Re: Life-Like

[2] Boons

I slid into the booth on the far side of the room, and Jack slid in the side opposite me. I looked at him uncertainly as he oggled at everyone else at the booths.

"U-Uh..." I started before the crocodile man interrupted me by setting cups in front of the both of us.

"So, what would you boys like to drink?" He asked, eyeing me up with the red eye on my side of his head.

"How about some of your famous tea? For the both of us, please. Trust me, Oda, you'll love this stuff," Jack looked over as if suddenly remembering I existed.

I hope you're right...

"A-Alright," I nodded.

The crocodile quickly swooped away to grab the pitcher of tea as the Eversio group began bickering amongst themselves. Jack analyzed me with squinted eyes.

"You gonna be alright? You're looking even worse than before."

My body continued to tremble, and I hesitantly shook my head.

I'm not alright. This is terrifying.

He nodded, "Give me just a moment. Don't freak out, but I'm going to get up and go talk to Ray real quick. Got it?"

I shook my head, "No, please don't-"

Wait, since when did I start relying on him?

"Don't worry, it'll only take a second. Deep breaths. Focus on the things in this room you can control."

He climbed out of his seat in the red booth and quickly ran over to a staircase next to the elevator that I hadn't noticed before, rushing down them quickly. I focused on my hands as the shaking got worse. I tightened my knuckles and watched the skin whiten, and began taking deep breaths, hoping nobody would notice me.

"Something is...off about those two. I'm not sure what it is, but I definitely feel something weird. Does anyone else?" I heard the white-haired man whisper among the other chatter.

I can hear you...

"Yeah, I feel it, too. It's...strange," Another man whispered in response.

Oh god. What if there's something wrong with us? What if they do something about it?

"Would you two shut up? He's right there," the blonde girl snapped at them.

I glanced up to see her slapping both the white-haired man and a red-haired man on the head with rolled up napkins. She smiled at me, and hopped out of her spot in the booth and slid into where Jack was sitting. 

"Hi. I'm sorry about my rude ass husband and friend. There's nothing wrong with either of you, and we're glad you're here and safe with us."

I looked down at my hands and nodded, "It's okay..."

"Are you anxious?" She asked.

I didn't respond, and focused on the whites of my knuckles again.

"It's okay, I know what that feels like. Before I got here, I was an extremely anxious person. Heck, I couldn't even walk into a simple convenience store without panicking," she giggled lightheartedly.

I looked up at her. She looked incredibly friendly. She had on a purple shirt with a strange looking clown, and her blonde hair hung way past her shoulders.

Honestly, everyone here seems so friendly. Should that worry me? 

"I see..." I responded, looking back down at my hands.

She rested one of her hands on top of mine, and a wave of relief rushed over me. I looked up at her in surprise. She smiled wide.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."