Lucky Stars

A Mural of Thanks

The whole house was silent, except for the rustling of sheets and the couch groaning slightly under Dennis' weight as he shifted. He still didn't know what to feel about Abaddon showing up unexpectedly, on his doorway like they were the best of friends. Granted, she was here to apologize and wanted to leave soon too, but she was up in his bedroom, on his bed and the thought just made him even more uncomfortable. He wouldn't deny the slight tinge of relief when he saw Abby. He was worried how she'd react the next time she saw him. Worried that she might give up on him. He didn't want that, not now when he got used to her.

Secretly, he had always been scared of being isolated, having no one in this world who cared for him, no one to miss him if we went away. Back in the orphanage, everyone told him he was alone, he had no one who loved him and that made him distant, cold and vary of people. He remembered those times when he lay in bed, wondering who'd miss him if he didn't wake up tomorrow. During those times, he often compared himself to the Prince on the cover of his favorite book, The Little Prince. Standing alone, with no one around him, small and lonely.
When Dennis was adopted, he knew he wasn't alone and a part of him was happy, happy to have some people who cared for him, provided him shelter, both, physically and emotionally. Yet, he remained skeptical and kept his distance. He realized that by pushing away them, he was only making himself miserable.

As he replayed the events back in the Art room, back to his fight with Abaddon, he comprehended that he wasn't as angry or disappointed in himself at lying, but his mortification as he realized that yet again, he might not have anyone; that he might still be alone. He sighed at the thought, shifting slightly. Today had changed a lot. He had changed a lot. Dennis felt more at peace with himself, and at night, when he sat in silence, there wasn't a feeling of being all alone in the world.

Helen's words and Abby's gestures had restored his faith. Yes, there were people who cared for him. People who would ride a motorbike in rain for him, people who would love him even if he was such a 'brick', as Abaddon liked to call him.
The images of her getting along with his family, talking and laughing left a pleasant feeling.
Perhaps she wasn't as unwanted as he made her out to be.

Trevor would be over the moon if I told him that, he thought, chuckling softly. He closed his eyes, and slowly drifted off.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dennis was fast asleep when he felt a poke on his shoulder. He shifted, groaning and covering his face and felt another poke. "Wake up!" Abaddon whispered in his ear, and he frowned, look up sleepily. "What are you doing?" he grumbled groggily, "It's practically midnight."
She rolled her eyes. "It's 5'o clock, Dennis." she dead-panned.
"Exactly!" Dennis exclaimed, rolling his eyes back at her and turned to go back to sleep, but Abby poked him again. "Wake up! I want to show you something." she whispered, "Please? I rarely say please."
Dennis opened his eyes, glaring at her but she just smiled angelically, batting her eyelashes at him. "If I go with you, will you stop doing that?" he asked, and she nodded. Sighing, he stood up, as Abaddon punched the air in victory.

They walked up slowly, and Abby fidgeted as the two stopped in front of his room. "Dennis, I know you don't like me invading your privacy, but I just felt like doing something nice for you. You may not like it, and that's perfectly okay." she mumbled quietly, and Dennis nodded, feeling slightly curious.
Reaching forward, Abaddon exhaled to calm her nerves, and opened the door to reveal her masterpiece.
From a corner, Jamie and Raina peeked at the two, matching smiles on their faces.

At first there was silence. Silence that nipped at Abby while she tried to read Dennis' face. He hates it! were her first thoughts, and she bit her lip, willing herself to say something. Anything, to make the silence go away. Just as she opened her mouth, Dennis reached forward, walking to the wall in three long steps and stared at it, hard.
It was colorful, bright, and lightened up the whole room. Bright swirls of paints, coming from every direction, bold strokes and waves covered the whole wall in a spectrum of all the colours of the rainbow. They all met in the center, hidden behind a large, realistic looking DSLR . The lens shone, and on it were five, small shadowed figures, two on one side of the camera and three on the other. He could easily tell who they were, and stepped back. There were tiny things he liked scattered in a circle around the big camera in the center, and he saw tiny ice cream cones, paint brushes and bicycles among other things.