Bright Blue Skies [P. Parker] [complete]

Four - Visible

Everyone noticed Briar Drake.

The second she stepped into the school, everyone's conversations stopped and all their eyes turned to her.

Or, at least, that's what she thought.

In reality, out of Briar's head, a few people glanced her way with sympathetic smiles but the majority of students simply continued on with their day.

She wasn't special to them.

No one really cared.

"Hey, Bri. Bri." Milo said from beside her. "You know, you can't talk to me at all, all day."

Briar frowned, looking down at her phone to make it seem more normal to be frowning randomly.

"So that means... You can't tell me off for doing anything."

She sighed and kept walking.

Milo pushed off the ground, where he seemed to be walking beside her, and floating down the hall above her head. "Weeeee!"

Briar ran a shaking hand down her tired face as she opened her locker. Between Milo's constant blabbering, her being kicked out until ten when her dad texted her that Stephanie was asleep and the fact that she was still trying to wrap her head around her family history, she barely got a wink of sleep.

Sure, she should be grateful that Milo was still with her, and she was. She just never realised just how irritating he could be until she couldn't do anything about it.

"Hey, Briar, right?"

A quiet voice came from behind her.

She spun around quickly, face to face with a boy. "Uh, yeah."

"Hi, I'm, uh, I don't know if you know already but I'm Peter. Parker. Peter Parker." he fiddled with his fingers. "Um. I just wanted to let you know that I know how it feels to lose someone close to you and if you need anything, you can just ask."

Briar smiled, ignoring Milo making kissing noises in the air above them. "Thanks, Peter. I really appreciate that."

He smiled back. She noticed that he had a cute smile. "That's okay. Um, I gotta go now, but it was- it was nice meeting you."

"You too. Thanks again." Briar waved as the boy walked away. Then she turned back to her locker and sighed. She just wanted to be invisible again.

"So..." Milo smirked beside her. "He was cute."

Briar pulled a face. "I don't even know him."

"Still. He was cute."

She sighed. "Shut up."

He poked his tongue out at her and floated off.

-☼-

"Briar, it's good to have you back. How are you feeling?"

"Good, thanks."

That was the exchange Briar went through around seventeen times on her first day back at school.

Then that was it.

After that short conversation, people exchanged awkward or pitying looks for the girl whose brother had died and carried on with their mundane lives.

Briar, on the other hand, just ached.

Her chest hurt and tightened more every time someone brought Milo up, and, even though he was technically right beside her, she couldn't help but remember that nothing was going to be the same.