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TW: MENTIONS OF DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE
How do you find a girl that doesn't want to be found?
Trick question, you don't.
Mateo and Tom realized that an hour after their search began, both boys running like wild, hoping the girl was still in the vicinity of the building where the party took place. Then it dawned on him; she could literally teleport with a snap of her fingers, she could be anywhere.
So they sat on a street curb, Tom waiting for Mateo to think of where his best friend could have possibly vanished to. While he did that, Tom couldn't help but think. He felt as if the whole fiasco was his fault, had he not fallen a victim to Kelsey's seductive tone, none of this would have been happening. He'd be at home watching an old movie, and Orion would probably be at her house with Mateo, doing whatever it is they did together.
"She's a real pain in my butt," Tom thought aloud, Mateo lifting his head to glance over at him. "She's rude, and judgmental, and always knows the right things to say to push my buttons." Mateo remained silent, confusion washing over his features, unsure of the reasoning behind the boy's rambling. "At times I wish I'd gotten a different angel, someone who didn't resent me so much." Then he sighed, shoulders dropping in defeat. "Then she does something like this, and I get worried about her, and it makes me question everything I thought I felt."
He looked to Mateo in question, the boy nodding slowly. "You care about her," He acknowledged. "Orion may be all those things, but once you get close enough to her, you'll realize why you care so much about her. She makes it real hard not to."
He chuckled softly, looking away from Tom. "I remember in high school, she used to get called a goody goody a lot, since she was already an angel back then. She always told me she never took it to heart, because why should someone be ashamed to be good in a place like this? Then the first time she got drunk, we went up to this hill, and she cried because getting drunk meant she wouldn't be a goody goody anymore..."
Mateo suddenly stood up as he finished his story, Tom raising his eyebrows in surprise. He gestured for the boy to stand, before walking off in a direction they'd already checked. Then it clicked, the story. "She's on the hill, isn't she?" Tom called after him, jogging to catch up.
"Let's hope so."
His guess had been right, the two standing outside of the gated park, watching a figure who sat atop the hill. Tom looked over to Mateo, seeing the boy was already looking at him. "You have to go," He rushed out, pointing up to Orion. "I can't because issues with the council, and stuff, you know?" It seemed like he didn't even know, but Tom didn't question it.
"What do I say to her?" He asked, sticking his leg through the small opening in the gate.
Mateo thought for a moment, before shrugging, "Tell her something personal, maybe she'll share her feelings. Secret for secret."
Tom nodded, despite not understanding what the heck that meant. He slowly made his way up the hill, in no rush to meet the girl, still trying to think of what he could say to her. What could he tell her that she didn't already know from his file? From what he saw, it was pretty detailed, meaning she knew a lot more about him than he knew of her.
Orion didn't move as he sat beside her, her gaze focused on stars shining brightly above them. Tom watched her, waiting for her to look at him, but she never did. He eventually followed her gaze, understanding why she was unable to tear her eyes away from the view. The stars were already shining bright before, but they seemed to shine even brighter from such a high point.
"I died of suicide," He began, eyes darting from star to star. "I know you know that already, but my file didn't really say how, or why for that matter." He wasn't surprised to be met with silence, so he continued. "I know you thought it was a selfish act to take my own life, and I don't blame you, but I just couldn't be alive. It was getting too hard, and I was so unhappy with what I was surrounded by; a bunch of fake people who found joy in tearing me down, it was like I was always under a microscope." He released a shaky sigh. "Maybe there were other ways of fixing it, but when you felt the way I felt–like you're drowning or suffocating, with no way of helping yourself–it doesn't seem like there is a way of fixing it." Tom failed to notice how Orion tore her eyes away from the stars, and was now watching him with a frown.
"It got to the point where I'd rather be dead, than alive," He muttered, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I took one too many sleeping pills, and I think a part of me thought I'd wake up the next morning, and live to regret my decision to not swallow just one more. But no, here I am, living my life after death." As his story came to a close, he looked away from the stars, meeting Orion's eyes.
Her lips were parted, soft breathes leaving them as an unknown emotion swam in her eyes. "Don't pity me," He added quietly, only making her frown deepen. "The last thing I need is pity."
"I don't pity you," She found herself responding, knowing her heart felt heavy with nothing but pity. "I just... I don't know, understand you? I understand why... you did what you did." Tom remained silent, leaning back on his hands as he focused on the stars once more.
Orion was deep in thought for a moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she tried to process what he just told her. It was a lot to take in at once, but for some odd reason, she was grateful he told her. Her entire life she spent judging those who threw away their lives, completely looking past that maybe they saw it as a way of escape. Of course, she still didn't think it was the only option, but she can see why they'd think it was.
She was unsure of what to say. He shared something deep with her, something meant to only be shared with close friends, and they were hardly friends, if even that. So why did he tell her this? She didn't deserve to know something that should be held so close to him. She swallowed harshly, looking away from the side of his face in discomfort.
"I never lived," She spoke suddenly, picking at the grass beneath her fingertips. "My Mom... she was pregnant with me, then she got into a car accident. She had to give birth to me as soon as she got to the hospital. She lived, I didn't." Her eyes traveled back up to the stars. "Mr.Baxter raised me as his own, he gave me the name Orion because he said the stars were shining extra bright the day I came into his life; I always thought it was cheesy." A bitter chuckle left her lips, and Tom was looking at her once more. "My middle name is Laila... she was supposedly the angel that looked over and protected childbirth. Ironic, I know."
She looked back at him again, and for a second, it felt like they were seeing each other for the first time. These revelations about one another shined a new light, revealing a new side neither had seen before.
Orion was seeing a healing boy who was just trying to cope after leaving his harsh life behind.
Tom was seeing a heartbroken girl who never got the chance to live the life she deserved.
Without saying a word, Orion scooted closer to Tom, casually lifting his arm and wrapping it around herself. It took him a second, but eventually he relaxed, allowing the girl to lean against him. "I'm sorry," She whispered, eyes fluttering shut. "For being such a... terrible person to you."
"It's okay." Tom looked up once more, and ironically enough, he was staring at the constellation of the girl beneath his arm. He squeezed her shoulders, the girl moving slightly closer. "It's okay," He repeated quietly, head leaning against hers.
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Orion's cause of death has a lot to do with how she is as a person, and now you guys know, and Tom knows, so hopefully the way she acts makes more sense now?????????
but... CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT