Melissa kept quiet, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she walked, trying to be hyper-aware of everything going on. She only nodded her head in return, finally making it to the office. Letting out a soft sigh, she knocked on the door before looking back up at Lucas.
"Yeah we can get your things after school- but not right now. I'll call my parents and talk to them before the next class."
"Next class?" Lucas looked over at Melissa, worryingly confused for a moment, and then he laughed dryly. "Oh, right. We're still at school. After all that, we still have to go to our stupid classes like nothing happened. That's great." He laughed a bit louder, although he definitely wasn't very amused. His eyes stung with tears, and he cowered a bit and hugged his stomach with his free arm as he walked and laughed incredulously.
"You probably aren't going if that makes you feel any better," Melissa replied tentatively, gently pulling back to give him some space. "I just… don't really have any reason not to go. So I've got to go to class." She didn't know what to say other than that, afraid she might upset him more or make things worse than they were already seeming.
Lucas exhaled shakily, a weak, distant smile still plastered on his face as he walked. A couple tears rolled down his face, but he wasn't able to register that they were there for him to brush them away. "I-I don't want to do anything." He whispered. "I just want to sit somewhere and just… stay there until I rot, I guess. Can't do anything. But I can't not do anything."
"You can sit somewhere until school is over, other than that, I'm not gonna promise anything." As Melissa finished her sentence, the door opened, and a younger woman was standing there. "What are you two doing? We're supposed to be on lockdown," She whisper-hissed before pulling the two inside. "This isn't something you two should be going out and messing around during, it's serious!" With a still hushed voice, her expression softened, going over and placing a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Or I guess you already know that."
"He's gone…" Lucas replied softly when the woman scolded him for wandering. "They took him away. I'm alone." His breathing hitched and his gaze went distant again as he trembled. "They took my dad. He wanted to kill me. I must have done something wrong again." He glanced over to the couch, taking a few seconds to properly process its existence. "May I sit down? I'm… I'm not really in the mood for my classes right now."
With a stunned expression, she nodded slowly, going to sit back at her desk. Sliding back into the chair, she stared at him for a minute or two, not quite sure how to respond. Melissa awkwardly stood by the door, also at a loss for words.
"I- er… would you mind if Lucas stayed here until my parents come to pick us up?" She asked softly, chewing on the inside of her cheek and fidgeting with her fingers. "I don't think it would be the smartest idea for him to be out there right now."
"Yeah- yeah that's fine. I'll have to talk to the principal, but it should be fine." She finally responded, gaze shifting to where Melissa stood. 'With the circumstances, I'm not sure it would be wise for him to be in the halls. Kids can be cruel, and he clearly doesn't need any crap from them right now."
Lucas sat down on the couch, still fidgeting nervously with his hands as he stared blankly at the floor. He clearly wasn't doing well, but hopefully being in here would help him ground himself. He wasn't in here very often, although he probably should be, so it was enough of a change from the rest of the school that it could be beneficial.
"They're not gonna let him come back… they took him away…" Lucas whispered to himself, although it was unclear if this was upsetting or reassuring. Everything was pretty stressful to him at the moment. Going home was bad, staying here was bad, doing anything was bad. He just didn't want to have to think or do anything anymore.
Both women shared a look before Melissa made her way back over to Lucas. Hesitantly she sat next to him, reaching for his hand. "No- they aren't." The woman at the desk affirmed, beginning to search for something in her desk.
"Do you want me to stay?" Melissa gently squeezed his hand. "I can call my parents later if you need me here."
Lucas held loosely to Melissa's hand, wanting to be near her but not quite present enough to really know what was happening at this point. "Please stay…" He whispered softly in reply, still not looking up from the ground. "Are they coming for us? Your parents? Can we walk home? I don't— I-I don't want to be here…"
"I'll call them," The woman replied before Melissa could, taking her phone and stepping out of the office— which Melissa was incredibly grateful for. She didn't want to hear what they were going to say about this situation if she was being honest. When she was gone, Melissa slid back further on the couch, curling her legs up.
"I'm not going anywhere— just try and take some deep breaths. We'll handle it."
Lucas mumbled something incoherent and curled in on himself, resting his head on Melissa's shoulder. He finally closed his eyes rather than staring at the floor, but he didn't really relax at all. He was still clearly very stressed and tense, and he flinched every so often. He kept quiet, though, which was debatably better than his rambling about his father and the police. He wanted to sleep; to not have to think anymore, but he couldn't. He was far too worked up to relax enough to sleep.
Melissa's posture stiffened a bit when he let his head rest on her shoulder. She felt her stomach tighten a bit, but she ignored any of those feelings, resting her own head on his. Now wasn't the time to deal with… whatever it was she was feeling. She tried not to think about the fact he might end up living with her— in the same house. Sooner or later she would have to deal with it, but obviously now was not the ideal situation.
Lucas was still pretty out of it, and now that the adrenaline was fading, he was completely exhausted. Even so, he still couldn't get any sleep. He kept his eyes closed, but he looked up tiredly when the counselor returned. Another twang of fear struck his stomach and he swallowed nervously. What if Melissa's parents wouldn't come get them? What if they wouldn't let him stay? Would he have to stay in that awful house by himself?
(I've got an idea that doesn't impact right now, so I'm gonna dm it to you- just as a heads up loll)
Melissa slowly sat up as the counselor walked in the room, keeping her hand on Lucas's "Your father answered, and said he would be on his way as soon as he could- but it's going to be at least an hour." And then she slowly sunk back into the couch. He was busy— of course he was! With a heavy sigh, she nodded her head. "Yeah, I figured. I'm guessing you couldn't get ahold of my mom?" She asked, and was greeted with a shake of the other lady's head before she sat down at her desk.
"Lucas is welcome to stay here, but you need to get back to class."
(Alright aha)
Lucas seemed hesitant about Melissa leaving him here alone, but he also really wasn't in a state to go to class right now. He swallowed nervously and pulled away from her, staring at the ground again. "Okay… w-what am I supposed to do until he gets here?" He asked softly. He really didn't want Melissa to go, but he knew that she couldn't stay. He didn't want to hold her here when she needed to be somewhere else.
"Do you think you can sleep?" Melissa asked softly, trying not to let her disappointment from him letting her go show on her face. "Or maybe you could listen to music, and tune out everything. I know this isn't ideal, but I don't think it would be smart for you to walk home alone right now."
"He most certainly will not- he's going to stay here until your father gets here to clear this all up." The counselor shot back, starting to scribble something out. Melissa bit back a snarky remark, keeping her focus on Lucas. "Does any of that work? Maybe you could draw?"
"I don't think I can sleep… I feel like my insides are vibrating or something. Like I've got ants instead of blood." Lucas ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "Maybe I'll try… um…" He lost his train of thought for a moment, but seemed to regain it when he shook his head a bit. "Sorry, uh… listening to music while I draw. Focus all of senses and attention on something else." He rummaged around in his pockets until he located his phone and some earbuds. "D-Don't worry about me, Mel. I'll… I'll be okay." He offered Melissa a weak smile, not very convincing, but trying to focus himself on drawing anyway after he'd turned his music on loud enough to not hear anything around him.
Melissa cringed a bit at his analogy, feeling her own squirmy feeling bubbling up inside. Shuddering, she tried to focus on what he was saying, hugging her arms to keep herself still. "That sounds like a good idea- would you like me to get your sketchbook for you?" She tried to push a smile through, but she was finding it really hard to keep doing that.
"Um… yes please, if you don't mind." Lucas replied softly. He shook out his arms and shuddered, still feeling tingly and jittery. When Melissa left, he pulled out a pen from his pocket and started doodling on his hands and arms and just about anywhere he could easily access. He drew flowers, scribbles, little animals, anything that came to mind and didn't require much effort. The slight pain of the pen on his skin was a nice distraction, as well as the loud music.
(I drew Lucas ^^ happier than he typically appears lol)
(Aw! Cute!)
"Um… yes please, if you don't mind." Lucas replied softly. He shook out his arms and shuddered, still feeling tingly and jittery. When Melissa left, he pulled out a pen from his pocket and started doodling on his hands and arms and just about anywhere he could easily access. He drew flowers, scribbles, little animals, anything that came to mind and didn't require much effort. The slight pain of the pen on his skin was a nice distraction, as well as the loud music.
Melissa was quick to get his sketchbook and come back to find him doodling on his arm. Gently she tapped his shoulder, holding the sketchbook with her other hand. "Here you are- I'll be back as soon as someone gets here to pick us up. If you need me, you can always text me."
(<33)
Lucas jumped when Melissa touched him, pulling out one of his earbuds as he looked up at her. He blinked a couple times as he processed what was happening and tentatively accepted the sketchbook. "Oh… thanks, Mel. I will. Thank you…" He replied softly. He still didn't like the idea of being left alone with the counselor, but he knew that he didn't have any choice. His arms were completely covered in little pen doodles, so he had to switch to the sketchbook anyway.
Melissa gave a weak smile, reaching over to gently squeeze his shoulder. She studied the doodles for a moment before making her way back to her class, trying to ignore all the eyes that followed her as she slipped back in the door.
It wasn't terribly long before she made her way back towards the office, knocking on the door before quietly slipping in.
"Any word from my dad?" She asked before walking towards the arm of the couch next to Lucas and sitting on the edge.
"He said he would be here in twenty minutes a few minutes ago." The woman replied, not looking up from her paperwork. So Melissa redirected her focus onto Lucas' sketchbook before gently tapping his shoulder to signal that she was there- in case he hadn't heard her come in.
Lucas was clearly not present anymore when Melissa returned, completely focused on whatever he was drawing. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to be doing some sort of scene with him and Melissa and his old dog, Boney. Although, it definitely wasn't the only thing he'd drawn in her absence. He'd drawn much more scattered and unintelligible things before he was able to work himself up to something peaceful like this.
So, when Melissa tapped his shoulder, he jumped, clearly startled by her sudden appearance. "Oh, h-hi Mel… is your dad here?" He asked softly after he'd taken out his earbuds.