Help

by WittyNameTFM

Chapter 19. Going Too Well

"You're back to just one sports club then, how have you been enjoying your extra free time?" Dr. Waller asked, looking up from her clipboard. Indigo sat on the chair across from her, she'd grown more comfortable in the last few sessions. She hummed in thought, before replying.

"Well, I get to see the girls more often...that's a good thing. Lemon has brought us to a few shows. She has a youtube channel where she does drum covers. That was really cool to see happen live." She smiled. "Sugarcoat has actually offered some of the stuff she's cooked, that's been an adventure." She shook her head. "The girl's worse at taking compliments than I am and I'm at the point of thinking it's on purpose."

"Ah, you've become more aware of it."

"I don't need to hear it from you." Indigo huffed.

"I'm teasing." She chuckled. "Please, go on."

"Sour's been showing us this artist she follows, never took her for an art fan." She shrugged. "But what she's shown has been really cool." She took her phone out, unlocking it to show the doctor. "I use one of them as my wallpaper."

The image was blocked by a few app icons, but it was a stylistic piece. Thick outlines and lots of bright colors. It depicted, what looked like a mage casting a spell, a look of sadistic glee on her face.

"She's from a game another friend plays, but she looks really cool." She shrugged.

"Very nice. I wish I knew more about art, I'd compliment it properly." The doctor chuckled. "But I do understand why you think it's cool."

"It's nice to see her looking into other interests. She's on the archery team at school." She noted. "I wonder if that's why she's been wearing that brace on her wrist." She cupped her chin in thought. "I should probably see if she's not pushing herself too hard."

"Have you made time to make sure you're not over doing it?"

"I'm working on it."

"I've noticed that 'practice what you preach' is not on the top of your priority list."

"Yeah, yeah.. " She huffed.

"How has Sunny been lately?" She asked with a smile, returning her attention to the notes she took.

"She's been pretty much the same, I've dragged her to do morning runs before. She didn't appreciate that, but she's far from unathletic, it's just not her thing. Though she does come out with me when I go, so maybe she's not that against it."

"And how has Indigo been?" She asked.

Indigo sighed, she knew it was going to come back to her eventually. "I feel...happy? But I've always got this fear that it's all fake. Things are too good. I get nervous going to bed. Like one day I'll wake up from this and be right back at the start. No freedom. No safety. No friends." She looked down at the floor. "I know I'm supposed to tell them, but I also know all it'll do is make them freak out." The girl seemed to shrink into herself. Her confident attitude was pushed aside as her deeper concerns surfaced.

"It can be hard to lean on your support system, but I really suggest not shutting them out. Coming here to speak of your concerns is all well and good, but if I'm unavailable, I'd like to know you're not just stewing on these concerns." The woman spoke with a soft frown. "You would drop anything to help if one of them asked, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"I recall you saying you got chewed out by Sour for not speaking up. What is it exactly that is keeping you from telling them?"

"I just, I dunno, dude. It's irrational. I know that even if it was all fake, they'd be safe and they're not in danger now or anything, but the idea of dragging them further into it is just-" She grumbled in frustration. "I'm not some fragile little girl who needs help to get through the day."

"Is that how you see asking for help?"

"I-" She searched for an answer, but couldn't think of one. "I…"

"It's never easy, Indigo. So many people struggle with feeling vulnerable. It's something we'll help you work through. You have to have noticed that your friends are open to the idea. At least from what I've been told."

Indigo thought back, noting how Lemon would get Sour to open up, or how Sunny broke down her barriers. "I don't want to weigh them down…"

"You have others willing to help bear the weight. You're never truly alone in the story we write daily, unless you choose to be alone. There are no magical combinations of words I can say that will make you suddenly okay with opening up when you're not feeling great, but I will warn you that you do not want to leave them hanging." She explained. "Please. For yourself and for them, don't let this fester in your mind. One day it may grow too large to ignore."

"Right...thank you." She said with a tired smile. "I'll tell them. But I might take some time to get around to it…" She admitted.

"Any steps you make in that direction is progress, don't forget that."

The session had come to an end a few minutes prior, Indigo and Dr. Waller had just been enjoying the discussion together, Indigo pushed herself off the couch and said her goodbyes. She exited the office, grabbing the jacket that the girls bought her on her way out. She zipped it up as she exited the building, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

She hadn't asked Sunny to pick her up today, she took to the sidewalk, the brisk evening air would accompany her on her walk. Some time to herself, time to iron out her thoughts. She watched the concrete as she walked, the setting sun was the best source of heat and light, and it was fading quicker than she'd liked.

'Why do you still have trouble asking them for help?' She asked herself as she raised her gaze from the ground, paying more attention to the people out as well. A lone teenager shouldn't be completely lost in her thoughts.

"Sonata, I swear to god, I'm gonna hurt you." A purple haired girl said as she walked toward her, she grumbled, her hand near her ear, clearly a phone call. "No! If you-, fine! I'll go to the show with you, you-" She noticed Indigo as she spoke, her face heating. "What are you looking at?" She growled.

Indigo held her hands up. "Sorry. Just passing by."

"Whatever…" She huffed, stomping past her.

'Wonder what that was about…' She chuckled inwardly. She was reminded of Sour momentarily. 'I don't want to add more to her.' She frowned, returning to the long walk home, she stuffed her hands back in the pockets.

'She'd beat me up for not talking…' She chuckled. 'Then she'd feel bad.' She subconsciously brought her palm to her face, covering the eye that Sour had punched before. 'She's stronger than she looks…'

'I can't keep putting them through this.' She looked up at the darkening sky, a beautiful lavender flowed between the black and the distant orange. She took out her phone, checking the time and noticing several messages in the group chat. They were discussing something about music again. Lemon was gushing about a song.

'Where's Indy been?' Lemon asked about an hour prior.

'She's at her appointment. I'm sure she'll reply later.' Sunny answered.

'How has it been going for her?' Sour asked.

'You should probably ask her yourself, but I've felt like she's been more relaxed since she's been able to confide in someone.' Sunny's reply, of course she'd notice. She probably knows more, but not letting it out in front of everyone.

'She does seem more relaxed, but let's make sure she's not shouldering more stuff that she isn't talking about.' Lemon added, as if she had been a fly on the wall during her therapy. Indigo blinked, taken aback.

"What the fuck, Lem? Get out of my head." She scrolled, seeing Sugarcoat's reply.

'You're talking as if she can't see any of this, you know. Rushing anything, even if it's for the sake of our friend, could potentially end badly. We'll give you time, but talk to us, Indigo.'

Pragmatic, but Sugarcoat was opening up more herself. She groaned, putting the phone away. 'Why? Why does everything just go well for me now? What if talking more fucks it all up?' She asked herself, walking home again.

'You couldn't trust us with this?' Sour's voice asked.

'Dude, I thought we were cool…' Lemon said sadly.

Sugarcoat sighed 'Really?'

Her chest hurt as the final member spoke. 'You really think that all of this isn't real? That we're just waiting to pull the rug out from under you?' It wasn't angry. It wasn't malicious. It was...sad. Sunny sounded so defeated.

She inhaled sharply, the cold air hurt. Her stomach sank. She held onto the building she was passing by, catching herself as she felt a sudden rush. It was as if she was under water, she tried to calm her breathing. She didn’t know what was going on, but it was freaking her out. Her eyes darted around, looking for something. She needed something, she slid to sit on the sidewalk, trying to collect herself. This had to stop. How do you stop it? She hid her face, hugging her knees. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus solely on her breathing.

"You okay?"

She opened her eyes, feeling much colder. The sky was much darker now. The purple haired girl from before, had knelt beside her, a bag at her side.

"Wha-happened?" Indigo croaked.

"Hoping you could tell me. You're freezing, have you been out here since you walked by me earlier?" She asked. The taller girl had a hand on her shoulder. "Can you stand?"

"I-I'm good, I jus-" Indigo tried to stand, feeling just how tired she was. She stumbled back to the ground, catching herself on her hands and knees.

The young woman somehow looked both annoyed and concerned. "Alright. I can't just leave you like this." She sighed. "Do you have someone you can call?"

Indigo frowned. Sunny was probably scared to death.

"I do...uh, thanks."

The girl grumbled something to herself before stomping in front of her and extending a hand. "C'mon. Stop being stupid and get up."

Indigo took the offered hand, getting helped to her feet.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Indigo."

"Good. I'm Aria. Next, what are you doing sitting out in the dark and cold?"

"I just...I was walking home and everything got heavy, I sat down, and then you woke me up." She frowned.

Aria's frown shifted as she crossed her arms. "You got a phone?"

"Yeah."

"I'll stay with you. Call for someone to come get you." She suggested. "Hey, aren't you friends with Shimmer's girlfriend?" She asked, taking a closer look. "I thought I recognized you earlier…"

"Shimmer? Sunset? Sunset is dating Rainbow Dash?" She asked, assuming the only one from their group she'd consider herself friends with would be the athletic tomboy.

"Huh. Guess it's not as known outside of CHS." She shrugged. "Listen, they won't hear about this as long as it doesn't happen again, got it?"

Indigo nodded, checking her phone, it was low on battery, and she'd apparently been out for close to an hour. Missed calls from all of the girls and her foster parents.

Aria glanced at the amount of missed calls, then back to her. "Don't leave 'em waiting. You'll have the cops looking for you soon." She teased. "I'd rather not get mixed up with the cops again."

She nodded, numbly, pressing the call button on Sunny's number.

"Indigo! What's going on, where are you? Are you okay?" The panic was evident in her tone.

"H-Hey, I'm…"

Aria lifted an eyebrow, seeing her start to shake. "Indigo?" She asked as the girl stepped back against the wall again.

"I'm tired." She mumbled. "And cold."

"Hey, what's going on?" Aria asked, catching her phone as she lost grip on it, panicked breathing coming from the girl. "Indigo, slow down-"

Sunny heard this second voice, her heart sinking further. "Hello?! What's going on?"

Aria brought the phone to her ear. "We're on the first right off of main street, near the convenience store." She supplied as she eased Indigo back to the ground.

"Who is this?"

"Not the time, just a friend for now, you're the first person she called. I'll answer if you call back, just get over here." She instructed.

Sunny grabbed her keys and jacket, rushing out of the room 'Convenience store off of main street.' She reminded herself.

"Sunny? What's the rush?" Solar asked. "Is it Indigo?"

"She called and I'm going. Be back soon." She said as she darted out of the home.

Author's Note:

She's had a lot of good coming to her, but all the negativity was bound to catch up to her. We got another cast member introduced to the plot. She'll show up sporadically, if I can find places to fit her into the plot. For now, just know that Indigo's got another friend to go to, even if she won't admit it.

Trying to add a little drama in, don't worry, you'll find out what happened in the next chapter.

Comments

[RainbowSunshine]

No! Now I’ve got to wait another month to find out what’s going on! I love this story!

[WittyNameTFM]

11132147
Oh gosh, I wasn't expecting a comment so soon.
I'll do my best to get it posted sooner, I'm glad you're so invested! Thank you for reading!

[RainbowSunshine]

11132153
Not a problem I get very excited about this story, towards the end of the month I check constantly for the next chapter xx

[The Sleepless Beholder]

Very happy to see Aria of all people being introduced, and already pulling her weight it seems. I always make her out to be the big sister of the trio so it tracks for me.

That said, yeah, Indy getting a breakdown, luckily with a helping hand nearby. She and Sunny will have a talk.

On the writing perspective, I would advice you to use italics for thoughts or text, since using the same format for both is confusing, I thought Indigo was having a conversation thorough text.

My offer to pre read/edit still stands if you want.

Excited to see more!

[WittyNameTFM]

11132169
Aww, my heart. Thank you so much!

[WittyNameTFM]

11132204
That's a good note, I think I did that in earlier chapters, I'll edit that now. I like the idea of Aria being more than just a jerk. I dunno if you've noticed, but I tend to lean toward the baddies as topics to explore.
I'm glad we sorta see Aria in the same light, but some things may shift in the future. I'll keep the edits in mind, but I've gotta get better about my time management, I literally finished it maybe 20 minutes before posting, I try to get them out at least once a month and I can see where the problems can be in that method, I'm just glad that from the feedback I do get, it's more minor things to update and change upon, rather than giant misses...so far.

[The Sleepless Beholder]

11132225
No problem, I'm usually free so you can send me it and I'll read it as soon as possible.

I also have a soft spot for the baddies, they're a lot more interesting for stories in my opinion. Sunset lucks out being basically both XD.

Interested to see how you handle Aria.

[WittyNameTFM]

11132275
The dazzlings are a lot of fun in general, I have a lot of ideas for them in the future, but who knows if I'll ever get to that point.
I'm enjoying the journey in this fic alone, I can't juggle more than one story at the moment.

[Starlight Nova]

Hints of romance in later chapters, this is basically the backstory for Indigo and Sunny's relationship.

For which one of your stories?

[WittyNameTFM]

11132467
Well, this has sorta become the canon story at this point. A lot's changed since I started writing it xD