All the Beautiful Things

VII

Was last chapter's fluff too much? I was in a fluffy mood I'm sorry it was late at night and I wanted hugs *cries*
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Everest stood before Jefferson Children's Research Hospital, his eyes grazing over the cracks in the walls. He had been sent there by the request of Calum Campbell, instructing him to arrive at approximately two o'clock in the afternoon for another activity.

He had been sitting on his bed while his father typed away on his HP laptop and spoke loudly into his headpiece. There was nothing for the blonde to do other than stare at the wall, but he did this often, so it was nothing new to him. He had placed his clean earbuds in his ears and was playing "Geese Honking at One Another" on the loudest possible volume, his hands folded on top of stomach as he counted the tiny bumps on the ceiling.

This was the real Everest Tanner. The one that his family recognized since his birth, seventeen years prior. The real Everest Tanner spoke few words, gave no opinions on anything, and stared at his surroundings with an empty look. The boy seen at school ever since he had run into that wall was not him.

To an outside point of view, the presence of Calum and Casper in his life was having a positive effect on the blonde, allowing him to express his thoughts and have people to speak to. It seemed that Everest was being rescued by them, even if the majority of Casper's presence was simply him glaring at Everest and clinging to Calum like the smaller boy was close to slipping away.

But this was not true.

Everest refused to say it out loud, but ever since meeting Calum, his life was a chaotic mess. Before the hyper boy met him, Everest was fine with how his life was playing out. He lived life in one routine, waking up and going to sleep at the same, scheduled times and going from home to school, then to home again with no spontaneous changes in the plan and no one to meet or please with his presence. And this was fine. This way of living was what the boy was used to, no changes were necessary.

Even as a small child, Everest Tanner was never invited out by other kids. During his early years of school, his classmates quickly picked up on the blonde's obvious differences, finding it strange how he never laughed at jokes, cried when he tripped on the hard floors, or got angry when his toys or school supplies were stolen from him, which occured more often than not.

For a while, tougher boys would pick on the blonde, laughing at his empty expressions, but even they gave up on him, finding him to be too boring to bully. The kinder children tried to invite him to play their games, pretend to put on plays, or pet their animals on the annual Pet Day, but when Everest's short sentences and dull tone of voice brought the mood to a neutral level instead of a happy one, they stopped inviting him along.

You couldn't blame them for doing so. Children enjoyed their happiness. They wanted to laugh and talk with each other about nothing of importance while sharing snacks, not sit with an awkward tension as they tried to find a decent response to his words. See, whenever Everest spoke, his few words put an immediate halt to the conversation. He was the ultimate conversation-stopper, which did more bad than good in most situations.

As he grew up, this remained the same. People entered his life, but quickly exited it when they learned how difficult it was to befriend him. Nobody wanted a challenge for a friendship, they wanted something simple and fast, so Everest was simply a waste of time.

But not in the eyes of Calum Campbell. He loved the challenge that came with Everest Tanner.

But Everest didn't love being the challenge.