the sharing

[instar]

Trouble is not back at school on Monday. At lunch, Bella sits with Andi who sits with Robin who sits with Ethan.

Comments

[aeskhyne]

"Got it in one."

[instar]

"And Andi can't know this because it involves knowing a relatively innocuous fact about your family other than 'he probably isn't the result of parthenogenesis'."

[aeskhyne]

"That's about the size of it," says Trouble.

[instar]

"Do you know anything about the organization that I might not?"

[aeskhyne]

He shrugs. "Nope. Why, do you want me to?"

[instar]

"I want to figure out what's going on without touching it. I don't really fancy you touching it either, though."

[aeskhyne]

"Hey, if somebody's gonna be touching something nasty, I've got the practice."

[instar]

"That's kind of a grotesque thing to say."

[aeskhyne]

"Yep."

[instar]

"Well, I don't imagine I have any particular sway over you, and if you do decide to go poke it with a stick, and your personality survives the experience, I would be a willing audience for anything you learned."

[aeskhyne]

"You got it," says Trouble. "If I go poking, I'll tell you what squeaks."

[instar]

"Thanks."

[aeskhyne]

"Who else am I gonna tell, right?"

[instar]

"You could conceivably not feel interested in telling anyone."

[aeskhyne]

He shrugs. "Yeah. But I wanna tell you."

[instar]

Bella nods.

"Be careful, if you go poking it."

[aeskhyne]

"What's the worst that could happen?"

[instar]

"Your brain could get eaten, reportedly."

[aeskhyne]

"Could be fun, depending how."

[instar]

"I think you're a bit too young to die, don't you?"

[aeskhyne]

"Not really."

[instar]

"...What, really?"

[aeskhyne]

He shrugs.

"I don't want to or anything, but I'm not desperate to avoid it, either. Death doesn't scare me."

[instar]

"Why not?"

[aeskhyne]

"Nobody lives forever, right? So what matters to me isn't how long I can hang on for, it's - I don't know, something else. Dying doesn't scare me. Another ten years in Reggie's house, that fucking scares me. Loving somebody who doesn't want me to. Having to live without being able to hurt. Those things are scary. Death just isn't."