Sticks and Stones (Sequel to Tough Luck) [CreatureHubAwards]

6

Song I listened to: Kat Dahlia: Crazy (Listen to it with low volume, like background music)

+EDITED+

Aleks

I groan loudly, rubbing my face as I wake up. I was in my room, same bed, same dresser, even the same age-old pizza box propped up against the wall, but something didn't feel right. Then again, it could just be the pounding headache that was murdering my skull at the moment.

"You're not gonna throw up again, are you? I don't really feel like scrubbing Aleks puke off the floors again." Zander thumps my forehead.

"No more puking, but I feel like shit." I grumble, positioning myself so I'm sitting against my headboard and drinking water from a glass on my nightstand.

She raises an eyebrow, "obviously you would. After reacting like you did two days ago, anyone'd be feeling shitty."

I nearly choke on my water. Two days? What even made me sick in the first place? I stare at Zander, confused.

"You don't remember?' She asks, her voice raising a few octaves in shock.

"Please elaborate."

"Teagan, a needle, she freaked out. Any of that ring a bell?" She crosses her arms like she was about to scold me.

Yes, what Zander said did ring a bell, and quite frankly it was a bell that I wanted to stop ringing.

"Where're the rest of us?" I mumble, getting to my feet and stretching.

"Waiting for you in the living room." She nods to the door and exits in front of me.

I stumble out into the bright hallway, squinting against the harsh lighting. I follow Zander to the foyer stairs, where she heads down the opposite hallway instead of going to the living room. Everyone was indeed waiting for me to enter. Well, maybe not for me, because the only acknowledgment I got was a small nod from James. Feeling awkward for the first time since I began staying at the Creature house, I cross the room to Jordan, who is leaning against the wall and talking to Seamus.

They both look up at me when I approach. Jordan's eyes fill with sympathy, making me internally scowl. Yeah, so I freaked out over Teagan's reaction the other day, but I was fine now that I was certain she was safe and back where she belonged.

"Monica's in there talking to Teagan since she's the only one she feels comfortable around. We're gonna see if Zander can take over for a bit, try to make her feel at ease while Monica takes a break." Jordan informs me, pushing himself off the wall and allowing me to take his spot.

"Did you figure out what's making her hate us?" My voice comes out scratchy.

"We're taking one step at a time Aleks. Don't stress about it." Jordan pats my shoulder before sauntering over to everyone else, who were doing something with the TV. I subconsciously look down at Seamus, who's reading some sort of packet, and measure myself to him with my hand. He gives me a startled look at my hand slanting down to touch his hair and I slowly retract it.

"You're like, really short." I repeat the same thing I'd been telling him since we first met.

He shakes his head and sighs, "don't you have somewhere to be? Like eating for the first time in two days?"

As if on command, my stomach loudly grumbles. Instead of heading to the kitchen like I should've, because my stomach would probably begin eating itself soon, I go to Teagan's room. The door was closed but a low murmur of voices could be heard, so I placed my cheek against it to listen in.

"Teagan, do you want to hear the truth or not?" A steady voice asks.

Zander.

"No! I know the truth, and it's that I don't belong here." A shrill voice replies, cracking before finishing the sentence. Teagan sounded like she would burst into tears at any moment, and I couldn't do anything about it. Because you didn't let her leave the vent when she wanted to. This is your fault. That voice was really beginning to become obnoxious. The one inside my head, not Teagan's. Or Zander's. The two were speaking in all too quiet voices that no matter how hard I strained my ears, they just couldn't pick up their words.

"You know we're not gonna hurt you. You know that, right?" Zander asks.

"That's not what my mom told me," Teagan quietly responds.

I heard Zander audibly sigh and everything's silent until the door opens and a wide-eyed Zander greets me. She immediately pushes me out of the doorway to avoid a freak-out from Teagan. Before I stumble down the hall, I catch Teagan's eye over Zander's shoulder. She was staring right at me, her green contacts and bright hair almost glowing in the darkness of the room.

"What the fuck, Aleks?" Zander seethes, lightly shoving my shoulder. "You know she's not mentally stable at the moment and could break down at any moment, yet you -the very person she's terrified of- decide to just leisurely stroll over here and eavesdrop?"

I wanted to shout that Teagan was perfectly fine, that Zander was the unstable one, but even the unreasonable side of me knew that she was right. I had no idea what happened to her in those eight months she was with the AKs, but I damn sure hoped we found out soon. I scowl, "I'm a part of this operation too, Zander. I don't know why everyone's treating me like some charity case and like I'm not capable of helping out, but I want it to fucking stop."

Her face softens and she falls into step with my furious strides. "We're all on edge right now. You know that."

"Yeah, I do. James is looking for you, by the way. Tell everyone that I'll be outside if they need me." I mumble, pulling a random hoodie from the newly installed coat rack beside the front doors.

"This is why everyone treats you like a charity case, Aleks! Because instead of letting us help you, you run off to drown in your own emotions!" She yells after me.

I ignore her and enter the chilly night air, watching as my breath came out in clouds.

I sit down on the stone steps leading to the doors and lean back to look up at the night sky. Gray clouds covered the stars, which made me think about what could possibly be going on in Teagan's mind at this moment. Maybe there were dark clouds covering up millions of stars. I jerk myself upright. Dark clouds. The AKs. Stars. Teagan's thoughts.

Oh my god.

I scramble to my feet and stumble back into the house, sprinting to the living room. I breathlessly burst through the doorway, startling everyone.

"I think I know what's wrong with Teagan."

~~***~~

A.N

Hey, guys, it's page 364 out of 365, are y'all ready to close this book and begin a new one? Here we go, 2015. Let's start a bestseller.

Btw, that gif will always be one of my favorites.

xo

Stay classy, sassy, and eat some taffy <3

~cookehbutt December 30, 2014