They all walk to the cafeteria with the twins in the back. "You okay, Ty?" Taylor asks.
He nods. "Headache." He doesn't say any more than that as they wait in line to get their lunch.
'There's something wrong with him, but what?... When is there not something wrong with him?—He's acting different today, though. Is it really just a headache? You know what, it's probably from being an ass all night. Serves him right,' she thinks with a satisfied nod. It's her turn-up to get food now.

They arrive at their lunch table after getting some food, and Ashlyn says that she has something to show them. "What's up?" Taylor asks.
"My hair—"
"Yeah, it's not short—" Aiden says before getting a snack to the back of his head. Tyler walks by and stands on the other side of the table. The blonde boy glares at him. The ginger-haired girl ignores their usual banter and shows them her shadow on the table before they sit down. Her hair appears short in the shadow, but it is actuallylong in reality.
"That's odd," Taylor says, her face creasing into a quizzical look as she stares down at the ginger-haired girl's shadow.
"You cut your hair off in that nightmare place. It's not that surprising your hair didn't change here. That place doesn't affect reality; it's the other way around," Tyler says bluntly, staring down at the shadow with unfocused eyes.
Tyler's right—" The blonde-haired boy glares at the short-haired brunette with ever deeper daggers. "—This might have something to do with that other place. For example, when we get hurt there, they don't appear here in our world, but it's a phantom pain or itch," Logan comments, pulling out his analytical voice, forgetting thathalf the people here are in the easy math class.
"Speaking of, how's your side doing?" Taylor asks, leaning over the table to look at the strawberry-blond-haired boy.
Logan grimaces. "I've been itching all morning." He complains as he goes to itch his side again. Taylor smiles at him. Ashlyn lifts up her arm to inspect it before she goes to itch it herself. 'Now that Logan's brought it up, it's too hard to ignore now,' she thinks.
"So, what happened to you guys?" Tyler asks softly, directing his attention to the blonde and the tall, brunette-haired boy who hasn't looked at anybody since he and Aiden entered the cafeteria.
Aiden grimaces at the table as Ben continues staring at the floor. Aiden turns to Ben and looks up to meet his narrowed gaze. "You sure you want me to tell them?" Aiden asks a little apprehensively. Ben nods and retrieves some earbuds from his backpack to put in his ears. They all sit down after the blonde-haired boy nods and sits down along with his cousin. The tall, brunette-haired boy gives him a thumbs up and starts the music on his phone to signal that he's ready, but what's he ready for? He then begins to stare out the window, making this situation more unusual than it already was. Aiden takes a breath before speaking to the table at first. "This is probably the best way to tell all of you before you get it from a different source. -Not sure how, but still. The...situation in the hallway...set him off." Aiden tilts his head from side to side as he speaks the last few words.
"Set him off?" Ashlyn asks as she looks over at the tall, brunette-haired boy, staring out the window, sounding a little confused and, honestly, a little worried.

Aiden nods, his hand covering his mouth. He uncovers his mouth and begins speaking again. "This conversation doesn't leave the group, okay? I mean it." He looks around at everyone who nods and says a variant of "yes," "okay," or "understood."
"I'm not sure if you're aware, but Ben has serious anger issues—like—extreme. Much worse than a Halfwit over there. Aiden gestures to the short-haired brunette with his head, a playful smile on his lips. Tyler just narrows his eyes at him but chooses not to say anything because he's curious as to why these two numbskulls are acting so suspiciously right now. "It's also the reason he can't speak anymore... -Doesn't more like, but...that's a story for a bit later. See, when Ben was in the sixth grade..." Aiden stops and takes a second to think. "Maybe it with the seventh—anyway! He's always been a big guy for his age, so some kids were intimidated by his appearance. He's quite the opposite, though. -Really sweet when it comes down to it." Aiden smiles at the many memories that he and his cousin have had together. "But despite all of that, he was, and still is, kinda timid, and more than anything, he loved singing."

This gets some heads to turn at the table. 'That was unexpected,' Tyler thinks as he stares at the table while listening. He slightly glances up at the tall, brunette-haired boy. He's still staring out the window, looking a bit...sad. Tyler looks away and listens in on what Aiden has to say.

"His interests and appearance didn't match the social norm of middle school life, so he was bullied for it. You see, it didn't start as bullying. This group offered to "fix him." The blonde-haired boy air quotes the last two words. "What they meant by that, he had no idea -at first. One of the more bold members of that group asked him if he wanted to learn to fight. They could teach him, he offered. Thinking that maybe it would be good to know, he almost agreed, but his sister talked him out of it of all people." Aiden lets out a soft chuckle at the memory of Ben's younger sister, who was really short and very into dolls and ponies. Talking him out of learning to fight other people is just honestly hilarious to Aiden. "When he refused the group the second time they asked, they left him alone for a bit before things got physical... It all began a week later. They verbally harassed him day after day until ...he snapped." The blonde-haired boy snaps his fingers for dramatic effect. "He tried to fight back one time, but that just ended with the bold group member—" Aiden clears his throat. "—Shane...he strangled Ben before stepping on his throat, crushing his windpipe. The first time I heard exactly how brutal that was...I didn't... I didn't want to believe it." He pauses for a second, recalling the first time he saw Ben after the incident. He had bruises in stitches all over his face and neck. It was honestly a horrific sight that he never wants to see anyone close to him go through ever again. "Ben spiraled into a depression. That sadness quickly turned to rage. So, when he was allowed to go to school again, he sought out Shane...and his group." Aiden looks off for a second. There are horrified looks from everyone all around the table. Tyler glances over at Ben. He's staring out the window intently, bobbing his head slightly from side to side.

"Things escalated quickly... There were a lot of physical injuries and blood. After each group member was dealt with, he found that he just couldn't stop. Innocents got caught in the crossfire because he believed that they were just like Shane. Thought they were trying to diminish his interests or just laughing at him because of how he looked. Insecurity is the word I think I'm looking for... His grades were slipping... He went missing for hours on end without a word—just many things happened. In other words, things are out of control. Moreso, when he beats up a younger brother in this actual gang in the city, the older brother finds Ben, and...things get worse. That's when they were—they moved." The blonde-haired boy cuts himself off prematurely due to the fact that he shouldn't get into detail about this particular thing. That older brother and his gang set their house on fire. That's why they had to move, but Aiden isn't going to say that. Ben felt ashamed of what he had become, so he came to live with me. He was homeschooled for a bit while he went to therapy. So, he's doing better, but sometimes things trigger him, and it's a bit difficult for him to just shut off the anger or walk away on his own. Sometimes, he needs a little nudge in the opposite direction." Aiden smiles as he uses his hands to push air away.

"Anyway, he's been doing some calming hobbies like gardening, drawing, and reading—"
"So, he can talk?" Logan asks softly, interrupting Aiden even though the boy doesn't really have much more to say.
The blonde-haired boy nods. "He can. He sometimes practices at home, but he dislikes hearing his damaged vocal cords, so he doesn't do it often orin front of others. So he just chooses to just be silent." Aiden shrugs before turning over to Ben and patting him on the shoulder. Bed shuts off his music and takes out his earbuds. He puts both of them on the table and just stares at them; he doesn't want to look anyone in the eye after what he asked Aiden to tell everyone.

There's an awkward silence for a bit before Ashlyn clears her throat.
"Thank you for letting us know, Ben. I'm sorry about what happened to you. That must've been really tough to go through," Taylor says very sincerely because she means it. Ben gulps and nods at her, feeling a bit warm inside his chest.
"Me too. I know that must've been very difficult for you—" Tyler says sincerely. This surprises everyone.
"-Who the fuck are you, and what've you done with the halfwit?" Aiden shouts at Tyler, and the brunette boy gives him a confused and startled expression in response to his outburst. Taylor lets out a funny noise from her throat, and they all start laughing. Tyler blushes and looks away with his arms crossed. "Shut up! I was just trying to be empathetic—last time I do that for any of you again!" He pouts as he looks in the opposite direction. Aiden laughs at him. Ben manages to crack a smile. The short-haired brunette was hoping for that, even if it was at his expense; he guessed he could let this one slide—this time.
When they calm down, Taylor looks over to Ashlyn. "I'm sorry. I interrupted you, Ash. What were you going to say?" Ashlyn looks away from the long-haired brunette's gaze, feeling a bit—put on the spot. "No. I was just going to agree with you," the ginger-haired girl says with a soft, nervous smile. She wasn't going to say that, but she isn't going to say that either.
"Me as well," Logan says with a smile as he turns to look at Ben. After a couple of seconds, the strawberry blonde-haired boy speaks up again. "A little off topic but...I've been doing some thinking. I might have a theory about what happened at Savannah." The strawberry-haired blonde boy fidgets with his hands in his lap. "Er—well... Not exactly how we got there, just how we traveled from Georgia back to here." Everyone turns their heads to face him. He's getting a bit flustered. He doesn't really like it when so many eyes are on him, but this needs to be said because he feels like he's going to go insane if he doesn't share this.

"Right... That's something we've been stuck on for a bit," Ashlyn reminds with a nod..
"What's your theory?" Taylor asks.
"I think that our bodies are connected to that place more than we think. Maybe... It's like an astral plane or something similar—"
"-What's that?" Aiden asks, sitting up a bit instead of being hunched over. He's not sure what that word means, but he decides to ask anyway because it sounds interesting.
"It's a spiritual plane or realm of existence where it's believed souls or our spiritual forms go when we die or ascend—that last part is more difficult to explain... Anyway, here, in our reality, our bodies stay where we fall asleep. I mean, when we go to sleep in our beds, we don't wake up in our beds in that world. And in that place, that's not the case for when we—wake up in seven—well, however many hours later. We can move around in that realm without it affectingthe reality out here. But when we do something here in reality, it affects that realm of existence whether that was putting up the lights around the graveyard or your hair for example." Logan gestures to Aiden before Ashlyn. "That's what makes me believe that maybe this is something like a different dimension kind of thing and maybe not leaning so much into the astral plane thing—but we shouldn't rule that out just yet because we're not dead—" Logan rambles.
"-That's—" Ashlyn starts but stops. Her brain feels like it's going to implode. If Logan continues to speak like this, but she has a feeling that he isn't going to stop his ramble right here.
"-A good theory. Better than anything we've come up with before. Astral plane... It's definitely something similar to that or maybe similar to a mirror dimension, you know—because we're not dead." Tyler speaks up.
"Yeah! -Oh—My point," Logan reminds himself before he clears his throat. "I went on a ramble... My original point—question is...is there a limit to how far we can travel in that place, away from where we fall asleep in this world?" This question stumps the group, even the short-haired brunette. They've only traveled across town before, so would traveling beyond that going make them disappear in that world or what? That's honestly a scary thought to Tyler.
"We've traveled across the neighborhood. So, at least we know we can travel a couple of blocks," Taylor says because her house and Tyler's house are a far distance away from Ashlyn's place and Aiden and Ben's place.
"Exactly. But then I got to thinking about our first night in that...place. When we got home and fell asleep, we didn't wake up in the motel—"
"-We all woke up in our beds—" Ashlyn says, understanding a little bit of what Logan is trying to tell the group.
"—Where we fell asleep the second night," Logan finishes Ashlyn's thought.
"So, there's obviously a limit, but how far is the question?" Tyler asks.

"That's the thing... I don't know exactly how far we can travel away from our real bodies in that world before we're sent back. But sent back how...or do we just get stuck?..." Logan says, rambling off again.
Aiden just blinks at the boy. The strawberry-blond-haired boy lost him as soon as he opened his mouth.
"-I get it. That's something to test—" Tyler shrugs, getting cut off by two loud idiots.
"-I don't!" Taylor and Aiden say loudly in unison. Ashlyn nods, too. Ben just looks like his brain has been fried. Tyler can practically see the smoke coming from all of their ears, and it's kind of amusing. 'Idiots. It's not that difficult of a concept,' he thinks while shaking his head. He decides just to drop the topic that Logan brought up so he can eat without being interrupted by something.
"I...I think I get where you're coming from," the ginger-haired girl says, rubbing her head from listening to those two speak. "I just don't know if that's the move we should be making right now. I mean, you can test out everything you want—ev—eventually, I just think that we have...um...some other things that take priority over...that right now. Sorry, Logan," she says, and the other three agree.
Logan smiles curtly. "No, I get it. I just thought that I should bring it up. I've just been thinking about it since we got back—"

*THUMP*

Aiden smacks his head against the table quite aggressively, mind you. It startles everyone, along with shaking the entire table and rattling all their lunch trays around. The kids sitting behind Tyler, Taylor, and Logan all turn their heads back to see what just happened before they get up and move to a different table. Tyler doesn't blame them. Some days, he wishes he didn't know any of them—well, his sister doesn't count, but the others? Yeah. They're insane.

"Aiden!" Ashlyn calls out in shock and annoyance. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"My brain hurts..." He admits that he mumbles his response into the table. He lifts his head up and looks over at the spooked Logan. The blonde-haired boy now has a red circle in the middle of his forehead. Tyler thinks he literally knocked the brains out of his head with that look on his face.
'And now your head hurts,' Ben thinks with a frown on his face. He was just waiting for his cousin to do something like this. These kinds of conversations seem to confuse or maybe bore him. Ben doesn't know because he doesn't ask.
"I honestly have no idea what you're saying, but I say go for it! —Just stop talking about it. I feel like my brain just melted from listening to you ramble on about your—dimensions..." He gives a thumbs up with a dead smile on his face. 'There's no thought behind those eyes, is there? You know what? You know, there probably isn't any thought behind those eyes because he just knocked his brain the fuck out of his head,' Tyler thinks. Aiden then plops his head back down onto the table, rattling the entire table yet again. The short-haired brunette stands up and raises a hand, but Taylor yanks him back down before he can bring his hand down onto the blonde-haired boy. Ashlyn lifts up a hand next, but Taylor hisses at her. This confuses the ginger-haired girl, so she just sits back down without a word, caught up in this weird situation they've all found themselves in.

"Anyway..." The ginger-haired girl says this after a period of silence. "You two." She looks at both Ben and Aiden. "What do you think about my parents teaching us self-defense? I brought it up earlier with them—" Ashlyn asks, redirecting the conversation to something other than mind fucking theories.
"-Yeah!" Aiden happily says as he quickly lifts his head from the table, turning over to the ginger-haired girl and grabbing both of Ashlyn's arms to shake her a bit. He's just excited to talk about something other than whatever the fuck Logan was rambling on about. The blonde-haired boy gasps really loudly at a brilliant idea andhis thought process. "What if we show your parents your hair?! They'd have to believe us then, right?" Aiden happily shakes his head from side to side as His manic grin grows wider and wider. He's not sure why he's so happy right now. Maybe it's just some built-up energy from earlier.

This sparks a bit of hope in all their hearts, except for Tyler and Ben, who remain skeptical about the question.

*Ring*

The bell for the next class rings, pulling them out of their conversation. They all agree to meet at Ashlyn's house again after school. 'Why's it always my house?' the ginger-haired girl thinks as she sighs in defeat. Taylor catches up with the girl with ginger hair.
"Why's it always my house?" Ashlyn asks the long-haired brunette.
Taylor looks over at her. "Well, you have the bus graveyard, and we don't, so that's one thing. And plus, your parents are very lovely—"
"Lovely?" Ashlyn lets out a scoff of amusement. "I wouldn't exactly use that word to describe my parents. Overbearing maybe—"
"Still, I can see how much they care about you, and it's just a really great energy to have around, you know?" Taylor asks with a smile that makes the ginger-haired girl stop to think for a moment. She lets out a low hum, and Taylor believes that she's in this conversation because the ginger-haired girl says nothing more. They happily walk to their next class, which is English.

—

After school, they all meet up at Ashlyn's house, which they agreed upon earlier in the day. Tyler drives his sister and Logan over to the ginger-haired girl's house because the others have already taken off. They were too impatient to wait five minutes... The car right there is quiet, but none of them really mind it. The radio is playing music, so the silence feels awkward.
When they arrive at Ashlyn's house, Taylor hops out of the car, all excited before he can even finish parking. "—Tay—ugh..." Tyler lets out a defeated sigh. She's already long gone.
"Thank you, Tyler. For this and...for earlier," Logan says as he unbuckles his seatbelt. Tyler shuts the car off and lets out a soft sigh before turning around in his car. He unbuckles himself before glancing up to make eye contact with the strawberry-blond-haired boy.
"No problem, but you gotta promise me something."
"What?" the strawberry-blond-haired boy asks, looking a littleworried.
"Don't let Barron get to you anymore. He's only acting like an idiot because he doesn't get enough attention at home. He takes it out on everyone else but the people who actually caused his anger. That doesn't excuse anything he does—fyi. I'm not defending him—to be very clear. I just...thought you should know... Don't tell him I told you that, though—"
"I won't," Logan says before getting out.
"He and I used to be closer, but...it's his dad. Abuse piece of fucking work—drinks all the time, can't keep a job. It's honestly a sad sight—"
"The school doesn't do anything about it?"
Tyler shakes his head. "No. They always turn a blind eye... -What?" the short-haired blonde asks as he looks at the strawberry-blond-haired boy's amused expression.
"Your sister. She's waving at us—"
"-tch...god. Okay." Logan smiles as he gets out of the car. They both do. Tyler locks it up, and they both walk over to the porch where the others are waiting for them.
"The fuck were you two doing in there?~" Aiden teases, but this doesn't get to Tyler. He just shoves him along as they try to get inside the house.

Ashlyn opens the front door, and everyone walks in. Aiden stops in front of Tyler, who is the second-to-last one still outside. Ben is standing behind them. Tyler bumps into the back of Aiden. 'What're you doing? You better not be doing what I think you're doing,' Ben thinks, feeling a bit worried because they're at someone's house and not in a parking lot or at school or somewhere—else! For that matter.
"Don't just stop so suddenly," Tyler says, his tone hinting at annoyance as he takes a step away from the blonde-haired boy. Aiden turns around with a grin on his face.
"Oh, excuse me. Who made you the king of the doorway? I can't move or do your eyes not work properly—""
"-Just—move—"
"Nah. Ya know what? I think I like the doorway more. I think I'll just stay right—here. Right in your way." The two boys start trying to push each other out of the way, but not too aggressively, due to the limited space. Ben just stands there, unsure if he should step in or not. 'To be honest, they look so silly trying to fight each other. Aiden looks like he's having fun. I'm glad... Maybe I should step in—' Ben thinks with a smirk. He eyes Logan from inside the house before making a move. He looks at him, confused. Ben shrugs before grabbing the back of their collars and dragging them outside. When he lets go, they both turn around to look at him.

"I know...but I didn't start it this time." Aiden tries to defend himself. Ben just shakes his head.
"Well, I didn't start anything either. You're the one who- stopped..." Tyler trails off when he sees a hand on Aiden's head and feels a hand on his.
"What's going on out here, boys?" a deep male voice asks the two bickering boys in front of the doorway. They both look up to see Ashlyn's dad, Mike, standing in the doorway, holding their heads with a serious expression on his face.
"I'm sorry, sir," Tyler says immediately.
"Me too," Aiden says, trying to sound genuine, but it comes across as forced and unconvincing. Mike gets them all to finally come inside and sit down before Ashlyn starts talking. She wanted everyone in the room to discuss this, but no, two idiots and one Ben had to be outside, causing a scene—minus Ben.

When they're all seated in the living room, Ashlyn talks with her parents. "Oh, hold that thought, honey—" Her mom, Emma, says before getting up and retrieving the sandwiches she had made earlier from the kitchen. Aiden eats a triangle sandwich messily, with his mouth open, getting crumbs on his shirt. Tyler looks on in utter disgust before Taylor pushes his head in the other direction. She knows how he is, and this will trigger him. 'Just look the other way, Ty. You don't need to start anything again. Just be calm,' Taylor thinks, hoping her calming thoughts are reaching her brother. After, Aiden burps and continues eating. Mike starts the conversation a little dumbfounded at his manners.
"So... what did you kids want to talk about?" he asks, a bit wearily, as he tries his best to ignore the blonde-hairedboy sitting off to his right.
"So..." Ashlyn stands up and holds a braid up to the wall in front of the lamp. "Do you notice anything wrong with my shadow?" The kids can all see it. In reality, her hair is long. In her shadow, her hair is short. Aiden quiets down and lets the ginger-haired girl speak.
"Um... no," Mike says, his face filled with a quizzical lookas he stares at her shadow on the wall.
"Are we supposed to notice something?" Emma asks with an encouraging yet confused, soft smile.
"No—nevermind. Forget it. -There is actually another thing I wanted to ask you about. We need your help. Logan is being bullied at school, and I thought it might be a good idea to ask you about self-defense. I know you two can teach it really well, so I thought I'd ask."
"So that's where you got that bruise on your cheek from? Who was it, dear?" Emma asks. Logan nods curtly before sheepishly looking away.
"Barron," Tyler says boldly without a single fuck given. He isn't going to hide the truth from anyone. Barron needs to get help, but in order to receive the help he needs. He needs to be recognized by someone who cares enough to help stop this harmful behavior. Perhaps he could speak with the school's counselor about this. Nah. That wouldn't work. He'd actually need to be willing to come in and get help himself. Tyler can't just kidnap him—that sounds wrong.

Mike looks at Emma before addressing the room. "I mean, I don't mind teaching self-defense to you all; I think it's something everyone should know. However... you're all going to have to get permission from your parents before anything. I don't want any surprises or upset calls from anyone. Do I make myself clear?" They all nod. "Self-defense should not be used to pickfights when you're strong and capable enough. It's to be used to protect yourself from any threats in a controlled way or as most controlled as you can make your situation. I don't want to hear about any of you picking fights because I taught you self-defense." Mike sits back with his arms crossed before getting jabbed in the side.

"And me. In fact, I can teach you better than he can. So don't leave me out." Emma smiles at Mike. The kids just sit there a bit awkwardly. "Anywho, I do agree with my husband about the 'no picking fights' rule. Are we all in agreement on that?" she asks the room, and the kids all nod. "Wonderful!" She happily puts her hands together with a smile on her face.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

They talk and eat a bit more before making their way to the backyard for a discussion about the Phantom—mirror dimension. There's just a bunch of names for it at this point. "Your mom is intense," Tyler admits softly to the ginger-haired girl as they walk out of the back door. Ashlyn smiles a bit.
"She can be, but hey. At least they agreed to help." Tyler nods in agreement. He's about to say more, but before he can, he can't even get a word out. He hears a loud, cheerful voice coming up behind him.
"Hey Ash, can I talk to you for a sec?" Taylor runs up beside Ashlyn, a nervous-looking smile on her face, her hands fidgeting behind her back. Tyler eyes his sister with a look of confusion for a second before smirking and walking away from the two of them. Maybe she's trying to rekindle an old friendship? Ashlyn seems like... She doesn't exactly seem like the type to have many friends—any at all... She did scare everyone off for years because of her freaky hearing and her quiet personality...' A pit of something inside of Tyler makes his heart thump a little, but in what way? Is it good or bad? 'She seems okay though. I'm not sure I could call her a friend, but she's alright... Why did Taylor stop hanging out with her again? I can't remember... Maybe Ashlyn just pushed too hard... That's probably how she lost all her friends in the first place," the short-haired brunette boy thinks, grimacingslightly. He doesn't really want to think about this anymore. 'That's just depressing.'
"Um—" Ashlyn watches Tyler walk away and over towards the bus, where the rest of their group had run off the moment they were able to leave the house. Now she's left with this vibrating puppy next to her who looks like she might pounce on her or something. 'Help.'