couldnt have called us and say you couldn't come?
Star: …
Star: you are aware that my parents are licensed to be foster care parents right?
Kwan: yea what about it?
Star: you know chrona right?
Kwan: you mean the newbie right? same guy you kinda made me stalk?
Star: yes
Star: and for the last time, you didn't stalk them
Kwan: but srsly what does this kid have to do with your…
Kwan: oh, i understand
Star: yea
Star: had to stay behind school and go to urgent care so they could get a cast and arm brace
Star: got home and i kinda passed out a lil while later...sorry :[
Kwan: eehhh dont be sorry bae, ill make sure to catch up dash and pauly later
Star smiled at her phone screen, glad that Kwan was understanding. Glancing over, she saw that Chrona was still wrapped under a pastel green blanket, peacefully sleeping. It reminded her of a sleeping lion cub. She quickly snapped a picture of them and sent it to Kwan.
Kwan: oh my god they look so cute? you are forgiven
Kwan: when can i meet them
Star: ? i dunno? maybe tomorrow
Kwan: holding you to it
Star: lol whatever got a long day ahead love ya 3
Kwan: 3
Star giggled at the heart emoji, sat her phone down on her bed and sat in silence as she waited for Chrona to wake up. It turned out that she didn't have to wait for long, as Chrona woke up(She refused to admit how much they looked like a lion cub waking up from a nap and how damn adorable that was) and blankly stared her for several seconds. She leaned forwards to wave her hands a few inches from their face, "Anyone home?" She teased, her enthused giggle was abruptly cut short when Chrona flinched violently and scooted away from the blonde, their face in fear.
"Can you get your hands out of my face? Please." Their voice hitched, and they made a strangled noise that oddly sounded like a whimper.
Nodding, she lowered her hands out of their face, silently berating herself for her stupidity. Chrona still scooted back from her, shoulders tense and Star had noticed that they had wrapped their hands around their chest despite the fact that their wrists were injured. She remembered what her father had taught her, and made sure she didn't come across as threatening. Lowering her arms to her side, Star inhaled sharply, "Chrona, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you," She whispered calmly, desperately wishing she can just jump at them and hug them and hug away all their fears. "Chrona dear, please there's no need to cover your chest because I'm not going to hurt you."
Chrona furiously shook their head, wrapping their arms tighter, "That's what you always say." They shot back, voice tinged with slight hysteria and anger. "You tell me you won't hurt me and then you do. And it hurts, I don't want to hurt right now."
...Oh.
Oh shit. Star feels a sudden weight drop in her stomach when she realizes that they're reliving a memory. She's had experience with this before but it had never been this intense. She began to gnaw at her bottom lip as anxiety crept inside. Star glanced between her door and Chrona's cowed, trembling form, knowing that she had to get her parents. They were far more equipped than her to deal with this, they knew what to do but in order to get them, she would have to leave her distressed friend behind and who knows what would happen during that time.
She looked down at her phone, feeling a sudden rush of relief washing over her.
Maybe she wouldn't have to leave.
Tentatively, Star picked up her phone to call her parents, her heart skipped a beat when she heard the dial tone ring and she hoped that her parents would pick up the phone.
"Star?" Elaine's voice rings in her ears, "Honey, it's seven-thirty in the morning. Is something wrong?"
"Mom, Chrona's-they're in a flashback and I can't seem to ground them." Star stumbled, her voice speeding up as she stuttered her way through the sentence.
"Your father and I will be there in a moment, just make sure you don't upset them any further." Her mother hung up and Star is stuck with a panicked Chrona. Doubt pooled in her stomach and she drew her knees to her chest. What kind of friend was she if she couldn't help them when they truly needed it?
'Not a very good one.' She thought despondently, scooting back against the wall when her parents came in the room. It took them a while but they finally managed to get Chrona to calm down. Once Chrona had been sufficiently grounded, Chrona had flung theirself in Elaine's arms, clinging to her shirt and brokenly sobbed out their misery. Elaine had remained unfazed, protectively holding the teen in her arms. Their sobs quieted into occasional sniffles and loosened their grip on Elaine's shirt.
"Feeling better hon?" Chrona shrugged their shoulders in response, to which Elaine cautiously swooped them in another hug, "I heard that hugs can make anyone feel better." she whispered, brown eyes lighting up with elation. "I heard they can heal anything as well.
"Not true," Chrona argued. "They can't heal a broken wrist." To further prove their point, Chrona waved the wrist with the cast for Elaine to see.
Elaine huffed, blowing several stray strands of hair out of her face, "Yes they do. It just takes time and a lot of hugs to do so." She gently grabbed Chrona's wrist and loosely held it in her hands. "If you don't believe me, ask Mark. He'll tell you the truth."
They aren't five, Chrona wanted to yell. Sugar coated lies never did them any good and only deluded them into thinking that there was hope out there for them just for it to vanish in thin air right when Chrona was on the cusp of grabbing it. But seeing Elaine's face full of expected of hope hanging on the notion that they believe her, Chrona supposes that they'll do it just to keep up the ruse. Chrona looked over to their right, Mark stood tall, towering over them and Elaine; they can't help the burst of fear shooting through them because they know what happened the last time an adult had towered over them like this. Acting a shield of sorts, they hugged theirself tightly before directly looking Mark in the eye. "Is it true?" They asked, voice small and uncertain.
Mark grinned as he looked down at Chrona, "Is what true?" He asked playfully, bending down in front of Chrona, throwing a 'secret' wink at his wife. "A lot of things are true, such as I enjoy having you here with us despite the fact you've only been here a night. Then again, I wasn't paying a lot of attention so you have to be more specific."
Someone actually enjoys having them, actually enjoying their presence. Chrona is thankful that their skin is too dark, thankful that no one can see them blush from the unexpected praise. "Is it t-true that hugs can heal anything?" There, they said it and they actually feel like they're five again asking such an asinine question.
"Yes!" Mark exclaimed, thoroughly surprising Chrona who had expected Mark to deny it. "It's been scientifically proven!"
"I doubt people would spend millions of dollars on this." Chrona deadpanned.
"You don't have to believe my word. I guess you just have to experience it!" Mark said, wrapping his arms around both his wife and Chrona causing the teen to shriek in surprise while Elaine loudly giggled. Mark looked up at his daughter sitting on her bed, wiggling his eyebrows, his grin growing wider when Star laughed at him. "Why don't you come and join us Star? You know you want to."
Star slid down out of her bed, beaming brightly when her dad brought her in the group hug. Looking over, she saw Chrona smiling a tiny smile and she felt her heart soar, happy that Chrona was happy. She ignored the happiness was temporary but she edged herself closer into the hug, drowning in the warmth of the impromptu hug.
"Markimoo?" Elaine cooed.
"Yes honey?"
"Are you on for pancakes?"
"Of course I am! That is, if the children are up to it." Mark replied, watching Star nod enthusiastically and Chrona's hesitant nod before clapping his hands, standing up and leaving the three to make pancakes.
It hadn't taken Mark long to fix the pancakes, the Lewinksi family and Chrona ate them in a content silence. Once they finished eating the pancakes, Mark stood up, grabbed everyone's plate and skipped downstairs to wash them.
Elaine pushed herself off the ground, "I think it's time I took my leave." She said, "Besides, you two need to get dressed so we can leave for the pediatrician."
"Why are we going to the pediatrician? I thought we did everything we needed to to last night." Chrona asked, looking down at their cast and furiously scratching at it.
"We did everything concerning your wrists, yes but we need to start gathering information so you can get a social security card, birth certificate," 'And to start building a case against your guardians.'Elaine explained, leaning on the edge of Star's bed. She silently gestured to Chrona's arm, silently asking for permission to scratch their cast and kept her positive demeanor when they rejected. "Besides better to get it done now, than wait later right?" She threw in a gentle smile to try to calm the teen down when they tensed.
"R-right."
"You'll have Star with you so it won't be as scary as you think it is." She spared a knowing look at Star, who silently nodded her head. Elaine left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
Star scooted over to Chrona, wrapped her arm around their waist and drew them in for a tight side hug. "It's not going to be as bad as you think."
"I still don't want to go."
"You'll have me."
"But you won't be there when they…" Chrona sighed miserably as they drew their knees to their chest and rested their head.
Star relaxes her grip on their waist. "They won't hurt you. I'll be there."
"That's what Frostbite said last time, it still happened."
Star's lips curl in a furious snarl. "Someone else knew and they didn't help you?" She hissed in a violent whisper, causing Chrona to subconsciously scoot away from the cold rage in her voice.
They frantically peeled her fingers from around their waist, scooting further away from Star. "Shouldn't have said that," Chrona muttered, voice thick with self loathing while they picked at the plaster on their cast. "I shouldn't have fucking said that."
Star's rage mostly faded away when she realized her friend had backed away from her in fear. "You...why?" She whispered out, at loss on what she should say.
"Everything goes wrong whenever I speak. I almost got you killed, Frostbite lost his arm. Everything goes wrong when I open my mouth." Chrona spat out, hands reaching out to pull out their hair. "I shouldn't talk. Now do you see why?"
She remained silent, her hand laid limp on the ground. "It's not that you shouldn't speak," Star began, "I like it when you talk, other people like it when you talk. Your….employers just couldnt appreciate you-..."
"Appreciate me?" Chrona mocked, their voice low and thick with sadness. "That's funny. That would require me to do something worthy of being appreciated. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't done anything of the sort.'
"You exist. Someone can appreciate you for just existing, there's no need to do anything big for that." Star said, "I know you don't believe me, but-"
Chrona pushed theirself off the ground, motioning for Star to get up as well. "Let's just get dressed." They interrupted, "Do you have anything I can wear?"
"Maybe," she said, going over to her closet and rummaging through the clothes. "Nothing pink right?"
"As long as it has room, I don't care."
Star nodded, returning her attention to her closet. "Too big...too small…" Chrona frowned as she continued to pick through her clothes. How long did it take to find one shirt? "Perfect! I think you'll like this." She cheered, pulling the shirt out of the closet and gave it to them.
Chrona loosely held the purple long sleeve shirt, with several white stripes at the bottom of the sleeves and "Agnes Scott College" printed in blocky, bold white letters. Their eyebrows creased in approval as they held the shirt close to their chest. "Thanks."
"It was my mom's," Star explained as she grabbed a shirt for herself. "That's where she went for her undergraduate in Pyschology. She thinks I'll be a good fit there but we'll see. I'll stay here and help you change."
"That's not necessary." Chrona stated, with a quirked eyebrow and vaguely gestured to their self. "You don't need to do that."
"But...how are you going to change your shirt if both your hands are wrapped up?"
Chrona froze, stared at their wrists in thought before they responded in a strained voice, "...I…hadn't thought of that."
"Is the wait normally this long Star?"
Star nodded silently, furiously scribbling away in her notebook. "Did we have to do vocabulary in psych?" She asked, clearly distracted as she thumbed through her psychology textbook, copied down definitions. "I think we did."
They gave her a side-glance, "Yes. I already did mine." came the bored answer. With a resigned sigh, Chrona rested their head on Star's shoulders, they occasionally peeked over her shoulder, casually commenting on her work. "I'm pretty sure we only had to do chapter six and seven...that's not the-nevermind….I counted the words and we only have thirty two, why do you have thirty nine?"
"Honestly I have no clue Chrona, at the moment I'm just trying to survive this class." She stated, promptly slamming the textbook shut and shoved it in her bag. Star huffed out in laughter seeing Chrona seethe in boredom. "I told you to bring something to do." She teased, gently poking them in their shoulder. "Should have brought that book Mom tried to give you."
Chrona frowned, "I hadn't anticipated the wait would be this long!" came the frustrated complaint, accompanied by them lightly stomping their feet in annoyance. "It wasn't this long last night though."
"That's because one: we were in an urgent care, two: it was late at night, three: ...damn I thought I had more reasons than this." She jutted her lips out in a pout, greeting her mom when she sat back down.
Elaine greeted the two teens, ruffling her daughter's hair who swatted her hand away and gave her a playful, annoyed glare. Elaine laughed at Star, dug around in her purse, brought out a small sketchbook with several pencils and gave it to Chrona, who had stared at her in awe like a five year old on Christmas morning. She repressed a cheerful grin, settling for a content, toothless smile when Chrona had eagerly took the sketchbook and pencils, peacefully drawing, their mind eased considerably from what was to come. Catching Star's attention, she gave the fourteen year old a thumbs up.
An hour had passed by, Star played games on her phone to keep her occupied, Chrona was still quiet, intently focused on whatever they were currently drawing while Elaine texted Mark status updates of how the appointment was going.
"Dalum, Chrona?" called a nurse, glancing over a clipboard.
Star poked Chrona, effectively grabbing their attention as they innocently looked at her in confusion. She pointed over at the nurse, guilt running through her when Chrona seemed to pale gripping their book and pencil impossibly tight. Star silently nodded, "I'm here." It seemed to be enough as Chrona slightly relinquished their grip. They swallowed the lump in their throat and with newfound false confidence, Chrona held their head up high and began to follow after the nurse, Elaine and Star following a few steps behind the other two.
The nurse had lead them to a small cut off area with a scale, blood pressure monitor and a scale to measure height. Before going any further, the nurse introduced xirself as Auden. Auden instructed Chrona to sit down in the small chair. Xe knelt down in front of Chrona to roll up xir sleeves, remaining neutral when Chrona flinched back away from xem.
Auden turned around to face Elaine, who was standing against the wall with Star. "You're mom right?"
"Foster mom actually." She corrected.
Auden rolled xir eyes, "I don't really care about specifics, you're still mom." Xe said, "Are you able to help Chrona roll their sleeves up and get them calm enough to get their blood pressure down? I'm sure they don't want to be here all day with this."
Chrona nodded furiously, leg rapidly shaking up and down. Not even ten minutes had gone by and their anxiety had already spiked through the roof. How were they supposed to get anything down if they couldn't stop this damn shaking? What if they couldn't stop?
"Hey there Chrona," Elaine comforted, calmly resting a hand on Chrona's knee. "I know this seems overwhelming right?"
She got a weak nod in response. "I can't blame you. Do you mind if I touch you to roll up your sleeves to take your blood pressure?"
They nodded again, "Can you take it too? My blood pressure I mean." They asked hoarsely, brown eyes darting away from Elaine, afraid they'll be denied this simple comfort.
Elaine sent a questioning glance at Auden, silently asking for approval to take their blood pressure. Auden nodded, handed her the equipment and patiently instructed her as to how to position them on Chrona's arm. "You want to make sure they can still get circulation in their arm." Elaine stuck a finger in between the wrap and Chrona's skin and deemed it wasn't too tight.
"Chrona, I'm getting ready to start the test." Elaine explained carefully, she held the pump out in the teen's line of view so they can clearly see it. "The wrap around your arm is going to be a bit tight at times but it won't last for long. Ready?"
They weren't ready. Not at all, but they managed to school their features into a tight, painful smile and nodded once again. Elaine stared at them for a moment before starting to take their blood pressure, whispering calming reassurances when Chrona froze at the band tightening around their arm. "It's almost over honey, just a few more seconds and then we'll be through."
True to her word, it had ended just as soon as it had started. Elaine was careful to slowly remove the wrapping around Chrona's arm, complimenting them for being so brave. Chrona hadn't understood why she was compliment them, they didn't deserve that praise.
Elaine handed the equipment back to Auden, placing the equipment on the counter behind xem. "Alrighty, Chrona would you like it if Elaine took your height and weight and I measure it?" She questioned, flashing a small smile at the anxious teen who kept darting between the two adults, terrified to make a decision, terrified to be punished for indulging something that they wanted and desired. "No one will be mad with whatever choice you make Chrona."
Chrona kept darting between the two, subconsciously bouncing their leg again. "E-Elaine please."
Elaine flashed a soft smile at them, which seemed to calm them down, if only just a smidge. "Alright, for the next part I need you to take your shoes off and give them to me." Chrona did as ordered, tentatively placing the black tennis shoes in her hands. Elaine grabbed one of Chrona's hands and led them to the height scale. "Okay, stand here, make sure the heels of your feet are touching the wall. Good, good. Ready?"
"...Yes?"
"Just stay still dear," she said as she slid the slider down until it was firmly pressed on Chrona's skull. Auden stepped over, glanced at the results and wrote them down on the file. "Fantastic, my child. Now we have to take your weight."
Again, Elaine led chrona over to the scale, waiting patiently as they adjusted to standing on the scale. She powered it on and waited as it measured chrona, beeping a minute later. Auden peeked over, brown eyes slightly widened as xe wrote the result down.
"I-is it bad?" Chrona asked, voice trembling, knees shaking as they tried, failing to keep the fear out of their voice. If it was bad, they hadn't meant to be bad. They didn't want to be bad because no one likes dealing with them if they've been bad or done bad things. Accident or not, no one ever liked them when they were bad.
Elaine simply gave them that comforting smile, "I'm not too sure, but if there's anything bad about it, no one here is mad at you."
'That's what everyone says.' Not wanting to upset Elaine, Chrona forced theirself to nod.
Auden led Star, Chrona, and Elaine to one of the empty rooms, gestured for Chrona to sit on the patient's chair. They glanced around the room in confusion, taking in the sight of the room as they half-heartedly listened to Auden speak and leave the room.
Chrona blinked, returning their focus on the present. "Where did…?"
"Auden left, said xe was going to come back in a few." answered Star, as she was currently working on her English homework.
"Oh okay."
The room fell into a semi-uncomfortable silence that was soon broken by another teenager flashing his wild mop of hair into the room. "Hello." He greeted brightly, inching himself in the room. "I'm a volunteer here and I'm sent around to chat up the patients before they see their nurses, doctors, etc. Anyways, I'm Leo!"
Leo's hazel eyes caught sight of Chrona, his body vibrating with energy as he came closer to them, careful not to invade their personal space. "Who's the lucky patient today?"
Chrona pointed at theirself as if to say "Who? Me?" Leo beamed at them, waiting for them to respond.
"I'm Chrona?"
"Are you?" Leo teased, playfully wagging his eyebrows. He then leapt into the rolling chair across from Star and Elaine and rolled closer to the other teen. "It's okay if you don't know. I have existential crises all the time."
At a loss for words, Chrona nodded.
"How are you feeling pal? Tired? Anxious?" Leo grinned when Chrona nodded again. "I can't blame you pal, I also heard this is your first time at the doctor's. Is that right?"
"Y-yes."
"Heck, I really can't blame you pal. I have to say, you're pretty brave for coming this far. If it were me, I would have chickened out." Leo stated absentmindedly, picking at the loose fabric on the head of the chair. "But I guess it helps you have these two wonderful ladies with you, doesn't it?"
"I guess?"
Leo opened his mouth to respond, closing it promptly when he heard Auden's footsteps trail inside the room. Feeling cramped from Auden's presence, Leo boisterously tapped the head of the chair as he bounced up out the chair and went to the door. He snaked his way through door, stuck his head through the crack of opened door with another playful grin. "See you around Chrona!"
Chrona waved shyly at Leo, resting their hand back against their side. Auden sat in the chair Leo was sitting in and began to flip through the manila folder.
"Alright, everyone." Auden said, voice neutral as xe scooting over to the three. "Mom, sister, and young Chrona, I have a few concerns. Based on Chrona's height and weight, their current BMI is 15.1 placing them below the 1st percentile, which basically means that Chrona's underweight. We'll need to do a more thorough assessment as to why your child is severely underweight. As for now I suggest that you and Star encourage Chrona to eat healthy foods, engage in physical activity throughout the week, getting adequate sleep. I also suggest as that they drink Pediasure to help out with the weight gain, so make sure you do that when you go out grocery shopping next time Mom."
Elaine nodded.
Auden wheeled xir chair around, back facing Star and Elaine so xe can focus solely on Chrona. "Hey, there, you know that this number isn't permanent right? This doesn't define you, this just means that you need a little help getting you to be the healthiest you can be. No one here thinks the worst of you for needing help, in fact, we're going to help you get there."
"Really?" Chrona asked, voice small, full of childish awe and disbelief. No one has ever really helped them before.
"Really." Auden clarified. "Now, I must be heading out. The doctor will be coming to see you in just a few minutes."
Auden stood up out of xir chair, gently kicked the chair away from xem. Xe rested xir hands on their hips, a stern, gentle smile tugged at xir features. "Next time I see you kiddo, you're gonna be a little healthier right?"
"Right?" They don't believe that they stand any chance of getting healthier.
The nurse's smile transformed into a soft grin, "Now that's what I want to hear, I'm holding you to it." Xe said in a manner as if xe was simply discussing the weather before xe sharply turned around, xir hair dynamically swishing around xirs shoulder.
The door shut behind Auden with a soft click. Elaine had tried to lift Chrona's spirits but only received terse, clipped answers as a response. Chrona gestured for Star for her to hand them their sketchbook. She did so wordlessly, and the three fell back in a wordless silence.
Ten minutes later, the door is opened once again, a wild bob of auburn hair peeking through the door. "Hello, I'm Dr. Summers!" She greeted, her eyes widening when she recognized Star. Dr. Summers stepped through the door, heels clicking happily with each step she took, and waved enthusiastically at the trio. Once inside, she spun around, hazel eyes widening excitedly, "Star it's been forever since I've last seen you! How are you my dear? Is there anything bothering you?" She asked, her body vibrating as she brought out her manila folder and pen, ready to scribble whatever Star told her.
Star wrung her hands together, awkwardly gesturing her head in an attempt to divert the ebullient doctor's attention away from.
Elaine noticed her daughter's shuffling, "What my daughter is trying to say is that she is not your patient today." She said calmly.
Dr. Summer's lips comically fell into a small 'o'. "Well then, who am I seeing today?" She questioned, confusion bleeding into her voice.
"Your patient is right behind you." Elaine responded calmly.
She turned around, her soft, round face lit up with excitement when she saw Chrona sitting behind her. "So you're the new patient? Another Lewinski!" She exclaimed, throwing herself into the chair, chuckling when she rolled into the wall. Dr. Summers pushed herself off the wall and wheeled herself over in front of Chrona. "How are you today?"
Chrona shifted, feeling unease creep up in them at her overly friendly personality. "I...don't know?" They answered, "Am I supposed to know?"
"It's okay if you don't know dear. Let's see what you're in here for...today." Her voice had drastically lost its enthusiasm, now a flat monotone as she pulled out the manila folder, opened it and read the contents inside. She placed a thumb in between the folder and closed it; Dr. Summers inhaled deeply, her hazel eyes slowly regaining the shine in them. "Well, I see here in the file that Auden has already mentioned Chrona's low BMI and how…"
"They." Elaine supplied
Dr. Summers hummed, "...how they can gain it. What xe hadn't mentioned is that you might need to take vitamin and mineral supplements, such as iron and calcium, since they aren't getting the proper nutrition. Chrona needs to start eating more, bottom line. The goal is 3 meals and 3 snacks daily. Try not go longer than four hours without eating. At this point, don't worry about variety. The important thing when working on catch-up weight gain is getting in the extra calories and protein. Once you've found things that work for you and Chrona, stick with them."
Furious scribbling encapsulates the room, slowly dying down as Elaine finished writing what Dr. Summers was suggested. "How do I go about doing that?" She rhythmically tapped the pen against the paper, ready to write once more.
Dr. Summer rolled back, turned her chair around so she could face Elaine, Star and Chrona, "Add butter or trans fat free margarine like Smart Balance, use whole fat dairy products, maximize their portions. You'll definitely have to experiment to see what works until you find something that does and stick to it."
"How much weight should they gain on average?" Star piped up curiously.
"One to two pounds is a healthy weight gain goal. However, as long as Chrona is gaining weight through the month, they're moving in the right direction. Do not check their weight at home, it's better if we check it. Checking weight too frequently at home can incite frustration, especially if there isn't any progress being made. Having their weight checked here allows for more accuracy since the same scale is used consistently."
"What about supplements?"
Dr. Summers did a quick once over of Chrona before returning her attention back to Star and Elaine. "Try over the counter multivitamin with iron. They also provide vitamin D. If Chrona eats enough food with calcium, then they won't need to take calcium supplements. Over time, if Chrona doesn't get the proper nutrients, we'll prescribe supplements." She explained carefully, pulling a pen from her hair and wrote down her own notes.
"Now, I would like to do more but considering the circumstances, I think it would be best if Chrona went to a psychiatrist to get any diagnosis necessary and get them started on medication if possible."
"Alright, are you prescribing them anything this visit?"
The doctor shook her head, "No." She continued writing in the folder for another minute before closing it with an air of finality. "Like I said, we'll see what the future brings us. Now," She grinned again. "How about we take you to check out? I'm sure someone's ready to leave."
Chrona slowly hopped of the chair, tightly holding the sketchbook against their chest. "We can leave now?" The question comes across slightly breathy, full of hope and expectant relief.
"Yes." Elaine answered, stretching her hand out towards Chrona. The teen tilted their head in confusion, lost as to what they should do. They only hold onto their belongings even tighter as the slid off the chair.
The four walked to the receptionist's office. Elaine was still conversing with Dr. Summers , several paces ahead of Star and Chrona, who still slowly trailed behind the two adults.
"You did it pal." Star said with a bright smile. "Made it through your first, well second appointment. Proud of you buddy."
"I didn't do anything so I don't get why you're so proud of me."
The blonde rolled her eyes, turned around to face Chrona and pulled them into a warm hug. She felt Chrona attempt to wrap their arms around her back and in the end, Star felt one of their arms gently resting on her back. "Proud of you either way numbskull." She said again, rubbing small, soothing circles in their arm. "We should have a movie night tonight and some ice cream to celebrate."
Chrona huffed, she shivered a little feeling from the odd sensation. "What for?" They asked.
She let go of them, whipped her arms in the air, a wild burst of energy rushing through her. "To start celebrating your freedom!" Star stilled before she lowered her arms, energy dying down before she turned her attention back to Chrona with a sheepish grin. "That is..if you want to?"
Chrona's eyes softened at the nervous, excitable energy radiating from Star and an awkward grin came about. "Sure? Why not?"
College's tough but final exams are coming in May, so expect an update before June 1st!
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! If you did, drop a review!