Help

by WittyNameTFM

Chapter 32. Affirmation And Doubts

Indigo hummed a song as she took notes. The entrance theme of her favorite wrestler turned mentor. That fact still blew her mind. Michiru was one of the most down to earth people she'd ever met and yet she'd been all over the world, wrestling in tons of different companies, putting on matches that Indigo would rewatch just for fun.

She looked up to the board, double checking the wording as her wrist moved on auto-pilot. Maybe…that would be fun? Something she'd found that she enjoys. Exploring where that could take her. Making her own decisions about her life.

A spark of excitement ignited within her. She glanced down at her desk toward her still bandaged knee with a renewed vigor. She couldn't wait to be cleared to get back in the gym. 'I bet Michiru will be excited…' She grinned.

---

"What do you mean 'need to know' basis?" The annoyed girl asked, arms crossed, glaring up at the officer.

"Aria, you know I can't go into it." Shining sighed. "The people who need to know already know. I was working on a separate case."

"Yeah. I saw the file on your desk." She spat. "You shouldn't leave those out if they're that big of a secret."

"I wasn't expecting you to just barge in. Our meeting isn't until-" He looked over to the clock, showing the time was several minutes past their meeting time.

"And he finally notices." Aria said simply. "Look. You got people looking out for her, what would it hurt to have a few more ghosts tailing her?"

"She doesn't need a security team, Aria." He took a seat. "We just have to catch her mom in the act so we can send her back to jail." He sighed as Aria took her seat on the other side of his desk.

"Parental issues?" She asked, cupping her chin in thought. "Makes sense."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Just a feeling I had when I talked to her." She shrugged. "You start to notice things after being in this place for so long."

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Huh? Nothing. Don't worry about it." She waved her hand. "Now. Can we get this meeting over with? I got stuff to do."

"Right, sorry. It's just a check in. You're not causing trouble, are you?" He asked, taking out Aria's folder.

"Would I tell a cop if I was?" She asked flatly.

"If you didn't want me to find out the hard way, I'd assume so." He shrugged. "It would only make things worse for you if you took that road."

She sighed. "You know, I don't go out of my way looking for trouble. So no, I haven't gotten into anything since punching out that guy in the store."

"Alright." He chuckled, taking note. "Have you found a good anger management program?"

"I don't have the money for that." She crossed her arms. "I've been venting through writing. Haven't done creative stuff in a long time, it's been pretty helpful."

"Finding a healthy outlet is smart. I'd recommend speaking to a professional, but it's not exactly required…" He nodded as they spoke.

"Is this all you needed me for?" She groaned.

"I'm acting as an intermediary, Aria. You've been involved in more than a handful of incidents. Most of the others would recommend just giving you time. I don't think that's necessary, in every instance…your story checked out. Despite your attitude, you've had a consistency in avoiding the troubles that find you…" He explained.

"You're sticking your neck out for me? But why?" She asked.

"Because it's the right thing to do. At least in my opinion." He smiled. "You're not a bad kid. Putting you in jail or juvie wouldn't solve anything."

"Kid…" She muttered. "Alright, fine. I'll take this more seriously."

"What do you mean?"

"You're one of the better cops I've dealt with." She leaned back in her seat. "I'll do my part. Just don't get fired. World could use more guys like you."

"Just how many times have you dealt with cops?" He asked, looking over her file again.

"Don't worry about it." She shrugged.

---

"Heya Sunny. How are you doing?" Autumn asked, cheerfully waving as said girl entered the theater.

"Truthfully? A little tired, but I'll be alright." She admitted. "Things have been hectic lately."

"What's been going on?" She asked, her eyes following her as she sat her bags down.

"Some home stuff. I don't want to go into it, just been really busy lately."

"Does it have to do with Indigo's injury?"

"No, no. She's never been anywhere near a burden." She said with a small smile. "If anything, she's speeding through her recovery."

"How do you do that?"

"I dunno. I guess it's partially due to her being athletic already…maybe being and living healthy helps?" She shrugged. "It's impressive, really." She crossed her arms. "Even her doctor says she'll be cleared soon, which initially, it was supposed to be somewhere in the six month period, but she's already able to walk on it in two months."

"And we're sure she's not pushing herself and staying quiet about it?" She asked.

"I'd know." Sunny said simply.

"Oh? Would you now?" Autumn asked with a teasing smirk.

"Oh, stop that." Sunny huffed, a red tint dusting her cheeks. "At least…she's promised me that she wouldn't lie about that stuff anymore…" She looked down.

"I'm glad she's got someone like you. You two complement each other pretty well." Autumn said, hopping up. "C'mon. Let's run our scene!" She grabbed Sunny's arm, pulling her toward the stage.

Maybe forgetting Indigo's mom and doing something normal again was for the best. Sunny took a deep breath and began her scene letting go of the worries from the past few weeks.

---

Lemon bobbed her head as she followed the beat. Her arms followed through, skillfully mimicking the sounds as she heard them. The drums pounded as she mouthed the lyrics. She didn't know the language, but knew how the words were pronounced in the song.

She didn't need her eyes open to play. It was common for her to lose herself for the entirety of the song's duration before snapping back at its conclusion.

She sat back, exhaling with a grin. "Oh man, I love that one." She chuckled, glancing over to the computer that was broadcasting her. A chat box of viewers were cheering her on and recommending tracks. "Thanks for the recommendations, this is helping me get some more practice in."

Her eyes glanced at the chat, reading several messages quickly. 'Practice?!'

"Yeah, practice! I do this for fun. Did you know I actually record with bands as a stand-in drummer when they do studio recordings?" She said cheerfully. "I'm in a couple big ones…" She cupped her chin in thought.

"I don't think I can talk about them though." She giggled. "Alrighty, next up." She pulled her headphones up to play the next track, an unfamiliar one, though she very quickly began to jam to the beat, freestyling a drumline to the song as she went.

She never got to show it off to her friends, but she was incredibly talented when it came to picking up on and performing music. Sure, they knew she was good, but it was a side of herself that she'd not been able to share with them. Something she'd been proud of that almost never comes up.

Sugarcoat, intuitively smart. Sunny, passionately expressive. Indigo, adaptively resilient. And Sour, artistically imaginative. She was the only other one whose talents were never directly displayed, but that was more her choice than anything. Then there was her.

Playing music. The only thing she seemed to be known for. As predictable as always. Just what everyone would expect from her.

She ended the song with a flourish, reaching over to tilt the camera. "Alrighty guys. Gonna call it early today. I'll do a longer stream somewhere down the road. Thanks for stopping by!" She said through a false smile.

It hurt. She loved music so much, but that wasn't all she was. She looked down at the drum kit, the joy she felt when she played started to lessen more and more. She sighed, sitting her sticks down and standing. 'You're getting in your head again…' She chastised herself, rubbing her eyes. She bit them back, but the tears were winning.

'You're just being whiney at this point…everyone else has so much more they're going through, but you're just upset that you-' She could never bring herself to admit her fear. Thinking about it for too long made it feel all the more real.

She needed a distraction.

Now.

Anything to distance herself.

She grabbed her phone and sent a text to the group. 'Hey everyone. How are we doing today? :D'

'Hey Lemon, busy doing some stuff at the gym, but not bad.' Indigo replied, quickly followed by the sound effect of someone else typing.

'You're doing what' Sunny asked, even Lemon felt the danger in the question.

'It's nothing physical! Paperwork, I swear!'

'I'm just finishing a project for our literary studies class.' Sugarcoat replied, 'I'm almost done, just need to proofread it.'

'Sounds dull.' Indigo chimed in.

'Incredibly. The source material was very dry, figured if I bit the bullet and did it now it'd be out of the way.' Sugarcoat agreed.

'How are you doing, Lemon?' Sour asked, seemingly ignoring the other comments.

'Trying to not crash too early. I'm exhausted, but if I sleep now, I'll be up at like two a.m.'

A second message popped up, 'Wanna come hang out? You could get to see Pepper if you want…'

'Sure!' She replied, grabbing her jacket as she hopped toward the door. A distraction.

The trip never felt long, but it did feel different without music. The silence was necessary. Sour would help her. She always made her feel better.

She knocked on the door, the shorter girl opening it and letting her in.

"Heya." Lemon smiled, Sour tilted her head. Lemon followed her eyes. She was examining her neck and her ears. Where she'd usually keep her headphones.

"Hey." She said simply. "C'mon." Sour turned, leading her to her room. She opened the door and Lemon stepped inside, taking a seat on the bed as usual.

"Hey Lemon..?" Sour spoke as she closed the door behind her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what you told me when I admitted to you that I took medication?" She asked, glancing back at her.

Of course she did. How could she forget?

"...Yeah." She mumbled, crossing her legs as she sat closer to the headboard. "If you ever feel down or need something, I would always be there for you.

Sour slowly walked to the bed, sitting across from her. "And do you remember what I said?" She asked, reaching to gently take her hand.

"That it went both ways." She said with a sniffle.

"You're always so patient with me, I don't know how to be that for you, but I'm trying." Sour said quietly. "But just like you can tell when something's up. I know when you need to talk."

Lemon took a deep breath. "I'm…I'm honestly pretty glad you can." She admitted.

Sour scooted closer, bringing her into a hug, surprising the drummer, but she quickly returned it. "It's stupid, I know…"

"It's not. Talk to me."

"I'm just…I don't deserve anything. Any of you…or this…"

Sour frowned, rubbing her back as she let her vent. Downplaying her concerns wouldn't help.

"Why do you think that?" Sour asked.

"I'm not as talented, or as smart…or-"

"Lemon. You're very smart, and you're incredibly talented, but you know that's not why we want to be your friends."

"I told you it's stupid."

"If it bothers you like this, it's not stupid." She huffed. "Lemon, you're the only person I trust to talk to about my problems, I know you can't solve them magically. But I feel better being able to share them and I want to be able to give you that same feeling."

"Aww, Sour. You're the best." She giggled, blushing lightly.

"Don't tease me now. I'm trying to be nice." She huffed.

With a tiny 'mew', Pepper jumped onto Lemon. The kitten seemed far more affectionate towards her than the last time she'd seen her.

"Aww, Pepper." Lemon smiled, petting her gently.

"See, even she knows when you need a mood booster." Sour chuckled, laying beside her.

"She is your cat." Lemon giggled. "Two sweethearts who act meaner than they are."

"Oh, shut up."

Author's Note:

Got this one done for you all. I feel like as I go along...this story doesn't just have to be Indigo's, so we're headed toward exploring the other girls needs for 'help'. Hope you all enjoy!