comfort crowd | sdmn one-shots

Ethan x OC (sister, sh)

"Just... be careful with her. She's been a bit hysterical recently."

Hysterical? What is that supposed to mean?

Daisy had already exited her mother and step-father's car and slid into the plush comfort of her brother's glimmering SUV. A stark contrast from the outside air, the cool breeze from the vents blasted her dry, tender skin. She instinctively sat as far in the corner (away from the drivers' seat) as she could and drew her attention to the knotted threads hanging from the cuff of her beloved red sidemen jumper.

"You know" Ethan jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut "we also make t-shirts"

Smart arse "I just like this one more" Daisy mumbled, watching as the car crept out of the drive of her family home.

The dried grass was crunched by the tires and smashed against the cracked, sandy dirt. Ethan turned the air conditioning up higher as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead and splashed onto the steering wheel. He glanced in the rear view mirror but could hardly make Daisy out, only part of her leg and ginger hair in his eyesight.

He thought about what his mother told him. Hysterical, she looks anything but hysterical. He thought to himself.

"so, how's life in Daisy land?" Ethan enquired, forcing some spark into his voice

"same old, same old" she mumbled in reply "school is ok" - Daisy was used to adults only asking about her education

"no, I mean, how are you?" her probed. She glanced up to meet his eyes in the mirror.

"I'm just tired." Were the most believable words she could conjure

"Have you not been sleeping well?"

"no, it's this heat. my bedroom is like a sauna" Daisy continued to lie

Then why the fuck are you sitting here in a jumper? Ethan wanted to say but held back "my flat is nice and cool, hopefully you'll sleep better there"

The rest of the drive was fairly quiet. A few pleasantries were exchanged but Daisy remained stoic. This wasn't totally out of the ordinary for her, but Ethan usually gets to see a bit more life in her than this. This continued into Ethan's flat and all the way until dinner. A Nandos deliveroo. Very on brand.

The siblings sat across from eachother in white plastic chairs. They looked pretty sleek, but boy were they not comfortable. Daisy had rectified this when Ethan first started renting the place, she got him some overstuffed floral cushions for them. Though they were not his taste, Ethan struggled to refuse a gift from Daisy.

He sighed. There was clearly something wrong and he'd ruled out most of them. "Do you not want to be here?" he broke the silence

Daisy was taken aback. He doesn't want me here. "no. I like seeing you" she knew for a fact this wasn't a lie. She did like to spend time with her older brother, she just felt very ashamed of herself in that present moment.

"Ok. I want you to know I'm here to listen to you. Please can you tell me what wrong? I don't want you to be upset here" Ethan posed. They didnt get to spend masses of time together and if he could cheer her up, they'd both have a better time surely.

The shame Daisy felt clouded her thoughts. She promised herself she wouldn't tell anyone and she wasnt intending to. Ethan knew she was on antidepressants though they'd never actually had a chance to speak about it - he only found out a few weeks prior through their mum. He was hoping this trip they could establish a dialogue, after all Ethan had had his own mental health struggles and understood the importance of having someone to talk to.