Gripping the Lines

Not as it Should Be

Warnings: sad, swearing

*706 words(BELOW)*

'I hate them. I hate them all,' Earth thought. 'All they ever do is throw trash at me, poison me, hurt me, ignore me. No human is worth the glory that they think they are worth. People are poisonous. People are trash. People are hurtful. People are ignorant. People are just awful.'

"Hey, what's up?" You ask the troubled being. "You seem upset."

"Ah! When did you get there!?" Earth shrieks, startled by your appearance. "Hey! Calm down, it's just me, Earth."

Earth sighed. "You know you're not allowed to sneak up on me, though! Jerk." You sigh with a half-smile and apologize to Earth. "It's good. Just don't do it again, got it?" they huffed.

You nod your head and Earth begins walking away. "Hey! Wait up, Earth!"

Earth stops in front of the Bean Cafe. You run ahead of them and try to hold the door open, but Earth beats you to the punch and slides inside, giving you a wary glare once you enter the place. "What?"

"You know what," Earth grumped. "We're friends, but we're not good enough friends for you to do anything nice for me."

You sigh. "You don't have to be friends with someone for them to hold the door open for you, you know." Earth huffs, and you stop talking. "Well, we may as well look over the menu while we're waiting for this line to shrink. "What do you-"

"I'll just get a Tuxedo hot chocolate," Earth blurts. 

"Okay," you reply, "I guess I'll get a...caramel macchiato."

You and Earth wait for a few minutes until finally, it's your turn to order. After the orders are taken, you jump ahead of Earth and go outside to one of the patio tables and sit down. A brief debate is argued in your head before you decide not to pull out the opposite seat for Earth. They probably wouldn't have accepted the gesture anyway.

Earth sits down and pulls out their phone. You follow suit and pull out your phone. Its clear and glittery case shines in all its glory under the sunlight. Typing in your password, the screen immediately shifts to your last opened app--Pinterest. 

As you shift through the many pins, you find one that is all about saving Earth. It was vocal about all its abusers and praising towards all its helpers. The piece was very motivating in general. You have yet another mental debate over whether or not you should show it to Earth. In the end, your hopeful attitude and curiosity get the better of you, and you slide the phone across the class table towards Earth.

The latter calmly looks away from their phone and glances at yours. "What's this?"

"It's a piece of art I found on Pinterest. I think you'd appreciate it," you explain, watching anxiously as the other picks it up in a bored fashion and looks at it. Their eyes are bored at first, but then they grow confused and wide.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why would you show me this!?" Earth hisses. You're suddenly taken aback, confused. "What do you mean? It's a nice piece of art, Earth! It means that not everyone is out to get you! Not everyone in this world is bad, you know!" you shout angrily. "Why can't you see this and appreciate it!?"

Earth's anger has a brief flash of uncertainty before shifting to rage. "There are still too many people who don't care for me to give a shit about a handful that do!" Earth stood up from the table, no longer in the mood for a drink. "Humans will never change. All they ever care about is advancing the human race, no matter what the cost, be it humans, animals, or planets!  It's been this way for years! Why should I trust that they're ever gonna change, especially now!?"

You stop, taking a step back. You watch steadily as Earth walks away. "We can't be friends anymore. Not until you see what I see," they said.

"But, I do," you whisper, as Earth rounds a corner, disappearing from view. "I do, and I'm trying to fix it."

You look down at the phone in your hand. The screen was still on with the piece of artwork on Pinterest. You look closer and find your signature on the art. "I'm trying, Earth."