Imperfect Life: Arc 7

Chapter 19

Brandon didn't know how to respond. What could he say? Nothing would have helped, so he just stayed quiet.

A few moments passed in silence. Everything was still.

"You didn't do it." Brandon finally spoke up again.

"Huh?" Crys murmured.

"You stopped yourself. You didn't do it." Brandon explained.

"Just barely..." Crys said in reply, still horrified.

"I-I don't blame you, Crys." Brandon said after another brief moment had passed.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Crys asked.

"I know you wouldn't do something like that. It's not your fault."

"But I almost- I..."

"You couldn't control yourself. I-I know you wouldn't ever do something like that."

"But I still almost did it."

"You stopped yourself."

Both friends went quiet again.

Crys knew what she nearly did. She felt horrid about it. The guilt was eating her alive, and though she didn't go through with it, just the thought of almost doing it was enough to hurt her. She couldn't help but blame herself. She could have blamed Seinhou, but in the end it was her decision and what she wanted to do. So how could she blame anyone but herself?

Brandon didn't know how to feel. He was trying his best to put aside how Crys had acted earlier, especially considering he knew now that she couldn't control herself at all, but it was still difficult. He felt scared. He felt confused. He felt relieved. It was an odd combination that somehow balanced out into being one muddled mess of an emotion. He was glad Crys was okay now, and the one thing he was certain of in the moment was that he didn't blame Crys for her actions. She wasn't in control of herself. She couldn't think. How could he blame her?

The two friends remained as they were for a couple more minutes.

"Can we go home?" Brandon asked gently.

Crys nodded as a reply. Brandon let go of her, then she let go of him.

Brandon stood up slowly and extended out his hand to help Crys up. She took his hand and got up, unsteadily. She took her hand back to herself and sulked, starting to walk out of the stadium. Brandon took a quick step to catch up with Crys. He went to reach for her hand, but he couldn't find it. He glanced over and saw that she had her arms crossed as she looked off to the side.

Brandon gave a slight frown, but kept walking.

Once both friends were outside, Crys paused to let Brandon hop on her back, and once he did, she made her way back home. Once she got to the house, she climbed up to the open window and let Brandon in first before going in herself. She shut the window behind her and started making her way out of Brandon's room.

"Wait..." Brandon said as Crys was almost to the doorway.

Crys paused and looked back at Brandon.

"Could you stay with me tonight? Please?" He asked.

"I uh..." Crys murmured. She wanted to keep herself away from Brandon after what happened. She felt too guilty.

"Please?" Brandon asked again. He knew Crys would just beat herself up about what had happened. He knew she wouldn't go easy on herself, either. He just wanted to make sure she knew he didn't hold anything against her.

Crys glanced to the side for a moment. She didn't know why Brandon even wanted her around after what she did. She figured he would've ended their friendship back at the stadium, but he didn't. "Okay." She said.

Brandon gave a faint smile. "I'm uh, just going to go take a shower real quick." He said, grabbing his pajamas and heading out the room.

Crys gave a little nod as she went over and sat down on Brandon's bed. She still felt terrible. "Why aren't you mad?" She asked so quietly that Brandon definitely couldn't hear her.

A few minutes passed, and Brandon returned. Crys picked her head up and looked at him, then she got up off the bed to let him in. Brandon smiled at her, then got in bed. Crys then laid down on top of the covers and draped an arm around Brandon.

"Why do you want me here?" Crys asked quietly. "After what I did..."

"Because I know that wasn't you." Brandon replied, just as quiet.

"But... it was me. I wanted to do it."
"You wouldn't have done it if Seinhou didn't do anything to you."

Crys went quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry." She said.

"I know." Brandon replied. He paused for a moment. "It's okay, Crys..." He added on. "I forgive you."

Crys took a few moments to respond. "I-..." She trailed off. She didn't know what to say.

"It wasn't your fault, Crys." Brandon added on quietly.

Crys took a deep breath. She couldn't really understand why Brandon believed in her so much, but it felt nice. It made her feel slightly better knowing that she hadn't just lost her best friend. She scooted in a little closer to Brandon. "Thank you." She said quietly.

Both friends soon fell fast asleep.

Brandon found himself in the stadium again. It was dark, very dark. He could barely make anything out. He went to take a step but found himself stuck in one of the mediocre seats. He tried to move, but no matter how desperately he tried, he just couldn't move. Suddenly, he saw an extremely furious Crys looming over him, baring her fangs and snarling harshly. The last thing he saw were five razor sharp claws going right for his face, and that was it.

Brandon startled awake, terror running through him. He took several moments just to breath and calm down. Crys still had her arm draped over him. He took a hand out from under the covers and placed it on Crys' arm. It was fluffy. He knew his nightmare was just that, a nightmare... but it still scared him. He knew Crys was too kind-hearted to do anything like that, especially to the person she cared for the most. He knew he couldn't tell Crys about the nightmare. It would break her heart and make everything worse. He thought to himself for a moment. Crys was there for him. She cared about him, and he knew it. He took a deep breath, still feeling conflicted, caught between scared and understanding.

"Are you okay?" Crys murmured, barely awake. She had felt Brandon startle awake.

"Yeah... I'm fine." Brandon replied.

Crys yawned. "Good..." She murmured to herself. "Nothing bad... happen... love..." She fell back to sleep.

Brandon cracked a faint smile. That was the real Crys speaking. He figured things would be all right.