Post by Sadie on Oct 26, 2009 12:57:04 GMT -5
Hoagie had never seen her so despondent.
The sunshine on her face had been overclouded by what seemed like a thick rainstorm, drizzling raindrops on her cheeks that resembled tears. The light in her eyes was gone, replaced with shadows and darkness and desolation. The quivering of her lower lip was enough to wrench at any observer’s heart, and make them question what kind of monster would take such a beautiful thing and shatter it.
But Hoagie knew what it was.
He watched her, shuffling her feet as though the energy to lift them upward did not exist, make her way into her bedroom with her head hung. It was such a sad scene that he felt his heartstrings pull with sympathy for the girl, and finally, with a shrug, he followed her scuffling sound down the hall and then rapped on her door lightly, calling her name aloud so that she was aware of who it was. She didn’t answer for a few seconds, and then he heard a mournful, “Come in.”
Bracing himself for a waterfall of tears, he opened the door and entered.
She was curled up on her bed, surrounded by a mountain of stuffed animals that nearly consumed her. The rainbow of colors in her room might have blinded him, had Hoagie not been used to her colorful ways. So he went and sat on the edge of her bed, feeling it give way underneath him, and then turned to face her, eyeing her tear-streaked cheeks and the puffy redness of her large, usually-twinkling eyes.
“What’d he do this time?” Neither of them needed to question who he was – any crying from the girl normally revolved around the blonde Aussie.
Wally couldn’t even know how much of her heart was placed in his palm. How every decision he made either enthralled her or crushed her. How all of her emotions were tied into him, and he alone had a grip on the strings that would determine how she felt. How every tear that cascaded toward the floor and burst into a million liquid fragments was because of him, because of his utter obliviousness to her obvious affection.
She sat up, eyed him carefully, and then launched into her story in a voice barely above a whisper, occasionally interspersing her words with her squeaky brand of hiccups.
“H-he told me that I was, was stupid for liking my toys, a-and that I-I was childish.” Hoagie could have guessed. Wally had a personal vendetta against her bubbling nature, and the fact that she spread her girly touch to all the corners of the earth simply by breathing. Hoagie couldn’t keep track of how many times Wally had made the same kind of accusation.
And every time, she cried again.
For the first time in a long time, she didn’t have one of her stuffed animals cradled in her arms. This could only mean, Hoagie figured, that he had deeply offended her this time, and that she was hesitant of her own unshakeable affection for the toys. Picking one up, a particularly bright yellow one, he handed it to her and gave her a warm smile, the kind that was perfect for cold winter days and chilly spring afternoons.
“Keep your chin up,” he told her softly, as best as he knew how – after all, what boy really knew how to comfort a weeping girl? “One day he’s going to wake up and see that you’re different, but that’s why you’re perfect. You’re not like the other girls. You shine.” He could see it himself in the way that she walked, and spoke, and threw her hand into the air when she knew something. There was a certain radiance there that the Aussie just hadn’t recognized yet.
“You think so?” Her voice broke, and Hoagie almost smiled. So much of her revolved around Wally.
“I know so. He just. . . he’s just a little blind right now. But he’ll see.”
And Hoagie knew that he would. He could see it in the way that Wally tolerated her hugs when she needed them most, and the way that Wally helped her dig through the garbage when her favorite rainbow monkey had accidentally been thrown out. He could see it in the special tone that Wally reserved just for Kuki – the one that was slightly softer, slightly more gentle, and slightly crackling with some kind of warmth that Wally himself would did not yet recognize.
Kuki gave him a watery smile and Hoagie made to leave her room, his work done. While he didn’t have his affections set on the green-clad girl, he always missed a certain part of her that disappeared when she was glum. The part that laughed at his jokes, that brightened the treehouse, that said his name in a way that told him that he would always be considered her friend.
“Hoagie?”
He turned around to catch her eyes again, and was surprised to see her sunny smile resurfacing on her face. “Yeah?”
“I think you shine, too.”
The sunshine on her face had been overclouded by what seemed like a thick rainstorm, drizzling raindrops on her cheeks that resembled tears. The light in her eyes was gone, replaced with shadows and darkness and desolation. The quivering of her lower lip was enough to wrench at any observer’s heart, and make them question what kind of monster would take such a beautiful thing and shatter it.
But Hoagie knew what it was.
He watched her, shuffling her feet as though the energy to lift them upward did not exist, make her way into her bedroom with her head hung. It was such a sad scene that he felt his heartstrings pull with sympathy for the girl, and finally, with a shrug, he followed her scuffling sound down the hall and then rapped on her door lightly, calling her name aloud so that she was aware of who it was. She didn’t answer for a few seconds, and then he heard a mournful, “Come in.”
Bracing himself for a waterfall of tears, he opened the door and entered.
She was curled up on her bed, surrounded by a mountain of stuffed animals that nearly consumed her. The rainbow of colors in her room might have blinded him, had Hoagie not been used to her colorful ways. So he went and sat on the edge of her bed, feeling it give way underneath him, and then turned to face her, eyeing her tear-streaked cheeks and the puffy redness of her large, usually-twinkling eyes.
“What’d he do this time?” Neither of them needed to question who he was – any crying from the girl normally revolved around the blonde Aussie.
Wally couldn’t even know how much of her heart was placed in his palm. How every decision he made either enthralled her or crushed her. How all of her emotions were tied into him, and he alone had a grip on the strings that would determine how she felt. How every tear that cascaded toward the floor and burst into a million liquid fragments was because of him, because of his utter obliviousness to her obvious affection.
She sat up, eyed him carefully, and then launched into her story in a voice barely above a whisper, occasionally interspersing her words with her squeaky brand of hiccups.
“H-he told me that I was, was stupid for liking my toys, a-and that I-I was childish.” Hoagie could have guessed. Wally had a personal vendetta against her bubbling nature, and the fact that she spread her girly touch to all the corners of the earth simply by breathing. Hoagie couldn’t keep track of how many times Wally had made the same kind of accusation.
And every time, she cried again.
For the first time in a long time, she didn’t have one of her stuffed animals cradled in her arms. This could only mean, Hoagie figured, that he had deeply offended her this time, and that she was hesitant of her own unshakeable affection for the toys. Picking one up, a particularly bright yellow one, he handed it to her and gave her a warm smile, the kind that was perfect for cold winter days and chilly spring afternoons.
“Keep your chin up,” he told her softly, as best as he knew how – after all, what boy really knew how to comfort a weeping girl? “One day he’s going to wake up and see that you’re different, but that’s why you’re perfect. You’re not like the other girls. You shine.” He could see it himself in the way that she walked, and spoke, and threw her hand into the air when she knew something. There was a certain radiance there that the Aussie just hadn’t recognized yet.
“You think so?” Her voice broke, and Hoagie almost smiled. So much of her revolved around Wally.
“I know so. He just. . . he’s just a little blind right now. But he’ll see.”
And Hoagie knew that he would. He could see it in the way that Wally tolerated her hugs when she needed them most, and the way that Wally helped her dig through the garbage when her favorite rainbow monkey had accidentally been thrown out. He could see it in the special tone that Wally reserved just for Kuki – the one that was slightly softer, slightly more gentle, and slightly crackling with some kind of warmth that Wally himself would did not yet recognize.
Kuki gave him a watery smile and Hoagie made to leave her room, his work done. While he didn’t have his affections set on the green-clad girl, he always missed a certain part of her that disappeared when she was glum. The part that laughed at his jokes, that brightened the treehouse, that said his name in a way that told him that he would always be considered her friend.
“Hoagie?”
He turned around to catch her eyes again, and was surprised to see her sunny smile resurfacing on her face. “Yeah?”
“I think you shine, too.”
Ah, Hoagie's such a great guy ^-^ I can really imagine how he looks out for his friends and sees to it if they are alright (of course, it is quite hard to ignore their obvious crush XD)
