#darn right

“You’re acting like a child.”

Theo doesn’t move- doesn’t even flinch. The blanket is heavy, is like a weight, keeping him pinned to the bed, and Vanessa’s voice is sharp, a blade to his back, but he just. Doesn’t care.

“Theo.”

He closes his eyes tighter. Wishes she’d leave.

Wishes she’d leave him, like everyone else. Wishes she’d give up, condemn him like he deserves.

“Stop it,” Vanessa’s voice is a hiss. There’s genuine, fire-starting anger there, and Theo digs his fingers into the mattress, hopes she’ll explode, hopes she’ll tear into him, like he deserves-

A hand catches him by the back of his shirt, jerks him upright- Theo yelps, flails out his hands to catch himself, but Vanessa’s digging her fingers in, is keeping him upright but trapped, like a bird with broken wings in its cage.

He swallows.

“You’re acting stupid,” Vanessa says, and he wonders how she hasn’t killed him yet. How she can stand him. “That kid’s probably crying his eyes out, and you’re moping-”

If their situations were reversed- if he was Vanessa- he’d wring his own neck. Kill him, make him suffer, for what he’d done. Why-

“And now you’re ignoring me!”

Vanessa shakes him; his teeth clatter together, a sharp echo-snap in his head, and she turns him around. Forces eye contact.

“Why. Would your stalker bitch suddenly attack the kid?”

She shakes him again.

“Huh? You’re so fucking ready to just give up. You never thought maybe that asshole was messing with the kid’s friend? Telling him lies?”

Cody- Theo goes cold, because he knows what It can do. Knows the way it’ll hold you down and twists your head up, knows the way it hurts. And Cody’s not Milo, isn’t that light in the dark, but-

Cody doesn’t deserve that.

Vanessa rolls her eyes. She lets go of him, though; pushes her hair back behind her ear.

“Talk to them,” she says, and crosses her arms. “I’ll even drive you there. Just-”

She sighs. Her shoulders fall. Sometimes, Theo forgets that she cares about him too.

Dill has cute idiot energy