Light Em Up (oc x oc)

I - Nova

A/N there are quite a few trigger warnings in place for this story, so if you are triggered easily, I wouldn't proceed.

The next morning, we're all awake before sunrise, waiting for the sun chariot to obnoxiously blare Baby Shark as the sun rises. Trust my dad to decide he's so much of an asshole that we don't even have the right to sleep away our troubles.

"Let's get up and go!" calls Will cheerfully, and I curl back up on my bunk and ignore him.

Kayla looks at me out of the corner of her eye and whispers to Austin. I ignore the two of them and close my eyes, pretending I was anywhere but here.

An hour passes, then a few more, and the alarm start ringing for the start of another terrible day. I can't live like this. The moment I brush my hair and step out of the door, the smile I have to plaster on my face is more painful than a cell could ever be.

I walk alone across the field toward the Infirmary, where my siblings mill around an almost empty building. Nothing interesting has happened almost all summer, and the basic 'Clarisse La Rue almost cut my arm off at the elbow' injuries are gone within a few seconds. The only thing even remarkably interesting is that Nico ends up in here a lot from using his powers, but that happens far too often for it to be exciting.

Kayla makes no move to stop me as I make my way down the corridor, which is the smallest mercy she could afford me. Will stands in the doorway.

"You can't go in there, Nova."

"I have just as much right as Austin does," I say, referring to our brother who's standing in the room by the window. "I'm just as much one of you."

Will sighs. "Just don't do anything stupid."

This is as close to familial love as I get. Don't do anything stupid. Someday I will, just to spite them.

The girl I brought in yesterday lays on a cot in the corner, sleeping relatively peacefully. Austin leaves as I enter.

"You'll be alright?"

"Yeah," I smile. It's times like these I really miss Michael Yew. He was the only one of my siblings who wasn't embarrassed to be around me. Austin tolerates my presence more than the others, which means he's automatically my favourite brother. "Thanks. I think Will would rather you stayed."

"Will can go to hell. I think you're fine here, just as fine as the rest of us. I don't get what his problem is with you."

"Me neither."

Austin leaves, and I sit beside the other girl. Printed pages in Kayla's handwriting sit beside the bed.

Undetermined. Seems stable. Injuries: multiple lacerations to the torso. Expected to regain consciousness soon. Round the clock monitoring.

I sit, watching her chest rise and fall gently. She seems more peaceful than I ever do. She stirs a little, and I prepare to hit the alarm.

Wait. I can sort this out myself.

Her eyes open a little, and I put my finger to my lips gently. "Shh. It's alright. You're safe now."

Her eyes close once more, and her breathing evens back out. I scrawl some notes on a spare sheet of paper, just to keep up the file. It may not look to them like I care, but the fact that I'm in here alone is such a milestone, I need to appreciate what I can get to.

"Hey, Austin!" calls Kayla, poking her head through the door. "Oh, it's you. Where's Austin?"

"I don't know," I say. "He left a few hours ago."