How Green Becomes Wood

Milo squeezed the ball with one hand before practically dashing out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. Only a few more classes, then he'd be going home. He just had to make it through these next few. They were electives, his schedule ended on electives. That was good. They were smaller class sizes. That was easier.
 
Xander watched Milo go before heading out himself. Just electives to get through, and then they could all go home. He wished he could help Milo. He wondered if he should insist on giving him a ride. People might be too much, but biking in his state might be dangerous. It was worth asking, at least. Alec didn't seem to notice anything outside of what he was doing.

The school day finally ended, and the twins headed for the parking lot. Xander moved quicker than usual, leaving Alec behind as he looked for Milo.
 
Luckily, Milo wasn't required to answer any questions or bother speaking to anyone for the rest of the day, and when the bell finally rang, he hurried to gather his things and head to the parking lot to unlock his bike, keeping his head down. He was focused enough on just getting home that he didn't even notice Xander come up behind him until he had already been startled and scurried quickly to the side before recognizing his friend and calming down.
 
"Hey," Xander said, holding both hands out in a steadying gesture, still far from touching Milo. "Hey, it's just me." He frowned, studying Milo. "I want to give you a ride home," he finally stated instead of asking. "You can still totally tell me to f**k off, but you're... you know, a bit... you know. And I don't know if... so I want to make sure you get there... safe." He looked away awkwardly. "We won't say a single word the whole time. Won't ask questions or make you talk."
 
Milo stared blankly at him for a little bit, his eyes haggard, unsure of how to respond to that. Getting a drive home in the van would be faster, but he wouldn't be alone during the trip. Swallowing, he shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking from Xander, down to the ground, and then over at his bike again. It took awhile before he was able to say anything, and just speaking took a great deal of effort, "dunno..." he mumbled, "don't really want to be around people."
 
"Please," Xander said softly, truly worried about Milo riding alone. "We won't talk. And if you want, we can take the slow way or the fast way. That's the only thing you have to tell me, slow or fast."
 
"Okay," Xander said with a soft, relieved sigh. He let Milo handle his bike, figuring he needed something to do. He led the way to the van and opened the back before helping Milo load up his bike.

Alec glanced at Milo briefly before getting into the passenger seat and finding a quiet, oldies station with gentle music. He strapped in and stayed silent.

Xander made sure Milo was in and buckled then closed the side door and went around to the driver's side. It was a silent drive, just like Xander promised, with only the soft sounds of music to break the silence. Xander pulled up in front of Milo's grandparents' house and helped him unload, still without saying a single word.
 
Milo didn't, or couldn't, speak on the drive home, and spent the time with his eyes shut and his head against the window. Everything was much, much too loud. Just their breathing felt like a burden to bear.

When the car stopped, he tried to murmur a polite thanks, but really just ended up giving a focused nod towards Xander after his bike was out before locking it away and going inside without turning on his lights.
 
Xander watched him go and waited until Milo was inside. It didn't seem like a good idea to leave him alone even if that was what he wanted, but what was he supposed to do about it? He turned the van around and headed back home, staying silent. Alec started to say something a couple of times but then gave up. They spent the drive in more silence.

When they got home, Xander took the time to say hello to the family and then headed off to therapy.

Alec tried to put on a happy expression, but he soon gave up and left to sit in his room and draw.
 
For all of Xander's fears, thankfully all Milo did when he went inside was change into comfortable clothes, collapse on his bed, and go to sleep, not stirring until he was called for dinner, where his grandfather joked he wouldn't be so tired if he didn't stay up so late.

As always, Ivy was ecstatic to see her brothers when they came home, and she was confused when they didn't stick around again. Her parents, however, were able to note the difficult energy that followed both boys, and after giving Alec a good bit of time alone, Daizi went upstairs and lightly knocked on his door.
 
Alec sighed, not really wanting to open the door, but not opening would lead to more questions. So, he got up and went to open the door. "Is it dinner already? Xander's not back yet."
 
"Oh, I bet," Daizi nodded, leaning against the door frame, "It might help if you narrow down... and stop me if you've already considered this, but highlighting the most important players. There are a thousand women named Goody in the historical record at the time, but most of them aren't particularly relevant, right?"
 
"I think it's short for 'Mrs.,' essentially, so it's not their actual names, it's their honorific. I'm sure we have records of what their actual first names are, but they've fallen out of common parlance." Daizi replied, noting that she hadn't been invited in but not attempting to invite herself in.
 
"Oh, that makes sense," Alec nodded. "I did find this twelve year old girl who apparently tattled on like half the people there for some reason. Ann, was her name, and she turned in over 50 people. What's with that?"
 
Daizi hummed lightly, tipping her head back, "That is the enduring question of Salem. People have, erroneously, theorized it was mold in their bread causing hallucinations, people have theorized it's a... problem of the political and religious pressures, a way for children to get attention from their parents without recognizing the consequence... It's difficult. I think if we had answers, people would be less fascinated by it all."
 
"My bet is it's one of those 'all of the above' answers," Alec said. "Probably like two people got into the moldy bread and then everything spread from there with people taking advantage of it."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top