The Runt of the Litter

Rest, Recuperation, and Rock Music

Note: hey babes, happy wednesday!

thank you so much for the love on last week's story 💜

here's some fluff for you. unprompted and plot-free. 

i hope that's someone's cup of tea. or coffee. i don't get that saying. not everyone likes tea, so why is your cup of tea supposed to be a thing you like/prefer. 

yeah, anyway, anna's seventeen in this one.

Rest, Recuperation, and Rock Music

Anna was dreading going back to school. She still struggled to get around without help, between the pain and the dizziness. Not to mention, she hadn't done much walking since getting hurt. She was afraid of how painful it would be going from class to class every hour or so. The distance that usually seemed so short was suddenly daunting.

After all, Anna was sitting on the edge of her bed struggling to get on a clean pair of sweatpants. When she hunched over too far, it hurt her side. When she tried to lift her foot off the floor, it aggravated her leg wound. There was no winning here. So she sat there breathing heavily, arm wrapped around her waist, wearing a long-sleeved tee and with only one leg in her pants.

The knock at the door startled her, which made her flinch, which made her gasp at the flare of pain in her side. "Ah, fuck, dude-" she hunched over, which just made it worse. "Hang on," she called so nobody would barge in before she finished putting her stupid pants on.

She'd spent a couple weeks needing help to get dressed and wash up and use the frickin' bathroom. Anna was determined to start doing things on her own again. It hurt, though. It hurt really bad. It hurt so bad that she was honestly considering asking for help. But she pushed through it, leaned down just enough to reach the waistband of her sweats and tug them over her foot.

The pants were at her hips when she called, "Come in."

Dean swung the door open, "You okay? It's almost time to go." He took in the sight of her, slouched and trying to catch her breath. "You don't have to go back if you're not ready," he offered.

Anna sighed shakily. "I'm almost ready." But she didn't even try to stand back up yet. She just sat there breathing carefully.

Dean frowned at her in concern. "I don't like this," he announced. "Are you sure you want to go in today?"

With a groan, Anna said, "Dean, I've never in my life wanted to go to school. Ever. But, like, c'est la vie and all that crap." At her brother's unwilling smile, she added, "Mostly, though, I miss Kate and Ethan."

Her brother's nod suggested he knew that already. "Well, you can invite Kate over here tonight, if that's it. Alright? I don't want you pushin' too hard and undoing the last two weeks of healing."

Anna made a face and moved her arms stiffly over her midsection. "What am I supposed to do all day, Dean? I can't nap anymore. I swear, I'm part couch at this point."

Dean snorted at her pitiful joke and sat beside her on the mattress. He eased himself down carefully, a move Anna recognized as being for her benefit. It still didn't take much jostling to send pain up her side. "I don't know how the hell you're gonna walk from class to class like this."

That was a decent point. But Anna groaned anyway. "I'm so bored. And I wanna see the sky."

"The sky?" Dean chortled. "Let's go for a drive then," he added more seriously.

Anna sighed carefully and hugged her midriff a little tighter. "Yeah," she agreed tiredly. "That sounds way better than school." She tipped sideways until her head was resting on her brother's shoulder. "How much longer, you think?"