KOTLC Stuff

The Road to Recovery (pt. 2)

TW!: Depression, self-hate, Mention of s/lf-h/rm 
Reader caution advised!

Ten letters. Ten letters spelling something worse than guilt. Ten letters threatening the life of his, well, bangs boy wasn't his anything really. Acquaintance maybe? Possible rival? Whatever. Back in his room, Ro finally confronted him. She'd been visibly holding back for quite some time and Keefe was impressed she'd lasted this long.

"What was that all about?! And don't tell me it was a school project because I know it wasn't!"

Keefe just shook his head before grabbing his sketchbook and sitting on his bed to sketch his thoughts absentmindedly.

"Bangs boy needs help, and soon."

He told her abouts Linh's worry and what he'd felt when he'd brushed Tam's hand. Ro looked confused.

"That's why you seemed flustered? I thought you'd realized you have a crush on him."

Keefe choked.

"WHAT-NO!"

Ro smirked.

"Well how should I know? You're always talking about him and your drawing of him are so much more detailed."

Keefe flipped through his sketchbook to check if she was right. He often drew his friends in groups as he remembered then interacting. Looking closely, Tam did have more detailed sketches than the rest. Keefe noticed with slight embarrassment that he'd paid the most attention to Tam's eyes, making then expressive and intense. But that wasn't his fault! Tam's eyes just were like that and he simply drew them as he saw them!

Glaring slightly at a giggling Ro, he flipped back to his current sketch. He'd drawn Tam again but this time, his eyes looked dead and lifeless and his pose looked tired.

"Ok fine, you don't have a crush on him."

Ro conceded as he ignored her.

"What are you going to do now?"

Keefe paused in the middle of drawing the ribbons on Tam's wrists.

"I'm going to help him."

Ro nodded; all jokes temporarily abandoned.

"I think your first step should be to let him know he can trust you."

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Once again, Foxfire was normal. Everyone was chatting and laughing when Tam and Linh joined them. Linh immediately went to join Biana, Sophie and Marella who were arguing about the correct number of sparkles in life. This left Tam with Keefe, Dex and Fitz. Keefe was making jokes about Dex, as the younger boy was almost falling asleep standing while Fitz tried to steady him as well as tell him off for staying up all night to work on a gadget.

When Tam sat down Keefe pretended to grab the book he was holding only to "miss" and "accidentally" grab Tam's hand instead. Just like last time, he was instantly overwhelmed by the sheer force. It was even more intense now due to the prolonged contact and his somewhat clearer understanding.

"Keefe, are you okay?"

Keefe realized the girls had come back and he had let go of Tam and was clutching his head in his hands. Beside him, Tam sat stiffly and Keefe could tell he was terrified he would tell the others. Shaking his head to clear it he responded with his usual cheerfulness.

"I'm fine, just a small headache from where I ran into a wall yesterday."

He didn't see Tam relax but he could feel it. Everyone moved on from the incident after a few more "are you okay's" and the rest of the school day progressed as normal. It wasn't until the end of the day that Keefe saw tam again. When he went to the Leapmaster he saw him waiting, nervously tugging on his bangs. In any other situation Keefe probably would have found this funny. Instead, he felt nervous too.

As soon as Keefe approached, Tam took hold of his arm, called out: "Neutral Territories!" and pulled him into a beam of light. It wasn't until Keefe got over the shock of being spontaneously kidnapped that he realized that they'd left Ro behind and he was now alone with bangs boy somewhere in the neutral territories.

Speaking of bangs boy, he was standing a bit away in the shade of a tree. His shadow was swirling, indicating he was upset and everything about him was tense, regarding Keefe as a threat. Keefe was reminded of a frightened animal and formulated a plan to let Tam speak first. After a few minutes, Tam finally spoke.

"Don't tell Linh."

Keefe nodded.

"I won't."

Tam sighed softly and pulled out a crystal, looking over at Keefe, beckoning him silently. Keefe walked over and took Tam's hand, bracing himself against what he knew would be a flood of darkness. Trying to focus, he sent a little stream of calm, happy energy through their hands as they leapt. Maybe it was his imagination but he could have sworn Tam's eyes widened and his hand tightened it's hold the smallest bit.

They arrived back in Foxfire where Rp was waiting against a wall. When she saw them, she said:

"You two finished your date yet?"

Tam didn't say anything. He just let go of Keefe's hand and leapt away with a brief nod. Ro looked where he had been standing and remarked:

"So, I guess it all went well?"

Keefe called for Candleshade before responding.

"Well, he didn't push me away so that's something."

In his room, Keefe again drew Tam. On edge, surrounded by shadows, trying to hide. He tried his best to replicate what he'd seen and felt today. Before he slept, he made a plan for tomorrow. Instead of forcing his help on Tam he wanted to give the boy a chance to ask for help in order to heal properly. Waiting for Tam to open up would be the first step of his plan.

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The next day, Keefe brought Tam a ripplefluff and left it in his locker. (He'd never say how he did it.) Tam looked at Keefe during lunch but Keefe refused to admit anything. That afternoon, again, Tam leapt them to the neutral territories without Ro and they resumed their positions from last time. Tam hiding in the shadows with Keefe sanding across from him. This time Keefe spoke.

"Are you okay?"

Tam didn't respond but instead pulled out his crystal to take them back. Keefe didn't ask anything else.

And so a pattern was born. Every morning Keefe would bring Tam a sweet pastry of some sort and every afternoon Tam would take them to a forest in the neutral territories. There they would stand or sit in silence until Keefe asked: "Are you okay?" and Tam leapt them back.

Ro argued that he wasn't making progress but Keefe knew otherwise. Over time, Tam stopped hiding. With every day he'd stay one step closer until they remained side by side until Keefe asked his question. No matter how close Tam sat to display trust, he wouldn't answer or say anything just lower his head and pull out his crystal. Keefe never pushed him to talk either and didn't say anything other than that one sentence.

On the one-month mark of this system Keefe stayed silent for longer than normal pondering a bit before asking his question. Ro had been telling him to try a different method but he still wanted Tam to reach out first. Sighing a bit, he asked:

"Are you okay?"

He had grown so used to the silence that followed that he almost missed it.

"No."

Keefe looked at Tam. Wisps of shadows played around him and his hands clenched the grass next to him, scared. A little louder this time.

"I'm not okay."

Keefe reached his hand out, placing it in the grass close to Tam but not touching.

"I'm here."

Tam wouldn't look at him as he moved his hand to touch Keefe's, initiating the contact. His voice was soft and broken as he responded.

"I know."

One month after Keefe reached out, Tam reached back.

A/n: Part two!! There will be at least one more part so stay tuned and stay safe!

Opaz out!!!