throwabookatit | i scream, you scream, we all scream because we just fucking do

Entry tags:

!lockdown,
viral

i scream, you scream, we all scream because we just fucking do

Private Conversations with Viral! please keep yelling to a minimum (jk go wild)

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[Sometime after the execution, while the afterparty is afterpartying away, there's a knock.]

[ After all that, Rebecca needs to be alone for awhile. Just to sort out some feelings and thoughts. That's all.

She doesn't expect someone to come find her. ]

J-just a moment! [ Probably one of the younger ones. After that abysmal display she showed back there, she has to...put some of their minds at ease. That's why, when it's not, the surprise on her face is visible. ] Oh... Hello, uh, can I...do something...?

...Not really. I just wanted to see how you were doing.

[It's the most defensive 'I came to your room to check on you' possible.]

[ Wow, Viral. Good job, very good. ...Too bad she's kind of blunt. ]

You came to check on me? Oh, thank you, I... I just needed some time to myself, that's all.

[ Blunt but...not very good at lying, in this case. ]

Anyone could see that you were upset.

[It seems pretty straightforward to him, in that regard.]

[ Urgh. She looks away. ]

Yes, well... It's been an upsetting few days, hasn't it? What I mean is...I'll be fine.

Good.

[He's taking you at your word, Rebecca, don't do him dirty.]

Those children are going to need someone to get them through this, and most of the other 'adults' aren't exactly helpful.

[Really, it's you and Hank, sister.]

Just don't forget to take care of yourself.

[ Despite herself, her lips quirk to a humorless smile. ]

I thought you didn't care about the children, Viral.

[HUFF!!! Don't call him out like this.]

Who said I do? I just don't want to end up in charge of them because something happened to you.

I'm sure no one would push you into that role. [ But, there's something else, to unpack there. ] Really, though, I...appreciate it. I'm...not so out of sorts that I'd let something like... That'd I'd completely forget myself.

[They already look to him to lead their troublemaking, Rebecca.]

Good.

[ There's a pause. A moment, where she's debating just what to say. Trying to... ]

I did... I did want to thank you, for... I was caught up, back there, for.. for my own...personal reasons. It didn't do any good, and... Just, thank you, for...trying to snap me out of that.

...It won't do any of us any good to get stuck on the past at times like that. At least at those... 'trials,' we need to keep our eyes forward.

Some of the things he was talking about, they just...got me thinking. [ She sighs, hand at her head. ] Even Akira had to... Not exactly a good example, for any of them.

It doesn't do them any good as an example to see you be perfect. If that happens, then how are they supposed to know what to do themselves when they stumble?

Teach by example...? I've never liked my students to see my mistakes but...but then, the others here...aren't my students, are they?

[ It sounds like she's only just realizing this now. ]

I haven't...really interacted with kids their age, outside of my job. [ Or...many guys...honestly... ]

There's... a strength to be had in admitting that you might be wrong.

[And that's with a small, uncomfortable shift.]

From example is the only way I ever learned anything, anyway.

Of course, though it...

[ She...hesitates herself, for a moment, it... This seems something hard for her to say. ]

It's just that I...found some similarities, between the two of us. Me and him. And his...his weaknesses.

[ Who else has it written there, a weakness for a person...who also is someone they're fond of? ]

...Even if that's similar, that's not all you are.

And it doesn't mean that the person who is important to you is anything like his.

[ ...It's true. Whatever relationship, it- it doesn't compare to hers with Ashton. To seventeen years. To what he means to her. ]

Really, he would be furious, if I even... [ Her hand at her eyes again, and a taut smile. ] I- don't know why I'm saying all this. We barely know each other, after all, you were...you were just the first person, who came to see me.

Maybe that's all it takes, sometimes. Someone willing to listen.

[ Her voice is, strangely for her, soft. Incredibly so. ]

Then... Thank you. For listening.

...Any time.

[It's not quite a promise, but. It's a Thing.]

...You too, you know? If...you need to talk about anything, I- I'd...be able to return the favor.

...If there ever is anything, I might take you up on that.

Just let me know.

[ A moment's hesitation. ]

You're...a lot nicer than I first thought.

...Humans are more complex than I imagined.

[It's not quite the same thing, and yet, it says a lot, doesn't it?]

[ A soundless laugh. ]

I suppose we're both learning a thing or two here, after all.

[A similar one from Viral, showing all of those teeth.]

Perhaps the only kind of learning going on at this 'school.'

[ That first day, the sight of his sharp, sharp teeth frightened her, but now?

Not one bit. ]

I won't breathe a word of it to those bawheids if you don't.

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