It's Okay to be Different

38

Avi, Mitch, and Kevin walk out of the door and I instantly turn my focus to Alex. He tries to get up from his place on the floor and the same pain from before shoots down my entire spine.

"Fuck!" He shouts as he collapses back on the floor. "They broke his fucking spine." He murmurs as his hand reaches around to touch the source of the pain. Little bolts of electricity race through the nerves of the broken bones where he touches.

He slowly turns his head in my direction and I look him straight in his eyes. I raise my hand up and wave with an awkward smile. 'It's weird waving to your own body when you're not in it.' He doesn't wave back. He doesn't even change his expression.

"Scott," He calls out.

"Yes?" I reply but he doesn't answer me back. He just stares in my general direction with a blank expression.

"I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance. If I had just killed you, I wouldn't be in this situation. Now Mitch is about to find out about my past and it's all my fault. All because I just didn't kill you."

He speaks quietly as he continues to stare at the space in front of him. "They want to make you happy. They do-" I start but he cuts me off.

"I can't have Mitch knowing about my past." He mutters. "He's going to hate me because I'm different!"

I realize that he can't hear or see me. Otherwise, he would have been trying to kill me and he would be screaming at me. He's under the impression that he's alone. He sits in silence for what seems like forever.

I feel a small tingling sensation in my chest. It doesn't hurt or feel funny... it's just kind of there. Alex's eyes bug out and his hand clutches at his shirt, right over his heart. He starts muttering the word "no" over and over again. He gradually gets louder, but it never exceeds a regular speaking level of sound. Suddenly he huffs loudly and slams his forhead into the floor. Fucking ow, what the fuck? "They're finding out about me." He whispers as a tear falls down his cheek.

'Honestly, right now, I would rather be back in my blissful gray area of death. Back in that beautiful prairie of sunshine and tranquility.'

"Ugh, Scott! You know, you're really pissing me off! Just stop thinking for one second of your life, please! I literally got 15 minutes of silence after I took over! And I know you can hear me and I know you're standing next to the bookshelf right now. So don't ignore me, you bastard."

I immediately try to put up my shield so I won't anger him. 'Fuck it's not working.'

"Of course it's not working, you dumbass!" He screams and then quiets down. "You're dead technically. It's like we traded places. Your powers don't work once you die." I do my best to shield my thoughts away from him.

He doesn't know that I just spoke with Mitchie... through my thought communication. What's the deal with that?