'~Caged Bird's Refuge.'~

An Ocean's Distance Away.

Pluto POV:

I stared up at the ceiling, my room being quiet enough to hear my own heartbeat. I smelled kinda funny, but I had no motivation left to even get up and take a bath anymore. I obviously couldn't go to school today, so if Trever asked, I'd just make up another excuse. My room was dark, kinda dirty, and really.. dull nowadays. After I'd sent my text message to Roony, I was wondering how she was doing. Maybe she was better off. I wouldn't doubt it, I think if someone was constantly being an annoying bitch towards me, I'd feel better if they cut me off, too. I lost a great friend, and she lost a ton of deadweight.

Trever POV: (ooooo)

I carried the basket of Cassidy's dirty clothes to the basement, dumping the clothes into the washing machine. I put some detergent into the machine and turned it on before taking the now empty basket back upstairs. Pluto should be at school right now, so I think I can just.. Why is her door locked? "Dear Jesus, Pluto.." I sighed to myself. "What did I tell you about locking your door when you leave?"

"I'm still here."

"JESUS!-" I jumped back from her door, taking a deep breath and calming myself down. "What's the matter? Why are you still here?"

"... I, uh.."

"Did you have another detention? Because if that's the case, then so help me, Pluto-"

"No. I just.. I'm not really feelin' it today."

I looked at the calendar posted outside of Cassidy's room. It was May, so there was a possibility that it was seasonal depression again. Her voice did seem dead and.. dark. "I understand, honey. Did you brush your teeth today?"

"Uh.."

"Did you eat anything?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you eat?"

"Uh.. a sandwich, some noodles, a popsicle, my Chinese takeout from yesterday, a PB and J, some-"

"Pluto. You didn't take your Topiramate, did you?"

"... I ran out last week."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I looked at the time and saw I had to get to work, but if I left Pluto without her medication, she'd start overeating again. "You and Cassidy will go to your doctor to get some, I have to go." I said that loud enough for the both of them to hear me, causing them both to groan and complain. "Sorry, ladies, but I've got work to do. You have to go pick up the medication, and that's final."

Without giving them any time to complain further, I grabbed my keys and coat and bolted out the door, slamming it behind me and hopping into my car. Hopefully this will at least mend their relationship.

Cassidy POV:

I groaned as I sat up, hearing Trever's car start up and speed down the road. Guess that's his way of saying that this wasn't up for debate, and that I had no way of getting out of this. I unplugged my headphones and put them on my shelf, preparing for another forced hangout with Pluto, if that's what you can even call it. We're just gonna go get her meds, so I think I'll survive. I opened my door and threw on my shoes on and went up to her door. "C'mon, we gotta go." I sighed in exhaustion.

"I'm not. Going." Her muffled voice called out from her room. Fuck's sake, why's she so stubborn?

"Hey, I don't wanna go either. If it was up to me, you'd be going by yourself."

"Then let me. I don't wanna be stuck in a hot car with you and your hot breath."

"Well, you stink worse than me, so expect me to roll down the windows."

"Maybe you should drive off a cliff, give you an experience of flying. Which you can't do."
(Cassidy is a defected demon without wings lol)

Oh.

No.

She.

Didn't.

I drew my claws, picked her lock..
and kicked her door down.
I know there was no point in doing all that just to break the door down, and I know Trever's gonna snap when he sees it, but I don't care. She talked about my wings, I'll take her door, easy as that. But the moment it was down, a weird smell hit my nose.

"Ew, your room stinks!" I shouted, pinching my nose.

She sat up and launched a water bottle at me. "What the fuck, dude?! That's my door!!"

"Woah, really? I thought it belonged to the IRS. And- wait a minute.."

I walked up to her and sniffed her shirt, and found out where the smell was coming from. "EWW! It's your clothes! When was the last time you washed them?!"

"When's the last time you washed your hair?"

"Bitch- Just change your clothes, and for the love of God, go shower!"

"UUUGH.. I'm too tiiiired.. I don't feel like-"

I honestly couldn't take it anymore, and I lifted her by her shirt, ignoring her protests. Holding my breath, I ran into the bathroom and launched her into the tub, turning the shower head on and making her screech like a cat in a lake. "What the actual fuck is your problem?!" She shouted, but I just poured some body wash on her head, making her scream even louder. "Shower." I said sternly, ready to pour more soap on her if she tried to run. She stared at me angrily, but let out an exasperated sigh. "Get out, I have to take my clothes off." Finally, she listened. I turned around and left the bathroom, giving Pluto her space to shower.

I sat on the couch and got on my phone, texting a friend of mine before glancing over in the trash. There was quite a lot of trash inside, no shit, but there was also a picture of me and Pluto when we were kids. Not gonna lie, that kinda hurt me, but I no longer minded it because I knew she resented me because, well, I'm mainly the reason we got experimented on and fucked up our already fucked up lives as kids. But, still, how would you feel if your sister hated you because of a mistake you made when you were 8, young, and stupid? Answer me that. Something else I noticed was that her meds were in the trash. She never usually had an issue with taking them, so what's the issue now?

*-BZZT-*

I looked over my shoulder to see Pluto's phone on the table with a message on it. The message came from that shady blonde girl, and it was a pretty provocative. It was her asking- no, telling Pluto to come over. I took a moment to think about this before calling out to Pluto. "Hey, what's up with you 'nd Chassity? Hate to admit it, but I kinda like that girl."

"We're still together, if that's what you wanna know." She yelled back to me.

Hm. I took Pluto's phone and scrolled through the chatroom, each text message more disgusting and provocative than the last. Those messages, however were only coming from Rya, not Pluto. If anything, she seemed a bit uncomfortable. I scrolled down further, and came across quite the disturbing message with a blurred image that was labeled as "sensitive content".

"u looked so lovely last night :3"

With that text, I could only guess what the picture was. I thought of Chassity, Pluto's girlfriend, who she claimed to love dearly (and who she never shuts the fuck up about). I tried to tell myself that Pluto was at fault for cheating on her, but something didn't feel right. Her discomfort when her and Rya were texting, her sudden lack of motivation, her Topiramate in the trash, everything just made me believe that something else was going on. The only way I could know for sure is to violate every boundary I've made for myself and look at the picture. "I'm gonna hate myself for this.." I sighed to myself.

Oh, was I unprepared for what I saw.

Pluto. Partially clothed. Tied up. Tears falling from her eyes. Bleeding. It was only then that I realized that this wasn't a fling, nor was this consensual.

"Okay, I'm d-"

We locked eyes. Me, holding her phone, was NOT a good look right now.

"What. The fuck. Are you doing with my phone."