Storm (G/T)

Riding Back to Normal

"So..." Bailey begins, eyes on the road. "Quite a scare back there, huh?"

"I guess." Not really.

"Would've definitely shot that beast had it not broken the guns."

"...good to know." How lucky am I to have not witnessed a shootout. The only time I ever saw him get hurt, he eventually handled it well, but it took a second and I wasn't in reach when he was fired up. It's hard to make him angry, but it's even harder to calm him down. If it were to get bad, it would only go downhill from there.

"Yeah, we tried to shoot at it too, but it started yelling which threw us offguard. Loud as a motherfucker. I almost got its shoulder, but it tended to you a little too quickly. I've still got nerves in my hands from all that, how can I even explain that situation to anyone?"

"Just don't explain it. I don't want attention to be brought to him." She's terrible with pronouns.

"Smart thinking, cookie. I wouldn't want it to rampage if people found out about it."

"He wouldn't." I pause. She doesn't reply. "He's friendly, I promise. I was with him for the entire week I was gone and we're like best friends now."

"Doesn't seem so friendly," she turns left. "Nice to you, I suppose. Protected you like a baby bird."

"Well, I also didn't try to shoot him." I did stab his nose, though, but I won't admit assault to a cop.

"Self-defense." Right turn. "That giant is nothing but bad news for everyone. We're lucky we lost it while we did. It's a shame we didn't just kill it on the spot." Tremors go through my stomach. "But no matter, if we catch it again then we'll call backup immediately."

"You won't need to worry, I promise. After that, he probably hates humans." He wouldn't go into human territory even if he wanted to. He only did it this time for me.

"Fine by me." There's a long pause, and she continues. "So, you're a tr***y, huh?"

Uh, what the fuck? We reach a stoplight, going well with how the conversation stopped dead in its tracks. "Not... the best word you could use. But sure."

"Sounds like it sucks," she replies. "I imagine it's hard to come off as a girl when everyone sees you otherwise."

"Austin didn't think otherwise. He didn't know until I told him."

"Back on that again, huh?" The light turns green. "I'm surprised that bastard could even get a good look at you. Must've been by force or something." And to think my parents were good at making me dysphoric. "Did it ever grab you without your consent?"

Yes, but he apologized. "No. And he's a boy. Just want to mention that. He/him. Not an it."

"In my opinion, it doesn't deserve to be humanized, but fine. Surprising that he didn't grab us either. Surely he could fit a good few people in one hand alone. Truly a marvel, and a terrifying one at that."

"Sure." I cross my arms. Can she ever stop talking?

"I'd hoped he'd be dumb enough to expect kindness from every human, but he seemed ready to kill us with his bare hands." I'm sure he didn't. "If he didn't have such a strong attraction to you, we'd have got him far away from humans forever. Did he ever yell at you?"

"No." Yes. "He only yells when he's pissed off." There's some truth. "I never gave him a reason to yell."

"Did you even try to leave the damn cave or wherever he lived?" I'm so sick of her questions.

"It was a house. He's just a really big human. That's it. Anyway, of course I did, and I almost got away with it multiple times. I hated him at first, but after getting to know him, you realize he's actually a really kind person."

"Not much of a person at all," she replies, ignoring my entire message. "Probably just marveled at how weird humans can be. I'd do the same if I were him, especially coming across one that stands out as much as you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" My eyes narrow.

"Well, I'm sure you telling him that you're a girl threw him for a loop. Melon and I are the only humans he's ever seen that didn't try to make themselves into a different kind of-"

"STOP PLEASE!" I shout. "You know, you have some nerve to try and tell me who I should be and how I should present myself. All you've done is insult everyone around you and pick apart my relationship with my friend. I'm not the one here who needs work."

She pauses. Fuck me. "Well jeez, cookie, you could've tried to steer clear of talking about it without hollering."

I roll my eyes, then turn and focus on the sky. I expect stars to litter the dark canvas the way they did in the forest. Here, the light pollution ruins that, only allowing a few specks of light to shine.

The trees are small here. Well, not small, they're normal, but everything feels small. I even feel awkwardly large in this car, since it's a normal size. Being exposed to a world too large for you and conditioning it into normalcy really changes your perspective. I don't think I mind everything back to normal, but it will take readjusting.

"Anything on your mind?"

"Take a guess," I reply.

She sighs. "I'm really sorry it happened to you, it must've been traumatic."

"Not really," I reply vaguely. "I'll be fine." I miss the experience, if anything. I really miss Austin. His jokes and his laugh and his scent, which matches the forest. The colors of his home have settled to dullness where they once danced.

She parks, and the engine stops. Melon's car is parked right next to us. "We're here. Let's get you into a home before I get a complaint from someone I don't wish to see again."