(Hi yall!! Srry this took so longggg-i could do a whole lot of explainitory yappin, but ya didn't come here for that. Just know that tho i plan to continue June and Kai's story, summer's gonna be busy for me and I might not be able to update as often now. Love yall! + normal warnings!!) Chapter 16: June Times I remember my brother crying: ~When he was seven and broke his foot ~When our grandmother d13d three years ago ~Today, when I got home Monday, Oct 8th, 10:03am If you were expecting tears, cries of joy, maybe even a shocked faint or two from my parents, after hearing I was alive and okay? You've never met my parents. After the school called them, they came to pick me up. My car had been towed-just one more spark of frustration to their bonfire-and now that I was back? I'm pretty sure they were mad at me for wasting their time wondering where I was. If they had wondered. The drive home was bitter silence, thick and suffocating. I could practically feel the disapproving thoughts running through their heads. I just stared out the window, watching the sprinkling raindrops drip slowly down the glass pane, trying not to feel hurt. Trying not to cry. Trying to swallow down the lump creeping up my throat. There'd been an awkward goodbye to Kai Brooks. If you could call it a goodbye at all. A quick wave without looking. I didn't know if our friendship-it really had grown to that, inside those school walls during those long hours-could survive out here in the real world. It felt like a bubble of safety, destined to pop. Nothing that perfect and uncomplicated could exist in such a messy place like this. When the car stops, mother and father get out, popping up their umbrellas and heading quickly inside. I sit for a moment, listening to the sound of the quickening raindrops falling on the car roof. Now that we're out of the school, I almost miss it. Not the food. Not the near d34th experiences. Not the gross unsanitary bathrooms. But the simple feeling. Because in there, all that mattered was Kai and me. And what we needed. I wasn't sure I was ready to deal with the weight of everything else again. Finally I unlatch the door and step out, rain automatically dotting my sweater top with little flecks of water. I see the reflection of headlights and turn to see a car pull up. I watch as it pauses a second in the driveway, me squinting to see the driver. And then the door opens, and a familiar voice is shaky and broken but...I suddenly realize there is no one I'd rather see or hear in that moment. "June?" "Beck." It's like a breath of relief. To let go of all the fear and anger and hurt I've felt over the weekend. My older brother slams the door shut and rushes to me, enveloping me in a tight embrace, shoulders already shaking. "I-I thought you were d-de4d." I've never heard him so broken. Vulnerable in a way he's never before let me see. It's pouring now, and I don't know if I've ever felt so soaked. But I've also never felt so at home. Beck and I have never been super close. I've always wished we were. But our family was always so broken...it felt like a ravine that we'd never be able to cross. Sometimes you just need to realize how close you are to losing something, to realize that if you don't bridge that gap now, you might never have a chance. Beck and I sink down to the ground, still holding each other. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and we both cry. It's loud and snotty and we're hiccuping and gasping and we sound ridiculous. We're wet, I haven't changed clothes in two days, he looks like he hasn't slept in a month. Our clothes and hair stick to our bodies like a second skin. But none of that matters. Because we're together. And I have a feeling that whatever happens, that isn't going to change. Chapter 17: Kai People I trust: ~Mom ~Dad ~Wyatt (BUT NOT WITH A CHAINSAW OR ANYTHING) ~My uncle Ryan (he's one of the kids practically) ~Juneily Amanda Avens. (NEVER thought I'd say that honestly...) Monday, Oct 8th, 11:02am The moment I saw my mother and father in the parking lot, I started to cry. They were crying too, so it was just one big collection of waterworks. Why was I crying? Oh I dunno, how about: -I'd been locked in my school for two days -I'd almost d13d -I slept on a couch all weekend (If you can call practically a huge rock wrapped in a thin, disgustingly fuzzy fabric) -Not to mention-me emotions were ranging from angry, to confused, to relieved, to sad, to...something I didn't really know how to place -And uh-this was the first time my parents had gone anywhere in years without arguing Yup. I'm a divorce child. It's not fun or funny, it's not awful or despicable. It's just my life. Sure I've probably got some deep buried resentment about the whole thing-who knows-or perhaps that's why anyone raising their voice about normal levels makes me flinch. But it doesn't matter. I survived. Sometimes it felt like I wouldn't. If your parents have split up, you might understand the feeling.
The problem is that six years old is MUCH too young to understand the feeling. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that your family doesn't fit anymore. It's harder to do that when you don't understand what's going on. Seeing Mom and Dad like that-HOLDING HANDS EVEN-broke me. They must've been really scared. After the initial relieved embrace, the drive home was filled with stories. I told them about being trapped in the school-regaled them with the terrors of the dark, and hunting for food and playing games with June (She is ridiculously good at Uno, if you respect your pride, don't even try). I didn't tell them about a few selective things. Who the June I was talking about was... The same Juneily Avens I had been complaining about being partners with just a few days ago. The girl I'd often mentioned fleetingly in stories, as the uptight, smart aleck who got on everyone's nerves. I flinched remembering that. I'd learned so much more about her during our time trapped at school. When we get home I give my parents another hug, then leave them to talk things out in the kitchen. They seem reluctant to let me out of their sight, even if it's just up the stairs to my bedroom, but I manage to convince them I won't evaporate without their tired eyes on me. I flop onto my bed, rolling over to stare out of the window. I think about June. It's not the first time since I stepped out of that building. I wonder what's going on at her house. I wonder if she'll acknowledge this weekend, come tomorrow. I hope she does. I grab my phone from my pocket, almost surprised to see the service bars. I swipe and- Wow. A whopping 165 messages. I click into my texts and smile slightly. More than half of which are from Wyatt. But my grin loses it's wattage as I scroll, reading the more and more desperate texts. It finally hits me then. Our families, the school, our friends- They thought we were gone. Forever. I type a quick message back to Wyatt's bombardment of them. Kai: Hey man ;) The doorbell rings less than ten minutes later. I blink, then go flying down the steps to throw it open. My best friend stands there, hands over his knees, face bright red, backpack dangling from one shoulder as he wheezes. His chocolate brown hair is tousled and his bright green eyes are laser-focused on me, narrowed like he's trying to figure out if I'm real. "Dude-did you seriously just run all the way here from school?!" I ask incredulously. It's all I can think of to say. Wyatt lunges forward and tackles me into a hug hard enough to make me pitch backwards. Despite the fact that he's a bit on the small side of humanity in general, he can muster up quite a bit of force. Like a really affectionate little terrier, as I've thought before. "I MISSED YOU!" I laugh. "I missed you too-" Wyatt jumps away and punches me in the shoulder. "Don't DO that! I thought I was going to have to give a speech at your funeral-I S^CK at public speaking!" He wasn't wrong. A funeral speech from Wy would probably contain a lot of 'dude's, 'bro's and stuttering. Not exactly what I'd want to go out to. "Don't worry-I'll leave a note in my will saying I absolutely refuse to have you as a speaker." Wyatt glares and punches me again. "What about you just don't fake d13 anymore? OR REAL D13-" "Dang it." I say with mock-disappointment. "What do I do for fun now?" "I hate you." Wyatt says, but he hugs me tighter, and I can feel his shoulders shaking. I smile, patting his back. "I love you too, buddy." Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1329234580 First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1306595253 (Comment to be pinged! Check out the studiooooo-theories or whatever are welcome, tysm for reading!!<333)
