"Wow, that was so fun! Wasn't it?! Wasn't it, Aves?"
With the setting sun casting a tender orange hue across the horizon, and the people from various walks of life basking in its warmth while having the times of their lives at the amusement park, two such people were doing exactly that as they made their way down a gravel-filled pavement that ran parallel to a duck-filled pond.
Well, one of them seemed to be having fun, anyway; the other looked like a walking corpse more than anything.
No matter how much Isabelle flailed about, making exaggerated exclamations on how amazing the past few rides were, Aves facial expression made it clear that he very strongly disagreed with her. Pursed lips that made it clear that he was trying to prevent something from spilling out, a scrunched up nose that supported that fact, and a pale face to top it all off — it went without saying that his hair was all over the place, as well— what less would you expect from someone who made it through several rides that featured head-ripping stunts, back-to-back, without dying?
'Fun?' Aves blandly looked at the girl right next to him, clear distrust in his eyes. 'You're dead to me.'
He seriously doubted that there was anyone out there that actually enjoyed going on those crazy rides. He admitted that there was that certain feeling of euphoria that people often got from how thrilling the rides tended to be, but he still couldn't understand why people would actively risk their lives for that short moment of adrenaline rush. Weren't there better — yet safer — ways to go about getting the same result? None that came to Aves' naive mind… but he stood his case nevertheless.
It wasn't even a case of Aves being a coward. Sure, he tended to be a little paranoid when it came to topics that involved risking his life, but that was a defensive mechanism that every human being adopted in such a case — Aves was just the type of guy that leant towards being more vocal or expressive about his concerns. He wasn't a coward. A coward would've made a huge scene the moment they knew what they were getting themselves into; they would've either begged their girlfriend to go someplace else, or even just left right then and there, without a single warning.
Not Aves, however.
He had learnt pretty early in life that it was okay to fear something as long as you had the courage to man up to it and face it head-on. If you ignore the fact that the lesson sounded like it originated from the mouth of an old turtle with a cane in one hand, then you will find out that it's actually quite the valuable lesson. It helped Aves today as he successfully faced each and every ride that came his way, anyway.
And, what was the result? He felt like shit, and was constantly having traumatic flashbacks to the loud clanging of metal on metal caused by the tracks that ran above them in a twister of mock-death and nothing short of insanity… but, if he ignored all of that, then he would say that he felt proud of himself more than anything.
That swelling feeling of pride did nothing to help his poor condition though, and he was reminded of that fact when Isabelle questioned him, "Are you feeling okay?"
Aves forced a smile, regardless of the fact that his facial muscles were still twitching, and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little hungry if I'm being honest."
"Ooh, I was waiting for you to say that! I know a shawarma restaurant that's right outside of the amusement park, but that would mean that we can't get back in after we're done eating. That's unless we pay for a pair of tickets again." Isabelle said dejectedly.
Aves' mind pictured himself giving a week's food worth of money to a bunch of strangers in order to decrease his lifespan by a decade and he immediately nodded, "Lets go! I can't wait to get out— I mean, I can't wait to eat! I am famished!"
Aves felt a flush creeping up onto his colourless face at the idea of leaving this damned place. He didn't even care if Isabelle noticed his enthusiasm due to that; he just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"Alright then, lets—"
This time, it was Isabelle who got to experience the feeling of being dragged away against her will.
***
It took quite a bit of time, around thirty minutes, for the couple to make it out of the park and onto the main street that led down to the restaurant. It was mainly due to the fact that the park was huge, so it took way longer to cross than they had initially expected.
By the time they made it to the front of the restaurant, it was already dark out, so the street lamps, up and down the street, were now on, and the occasional car passing by shone its headlights onto their faces as they took in the captivating aroma wafting out of the restaurant.
Opening the door that flourished a huge 'Welcome' sign, Aves gestured for Isabelle to go in first while he followed in second. Flashing him a smile of gratitude, Isabelle did exactly that.
Stepping into the surprisingly spacious restaurant, Aves quickly realised that he was wrong in expecting that there would only be a few people who decided to eat from this place. It wasn't jam-packed with people or anything, but there were still many of them either sitting at one of the tables that were laid around the first floor, or just standing idly near the counter as they waited for their orders.
After making their way through a maze of people, inevitably bumping into one or two of them on the way, Aves and Isabelle finally arrived at the counter where they were asked to put their orders in. Before coming in, Isabelle had given Aves a heads up on what she thought was the best item to get, so Aves just ordered twice the serving of that. He wasn't lying when he said he was hungry.
After paying, they were ushered up to the second floor of the building, due to the first floor being full, by one of the waiters standing nearby, and were eventually appointed to an empty table that could seat around six people in total. The second floor looked like it was reserved for couples, so having a six seater table was fairly odd, but Aves didn't question that. Once they were seated, Isabelle started going off on how delicious the food this restaurant served truly was.
Aves just opted to stay silent most of the time, listening to her past experiences with a light smile, only nodding and saying a few things here and there when prompted.
The topic of conversation eventually shifted toward family matters, making Aves feel a little uneasy. And sure enough, the question he dreaded eventually came up when Isabelle innocently asked, "You've never told me whether you have any siblings or not. I do; she's my older sister, but I don't like her because she's unnecessarily mean all the time. Do you have any siblings, Aves? If you do, are they mean like my sister is?"
Knowing that he couldn't dodge the question, he just answered truthfully, "No, I don't… not yet, anyway."
"Does that mean you will be getting one soon?" Isabelle was quick to catch on.
Aves nodded, his eyes distractedly gazing at a small blemish on the wooden table as he recalled the events that he had been trying so hard over the course of the entire day to forget. No, he couldn't forget them; he knew that. It was more like he was trying to push them to the back of his head and not think of them for however long he could.
To put it nicely, he was running away from the problem. To put it bluntly, he was being a coward.
"You don't seem too happy about it?" Isabelle shot him a confused look.
Aves heaved a sigh after finally regaining focus. "The truth is, I was just made known by my parents last night that they're expecting a baby and… I sort of flipped out and said things that I probably shouldn't have."
"Why?"
"Let's just say that we're doing well financially, but not well enough to support another child, so I got angry at their stupidity, and in the heat of the moment…" Aves' voice trailed off. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still angry, but I'm now wondering how much of it is actually because of them and how much of it is because of me."
"It seems that the situation is more complicated than you're putting it, because there's a lot that I still don't understand, however… don't you think you should cut your parents some slack? I mean, the fact that you figured out that they screwed up should also mean that they know that too. But, let me guess: did they look happy when they broke the news to you last night?" Isabelle asked.
Aves' mind recalled the scene that he had been trying hard to forget due to how furious it made him, and it turned out that Isabelle was right. They were happy, or trying to come off as happy, anyway.
Seeing Aves nod, Isabelle continued, "That right there is them trying to make the best out of a bad situation. How do you think you would've reacted if they had come up clean and said that the child was a mistake? I don't know about you, but I would be in disbelief, because no parents — good parents — should ever admit that about their child."
She went on, "I agree that you have every right to be frustrated with them, but I think that beating them up for it any more than they deserve is just tasteless."
Aves reclined back into his seat, his mouth twitching in thought. While it was true that he shouldn't have gone that harshly on his parents last night, he wasn't going to get any less angry just because Isabelle put in a few nice words for his parents. It wasn't because he didn't respect Isabelle's opinion enough, it was just that she was an outsider in the matter and didn't know exactly how bad his family's situation really was. The fact of the matter was that his parents messed up really badly and there were no ifs and buts to the matter.
Aves was stubborn and just a few words weren't going to change his mind. Still, he had to admit that it felt good to share some of his worries with someone he could trust; it made him feel as if a load was taken off his chest.
"Besides, you didn't really expect your parents to go: 'Hey, son. Your mother and I are going to go have sex now. Uhh, please don't disturb us.'" Right when it seemed that that topic of conversation was over, Isabelle went ahead and said in a low and deep tone, trying to imitate his father, then burst into her familiar fit of giggling straight after.
Aves couldn't help but burst into laughter at how close Isabelle was to nailing his father's actual voice. He wasn't going to tell her that though, because he knew for sure that she wouldn't be laughing as she was right now if she found out.
'It's best I let her find out for herself when she comes over for dinner.' Aves recalled that, assuming everything went well the next time he visited his parents, he had to invite Isabelle to his house at some point in the future.
'One step at a time.' Aves mentally shrugged, his gaze on Isabelle who was still laughing.
"Isabelle! I thought I saw you downstairs!" A sudden voice coming from his side forced Aves to turn his head in that direction.
A few girls, maybe three, accompanied by two boys, had just gotten off of the stairs leading back to the first floor and were making their way around the corner to walk towards them. The girl in the lead, someone Aves found quite familiar but wasn't sure as to where he had seen before, was the one who called out.
"Uwahh! Georgie! I didn't know you were here! You guys as well? What are all of you doing here?"
Apparently, whoever these people were, Isabelle knew them, as the moment she saw them, she excitedly got off her seat and went off to greet each and every one of them. Aves, on the other hand, was too flummoxed by the sudden situation, and, lost in his own thoughts, he decided to stay seated.
"We came out of the amusement park a while ago, so we decided to come over here to grab a bite. We didn't expect to meet you here with…" The girl named Georgie, a fairly short girl with black hair tied into bunches, trailed off as she looked past Isabelle's shoulder and in Aves' direction, obviously confused by something.
"Oh, right! I'm so stupid. Georgie, guys, this is Aves." Isabelle gestured toward Aves as she brought the group of girls and boys closer.
A series of nods and other such greeting gestures came his way as the newly arrived group now stood right next to Aves' table. Seeing that it was probably rude to continue sitting while everyone else was standing, Aves decided to finally stand up.
Meanwhile, Isabelle was pointing out everyone else's names. "Aves, as you may have heard, this cutie right here is called Georgie. She's my best friend. This other cutie right here is called Irene. She's also my best friend. And this mean one right here is Stacey. She is definitely not my— haha, I'm just kidding, relax. She's also my best friend. Ah, also these two gentlemen are Stacey and Irene's boyfriends, respectively, Jack and Daniel."
This time, it was Aves' turn to greet each and everyone of them while pretending that he actually remembered their names. Who was expected to remember so many people's names in such a short amount of time? However, thanks to Isabelle's introduction, he finally remembered where he had seen the girl named Georgie before. She always hung out with Isabelle in the corridors of Stars College, so he might have seen her once or twice before, even though he definitely didn't know her personally. Though, Aves figured that Georgia also knew who he was, as evident by the occasional off-putting glances that she cast his way. Aves didn't need to be a genius to figure out what she was thinking of whenever she looked at him.
As for the boyfriend-girlfriend double pair, Aves hadn't known nor heard of them before this, so he figured that neither did they him.
All of that aside, Aves made sure to greet them politely, yet not overly; the last thing he wanted to do was to be on bad terms with Isabelle's friends, after all.
"Um, Belle-Belle, can we maybe crash here? It's kind of cramped for space downstairs." The girl who was either Stacey or Irene — Aves couldn't remember for the life of him — said immediately after the introductions were over.
"Yeah, yeah! Sure, umm…" Isabelle turned to catch any signs of disapproval on Aves' face, but when she found none, she continued, "Absolutely! Come, take a seat."
Aves had made sure to keep his face as expressionless as possible, for he definitely didn't want to come off as an obsessive and selfish boyfriend to his one day old girlfriend. Of course, if it were up to him, he would rather that this group of strangers not have appeared and disturb their smooth date at all, but since they were already here, there was nothing he could do about it but act like the bigger man.
His face couldn't help but twitch, however, when all five of Isabelle's friends made themselves at home and left him with nowhere to sit. With Isabelle as the sixth, Aves ended up having to squeeze in next to one of the boys, but he was still sitting at the edge of the table by the end of it all, so it made him very uncomfortable.
Nobody seemed to notice nor care, however, as they were all absorbed in their own conversations.
"So wait… You guys were at the amusement park the whole time and we didn't meet?"
"Uhuh, it seems like it. I don't even know how that's possible. Oh wait, it must be very possible with how big the park is."
"Isabelle, you should've seen what happened! Stacey got hit on by some random dude, which almost never happens when you're around, because everyone's hitting on you most of the time. But, that's not the point! You should've seen the size of him! He was massive!"
"For real? Was he fat-massive, or ripped-massive?"
"Ripped-massive, of course!"
"Did she say yes?"
"HELLO! Her boyfriend is right here! I'm right here! How could you even ask that question? Of course, she said no."
"I mean, Jack, with all due respect, Stacey does have a history of—"
"Excuse me, bitch? Why don't you try and complete that sentence?"
"I was going to, until you cut me off…"
"Guys, I have a picture of him right here."
"Bro, you took a picture of the dude behind his back? That's ga—"
"Of course not, you idiot! I went onto his socials and found a picture. Look."
"Jheez, he's definitely on some sort of drug."
"Wait, babe, let me see! Daniel, please!"
"No can do. I have a feeling that I will regret showing you his picture. You're better off looking at my splendid self instead."
"Ughh, he's doing that weird thing again, guys."
"Yeah…"
With the seconds stretching into minutes, all the group could talk about was how amazing their experiences at the park were, with the occasional reminiscences to events that had happened in the past when they all apparently used to hang out together. They all seemed to be having fun… all but one person, at least.
"…"
What? What was happening?
'What am I doing here?'
'Why? Why am I here?'
Where did it all go wrong?
Everything was going so smoothly… The date, his relationship… his life.
So, why? Why was it going all wrong?
Staring blankly at the hubbub of noise — joyful noise — that was taking place in front of him, Aves slowly came to the realisation that… his presence was slowly disappearing. No, it had disappeared already. Just like that one lonely toothpick after dinner, he was used, appreciated for a moment, and cast aside, completely forgotten about shortly after.
He had tried opening his mouth to speak more than once, to say anything to remind them of his presence, but it was if his lips were stuck together with an invisible glue.
'It's happening again.'
He had spent his whole life invisible. He pretended like he didn't care, like he didn't want people to pay attention to him anyway, but he did. He wanted them to pay attention to him as a show of proof; proof that he existed alongside them, and that he wasn't the only person in his little lonely world who cared about his well-being. That people out there cared for him as well. He wasn't asking for anything fancy such as being popular, but just a hint of acknowledgement would be enough. Unfortunately, his insecurities always got in the way when he tried talking in front of so many people, and it seemed to be getting in his way at the moment as well.
'I'm right here… I'm right here…'
Turning to his left, all he could see was one of the boys' mouth moving in an endless motion of incessant chatter. He couldn't hear what he was saying, for the world's sound appeared to have been drowned out by his own breathing.
He turned slightly to his right, straight across from him…
'Isabelle…'
She looked so happy…
Was it wrong? Was it wrong to feel so sad? To feel so angry? To have all those negative emotions swirling inside of him, and why? Just because she was having fun… Having fun talking to other people while he was right there, forgotten… Forgotten by the only one he cared about…
It felt like, at one moment, they were both having the times of their lives, their focus only on each other, no else, and then the next moment… she had forgotten about him. She was the only one to have acknowledged him, which sent him over the moon when he found out at first. It was also why it hurt all the more when she started ignoring him…
Maybe… Maybe it was because they didn't know he was Isabelle's boyfriend. Maybe that was why no one was talking to him. Yes, that must've been it. That was probably why everyone was ignoring him. All he had to do was let them know… let them know…
But…
What if it tarnished Isabelle's reputation? What if the whole world laughed at her for dating an unknown, insecure and gutless freak? What if that happened?
He didn't want that!
He loved her…
'Isabelle, please… Do something… Say something…'
'It hurts…'
Sorrow.
'Please!'
Confusion.
'Make it stop!'
Anger.
And that's when it happened.
One heartbeat. The world went dark, the air turned stiff with a pressure so immense that it eclipsed the entire surface of the earth and the celestial object revolving around it, and the plants… the plants, they bowed.
Two heartbeats. The world went back to normal. Light returned to the world… for it had nothing to fear anymore. The humans and animals were none-the-wiser, but the plants… the plants were awaiting his return.