Just Act Natural

Prologue - You my friend, are an idiot

Nerium held the glass in his hand, his mind numb and his body ablaze. The music competed with the sound of blood rush in his ears as he faintly noticed a door slamming open.

"Nerium, you were supposed to be back an hour ago! Why are you here- oh god, Nerium, how many have you had?" The voice softened towards the end, the woman's eyes filled with worry and concern as her thumb rubbed a circle on his hand.

Nerium's voice was slurred as he spat out the sentence. "Well," he pulled his hands up and counted clumsily along his fingers. "I dunno."

The woman slipped her arm under his. "Come on, let's go home, alright?"

"Fallyn, I'm-" Nerium reached for his back as pain shot through him. "I'm fine." His voice croaked as he stumbled towards the door.

Fallyn held her friend close as they moved towards a car, opening the door and helping the man into the vehicle before getting in the driver's seat herself and beginning to drive off.

"Nerium, how you goin, you feeling alright?" Fallyn looked back in the mirror to see a curled up Nerium. She sighed as they approached a flat in the middle of the crowded city. The parking was nightmare fuel as she weaved the car through the hellhole of a place he called home.

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His eyes opened groggily. God how long had he slept. He remembered blacking out in a car- Fal's car... oh shit she'd had to pick him up, fuck. He reached for his back, was it still on? Yes, it was, thank god, she hadn't seen.

Nerium moved himself out of the bed and creaked the door open slightly, there was no one that he could see in the apartment so he quickly shut the door and removed his gloves and corset. He slipped the new, handmade clothing over his head before moving out of the room and towards the lounge. As he sat down he heard a gasp from his left.

Nerium's head spun faster than the mosquitoes that evaded his hand at night.

"Nerium, what the fuck?" Fallyn's face contorted into a look of shock and awe.

"Uh, surprise?" Nerium muttered, moving to the other side of the lounge, he knew he couldn't escape this discussion.

Fallyn stared at him before launching herself at him. "Why didn't you tell me you were- like- i don't know, a fucking bird man! This is cool as fuck! God you're fucking epic!" She wrapped her arms around him as he perched his hands, ready to strike at her.

Oh, she wasn't- she didn't judge, she wasn't afraid of him? His arms snaked down to return the hug. "You're not scared at all? You don't hate me or something?"

"No! I'm just- confused, how did you hide wings, and how are you not being tested on by the government or something?" Fallyn moved back a bit as she rubbed her fingertips over his clawed hands.

Nerium bit back a wince at the reminder of the things he'd endured as a kid, nope, don't remember that. "Firstly, I use a corset mixed with an oversized coat, secondly, my childhood was not pretty." He sighed before getting up, slipping out of Fallyn's grip and stumbling towards a cabinet, pulling a box of paracetamol out and downing two of the little tablets.

The tablets slowly picked at his headache as the two discussed his life and how he'd struggled. "So how did you escape?" Fallyn asked, her eyes wide with fascination and excitement.

"My parents were told to kill me because I was getting too strong and had injured a few lab assistants and so instead of killing me they pulled the fire alarm, grabbed me some clothing and pretty much threw me out a window. Some guy found me in a bit of bush land which I had somehow glided to and ended up helping me back to a bar he owned and pretty much being like a father to me. He got me into school, he got me housing and just cared for me, more than anyone had ever done." Nerium grinned at the thought of his friend, the greatest man he could think of.

"That's really sweet- well, not you getting thrown out a window but that man saving you." Fallyn laughed at her potentially misleading words, joining the man over near the cabinet and sitting down on a chair at the kitchen island.

They continued conversing as Nerium had a thought cross through his mind, *have I eaten today... or yesterday*? The words coming from his friend turned into a background buzz as his mind raced, spiralling into a guilty, anxious mess. He knew the answer but he didn't want to admit it.

"Nerium? Nerium you there?" Fallyn snapped her fingers in front of his face, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Hmm? Yep I'm fine, I just need some water." His voice stuttered as he moved towards the sink. As Nerium began to step forwards he felt his balance slip from him before he hit the floor like a sack of bricks.

He reached for his head clutching it in pain. God damnit, that was gonna leave a mark. Luckily for him, there was no blood spilling from where he had smashed his skull into the bench.

"Shit, are you ok?" Fallyn quickly moved to open the freezer, grab an ice pack before crouching down and handing it to him.

Nerium took the ice pack, muttering a quick thanks while placing it on his head. "Yeah I'm alright, this just happens sometimes, it's not serious, I've got a bit of a thick skull." In reality he was not ok, his bones were much more brittle due to their lightness. He had most likely fractured his wrist as well after it joined his head in the feeble attempt to stop him from collapsing.

"I'm really worried about your drinking." The lady suddenly coughed up, her eyes going from a blank stare to a worried frown.

Nerium's face went pale as he stood up, brushing himself off. "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm fine, everything is fine!" His voice shook at the end as he turned towards the fridge, looking though it for something he wanted and quickly closing it before he was sick.

Fallyn attempted to ignore his strange behaviour regarding the food but ultimately failed. "Nerium I know everything isn't fine, you've been so much quieter in private than the usual loud, bubbly guy that everyone knows. You've been drinking almost every night and you clearly aren't eating at work." She paused to take a breath, Nerium's body was slouched away from her as she continued on. "I'm just worried about you; you're my best friend and I couldn't bear for anything to happen to you. " She finished her rant, much quieter now and waited for Nerium's response.

"Fallyn I think you should go home, you've been here for almost a day and your girlfriend is going to be worried." Nerium didn't turn to face her as tears threatened to overflow from his eyes.

"Nerium, Phoebe won't mind, you know that-"

"Fallyn please go, I love you dearly but I just need some time to be alone, ok?" His voice cracked at the end as he wrapped his wings around himself, mumbled a goodbye and walked away, clearly trying his best to keep his composure.

The door to his room closed gently as Fallyn was left standing in the kitchen, she decided that it would be best if she just left and gave him some time like he'd asked. She knew that if she didn't, it might end with him lashing out and pushing everyone away again.

As she walked out of the apartment building, she looked up to the stars in the night sky. Fallyn smiled, soft and sad, before whispering, "Find strength, my friend, you're going to need it."