Building Back Up Again

Part Three: Why is talking so hard?

Author's notes: Here's part three! I hope you liked 1-2! 

Tw: Invasive thoughts, social anxiety.

    Liv and Robyn continued to make small talk but they were chewed out by their lovely teacher. They both turned back to their work for the class. Eventually the bell rang, class was dismissed and the day carried on. Robyn couldn't stop thinking about how each time she left a class, Liv would be there to wave then disappear in the sea of students.

Before she knew it the lunch bell rang out to end her fifth period. Sophomores flooded the hallways trying to get into the lines before they were too long. Unfortunately Robyn wasn't a very big person which caused her to be pushed around a lot. People towered over her, so she mostly tried to stick to the hallway walls. After she got into the line she had to wait fifteen minutes just to get the dang food. All she wanted was to sit at the table and not eat, but her mother had already threatened to bring her lunch personally everyday if she didn't buy something from her account. She got her tray and tried to find a table that wasn't filled to capacity. She suddenly noticed a girl with bright pink hair flagging her down to go sit with her. She sighed and walked over to Liv, a goofy grin spreading across Liv's face as she sat down.

"Hey! I was hoping you would actually sit with us today!" Robyn smiled and waved to the other members of the friend group. "Oh right! Everyone, this is Robyn. Remember? Quiet girl, from last year?" Some of them had a look of remembrance on their faces, but others just smiled and waved politely, making it evident that they had no clue who in the world she was. She sighed and tried to move away more, but Liv held her tight into place. She could tell she wanted to make it seem she was welcome here but she always made things awkward. Robyn tried to make it work before, talking to others and making friends, but she never really clicked right. Except for Him. He was the one that clicked immediately. He kept her from breaking apart, and she made sure he didn't do anything stupid. They both messed up. Both of them broke the unspoken rule to be there for each other. She didn't want to mess up this friend group. They were all so tightly woven together by fate she didn't want to be the one who cut their strings.

She was so deep into her thoughts that she had accidentally ignored one of the guys who was talking to her. She finally snapped out of it when he finished what he was saying. "But- it was nice to meet you officially instead of just staring at you from the other end of the table." His voice was filled with sweet laughter, like he was always going to make a joke that everyone laughed at. She looked up from her very fidgety fingers to actually acknowledge the poor guy she had mostly ignored. He had a dark shade of brown for a beanie he somehow didn't get dress coded for. He moved his hair out of his face and boom. She hadn't noticed it before but his eyes. "I'm Greyson, but you can call me Jack." His eyes were so unique she couldn't help but absorb every detail, every shade melting into the other. It was so beautiful, gorgeous, and so incredibly unique her fingers itched for her pencil and her sketchbook. Then the eyes shifted into an uncomfortable look "Have I got something on my face?" After that comment she immediately tore her eyes away from his. Letting every thought be scrambled around in her brain, her conscience screaming at her amidst the chaos. "I-I am so,so,so,so,so sorry Jack- I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable- I just- I mean- Ah! I'm sorry-!" and then he laughed. Interrupting her protests and apologies he laughed. Everyone else at the table joined in. Besides Robyn . She sat there in embarrassment.

[Why were they laughing at her? What did she do that was so funny? Maybe they just brought her over here to make a laughingstock out of her? Of course they would. That's what everyone else does, why would they be any different?]

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Then Jack sensed her stiff and uncomfortable sitting there, eyes glossy, expression hurt and angry. He immediately stopped laughing. He had taken it too far. He pushed his luck with this girl, he knew she wasn't social but he didn't know she was this bad. Her emotions were so twisted,so full of doubt and hurt he barely noticed it. "Oh Robyn, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know. I was just joking around, don't feel bad. I'm used to stares and looks. It's a given with heterochromia. I'm not mad at you or anything, ok?" Her body relaxed but her emotions didn't fade. Jack could feel her thoughts weighing on him and it made his hairs stand on end. He hated making people uncomfortable because he knew how it felt. She met his mismatched eyes, her honey filled irises so full with hidden hurt, and years of suffering. He wanted to fix it all, but he needed to at least make sure she was comfortable with being here. "Yeah...still..I don't understand why you all were laughing. What was so funny? Was it funny to make me not understand the joke? Was it funny to make me feel like a fool?" Her words were sharp and angry. She had said them before, because it hit Jack right in the heart. Everyone shifted uncomfortably out of shame and guilt. He quickly shot a look at Liv, who was rubbing her shoulders to calm her down. "No, we weren't laughing at you Robyn. We were just laughing at your reaction to Jack. It reminds us of our first time meeting this dork." Liv snickered. "You're dead to me." He replied. Then the emotions faded. He could feel them slowly melt away and a small smirk start to spread across Robyn's face. "A dork is an understatement. Maybe a jerk, or an annoyance." Jack smiled. It was going to be ok. Sure she was awkward and socially blind, but they could fix that. Liv fixed everything.