AnimeCon Harem 12: Burnout (Patreon)

   Stephanie sagged down in her seat as that raw, debilitating inferno of total furious hatred within her was finally snuffed out. It was as though with it all of her remaining energy was extinguished as well, and though her lips were succumbing to the voracious intensity of what could only be Kelly, Stephanie was too hollowed out to enjoy a moment right now. After having had her feelings—and the feelings of everyone else—assume control, Stephanie felt like an emotionally exhausted wreck. Coming back to her senses and feeling like she could breathe again should have been an incredible relief—but, all she wanted to do with this freedom right now was collapse and cry.

   Warm tears spilled down her cheeks, and she let out a small sob as she pushed Kelly back with a weak gesture. Stephanie could sense confusion and alarm rapidly sobering Kelly up in response, but thankfully now that was a far-away, faint, subdued feeling. Everything was. All of the brilliant emotions that had been shouting, screaming at extreme volume right inside of her head felt muted and very far off now, until it was as though her thoughts were practically ringing with silence. She was aching and frazzled and overtired, her charm sense was so wretchedly burnt out that the inside of her head felt like a used-up husk, and all she wanted to do right now was cry and cry and cry.

   So, she did.

   “Steph…Stephanie?” Kelly slurred, blinking as she ran a hand through her bright red bangs to help come back to herself. “Stephanie? Steph baby, are you okay? Steph? Steph please, don’t cry—”

   I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I can’t. Please, please, just—let me cry! Stephanie squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face and attempted to retract back deeper into the auditorium seat as her body shuddered with sobs. Let me cry for a while. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!

   Somehow in her brief leave from sanity, their group had changed locations. As she bawled into her hands she was distantly aware that they were in the Atrium of the upper level now rather than the lobby near the entrance. The familiar echo of cloth-covered weapons snapping back and forth against one another filled the enormous amphitheater around her. She knew where she was, but she couldn’t recall taking the escalator or walking all the distance to get here, because her awareness had been entirely consumed with horrible, sickening rage. Those fires of rage were gone now, extinguished by a freak wave of something from Emily and Kelly that had finally reached through to her. In its wake, her thoughts felt like the damp mush of soggy ash piles.

   She didn’t want to think, right now.

   A fierce migraine was beginning to tighten into place just behind her eyes like the contracting tissues of a burn wound, and her hand hurt, a lot, because of that violent fist she’d thrown into Chloe’s face without any caution or reserve. She certainly remembered that, though now it felt like something a different Stephanie had done. She wasn’t okay with what was happening, and in this rushing aftermath she was confused and frightened and unsettled and deeply uncomfortable and choking out teary sobs while everyone watched felt terrible. Stephanie wanted to be okay, she wanted to set all of the awful aside with a sniffle and a blow of her nose, be able to smile at them and tell them that everything was okay. But, she wasn’t okay at all. Suffocating guilt and shame and uneasiness seemed to be seeping in to fill the void once all that fiery hate was gone, and this sudden drop in emotional temperature made her start to feel numbing shivers all over.

   Everyone was—everyone was fine but me! We all went through the same ordeal, b-but only I lost control. Only me, I just couldn’t get a handle on it at all. I still can’t, and everyone’s waiting on me. Even now, everyone’s worked th-through things and is back to, b-back to their AnimeCon ADVENTURE, and I just, I just—I can’t, right now! I can’t DO THIS. I can’t do ANYTHING!

   A wisping tinge of Kelly’s helplessness and frustration was apparent for a brief moment, and this time Stephanie recoiled back in her seat from it, shoulders shuddering as she cried. For days, she’d enjoyed feeling like she was on the same social wavelength as everyone else for once, like she belonged—now the disconnect was back, and it had grown into uncrossable gulf as though a great hole had just opened up inside of her. It hurt, it hurt in ways she didn’t even fully understand yet, the psychotic tide of purplish-pink flames had fallen away, but she’d already been burned and blistered with madness and it felt like it had ruined her. It felt like it had ruined everything.

   I want to give up. I want to give up. I just want to give up—I can’t do this, I can’t do this I can’t DO THIS—

   “Stephanie?” Kelly shifted out of her lap and dropped to her knees beside the seat. “Stephanie, don’t cry. Everything’s gonna be alright, we’re all—”

   “I’m—” Stephanie’s voice hitched as she tried to draw breath between sobs—her throat constricted as a panic attack came on. “I-I’m okay. Sorry. I’m sorry! I just, I j-just needed to cry right now. I’m okay!”

   The sleeve of the button-up shirt she’d borrowed from Brian was damp with tears and her face felt like a mess, so she scrunched her eyes shut, covered her face again, and did her best to softly weep without being conscious that all of her new friends were crowding around her. Faint traces of their worry and concern spun about her in a dizzying kaleidoscope of phantom feelings from the group around her, and Stephanie just jerked back from it all, drawing her knees up against her body and attempting to retract into a huddled-up ball.

   Where is she? Where’s... Chloe? Stephanie smeared wet eyes along the back of her hand and peered around her in a sudden panic. I just—did she—wh-what happened with her? I ATTACKED her. I-I-I lost control, I lost all control and just—I just—

   “Steph,” Brian spoke up, dropping down in front of her seat and taking her hand. “I’m here for you. We’re all here.”

   “Y-you’re—you, you y-you don’t have to—” Stephanie’s brow creased and her sight blurred with tears all over again.

   The raw terror intensified at him being this close, because it was Brian, and his very presence was intimidating. He was this picturesque perfect existence that she was never going to be right for, and any moment everyone else would figure that out. Anxious fear twisted in her guts and another pall of shame and horror fell over her. She didn’t want him to see her like this. She couldn’t let him see her like this. She didn’t want her ugly snot and teary-eyed wretchedness exposed in front of him. It was absolutely mortifying. She wanted to hide, she wanted to flinch back, she wanted to—

   All gone. It’s almost all gone, almost all the magic’s burnt up, burned away, Stephanie realized in alarm. The thought only intensified the panic, and she mentally grasped for the last bits of what may have been the only thing that tethered her to everyone and felt it slip through her fingers and away from her. Stuttery all over again. I’m back to like I was. B-before. Like I was at the start of all of this. I, I, I shouldn’t be AFRAID of Brian, I love him. I love him. DON’T I?

   All of the sudden, she was terrified that she didn’t really love him—that maybe it was brainwashing, all a delusion brought on by the charm. An effect, a mind control thing that was pushing on her in all of those swathes of magic over the course of the weekend. The idea filled her up with dread, and in that brief moment she froze, almost too horrified to dare to confront whatever her real feelings might be. All of the ephemeral wisps of everyone’s feelings whirling around her seemed to deaden and go dark, dissipating, drifting away from her and out of reach.

   I… no. NO, Stephanie decided. I love him. I can be timid and unsure about everything— EXCEPT for that. I don’t have to question that.

   She was used to endlessly doubting herself, because alone she was always lost in the dark, too gun-shy and terrified to find any real meaningful direction for her life. But, what she felt for Brian? She didn’t have to doubt that. Brian made her light up, he made her rise up, he had her burning with purpose and feeling more alive than she’d ever felt before. Steady, blissful relief coursed through her as her resolve pushed the fears away. A tiny flame of pink ignited within the darkness. It was small but strong and unwavering, a pilot light of determination that Stephanie could focus in on and use to center herself.

   I do love him. I really, truly, honestly do.

   Stephanie finally let Brian pull her forward into a much-needed embrace, those strong arms wrapping around her while she hid her face in against him. She wouldn’t deny that it felt like all the changes had probably pushed too fast and too hard—and she was going to need some time alone to examine how she felt about everything that was happening—but, she knew she didn’t regret them.

   Anger, hate, fear, love, pride, and excitement. She’d felt all of those things before this weekend, but never so strongly. Never enough to really move her, to leave a mark on her like this, make them memories she would cherish forever—the good as well as the bad. This convention trip had been a rollercoaster of emotions unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and for the most part it was as if her social anxiety had been excluded from the ride after not measuring up. Now, the ride was ending, this AnimeCon was ending. Stephanie could feel things coasting to a stop, and she knew the anxiety had been waiting for her and that she’d have to face it again.

   But, the difference is—I CAN face it, now. Because I have changed. I’ve connected. Felt things that I’d never imagined before, Stephanie thought as she pressed her face into Brian’s shoulder. She was no longer sobbing, but the tears still kept on coming.

   The things I’ve felt—no one can take them away from me. The anxiety, it’s still there, but it doesn’t have an impact on me like all these other experiences do. Not anymore. Because, I love him, and he needs me. I need him. I love Kelly, and we need each other, too. We all do, and even if on my own I’m pitiful and pathetic Stephanie… when I’m a part of this with everyone, I become MORE for them. I love you. I love you all, and I’m never, ever letting you go.

   *     *     *

   Rebecca carefully took a very reluctant Kelly by the shoulders and guided her back several clumsy steps so that they could give Stephanie and Brian some room. In the back of her mind where the landscape of the dream world persisted, there had been a long moment of tension. A boiling wave of blue filled with hissing and sizzling red flotsam had crested across the out-of-control pink fire and completely extinguished it. As a result, by all appearances the rage controlling Stephanie dropped away and she came back to herself—and then the girl immediately started bawling. Rebecca didn’t think any less of her for that. It was a perfectly natural reaction after going through such an ordeal, and Rebecca’s concerns abated a minute later when she observed a tiny little pinprick of pink light winking back into existence.

   “She’s going to be okay!” Rebecca assured Kelly. “Give her some time to just... let it all out, okay?”

   Kelly turned, and those honey-brown eyes looked so lost and out of sorts that although they weren’t very close yet, Rebecca couldn’t help but pull the young woman in for a comforting hug. She wasn’t sure exactly what they’d done to snap Stephanie out of her craze, or how Kelly and Emily had gotten this way, but it was very clear that the two girls weren’t quite all here right now.

   “Whatever you guys did, it really did help!” Rebecca promised, patting Kelly on the back and rubbing her hand back and forth. “You and Emily did good. Okay?”

   “She’s—” Kelly managed out, shoulders stiff and apparently not able to relax in Rebecca’s embrace. “Is she—is she gonna be okay?”

   “She’s going to be okay!” Rebecca repeated. Goodness. It’s like she’s drunk! “Let her cry it out some. It should help.”

   The dreamscape, though… is a total mess! Rebecca couldn’t help but wear a sheepish smile at the disaster-zone of mixed metaphors that was getting difficult to sort out. So… it looks like one side of the KELLY crater caldera maybe collapsed outwards, like a dam bursting? A dam bursting in a big push of EMILY flash flood, together with which they flooded out the fire with... red and blue magic. METEOR WATER?

   Stephanie’s big, out-of-control blaze was put out. But, the girl was figuratively speaking still a smoldering wreck, reduced to a single tiny flame and weak glittering pink embers that winked in and out amid the destruction—and the heavy, billowing smoke of sadness or perhaps anxiety that was issuing out in response. Much of Rebecca’s forest was overturned and buried beneath avalanche after upheaving avalanche, and though her roots had grown much, much deeper into Brian... it was difficult to tell if she was helping to stabilize things, or if the tangle of sudden new growth was simply muddying the big mess even more.

   Or, something like that…? Rebecca quirked her lip, resolving to shelve her own budding—sprouting living thirsty growing—feelings for Brian now while everything else was going on. Oh, geez. Ohhhh man. Yeah, not now horny Rebecca. You’re sitting in time-out.

   “Let’s— let’s give them some room to breathe, now!” Rebecca prompted, leaning over to intercept Emily who was also staggering after Brian. “Okay?”

   Is this what superheroes feel like? Rebecca put on a weak smile. When they’ve saved the day, but then look around and it’s all ruins and rubble and they realize the cost? We’re all... out of sorts. I am too, but Kelly and Emily are especially… off.

   When Emily had sent her that flurry of texts, it seemed like the girls’ plan had been to remove themselves from the range of Stephanie’s apparent sixth sense for feelings until everyone calmed down. Instead, the pair of goofballs had decided to get themselves all worked up in a very different context. Kelly was in a breathless, sexy stupor with her nipples prominently popping out the fabric of her top, while Emily was—

   “Emily, you stop that,” Rebecca whispered, smacking Emily’s wrist.

   The Latina with the bright blue pixie-cut fidgeted in place with a confused, frustrated look but stopped attempting to adjust her panties. Or… or whatever she was trying to do with her hand half in her pants like that. We’re in public here still, have some decorum please!

   Rebecca took an uneasy glance around to see if they’d garnered any attention. Though they were situated along the front row of the amphitheater’s seating they were thankfully on the outer edge of where people were milling around, since most everyone in the atrium was standing gathered closer in near where the three padded weapons combat rings were. It was as though Kelly and Emily were hopped up on aphrodisiacs, barely aware of what was going on around them. Although Emily had contented herself to ball up the bottom of her hoodie in her fists now, she was still doing a slight gyration where she stood, slowly twisting her hips back and forth in a distracting way.

   I’m not sure how they did it, but they’re CHARMED—they repurposed the charm magic thingamus onto themselves. Somehow, Rebecca thought, sharing a sheepish glance with Megan over Emily’s head. I wonder how they did it? It’s just! Wow. There’s an appropriate time and place for, um, THAT, and they just… got themselves all charmed up and came back. Emily immediately trying to be all over Brian, Kelly trying to crawl into Stephanie’s lap. I guess it DID work, but…

   She wouldn’t fault their methodology, because some of the magic they were all involved in seemed to be steeped in intimacy and attraction. Maybe more than just some of it. But, that also made for an incredibly awkward situation now. They’d worked together to finally pull Stephie out of her catatonic rage, but to get those results, the two of them were now in an extremely horny mood, while everyone else was distraught and seriously worried about Stephanie. Rebecca was once again thankful for Megan who was performing admirably as their no-magic-involved baseline.

   The rest of us, we’re just all over the place. In every direction. Rebecca thought with a forlorn smile. Chloe throwing a hissyfit on Brian. Stephanie being so upset. Me flirting with—no, SWORDFIGHTING WITH Brian. I hope those two charming themselves doesn’t mean Emily awakened a really weird power for her charm thing. That would… be bad. Probably.

*     *     *

   Okay. OKAY, Stephanie mustered her strength. I can—we can do this.

   After a long minute lunged over simply holding tight to Brian, Stephanie took a deep breath and sat back up on her own, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

   “How are you feeling, hon?” Rebecca stepped in, dropped into a crouch and gently took the hand Stephanie had been cradling against herself. “Is the ice helping?”

   “Mm-hmm,” Stephanie nodded, letting the tawny-haired girl inspect her wrist. “It helps.”

   “Does it hurt when you move it?” Rebecca carefully guided Stephanie’s hand to twist back and forth to check her range of movement. “Any twinges?”

   “I—don’t know,” Stephanie admitted in a small voice. “Feels stiff. Hurts. A little swollen?”

   “We’ll keep ice on it,” Rebecca smiled. “Do you need some profen?”

   “I, um,” Stephanie frowned. “Yes, please. Head really hurts now. Headache. Th-thank you so much for—”

   “Sshh, shhh, you’re fine,” Rebecca patted her shoulder as she rose and hurried off back towards where the Order of the Sovereign Swords was keeping their medical supplies.

   “Where’s your head hurt?” Brian asked, leaning in and reaching up with his fingers to press into her pink tresses and massage her head.

   “Uh, you don’t have to, uh. Oh. Oh... that feels nice. It, um. It hurts just behind my eyes, my nose. Forehead. Hard to breathe.”

   “Do you need some space?” Brian murmured. “Probably feels like we’re all practically smothering you, just—”

   “It’s okay,” Stephanie said. “Sorry for crying. Sorry for—sorry for everything. Overreacting. Completely ov-overreacting. I’m sorry.”

   “You didn’t overreact,” Brian assured her. “I wanted to punch her, too— I just. I couldn’t. Can’t.”

   “N-no...” Stephanie finally looked up at him. “Not that. I’m... not sorry for that. Not sorry for hitting her. That I’m not, I’m not sorry for. I-I shouldn’t have hit her but I’m not sorry I did. I know that doesn’t make any sense. Just, everything after that, everything going up to that—I completely lost it.”

   “It’s okay,” Brian kissed her forehead.

   “It’s not okay,” Stephanie felt her eyes grow hot with tears all over again. “It’s—”

   “Ibuprofens here,” Rebecca chimed, reappearing in their midst in a swirl of tunic skirting. “Water bottle. Here, Stephanie.”

   It’s not okay. It’s completely not okay, Stephanie’s lip trembled, but she remained mute as she accepted the water bottle and a pair of pills from Rebecca. Everything, everyone started to, to UNRAVEL when I lost control. We’re all connected to each other, but we’re not okay yet, and it’s like each of us started skewing in different directions.

   She twisted off the cap of the water bottle, tossed back the two ibuprofens, and washed them down with a gulp of warm water. Some of the sensory magic was starting to come back to her now, but the feelings she was reading kept her from feeling good about it.

   Brian’s anxious. I should KNOW anxious, I should know anxiety, but his feels so much more different than mine. Less fear, more doubt. So much more doubt, it, it EATS at him. I don’t like it. Kelly feels—gross. Both her and Emily do. Anger and frustration, smothered beneath A TON of arousal now, but that just makes it feel... sticky and awful. It doesn’t feel right. They FORCED themselves to feel turned on, somehow, so that their really bad feelings wouldn’t be getting right through to me like they were. They did that for me. I wish they hadn’t had to. I wish—

   “It’s okay,” Rebecca affirmed. “Everything’s gonna be okay. We’re all tough cookies!”

   Stephanie looked up at Rebecca, unsure of what to make of how her emotions felt. Rebecca was radiating interest, she was nearly as hot and bothered as Kelly and Emily were, but instead of anger and frustration Rebecca was tangled up in embarrassment and exasperation.

   “That’s right, we’re tough cookies!” Megan exclaimed. “Right? Right?”

   From Megan, Stephanie sensed—nothing. Nothing at all. Megan didn’t seem to be tapped into their web of connections at all, which was a little disconcerting because Stephanie realized it made her heavyset friend feel less real to her, after experiencing the others on a deeper level. But it was also a big relief, because being a part of everyone’s emotions all at once had her feeling painfully overstressed and in need of a major time-out.

   “Yeah,” Stephanie gave everyone an apologetic smile. “Tough cookies.”

*     *    *

   “Brian likes tough cookies,” Emily blurted out as she pounced upon Brian and wrapped her arms around him. “Literally. Uhhh I mean like, hard ones? He won’t eat chewy cookies.”

   That... surreal feeling is back, Brian awkwardly looped an arm around Emily to keep her from sliding down his body from where she’d latched onto him again.

   Emily and Kelly’s return had somehow broken the trance of furious rage Stephanie had been locked up in. But... how? Why? Why THEM? What’s going on? The missing girls hadn’t said anything to Stephanie at all, they’d both simply popped back into the group and started acting extremely affectionate. Weirdly affectionate.

   It stood to reason that Stephanie being so upset then wasn’t entirely because of Chloe and the big scene Chloe had been making, but that it had to do with Emily and Kelly taking off and disappearing for a bit. But, why DID they run off? For some reason, he kept expecting someone to explain what was going on, but instead it was as if everyone was already in the loop but him.

   It was an uncomfortable feeling.

   “Cookies are supposed to be crunchy, not chewy,” Brian muttered, struggling to crack a smile. “When they’re chewy, it’s like you’re biting into uncooked—”

   “Then hard cookies are like they’re stale!” Emily giggled. “Stale and dry and gross. Chewy cookies are best cookies. Nom nom nom.”

   “I mean, both are good, but I was figuring we were talking about like, the idiom,” Megan glanced between them. “Like, the figure of speech.”

   Looking around, Brian saw that Megan looked relieved but not confused like he was, so either she wasn’t particularly worried about what was going on, or she was in-the-know. Or, am I being too paranoid, now? Selfish? Did I just want it to be me that made things better for Stephanie? ARE things better, now? How could I have even helped if I was just completely misunderstanding what was wrong in the first place?

   Rebecca’s attention seemed to be more on Brian, and her gaze lingering on him felt like another entire bundle of mixed signals to figure out. Was she watching for his reaction? In different circumstances, the way she was eyeing him would have made him imagine she was interested in him—but now, he was just confused. By everything.

   “We were,” Rebecca sighed, tousling Emily’s hair. “Emily’s just being—”

   “—Being a little fuc—uhhh tugboat,” Emily slurred out, and Brian realized that the girl’s pupils were dilated wide. “I’m a little tugboat. I’m—”

   “—Emily—” Brian interjected.

   “—Oh fuck, I’m high as balls aren’t I?” Emily squeaked, blinking rapidly and making a face.

   “—What did you guys—” Brian started to ask.

   “Sorry. Uhhhh Kelly, we’re high as balls? Literal balls. Ballss,” Emily babbled out without pausing for breath. “Both of ‘em. I mean both of us. Because it’s from his balls— hehehehe! We’re like tug mules. Actual tugboat—uhhh, drug mules. Druggsss. My brain is scrambled eggs. My brain is scrambled eggs and I’m so fucking hungry. Kelly we’ve, uhh, Kelly we’ve gotta go.”

   “You’re... running off again?” Brian asked in as steady a voice as he could muster.

   There was something the girls were keeping from him, maybe something that had to do with the kisses and the hair color. But, Brian felt completely bewildered as to how to put together what was going on from the clues at hand, here. Emily and Kelly both were acting weird, right now. He’d been wanting to talk about what had just happened with Chloe blowing up, because normally Emily would be right there with him, venting about it or talking about it or something. Instead, Emily was on some strange different wavelength, as if the crazy confrontation with his ex had never happened at all. Then, there was Kelly— Kelly was standing here with a frown as if trying to blink herself awake, looking dazed and confused like she’d been jolted out of a dream and never quite woke up the whole way. But, WHY? What’s going on? Did they run after Chloe when they took off? What happened?

   “I—no, I mean no, we just, we’re—” Emily floundered. “We’ve gotta—you can come with us? Yeah! If you want? I think we just need some, uh, we need to—yeah. Come with us? Cum? Hehehe! It’ll be…??”

   “Emily…” Brian let out an uneasy laugh as he tried to appraise his longtime friend. “Where did you go? What did you guys do? You’re practically vibrating in place, here.”

   “We, uhh, weee—” Emily blushed and her bewilderment began to color with panic. “It’s a secret! But, not like a bad one! We’ll tell you later? Can we not tell you now? Is that okay? I don’t want you to, uhhh—uhhhhh— ”

   “Emily! shush up!” Kelly stepped up from behind Emily and covered the girl’s mouth with one hand. “I’ll… Brian, we’re—kinda. There was something... weird we had to do. I’m gonna take Emily, and… we’ll go finish that. Finish that up. Can you just take this all on… um. Can you—if you want, do you... if you trust us? Sorta…?”

   If anything, she was somehow even worse off than Emily. When she managed to focus through her daze to lock eyes with him, it was a heady, drugged stare. Her eyes weren’t just figuratively spinning, they were careening like the red flecks of stars twirling just beyond the view port of an out of control escape pod. Brian blinked and frowned, wondering where that weird imagery had come from. Something was… strange. Kelly was attempting to use Emily to steady herself, but that just made it apparent how out of it both of them were.

   “Yeah, I trust you, but—” Brian’s words stuck in his throat. He couldn’t even imagine what they might have done to wind up in this state so suddenly. Were they both so pissed off right after the whole Chloe ordeal that Kelly maybe pulled Emily outside for a minute and popped some pills out of her purse or something? Did Kelly just run off and feed Emily amphetamines?

   Because—I wouldn’t be okay with that, Brian was at a loss as to what to say. At all. Emily wouldn’t have… right? Would that have been some normal thing for Kelly to use to blow off steam? How well do I REALLY know her? I can’t even imagine what else might have happened. It’s not like they have a whiskey flask tucked away. Right?

   “Yeah, I just—” Brian tried again. “Just—don’t do anything to hurt her.”

   Kelly stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment, as if understanding his words took a conscious effort. Then some of the weird whirling density in her eyes subsided a little and she gave him a serious look and a slow nod as if she knew what he meant.

   “I won’t,” Kelly promised. “I’ll be—I’ll be gentle with her.”

   Okay… not drugs, then? Her words helped address some of his easiness, but also only really managed to deepen his confusion. I guess? I HOPE?

   “Wait, bimbo brains—aren’t we…?” Thankfully Emily seemed just as lost as Kelly began to guide her away. “Shouldn’t we take Brian, too? How else are we gonna…??”

   That made Kelly pause mid step and look back at Brian with her dull, unfocused eyes as if she had to take a moment to consider it. What was weird was that he knew that look— those were bedroom eyes, there was raw, unfettered lust in her eyes, she was drinking in the sight of him, and that just baffled him even more in this situation.

   Uhh… yeah, what the hell?

   “I don’t… think so,” Kelly answered Emily with reluctance, biting her lip. “Right now he’s not—um. Not a good time. Bad time. We can take care of this ourselves, okay?”

   “Uhhhh—okay, haha,” Emily let out a nervous giggle. “I’m in danger!”

   Seeing Emily use her cutesy Rolfe Wickums voice was oddly enough what finally managed to assuage Brian’s fears. If she had the presence of mind to reference a Stinson’s meme, she was probably aware enough of what was going on around her to not do anything stupid that she would regret later. I hope. Like, on the one hand her saying that is funny and I WANT to laugh, but the on the other hand dark humor isn’t sitting to well with me right now. Am I too keyed up? Overreacting? Is this just—

   “Brian, it’s okay,” Stephanie called over in a weak voice. “They’re, um. It’s not what you think. W-we’ll explain soon.”

   “...Okay,” Brian nodded, feeling quite a bit more relieved.

   It was hard to explain how tense and uncomfortable he was right now, and a little embarrassing to realize how much he needed someone—anyone—to give him some assurances. He’d been struggling to keep up with what was going on before the Chloe disaster dropped on them, and ever since then it was like he was scrabbling to collect loose pages of the narrative as they flitted about on the wind.

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