There were no alarms anymore, just… It took me a minute to find the bathroom, thankfully empty as I barged into a stall, slamming it shut behind me. Trying to still my beating heart, I felt nausea rising through my gut like an unwanted embrace. And then… I couldn’t do it anymore. I collapsed against the bowl and puked my lunch out, the taste of bitter acid on my snout as I panted, activating the flush before slotting myself to sit beside the toilet, placing myself in the corner. Why was this happening? Why was Naser here? … Why was I like this? Some part of me was still able to recognize that I was being completely irrational… yet here I was, bunched up in the stall like a scared kid, my thoughts and body refusing to calm as I scrunched a claw over my eyes to cover them, gritting my sharp teeth as if to gain some control of myself while my other claw tightened around my forearm. And I did… slowly unloosening myself as my heartbeat's deafening beat seemed more bearable. It was only after a few seconds that I noticed something was dripping off my claw. Blood. Blood?! It takes me a second to realize that it’s my own, and another to feel relieved because it’s my own, made after I had pinpricked my sharp digits and pierced the scales of my arm. I lean my head back, bumping against the tile wall, closing my eyes to let out a tired sigh. An intrusive thought made its way into my head. “ Just let me die like this. ” I blink, finding myself in the bathroom, with nothing changed Slowly, after taking a few more seconds to recover, I scooch myself out of the corner, rising up to exit the stall and walk toward the sink to begin washing the blood off my arm, feeling the cold water against my green scales, the red slinking away. Some part of me knew Naser… Fang, and everyone else would be alive again, some part knew my fuck up had been undone. But… I noticed some of my bloody droplets on the side of the sink where the water could not reach it… leaving bloody droplet trails behind them. A stain that did not wash away. Just because it was undone… didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened… Naser had died. Naomi had died. Fang… had died. And it was all my fucking fault. Looking up into the mirror, my green eyes were half-lidded with exhaustion that I couldn’t even feel, the edges of my snout drooped over my sharp teeth. I was back to square one again, feeling as if this whole time I had been pretending, fooling myself into believing I was free from the truth… that things could be different this time around. I was reminded that I was still Anon… The same old miserable nobody, only now… that pterodactyl with Naser’s face would serve as a constant reminder of how much of a failure I was. That dying, desperate face that I couldn’t even spare the time to try hopelessly save. God. What a mess. I turn off the sink to leave the bathroom, somehow managing to get through the rest of the day. “Are you two… alright?” I blink from my dinner, realizing I hadn’t made much progress on the pork chop, looking up to see the concerned looks of my mom and dad. “... I’m fine.” I respond, trying to keep the troubled frown from my snout. Try as I might, I was still thinking about today despite remembering that Naser was only going to be at school for a month, and chances are, I wasn’t going to see him that much. Yet here I was… letting this stuff live rent-free in my head. The winding clatter of a fork against a plate briefly turned my attention to Olivia, who had not even touched her food nor responded, idly staring down at her full plate as she poked the chicken wing with her utensil. My parents whispered something to each other, nodding as they stood up. “... Do you two want to save it for tomorrow?” I nod, taking my plate to the kitchen as Olivia does the same, going into the kitchen to grab the clingwrap and wrap it above our plates. The baryonyx surprisingly beats me to it, having planted her stored food in the fridge before bolting, quickly disappearing upstairs. Even I had begun to notice something was up with Olivia despite my downer state, slowly following after her to see the door to her room already shut closed. … Okay? I enter my own room, sitting down atop the bed before slowly lying on my side, staring at the wall. And just… think of my thoughts. It was only after a few unknown minutes that I heard a knock at my door, breaking me from my stupor. “Anon? Can I come in?” My dad asks. Sitting back up, I adjusted myself, finally putting in some merit of focus. “Y-Yeah.” Edward slowly entered, closing the door behind him as he gave a quick smile before slowly sitting on the bed, prompting me to scooch over to give him some room. Because of our height difference, he ended up having to peer up a tiny bit in order to talk with me as we sat side by side. “... I guess it was only a matter of time before we had this discussion…” My dad murmured. I tilted my head as he looked at me, a serious expression on his snout. “Anon… there comes a time in a young dinosaur’s life when-” Oh God damn it. That wrestled a laugh from me, possibly the only one I had of today, Dad clearly taken aback as I shook my head. But it was a sobering reminder… that my parents had noticed my state… And were probably worried. I had to say something. “No, no… It’s not that Dad. Besides, you’re a little too late for ‘The Talk’. School’s already beaten you to it.” I then murmur, “That made everything pretty awkward after that lesson…” I could still remember how silent the cafeteria table was. Ugh, the fucking cringe… Cringe that brought a nostalgic smile to my snout, reminding me that it had happened. My dad blinked behind his glasses. “Then… what’s wrong, Anon?” I then got back to focusing on the matter at hand. “I’m just… dealing with some stuff right now.” “... Can we help?” My dad asked me. “Uh, no…” I then turned my head to him, shaking it as I showed my claws to reassure him. “N-Not that I don’t want you guys to help… it’s just that-” I sighed, finding the words. “This is something I gotta deal with on my own.” And I realized that was the truth. Dad pauses for a moment before taking off his glasses, a small but warm smile on his snout. “You know… when your mother was pregnant with you, all the other fathers and mothers we knew would warn us about the hell it was going to be to raise you, or worse yet, your inevitable ‘teenage rebellion phase’.” He looked up, “But we never had to deal with any of that… because you were such a quiet and gentle kid.” Edward chuckled, “It kinda came as a shock to me and your mother… and now, you’ve gotten us in for another shock…” He looked at me, a saddened expression in his eyes. “You’re already acting like an adult… no teen rebellion whatsoever.” I snort. “Great, Dad. You jinxed it.” I joked, “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to be a vegan carnivore from now on.” My dad lets out a laugh, “Oh God, anything but that.” He chuckle before my smile disappears, closing my eyes for a moment. Ironically, the whole ‘teen rebellion’ talk had begun circulating my thoughts back to Mr. Ripley… and Fang. I manage to think away from it, shaking my head. “... I know you guys are worried about me… but I-” I reopened them. “I just want you to know that I feel so damn lucky to have you and mom as my parents…-” My words made my father blink as he comprehended them, “-...and I’m so glad, barring all the horrible shit that happened, it was you and Mom that became Olivia’s guardians.” Dad freezes up for a moment, quietly putting his glasses back on. “That… means a lot to hear from you.” He then stood up, “Don’t stay up too late.” His sudden demeanor seemed rather distant at first… Until he reached the doorway, his breath hitching as he faced away, running ran an arm underneath his glasses to wipe at his eyes. “... I’ll let your mother know… what you said to me.” He then peers at me, a bit of wetness in his eyes. “Think she’d really like to hear it too.” I slowly nod. “And… I just wanted you to know, that whatever you’re going through, you’ll have our support… Always.” I slowly nod again, Dad turning around one last time before leaving me as I lay back down atop the bed, resting my claws behind my head as I stared up at the ceiling. I then narrowed my eyes. This wasn’t an if anymore. I couldn’t go back to square one, I couldn’t return to being a nobody, I couldn’t just be… nothing. because that wasn’t my life anymore… I was Anon Agos, son of Edward and Joan Agos, foster brother of Olivia, and friends with… a bunch of other dinos and one human. I was going to get through this, I was going to deal with this head-on, I was going to bury the past. Starting tomorrow, I was going to confront it, head-on… by introducing myself to the pterodactyl to prove that I was over it. Yet a small, traitorous thought asked a simple question. … Right? Tomorrow came. And that doubt had grown like a malignant tumor, anxiety burrowing deep beneath my scales. Gone was my gusto from last night, now dreading the moment at every waking second. Thoughts… on repeat, of that day, of Naser’s face, of- “Anon?” I blink, Doe staring at me, a worried look on her face, feeling the hot sun on my face. “Did you find her? That’s right. We were outside of the cafeteria looking for Olivia, the baryonyx missing in action from our normal table. “No, I-” I looked around, trying to make sure we were nowhere near the track… but knowing my luck, we were inevitably going to have to head there to look. “-haven’t yet.” “Well, I have!” Worden proudly announced as he returned, clambering up the ramp that led to the basketball courts. “I saw her sitting by the trees next to the race track!” Of fucking course. Doe tilted her head as Worden arrived. “Really? She usually prefers to stay indoors though…” The human murmured, knowing Olivia too well. “Do you think something’s wrong?” “We can ask her.” Worden shrugged as we continued walking, passing a few training athletes as we crossed the field. Sure enough, I spotted Olivia in the distance, sitting against the side of a tree and holding her notebook close to her chest, scribbling and drawing despite the limited and awkward space. “Olivia!” Doe called out. The baryonyx quickly peered up, her eyes widening as she quickly shut her book. … Okay? Worden and Doe seemed to notice the strange behavior too, but seemed to write it off as Doe spoke up. “Hey, we were wondering why you weren’t at the table.” Olivia paused, “... Sorry…” The baryonyx apologized, “Just…-” She seemed to peer around… almost as if looking for an excuse. “-found new inspiration for my work.” She then reached for her backpack, quickly grabbing a military water canteen my dad had given to her, taking a quick swig before capping it again. Doe beamed, “Oh cool! Can we se-” “No!” Olivia snapped, catching the three of us completely off guard. “I-I mean…” She then quickly stored the notebook in her backpack, “Sorry, didn’t mean to yell. It’s… just not ready yet.” I couldn’t even remember the last time Olivia reacted negatively to people wanting to see her work as my dour thoughts were replaced with worry. What was going on with Olivia? Regardless, I let Worden and Doe talk it out a bit, wandering past the tree for a second to get my mind off things before freezing up. Naser was right there. He was lying down, head resting against a tree, snout buried in a biology textbook, studying in his exercise clothes indicating that he had just finished training. Ever the straight A student. And I couldn’t have been more terrified, disappearing behind a tree to make sure he didn’t see me, my back up against the bark. This was it, this was my chance. I’d go up to him, give a quick hello, ask where he was coming from, and finally exchange names before leaving. That would be enough, good enough to settle things and prove that I could move on. I could do it because there was nothing wrong with me. And yet… As I played the scenario in my head, the more twisted it grew, turning from a pleasant conversation by the field to… the hallway, Naser struggling to crawl toward me, his life’s blood draining from the gunshot wounds on his body, his eyes asking…- Asking why I had let this happen. A question I had begun asking myself, my inability to move on with my plan or function in the first place turning to anger… not at Naser, or what had happened… But towards myself. Why? WHY?! WHY AM I SO DAMN- “Anon?” Pausing, I slowly looked to see Doe and Worden looking at me, with Olivia peering away as if deep in thought. “... You alright there?” I go on autopilot, standing up straight. “Yeah. Just gotta go to the bathroom.” I then left, my snout closed shut and sharp teeth gritted. All the while still feeling as if I was still back there… Just… stuck with my back against the tree, with nothing but the hatred I had against myself to keep me company. And before long, I was taking it out on the unfortunate punching bag, fist after fist meeting it as my partner said something. I don’t hear him, my roaring heartbeat deafening my ears, my punches growing in ferocity until- A giant hand lands on my shoulder. “That is enough.” Coach Mikhail says in a surprisingly somber and soft voice, “Punching bag is dead and partner is scared.” I blink before looking to see that was indeed the case, the punching bag ruptured as industrial cotton spilled out. Shit. I must have accidentally bared one of my sharp claws… surely I couldn’t have been punching that hard… Yet even more concerning was my partner who had been holding it still… or rather, holding onto dear life, snout pressed up against it as his eyes remained wide. “Oof…” My partner simply groaned, as if having received the shockwaves themselves while trying to steady the punching bag. And this was a triceratops who was bigger than I was… “Go sit. Catch breath.” Somehow I felt like it wasn’t a punishment I was being given, but rather a break, hearing the worry in the ankylosaurus’s voice as I sat down on the bench, briefly seeing Coach Mikhail peer at Jeremy, the two nodding as if coming to some unspoken agreement The lesson carries on… and I watch on the sidelines, the students sparring until the hour ultimately passed. Worden approached, backpack on as he peered down at me. I don’t meet his gaze. “Hey, Anon. You wanna get going?” I slowly nod… Except. “No.” Coach Mikhail speaks out, handing me a broom. “He must stay and clean entrails from punching bag.” Oh yeah, that. “I can wait th-” Worden tries to offer before I cut him off. “Nah, Worden. Just go home man, this’ll probably take a while…” I dismiss. The allosaurus pauses before slowly nodding. “Alright then… I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Yeah…” I murmur. He leaves the gymnasium as I let out a sigh, getting up from my seat with the broom. Only to have it immediately taken away. “I lie.” Coach Mikhail admitted, “I clean… you go spar.” I blink, “With who-?” I then look past the ankylosaurus to see Jeremy in the ring, the giganotosaurus waving with his boxing gloves, his headgear already on. “Hey! Grab your gloves and your headwear! We’ll do a quick match before you go!” He happily called. I pause to look at Coach Mikhail, the ankylosaurus giving a reassuring nod as he walked off with the broom. I then turned back to silently approach the ring, picking the gloves off to put them on and strapping my headgear in, the protective padding over my snout as I climbed up into the ring. “Alright! You ready?!” “Sur-” His glove goes flying towards my snout. My eyes widened, just barely able to dodge as it nicked the side of my head, jolting me to focus. Jeremy doesn’t even give me a chance to register what was going on before I receive another hit, having tried to guard it rather than dodge, and because of my smaller frame compared to his, I stumble to the floor. “Come on man. You wouldn’t have tried to guard that.” I scowl, familiar anger building in me as I rose back up. “Cause you-” “Think fast, Chucklenuts!” He yelled as he pushed on, my eyes widening as he threw another punch. This time, I dodged back to create distance, seeing Jeremy approach with his guard up as my maw tightened. I threw a punch, despite knowing he would easily just block it, Jeremy absorbing my fist before letting out a tsk as he shook his head. “And you would have normally gone for the feint rather than just blindly trying to hit me.” Okay. Now I was fucking pissed, the edges of my snout curling up to show my sharp teeth as I seethed in anger, rushing forward and delivering uncoordinated hits, Jeremy just easily blocking them and retaliating with his light jabs, striking at my headgear as I didn’t even try to defend myself, snout flinging to the side as I moved into a particularly rough punch. The more I tried to force an opening… The more I ended up hurting myself. And yet I still kept going, not even bothering to stop. I deserved this. I- “Why the hell are you so angry!?” I realized Jeremy was yelling at me, his snout contorted into a snarl as he guarded another strike, landing another jab as I spat out. “Who are these fists for?!” The question I think of as I fight with even more ferocity, picturing a dumb bald faceless human as my opponent, and knowing that it made no difference… because that was just me who had messed everything up. I- “I-” Jeremy paused as I stared down at the floor of the ring, saliva dripping from my panting snout as the deafening sound of my heartbeat became too loud to bear. I exploded. “I’M SO DAMN USELESS! EVERYTHING I’VE DONE HASN’T CHANGED ANYTHING I-” I threw a powerful left hook, the force actually making Jeremy stumble back despite having guarded it. “I HAVEN’T CHANGED AT ALL!” There was a lull in the fight, Jeremy paused before me as he let out a sigh, raising his gloves again. “Then forgive yourself, Anon…” He then rushed forward, “Cause you’re a fucking mess right now!” That moment. Jeremy threw a straight right punch. And I saw my chance. 死 Jeremy’s eyes widened right as my blue glove arrived at the side of his cheek. And with it, all my hate, anger, and rage that had built up. My counterattack hit with the force of a car as a loud crack was heard in the gymnasium, a second passing as we stood there… before Jeremy collapsed to a kneel, my eyes blinking as I suddenly panicked, realizing what I had just done. “Jeremy! Are you-” He raised a glove, slowly standing back up as his glove rubbed the side of his headgear… the protective padding slightly bent. “Jeez, that bad, huh?” I pause for a moment before slowly nodding. “... Yeah.” The giganotosaurus took off his headgear, a slight bruise on his scaly cheek. “Here, take off your headgear, let’s talk.” I do the same, yet wince as I let out a pained seethe. God, my entire head stung with how much I had been hit! But I soldiered on, sitting beside Jeremy on the edge of the ring. A few seconds pass as we stare at the empty benches before he speaks up. “So…-” He paused, as if finding the right words. “Uh…” He then let out a grunt. “Sorry, I’m fucking bad at this shit.” His honesty earns a smile from me as I rest my arms over the ring rope. “I mean, you did beat the shit out of me beforehand, so whatever you have to say can’t be much worse.” “That’s just it though.” He looked up, Coach Mikhail still cleaning the gym floor of industrial cotton waste. “If there’s one thing Mr. Misha… my Dad, taught me, it's that sometimes our fists can be used to speak it and communicate things words can’t.” He snorted, “It sounds fucking stupid, I know… but considering we use body language all the time… I’ve been finding it more and more true lately.” He then looked at me, “And your fists had a lot to say.” He sighed. “Anon, you can’t keep fighting yourself.” I blink at Jeremy’s words. “I mean, I’ve heard of being your own worst critic, but to be your own worst street fighter?” He shook his head, “I won’t pretend that I know what you’re going through, because I don’t… but I do know one thing.” He crossed his arms, “Take it easy, take it slow, leave the hard and fast hits for the world to take out on you, but don’t add your own fists to the assault.” Jeremy then paused. “Er… does… that make any sense?” “It…” I paused, really considering his words. Ever since Naser showed up… I had been doing the exact opposite of taking it easy and slow, always trying to deal with him, or really… my own issues, like they were an obstacle on a time trial. I wasn’t giving myself a chance to adapt, or recover for that matter. And it drove me to further anger and frustration when my mind and body obviously didn’t take it well. … I needed another night to think. “-does.” I finish, a relieved look on Jeremy’s face. “Awes-” A cheerful roar shattered our eardrums, both of us looking to see Coach Mikhail do his terrifying run toward us, his face filled with pure joy. “YOU MAKE ME PROUD, JEREMY!” He practically roared before wrapping his stepson into a bone-crushing hug. “H-Help…” Jeremy managed to wheeze out. Needless to say, I spent the next minute trying to free the poor giganotosaurus. Olivia and Dad weren’t home when I got back, the baryonyx having extra swim lessons today. So I offered to vacuum some of the house, much to my Mom’s delight… but in all honesty, I was more or less doing it for myself, the routine cleaning giving me food for thought. There was no denying… Yeah, it happened. I got Naser killed. … But now he was back. So what was I going to do? I vacuum the hallway before entering Olivia’s room, her purple walls decorated with paintings and drawings she had done in the past, with a few discarded papers on the floor. I moved to pick them up, vacuuming up any scraps as I ran it beside the bottom of her bed. Only for the nozzle to bump into something. I blink, noticing one of her notebooks protruding from beneath her bed, having been slightly dislodged from its hiding spot. Why did she have school books beneath the bed? In fact… Wasn’t that the exact same book she had been drawing during the afternoon by the field? I shrug, picking it up to place on the table to idly look through it to see if there were any cool drawings she was working on and- … … … Oh. Oh my fucking God. What the fuck am I- I had expected to find some works in progress, seeing as how protective Olivia was of it… yet I couldn’t have been any more horribly and horrifically wrong. Because all of it was Naser. Just page after page of pure Naser, drawings and doodles of the pterodactyl, growing more and more… suggestive as the pages went on. I was unable to stop myself from turning to the next, like I was viewing a morbid liveleak. And the worst part was how well drawn it all was due to Olivia’s skill as an artist, some of the drawings of him looking as if they could try for a museum piece if they were given in… I finally averted my gaze toward the wall, now realizing why the baryonyx had been acting weird for the past few days. Olivia had a crush on Naser. Completely lovesick too. And it got me thinking too, about Olivia’s… frankly, kinda creepy but also kinda charming perception she had of the pterodactyl, and my own skewed perception I had of Naser. To her, he was this perfect pterodactyl student-athlete who had crash-landed into her and stolen her heart. Hell, I don’t think Olivia even knows his name! Yet to me, he was Naser… a reminder of my failures. A reminder that I fucked up. … But maybe that didn’t have to be the case for me anymore… The sound of the front door opening suddenly brought me back, my mother happily greeting Dad and Olivia as I shut the book closed, placing it back beneath the bed before quickly leaving her room, pretending I was vacuuming the hallway. After a few seconds, Olivia comes upstairs, towel wrapped over her purple swimsuit as she pauses in the hallway, watching as I vacuumed the corners. And then… her scrutinizing and suspicious gaze, unchanged from when she was a baby as her gold-grey eyes narrowed. She seemed to want to ask something as I looked back before deciding against it, retreating into her room to change as I finished vacuuming. I joined the dinner table as Mom and Dad were preparing something in the kitchen, hearing footsteps to see Olivia had arrived, now in proper clothes… despite her hair still being wet. She then seemed to notice that dinner wasn’t ready yet, about to turn tail to retreat upstairs before I called out. “Olivia?” She turned her head, gold-grey eyes peering at me. “Mom and Dad should be done with dinner in a second, you wanna have a seat?” … I was lying, and in all honesty, I was beginning to have second thoughts on whether or not this was the right move as Olivia pulled out a chair to sit down. But I couldn’t help it, especially regarding how often Olivia was closing herself off from everyone else to deal with her newfound secret crush. Something had to be done, I just… had to be prod the subject delicately, and maybe she’d reveal it naturally. “So uh… everything good with you?” The baryonyx raised an eye, as if to ask why wouldn’t she be. “... Yeah?” I nodded, “Just that… you just seemed more reserved lately.” I noted, “But I’m guessing your new inspiration’s got you outside to watch the Meteor Bowl.” Olivia froze up, yet normalized, giving a casual shrugging. “Yeah.” Okay, sector is clear. I adjust my seating to turn more to her. “You know, it’s funny, I was just thinking of that pterodactyl the other day who bumped into you and-” *SLAM* NOT CLEAR, NOT CLEAR! Her broad tail had slammed into the ground behind her, the entire house briefly rumbling as her wide gold-grey eyes stared at me, her snout closed shut as she gave me a panicked look that exclaimed all the words without ever speaking. You looked at my book. “I-” I try to explain myself, but I’m cut off as Mom and Dad rush back to the dining room, worried looks on their snouts. “What happened?! Is everything okay?” Joan asked with worry. I look to her, giving my best reassuring smile, trying to ignore Olivia’s gaze that was burrowing into the side of my skull. “Don’t worry, Olivia was just trying to kill a spider…” “Oh… alright.” She then smiled, “Dinner’s almost done, Edward's preparing his special pasta recipe!” Mom announced, slowly returning to the kitchen with Dad as Edward gave one last glance before leaving with her. I then slowly turned back to Olivia, her eyes narrowed and tinged with anger, demanding an explanation. “First off, I’d like to say sorry. It wasn’t right of me to look through your private stuff.” Olivia murmured something, which sounded like an angered agreement. “I’m not going to tell anybody, and I really mean that.” I then paused, “Even if it was 80 pages of-” Another slam of her tail against the floor, Olivia’s snout closed shut as she covered her eyes with her claws in embarrassment, slumping over the table. Mom called from the kitchen. “Did she kill it?” “... Yeah.” I answer, looking back to Olivia, the baryonyx trying to cover as much of her snout and head as possible with her arms. “Olivia… listen.” She peered from the space between her limbs, “I’ve had crushes before too, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about.” Fake 2D Waifus technically didn’t count, yet I continued on. “But you’re dealing with your lovesickness in a way that’s not so healthy, treating your crush like a piece of art when he’s another dinosaur like you, one that you barely know anything of at the moment.” I then tilted my head, “Hell, do you even know his name?” “... No.” Olivia admitted. “I-” She then let out a defeated huff, “... You’re right…” She then sunk her snout further into her arms, my ear holes somehow able to make out what she was saying. “But every time I see him, with his golden eyes, his broken wing… his-...” She then paused to peer outside of her arms, noticing a blush rise in her cheeks. “He’s just so… perfect, not like me who prefers to just sit away in some dark corner and draw stuff.” Sheesh, she really had fallen hard for him, but I couldn’t really fault Olivia for acting like the typical teen in seventh grade going through puberty. “But every time I’ve tried to talk with him again, I freeze up before I even try anything.” The baryonyx then peeked out, murmuring. “It’s like I can’t approach him at all…” … So in terms of just walking up to Naser, I guess the both of us were the same in that regard. But Olivia was because of her crush on him… and I had difficulties because… Well, our perceptions of Naser weren’t comparable in the slightest, but I would be lying if I didn’t feel some solidarity with her as I began to think. And an idea came to mind, one that I didn’t feel strongly about… but not doubtful about either. An easy and simple idea, one that didn’t need much thinking on my part. “Then why don’t we invite him to eat at our table?” Olivia shot up from her arms, her eyes wide and snout closed shut, struggling to get it open. “A-Are you serious?” I shrug, “Why not? He pretty much shares our lunch schedule” I then paused, “And every time I see the pterodactyl, he’s alone… not sure if he has any other students from his school that came with.” I then looked to Olivia, “Besides, it’ll give him a chance to talk a bit about himself… maybe-” I shrugged again, “Give you the chance to tell him a bit about yourself as well.” The baryonyx pauses as I see the gears working in her head, thinking of my proposition before slowly nodding. “... Okay…” She then glared, “But don’t tell Doe and Worden that I’m… y’know, with him?” “Yeah, don’t worry, I won’t.” I then smirked, “Just so long as you don’t show him your entire collection of drawings to him.” Olivia leaned her head back in her chair, staring at the ceiling to let out that silent grunt she was somehow adept at doing. She then closed her snout, staring at me. “... I hate you.” “So… we’re inviting him to come have a seat at our table?” Worden asked. I nodded, “Yeah. Just figured he’s probably here by himself, could probably use some company.” It’s kinda weird for me to refer to Naser as just ‘he’, knowing his real name this entire time as I brief Worden and Doe, the former nodding in agreement as the latter clasped her hands together, speaking up. “Sounds good to me, I’ve always wondered what the student’s life is like at other schools.” She then tilted her head, “Does Olivia know about this?” I nodded again, offering nothing more regarding that before pausing and peering down. “By the way…” The two of them look at me, “I wanted to say sorry… about acting weird and shit yesterday.” I peer up, “I’ve just been dealing with some stuff recently, and I…” I struggle to find the right words, “-I think I’ll actually be over it soon...” “It’s cool man, there’s no need to apologize at all.” Worden with a smile on his snout. “And… to be honest, I didn’t really notice too much off. You just looked kinda stressed, which is normal.” “But it’s good to hear you’re doing better anyway.” Doe added with a smile. A grin on my snout as I turned around. “Alright then, let’s get going.” Olivia was back at the cafeteria, likely awaiting anxiously. Admittedly, she wasn’t ready to come with us to get Naser, especially evident when I told her after class that I was going to find Worden and Doe, the baryonyx having accidentally ground the end of her pencil into her paper upon relaying that news. But I had a degree of confidence that she’d be okay. We move onto the field, looking for Naser, only to see the athlete was nowhere to be found, at least not on the track or the field. Where was he? “Is he by the trees again?” Worden asks, “My eyes can’t see standing still stuff very well…” I then felt Doe tap my shoulder, the human pointing out in the distance. “Over there.” Sure enough, Naser was sitting in one of the outdoor basketball courts, shaded by the tall roofing. The three of us make our way toward him as the details begin to build up. As did the cold feeling beneath my scales. But I took a moment to pause, letting out a breath to analyze Naser now that we were close by. The first, was that he was sat down, his legs tucked in and his good wing folded inward. The second, was that he looked miserable… his snout poking from beneath his folded arms to reveal that he was heavily frowning, a smartphone held tightly in his claw. … What was going on here? My brief confusion doesn’t last long, the familiar pulsing anxiety and thrumming heartbeat reminding me of the past as Worden and Doe’s voices are drowned out. But this time… I don’t fight it. I go easy on myself as I let it wash over me, closing my eyes. It was terrible to remember, the blood, the bodies… and Naser clinging to the last of his life. It was a cruel and fucked up world. But… then… I listened to my heartbeat. And I began to recall things… things that went further, like my first day at Volcano High, having first met him after the bench I had been sitting on had shattered like legos. Later that day, I ordered a pseudo pizza that’d turn into a weapon after ten minutes. He had almost made me drop it after grabbing my shoulder. “ Whoa there! Nearly dropped your food Anon. ” I remembered him cautioning. “ Yeah, whose fault is that? ” “ ... Yours? ” He offered with a hopeful smile. I remember how much that had pissed me off looking back, but now all I could feel was nostalgic melancholy as my thoughts drifted to the auditorium after telling him the crowd had been talking mad shit. “ What?! ” He had slammed the table so hard, that I swear one of the pizza boxes from Dino-Moe’s had actually flung right off. More memories. “And? What happened after?! I’m gonna kick all their asses! ” “OH GOOD LORD NOT THE WATER- ” “Dad said he’ll do to me anything that you do to Fang! ” Okay, that last one made me scrunch my closed eyes even further closed. But it brought to me another snippet, one that I vividly recall. It was the night after the ‘double date’, Mr. Ripley having kicked Naser out briefly for having given Fang and me some privacy for the day. We were both sitting off the sidewalk, kicking stones onto the road. Naser had done a real solid for me… And so I listened to him. “It’s like I’m not allowed to have problems of my own, not allowed to mess up or do anything less than the best. ” … “I wish it was an option to fail. ” Always the ball of grey and orange stress. But what he had said before I left… “Thanks for sticking around a bit. ” His golden eyes peered away. “It’s… nice to finally be able to tell someone that. ” … … … I get it. Naser wasn’t my failure. Naser was… Naser is… My eyes reopened, my snout contorting into a smile as my claw subtly brushed away the tear that had rolled down my scaled cheek, my body feeling more unshackled than it had ever been, the pulse silent and my heart calm. I move forward, now just meters away as I call out. “Hey.” The pterodactyl froze up, uncoiling from his arms, his golden eyes wide with surprise as he looked up at me, Worden and Doe by my side. I then smiled, speaking the same words he had said to me on my first day at Volcano High. “Wanna sit with us?” Naser’s a bro.