#uuuuhhh I did a thing today bYE

[universal-kitty]

I feel like doing writing today, so...!! Time to write about my still untalked about AUs? AKA me in my F/O’s universe, cause that kinda stuff is my jam~ Starting with....!!

MY HERO ACADEMIA VERSE

Real name is Akira Hayashi. Has a Cat Mutation quirk. Cat ears on her head and a cat tail. Can see and hear to cat-like ability, can fall from certain heights without damage, wonderful balance. However, is usually always overwhelmed by the fact that she’s hypersensitive, so often needs to stay away from people to recharge. Lots of cat naps after using her Quirk extensively.

Short brown hair that parts in the middle. Dark green eyes. Used to wear glasses, but traded them for contacts for convenience. Still has a pair, just in case.

Quirkless mother and a villain father, of all things. Her father is Kuroyama Hayashi, a mafia-esque villain who’s Quirk lets him use crows as a basis to create minions who do his dirty work. It’s taxing and having minions who have free thought isn’t always the best way to go about things, but it gets his jobs done enough that it’s a viable thing to keep doing.

Her mother didn’t know he was a villain until after Akira had been born, but... She’s a bit of a “dangerous optimist” in the sense she finds the whole thing more...”romantic” than anything? (She’s not the brightest bulb in that sense, but Kuroyama does make sure to not involve business at home too much, as well as the fact that his wife isn’t completely open about all in public, so... They get by fine, on that note.)

Still doesn’t help the fact Akira’s father is known pretty well and everyone expects her to grow up like her father, even despite her very persistent dreams of becoming a hero at a young age.

(Her father’s side is even largely villains. Any of them that had kids who became heroes? Removed from the family tree and their history. Completely exiled from the family.)

So when it comes time to enter high school, Akira puts in the effort to become someone else. For her time at U.A. she becomes “Maiko Inoue”.

Mostly a shy child, “Maiko” stresses under the worries that someone will find out about her past... To her luck, nobody seems to and- as time passes- she eventually starts letting go of it.

Meets Toshinori around this time, though they aren’t too close. Mostly just...casual running into each other moments and such. Friendly, but not friends.

Eventually graduates as the “Lucky Cat Hero Mani-Neko” and starts doing hero work for a few good years. A bit of rescue work, but also teamwork with other heroes to bring villains down. Cat-like reflexes, the sharp claws that can extend from her paw-gloves and paw-boots make for a good fighter, when need be!

Outfit Reference Here.

“Maiko” learns of All Might more and more during this time. Still not quite friends, but they work together from time to time. All Might is a friendly hero, as well, so they manage some conversations... Most all work related. (Which is fine.... Kinda. She starts having a crush on him here, but it’s small and something she majorly downplays. He’s a HUGE name, she’s just another hero. It’d never work out, with his loud voice and her sensitive ears!! The press?? Yeah, pfffftt, no way.)

It’s during her “downtime” phase of her hero life when U.A. asks her if she can come in as a teacher. Figuring there’s more to life than just straight up hero work (plus liking being around kids), she agrees to help out.

It’s here she meets Toshinori again (the first time in years, it feels!) and it’s a crush that slams into her without warning. He looks worn out and no longer as bright and full of life as he once was, but... Somehow, that’s his charm, now. Learning about what happened only worries her more, especially since his beloved hero work is suffering for it.

Almost immediately finds a friend in Izuku Midoriya. The bright-eyed, wannabe hero is not only endearing to meet, but his knowledge of her past hero work makes “Maiko’s” heart warm. Didn’t take long for that kid to weasel his way into her heart.

Post the first attack from the League of Villains, her father acts out. Out and about at the time, Mani-Neko helps out the best she can... Only to have her father confirm- in front of the press!- that she’s his daughter.

Not only does the news eat it up, but it suddenly creates a ripple of fear and doubt in U.A. From fellow teachers to the parents’ of the students, everyone is up in a tizzy about the information.

 Her most solid backers in this nightmare of a time end up being Toshinori Yagi (who has seen her pride and love for her work; a passion like that for life cannot be faked), Izuku (who believes the “amazing” Mani-Neko is who she is, and that’s a hero!!!), Hitoshi Shinso (who knows all too well what it’s like to be judged for a piece of who you are, and not WHO you are), and Shoto Todoroki (in the background, but definitely in support and for similar reasons as Shinso).

Eventually, she does manage to make the media calm down again and revert to using her real name- Akira Hayashi- as well as just letting time pass and concerns be dropped as she goes back to work....and into a full embrace of her hero work.

....To the point that it’s dangerous, anyways. If she’s got time, she’ll throw herself into any heroic situation in an attempt to help out and prove herself to near-reckless degrees. This calms down eventually... Especially considering she worries her friends and her own students with her behavior.

Close friends with @madamethana‘s OC, Shikiyo, who works as the school therapist. They went to U.A. together and while- similar to Toshinori- they weren’t friends at the time, they ended up bonding through hero work and the fallout that was the surprise discovery of Akira’s true background. (And where Akira continues to crush on Toshinori, Shikiyo is dating Aizawa.)

Shikiyo is constantly trying to get Akira and Toshinori together already, especially cause of the former’s crush....but the cat-gal won’t have it. It’ll work out.....someday, hopefully.............

(And stop talking to Deku about it!! Don’t put ideas into his head, JFC--)

Villain AU: ...But what if things didn’t work out, after all? Eventually pushed and prodded so much by her dad, to live up to the villain legacy...and Akira cracks.

Still goes to school for a few years, but is extremely reserved. Doesn’t make a lot of friends (if any at all), learns all about heroes as her father teaches her how to be a villain at his personal base... She’s young, it all stresses her out, and provides good enough seeds to grow what will become her motivation to be a villain and stay by it.

(That being her isolation, the feeling she deserves no good things, that nobody helped her is a sign she was meant for villainy...and being a villain is in her blood, anyways.)

Still develops a small crush on All Might that torments her. Largely because he stood for everything she used to believe in. (She hates it. She hates him for being everything she’d never be.)

A few years later- set quite a few months before the USJ Incident- Akira makes her first, official villain appearance. In this AU, she goes by “Bake-Neko” as a villain title (though due to her father, her name is still easily available).

Post-the USJ Incident and the Stein Incident- at the suggestion of her father- they both end up joining the growing ranks of the League, not far behind Himiko and Dabi.

Akira stills tends to try to outcast herself within the group, but ends up making thin attachments due to how much time she and her father spend around the group. Particularly...

Has a fondness for Tomura. Seems to be parental, if her quiet hovering and protectiveness of him says anything her words don’t. However, it’s difficult to tell.

Ditto to Kurogiri; seems to be fond of him- since she hovers around him- but her tendency for silence worries him. (However, has purred in contentment when they hang out together without the presence of others; she’s comfortable with him.)

A...friendly thing? With Dabi? He largely likes to tease her for being so mute around them and the fact she stares when he summons his flames. However, she also makes him uneasy due to how she stares at his scars. Akira doesn’t say much on how she feels of him, in return.

Also as an odd sort of parental-esque fondness for Himiko. Will listen to her talk all she wants and hums agreements to assure the other girl she’s listening. The only one out of everyone who can get her to speak more.

Giran is someone her dad knows better than she does. Akira isn’t thrilled with him, but listens when he talks. Honestly, Kuroyama and Giran get along more than Giran gets on with her.

Jin/Twice is someone that is...one of the select few Akira has shown an open preference for. The duality of his nature intrigues her and is the only one allowed to treat her like a pet without growling, angry-swishing tail, or any violence whatsoever. In fact- as long as it’s just them- Akira will happily act like a full-on, pet cat and play with him when he feels like it.

Tbh, there’s no “official ship” for the Villain AU, so if y’all ship me w/ someone..... HMU.

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Divine duo part 2

The two pairs found themselves at the cafeteria in Rex's chaldea eating lunch this time. Just like in Faye's chaldea Rex and Quetz were eating very "healthy" meals, while Faye and Eresh were partaking in the stew that was enjoyed in Babylonia.

Eresh found herself right in front of the hungry Quetzalcoatl, watching her devour a sandwich mercilessly.

Eresh: you're really enjoying that sandwich huh?

Quetz: well like we said at breakfast we need the energy. After you guys leave we're going full force with our training!

Faye: how often do you two train?

Rex: every day that we can, it's best to turn these things into routine.

While the four were talking a familiar pair of figures were coming to the group, tho slowly and with a lot of struggling from one of the two. Eventually Faye and Eresh notice the two.

Faye: ...hey, is that... Ishtar?

Rex, looking over: oh yeah! What's she doing?

Eventually the goddess was finally at the table with the other hooded figure. It was Ishtar for sure, but she looked different, with red tattoos all over her and shining blue bull like horn ornaments in place of the crown Faye and Eresh were used to.

Ishtar: hello master! Is this that Faye person you mentioned?

Rex: why yes it is.

Ishtar: it's so good to see you Faye! And you two other sister!

As she says this she shakes the hands of both Faye and Eresh.

Faye: Ishtar... are you planning something?

Ishtar: ...normally I'd be offended but I'll cut to the chase. Yes I am! I've brought the Ereshkigal of our world to meet you!

Faye: oh!

The hooded figure hid behind Ishtar, it was clear that she was the other Ereshkigal. While mostly covered, you could see a glimpse of her arm which showed a mark similar to Ishtar's tattoos but black in color. While the Eresh of Faye's world could be shy, this one definitely seemed way more timid.

Eresh: hey. No need to hide! We won't bite!

The other Eresh peaked out a bit, showing more of her face from under the hood.

Faye: why hello there Ereshkigal! It's nice to meet you!

The hooded Eresh blushed but just barely managed to say a few words.

Hood Eresh: h-h-hello F-faye. I've h-heard about y-you from m-master...

Faye: that's so nice to hear!

Rex: Faye, you should say that thing you say to Eresh.

Faye: oh! OK!

The more timid Eresh blushed even harder and immediately shook her head towards Rex, clearly too panicked by what he requested of Faye.

But then Faye grabbed the other Eresh's hand and looked her in the eyes

Faye: you're quite beautiful today my goddess!

Immediately Rex's Eresh fainted, only to be caught by her sister.

Ishtar: oh my! Looks like she couldn't handle it! Well I'll take her to the infirmary to make sure she's fine, but I will be bringing her back!

After this was said Ishtar carried her sister off.

Quetz: goodness, I knew she'd be excited to see you but I didn't think she'd faint!

Faye: I'm surprised too! Rex your Eresh makes mine look like Irkalla!

Rex: yeah... was never sure why she was like that.

Eventually the group finished up and Rex decided to take them to Quetz's temple room. When they reached the room they saw 4 other figures in the room. Before the group could get very far into the temple room the four that were already in there approach them.

The group were the other Quetzes, it seemed they had similar intentions to Irkalla in Faye's chaldea. From left to right Faye and Eresh saw Kuku, Ququ, Slayer and Xiu. They all had different hairstyles from the original, Kuku had a shorter spikey looking ponytail. Ququ had her hair in a long more traditional ponytail and Xiu had a more high up pony tail with an actual fire at the end of it.

First Kuku spoke up

Kuku: so this is the other master? Interesting.

Ququ: she's kinda cute, not as cute as mi amor tho.

Xiu: noticeably shorter too.

Those three seemed just as lively as Quetz but Slayer, who was completely decked out in her armor, stood there silently. It seemed like she was scanning the pair.

Rex: ok ladies! Please don't bother the two too much! They're guests and we should respect them! Also Slayer please take off your helmet.

Slayer did take it off, begrudgingly. She looked like Quetz like the others, with her hair done in a bun to prevent it getting in the way while wearing the helmet, and a bit scarred on her face too.

Faye: it's so nice to meet you all!

Ququ: nice to meet you too Faye!

Quetz: what are you all doing in here anyways?

Xiu: we wanted to meet Faye and knew you'd show her the temple.

Rex: that's nice to hear.

Rex showed Faye and Eresh around the place, it was huge! Eventually he took the pair to the special mural.

Faye: oh! Is this meant to be Quetz's family?

Rex: yeah....

Faye observed the mural, she wasn't nearly as familiar with the mesoamerican pantheon but eventually she noticed the interesting figure at the center next to the serpent.

Faye: huh... I didn't expect there to be a... T-rex as part of the family...

Rex: well... not yet...

Faye: hmm?

Quetz: hehehe, that's actually mi amor!

Eresh: huh?! That's meant to be Rex?!

Quetz: si! He's eventually going to join me in my heavenly domain!

Faye: really!? You can do that!?

Quetz: my family's ok with it! So it'll happen!

Faye immediately grabbed Eresh's hands to ask her a question.

Faye: my goddess!

Eresh: huh!?

Faye: do you think you can do the same?!

Eresh, blushing: uuuuhhh... w-well maybe... if I can convince father... but I'm not sure...

Faye: I'm sure you can! Or at least get your sister to help!

Eresh: Faye calm down! We're not even married yet and now you're talking about all this?!

Faye calmed down after Eresh said this.

Faye: yeah... sorry about that.

After a bit it was time for the two to leave. But while they were about to leave Ishtar returned with the other Eresh.

Ishtar: wait! Before you go! She has something to say!

Faye: hmm? What is it?

Hood Eresh: u-um, w-well... c-can c-can I-I...

Ishtar: oh for the love of- can she go with you?!

Faye: huh?!

Eresh: what?!

Faye: you want to come with us?

Hood Eresh: yes! I do! I'm sorry Rex but I want to be Faye's servant!

Rex: I'm not even surprised honestly.

Quetz: si... it seems Faye has a similar effect on Ereshes as mi amor has on me's.

Faye: well... I'm fine with it... are you really ok with it Rex?

Rex: well... for the most part... but let's be fair and make it a trade.

Faye: trade?

Rex: yeah, should be obvious.

Eresh: Quetz is that OK?

Quetz: sure... I'm fine with it... I'm still number one!

Faye: ok then!

Faye contacted her Da Vinci

Faye: Da Vinci! Get Quetzalcoatl!

Da Vinci: alright!

After a bit of waiting Faye's Samba Qutez came in

Samba Quetz: what is it master?

Faye: you said you'd like for Rex to bring you with him, were you for real?

Samba Quetz: ...si, I was.

Faye: then get ready, you're coming to join him!

Samba Quetz: que?! For real?!

Faye: yeah! He's giving me his Eresh so you're joining him!

Samba Quetz: o-okay!

Faye's Quetz was sent to Rex's chaldea. The two masters switching contracts with the servants and finally Faye was leaving with both of her goddesses. But of course the new Eresh had to say bye to her sister.

Hood Eresh: bye sis!

Ishtar: goodbye sister! Make sure to call often!

Hood Eresh: of course!

Faye: seeya Rex! This was too fun! And I got the best souvenir from it all!

Rex: you say that but I think I got the better end of the deal! Goodbye for now!

Faye: bye!

And like that the other master returned to her world. Now Rex has Another Quetzalcoatl with him.

Samba Quetz: this is pretty exciting! So what now?!

Rex: lucha training!

Samba Quetz: !!! I already love you mi amor!!!!

Quetz: ...*sigh* well let's get started!

A/N: well there's the second part of the crossover. Hopefully you all enjoyed it! Thanks again to @hasereshdoneanythingwrong for letting me use their master and servant and for the ok for the trade at the end!

Tags but not spammy

@hasishtardoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @hasbbdoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Challenge: Write a fic based off of one of NFO's cliche high school escapades.

Challenge fucking accepted!!! Zoe just told me about this occurrence today. 

Aaaahhh yes. Homecoming season. The time where proposals appear left and right, girls worry about getting asked and buying dresses, guys worrying about asking. You didn’t worry too much about it. You and your group of friends all decided to go as one big group. No dates whatsoever.

However, one of the seniors, Orson Krennic, decided he wanted you to be his date. You really didn’t want to go with him. He was one of the biggest douchebags in the school, he thought he was the shit because his parents were rich, and he felt entitled to respect despite not giving anyone any in return. 

“So how about it? Homecoming? You. Me. Probably a little something else after?” He said the last part with a smirk and you wanted to vomit. 

“Uuuuhhhhh...sorry! I actually already have a date!”

“Oh? With who?” 

“Uuuuhhh...”

“Hey, Y/N!” You heard a familiar voice call from behind you. You turned to see Bodhi walking up to you.

“Bodhi!” You said to Krennic, “I’m going with Bodhi!” 

“What’s going on?” Bodhi asked.

“You’re taking Y/N to the Homecoming dance?” Krennic asked suspiciously.

Bodhi looked to you and you just batted your eyes. Something was up, “Yeah. We’re going together.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and you couldn’t help but feel butterflies in your stomach. 

“Interesting. How’d you ask her?”

Bodhi shrugged, “Just casually. She doesn’t like grand gestures or something attention grabbing. It was just her and I. More intimate.” He emphasized the last word causing you to blush a little. 

Krennic narrowed his eyes at both of you, “Fine. Enjoy the dance. I hope to see you dancing together a lot.” With that he walked away.

Bodhi dropped his arm from your shoulder, “What did you do?”

“HE ASKED ME TO HOMECOMING AND I PANICKED!”

“So you told him you were my date?” 

“YOU WERE THE FIRST PERSON I SAW, OKAY?!” You were so riled up because not only did being in Krennic’s presence always upset you, but also because you’ve always harbored a crush on Bodhi, but he had a girlfriend so it made things complicated for you.

You sighed, “Anyway, I’m sorry I dragged you into this. You’re probably going to the dance with your girlfriend.”

Bodhi awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “Actually, we broke up.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I mean, are you okay with pretending to be my date? We’ll be hanging around each other at the dance since we share the same group of friends. All we have to do is just dance together for some songs, then we could go our separate ways.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

“Great.”

“Great.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

You two stood there awkwardly in silence. You rocked back and forth on your feet, “So bye!” With that you ran away as fast as you could. 

[collegeemt3]

Chapter Four

Robin

I wake up to my dad shaking my shoulder, although I had not intended to fall asleep. “You hungry?” he asks me.

“Not really. What’s for dinner?” I mumble back at him sleepily, while sitting up.

“I think Janet’s making lasagna,” he informs me.

“Uuuuhhh,” I groan in response.

“Oh come on,” he says with a smile as he cuffs me lightly on the shoulder, “your sister’s cooking isn’t that bad.”

“It’s not that her cooking’s bad. I’m just not a huge of fan lasagna,” I explain to him.

“Okay,” he says, slightly skeptical. “You gonna come down and eat something?”

“In a little while. I want to work on my English paper for a little bit first, and as I said when you woke me up, I’m not terribly hungry.”

“Alright. You have a half an hour, then I want to see your butt downstairs with the rest of the family. You got that, young lady,” he orders me, jokingly.

“Sir, yes sir,” I joke back at him.

“Alright. I love you,” he tells me as he walks out the door.

“I love you too, Daddy,” I call back to him. I get up from my bed, and step over to my desk, where my laptop is. I open my laptop, boot it up, and sit down. Once everything’s loaded, I open my English essay, and attempt to work on it. I don’t get very far though, because my IM pops up with a message from David.

I thought I might find you here, eventually, he writes to me.

Hey, I write back to him.

What u doin’ right now? he asks me.

Tryin’ to work on my English essay, but not having much success, I tell him.

Is it ‘cause of me? he enquires.

No, just can’t concentrate on school right now, too many other things running through my mind right now.

Is that ‘cause of our talk this afternoon?

Partially.

Do you want to talk about it now? he asks me.

Not really, I’m still trying to figure parts of it out myself right now, I tell him, truthfully.

I gotta go, my parents are calling me for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.

Bye.

It still feels like things are a little distant between me and David, but I think it’ll probably be like that until I can accept what he said, and completely mull over things. I try to work some more on my English essay, but I only get about another paragraph written before my half-hour time limit runs out. I unplug my computer charger from the power strip on my desk, pick up my laptop, and head downstairs.

“Nice of you to join us, Robin,” Eileen, my Step-mom, remarks as I walk into the family room.

“Hey Robin,” Janet, my younger sister of two years, greets me. “There’s some leftover lasagna in the fridge if you want it.”

“Thanks, Janet.” I plug my laptop charger into the wall by the couch, then walk into the kitchen, and, although I’m still not really hungry, I take a small piece of lasagna, and heat it up in the microwave. As the lasagna is heating up, I pour myself a small glass of water. Once the microwave beeps, I take my lasagna and water into the family room, and sit down on the couch, content to watch whatever my parents had going on the TV. I slowly eat my sliver of lasagna, and watch as the game of “Jeopardy” progresses.

When I’m done eating, I take my dishes into the kitchen, rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher. I go back into the family room, and check my e-mails on my laptop. It’s mostly junk e-mails, but there are a few important ones. There’s one from the basketball coach announcing conditioning for all who are interested in trying out, there’s a response from my pen-pal in Louisiana, and a short e-mail from David:

I would say I’m sorry for what I said earlier during out talk, but I’m not. What I said is true, and if you can’t accept that than you haven’t really seen how bad your situation is, and haven’t reached your bottom yet, no matter how much it feels like it. I will continue to be here for you, and give you support, but there’s not much else I can do. There probably will be some point that you will hit, and I will schedule something for you as intervention, but I don’t know what that point is right now. I’m also hopeful that you will realize the reality of you situation before you hit that point. I hope that not too much has changed in our relationship between us, and that we can continue to see each other. I love you, I always have, and I always will, no matter what. David.

By the time I finished reading the e-mail from David, I was trying not to cry. I quickly signed out of my e-mail, closed the internet browser, then shut my laptop. “I’m going to bed,” I announce, as I get up from the couch.

“So early?” my dad asks.

“I’m really tired,” I reply convincingly with a yawn.

“All right, well, pleasant dreams,” my dad says.

“ ’night,” my sister and step-mom say as I pass them.

“ ‘night,” I reply to them both.

Once I’m up in my room, I quickly change from my jeans and sweater into sweatpants and a t-shirt. I roll onto my bed and curl up in a ball, crying. There’s such a conflict of emotions going on, that I’m not entirely sure how to react. There’s so much internal pain, but I’m not sure how to handle it. Part of me wants to go cut, but another part of me doesn’t want to move from the fetal position on my bed. I’m slowly realizing what actually is going on, and not really liking the reality of the situation, making me feel worse. I’m crying the hardest I have in a while, but still somehow managing to stay fairly quiet. I feel somewhat angry, at the crap that has happened in my life that has pushed me to this point, at me for not beginning to realize sooner what was really happening, and also at David, because to me it felt like he was very blunt about the whole thing. I know he’s looking out for the best for me, but sometimes I don’t like what that is. Amidst the pain and anger, there’s also confusion. How did I get myself so deep into this crap, without realizing it? Why, now that I realize what’s going on, do I still not feel much of a need for change? Why do I feel a need to continue doing what I’ve been doing to survive? It’s like my “survival” instinct is kicking in over my rationality.

David

When I get back to my computer after dinner, Robin’s no longer signed in to her chat, so I’m hopefully guessing that she went to bed early, and that she’s not doing something else, such as cutting. I send her a text in hopes that maybe she’s still up, just not on her computer, but I get no response. After about a half an hour of just fooling around on the internet, I decide to take another quick study session for my test tomorrow, before just retiring for the night. I grab a quick shower before I go to bed, so I’m not as rushed in the morning.

I wake with a start at the sound of my alarm, jolting out of a terrible dream. I dreamt that I was headed to Robin’s house after school, I had had to run back to my house to grab something, and when I came back, she was lying on the kitchen floor, unconscious, and barely breathing. There was an unmarked bottle of some sort of pills on the counter, with a cup of something that I couldn’t discern. I had pulled out my cell phone to call 911, and then that’s when my alarm went off and woke me up, bringing me back to a hopefully more blissful than the dream reality.

I throw on a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt, and decide to just wear my flip-flops today, because I don’t feel like digging through my drawer for a clean pair of socks at the moment. I make a mental note to myself to do laundry tonight as I decide this. I take my backpack downstairs with me, and leave it by the door, seeing as it’s already packed up for the day. I walk into the kitchen and dig out something that I can quickly eat for breakfast. When I’m done with my breakfast, I run back upstairs and brush my teeth quickly. Then I go back downstairs, and head out to my car to pick up Robin.

Robin

I guess I eventually cried myself to sleep, because I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock going off. I don’t really remember dreaming anything, but when I look down at my arms, it looks like I have claw marks up and down them, like I had tried scratching them last night in my sleep, leaving me very confused. I guess I was in so much emotional pain and turmoil that in my unconscious state of sleep, I was still trying to hurt myself for a feeling of relief.

I go through my morning ritual a little faster than usual today. I don’t put on any makeup, and I leave my sweatpants on. I exchange my t-shirt for a long-sleeved one, and head downstairs. I’m not hungry right now, but I make a PB&J for lunch. I’m sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for David, listening to my iPod when I see the headlights of his car. I grab my backpack, open the front door, and step out onto the porch as he starts up the walkway.

I meet him at the bottom of the walkway, and he greets me with a fairly cheery sounding, “good morning.”

“Hey,” I mumble back at him sleepily.

“How was the rest of your night?” he asks as he helps me into his car.

“It was okay,” I reply to him quietly. Once he’s gotten into the car, I continue, “I got your e-mail last night.”

“You did?” he asks me, sounding relieved.

“Yeah, I did,” I confirm with him. “It made me think about things, a lot.”

“Like what kind of things?” he asks, prodding further.

“You should know the answer to that,” I tell him blandly.

“Has it made you change your mind on anything?”

“No,” I say forcefully, with a glare, knowing the true intention of the question. “I’m still not going to talk to anyone.” David remains silent, and starts the car. The air is tense between us as he drives to school, and remains so until we part ways.