On The Outside Looking In {DISCONTINUED}

5

As we walked to the town centre, I told Tiye about my nightmare.

I don't know why exactly, but I felt like she already knew about them. Indeed, she did. Apparently I went to her quite often when it came to talking about what was going on in my head. Being messed up was not a new thing. I felt comfortable telling her, like she wouldn't judge me. I knew that it was stupid to be freaking out over something that wasn't real. That did not stop me.

We found a place for breakfast and, despite my protests, she insisted on buying me food. When it finally arrived at out table in a booth by a window she took a large mouthful of waffles before speaking. "Did you consider that maybe they mean something?" She laughed at my death stare. "Right, that's not something you believe in."

"I'm just not sure what I should do about it," I continued, placing down my hot chocolate. "I mean, clearly this has been happening for a long time. Did I ever do anything about it?"

"Nope."

I blinked. "Seriously."

"Aside from talking to me, you never did anything about it. You hated counselling." She licked honey drops off her fingers, sighing contently before taking a sip of tea and yelping. It must've been too hot. "Perhaps you can try something now. Do something different."

"Like what?"

She gave me a flat look. "Talk to someone who isn't me, for starters."

I frowned. "But you seem like the only person I can talk to." I lowered my voice a little. "Does Isaac think I'm crazy?" She nodded, and I leaned back. "Of course, he does."

"Don't take it personally," Tiye said, blowing on her cup. "Boys don't really understand us. All they think when a girl walks by is whether or not they're hot and bangable." She raised her mug for another sip and hissed. Still too hot then. "Especially your current roommate," she finished, sticking her tongue out like it was burnt.

"Seems a bit cliché," I muttered, chasing a marshmallow with my spoon. "I suppose he does seem a bit like that kind of person, but he's still really nice to me."

"Which is precisely what you've been saying since we met." Tiye clapped her hands together. "You really must remember some things."

"If you say so," I murmured, finally catching the marshmallow and eating it. "I certainly don't feel that way."

"As you said, maybe it'll just take time," she replied, waving to someone through the window. "Perhaps I can call in some other people that can help. You have a few friends. Not many, but enough that can help you." At my confused look, she continued. "You never really had a lot of friends. Between us, you tend to keep to yourself and avoid interacting with anyone. Then there's the whole witchcraft thing. That certainly puts people off –"

I held my hands up in a 'T' shape, the universal sign for 'time out'. "Witchcraft?"

She nodded. "You practiced for quite a while. That's how you met your ex. You two got a long well for a while then things kind of went out of control."

"That explains it, then," I muttered. Tiye was staring. "Not the 'ex' thing, no idea what you're on about there. It explains this." I held a hand out in front of me a small ball of white light appeared.

"That. Is. Awesome!" Her face lit up. "Since when can you do that?"

"Since yesterday. I was thinking that I needed more light and that just happened. Was I able to do that before?" She shook her head. "Maybe something happened when I died." I did not realise I had done it out loud until Tiye spoke.