Chapter 23. A New Obstacle?
The whistle blew and the team came to a halt from their previous play. "Alright girls, take five." The coach said as he reached for the water bottle in his back pocket. "Make sure to stay hydrated, we have another hour left."
Indigo slumped onto the bench, catching her breath. Her whole body ached, her back and shoulders had been abused by the gym's ring mat. Wrestling practice had been too much fun to leave at one session. The downside was, according to Michiru, she would have to get used to hitting the mat and ropes, building up a resistance to the pain.
"Are you doing okay, Indigo? You're never usually this worn out at soccer practice." One of the girls said.
"Pft, she's just lost her edge." Royal chimed in before taking a swig of her water.
"I'm fine, just busy after school, work and getting time in at the gym." Indigo answered the first girl, ignoring Royal's comment.
"Your work is paying off, I don't mean to sound rude, but you're looking a lot like your old self, body-wise."
Indigo blinked. "Did you just retroactively call me out of shape?" She asked, standing to meet the girl eye to eye.
"I-I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying you're looking good!" The girl frantically waved her hands in defense.
Indigo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as Royal guffawed behind her. "Thanks, I think." She sat back down, reaching for her own drink. 'Have I been out of shape?' She asked herself as the two left her to talk with other teammates. She looked down at her stomach, poking her tummy with a pout.
'That'd explain why practice has been kicking my ass.' She mused. 'I'll just need to exercise more, maybe cut back on what I eat agai-' She froze, feeling a familiar pain hit her, the hunger pains she'd endured for so many years, the feeling of always being tired or lethargic whenever she hadn’t needed the energy for practice or a game, 'you're looking a lot like your old self'. She gripped the bench with one hand, curling forward and covering her eyes as she tried to focus on breathing, feeling her chest tightening.
'You're not her anymore.' She told herself. 'You don't have to do that.' Just desperately trying to keep herself from slipping back into those destructive habits. Anything that reminded her of her old life seemed to hit her like this, she had to cut out that part of her so she could have her new life.
"-ey! Don't act like you're too good to hear me." Royal barked, snapping Indigo back momentarily.
"Leave me alone!" She shouted, having little awareness of her surroundings, her brain seemed to automatically respond in the most appropriate way it seemed to register the situation, resulting in the taller girl being taken aback, the coach blowing his whistle to get their attention, though their eyes were still locked.
Indigo's registering a look on Royal Decree that she'd never seen before, she looked almost apologetic? She stepped back, turning to face the rest of the team. "Fine! Geez, it wasn't that big a deal anyway!" She shouted over her shoulder.
"You've been on Indigo since she came back, lay off-"
Indigo heard the girls say as Royal seemed to lead them away from her? No way. She didn't have anything to gain from stopping now, besides, how could she have known anything was wrong? A single frustrated tear slid down her cheek, 'I must not be worth it…' She wiped her eyes with a sigh.
'Get a grip. None of that crying here.' She told herself, taking another deep breath before jumping to her feet to continue practice.
Sunny took a bow as the scene ended. "Excellent work, Miss Flare." The director clapped as Sunny helped her scenemate up from their spot on the floor. "A very believable fight scene, you two must have been practicing in your off time."
"Only a little, we improvised a bit near the end." Sunny smiled. "Luckily, Autumn is very quick to catch on."
"I took improv classes over the summer!" The girl beside her chimed in excitedly. She'd been a standout since joining the program, though a year her younger, Sunny trusted Autumn to know when and where to be in any scene they were paired together for.
"Fabulous, Miss Blaze. Perhaps you two could iron out any of the rougher ideas, I'd love to see the final product." The director smiled before moving on to the next task.
"Thanks for picking me, Sunny, not a lot of seniors pick juniors to perform with them." She said with an eager grin.
"You consistently show more heart than most of my class." Sunny said with a wave. "I wish some of them performed as well as you."
"Really?!" She bounced on her heels. "That means so much! But a secondary character role in the senior's performance is usually-"
"It's up to the director, I gave my suggestion in choosing you." She said, "The deal isn't set in stone. We have a ways to go, don't lose focus." She pat Autumn's shoulder. "People in this school are always looking for shortcuts to the top, they're still gonna aim for the spot."
"R-Right! That's…showbiz, right?" Autumn asked nervously.
"Oh dear, I didn't mean to make you feel intimidated…" Sunny frowned. "Come now, pep up, you're doing wonderfully. Let's start from the sword clash.” She instructed, picking up their prop swords, tossing one to Autumn. They got into positions, Sunny guiding her junior as she stepped forward into each strike.
“Left! Backstep! Turn with me." She spoke and Autumn did as told in turn, they made quite the duo. Their 'dance' became more and more complex as they built upon it.
This was fun. Sunny didn't have to think too hard with Autumn. She was naturally talented and well studied. She hadn't been able to let go in practice this much since…
Sunny felt a gentle bop on the top of her head. "Caught you lacking, Sunny." Autumn teased.
The shorter senior rubbed the spot with a pout. "I got distracted, I apologize."
"Think you just need a break? We've been going nonstop since we got here."
"Maybe." She sighed.
"Something on your mind?"
Sunny hesitated, wondering if it was worth bringing up. "Well, I've just been having a lot going on. I got caught up in realizing I was having fun at practice again." She shrugged.
"Aww, I'm glad I can help with that." Autumn smiled as Sunny led her to the edge of the stage, where they took a seat, dangling their legs off the side. "What's been going on that's making things not so fun?"
"A friend is going through some stuff." She said, vaguely. "Not my place to divulge."
"Mm. I think I've heard about that. Indigo, right?" She shook her head. "Wait, no names, you were being vague on purpose."
"You catch on pretty quickly, but no, it's not Indigo." She lied. "But she's having some problems with her…self image? Confidence? I don't even know what's causing it." She sighed. "I have no idea how to help and it really hurts. Seeing her so…lost. Alone while being surrounded by people who would do anything to help her…" She brought her palm to her forehead. "I'm tired of not being able to be there for her, after I promised I would be. Y'know?" She looked to Autumn.
"Wow, you've been holding this in for some time, huh?" She asked, earning a nod. "Feel any better letting it out?"
"A bit."
"Good. That's a start." She nodded. "Yeah, I understand that frustration." Autumn admitted. "Sometimes though, you have to let them figure some stuff out on their own." Sunny lifted a finger in protest. "-I'm not saying hang her out to dry. I'm saying that solving everything for someone could…I dunno, leave them in a weird spot where they're, like, drifting or something. How do I word it better…" She asked herself, crossing her legs and cupping her chin.
As her junior hummed in thought, Sunny thought back as well. Indigo seemed a bit listless as she moved through the halls, seeming to only cheer up when someone spoke to her. She'd always be trying to do something in her room until their parents went to bed, moving around, working or working out. She'd found her door open one night to find Indigo asleep in front of a retro game, the game over screen and music playing through a headset on the bed beside her.
She had pulled her from her abusive life. Helped her find a therapist. A job. Reconnected her lost group of friends. Sunny felt herself sink inwardly. She'd been taking the ability for Indigo to feel independence. She'd robbed her of that for so long now…inadvertently or not.
"Ah, you get what I'm saying, right? I'm no psychologist, but maybe your friend needs to find a way to move forward without being shown the way…if that makes sense? Who knows, I may be really wrong here." She said with an apologetic smile, noticing Sunny's silence.
"You've given me something to think about, Autumn. Thank you." She pat her shoulder before tapping on her smartphone. "Practice is almost over, let's hang out outside of school sometime?"
"Of course!" She cheered up right away.
The door to the auditorium quietly opened, a side exit located near the stage. Indigo stepped in, seeing Sunny on the stage edge, she began to lift her hand in greeting but stopped. The girl beside Sunny was a little too close for her liking.
"-ive me your number and we can set something up this weekend." Sunny spoke, Indigo felt her heart sink.
"Oh, we could go for ice cream or something, it's starting to get hot out." Autumn suggested.
"That sounds good. I haven't had ice cream in a while, now that I think of it."
Indigo shook her head, trying to clear it as she forced herself to take a step. "Yo." She said, lifting her arm to wave lazily.
"Indigo!" Sunny pushed off the stage, surprising Autumn as the girl moved to the athlete. "We'll be getting out in a few minutes, how was practice?"
"Oof!" Both girls looked back to see Autumn pushing herself off the floor.
"You okay?" Indigo asked on reflex, initially disliking the girl for whatever reason, but she didn't wish harm on her. She and Sunny moved to help her up.
"I'm good, I'm good. Sunny, you made that look way easier…" Autumn groaned, rubbing her thigh.
"I've done it quite a few times." Sunny admitted.
"Why?" Both girls asked, before looking at each other.
"It's the fastest way off the stage." Sunny said with a shrug.
"That's a quick way to sprain something, you know." Indigo said flatly.
"You worry too much." She said dismissively, "But I do appreciate your concern." She smugly smirked, earning an annoyed snort from the taller girl.
"Fine, see if I care when you mess up your ankle or something." She huffed, crossing her arms.
"You'd carry me and you know it." Sunny poked her arm.
Autumn watched the two, noting how Sunny's mood brightened at Indigo's arrival. "Well, I'll catch you later then, Sunny. It was nice meeting you, Indigo. I'm Autumn. Autumn Blaze." She extended her hand.
Indigo shook her hand. "Right, Sunny's mentioned you before. First time meeting you though, I didn't realize you were a junior."
"She's mentioned me?"
"Yeah, something to the effect of 'I gotta snap her up before one of those assholes ruins your experience in theater.'." Indigo said simply.
"I was not that vulgar." Sunny huffed.
"You wouldn't believe the kinds of things she says outside of school." Indigo teased, seeing the panic set in.
"Do tell."
"Do not!" Sunny pushed Indigo gently.
"If I don't wanna walk home, I think it'll have to wait." Indigo chuckled. 'Dammit. Why is she so chill? Couldn't you have just been someone I could hate..?'
"Right, right." Autumn giggled. "Oh! When were we meeting for ice cream again?"
"How about this weekend? The girls are busy and I think you work, right?" Sunny asked.
"I do, unfortunately. Sounds like I'll be missing out." She nodded.
"Maybe you two can go for something after you get off work?" Autumn suggested, Indigo blinked, just what was this girl's game? Was she or was she not interested in Sunny?
'Wait. Overthinking. I gotta be overthinking this again…'
"That sounds like a good idea. When's the last time we went out to eat, just the two of us?" Sunny asked, obliviously.
"I don't remember…" Indigo mumbled.
"Oh that's great! You two have a good time!" Autumn smiled brightly, the implication seeming to just hit Sunny as she spluttered a response.
"Wait, what does that mea-"
"Bye!" She waved, turning to leave.
Indigo watched her go for a moment before looking at Sunny, a faint red dusting her cheeks. A spark of something fluttered in her chest. Hope? The mental image of Sunny and Autumn popped up and her heart sank again.
"She'd get along with Lemon." She said, in an attempt to make conversation.
"Oh lord, they'd be unstoppable." Sunny said with a slack jaw. "Problems for another day. Let's go home?"
"Sure thing."
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Hey, glad ti hear you're not sick. Also,I loved Autumn here, I can tell you're having fun with her.
Can't wait for more!
11251388
Thanks! It really only lasted about a week, luckily. I'm glad you can tell, I've had Sunny and Autumn as friends in my plans for a long time.
love triangle mayhaps?
11251784
Perhaps? We'll see where things go.