Ryan felt a bit more comfortable with Cat's supporting words. His burden seemed to be lighter now that he shared what was on his mind to a person, who happened to be on a similar situation to him. Though the sorrow was still lingering in the depths of his mind.
"I'm a bit more relieved with this chatting, Cat." he said with a calmer voice. "It's still difficult for me to handle all this issue, because I don't know how the others will take this matter. But I'll try to face it."
Talia kept her eyes on the ground as she listened to Austin's reply. She was so disheartened, but at the same time her ideal "Totally guys!" response where they all prance of into the sunset couldn't be a reality. Talia hadn't expected him to say yes, but she also knew he wouldn't say no. She gripped his hand tightly and raised her head to meet his gaze. She looked between him and Janette for a moment, before opening her mouth to speak. At first she hesitated, unable to find words, then she gulped and seemed to focus. Talia found her voice.
"Life isn't something you have to be Austin, it isn't a skill you learn, or a gift you are born with..." Talia paused to plot her words carefully. "We are all life... the proof is right-" Talia brought her free hand to point at her chest "-here, beating away each and every moment. Sure, you may be death... but who says you can't be life too? Austin you have your own heart beating in that chest of yours, and you have used it to love and cherish... perhaps it's just been a while. You can never forget how to love, like riding a bike. But getting back on a bike for the first time won't be a smooth ride. Loving again is going to be a bumpy ride, but we will be here each and every bump, for every peak and every dip." Talia paused again, realising she was still looking at Austin.
Her voice seemed to leave her, and she dropped her gaze again, though she was smiling. "Something this big isn't going to change over night, but I'm sorry to say that it also isn't going to be easy, even with our help." Talia finished, looking up to Janette almost seeking her approval. Talia truly hoped she would come up with another one of her truly positive and joyful speeches just to fill the now rather awkward (at least to Talia) silence.
Cat squeezed his hand. "Don't worry about the others. I will take care of that. And you never have to face this issue alone ever again. I will be here to help you. You just let me know and i will come." she hugged him tightly. She felt a bit more hair on him but she didn't mind. "They will understand. They will have to."
Janette sat silently as she listened to Austin answer, knowing it was the truth and seeing how hard it was for him right now. She then let Talia speak, and once she finished she nodded with a small smile before configuring her words. At this moment she didn't know what to say, she knew how to help and wanted to help, but for once she didn't know how to put it across.
"Austin, have you ever seen a Disney movie? Have you seen Up, it's Disney Pixar and at the beginning a boy falls in love with a girl and they grow up and get married and they plan all these adventures with each other and this man loves Ellie, his wife, so unbelievably much. Then Ellie dies and leaves Carl, the man, alone. And he becomes an empty shell just like you have. Maybe he blames himself for Ellie's death, I don't know but, well, the point is, then he meets this kid and he becomes happy again. And- I mean- What I'm trying to say is- Learning to live again just takes some help. Like Talia said in her wonderful words, you're already alive. And now you've got to take all your being alive and you've got to fill that shell with it, like a flood. Because there is no life without death, and no death without life, and sometimes you just need to open your eyes a little wider to see that it's time for your next adventure. Friends aren't just labels. Friend means someone who supports you and turns on the light when you can't reach it. And so we'll help you turn on that light yeah? I can get the step ladder, Talia can give you a hand up, and then you can flick on that switch of your life."
She stopped and fell silent, unsure whether she'd spoken to much, whether she'd said the right thing. She glanced over at Talia and then back to Austin, watching carefully to see how he reacted. She wondered if she should say more, or apologise if she'd pushed him too far, but no words came out of the girl's mouth.
Spoiler: I AM BATMAN
Austin listened intently to the girls’ speeches taking each to heart. He couldn’t help but crack a smile at Janette’s expense when she referenced an old movie. Janette was a special kind of weird, but she like Talia was affecting the boy for the better. Austin had spoken more in the last week than he had in the last year. He couldn’t express how accurately just how he felt, but he wanted to try.
“For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel.....well I don’t feel numb. I feel hurt, I feel pain, and for the first time in a long time...I don’t feel so alone. I don’t know how to be a friend.....I want to be more open....I don’t want to be so secretive....but I have been hiding so long that I don’t know how to do anything else. You two.....and Abby...and Cat......you seem to trust me even though you don’t know anything about me. I just wish I could be more like you all. I wish I knew how to be a friend...” Austin continued holding the girls’ hands as he looked into their eyes.
“Can you teach me?"
Abby watched the other students as they conversed with each other. Catherine and Ryan were at one spot, and Austin, Talia and Janette in another. Abby was about 15 feet away from Austin, Talia and Janette. Part of her was thinking listening to their conversation, but the other part was thinking about why she was where she was. Not physically, but emotionally and mentally. One minute she would be thinking about using her abilities to save people, and the next she would think about just being free to do whatever she wanted. She felt like she had a bad case of bipolar, and sooner or later something bad would probably happen, and her friends would be in the middle of it, and she couldn't let that happen. Maybe she was going crazy now, but she thought of what seemed like the only solution to protect her friends: she was going to leave. If she left, her friends wouldn't have to deal with her. So with a few quick steps, she went behind a tree so nobody could see her. Then she hid behind another. Then another. And another. In a few minutes she was a good ways away from her friends. Then she started running. She didn't know where she would run, but she would just run.
A Strange Sensation To Nature
Sophia trudged through the halls of the school building. She was trying to find something to do, or at least occupy her time. She didn't know if her group had any legitimate classes to attend, but she simply didn't care about that. Right now, she was worried about the boredom that has overtaken her experienced joy - which drained her of time. "I could go for some computer hacking right now," she simply said as she leaned against a window and found peace against the shining sun. She moaned in sweet silence as she embraced the horror that was boredom. However just boredom was about take over her very consciousness, she noticed a group of students hanging out by the edge of a forest - which was strange for her since forests were always filled with stalker-like creatures and wildlife that could kill you.
But then it hit her like fright-train to a reindeer, those were the students she was originally suppose to be with! What in the world was she doing in the school building when she should be down there enjoying the life of a school-student with her group!? Jesus she was so stupid!
Sophia pulled herself up to her feet and rushed through the halls with the loudest of clunker of mechanical parts hurdling down a marbled hallway. The sound of metal echoed through the halls as Sophia burst through the side doors of the building she was in and sprinted towards the friendship circle - which was also the first thing she saw - and made a daring leap for said friendship circle. There in that circle were three students: Austin, Janette, and Talia.
Her face came first as it skid across the dirt and up towards the students. Her metal appendages, and her clothing, getting all dirty from the clumsy slide. She came to a stop just before Janette, who by then would probably be surprised by this sudden behavior from the tech nut. Sophia looked at the circle and screamed a howdy, "Ello there chaps!" And at this point her voice might as well be amplified ten-fold for how loud she was being.
Janette screamed out, scared of the huge object that seemed to jump at them from nowhere. When she saw it was Sophia she gave out a laugh of relief. "Oh my gosh! Sophia! You scared me!" She said still laughing a bit. "Hey, welcome to the club!" She said, after she'd regained her composure. She looked around, someone was missing. "Guys, where's Abby gone?" She asked, a little confused. She'd seen her not to far away just a few minutes ago. Janette looked around slightly worried before spotting her running off. "Hey Abby! Hey! Come back!" The girl didn't turn around at all. Is she ok? What's wrong with her?She thought before standing up and, without saying anything, ran off after her friend trying to catch up. Abby disappeared and she stopped. "Where'd she go? Wait.." She spotted her racing through the trees. She caught her breath and got ready to run after her, she set off again.
Spoiler: I AM BATMAN
When Janette called out, Talia gasped and spun her head to see what the girl was so startled by. When one of her fellow students came grinding to a halt by Janette's feet, Talia was a little surprised and took a few moments to compose herself. Despite Janette's laughing and Sophia's jolly tone, Talia couldn't help but ask "Are you okay?" Pushing the hand resting on the grass closer to the girl in order to lean over and inspect the metal girl. She let out a slow breath, and even smirked herself, finding the comedy in the situation. "Yeah, nice to see you after... everything" Talia thought back to the illusion that had damaged and scared so many off them. She glanced over in this moment to Catherine and the other boy, Ryan, seeing how distant they seemed. This forced another sigh from her lungs, which was badly timed. In the next moment, Janette began shouting after Abby, and Talia tried to gasp. The air caught in her throat and she dissolved into a coughing fit. When she had recovered, she found Janette running about the dense forestline. "Janette? Janette what are you...?"
Then Talia saw, Abby running just ahead of Janette. The girl seemed panicked, and Janette seemed worried too. Talia looked between Austin and Sophia, her eyebrows knitted in anxiety. "We should really..." Talia paused, realising she was still gripping Austin's shoulder tightly. "Come on, we should help calm her down" Talia continued, in a slightly more confident tone. Letting go of Austin's shoulder, Talia forced herself to her feet. Her head went dizzy with headrush for a moment, and she suffered another few dry coughs. Next, she ran. "Janette! Abby!" She called, diving into the thicker brush. "Abby, what's happening? Can't we just talk?" She continued to run, glimpsing Janette shoot past a tree and racing to catch up. "Janette, what's wrong!?" She called, desperate for answers.
Austin sighed at Sophia’s sudden arrival. His question would remain unanswered, forced into the background by comic relief. While Janette and Talia were startled, Austin just seemed to shrug it off still lost in thought. Though he was disappointed that his plea of help was being overshadowed, he was at least grateful to have Janette’s laughter to draw him out of his thoughts. He looked up at the robotic girl and did his best to smile. “Um..hi?” He greeted softly. Before he could say anything else, yet another situation developed. First Janette ran off without explanation, then Talia ran off after Janette, and now....now the misfortunate boy was in pursuit of all three.
“Can everybody just stop freaking running!?!” The boy yelled out. He realized how hypocritical he was being, he was after all the runner in the group. No one had more experience running away from their problems than Austin. Still, he eagerly anticipated when all the collective problems of the group finally subsided. “Abby!!!!! Stop! I need you okay!?! We need you!!! You made me feel like I wasn’t a monster! Don’t do this! Don’t leave!!!!” He yelled out his pleas as he crashed through the brush. Austin had surprisingly fast speed, and that allowed him to at least finally catch up with Talia. He matched the girl stride for stride. “Do you see her?” He asked.
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