A True Theorist ~ A MatPat Fanfiction

0.13

A/N

Thanks for 3k?! Like wowie, I can't believe it guys, thank you so much! I'm sorry for not updating, sorting out SO many things, and probably will until the next year. I'll try and update as much as I can!

Lilli sat on the couch downstairs, the day fully drained of sunlight. She looked out the window behind her, at the stars scattering the sky. Her friends would be boarding their flight any time, she thought. She wouldn't be able to see Jessica unless she got accepted into the A Capella school, even then she'd only be able to see her once every quarter year. Suddenly, her phone started to ring.

"Lilli, hey, it's Becky. Are you sure you don't need us to pick you up? Your flight boards in half an hour," Becky asked, in a worried tone.

"Well, no. My other parents won't mind, and we can transfer schools over the internet. Trust me, I changed primary schools like four times," Lilli replied, still not feeling like what she was saying was right, "and anyway, if they do want me to come back, I can book another flight. I can finish high school in Australia, and move back here if they really want me to come back,"

There was a pause, and hushed arguing was heard coming through the phone.

"It's cool, but you'll message me if you're coming back?" asked Jess.

"Of course," Lilli responded, nearly feeling guilt for not leaving with her best friend, "and you'll tell me when you get into the school?"

"If, I think is the right word. And I won't know for another week or so. I've heard some people find out really soon, and some not for months. Guess I'll have to wait and see,"

Another pause, this time no arguing. Someone was crying,  it was probably Jess. Stephanie came down the stairs, and stood before Lilli on the couch. Lilli looked up, and smiled.

"Look, I have to go. Please have a good flight, and try not to worry too much about everything. I'll see you soon, bye Jess." Lilli concluded before she hang up. She looked back up to Steph.

"Everything okay?" Steph asked, kneeling down to Lilli's height as she was seated on the couch.

"Yeah," Lilli sighed.

"You don't sound okay. What's wrong? Is it your other family?"

"No, it's just a friend of mine. She came over here with me, her name's Jessica. Her cousin rang to tell me they were going back home. I'm not going. But if the others do want me to come back home and finish the school year, I will. I just... need to stay here for now," she replied. She looked Steph in the eye, playing with the bottom of her tank top she wore - one of the dozens she'd packed. She always loved to change from slightly more normal clothes to extremely loose and comfortable ones.

"Look, we are glad you're home, and I know it must be so confusing, but if you-"

Stephanie's words were cut off by Lilli's phone. It was ringing, a different ringtone she saved for two people. A ringtone she didn't expect to hear. She picked up her phone, and gave a small smile to Steph as she stood up, clutching the blanket around her waist. She pulled it up to her shoulders and walked outside as she answered the call.

"Delilah, how's it, um, going?" came Joyce's, her foster mother's, voice from the other end of the phone, from Australia.

"Hey, it's well, as usual, but.." She tried to collect the right words, something she had trouble doing every time she spoke to her foster family, "did you listen to my voicemail? You're okay with it?"

"We get it, really. Glad you found Matthew and Stephanie after all this time, took you long enough. You need us to send you your-" Wood cracking, the old wooden coffee table, breaking in the background, and glass bottles smashing. Profanities were being exclaimed, as she lowered the phone. It was the same as if she were in her bedroom. Her foster father, David, was home.

"I'll send the rest of your stuff," Joyce mumbled, her words still slurred with alcohol. 

"And you'll sign the transfer papers? For me to live with them? To change schools and everything?" Lilli asked, hopefully. It was too much to ask, even on a good day, but she just needed these last few things before she was fully at rest with all the drastic changes that were going on.

"Yeah, it'll be soon, bye Delilah," Joyce concluded, hanging up. It was Lilli's choice to try and persuade her to say goodbye at the end of every phone call, or text conversation. Some days, it was the nicest thing she heard from Joyce.

Lilli turned around to see Steph standing at the front door, her back against the outside of the house. 

"Lilli, are you sure everything's okay?" she asked, stepping away from the wall. Lilli put her phone away in the pocket of her shorts and turned to Steph. She sighed, then smiled.

"Yeah, I'm good. It'll all be sorted soon," The wind started to pick up slightly, my messy bun starting to wave in the breeze. Steph held out a hand to Lilli, and smiled at her. She held the offered hand, and walked together down the street.

"Look, I know it's anything but easy. This isn't the country you know. This isn't the family you know. This isn't the life you know. It'll take you a while to adjust, to feel at home. But in the long run, it'll be worth it. You know that, right?" Steph started. The moon was still rising behind a row of houses, but it illuminated the street beautifully. It was a full moon, and the sky was mostly clear, for spring. Lilli looked at Stephanie, smiling.

"I'm not stupid, I know it'll be hard. I just... It's been a while since I've called anyone mum or dad. I used to call Joyce and David that, but then I... just stopped. I think something clicked, that I wasn't theirs. They found great joy in telling me I wasn't part of the family. Thanks for taking me back in, St-" Lilli stopped herself, correcting her words.

"Thank you, mum."