*tries to write longer chapter*

*writes shorter chapter*

CRAP

Feel

Chapter Four: Off to a Great Start

Approximate Reading Time: 5 min, 45 seconds

"I told you your bird impersonations were crap!"

"Cuh-caw! Cuh-caw!"

"Oh, oh my Notch, why do I put up with you?"

"Cuh-caw!"

"Give it up, Sky!"

"IF YOU WOULD JUST CUH-CAW LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD, WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM."

"Rest of the- what rest of the world!? Sky, you're faking bird noises in the new guy's backyard. We didn't even need a signal or anything, what the crap!?"

"Come on, do it with me. Accept it, Ty. You know you want to."

"But-"

"CUH-CAW!"

"Notch. I don't-" He sighs. "Cuh-caw."

"With fervor, Ty!"

"Oh, my Notch. Cuh-caw."

"You know what? We'll work on it."

"Oh my Notch."

They're outside my house. Why are they outside my house? It's too early for this, oh dear. What are they even doing? They sound like freaking lunatics! What Before movies are they watching?

"Dang it, Ty, you blew our cover!"

"What- by being totally done with you? Sky!"

"Shh. He's taking too long."

"Jason told us to wait by the door!"

"Well, I'm a rebel, dang it!"

"You're the one that suggested that specific plan to him, he only agreed because you told him to!"

"Hmph. I, um, I changed my mind."

"Yes, you tend to do that quite often."

The doorbell rings, and I contemplate trying the old Home Alone trick on them.

"Oh, Tyler~" Sky sings at my door, and I roll my eyes.

"Idiot, we're supposed to sneak up on him."

"Screw that, I think we should just talk to him."

"That's not what you thought this morning," Ty groans.

"Yo, Tyler! Open the friggin' door!" Sky calls, and I hold my pillow over my head. "We just wanna talk, dude! Come on, we brought Nutella! Ha, get it? 'Cause you live in Hazelnut forest. I'm so funny."

How are they so loud? With a huge sigh of defeat, I throw my pillow off the bed, open my bedroom door, and stomp downstairs. "What," I growl, opening the front door, "do you want?"

"Tyler, hi! I'm Sky and that's Ty, remember us?" Brunette Number One asks. I sigh again and nod. "Cool, that's great! Ty kinda jacked up and almost died a few days ago, that's why we didn't follow you home. Sorry."

"Perfectly fine," I grumble. I can't believe I haven't slammed the door yet.

"Oh my gosh, your voice is so cute!" Sky squeaks, and Ty exhales slowly, mouthing his numbers up to ten. "You-"

"Okay, shove off, Sky," Ty butts in, getting my attention. "Look, Tyler, I'm sorry about the dumb circumstances under which we met. But if we could come in and talk to you, that would be great..?" He smiles slightly and fiddles with the purple bracelet on his wrist.

Notch.

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," I breathe as I open the door farther. "Come on in, guys."

"Thanks so much, Tyler," Ty says as he pulls Sky inside. "Can we sit down?"

"I guess so." Ty gently pushes Sky toward the couch, and I sit down next to them cautiously. "All right, why are you guys here?"

"Well... You're an Emotive."

"I am aware."

"We are also Emotives."

"Oh. I- Oh." My throat feels dry. "What?"

"We can Feel just like you can, Tyler, and we've got other friends who can do the same."

"I- No, stop, this isn't funny. This won't give you, either of you, a purpose in life. This won't help." I stand up sharply. "Go away."

"Woah, Tyler, calm down. We're not lying, all right? We're Emotives."

"Ha, no, you aren't. I know that trick."

"Hey, Tyler, wanna have a movie marathon after school?" he asked, glancing up at me with excited eyes. "We can try to solve the mystery before Sherlock."

I laughed. "As if. John hardly ever figures it out, we certainly won't."

"Way to be a pessimist," he jokes.

"I do try," I respond, giggling with him. "Hold on, I'm gonna run back to the house to get a copy of the Sherlock Holmes book for us."

Mistakes, mistakes. And, oh, regrets.

"Hey, I got The Hou- Crap."

The Blanks are surrounding him. Is he okay? Are they hurting him? I wasn't gone for that long!

"Shove off, let me through," I growl, pushing past a few Blanks. "Let me through, I need to see-"

"Ay, it's the freakling!" he shouts, and his eyes are dead, emotionless. He looks like a Blank.

And not like my Feeling friend.

"Wha- What? I- K-" I stammer, tearing up. He can't be a Blank, he can't. He can't have been faking it all this time, he can't have. I can't be in love with a Blank, I can't be. Please, anything but this-

"Hey, Tyler, why is your face wet?" he asks. Mouth innocent, eyes cruel. "Are you crying?"

"P-Please, I-" I close my eyes and suck in a shuddering breath. "Please don't-"

"Tyler," he coos, and it's so fake, it's so fake it hurts, as he brushes some of my hair out of my eyes. "Tyler, did you think it was real?"

"Yes," I whisper, "I did."

"Tyler, Tyler, hey," a soothing voice says softly. "Hey, it's okay, you're okay."

I choke out a broken "S-Sorry."

"No, no, you're fine, Tyler," Ty assures me. His face is blurry. Why is his face blurry? "It's all right, Tyler, here. You dropped these when you fell."

"I- I fell?" I ask, wiping my eyes and taking my glasses.

"Yeah, you started silently crying and you tried backing away from us but you tripped backwards over the coffee table and hit the wall and then slid down it and started sobbing. We're off to a great start!" Sky huffs sarcastically, and I snort out a laugh.

Ty smiles at me. "Better?"

I nod. "A little bit. Sorry again," I say after clearing my throat.

"Not a problem, Tyler. Who, um... who hurt you?" Ty asks gently, exchanging a look with Sky, who only frowns and shrugs.

"I- I'd rather not say," I reply carefully.

"Hmm. Well, look, we don't want to set you off again, but... would you like to come meet the rest of our team?"

"Uh, would you mind if... Could you two come over again tomorrow?" I ask quietly.

"Of course! Yes, of course, we can do that. Right, Sky?" Ty turns to face his friend, and Sky thinks for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, we should be able to do that." His eyes light up. "Ooh, we can cuh-caw to let you know when we've arrived!"

"That's a brilliant idea," I giggle as Ty opens his mouth, undoubtedly to protest. He sighs and rolls his eyes, but a smile twitches at his lips.

"Tomorrow," says Ty. "We'll be here."

The moment they leave, I start preparing. Diamond sword? Yes, please. I will not be caught off guard. Might as well pack some food, too - preferably enchanted food, but I don't have any at the moment. I'll pick some up tomorrow.

Next I shove a few Before books into my backpack, because now if I'm kidnapped, at least I'll have good reading material. You know, a comic book or two wouldn't hurt either... Maybe a manga, as well.

And now it's time to call Ryan.