“I thought I might find you up here.”

“Oh… hi.”

“You know what I’m gonna say, right? It’s time to stop holing up in your room and come join the rest of us downstairs.”

“Do I really have to? I already saw all of them at the wake.”

“Yes, you do have to. Look, your aunts and uncles drove out all the way here, the least you can do is spend a little bit more time around them.”

“No offense meant, but I really, really don’t feel up to it.”

“Oliver. You’re a good kid, you have an incredible mind, and you’re gonna do great things the moment you graduate college.”

“I smell a ‘but’ coming.”

“But, you spend all this time stuck in your own little world, focused on video games or whatever. I feel like I never get to actually see you anymore.”

“I’m sorry, I guess? What do you want me to say here?”

“I just… Okay, cut me some slack here, I don’t really know what to say either. Let me just… here.”

“...Wow. What is it? And how does it glow like that?”

“It’s a sample of a little something from work. I meant it to be an early birthday present, but then your mother…”

“Right. I… right. Thank you. It’s nice.”

“Glad you like it. But my point is, you’re a man now, and sometimes being a man means doing things you don’t want to do.”

“For the sake of other people, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

“So this is just a roundabout way of asking me to come downstairs with the rest of the family again.”

“Pretty much, yes. Think of it as me asking you a favor, in exchange for that rock.”

“When you put it like that, I suppose that’s easy enough. I’ll be down in just a minute.”

---

 

“Hi, I’m Louis, I’m the care tech assigned – oh, hey. Are you both allowed to be in here at once?”

“I mean, probably.”

“Yes, we are. I talked with the front desk and got a special pass, it’s all cleared up.”

“Okay, I see… alright then! Anyways, I’m the care tech assigned to this room. So this is the patient…”

“Skye. Her name is Skye.”

“With an E at the end.”

“...Oh. Oh! Okay, sure, no problem, we can get Skye’s info updated in our system before anything else.”

“Thank you very much!”

“My pleasure. Anyways, it looks like Skye got scraped up really badly – do you know what happened to her, exactly?”

“Yeah, she-”

“Let me, Kit. She was repairing a roof, slipped off her ladder, and fell down a gravel driveway.”

“Ohhh. Good call.”

“Well, the good news is, she’s not in any serious danger. She’s been scraped up really bad, and a few of the cuts are very deep, but worst case scenario, she has to stay here for maybe a week, tops.”

“Thank god.”

“She’ll probably wake up in a couple hours. Can I get you two anything in the meantime?”

“No, I think-”

“Yeah, actually, can we get a TV in here? Like a nice TV with a HDMI port, y’know. And some extra pillows and blankets, too. You can just add ‘em all on our invoice.”

“Oh, nice.”

“Sure thing, we’ll get all of that for you. Don’t hesitate to call us if anything happens to Ms. Campbell, okay?”

“Absolutely. Thanks, Louis.”

---

 

“Hey, mom?”

“Yeah, hon?”

“I have kind of a weird question.”

“No such thing. What’s on your mind?”

“Do you ever… not like being a girl?”

“Sure, lots of the time. Getting ready takes ages, bathroom lines are longer… But on the other hand, there’s plenty of parts I like.”

“Mm, okay. Do you ever wonder what it’d be like if you were a guy?”

“Not really. I mean, it’s the same thing as wondering what it’d be like if I were born in Italy, or if I won the lottery, no?”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I… I don’t really like being a boy very much.”

“Aw, hon, is that what this is about? I know it’s rough for a nerdy kid like you to fit in, but you don’t have to beat yourself up over it. You don’t need to be into sports or cars or anything if you don’t want to.”

“Right, but… I don’t know if that’s what I’m worried about.”

“OK, fair, just wanted to get that out there. What are you worried about, then?”

“I don’t really know. There’s something I feel like everyone else has, or knows, that I’m missing, and it just… hurts, I guess.”

“Well, let me tell you this – that’s normal. I felt that way at your age, so did your dad, and so did every other grown-up in the world. I promise that one day you’ll be grown up, and will look back and wonder why you were ever scared.”

“Right. Thanks, mom. I just feel like I don’t know how to put it, I don’t know the words.”

“Hm. In that case, why not just sleep on it? Turn it over in your head a bit longer, and then we can talk it over again once you feel comfortable bringing it up.”

“...Good idea. Thank you.”

---

 

“Hey howdy, folks! How’re you holding up, Skye, healin’ hard or hardly healin’?”

“Hey, Ravi. Don’t expect to get much of a response out of her – she’s up but is super out of it, still. Only talks to the docs, and only if she absolutely has to.”

“Huh. Kind of creepy, ain’t it?”

“Careful, we don’t know how much of us she’s hearing.”

“Oh! You must be Alice, right? Good to finally see you in the flesh. Here, I brought takeout.”

“Thank you! It’s good to meet you too, Mr. Nehra.”

“Mr. Nehra? Absolutely the hell not, I’m still technically in my thirties. Ravi or just ‘hey you’, thank you very much.”

“Outta the way, you can have your midlife crisis later. Now let me get a look at these hoagies. Alright, we’ve got roast beef, I’ll take that, two turkey, one ham and – aw, flowers? You shouldn’t have, dude.”

“Ah, c’mon. It’s the least I could do.”

“No, for real, you shouldn’t have carried them in the bag. The sandwiches crushed ‘em a little bit, see?”

“I see that they look just fine, let me put them right next to the other flowers… Kind of a weird color combo on these ones, no? Blue and black irises?”

“Oh, those are from a friend, with sentimental value attached. I’ll take the ham, thank you.”

“Perfect, I wanted the turkey all along. I played you kids like a fiddle. Do I need to grind up the other sammy into nutrition paste or something for Skye?”

“No, no, just leave it on her bed and she’ll start eating it herself.”

“...Huh. So she will. I underline my prior statement about it being creepy, with her stuck in zombie mode.”

“Survival mode, more like. She’s been through a lot.”

---

 

“What are you drawing?”

“Oh… nothing, really.”

“Here, let me see, let me see. Is it a person?”

“I mean, yeah. It’s… it’s a superhero, something I’m coming up with.”

“Why’s he got a skirt?”

“What? No, it’s a girl superhero. She’s just got a helmet.”

“That’s weird.”

“Yeah, you’re drawing girls in your notebook? Super weird.”

“I-”

“Everyone! Oliver’s drawing girls in his notebook!”

“Gross, haha, ewww!”

“What, as like a joke or something?”

“It’s gotta be a joke, right, Oliver?”

“...Yeah. It’s – it’s a joke, see? I thought it’d be funny. It’s… silly, and stupid.”

---

 

“Yeesh, that hurt. I see why Skye likes this show so much.”

“Yeah, I’m having a great time. How about you, Skye?”

“...”

“Well, can’t blame me for trying, at least. Should I start up the next episode?”

“In a minute, yeah. I’ve been… thinking about things, and I wanted to get your take.”

“Oh, duck and cover, everyone. Kit’s been thinking.”

“Yeah, yeah, real funny. I’m serious. What do we do if – when, sorry – when Skye starts acting like herself again?”

“Not sure I follow.”

“I mean, obviously we’re gonna hug it out, and you two are gonna apologize to each other…”

“I’m going to apologize to her. Whether or not she does is none of my business.”

“Wow. That’s… really big of you, actually.”

“I want to do the right thing. Blame Skye for rubbing off on me, or something.”

“See, that’s kind of what I mean. These last few months have been just… wild. I don’t really know what my life would look like if Skye hadn’t shown up, and to be perfectly honest? I don’t wanna, this has been a fantastic ride. Even in the quiet parts. Especially in the quiet parts!”

“Careful, Kit. You’re getting dangerously close to sounding like me.”

“Is that a bad thing, though? Like, I know we talk a lot of smack, but I care about you, too.”

“Obviously. Who else would try your paella?”

“Man, you are killing me, here. The one time I manage to be serious, and now you’re trying to crack jokes for me.”

“You make it pretty easy.”

“It’s a blessing and a curse, I know.”

“But for what it’s worth… you’re right, it’s been nice. Having someone who’ll drop everything to help me on a moment’s notice, someone who knows exactly when and how to lighten the mood…”

“Aww, Allie. You’re gonna make me blush.”

“...Someone to body in Street Fighter for two hours straight…”

“Oh, shut up.”

“You’re still smiling, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah. So are you.”

“...”

“...”

“So.”

“So! That was nice, yeah?”

“It – it was. Where, uh, where were we?”

“You were about to start downloading the next episode, right?”

“...Yeah, alright. On one condition. Can you scoot the blanket forts closer together?”

“Sure thing, Alice. I’ve got you covered.”

---

 

“Where do we go from here, then?”

I don’t understand what you’re asking me for. I’ve never been the best at self-reflection.

“Likewise – That’s exactly why I want your opinion.”

A bit circular, isn’t it?

“Maybe so. All the same, something has to give. I can’t keep throwing myself into trouble and then feeling miserable about it solely after the fact.”

I suppose I follow. So you want to stop feeling miserable?

“I want to stop being selfish. People around me are constantly cleaning up my messes, and I was already enough of a burden as is.”

You’re still completely biased. Why do you insist on holding yourself to such absurd standards?

“Simply put? Because of you. Marco was exactly right about us – even if Alice never turned up, it would have been only a matter of time before we turned into him.”

Nice try, that’s still blaming yourself – just in a more roundabout manner.

“What would you have me do, then, ignore the very real things we could have done better? Throw our hands up and say ‘what’s done is done’? No! I have to be responsible for both of our actions.”

Let me ask you this, then. What is the quota, the level of selflessness in your actions that would stop you from feeling guilty?

“I… I’m not sure. I don’t know if I could quantify it.”

Precisely – and thus, we can’t take it for granted that such a thing exists.

“That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Look, regardless of how much you waggle your words around, I’m still picking up the pieces of your ego.”

That’s rather harsh. I was doing the best I could with what I had.

“And look where it got us.”

…Why do you hold so much antipathy towards me?

“What kind of question is that? I’m ashamed of your childishness and exhausted by your naivety. More than that, though, I’m frustrated with the years and years of my life I could have been me, but had to be you.”

You think I don’t feel the same? All I ever wanted – EVER – was to be someone like you.

“What, like me? Hah. Neurotic, ashamed, and wanted in court?”

As a work in progress, if you like. Do you recall how many years we spent, wishing to be a heroine surrounded by friends, who protects the weak and never gives up?

“...You can’t be seriously saying I measure up to that.”

I’m saying you’re closer than I ever managed, and still making progress.

“That… that can’t be enough. I know you, I know we’re still resentful.”

I very much am – at myself, at the world around us… Towards you, though? More than anything, I’m simply frustrated at how harsh we are to ourselves.

“So… what’s the answer, then? Look between arrogance and flagellation to find a point of measured pride?”

Easier said than done, I don’t doubt. Still… let it be known that I have faith.

“I… see. I should – I should say that I don’t hate you.”

I know.

“When this is over… I think I want to go out and volunteer. As myself, that is, without all of the layers built up around everything.”

Is that right? You really have become quite different from me.

“Oh, just you wait. Soon you won’t even be able to recognize me.”

Speaking of ‘when this is over’ – you probably ought to speak up soon. Kit and Alice are worried sick over you.

“Right. I’ll – hang on, one last thing. Will I get to see you again?”

It could be that I’ll stay a part of you forever, it could be that I’ll be a fading memory by the time you wake. As I said, that’s up to you now. 

“Fair enough. Goodbye for now, at least, and… thank you, for paving the way for me to exist.”

Any time, Skye. Take care of yourself.

---

 

“Ugh. What day is it?”

“Skye?”

“Skye!! You’re awake, nice!”

“I’m at least pretty sure I have been for a while? I know you two put on Kuuga at some point-”

“Skye, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t right for me to take my frustrations out on you–”

“Okay, slow down, give her some space, eh? One thing at a time. How do you feel?”

“All things considered? I think… I think I’m doing pretty alright.”