Chapter Five: The Spike

32 1 6
                                    

Fucking adults, man. Most of the time, they just seemed to not get it at all.

Ella now knew something about Nick they would have never willingly told her, and she was smart enough to know she needed to keep quiet about it. Maybe they were sugarcoating things, but maybe it was okay to say they were in a good place from it.

No, that's stupid. Since Ella showed up, it must have been so much worse.

But this must be the only time they ever get to sleep. It was evident from the rings under their eyes when they first met, the exhausted look inside their eyes that hadn't left even when they were closed.

Adults don't get it at all. That was Ella's thoughts about things before the events of this week, but then Nick walked into her life.

She stood behind them, not really sure of anything else to do. She couldn't leave, could she? She didn't have anywhere else to go.

Fucking adults, man. Most of the time, they just seemed to not get it at all.

Nick worried that Ella thought the same thing about them, even though it was so obvious that she didn't. They thought the same thing as a child, and if there's one thing they promised to themselves, it's that Ella would never be who Nick was at her age. Not ever.

No, that's stupid. It's so clear that she is in the exact same position.

She has no family, at least not one that cares for her. It was evident from the quick way she stuck to them, even sleeping in the office. The exhausted look in her eyes that hadn't left even when they were closed.

Adults don't get it at all. That was Nick's thoughts about things, even after their childhood, but then Ella walked into their life.

She stood behind them, physically and metaphorically, and Nick wasn't really sure of anything else to do. She couldn't leave, could she? She didn't have anywhere else to go.

"mMmmmmmh." Nick sat up, their neck feeling absolutely awful. They'd slept hunched over the desk again. Looking at the microscope, they shot up. "Shit! Oh, my fucking—god!" They barely tripped over the stool. "Gah!" And Ella was standing right behind them, wide-eyed as ever. "Hey, kid," they said shortly, and ran to Jackie's laptop. "What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty," Ella responded, looking back at the microscope hesitantly.

"Jackieeee, come onnnn!" Nick was practically begging Jackie to show up. "How the fuck did it get to—?!" They rushed back to the microscope, just panicking over it as they poked at it inwards. "Go back in, go back in, come on!"

Ella looked at the computer screen. The cell count was 4,000. "That's high."

"Yeah!" Nick's voice cracked, trying to regain their composure. "I didn't think it could expand on its own, but here the fuck we are!" Nick held their hand out, continuing to poke at the semifluid matter with the other hand. As a phone snapped into their hand, they hit a few buttons and brought the phone to their ear. "Jack! Whoops, didn't mean to scream. Well, maybe I did. Jackie, please, please, please, pLEASE come to the office. Like now. It's 4,000, and I don't know how quickly it's climbing—Kid, what's it at now?"

"4,500." Ella was just sitting, unsure of what to do or if she should be just as panicked.

"It climbed 500 in like, a minute. Can you hurry?" Nick exhaled, listening to Jackie's responses. "Awesome. See you soon." And as they set the phone down, they brought both hands back to the microscope. "gaAAAAAh. Kid, we'll be a minute today."

"Not a problem." Ella responded bluntly, watching at a distance over Nick's shoulder. The semifluid matter had expanded quite a bit.

"Man, this is a clusterfuck!" Nick muttered under their breath, tightening the bun in their hair.

ConvergenceWhere stories live. Discover now