#oddflock

“ what  the  fuck,     flashlight,     what  are  you  doing  here? ”

he  does  not  consider  the  wide  stretch  of  his  smile    ,    so  constant  since  they  all  sat  down  it  makes  his  cheeks  ache    .    he  does  not  think  about  the  buoyant  elation  in  his  chest    ,    expanding  with  every  story  shared    :    with  every  breath    .    it  should  be  shocking    ,    the  immediate  comfort  they  all  certainly  feel    ,    but  it  makes  perfect  sense  that  it  isn't    .    [    lucky  seven    ----    better    ,    stronger    ,    &  safer  together    .    ]    and  oh  the  thought    ,    which  should  certainly  be  pleasant    ,    sends  a  thrill  of  ice  down  bill's  spine    ;    he  pauses    ,    feels  his  throat  give  a  click  as  he  swallows    ,    against  the  sudden  curl  of  unease  in  his  gut    ,    and  chalks  it  up  to  too  much  chinese  and  one  too  many  after  a  long  day  of  anxious  travel    .    the  lame  sense  of  reassurance  allows  his  smile  to  drift    ,    folding  into  something  a  touch  softer    (    wistful    )    at  mike's  admission    .    ❝         m-me  too    ,    mikey    .    ❞     he  debates  reaching  out  to  touch  his  fingers  to  the  other  man's  hand    ,    the  simple  ease  of  physical  reassurance  that  we're  here    ,    we're  together    ,    then  quickly  decides  against    it    .

“ just,     don’t. ”

caught    !    heat  is  quick  &  sudden  to  bloom  ,  a  slash  of  color  that  bridges  from  cheek  to  cheek  .  his  brow  drops  ,  sculpting  into  a  puckered  furrow  that  lends  age  and  severity  to  the  youth  softness  of  his  features  .    ❝      rich    . . .    richie  said  you’re  still  under  house  arrest  .  i  just  wanted  to  know  if  there  was  anything  i  could  do  to  help  .   ❞     bill  manages  to  work  out  a  grin  ,  then  ,   for  the  world  that  only  exists  just  for  them  ----  the  world  where  parents  don't  get  upset  when  you  accidentally  stain  your  picture  day  clothes  or  traded  your  carrots  for  chips  ,  and  can  always  see  right  away  that  you  really  are  sorry  ,  that  you've  learned  the  lesson  grounding  was  supposed  to  give  .

her arms are wrapped herself,   palms pressing against the jaunty tremble of her elbows.      she shakes herself apart     [   she sucks down air like she has forgotten its taste,   her aching lungs burning in rebellion   :       they’ve been held under the whimsy of the moon,    its silvery glow blooming around their shoulders     --       this high up,   perched on the cool edge of a sky rise,     the wind whips louder than their wispy voices   ].        she doesn’t slump against him,    because he might feel just as frail as she does,    but she eyes his shoulder like it might be a comfortable perch.    her hand has been bandaged,   though her cheek and shoulder throb in agitation.        ‘‘   me,  too.     i mean.   physically   ...   i’m not sure i am anywhere else.     ’’        she throws out a soft,  curling smile.        ‘‘   okay,  i mean.   ’’

   ‘ It just isn’t any fun anymore ’, he had told Carol a while ago, a declaration of something that had stirred inside the young boy’s mind for a while. People accused him of being dull, mindless, but Bart thought a lot. What were mere seconds to others could be HOURS to him and in that time he thought. There were times when he believed he would be happier if he was the mindless fool people expected him to be, if he wasn’t consumed by the dread that followed super heroes everywhere. But he couldn’t be that person, deep down didn’t want to be that person ... so he and Kon were doomed to continue down this path, to exchange their childhood for the greater good. Because they couldn’t turn away, they couldn’t IGNORE the world out there even if they wanted to.

   “ Well I’m not in the mood so maybe leave me alone. ” He didn’t believe for one second that Kon had good intentions, not after the MONTHS of arguing between them. He was too annoyed to really consider any alternative right now so he simply hoped his team mate would leave him alone, let the situation rest for now. If this was about the damn meetings ... Billy was going to have to try really hard not to attempt to strangle him right then and there. Okay, wow maybe he was being a bit HARSH. Calm down, Kaplan, you don’t need to make this worse. “ Was there anything you wanted to say? ”

   “ Sorry, I know — I’m just here to help, not babysit you, I swear! ” But he knew how easy it was to believe others didn’t trust you, that they saw you as incapable. Being a clone meant constantly fighting for the right to exist, to feel like a person rather than a cheap COPY. All of it came with a whole number of insecurities, fears of not being taken seriously. Of course Kon worried he was applying the same thinking to him that so many others did. But Ben understood, he knew what it was like to be compared to the ‘ original ’ to be seen as naive and stupid. He wasn’t going to treat the fellow clone as anything less than an EQUAL. “ Just offering my help, that is all. Just because you don’t need it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t accept it ... make life a bit easier for yourself. ”