Please Don't Make Me Cry, I'm Just Like You-Pt. 1

[Chase†]

((Continued from If Words Could Kill They Probably Will))

"I keep wishing this is all just a joke," Jack kept in stride with his friend as they made their way into the trees, some amount of time after they had left the mall, Mai had suggested the garden where she woke up. Inevitably, the became lost for awhile, looming around wherever seemed secluded, taking turns sleeping throughout the second day. Soon the scenery became more familiar to her, and she knew they were close.

"I know."

"Where do you think the other theatre kids are?"

"I don't know," Mai bit her lip and kept walking, the jian hitting one leg while her daypack hit the other. Her mind was taking trips into memories, not paying attention to the specifics of the here and now. She let her eyes wander aimlessly, passing over scenery, over Jack's face, while they walked.

The suburbs were silent, save for the sounds of Mai's shoes dragging on the concrete sidewalk. Street lamps illuminated the 12 year old hefting an overstuffed duffelbag, tears streaming down her asian features. Her destination was only three blocks away.
Mai dropped her bag in the grassy backyard, her knees shaking for a moment as she kept standing. Her hands wiped at her face furiously, erasing the previous moment from having taken place. The sliding door was left unlocked. Mai squeezed through the small opening she made and moved up the stairs. A small light shined out from the crack of the door. She pressed lightly against the wood, slipping into the room quietly.

The boy sitting on the bed, bass in arms, didn't even look up to greet his best friend. She bit her bottom lip and frowned.

"Jack," he didn't move. Her eyes tried to fixate on his as she inched closer to his unmoving frame.

"Jackie?" She whispered in his ear once she was close enough, her hand reaching towards his shoulder to try to shake him.
"RAH!"

Mai found herself on the carpet, staring into the sapphire eyes of her close friend. She bit her lip, obviously in some sort of pain after the tackle. Her left hand shoved Jack to the side and punched him hard in the arm. Mai furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest to pout.

"Ow!" he whined.

"You deserve it!" Mai spits back as she stands up from the floor and drops down onto his bed. She made her best efforts not to make eye contact with him, instead trying to gaze intently at the wall.

The mattress sinks next to her and Jack's worried face catches her eye. Her focus wanders around the room.

"Let me see," Jack pleads, tugging at her T-shirt.

"No," she presses her elbows into her bruises, causing her to tear up further as she tries in vain to put the fresh memories into the back of her mind.

"Mai, please," he lifts the garment when she finally gives up. Mai's back is striped, lines of black and blue alternating with unbruised skin.

"Oh," she senses the hesitation he feels at even so much as touching her wounds. Fresh tears fall, bringing that moment back to her in full force. She leans away, letting her whole body fall sideways to lay on the mattress.

"Granny Yoshiko," she whimpers.

"I know, I know," he cradles her balled up body, until she's cried herself to sleep.

"We should find them and meet up, like I said back at the mall. We'll find them and we'll--"

"Escape?" Mai shot back, her condescending tone cutting through the gust of wind that blew past.

"That's what you were going to say, am I right now?" she placed her hands on her hips.

He looked sheepish for a split second before narrowing his eyes at her, determined to stand his ground, "What crawled up your ass and committed suicide up there? Inquiring minds, Mai."

She began to walk faster, her steps heavier and more deliberate as she focused once again on the situation. Mai couldn't fathom the odds of being taken, why her whole class was dragged away to cause each other's demise. But she was becoming equally as frustrated with Jack, who seemed to be more challenging than understanding to her emotions.

"Answer me!"

"We're going to die, damnit!" she screamed. Birds flew from trees and she looked up towards the branches, eyes glistening with tears she held back.

"They have no reason to help us, they're out there to live. What are we going to offer to them, huh?" her hands flew up in the air as she raved, "These collars, this island, the people... they should be out there trying to save themselves. Don't you understand? This-- I mean, we-- I don't know."

"I'm sorry you think that way," he said hesitantly, "I think they wouldn't, though. They'd help us or at least send us away."

Mai scoffed and made her way to the edge of the botanical garden, careful to avoid the view of the sunflowers that were torn from their home. It's not like she knew where else to go, and the safety of the garden, somewhere with familiarity, an origin, dulled her senses in some way. This is where she came from, this is where it was safe. She opened her lips let out a sigh, unable to turn to her friend.

Jack kept his distance from her still body, second-guessing whether or not to address what he thought was making her act this way.

"You know this isn't like you," he reached up to place his hand on her shoulder.

He could barely hear the, "I know."

"Not everyone is cruel."

"What do you mean?"

"Mai," he pressed against her shoulder to make her turn, "Yoshiko is not the world, she's not a reflection of what other people may do. This is an extreme situation. This is nothing anyone could have prepared for. This is not going to change people into someone you hate."

He couldn't read her face, something he realized that made him shiver a little as her eyes finally met his. What was she thinking right now that made her want to stay away from everyone else? It was then they heard some voices, she tensed.

"I think we should find another place to go, okay?"

((Continued Please Don't Make Me Cry- Part 2))