//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Half-Truism // Story: Natural Selection // by Kickback //------------------------------// If we don’t make it alive Well it’s a hell of a good day to die All our light that shines strong Only lasts for so long There was never a moment of silence for her. There could never be quiet. If there was quiet, then there was no music and if there was no music, there'd be no sound and she just couldn't have that. She didn't like quiet. She liked noise. Pure, unadulterated, blaring, symphonic, musical noise. She loved it and she thought whoever didn't had something very wrong with them. She tried to avoid those kinds of people, those who don't like or can't appreciate music, she just didn't have anything to say to them. You'd think people that just outright didn't like music wouldn't exist but you'd be wrong. Hell, she could deal with someone who just wasn't into what she liked and was very, very direct and aggressive with their opinions but not someone who just outright despised all genres. Contrary to popular belief, Vinyl liked all music but as much as she told herself that, she couldn't deny the sneaky hipster tendencies lurking in her tastes. Anything produced by what she deemed as a mainstream artist was instantly shunned and cast out. Sure, she didn't hate them by any means, she just...felt like she needed to keep an image up to herself. That's not to say she had much of an image in the first place. Vinyl knew full-well what her reputation was around town. She was that girl. You know the one or maybe you don't. It's always the one with the blue hair. Vinyl knew she was...eccentric, let's say and that she was always viewed as unapproachable. Probably why she was thrown into the batch of misfits she called 'friends'. She didn't care. Trix', Chesse and Kick' were possibly the best group she'd been roped into. Sure, she could do without that damn magician's arrogance and Cheese's party-loving attitude wore her out but it was their flaws that had brought them all together in the first place. When it came to Kick, she found him the most relatable. Something of which, when she thinks about it, is probably not a great thing. Once again, she didn't care. He was just as she was, unapproachable to the general, naive public. The 'Sheep' as she referred to them. People around always called 'mysterious' or 'brooding', even outright going for the term 'emo' but Vinyl knew better. He just...wasn't characteristic. A contrary thing, she thought. He liked music almost as much as she did and more often than not, that;'s what their conversations would boil down to but when they didn't, Vinyl managed to see- Silence. It brought Vinyl out her thoughts and she bolted upright on her bed. She stared dead at laptop on the desk in the corner. A playlist of tracks displayed on the screen and the last few seconds of the current one ebbing out of the timeline. She had to cut that string of unnecessary quiet out of that damn song. She hated it when MP3's had those, what was even the point? The silence wasn't maddening or anything. She wasn't nuts or neurotic by any means, just...touchy about it. Vinyl glared at the monitor on the far end of the room for felt like an eternity before the next track blasted through the speakers. At that, she smiled and flopped her head back down onto her stack of pillows. Vinyl glanced up at the ceiling and idly played with the spiked ends of her hair as her mind got back on the track it was heading down before. She felt as though her conscious was about to wander over to one of her other friends, maybe Octavia, possibly the most unlikely person to befriend her but just today, they were hanging out down at Sugarcube corner, shooting the breeze but that just made her think more of him. Vinyl tried to think back to a memory during School where Kick hadn't been there but she just simply couldn't. At every step of the way, he'd been there. Not really contributing to anything, he was just there. He was sideliner, a bystander. Just like her. In the background, just barely in sight and if you'd ever see one of them, you'd acknowledge it but that was the extent, you wouldn't go out of your way to meet either of them. She felt as though that was the normal perspective. She didn't care. Vinyl though back to what she had said today to Tavi. She pretty much just admitted to having a crush on him and with that in mind, her eyes widened. It was for a second before she brushed it off with a brief chuckle. So what if she did? Vinyl laughed as she wracked her head for any significant reason as to why she would but there really wasn't anything. She just thought he was cool. It wasn't like she was in love with him or anything, she just...thought he was cool. Wasn't that enough? Did she really have to rattle off every little thing she liked about him? She liked him. She didn't like all the small details about his person, she liked what they all made up to be, which was him. Vinyl thought that was romantic enough. Hell, maybe one day soon, when the bastard finally turns up, they'll- Vinyl was broken out of her musings once again by a distinct blinking sound ringing from her phone. She reached over to the device sitting of the nightstand and low and behold, there in tiny white text was a message from Slip Stream. That little tike. Vinyl couldn't believe she was related to him. When her eyes scanned the writing and her brain registered the words, she gasp with a relieved smile on her face. Unbeknownst to her, Trix and Cheese had the same reaction at that exact moment. Slip Stream never had the urge to slap anyone harder before in her life than she did right now. Kickback could be an insensitive prick when he wanted but this was something else, he was never known to just up and vanish for days at a time. Slip was angry, that she knew. She could never admit to the soul-crushing concern that consumed her heart when she looked upon her brother. As soon as he came in the door, she thought he would never let her go. There was a certain desperation in his grip that spoke monuments to her...confusing, as they were. Alot of 'nevers' are happening lately, Slip noticed. Just a smidge of familiarity would do her just fine. Of course, she wasn't about to get any of that. She didn't say a word as he hugged her. For what felt like an eternity, he just held her and she, as perplexed as she was, could only stand there, mouth agape with her arms hanging loosely by her sides. If she was honest, it was kind of nice. Kick also wasn't known for being to affectionate, at least not when it came to physical contact. She let a smile come to her face, oh, she was going to knock him upside the head in a minute but she could at least humour his new attitude while it lasted. Yeah, that's what it was. She totally didn't just remember how much she loved her brother. She hated him. She had to. He fucked up and she was going to make him know that...right after a quick sibling cuddle. Right when she went to wrap her arms around his frame, he released her. Well, not so much that as he simply, more or less, kinda just fell off her. As if he just lost all consciousness. "Water." That's all he said. Barely a thought crossed her mind. Slip immediately went to help him back on his feet but he was already up and going straight for the kitchen. She watched as he downed about nine pints of tap-water. Just one after another, he chugged the stuff like he had just cycled through a desert. Now here they were, both of them recoiling back in the lounge room. The only sound was that of his ragged breathing as he sat in his chair. She leaned forward, staring at him with her hands folded in her lap. He finally looked back at her and it was only when she could see her eyes clearly that she noticed something. Something was up with them. She just couldn't tell what. "Just you tonight?" He asked, visibly exhausted. "Yeah. Where the Hell have you been, Kick'? No one's seen you for two days. " He turned away from her at that. "I don't remember." Slip didn't like the sound of that. "Well, what's the last thing you do remember?" She didn't like the way his gaze refocused back on her. "You asking me to help you with your homework." That managed to surprise her. "That's it?" He didn't respond to that. "C'mon, man! You can't just come in the door after being missing like that and just give me that!" "I'm sorry, Slip but I don't..." He didn't finish, instead just settled for trailing off into silence. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" "I'm sorry." "How worried you had everyone else?" "I'm sorry." "You never just up and do that! What was I supposed to think? You never tell me anything! You never tell anyone anything!" "...I'm sorry, Slip." Slip Stream brushed aside a stray lock of white hair from her face and closed her eyes, letting out a grumbled sigh as she pressed hard against her temple with her hand. "Just...don't do that again. Please?" Kickback looked from down at the floor up to her, he looked unsure of himself, like he wanted to do something but didn't think it was his place to. "I promise." Slip looked back up at him for a long moment. Kickback felt like a mouse looking into the mouth of a lion as he stared back at his sister. Suddenly, she slapped her hands against her knees and stood up. He watched her walk into the kitchen, open up the fridge and reach inside. When she emerged, she was holding two ice cold colas a small grin adorned her features. She sauntered her way back over to him and roughly threw one of the freezing cans his way. Kickback had to take a minute to note just how fast he caught it and how the aluminum instantly dented in his grasp upon impact. Slip didn't seem to notice as she sat back down and took the TV remote in her hand. "Well, drink up, then. " Kick was left confused. "What?" She gave him a quirked eyebrow. "Did you not want one, bro?" "N-no, just...I thought you were gonna chew me out some more." Slip giggled and took a long swig of her drink. "I was but I guess your girlfriend's chill attitude is rubbin' off on me. Besides, if you're telling the truth, then I've said all I need to. Plus, you're gonna get an ear-full from the gang and probably mom, so drink up, brother." She narrowed her eyes suddenly. "But do that again and I will personally make you into streamers for Cheese's next party." There was another name he recognized... "Hey, what's wrong?" Whiteness flashed across his vision again and again. His head ached with the force of an earthquake. He groaned as he put a hand to to his scalp to try and quell the pain. It only lasted for a second but he sure-as-Hell felt it. Next came the confusion, just what was that? He suddenly remembered another thing; Cheese Sandwich. Flashes of loud, obnoxious yellow blurs danced in his brain and he was suddenly reminded of a familiar face. Was he regaining memories? Maybe if he just... "Hello~?" He shook his head. "W-what?" "Are you okay?" He wasn't sure. "Yeah." "Good, 'cause Invader Zim's on." Kickback decided to not ask what that was and instead just sit quietly and watch. When he made sure she wasn't looking, he carefully went to crack open his drink. With all that was going on tonight, he didn't think he could be too careful. With as much restraint in his muscles as he possibly could manage, the aluminum snapped on itself in his hand. He smiled and brought the can to his lips, keeping an eye on the screen the whole time. Whatever was in the can was a welcomed pleasantry on his tongue. He couldn't say the same for the cartoon on his eyes. Slip still wasn't impressed with her brother but she honestly didn't know what else to do. At least she can say for certain he was safe. He apologized and well, there was something about his behavior the second he came through that door that just didn't make her want to give him a hard time. She could let him off with a warning this time. Slip let out a chuckle in her head, she was too forgiving but what was she to do? After all, she was the younger sibling. She reached into her pocket, her fingers dancing along the metal edges of her phone. Pulling it out, she unlocked it, displaying the groupchat. Trixie, Vinyl and Cheese were all still online. She grinned at that and took another chug of her cola as typed her message in. I found him.