k-12: the shadows

༺ show and tell ༻

the bathroom; of course. where else would crybaby have gone?

predictably, as alexis entered, she heard someone's familiar muffled crying sounds drifting from the only occupied stall.

"crybaby? are you okay?" alexis asked carefully, knocking on the stall door.

"i- don't want- you to see me like this," came the reply.

alexis furrowed her eyebrows. it hurt her to hear her friend in pain. she just wanted to take all of crybaby's pain away.

"it's me. alexis. you know i'm here for you. i'm not gonna hurt you, but i really care about you and i'm gonna help you feel okay. okay?"

there was a moment of silence before the stall door clicked open to reveal a puffy eyed, red faced crybaby with black mascara streaks running down her face.

"i don't judge you. now let's get you cleared up, okay?" spoke alexis soothingly, gently wiping the tears from crybaby's eyes.

a nod came in response, and together they began to clean crybaby up. once this was finished, crybaby threw herself onto the floor, and kindly invited alexis along. alexis pulled crybaby into her lap, and the two sat in a comfortable silence.

"why does everyone hate me?" crybaby asked quietly after a few moments.

alexis sighed, and shrugged, searching for an answer. she began to comb her fingers through crybaby's hair, but when it became apparent that an answer was being waited on, she shrugged again.

"i- i wish i, or any of the others, could give you an answer to that. but i don't think it's that simple."

crybaby nodded, a small frown settling on her face. there was a short pause before she spoke again.

"sometimes i just want... everything to go away," crybaby admitted. "i want everything to disappear, and for it to just be us."

alexis raised an eyebrow in surprise. "just us?"

crybaby's jaw dropped, and she hastily backtracked.
"n- no! i meant... people like us. our kind. just us. no ill-meaning mortals, like the principal."

alexis nodded. "i get that. but then i think of my sister, and my parents."

crybaby's eyebrows furrowed, and she sat up a little straighter.
"tell me about your family. you never talk about them."

she shrugged. "not a lot to say. my parents divorced a few years ago, when my mama decided she wanted us to move to america. my dad stayed in england, but he sends letters sometimes. i don't know if he knows i'm here now, though."
she looked away.

"and... your sister?" crybaby asked carefully.

"i... don't know anymore. she- is... stubborn. but she's my best friend. and i miss her," alexis admitted. "she's cut me completely out of her life, though. she doesn't acknowledge me at all, even in her head. her choice, i guess."

it hurts, though.

"how do you know that?"

"because i can feel it," alexis frowned.

"like i can feel how you're upset that she won't talk to you?"

"n- no, it's different. i know what she's thinking. i can- just tell. i feel it."
alexis could tell where this discussion was going.
"look- i don't wanna get into another talk about what me and isabel know in our heads, okay? it's fine. just forget about it."

crybaby continued to stare up at alexis. after a moment, she broke the silence again.

"...alexis?"

"yes?"

and then the thing that alexis had least expected to happen, happened;

crybaby's lips hurriedly leaned up and pressed themselves onto alexis's. alexis was completely in shock, too much so to even consider kissing back.

after a moment, crybaby seemed to realise this; she stumbled to her feet and tore away from the bathroom, the pastel pink door slamming behind her.

alexis stared after her, trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened.