Thanatophobia

2, Introduction

"Who the hell are you!" I said, knocking the arms off of me and jumping to my feet.

"Uhm. I was just- oh-." He said, poking his face covered in strawberry jam.

"I am so sorry Taylor. I was ju-" I said but was arm grabbed and pulled to the principal.

"You two having a problem?" The principal said, glancing at me.

"No! I was just- um-" I said, but couldn't find any words.

"Oliver was- uhm- frightened that I- uhm- introduced myself in a- uh- different way than- I would," Taylor spoke.

"Okay, you two. Go wash up Taylor. Oliver, you go to help him." The principal said.

"But I'm not," I spat out, "I'm not a boy!"

"Just do it." the principal yelled, "Besides, you aren't a girl either. What the hell are you? A dragonfly?"

As I walked with him to the men's washroom, I noticed he was still holding the 2 uneaten toasts in his hands.

"What are you doing with those still in your hands?" I said, grabbing a washcloth from the cabinet.

"I was going to give them to you, but you uh-" Taylor said but stopped like he was trying to find words.

'I was being unreasonable, and I'm truly sorry for that." I said, wettening the washcloth in the sink with warm water.

"Here. For your face." I said as I passed the cloth into his hands.

"Thanks." He spoke.

"Okay!" I stuttered.

"Huh?" He says.

"You have a little jam right there." I said, pointing at the piece of jam.

"Where?!" He says, laughing and wiping everywhere but the spot where the jam is.

"Let me just help you," I say as I take the rag and wipe the part above his eyebrow.

I observe him. He has very dusty pink hair that ends up covering his left eye. His one eye I see is yellowy pink with speckles of cloudy blue. His issued uniform for this mission looked like a vest, with a grey shirt underneath. A light green turtleneck-like garment is hanging on his neck but sits on his upper chest.

"I am unsure about-" He says before the washroom doors swing open revealing Gort.

"What's happening here?" Gort snickered.

"Uh- Oh- Hmm," Taylor said, unsure what to say.

"The principal sent me to check on him. You know?" I quickly make up.

"Unconvincing you two," Gort said.

"Really?" I say In a snarky tone.

"I would argue more, but the teachers want us to line up with our groups, and uh- we are a group," Gort spoke.

"Oh hello. Your 'mugshot' was a real piece of work," I say in a teasing tone.

"Really funny. I developed this disease when I was 8," He says.

"You mean aging, you ancient one," I say, laughing.

"It's a real thing, el bozo. Now hurry up, we are going to miss the bus there if we don't leave right now." Gort said, shoving us out of the men's washroom and into the hallway, running for dear life for the bus loop.

The bus loop wasn't a bus loop, we just called it a bus loop because, in the 2000s, it was called that. The buses all were lined up in neat lines, but there was no need for them to be perfect, I was fine either way. As long as I had a ride with my team. We bolted to the bus that was left from the tree. The doors invited us in and we took that offer. I slumped in the seat closest to the emergency exit, not knowing why afterward. Taylor sat next to me, and Gort sat across from me, with black eyes staring into my soul.

So, I'm not a people person, but I seem to attract a lot of people. I guess it is just my charm, but the whole bus was talking about me. I paused and looked at the band-aid. It seemed healed already, so I took the bandaid off to free my stiff finger. It was in fact, not healed. At. All. The bleeding started immediately.

"Eh. That looks dangerous." Taylor winced.

"You think? I have had that for 2 weeks." I say, unconvinced.

From the mumbling he let out, I heard the word 'yarrow' as he dug in his bag for a medium-sized box. I looked at him, unconvinced. But then, he twisted a small bead on the side, making the box open. There were many herbs in there, But I could smell eucalyptus the most. He dug into the neatly organized rows and pulled a small, beautiful cluster of white flowers. I looked at him as he closed the box. His hair was silky and long. God, I wish I had hair like that. I watched him activate the flower with some water and crush it with a rock he had. It was paste after he was done. He loaded it on a wooden coffee stirring stick and plastered it onto my wound. The blood seemed to stop immediately.

"Yarrow, It is normally used in herbal medicine to stop bleeding," Taylor said, hoping I was interested.

"It's so pretty either way," I said, astonished by this hack. "I usually use the orange goo that the store has."

"No! Don't use that!" He raised his voice. He spoke again, calmer. "It's made using chemicals and genetically modified bile from modified bears. Also red and yellow dyes. Do you have any on you?"

"Yeah, But don't worry. I won't use it." I said, "As long as I have you."

I looked at Taylor and he was putting the box back into his bag. He seemed very sad. I don't know why, but when he laughed when I was wiping his face free from the jam, his eye held a sad gaze. That sad gaze kept itself to right now.

"Are you okay?" I spoke.

"Huh? What do you mean? I'm fine." Taylor said.

"I don't think he is either." Gort jumped in.

"Do you nee-" I said and saw his eyes fill with twinkling rivers, wanting to burst out.

"Do you need anything?" I said, "I think I might have some gummy bears in my bag. I know I have a few sketchbooks you can u-"

I felt his warm embrace as I dropped my bag, and wrapped my arms around him. He was using my warmth as a cloak to hide his cold body.

"I am having second thoughts about this trip," Taylor said, stuttering through every other word.

"I'm going to be blatantly honest with you, but if you don't take the test, you might get kicked out," I said, trying to reassure him.