ORPHANED

:: one hundred four ::

her eye's held the same disapproval his mom's had the very first day she had to pick him up from the principal's office, 'the start of his rebellion' he remembered the words that had lingered in the air. what he would give to be back in that too warm office, his mom sitting beside him while they talked about something that was really no big deal.

the way red stared at him now left him feeling like he had committed an unforgivable crime. his eyes turned away from her and landed on the clouds drifting above.

"you don't think george likes you back? that's what this is?" the incredulity in her voice gave him a weird pang of hope. his eyes landed on her in time to watch her facepalm so hard he started to feel the pain in his own face. "i could punch you in the face right now and im sure he would thank me." she stared at him for a long time before she spoke again. "friends don't do what you do, i know for a fact that he likes you."

dream knew it was what he wanted to hear, but if it was the truth then why was he in this situation in the first place. why did it feel that every point against it was so much stronger than the ones going for it. if it was true then why did he disappear. "then why did he stop showing up."

she blinked back. no reason coming to mind as to why the brunette had seemingly disintegrated into thin air. she laid back down in the grass, the both of them raking their brains for where this had gone wrong, and what could have been the reason he was gone.

"there's got to be a good reason behind his disappearance..."

"like he found out i kissed him and he doesn't want to reject me because it would change our friendship forever." his hands rested over his eyes again, no longer wanting to stare up at the blue in the sky.

"...or, he's just as scared as you. i'm not here to argue with you dream."

the breeze that skimmed his skin, left him with a longing for the boy that warmed him from inside to out. the possibility that the brunette had been as upset as the blonde, did nothing but help deteriorate his mood.

"this happened so suddenly there's no way the both of you have already come to terms with the consequences. i really do believe if you talk about this with him you guys can be together."

he removed his hands from his eyes, wanting to search the room between them for any sign she wasn't being genuine. she smiled at him with a troubled smile. the situation had been so tiring for everyone involved at this point, and of course he had to go and bring even more people into it.

"i wouldn't have offered to help in the first place if i didn't believe that, and i really do mean it."

they found a silence, as their time together came to a close, and the conversation ended.

"how about you sit on all of this advice, and if by the twenty-sixth you still don't think it's a good idea, we let it go?"

an ultimatum, perfect, just what he needed, another thing to worry about that would take up space in his already clouded mind. he agreed, only because he knew there was not a single thing that could happen that would change his mind.

**

he ignored his pestering sister, who bore too many questions for her own good. knowing any answer he could provide her with would be something she wouldn't want to hear. instead he continued on his path to his room where he planned to stay for the rest of the week, already exhausted from all of the thinking he had done recently. this was no fun, and it was definitely not how he expected to spend his break.

he set his phone down on the table beside his bed, and that was the very last time it was thought about for the rest of the week. despite his efforts to push his sister to the side she found her way into his room, and sat on the floor beside his bed, offering company that he couldn't turn away.

neither of them bothered to turn the light on, the color funneling in from the window offering enough visibility without risking the comfort of the dark. from where the blonde laid on his bed, he could hear purring, assuming his sister had let the cat in. the door wasn't fully shut, leaving space for the sounds of downstairs to bleed into the room. offering faint noises that filled the silence between them.

"you're not cheating on george, are you?" her voice sounded so betrayed, and he knew it would be worse if he were to just brush her off. so instead his hand came to rest on the top of her head, trying to voice a sincerity he wouldn't be able to prove otherwise.

this was not the kind of thing he thought he'd be getting himself into when he moved here. "nobody can replace george."

he didn't have to see her, and she didn't have to say anything for him to know she was smiling. now all that was left for him to do was sit around and think. he knew if he were to give up on them he wouldn't be the only one disappointed, proven enough by the disappointment his sister had already shared with him. he rested a pillow on top of his face and sighed into the expanse of the room, the noise muffled by the fabric.

slowly, sleep picked away at the remaining will in his bones to stay awake, it wasn't a hard fight, but it was a fight nonetheless. with him sleeping so soundly, exhausted by the events of the week his sister was the only person left to keep him sane.

—

i braided my hair yesterday and i had a midlife crisis because, who am i if not the girl who used to throw fits over her hair being braided? i don't even know who i am anymore /hj