"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.
(Bump)
(Hey- sorry it's taking so long aha)
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.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. And no, not yet, but he will be soon." With a soft smile, she slid into the seat next to him. "What have you been working on?" Leaning closer, she made sure to leave a little space in case he wasn't comfortable with her being so close.
(Np ^^)
"It's fine… I've mostly been drawing and listening to music. Took a while to clear my mind enough to do something intelligible." Lucas laughed weakly and flipped back a couple of pages in his sketchbook to a page that was mostly just torn and scribbled on. The next page was more scribbles, but less tearing, and a page after that had some sort of hunched over figure in the middle, still in a much more chaotic style than he usually did. It seemed to be several pages later that he had managed to do this loose sketch of him, Melissa, and Boney.
Melissa studied the pages in silence, her interest piqued with every turn of the page. She tried to make out some of the little doodles scattered throughout the book, glancing up at him when he stopped flipping the pages. "Have I ever told you how good you are at that?" She asked softly before turning her gaze back down to his sketchbook.
"I mean seriously, you're so talented. Have you considered going into art once you've graduated?"
"Ah?" Lucas flushed at the compliment and looked over at Melissa, evidently taken aback and surprised. He looked down at the sketchbook and gripped it more tightly, flushing darker as Melissa continued talking. "I-I… I dunno. I never really… thought about it." He replied softly. To be honest, he rarely considered his life after he graduated since he didn't usually think he would last that long. He couldn't imagine himself as an adult at all. "My dad always thought it was stupid… I-I can't make good money with art, right? I should… do something more sensible with my time." He sighed, tapping one foot on the ground anxiously.
"I mean if you can make money off of it to survive, does it matter?" She asked softly, glancing up at his red face. "Oh- I'm so sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? I didn't mean to." Pulling herself back some, she gave him a concerned look. Her hands were now in her lap, and her eyes fixated on his face. Concern was knit between every crease on her face as she studied his features. "I should have thought that through before saying anything, sorry…"
"No, no, you didn't! It's fine— I-I'm fine, really!" Lucas insisted, now feeling guilty for making Melissa feel bad. "I'm fine, I swear. Thank you, I just…" He floundered for a moment, unsure what to say. "I'm… not used to getting compliments like that. Especially not my art, since I don't show it to people a lot… you kinda caught me off guard." He laughed nervously, looking down at his drawing. "And I don't really… think about what I'm gonna do after I graduate. Don't think about graduating much."
Melissa's features instantly relaxed, but her stiff posture didn't change. She still didn't look entirely convinced, starting to chew on the inside of her cheek. "That's okay- I'm just sorry I made you feel so flustered. I always forget how poorly you react to compliments- not that it's a bad thing!" She quickly added, trying not to make him feel bad. That wasn't her intention, and yet it seemed like it kept happening. "I just know you're not used to them, so it's just a thing I have to remind myself of."
Finally relaxing back into the couch, she turned to look at him. "That's okay, I'm still not sure what I want to do. My parents on the other hand seem to expect me to follow their plan for my life, which I am not thrilled about. My brother wasn't either, and yet now he's well on his way to becoming a doctor." Shrugging, she turned her head to look at him with one of those "what can you do about it?" kind of looks. "We've got time though. It's still a few years away- not to mention you don't have to know right away."
Lucas sighed and, after a few moments of hesitation, returned to his drawing while he talked to Melissa. "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it." He smiled softly to reassure her, looking up for a moment before looking back down at his sketch. He was definitely doing better than before, but he was still pretty tense and on edge, and he was a little uneasy with the topic of his future.
"I dunno… I've thought about doing something in science before, I guess. I like science, and I'd make more money probably. But I do like art… I dunno, I just don't really think about the future much. I try not to." He laughed weakly, tapping his foot on the ground anxiously. "What do you think you'd want to do?" He asked her.
(Dude- life has been crazy- I'm so sorry I keep disappearing)
Melissa shrugged, nodding along as he spoke. Picking up the hints he wasn't super comfortable, she didn't pry anymore about his hopes for the future. Gently tracing circles onto her leg, she let out a deep breath. "I don't know." She started, looking up at him. "I used to want to be an English teacher- but I don't think that's what I want to do anymore. I'm not really super talented in any of the fine arts fields- at least for anything realistic- and nothing interests me in the "sensible" careers either. I mean psychology is interesting, but I don't think I should waste thousands of dollars on something I find mildly interesting."
(Np ^^)
Lucas shrugged, scratching at his wrist as he stared at the floor. "I mean… you've got a couple more years to figure out what you want to do, right? I'm sure you'll find something that you feel passionate about." He smiled softly, which didn't quite match up with him scratching more insistently at his arm. "You're pretty good at everything I've seen you do, so I have no doubt you'll find something, yeah?" He sighed and shifted how he was sitting, clearly unsettled and uncomfortable. He was definitely antsy, but there wasn't much to do that would help quell his nervous energy. "I don't really know either… I-I think it's pretty normal for people our age to still be figuring it out."
(I'm not sure if you're still on here, but if you are I do want to continue with you- it's just been difficult the past couple of months. I understand if you're not up for this anymore- or if you have too much stuff going on- I just wanted to let you know I do want to continue when we can. I'll leave it up to you though.)
(I'm down! I've been pretty inactive due to lack of motivation but I would be interested in continuing if you are ^^)
(Alright! I feel the same way- motivation has been minimal, and my schedule incredibly packed- but this way we both know it's nothing personal just being unmotivated/busy loll)
"Yeah… I guess so." Shrugging, she gave him a half smile. "It just feels like I've got to have this all figured out now- I mean some people know they want to go to an Ivy League school when they're in elementary school. I guess I'm just not one of those kids." As she spoke, her eyes drifted to his fidgety hands. Watching him scratch at his arms made her feel a bit squeamish. She knew this was his way of distracting himself, but she couldn't help reaching over to take both of his hands in her own. Maybe that would distract him too.