The Outcasts I - The Beginning

New Friend?

The call between Delta, Color and Epic lasted almost all night, until Color had finally gotten tired and had to go. Epic followed suit about an hour after, so Delta was now left alone in his quiet room, watching the sunrise. Not like they had anything better to do.

But after the sun had long rose, and it was around 10 am now, Delta decided to get out of bed and see what was going on today. And plus, it's not like he could try to sleep when kids are screaming and running past his room every 20 minutes while they played.

So, exiting his room after the kids had gone by again, Delta still had to use the door frame to hold onto since the concussion was still in action. But, he left anyways.

He headed downstairs to see what was happening, if anything. He saw a taller teen talking to Karma, with Tian hanging onto the other teen's leg.

However, once Delta finally got downstairs, Tian noticed him almost instantly.

Tian quickly waddled away from the other two, and ran straight to Delta. Delta couldn't even see the kid with how short he was, so all Delta heard was something running and coming closer as he looked around in confusion.

Suddenly, he felt a tight pressure squeezing his leg. He flinched, quickly looking down, to find Tian who was now hugging his leg and looking up at him, expressionless but with clear excitement in his eyes.

Delta chuckled, cooing as they scooped him up with one arm, "Aww, hi buddy!"

Tian smiled, and cuddled close, quietly babbling to him excitedly. But to his surprise, the toddler suddenly pointed towards another boy.

Delta was confused, but looked over, to see the new teen coming over.

"Oh- Tian, hey!" The teen said, gently but quickly reaching to take him.

Delta flinched, stepping back, snapping his sharp gaze up to the new teen...

His gaze softened.

What he saw before them was a taller teen, a couple inches taller than he was. He had strikingly hazel-honey eyes, with flecks of gold in them, soft like the sun. His hair was light golden brown in color, and looked to be quite fluffy. He had on a golden yellow sweater, a white collared shirt popping out of the top. He wore black jeans with tears at the knees, though Delta couldn't tell if the tears came with the jeans or if they had been created. His voice was gentle and melodic when he spoke, soft yet commanding attention.

He was quite cute.

Delta brushed the thought off, but let still hesitated to let him take Tian. Turning his body away as he held the kid close, he spoke up, "Oh, uh, no its okay! He's not bothering me, it's fine."

The other teen was surprised, but slowly retracted his hands and stepped back, seeing how protective Delta was, "Oh, sorry! Alright, he can stay with you then." He said.

The teen before him paused, examining them, an eyebrow raised in confusion as he tilted his head slightly to the side the way a confused puppy would.

"... sorry, uh, what's your name? You look familiar, but I'm not sure if I've seen you around here before." He asked cautiously.

Delta paused, but responded, "I'm Delta. I got here yesterday."

The teen nodded, still seeming confused, but eventually let it go. He stood back up straight, gave a charming smile that made his gorgeous eyes crease with joy, and stuck his hand out, "Well, it's nice to meet you, then! I can't figure out where I've seen you before, but it's okay. I'm Luke! Welcome here!"

Delta was surprised, but gave a small smile back and shook his hand, "Oh, uh, thanks." He said. He noticed that Luke's hands were very soft, but brushed that feeling off immediately.

Luke nodded politely, "Yeah, no problem! You get a tour yet?" He asked.

Delta shook his head, confused. "Was I supposed to?"

Luke snapped his head towards Karma, who had his hands up in defense, smiling nervously.

Luke turned back to Delta, determination in his eyes, "Can I show you around, then?"

Delta almost flinched seeing how determined he was. But, not wanting to embarrass Luke, he nodded.

Luke burst into a giant grin, rocking on the soles of his feet, "Awesome! Come on, I'll show you around!" He announced happily, instinctively grabbing Delta to start dragging him around.

Delta flinched, startled, but quickly yanked his arm back. However, he still followed Luke.

Luke didn't seem to notice as they walked around, "Alright! What have you already seen?" He asked.

"The playroom, living room, and kitchen. And wherever that medical stuff was." They answered.

Luke nodded, "Okay then! I'll show you the rest of this floor, then!" He chirped.

Delta nodded, shifting Tian around in his arm so the kid would be sitting in his sling again to make it easier.

The toddler yawned, stretching as he got comfortable in Delta's sling again, cuddling right up to him. Delta made sure he didn't fall.

Luke walked a bit slower as he tried to find the nearest door. "Ah, here it is!" He announced.

The door was in the corner on the right of the stairs. It was painted a calm lavender, with colorful flowers painted on it and a sign reading 'quiet room'.

Luke knocked on the door. When he heard no answer, he went in, "Alright, so this is gonna be our first stop! This is the quiet room. It's a dedicated safe space for anyone who needs to use it. It's got padded walls, so it's soundproof." He explained as they stepped into the room.

The walls were a pale cornflower blue. The room was fairly small, but big enough to be useful. It had a small desk and chair on the left wall, one that looked like it would support both teen and kid. There were twinkling fairy lights up above, and kid's drawings on the walls. There was a window directly in the back, with curtains tied open so that whoever was in here could see the outside.

Above the desk was a poster citing multiple relaxation methods, and kind reminders to whoever needed it. There was also a bulletin board with more reminders, affirmations, and calming colors - sort of like a mood board.

The floor was the same wood in the rest of the house, with pastel, circular rugs all around.

On the same left side, next to the desk, was a LARGE plastic bucket, filled with toys, plushies, blankets, and pillows. Next to that, was a long, large bookcase filled with children's books, mostly for sleep. Near the top, just like in the playroom, there were books for teens and adults, mostly fantasy or romance or study books.

In the corner next to the bookcase, there was a teepee tent that looked like it could probably fit an adult if they squeezed in there. It had fairy lights on the top of it, and pillows covered the floor under it. There was clear evidence of a kid having been in there recently, judging by a few books being scattered on the floor of it.

On the right side of the wall was a twin-sized bed that took up the majority of it. It had a choice of sheets that was stored under the bed in a storage container under the bed. Delta knew this because from where he was standing, he could see the white lid.

And finally, in front of the bed across from the desk was a dresser with some clothes and pajamas inside. It had multiple sizes, ranging from toddler to adult. Again, Delta could tell because a few of the drawers had been left opened.

"This is where we go when we need to be alone and calm down for something, or just need a cozy, quiet space to hang out in," he further explained.

Delta was barely paying attention, taking in the sights of the room. But once Luke finished talking, he nodded as if he had been listening. He thought it was nice that a place like this had this for the people living here.

A comfortable silence fell as Delta finished analyzing the room. He was curious about this house.

What kind of people lived here?

And why here, of all places?