pretty delusions

“How come? I mean, I wish I could say the same, there is sadly people who piss the living shit out of me but sadly you can’t save everyone from their own shitty selves I guess”

“Oh? Do you have problems with overthinking or something? I mean, its quite common problem especially with all the work stress going on”

“That sounds… Nice.” He said with a soft smile. And he meant it… in a lot of ways, he wished he could have said something like ‘we did the same thing’. However, Christmas were always quite quiet at his house, even when his parents weren’t crazy busy. It wasn’t just Christmas, all holidays were quiet. Not that Elliot minded that much. At least he wasn’t spoiled, expecting one hundred gifts under the tree or some absurd thing like that. He just wanted to spend time with his parents and get them to relax… sometimes even that was too much of him to ask for. “I kinda like birds… I think owls are my favorite.” 

“Oh, owls are adorable.” Jessica nodded, smiling back at him. It seemed like he was tough nut to crack but she’d get there. “I quite like swans.”

“I envy you, I hate slow days, thinking isn’t really my thing either”

“I mean, some days my mind isn’t my best friend, but I can usually manage fine enough.” Better than half the people in here anyway, right?

“How so? People just aren’t interested in your sessions or? I’m kidding i’m kidding it’s good that you can take some time off.”

“I guess so~” He said lightly shrugging his shoulders. If he wanted to get out of here he had to think about a future. He couldn’t go back home and fall back into that endless black abyss he had to have a plan. And so he was working on one. “Not really brainy… More like a average student. But with all the time I now actually spent on learning and making school work my result are most certainly higher than they have ever been…!”

"Well, that’s good.” Jessica smiled at him. Education was important and all that and some people got it at different stages. It was good to have a plan of action for the future, some safe way to keep yourself and your mind occupied.

When the question was turned back on Elliot, the boy simply shrugged and lowered his gaze towards the ground. He used to do a lot. He used to play sports, like soccer and basketball… He was actually pretty good. Not so much at basketball, but he was one of the better players in soccer out of the friends he had. Of course, he wasn’t ever on an actual team. His parents, despite his wishes, kept insisting that they didn’t have the time or money for that sort of commitment. It didn’t matter… besides it wasn’t like it would have served him well, considering where he ended up. “I kinda like puzzles…” He said softly after realizing he hadn’t given an answer yet. Before his parents got so busy, they three of them would always be doing jigsaw puzzles together at the kitchen table. He reminisced for a couple of seconds before subtly shaking his head… as if he was trying to shake out the thoughts and memories. “So– Are elephants your favorite animal?” He asked, tilted his head to the side a bit.

Jessica noticed that whenever the focus shifted back more to himself, he would become uncomfortable and look away, shift it back, something. It wasn’t incredibly uncommon, Jessica had come across it quite a lot by now. Everyone did it to some extent, Jessica even did it herself. “Puzzles are fun, my Gran would buy me one for Christmas every single year and we’d spend the next few days putting them together.” She said, not that she thought he wanted to know her life story, just to try and connect or relate or make him feel at ease. “Yeah, I think so. I’ve always loved how intelligent they are... I think they’re cute.” She smiled. “What’s your favourite animal?”

“Quite boring actually, nothing really happens at this place you know? Or maybe everyone is just really good at hiding stuff and I don’t know where to look. but yea, did my usual rounds, nothing special.”

“I mean, I’d say that’s not such a bad thing then, you could have it a lot worse.” Jessica said, looking up at him as they walked. “Same, really. I haven’t had many sessions today.”

“Monet… He did the water lily paintings, right?” He asked, tilting his head to the side a bit. He didn’t know many of famous painters or artists, but he knew a few of them. For instance, he knew a Van Gogh painting when he saw one! However, Lucas’s parents both loved Monet, so they had a lot of prints of his paintings hanging in their house. They’d love to have an original painting from him, but— they definitely did not have the money for that. “Have you…—always liked drawing?”

Jessica nodded, offering him another little smile. “Yeah, some of my favourites.” She said, though she didn’t keep up with the art scene as much as she used to when she was younger. It used to be her be-all-end-all escape and now it was her outlet in a healthier way. “Yeah, ever since I was little. I used to draw little elephants doing silly things like having parties.” She laughed. “And then I got older and my art matured with me.” But the elephant series had been her favourite thing when she was a kid. “What about you, do you have any hobbies?”

Cecily pulled herself up slightly when someone responded. Her body ached and her skin felt itchy. This, however, didn’t phase her as much as it did a few years ago. she had grown accustomed to always being uncomfortable, it was all part of the label. ‘‘ I feel .. ’’ what does she feel? she’s not sure anymore. ‘‘ is my ma here? ’’ No, she never is.

“Fantastic news, so uh .. .hows your day been?”

“My day has been a little busy but I’ve got a break, so. How about you?”