To Breathe or Not to Breathe (Night at the Museum fanfiction)

When life gives you nothing

Positivity.

What was the point when there was so much sorrow and darkness in this world?

I sighed gloomily and stared out the museum window at the dark night. The rain was pouring down and it seemed my heart was overcast with the same clouds that were currently hanging in the sky.

Nathaniel and Ahk were competing to see how far they could throw Rexy's bone across the main room, but I wasn't watching.

I was too busy trying not to cry.

Normally, I tried to think positively about my life, but now the cold voice of reality was sinking in. I had no future. I had no hope for a better life.

I was dreamless. Hopeless.

Aimless.

No high school diploma, not enough sleep, barely enough money to survive, no colleges willing to accept me, no nothing. How could I be positive when there was nothing to be positive about?

A hand touched my shoulder, and I jumped, whirling around to see that Ahk and Nathaniel had stopped their game and walked over.

"Emily?" Ahk said hesitantly. "You seem... upset. Have we done something wrong?"

I almost laughed. Almost. "No. You guys are fine. You can go back to whatever you were doing and leave me alone. I'm not mad."

Instead of leaving, Ahk and Nathaniel exchanged glances and sat down on the floor. Out of courtesy, I sat down too, unsure why they were staying. What did they want? Why couldn't they just let me stare out the window in peace?

"How are you, Emily?" Ahk asked quietly. Nathaniel remained silent, but it seemed the question came from both of them.

"Fine, how are you?" was my brusque reply.

"No." Ahk caught my gaze, sincerity and intensity in his eyes. "How are you? Answer truthfully. 'Fine' can mean a great many things. It can mean, 'fantastic'. It can mean, 'so-so'. It can mean, 'not so well'. It can mean, 'terribly, but you don't care so I'm not going to elaborate'. We're asking this earnestly, so please answer honestly."

Tears stung at the corners of my vision. I looked away. "Why do you care? Why would you ask me that?"

The two of them exchanged glances again. "Because," Nathaniel finally replied. "We think maybe you're not fine, and we want to know if you're okay."

"Why?"

"Because we care about you." Ahk responded simply.

I stared at them for a moment. Then I couldn't hold it back anymore. The waterworks started, and I began to cry.

The reaction was immediate. Ahk and Nathaniel exchanged panicked looks. Nathaniel seemed to be saying, I have no idea what to do with a crying girl, and Ahk's look said, I don't either, what should we do? Then Nathaniel's expression said, I don't know, this was your idea in the first place, you tell me, and then Ahk's went, Well, we should probably try to help her.

If I hadn't been crying at the moment, it would have been humorous to me. In any other situation, I would have laughed.

Ahk and Nathaniel scooted over towards me. Nathaniel patted my shoulder awkwardly, then Ahk shot him a look that said, You idiot, what is that even supposed to do? and gave me a hug. Nathaniel sat there with a glare on his face while Ahk tried to comfort me, and I couldn't help it. I began to laugh through my tears. "You guys are hilarious, you know that?"