TW: Shooting, school shooting, fear
NORA
When she awoke again, it was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon. Nora sat up from her bed, groaning, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her whole body felt like it had gone through a meat grinder, and she was not happy about that.
She glanced at her bedside table and noticed that her phone was exploding with messages from Keitan, Adam, and Xander. She grinned and grabbed it off of the nightstand.
KEITAN: How do you think Nora is doing after her first ever swim meet?
ADAM: She's literally in this group chat. Why don't you just ask her directly?
NORA: I'm fine but sore! How about you guys?
XANDER: I'm still trying to sleep. Can you all shut up?
Nora laughed at the last message and shut off her phone, setting it back down on the table. She knew that Adam and Keitan would probably keep on spamming poor Xander, but she was choosing to be the nice person in this situation.
Nora slid her legs out of bed, deciding that it was probably finally time to get up, and was surprised at just how jelly like her whole body felt. Meat grinder, for sure.
She stumbled out of her room, struggling slightly with keeping her balance, and limped into the kitchen. Harrison was at the couch, watching a talk show, and the other two were sitting at the counter talking quietly with one another. All three glanced up when Nora arrived.
"Nora, you're up!" A fourth person who Nora hadn't noticed earlier made himself known. Jesse clapped her on the shoulder and grinned, "How sore are you?"
"Sore," Nora admitted instantly.
Jesse and the others all burst out laughing.
"We were all sore on our first swim meets. It's just sort of a thing that happens, kiddo," Jesse told her honestly, "You'll get used to it eventually, and then it'll be like a second nature to you."
Nora nodded, "I hope so," She said.
"I know so," Jesse smiled at her and then steered her toward the counter where Mouse and Maxi were already seated, "Want some late lunch?" He asked.
"Uh, no, that's alright. I'm not really hungry," Nora responded. And it was true, she wasn't. But if she was being brutally honest, she wasn't ever really all that hungry. On a rare occasion, she would be ravenous, but it wasn't remotely unusual for her to not feel like eating.
Jesse looked conflicted for a moment, before he shot a look at Mouse and nodded, "Alright," He said, "What do you want to do?"
"Uh," Nora turned and looked outside. It was windy, wet, and rainy. Definitely not the ideal kind of weather for a walk, "I'm not sure, what do you want to do?"
"Why don't we just relax? You had a huge day yesterday, and you deserve a day off today. Come on, kid," Jesse led the way to the sofa and flopped down, patting the spot beside him as he slung an arm around Harrison.
Harrison gave him a weirded out look and then shuffled away from his arm. Nora laughed and followed Jesse over to the couch. She sat down tentatively, but curled against Jesse's side soon enough. He was too warm and comforting for her to not want to cuddle with him. Sort of like a big brother.
"What are we watching?" Jesse asked.
"The news," Harrison turned the volume up slightly as the reporter switched to a scene of a school shooting.
Jesse and Nora watched intently as the female reporter said, "Now, in New South Wales, school shootings are becoming more and more common. Schools are taking the precautions of adding metal detectors, more guards, and are even considering arming teachers to help defend their students.
"This morning in Sydney, both a middle school and a high school were victims of this recent rise in violence. Thankfully, no one died. Make sure to stay safe, students and teachers!"
"What do you make of that?" Harrison asked Jesse over Nora's head.
Jesse glanced over at him and said, "I think it's because of mental health. It's super sad that it happens and I hope that it stops soon."
"What about our school?" Nora asked.
Jesse rubbed her hair gently, "Your school will probably be just fine," He assured Nora, "We'll all be alright, won't we?"
Nora nodded. Jesse was right. He always was, or at least he always seemed to be.
--
Hey guys, guess what I got done? ANOTHER UPDATE!!! Anyway, thanks sososososo much for your votes, comments, and reads. I really appreciate it, and it's so cool that you guys like this and I'm super grateful!
Have a great day/night!
That_Fanfic_Kid :)
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