Carrie floated into her room and telekinetically slammed the door behind her.
She breathed heavily and angrily used her telekinesis to throw a bunch of her clothes out of her wardrobe in a fit of rage, accidentally ripping one of the doors half off its hinges.
She then did the same to a bunch of stuff on her shelf, one side snapping off and tilting down.
A potion that was on the shelf smashed and split over some of her clothes that were now on the floor. Whatever, she never actually wore any of them.
She pulled her mirror over causing it to smash into pieces. Well, there's 7 years of bad luck.
She took deep breaths and managed to calm herself down enough to end the rampant destruction of her room.
She floated onto her bed and sighed, tears falling down her face.
She lay there for a while, just silently crying.
She'd had such a horrible day. She just felt so angry and miserable and she had no idea why. All day, she had been getting irrationally angry at the smallest things and hating everything.
Her father had asked if she was alright but she'd denied it and said she was fine and he had nothing to worry about, though she knew he didn't believe her. She sighed. She'll talk to him later, she really didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, well except one person. She wished he was here but unfortunately he had been off school sick, so she'd been left to deal with this awful day by herself, much to her dismay.
She sighed and looked around her room and the mess she had caused. Great, that'll take a while to clean up. Well, guess that's future me's problem.
She then spotted her guitar laying again the wall.
She smiled weakly. Yeah, a good song is what she needed right now.
She got up and floated over to it, picking it up.
She floated over to her window and opened it up, sitting (or well, floating) halfway inside of it.
She watched the sun begin to set and began to strum her guitar.
(If you can play 'Use Somebody (Acoustic)' by Pixie Lott please do so now)
"Ohhhhh, ohhhhhh"
"Ohhhhh, ohhhhhh"
"I've been roaming around,
Always looking down and all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach"
"You know that I could use somebody, yeah
You know that I could use somebody, yeah"
Meanwhile, Carrie's father let in Darwin who had to check up on her, having heard about her bad day. He told him where she was and he headed upstairs.
"Someone like you,
And all you know and how you speak"
"Countless lovers
Undercover of the street"
"I know that I could use somebody, yeah
You know that I could use somebody, yeah
As he went up the stairs he heard someone singing, and the voice was very familiar. Was that...? No, it couldn't be...could it?
"Someone like you!"
"Ohhhhh, ohhhhhh"
"Someone like you!"
"Ohhhhh, ohhhhhh"
"Off in the night while you live it up,
I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat"
"I hope it's gonna make you notice, yeah
I hope it's gonna make you notice, yeah"
He quietly opened the door and saw Carrie floating in the middle of her window, strumming a guitar and singing and let out a quiet gasp, beginning to smile at the sight.
"Someone like me, ohhhhh, ohhhh
Someone like me, ohhhhh, ohhhh
"I'm ready now"
"I'm ready now"
"I'm ready now"
"I'm ready now"
"I'm ready now"
"I'm ready now"
He quietly walked over and sat on her bed, continuing to watch with a mix of awe and shock.
"Ohhhhhh, ohhhhhh"
Someone like yoooouuuu!"
"You know that I could use somebooooody, yeah"
You know that I could use someboooody, yeah"
"I've been roaming around,
Always looking down and all I see"
She finished her song and Darwin sat in silence for a moment, still processing what he'd just seen.
Eventually, he smiled and spoke up. "Wow, Carrie, that was...that was amazing!"
Carrie turned around startled. "Darwin!? Don't do that, you scared me!"
He chuckled. "Hahaha, sorry."
She rolled her eyes and let out a grin. "It's fine. What are you doing here though? I thought you were ill."
"Yeah but it wasn't that bad, and I feel a lot better now." He replied as he walked up and sat next to her.
"Oh well, that's good. So uh...how...how long were you there?"
He grinned. "Long enough to hear you playing."
She blushed and began rubbing her arm. "Oh, you uh...you heard that...?"
He nodded. "Most of it. I didn't know you could play the guitar!
She grinned. "Darwin, I'm a 327-year-old punk rock chick..."
She flicked her hair. "...Of course I can."
"Well, you've never mentioned it or showed it off before."
She blushed again as she became flustered. "Y-You never asked and, well, I never really thought it was relevant enough to bring up..."
He chuckled. "I never thought to ask really. So how long have you been playing it then?"
She rubbed her arm. "I...started doing it a century, century and a half ago, give or take, as a sort of, I guess...comfort o-o-or coping mechanism, for whenever I felt upset or miserable or lonely or just generally in a bad mood. It helps me to zone out, feel relaxed, and forget all the problems and annoyances that come with eternal life as a ghost..."
"Wow, I...had no idea."
She smiled. "No one did other than me and my father. Well, until now."
He chuckled. "Wow, in that case, I feel kinda honoured."
She chuckled back. "You should!"
He hesitated. "So, I uh...heard that you had a pretty bad day today...is...that why you were playing?"
Her face fell and she began to speak quieter, remembering why she had been playing in the first place. "Yeah, today was...pretty rough."
He frowned. "Oh no, really? What happened?"
She hesitated before sighing.
"I woke up feeling utterly miserable. I felt like I hated everything and got irrationally angry at the smallest things for no reason, and I just got angrier and angrier throughout the day. I didn't feel like doing anything, I just wanted to stay at home and hide in my bed all day, but I forced myself to go to school because I knew you would be there, but, of course, you just so happened to be off because you were ill, which just ended up making me feel even worse."
Darwin hearing this started to feel guilty. He was partially to blame for her bad mood..?
She noticed him looking guilty and held his fin.
"Hey, don't worry though, it wasn't your fault you were ill. Besides, that was only a small part of why I felt so bad. Way worse stuff happened later on."
"Like what?" He asked.
"During class, I couldn't concentrate, I got irritated at everything around me and just couldn't focus and ended up flunking my test completely, I spilt one of my potions in my locker which took all of break to clean up, Tobias was annoying me, even more so than usual, and trying to win me over then Julius and his creeps harassed me too so I escaped outside."
Darwin continued to listen, noticing her begin to tear up.
"I was near my breaking point, when Gumball came over and sat with me and tried to talk to me, said he was worried about me as I was ignoring everyone and being really quiet and asked me what was wrong. I tried to get him to leave me alone, as I really didn't feel like talking, but he kept trying to get me to talk, saying I could tell him, I could trust him, etcetera, and I get he was worried and just trying to help, but I just couldn't take it anymore..."
"What...what happened?" Darwin asked as she hesitated to continue.
Her voice broke as she continued, as she was finding it hard to relive this particular event.
"I...I completely snapped and lashed out, letting out all of my pent-up anger, and aiming it all toward him. I yelled at him, called him all sorts of things and threw all kinds of insults at him, really harsh ones. By the time I'd calmed down and realised what I'd done he was almost in tears. I tried to apologise but he broke down and ran off, which made me feel absolutely awful."
She held back tears. "Today was just so, so bad...I want nothing more than for it to be over. I just woke up feeling so miserable and angry and I have no idea why, and it's completely ruined my day, caused me to be upset and hurt one of my best friends a-and I just don't know what to do! I feel so...so..."
She tried to hold back her tears, but was unable to do so any longer and broke down crying.
Darwin looked at her sympathetically and, without saying a word, opened up his arms for her.
She floated over and rested her head on his chest, continuing to sob.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and began to stroke her head.
"Shhhhh, shhhhhh, it's okay. This is just one of those really bad days, the kind of bad day everyone has once in a while. You just need to get through it, push your way through all of these negative emotions and make it to tomorrow."
Her crying slowed as she listened and continued to feel the soft stroke of his fin.
"Tomorrow will be a whole new day, a much better one, one to look forward to, and today will be nothing but a bad memory, one you'll eventually move on from and forget."
She slowly looked up at him, sniffing and he wiped her tears away.
"and don't forget, you always have people to turn to. You don't need to bottle up your emotions and suffer through them alone. Me, Gumball, Penny, we're all here for you, any time. No matter what, you can always come and talk to us. We'll always listen, for as long as you need."
She smiled weakly and nodded. "Yeah...yeah you're right. I can't just mope about and wallow alone. I just have to look forward to tomorrow and remember things will get better, remember I have people to turn to."
Her smile widens and she hugs him back.
"Thank you so much, Dar! I really needed this. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."
"You're welcome." He smiled at her.
She hesitated before taking hold of his fin and squeezing it, smiling at him.
"You know, you told me I'd have to wait until tomorrow for things to get better, but now that you're here...I think they already have."
He smiled. "Aww, see, someone to talk to was all you needed."
She nodded and laid her head back down on his chest, laying across his legs as he had his fin wrapped around her, the two of them watching the night sky, the sun now having set.
They remained silent for a little while until Carrie spoke up again after a sigh, voice breaking slightly
"I don't know how I'm ever gonna be able to apologise for what I did to Gumball. It was completely out of order, I had no reason to go ballistic on him like I did. I wouldn't be surprised if he never forgives me, or even refuses to be friends with me anymore."
Darwin looked down at her a spoke softly.
"Aww, hey, it's alright, you don't need to worry about Gumball, he's already forgiven you."
She looked up in disbelief. "He...he has...?"
"Mhm. When he got home he told me he was really worried about you and about how quiet and upset you were at school and how you'd snapped at him. I could tell he still felt pretty hurt by what you'd said, but he told me he knew you didn't mean any of it and were just lashing out at him. It made him really concerned though, I could hear the worry in his voice when he asked me to come over to check on you."
"Wait...he was the one who told you that I was upset? H-he asked you to come and check on me?" She asked, tearing up as she felt touched.
Darwin nodded. "He wanted me to make sure you were okay and that the reason you were upset wasn't anything serious. He would have come over himself but he thought it'd be better if I went as I was the person you'd want to see the most if you were feeling that bad, and you'd feel more comfortable talking about it to me."
A few tears fell down her face and she smiled.
She was touched that even after she'd insulted him that badly, he was nothing but worried about her. He was so understanding...he still cared about her even after what she'd done. She really didn't deserve to have a friend as good as him.
She smiled and wiped her tears. "Well...t-tell him I said thank for you worrying about me, it...it really means a lot. Oh a-a-and also that I'm really sorry for going beserk like that a-and for what I said and that I didn't mean any of it."
He chuckles. "Don't worry, I will. Though I'm sure he already knows."
She smiled. "Thanks, Dar. You're the best."
They sat in silence again, just enjoying each other's company for what seemed like hours as the two thought to themselves.
Darwin's thoughts were interrupted however when he felt Carrie shift slightly and let out a sniff.
Darwin frowned. "What's wrong?"
"It's...well...it's nothing." She averted her gaze.
"It's okay, you can tell me."
She hesitated. "I...I don't know..."
He held her hand. "You can trust me."
She looked back up with teary eyes. "It's not that I don't trust you, I do, completely. It's just...I've never told anyone this before...I don't know if I can..."
"It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want to." Darwin assured her.
She hesitated again. "No...no, I want to. I need to tell someone about it, I've kept it bottled up for so long now. Just...just promise me you won't tell anyone. Not a soul, not even Gumball."
He took her other hand and looked her in the eyes.
"You know I would never, ever tell people your secrets. Whatever you tell me, I promise, it stays with us. It's safe with me. "
She nodded and took a deep breath as tears began to fall down her face.
"Before...before I became friends with you and Gumball, I used to feel so...so dead, so empty, so depressed, so...alone. Every day just felt like one giant battle for me to get through. I had to force myself to leave the house, go to school, go down to the shops, do anything. I just felt so out of place, felt like I could never live a normal life like everyone else, never have friends or family, never do a lot of the things that they could, and I had lived for so long that I felt like every day was just the same thing, the same cycle, over and over and over, never-ending, and that there was no escape from it. I felt like there was no point to anything, that nothing mattered. I...I genuinely hated my life."
Darwin looked shocked, surprised to hear this about her. He found it hard to imagine his girlfriend feeling so depressed.
"I had no one to turn to or talk to about it to either. My dad was still missing and Azrael, well...he was funny and made me laugh and definitely helped at least a little bit but I didn't feel comfortable talking to him about what I was going through. We never really had deep, serious talks because it was completely out of his comfort zone. He was never any good at comforting or reassuring me or any serious stuff like that, and we'd been drifting apart for a long while anyway, so... he was never really an option, which left me, all by myself, all alone to suffer through this eternal hell by myself."
Tears were now streaming down her face as she struggled to continue. Darwin noticed and squeezed her hand.
He gave her a reassuring smile and she took a deep breath before continuing.
"I thought things would never get any better, that nothing would ever change, I thought I would just be forced to watch everyone else, with their friends and family and lovers, enjoying their lives, happy and content, whilst I was left alone to wallow in jealousy and despair, but then, one day, out of the blue, you and Gumball asked me to hang out with you. I don't why you chose me, singled me out from everyone else in the school, but it was the first time anyone at school, anyone at all except Azrael had asked to hang out with me. I felt shocked, touched, that out of everyone you'd choose me, a random depressing ghost girl you barely knew, to ask to hang out with. Of course I said yes."
She turned to him smiling.
"We ended up really hitting it off and have become incredibly close. You two are now my best friends and we do all kinds of things together, joke about and have a laugh, watch movies together, have sleepovers where we tell scary stories, pull pranks on people, and just mess about doing whatever we kids do, things I never thought I would be able to do and now, thanks to the two of you, I feel more alive than I have in decades, I feel happier than I ever have. For the time ever, I genuinely look forward to each new day, excited to go to school, the mall, the park, wherever, to hang out with you guys and have a laugh, to finally just let loose and be myself, doing whatever crazy thing Gumball has planned for us and just enjoying and appreciating life in a way I never thought was possible."
She wiped her eyes as she continued.
"For the first time ever, I feel normal. I feel like I belong. I feel so loved and appreciated and accepted, and you have no idea how much that means to me. You changed my life for the better and I cannot thank you enough. I really can't express just how grateful I am for everything you've done for me, and I don't think I'll ever be able to."
Darwin stayed silent for a moment as he wrapped his mind around everything she'd just said.
"Carrie I...wow...just...just wow. I...I had no idea..."
Darwin hesitated, in tears as he was touched by everything she'd said before he hugged her tightly.
"Befriending you was one of the best decisions I ever made, but to know how much of an impact it made for you, how much it meant to you, I...I really don't know what to say..."
She held his fins and smiled at him. "You don't have to say anything."
They smiled at each other and Darwin hesitated, before moving her hair out of the way of her eye and holding her cheek.
They smiled, looking each other in the eyes lovingly before they pulled each other into a long kiss.
They let go, and Carrie wrapped her arms around Darwin's head.
"I love you so much, Carrie."
"I love you too Dar, more than I could ever express."
They continued to watch the night sky together, Carrie leaning against Darwin, as the moon begins to rise.
Darwin suddenly spoke up again. "Hey, you know what?
She smiled. "What?"
"You should play the guitar more often. I'm sure Gumball, Penny and Anais would love to hear it."
"What? Pfft, Nah, I sound terrible, they'd hate it."
"Well, I thought you sounded amazing."
She blushed and rubbed her arm.
"You...y-you really think so?"
He nodded. "Yeah, you were great!"
She smiled and blushed harder.
"Besides, if you wanna hear what bad singing really sounds like, you should hear Gumball in the shower!"
They both burst out laughing.
Once they both regained their composure she smiled. "You know what, maybe I will, it could be pretty fun! In fact, the school talent show is next month, perhaps I could perform in that!"
Darwin smiled back. "That's a great idea!"
Carrie thought for a moment then grinned and picked up her guitar "So...do you wanna hear another song?"
"Absolutely!" He smiled.
She smiled back and started to play and sing.
(If you can play '2002 (Acoustic Version) by Anne Marie and Ed Sheeran' then please do so now.)
"I will always remember
The day you kissed my lips
Light as a feather
And it went just like this
No, it's never been better
Than the summer of 2002 (ooh)"
Darwin grinned as he listened to her sing, tapping his foot along.
"Uh, we were only eleven
But acting like grown-ups
Like we are in the present
Drinking from plastic cups
Singing, 'Love is forever and ever'
Well, I guess that was true"
Dancing on the hood in the middle of the woods
On an old Mustang, where we sang
Songs with all our childhood friends
And it went like this, say"
Darwin joined in with her singing in the main chorus, both beginning to grin at each other.
"Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, bye, bye
Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me
Better hit me, baby, one more time, uh
Paint a picture for you and me
On the days when we were young, uh
Singing at the top of both our lungs"
Carrie rested her head on Darwin's shoulder, continuing to play as he sang his verse.
"Now we're under the covers
Fast forward to eighteen
We are more than lovers
Yeah, we are all we need
When we're holding each other
I'm taken back to 2002 (ooh)"
"Dancing on the hood in the middle of the woods
On an old Mustang, where we sang
Songs with all our childhood friends
And it went like this, say"
The two happily sang away together, looking at each other unable to stop grinning.
"Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, bye, bye
Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me
Better hit me, baby, one more time, uh
Paint a picture for you and me
On the days when we were young, uh
Singing at the top of both our lungs
On the day we fell in love
Ooh ooh
On the day we fell in love
Ooh ooh"
Carrie's father peeked his head through the door to check on them both, having heard Carrie singing and smiled as he saw them grinning and singing away together, glad to see his daughter so happy again.
"Dancing on the hood in the middle of the woods
On an old Mustang, where we sang
Songs with all our childhood friends
Oh, now"
"Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, bye, bye
Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me
Better hit me, baby, one more time"
He chuckled and left them to it, as they both sang their heart out into the night sky with the last verse.
"Paint a picture for you and me
On the days when we were young
Singing at the top of both our lungs
On the day we fell in love
Ooh ooh
On the day we fell in love
Ooh ooh
On the day we fell in love
Ooh ooh
On the day we fell in love
Ooh ooh"
As Carrie sang the last line they leaned into each other's faces, both looking each other in the eyes lovingly before kissing again.
"On the day we fell in love, love, love..."
Carrie put the guitar back down and snuggled up to Darwin as the two happily sat together, watching the night sky.
Suddenly, a shooting star shot by.
Darwin noticed it and pointed it out. "Ooh, a shooting star! You should make a wish!"
Carrie held his fin and squeezed it.
"I don't need to. I already have you..."
She looked up at him lovingly.
"...what more could I want?"
The End