The Kids Aren't Alright [Slash] [BoyxBoy]

Chapter Six: [Olive]

My stomach swells with anxiety as I move closer to what used to be the meadow. I'm just a little bit lighter than normal with the missing weight of my phone, but I feel heavier still, like there's something latching onto my legs and making it harder to walk. I can't tell if it's depression or anxiety.

I immediately catch Jacie as I come out of the foliage, standing with her clipboard and ordering a man and a woman around a large house. Dozens of similar houses, adorned with only the slightest changes, are sprinkled around the field.

She sees me and I raise my hand in a sort-of wave, starting towards her. "Hey, Olive." She shoos the people away. "You missed all the action."

There's a dying patch of grass just a few feet away from us, close to where they're building- A fountain. It's a fountain.

"Maybe that's a good thing." I grimace.

She shrugs and nods in agreement. "Well, you check out the houses if you'd like."

"I thought I wasn't allowed to go inside the houses?"

Jacie rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest dramatically. "It's no rule. Aaron's just stuck up. I do have to follow you around, though. Make sure you don't get hurt."

I hesitantly nod. Maybe this will help. "Which one?"

She shrugs one shoulder. "Any of them."

I look around carefully. Each house has one small detail different from the rest. One has diamond shaped street lamps. One has dark wood windowsills. One has a flower box planted with lilacs.

"That one," I say.

She nods, and leads me into the house with the lilacs. We open up into a bright, spacious living room, light pouring in from the ceiling-to-floor windows. The floors are covered in sawdust but are hardwood, and will probably look really good when they're cleaned.

"Gosh," I mumble.

She nudges me. "What, not good enough for you?"

I blush. "It's just... Wow, these must be expensive."

"Yeah, they're gonna be," she says, nodding and leading me into the kitchen. It's pristine white, carefully cleared of any dust, unlike the living room. "We spent forever planning this." She bites her lip and turns to me. "Listen, Olive... I know this is a big deal to you. But it's a big deal to us, too. I know you're losing this thing, here, but that stuff happens, you know?"

I nod slowly, turning away. "No, I know, I know. I know."

She smiles and claps me on the shoulder.

I remember when I first found the meadow. I was at home, sitting at the kitchen table and drawing. My father sat across from me with his clunky laptop- This was before he got the iPad -grumbling and cursing to himself. My mom absent mindedly stood over his shoulder and tried to help him with whatever problem he was having.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Drawing," I said distractedly, adding careful patterns to the bird's wing.

She peeked over at it with distaste. "You should be doing your homework."

Self consciously, I leaned over it to obstruct her view. "I finished."

She looked back to the computer and shook her head. "You shouldn't be doing that kind of stuff. It'll get you nowhere."

I ignored her, of course, adding long strokes on its belly. About an hour later, the drawing was finished. It looked a lot better than the last bird I tried to draw, so I got up and went to show my mom.