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chaosduckies · 1 month

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Restoration (Chapter 4)

I am absolutely brain dead. Anyways, a little bit of lore on Ryker because I’ve barely given any on him, andddd Lucky is back!

Word Count: 4,100

CW: Fear, Panic attacks, Anxiety, (I think that’s all for this one)

4-Nathan

After yesterday I couldn’t help but feel bad for Ryker. He didn’t lie about staying after class and talking with Mrs. Kay. He stayed behind and talked as I rushed my way back home. I had no idea what they talked about, or what we were going to do. Not that I had a decision in the matter.

If Ryker hadn’t caught on that I was terrified of him after yesterdays display, then I don’t know how he’ll figure it out. Just being with him for half a day and I almost immediately curled up on my bed and cried myself to sleep. I couldn’t help that I was scared. I was broken in all the wrong places and whatever pieces that were missing weren’t going to be found anytime soon. It’s just, that I kind of wish I’d be able to apologize for the way I had acted to him yesterday.

Guilt built up inside me the longer I thought about it on my way to school. My mom had asked me the night before how everything went, and I just told her it was okay. It most definitely was not. I felt scared, anxious, and nervous all at the same time. My stomach twisted at this horrible idea I had in my head. I hadn’t even made it to the front doors of my school before my knees nearly buckled underneath me.

A few shaky breaths and I forced myself through the hundred of students. My heart pounding in my chest, the way all the voices around me were muffled, the way I felt dizzy. This was a horrible idea. Even my own body knew that.

I made it to the classroom, mindful to keep closer to the wall so I’m not stepped on as people moved around trying to get their newly-made friends. The mini-office was closed today, meaning that Ryker would be somewhere in this classroom, and it wasn’t hard to spot the same black hoodie in the back of the classroom.

He was on his phone, looking like he was texting someone. Not my business. What was my business was how I was going to apologize to him. I owe him so much. This was my bad idea. Mainly for me at least. I probably won’t be able to get the words out. Or I might stutter every second and he’d be confused. Heck, I might talk but it’s be quiet and I’d have to repeat it all to him. I only really had once chance before my body shuts down on me and he’d see yet another pathetic display come from me.

I made my way there, noticing the slight uneasiness on his face. He was still texting. Good news for me then. He won’t have to see me struggle to walk even closer than I’ve ever willingly done before.

Today, the elevator up was the longest trip I’ve made yet. Everything felt slowed once again, but this time a rising anxiousness built up inside. What would he think of me afterwards? Would he think I was the small, puny, bug he probably thinks I am? What was I doing? This was a bad idea.

As soon as I heard a ding, I took a deep breath, hoping he was still texting away on his phone. It took me a while to convince my body to move, but I managed it. My mind pictured the same torturers in front of me. Smiling with a wide grin as I limped over as they had intersected me to. I’m not there anymore. I had to remind myself before peaking out and nearly letting out a squeak when I realized his attention was all on me now. Even if he still had his phone out, his gaze was on me.

I retreated back into the safety of the elevator, hearing him finishing whatever he was typing and shove his phone back in his pocket. Suddenly everything was so loud to me. Was that normal? I don’t think so. My mind was racing and my heart was beating so fast it might just rip right out of my chest. Was it out of fear?

Even though I know Ryker saw me, he never said anything. Nothing at all. Great. Something else to apologize about. I knew this was a bad idea from the start. If I hadn’t came up with this dumb plan, then maybe I would of had an easier time getting out, but now that I know he’ll be giving me his full attention, all confidence was sucked dry out of me.

I kept Ryker waited for what felt like hours for me. But the bell still hadn’t rang. Nearly five minutes had passed. He was oddly patient. Or maybe just another trick to make me blindly fall into another cage. Tears stung my eyes, but I wiped them away before they could fall. Just do it. Nothing could be worse than being kidnapped and tortured. So, whatever Ryker was going to do to me eventually, he might as well do it now.

Even though my body screamed at me to press the down button on the elevator and get the heck out of here, I stayed put. I wasn’t just going to make Ryker deal with my insolence and not apologize for the way I act. I’m pretty I’m the cause of all his stress lately. Just another thing to feel guilty about.

I took my first steps out for what seemed like the first day all over again. Ryker was tapping on the desk rhythmically, one hand holding his head up. It sounded like a familiar song, but I didn’t focus on that. I focused on taking my extremely shaky steps towards him. It wasn’t long before he caught sight of me, sitting up and keeping his hands on the desk. I was not counting on that, but I’ll just deal with it.

I hate how hard it was just for me to say “I’m sorry.” All the fear in my body was taking control and telling me to head back, but I just had to force myself to stay. The closer I was, the more my heart seemed to skip a beat. The more my breaths became more frequent. A panic attack now was the worst time.

Once I was as close as my body would allow, I took time to calm myself down so my words didn’t come out slurred or stuttered as much. Yup. All this just so the guilt would go away. It would be worth it in the end.

My head wouldn’t look up to see his reaction, so I just had to guess that he was just as shocked as I was. I opened my mouth to speak, but no noise came out. Great. I knew this would happen. My voice never fails to stop working when I really needed it. Just great.

I heard moving, which made my head pick up instinctively, seeing that Ryker was standing up, a sorry look on his face. Wait no… Did I do something wrong? Why wasn’t he talking? Was it because I was taking too long? Did he finally grow tired of me? No. Nononono. That’s not what I wanted. Why can’t I do anything right?

He placed his hand on the edge of the desk again, the same look on his face. I did do something wrong, didn’t I? The realization hit me like a cannonball. Whatever I did, he obviously hated me for it. Even more guilt gets piled up on top of me. How do I manage to mess everything up when we’ve only really “hung out” for one day?

I opened my mouth to try again, but nothing comes out. Why does life hate me so much? I just wanted to say I was sorry for everything I’ve done and way I act. Heck, I was even going to apologize for the incident at lunch the other day. He shouldn’t of had to save me.

My body was acting on it’s own, taking a step back as my body trembled and I hung my head down in defeat. I knew this was a bad idea.

Ryker’s hand moved to the side as he sat back down, his hand too close for comfort but I brought it upon myself for being this close. My entire body felt like crawling under my blankets and crying myself to sleep. Life really did hate me. I just wanted to talk… Even if it meant I couldn’t keep the conversation going. At least apologize. That was my only goal for the day. That long with surviving anyways.

“Are you all right, Nathan? You don’t look too good…” He had asked me. And I made the mistake of shaking my head in all honesty.

———Ryker———

My heart fell. I’ve never seen someone so afraid and shaky before. Never.

What was I supposed to do? Nathan’s never talked to before. I know nothing about him. He could say the same about me, but still. It’s just that I didn’t know what he was so afraid of. I don’t want to force him to do anything, and the only real way I know how to calm a person down is to hug or give them what they need. I live with five siblings I have to take care of, they feel comfortable around me so I know what calms them down and what doesn’t.

Nathan is comfortable around me.

I didn’t know his boundaries, I didn’t know why he seemed like he wanted to do something but couldn’t, and I really didn’t know how to calm him down. Hands weren’t even an option since I’ve noticed he jumps and scoots away every time I was getting something from my bag yesterday. I’ve noticed that he moves away from me when he thinks he’s in my way. And I’ve most definitely noticed that he never does anything unless he knows for sure it was okay to do. Looking for validation before doing anything.

Looking around the room, there were still a lot of people trying to get around before the first bell. Not that I cared though. I was more worried about what to do. I knew absolutely nothing about him. Only that we were both seniors.

Nathan stole a quick glance up at me, hanging his head down almost immediately. But I swear I see him trying to speak. Was that what he was trying to do? Was he self conscious about his voice or something? Or was it just that I was making him nervous? Most likely the second since every time he does try to speak my attention is always on him. Was that why he was scared? He didn’t like attention? I didn’t know.

He picks his head up again, but I made the mistake of looking down once again and seeing his mouth forming words but nothing coming out. He covers his mouth and ducks his head again. That was it. He doesn’t want me to watch him say whatever he was about to say. Social anxiety?

Still, I can tell he’s trembling like crazy and he’s not even in my hand yet. I noticed that yesterday too. Just what happened to him?

I tried making up ways in my head how he would be able to talk without me paying attention, but nothing came to mind. If anything, I just really wanted to hear what he was trying to say to me. I don’t even care if it’s something rude towards me. The little guy already has a hard time just being comfortable around me, so I think it’s a step forward if he’s trying to talk. He probably would hate me if I had called him that nickname though. It suits him though. He’s shorter than most humans, and he seems like a really sweet guy.

“If you’re trying to say something you can take your time. We have all week. I can wait.” I gave a smile in hopes that he wouldn’t dwell on this the entire day. I haven’t mentioned anything about the lunch incident either since I guess he didn’t want to talk about it after he just ran off. Oh. Maybe he felt guilty for running away?

Shaking my head at the thought, I let out a hand for him to get onto. It worried me that he could never keep his balance when he had only taken one step on, but he had never done it before. It’s expected. Maybe later on I could help him out with that? Then what Mrs. Kay told me yesterday hung in the back of my head.

“Nathan has trouble being around giants. I’m just using this class to get him used to it. The real world won’t be so kind to him if you don’t do this. Plus, I’m sure you’re the perfect one for the job.”

What did that mean? How was I the perfect one for the job? Almost everyone in the school avoids me after my parents… never mind. But still, everyone thought I was so mentally unstable that I could be thrown into a psych ward any day now. I didn’t appreciate the statement, but part of that isn't wrong. So how was I supposed to help him?

Nathan took shaky steps forward, and cautiously climbing into my palm, but still managed to fall over. I would help, but he doesn’t like being touched. He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know how to do this. It just takes some time, and I’m very patient.

We did the same thing as yesterday. Sat down in class and as placed my journal full of unused notes on the desk, he moves away. I didn’t know if he thought he was in my way, or if he just didn’t like being near anything that he thought would kill him. There was no telling. It wasn’t like I was going to just blindly throw something on my desk without taking into consideration that he might be freaked out by that. Especially since he’s just a little taller than the width of my fingers.

I remember when I first saw him, my first thought was: He’s really small. And that’s saying something since I have a younger human sister that’s barely turning five this next month. But I also thought that he was really nice. And he is, but it’s not in the way I had imagined. What was he hiding that made him so scared?

———Nathan———

Stupid. I was so stupid. I completely exposed myself to Ryker, and all he did was say that I could take my time. Why was Ryker so nice? I wasn’t used to that! Coming from a giant too? No. It’s a definite lie. He was somehow patient with me even when I took all the time in the time in the world. Every single time I’m overthinking something or just really torn up, he gives a smile, like he knows what’s going on in my mind. I was so confused.

The day went by fast, and nearly every class period I tried to talk. Heck, at this point it would be great just to make any kind of noise, even when I know that he’d laugh at me. I think it was 6th period when I managed to get a word out, but he didn’t hear me. As expected. Why was this so hard for me?

During his seventh period, he set me down by the human sized doors and sat down on the same couch as before, reading the same book as yesterday. The other three people sat at the table playing Uno yet again, laughing their butts off while the librarian was putting away some books.

I headed through the doors of the human library, seeing that there was an entire freshman class in here. That was surprise. Probably getting books for a project or report or something. Though, I did spot one familiar face as I sat down on the couch in the corner. The one that saved me during lunch the other day. Lucky.

It was maybe fifteen minutes after their class had all grabbed whatever books they needed and sat down talking. It was loud, but it’s not like it bothered me. I mean, I was supposed to be in calculus right now. I’d much rather prefer this.

My head was buried in a book when someone had sat next to me. I nearly jumped, but just looked over to see that is was Lucky. Why would he even come over here to me? Wasn’t he supposed to be with his class? Obviously it didn’t stop him from talking to me. Wait. Maybe I could ask about Ryker? They seem to be good friends even though I’ve never seen them talk besides on Monday.

“You’re…. Nathan? That’s what Ryker called you, right?” He had on a smile and still sat almost an entire head taller than me while sitting down. Makes sense. But it was kind of embarrassing when a freshman was so much more taller that their upperclassmen. It makes me feel even more insecure.

I replied with a nod, never looking directly at him. I was scared he might say something. Just like a list of my many, many fears.

“Why’d you run out the other day? Y’know, during lunch?” How did I know he was going to ask that? Someone would have eventually. Just, I didn’t expect it to be brought up so casually. I mean, why did he even care? Did I make him angry by running off? Did I hurt his feelings that I didn’t give an apology or a thank you? I cringed at the thought, but I knew I had to face it.

“I… Um, I was scared. So I-I’m sorry for r-running, and th-thank so much for g-getting me out of there.” I bit my tongue for stuttering the last bit. At least if he’s angry at me I’ll know that I did thank him at least. That’s one guilt off my chest. Still, I have to tell Ryker, and he’s harder to talk to given that my own body goes against me every time I try to talk or even get the slightest bit closer so he can hear me. Life hated me so much.

“Anytime,” Lucky had started, “My brother said something about some kind of project with you two? I wasn’t paying attention.” Brother? Where did that come from? I don’t even know who he’s talking about. Was he in my class? Was he one of the people watching as I failed miserably to make some kind of interaction?

“Brother?” Lucky’s eyes shot wide, then he bursted out laughing. Did I do something wrong? Or embarrassing? And suddenly, I felt dozens of eyes on me. His whole class was looking at us. I gulped, burying my head. This was fine. Just ignore them and they’ll go away, yeah…

“Well, I’m the adopted one, but Ryker is my older brother.” Lucky explained to me. Oh. What. How does that work? Ryker was a giant, and Lucky was human. It’s not entirely abnormal for a human to be adopted by a giant family, but I never understood how they even live through that. Even if the human manages to escape, they’re legally owned by that family. But besides the point, that made things a million times harder for me. Anything I said to Lucky, he would tell Ryker. Great.

“So how’s that project going?” Lucky had asked, a chuckle escaping his mouth. I shook my head, groaning. I don’t need to be reminded that I was making things harder for Ryker. It’s not my fault! I guess in a sense it is though. Since my mind obviously can’t forget what happened a nearly a year ago.

Lucky pulled out his phone, texted someone, the shoved it back in his pocket, “You get used to Ryker after a while. He’s a nice guy.” So everyone’s said. I believe them though. Ryker’s done nothing but be patient with me and try to make some kind of progress on getting me to open up. I’m the problem.

Lucky’s teacher had called everyone to get back to class, letting him know to leave, “Oh hey, you should come over on Friday. I heard that was part of your little… trust exercises?” He smiled and left with his class. What? He knew about that? Did that mean Ryker has talked about me to him? Oh that did not bring me any peace of mind. Not at all. If he has, what has he said? That I was impossible to deal with? I was infuriating?

And suddenly I wasn’t so confident about this week anymore.

———Ryker———

Lucky had texted me that he was talking to Nathan. I mean, that offered some kind of relief, but not entirely. Lucky could be… ecstatic at times. Especially when he was meeting new people. Or when he was around Dylan is was five times worse. Luckily, that wasn’t possible so I didn’t dwell on it too much. But, I did plan on inviting Nathan over to my house this Friday or sometime during the weekend. Since Mrs. Kay denied my request to take this off the long list of things I already had to do. Not that I would mind him over. It’s just that he might be a little surprised to see everyone.

Nathan seemed a little more uneasy after his talk with Lucky, which really worried me. What did Lucky say? Or better yet, what was Nathan thinking? It seemed like the more important question. I’m sure Lucky told Nathan that we were brothers, but I doubt he told them about everyone else. That would have been a lot to go over. Not that he won’t find out eventually. Nathan still hasn’t said what he wanted to say this morning. Whatever it was. I was anxious to hear, but at the same time I knew he was having some problems.

Last period was the same as yesterday. Just another day to get to know one another better, but I’ve made no progress at all. I’d like to at least know what his favorite color is at this point, but I’m sure he was wondering the same about me. I haven’t told him anything about me either.

Currently, Nathan was sitting on my desk facing me just like everyone else. Not what he usually does, but that’s fine. Maybe Lucky had actually helped him instead of freaking him out? Maybe. A slight possibility.

“Everything alright?” I had asked, easing some of my relief. I was actually really worried about him. I’ve never encountered someone so afraid in my entire life, and that was saying something.

He nodded his head, playing with his hands. Nervous? I could never tell with him. How do I break it to him that Mrs. Kay is making him come over to my house? She knows that it can get a little chaotic and with my newfound knowledge that he has a hard time being around giants, this might not be the best match-up. I’ve noticed that Nathan doesn’t like people acknowledging him or even looking at him. Does it give him anxiety? Probably. Explains why he was struggling to talk to me. It only made me feel even more bad for him.

I guess if I was going to tell him it would be now. He’d have to know anyways, “Hey, um, I asked about you not being able to come over, and she just said that it would be better if you came over anyways. I’m sorry, really.” I saw him cringe back and nod his head sadly. I wondered why he was so uncomfortable with the idea of going over to my house though. Him knowing about my… predicament is something, but he didn’t know. So it was really weird to see him so scared and shaky when Mrs. Kay brought up the idea yesterday.

“So how does Friday sound? We have a separate human part of the house if you get too overwhelmed and I’ll take you back home anytime? How’s that?” I tried to somewhat calm him down, but for some reason I think it might have the opposite affect on him. Oh good going Ryker. Just great. Give him another reason to be scared.

To my surprise, he nodded. This could either go horribly wrong, or great. Only one way to find out.

———————————————

This chapter for some reason was hard to write so I’m sorry if it’s not like the past three chapters. I’m pretty sure I wrote half of this at three in the morning so if it sounds weird that’s three a.m. me. Thank you for reading though! Asks are always open if you have questions about anyone!

#Restoration #g/t #g/t writing #g/t community #gt #Oc: Ryker #Oc: Nathan #sfw g/t #Giant/tiny #g/t fearplay #g/t angst #You get lore this time!!!#Oc: Lucky #I don’t know why I loved writing this chapter #I just did #Thank you for reading!#Lucky is just silly

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chaosduckies · 27 days

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Restoration (Chapter 5)

And in this instance, all chaos ensues. With a little bit of comfort, fearplay, and a backstory dump because why not.

Word Count: 8.9k

CW: Death, description of a dead body, fear, trigger warnings, anxiety, and panic attacks.

5-Nathan

It was cold. Too cold.

I looked down, seeing that my dad’s jacket was wrapped loosely around my skinny and frail frame. My breath shaky, the floor cold and hard. A dim, flickering light shone above me, offering no sense of relief. Body trembling, I wrapped around myself for any sort of warmth. Where was mom?

A quick look around, and there were thick, metal bars encasing me in whatever cage I was trapped in. Not again.

My breathing quickened, hyperventilating. I snuggled closer to my dad’s torn-up jacket, hoping for this nightmare to go away. Was I here again? Was nothing real? Was I just dreaming for so long? Is my mom… Nononono. Bloody tears started stinging my eyes. I can’t do this anymore.

My stomach growled from hunger. When was the last time I ate? Doesn’t matter. They wouldn’t give me anything anyways. At least unless they wanted to keep me in a condition where I could still be alive.

I sniffled, silently crying to myself. My body hurts so much. So many fresh cuts I felt on my back it stung every time the fabric from the jacket pressed on it. My arms were covered in dirt and mud. My head felt dizzy from the loss of blood. Or maybe I was in shock from the pain. I felt so weak that I could barely move my limbs to get comfortable. Not there was such a thing when you’re used as a stress toy for others. Some for entertainment.

The light above me suddenly went out. Leaving me in a dark room. Cold. Alone. With nothing but my own silent cries. Where were my parents? Did they do something to them? Why weren’t they here with me? That didn’t matter though. If they had them, there was nothing I could do.

There were agonizing whisperers all around me. Taunting me. I covered my ears, not feeding into their lies. Looking up just once, I saw my dad’s dead body. A cold, heartless, body laid before me. With whatever energy and strength I had left, I crawled over, tears falling faster and blurring my vision. I remembered how they threw him right in front of my mother and I after they mercilessly murdered him. The way I was too shocked for words. The way my mother crumbled in front of me, crying on his lifeless chest. I remember being so scared at how they easily killed him with not so much as a struggle. Just went lifeless with a pinch of their fingers.

I cried and I cried upon seeing his dead body again. Why did this happen? I hugged his limp body, hoping that would bring him back.

“Quit crying you annoying you little pest.”

Something dragged me away, my face being scraped along with concrete floor and still reaching for my dad, who was only getting further away. I screamed, still crying and blood falling down from my head.

——————————

I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up and breathing heavily. Looking around, I found my room just the way I left it the night before. Laying in my bed, my backpack up against the wall, and seeing the stuffed teddy bear my dad had bought me all those years ago still right beside me. I quickly grabbed it and held it close, tears escaping my eyes. This was all mom and I had left of him, and mom let me have it.

“Honey? Everything okay in there? You sounded like you were crying.” My mom came in, her voice soft and sweet like always. She stopped at the doorway, seeing me holding the bear close and my eyes watery from tears. She smiled softly, sitting down next to me, “What’s wrong sweetie?”

I sniffled, wiping away loose tears and letting new ones escape, “Just… Just a bad dream.” I waited for her to give me a hug, but I knew she wouldn’t. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she was traumatized. Everything they did made her scared of anyone touching her. Including me. I hated what they did to us.

“It’ll be okay, Nate. Nothing bad will happen to you ever again, okay? Your father loved you so much,” She planted a soft kiss on my cheek, and stood up, “Now, come get some breakfast! I made your favorite.” And I couldn’t help but wonder how she never talks about dad.

——————————

It was Friday, which meant that today was the day I was actually going over to Ryker’s. I wasn’t too excited, but I’ve grown used to Ryker just like Lucky had said the other day. Not too much though. I’ve been expressing myself just a little bit more. Laughing whenever he would ramble on about things that he hated, liked. He would ask me questions to try and get to know me a little better. I’ve learned to be some-what comfortable around him. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t scared though. I was still scared of his hands… scared every time they moves closer to me or when it seemed like they were closing in on me when they weren’t. Otherwise, it was getting just the slightest bit better.

Yesterday, Ryker told me that he had a lot of siblings. Not just two or three, but five. How he deals with that? I have zero idea. Especially when Lucky was a human. Upon hearing the news, I nearly had a panic attack, but he told me it wasn’t too much to worry about. He also mentioned that he had a little sister that was human, which meant that there were four giants. Who they were? I have zero idea, and I was scared to find out, but I was just glad he was telling me this so I could be prepared. I bought a little panda stuffed animal for his little sister yesterday just to make a good impression and since I couldn’t really get presents for giants… This was the only way I knew how to seem like I wasn’t just the weak human everyone knows I am.

As I made my way through the halls, people were staring at me. For what reason? I didn’t know. I didn’t know any of these people. Was I wearing something weird? I just had on a hoodie and some regular jeans. Was it the way my body trembled as I thought about everything that could go wrong during my time at Ryker’s? Or the way I tripped over my own two feet every five minutes. It was embarrassing but I couldn’t really help it. I was nervous about later today. What they would all think about me. I don’t even know who these people are.

I walked into the classroom, seeing the same chaos as the other days and stayed close to the walls. Everything was going to be okay. Just stick With Ryker and Lucky and I won’t have to do anything too crazy. Hopefully. Just meet three other giants without passing out or thinking of what they could do to me. Who was I kidding? Something was bound to go wrong. Horribly wrong. I mean, what if they just keep me there against my will? That they were just lying to trap me in another cage? There goes my overthinking again. And it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Ryker was sitting down at our usual desk on his phone. I climbed into the elevator, noticing that he looked a lot more tired than usual. Not just because he had bags under his eyes either. More like he was physically tired too. I felt bad, but what could I do? I was only human.

Today felt like a good day. Sort of. Besides the nightmare I had this morning, but that can just stay between my mom and I. My grip around my bag tightened as I took the first couple steps onto his desk. For some reason it felt like something heavy was on top of me, holding me down. More precisely my back. My gaze fell to the ground as I slowly turned to look up and saw a hand reaching for me. I blinked, scooting backwards and nearly falling on my butt. There was no hand. Just Ryker’s confused and sympathetic face. Just overthinking things, Nathan. I told myself as I stood back up.

“Everything alright?” Ryker had asked, shoving his phone back into his pocket. I nodded my head, biting the side of my cheek. That hand wasn’t real… What was going on with me? No, it’s just from that nightmare I had. Nothing was wrong. That heavy feeling on my back never went away though, and it made it hard for me to move any closer to Ryker’s hand.

My body remembers how badly they tortured me. The scars on my back were burning, making me jolt up and take a few deep breaths. If I hadn’t had that stupid nightmare everything would have been okay. I would’ve had a normal day and maybe, just maybe, I would be able to survive being away from home for a couple hours. I wouldn’t have been overreacting like now.

I forced my body to take the few shaky steps forward, falling on my face as usual when I stepped onto Ryker’s hand. I really have to figure out how to get on without giving myself a bruise. Not just for my sake either. Ryker didn’t say anything today, but he wore a worried expression until he made it to his first class.

During lunch, Ryker had put a show on his phone. The same one we started watching yesterday. He always claims that if I don’t want to watch it I didn’t have to, but I always did. Not just because the show was actually really good, but mostly because I have fun listening to him complain about some of the characters. Even if I can’t say anything about them either. I mostly agree with everything he says anyways though.

The rest of the day went by fast. By the time I knew it, it was already the last period of the day and nothing super eventful had happened. Surprising since this was a high school and something always happens. But no. Not today. At least that’s what I thought before this period.

When we walked into the classroom, the projector was on. Not super abnormal, but what scared me more was what video she was playing for us today. The recent riot that happened just last night. I’ve always hated seeing these things. Someone always injured, and I hated seeing it. It keeps reminding me of my dad.

“So for today I was going to give you all a test,” The whole class groaned besides Ryker and I, who’s eyes were glued to the screen, “-but since there was a certain… mishap yesterday, I’ll just ask you questions throughout the video as your test grade this week. If you get uncomfortable, please exit the classroom.”

Mrs. Kay turned off the lights and played the video from a police officers view.The camera was shaky and people were yelling right outside of a building. Did I know which one? No. This wasn’t on the human side of the city. It kind of looked like a club or party place or something like that.

I gulped, unconsciously scooting backwards, bringing my knees close to my chest. I remember my mom telling me about this when she came home last night. That there were five people who were injured, and two of them had died from their injuries. Was I about to watch how they died? No, they couldn’t show that at school, right?

The officers tried to get the people out of the way and hold them off. The signs reading, “Humans have no place!” And, “Down with their hierarchy!”

The weird thing about it was that everyone there looked so angry. They were all grown men. None of them looked like mature adults. It looked like they just wanted to kill. Just like the people who captured us… I couldn’t watch anymore as I heard the insane screams and yells coming from the crowd in the video. I wrapped my arms around my knees and buried my head. This was the only way I knew how to ignore things around me. I guess it didn’t help that the room was dark just like in my nightmare.

The video ended with ten minutes until the bell. I took a few shaky breaths before turning around to face Ryker. He looked kind of shocked before asking me a question, “Are you okay? Seriously, I’m genuinely worried.” I nodded my head, lying. What was I supposed to do? Just admit that I really don’t think I can handle being around so many people? That I was terrified of just being around Ryker for too long? I get anxious and my mind gets fuzzy sometimes so it’s a good thing that he lets me have breaks during lunch and his seventh period. Otherwise I’d be all kinds of stressed.

“Well, tonight we were gonna watch a movie if you wanna stay for that. You don’t have to of course. I’ll take you home before then.” He had offered, an encouraging smile on his face. A movie did sound good… and my mom has been working all night lately. I’ll jus tell her I’ll be coming home late. What could another two hours do? We were just going to be sitting at a couch watching a movie. It’s not like anyone will be focused on me more than the movie either.

I nodded my head, agreeing to watch the movie with him, and I couldn’t help but notice how he silently cheered. Like it was an accomplishment that I wanted to stay there for longer than necessary. If I were being honest, I just didn’t want to be at home by myself anymore. It gets lonely. Really lonely. And quiet.

So far, everything was good. He was just walking along the concrete path that had accommodations for humans on the side that was furthest from the road. Mostly because humans also live on the giant side of town. Me? I’ve never been. How could I when I was still afraid? Somehow, Ryker made that a little easier today. Or maybe that was because I knew I wouldn’t get trampled on the instant I took a step as long as I was in his hand.

Thoughts clouded my mind. Like, what if his siblings don’t like me? What if his parents don’t? What if I’m just a pest like everyone thinks I am? What if his siblings don’t think I’m a nice person and do something to me? What if I’m just grabbed by one of them?

“Nathan? You’re trembling again.” Ryker stated worriedly. I muttered a sorry under my breath, for some reason expecting him to hear that. I just calmed myself down, sitting comfortably in the middle of Ryker’s palm. I was used to this. Lucky was right.

“Are you nervous?” He asked with a slight chuckle, taking a turn and waiting for the signal on the traffic light to say he could walk along with two other adults that look like they were just going to take the bus. I nodded my head to his question. Nervous, anxious, stressed, all the bad things and so much more.

“It’ll be fine. They’ll love you. Plus, you don’t have to deal with anyone but me for another hour before they come. Jasmine has a club meeting afterschool and has to watch Isabelle and Angela before she comes home with both of them, and Lucky goes practically no where without Dylan, so he waits for Dylan to finish whatever sport he has practice for.” Ryker explained, sighing like it was a lot to keep up with. It sounded like it honestly. I could never have to watch over that many siblings. How do his parents even handle it? It seemed so chaotic. With six kids? I’d honestly be crying nearly every night.

Ryker went silent for a while, thinking about what to bring up before he took another turn down a busy part of the street. There were people everywhere trying to catch a bus, or just waiting to be picked up by a car. It didn’t help that there was a popular coffee shop on the corner that had tons of people crowding all around. I nearly passed out from the amount of people. I looked to the human sidewalk, seeing that there were still so many of them walking like there wasn’t just an entire crowd directly above them. I shuddered thinking about how easily Ryker could drop me right about now. But he didn’t. Effortlessly dodging the crowds of people and getting to a calmer portion of the street.

“You’re fine with pizza for dinner, right?” Ryker brought up randomly, taking another turn and getting to a neighborhood with huge houses. That was such a random question, but I nodded my head. I was fine with pizza. If I was up to the task of putting any kind of food into my body.

He walked up to one of the houses one the very edge of the road. It had a huge backyard with a pool in the back, flowers and plants that look like they were about to wilt from the cold front that was coming next week. When Ryker opened the door, there was a huge living room with two L-shaped couches, photos of what seemed to be his family, which was a lot. But it looked like it was and old picture. There were picture frames of what looked to be Ryker’s parents on their wedding day sitting on the little cabinet by the hallway. It was dimly lit since the curtains were covering the windows, and the tv sat right in the middle of the living room sitting on a stand that had a couple movies laying around. I also noticed that there were little human-sized pathways that led to almost any counter and cabinet in the house. All coming from one human sized door that was in the hallway.

This place was really big. Not even counting the second floor where the carpeted stairs led up to. I guess you did need a big house if you had six kids. I’m surprised the place isn’t a mess. How do his parents manage all of this? I know I’ve brought it up a billion times but I’m genuinely confused. Honestly with how big this place is it made me feel unusually small and uncomfortable. Not that I don’t already feel that way at school, but still. It nearly made me dizzy.

“And welcome to my house. It may look big, but when you have five other people living with you it gets crowded.” Ryker introduced, taking us down the hallway and to the farthest door on the right. His room? Most likely.

He set his backpack down up against his bed. I looked around, not knowing that he was watching me. His walls were covered in what looked like hand-drawn posters and paintings. Including one picture frame of himself by the door. His desk was up against the wall by his bed, with a lamp, a laptop sitting in the middle, and a couple of pens and markers. A bookshelf lined right next to the window that would have peeked outside if he didn’t have the curtains closed. But wow did he have a lot of books.

“It’s not all that exciting, right?” He laughed. I jumped, not realizing that I was still looking around for anything else to focus on. Was it rude to look around? I wouldn’t think so as long as I wasn’t snooping through his things like some creep. Not that I could anyways.

“Sorry, you’re probably tired of me holding you.” He walked over to the human-sized door in the hallway, slightly tilting his hand to make it easier for me to get off. I admit, it was getting a little overwhelmed, but it’s nothing I couldn’t handle. Plus, he could’ve been holding me in a fist or just shoving me in a pocket so I wasn’t about to complain.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be in the kitchen when you want to come out.” He smiled, standing up to his terrifying height and gesturing towards the kitchen. So he wasn’t just going to keep me around him constantly? I feel like he would have to do that with Lucky and Angela. So he just doesn’t? How do they function in this house?

I walked in through the door, being met with a tiny human-sized house. Maybe just like a little house that has the necessities. Kitchen, two bedrooms that were down the hall with the door closed, bathroom, laundry. There wasn’t all that much space, so that made me wonder if Lucky and Angela slept in here.

Setting my bag by the door, I gave myself a quick tour, but never opened the bedroom doors. I didn’t want to be in someone else’s business. But overall, they kept this place pretty clean. But what I liked most about this little space is that it blocked off everything big. It gave me a sense of peace and comfort with being around so much. Maybe that’s what they use this for other than giving basic needs? I don’t know. I’m not the one living with giants.

I took around five minutes to compose myself to be willing to be around Ryker for another couple hours without having an anxiety attack. That was including his other siblings who probably don’t even know I exist. I didn’t know if they would want to talk or interact with me. Preferably not but I didn’t want to be rude.

Ryker was sitting down on one of the stools before I walked over, not really knowing how to get up there. So was this like the library where I didn’t know how to get his attention? Still, it was a little nerve-racking to see so big so close. I wasn’t used to craning my neck just to see barely to his shoulders. I frowned. How was I supposed to do this? If I can’t even get his attention how would I even be able to stay around for another… six hours?

My eyes landed on one of the little elevators that looked like the ones at school, except there was no gate blocking you from falling out. Just railing that you hold on tightly to. My eyes darted back and forth from the elevator and Ryker, who was now holding his head up with one arm. This was terrifying. I was still recovering from being played around with like some toy. But, if I was going to get better at this, I guess I could take baby steps.

———Ryker———

I stared at my phone, wondering what we would even do for the next hour and a half. I’m sure Nathan doesn’t even want to be here, and I think it’s a crazy idea that Mrs. Kay even forced him to come, but he was doing just fine as of right now. Watching him look around my room was surprising since I was so sure that he would have wanted to be away from all of that. Instead, he actually looked so interested. Much like when I annoy him by talking about the most random things. I would have thought he had ignored me half the time if he hadn’t ever reacted. I talk too much.

What do I do now though? Usually when I’m home alone I finish up whatever homework I have and take a shower before everyone uses up all of the hot water. The thing with that is I didn’t want to leave Nathan alone. Mom always said it was rude to leave guests all alone with nothing to do, and I didn’t really have a plan for the day. Just watch a movie later when everyone was here and try my best to keep Nathan from running off like that day in the cafeteria.

Next thing I know, there he was, stumbling out of the elevator dad had to install so Lucky could get around on his own. I shoved my phone in my pocket, still trying to figure out what he’d want to do. It’s going to be hard to guess when he doesn’t talk, but I’ll figure out a way. Hopefully. Why was I freaking out about having someone over again? I forgot.

Nathan sat down on the left side of me. Kind of like he was waiting for me to do something. What was I supposed to do? I hadn’t really thought this far. I pretty much expected him to stay in that room the entire time seeing as I knew he didn’t like being held or even being around me. Yeah. I noticed how he flinches anytime my fingers get a little too close, or how he moves away anytime I was too close to him. I never questioned it, but my guess was that he’s never been around giants. Or at least all too much. Maybe he was from the country, or maybe he just stayed away his entire life, but it was pretty noticeable. I wouldn’t be surprised if people there told stories either. Whatever his parents told him as well.

“Did you want to do something? We could just finish that episode from lunch. If you wanted.” I really hoped that he would give me a verbal answer because I didn’t want him to be bored here or do something he didn’t want to. Nathan just nodded, agreeing to everything I say. What was I supposed to tell the little guy though? It’s not like I knew why he just agreed to whatever.

“You sure?” He nodded his head again, fidgeting with his hands. Something was wrong, but I wasn’t about to make things even more awkward between us. Even though I really wanted to help with whatever was going on. It wasn’t my place to dive into his personal life. Not unless he trusted me enough.

I put on the episode we were watching during lunch and watched it with him. I feel like I should make us some popcorn but I think we only have enough for whatever movie they wanted to watch tonight. Maybe a snack then? I mean it’s only for a little while. It couldn’t hurt to grab something. Especially when I know he at least hasn’t eaten lunch. Nathan never complains or leaves though.

I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry, breaking off a tiny piece for him that was still really big but he can just tear off an even tinier piece. I can’t exactly grab any human-sized food and Lucky and Angela don’t seem to mind when I do this.

Nathan flinched, looking back from me to the piece I was holding out for him. What else was I supposed to do though? He just shook his head, offering a nervous smile practically saying, “No thank you.” But in a sweet voice. Why doesn’t he like me helping? I’ve wondered that for a while.

“I’m not entirely certain, but I’m pretty sure you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast today,” I started, still holding out the piece for him to grab, “Plus, I don’t know if you think I’m going to judge you or something, but I’m not like those sadistic jerks from the other day.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. I was guessing it worked when he genuinely smiled tore a small piece off. I’ve never seen him smile unless he was laughing at something I had said.

——————————

The day continued on with me complaining about most of the people from the show and seeing Nathan laugh when I would get mad or make a comment. It was nice knowing that he wasn’t as timid or afraid when we first met. Or that we could have fun even when it was only me talking. Most of the time we weren’t even paying attention to the show, just having a one-sided conversations.

I heard the door being unlocked, checking the time to see that it was already going to be six in the afternoon. An hour later than when they should have been home. Everyone should be here in a little bit. I grabbed my phone, ordered the pizza that had a wait time of about forty minutes, and watch all hell get unleashed.

———Nathan———

It was fun hanging out with Ryker. I mean sure there were times when I would get a little nervous about certain things, or when his hands moved a bit too close to me, but otherwise it was fun just listening to him complain about how “Dramatic” these characters were. Sure, they definitely were, but it’s not even a true story.

Everything was going great before I had head the front door open. I knew this would have happened eventually, but it felt so sudden. It seemed like everything in my body was trying its hardest to make me get up and run away, but I couldn’t do that. I’ve already done so good so far, so why not keep it going for another couple hours. I’m surprised my mom hasn’t called me either. Was everything okay? I’ll call her in a little bit.

“Sorry we’re late! We stopped by the fast staton to grab some more popcorn and snacks since someone didn’t go grocery shopping.” It was a loud, unfamiliar voice. Ryker’s younger brother? I had no idea.

“It’s not my fault they scheduled a practice yesterday! I’ll go tomorrow so you can stop being such a baby.” A feminine voice that did not under any circumstance sound all too happy at the moment.

A shiver ran down my spine as Ryker let out a sigh, muttering an apology to me before running over to where all the voices were. I couldn’t see sine there was a wall blocking my view. I was too scared to go down on the floor because they wouldn’t even know I would be there without looking down. Not the best option at the moment, but I didn’t want to stay on the counter. Not that I had a choice.

I tuned out whatever they were talking about in the other room, and soon enough Ryker came back holding two bags that were filled with drinks and snacks. I hadn’t even noticed Lucky was with him until he called my name and Ryker just laughed, letting him down. I really wish he hadn’t made it obvious that I was here. I was just hoping no one would really notice me in all honesty.

“So how were the two hours of torture with Ry? Grueling, exhausting?” He joked around with me, setting a bag of his own down to help me up. I chuckled a bit, shaking my head, “It was fun…” The quietest whisper I could manage.

Lucky rolled his eyes laughing, “Wanna help me put these away for later? You are staying for movie night, right?” I nodded my head, following him into the elevator and walking in through the same human-sized door from before. Except this time the lamps were automatically turned on and you could see light under both of the bedroom doors. One was a dark blue and the other a light pink. Now I could tell who’s was who’s

I opened the bag, seeing a mini box of popcorn packets plus some boxes of candy and gummy bears which I was guessing were Angela’s.

“Oh yeah, we didn’t know what kind you liked so we just grabbed whatever.” Lucky had said, putting away the box of popcorn and grabbing a couple drinks, stuffing them in the fridge.

“‘We’?”

“Hm? Oh yeah. Everyone knows you’re here. Dylan, Angela, and I picked out some snacks that you might like. Jasmine and Isabelle helped out with drinks. It was a team effort really.” Lucky shrugged his shoulders. Oh. Now that just made me feel so much more worse. They all picked out something for me and I only had a present for Angela? That seemed unfair, but how could I have even bought them anything if… never mind. It’ll be okay. Though, I don’t like this news that everyone knew I was here. It kind of made me even more anxious and scared at the same time.

I helped put some of the candy boxes in the cabinets, while also doing a secret task of locating all of the ingredients for brownies, which they surprisingly did have. So I could just make them while they were all getting ready for the movie and I could sneak these in. Who knows, maybe I could actually make a good first impression?

“You… d-don’t mind if I make something… right?” I asked Lucky cautiously. He shook his head with a smile, “Go for it.” He leaned against the counter as I grabbed a bowl and some other things. I would make cookies but they didn’t have chocolate chips.

I was about to pour the mix into a pan to bake before I heard voices outside that sounded like the one girl that didn’t sound too happy, and another one that sounded like she was a kid.

“Okay. Go tell Lucky to set your shower up, Angel.” Wow. She sounded nothing like she did before. But I guess that was a good thing. Now I didn’t have to worry as much. Nope. Still worried.

The human sized door opened, revealing a little girl who had curly, black hair that was to her shoulders and wearing a Dora The Explorer backpack. I was guessing this was Angela. So was she adopted too? I wouldn’t be surprised.

“Luckyyy. Jasmine told me to tell you to set my shower.” She ran up to Lucky, her arms out like she wanted a hug. Which Lucky happily gave to her. I quickly finished pouring the batter in and shoved it in the oven before Lucky caught onto what I was making. He was already asking questions.

“Alright, just give me a second.” Lucky left the room while Angela stumbled into her room and came back out without her back pack and ran up to me, “What’s your name?” Lucky in the background smiled and gave me a thumbs up while grabbing some clothes for her.

“Nathan. And you’re Angela?” I laughed, looking to my backpack. I still had that stuffed animal to give her. But would she even like it? Because I was afraid if she didn’t she might tell everyone else and then I’d all be on their bad side which would be the exact opposite of what I wanted. I was trying to make friends here because apparently everyone thinks they can help me.

“Cool!” She excitedly hugged me, and I couldn’t help but jump at the sudden embrace. It felt warm. And nice. Even if this was coming from some little kid who was only in, what, kindergarten? I hesitantly hugged her back, seeing as she just giggled and let go. I forgot how much I missed physical contact.

“Hey, your brother, Ryker, told me about you. Soooo I bought you a little gift.” I reached for my bag, pulling out the little panda stuffed animal. She gasped, grabbing the stuffed animal from my hands and hugging it tightly in her arms.

“I’m gonna name her… Livvy! Thank you!” She giggled, running over to her room as I noticed Lucky smiling by the doorway like I had just done some kind of surprising act. Was I not supposed to get her anything? She seemed to love it. Especially with the way she named it so fast. Livvy was a nice name though.

Angela was taking a bath, and Lucky hadn’t stopped teasing me about the panda. But otherwise everything was going great. What I had thought would be a big mistake was actually a great success.

“You bought her something and not me? Favoritism is apparently a thing.” Lucky teased as I waited for the brownies to be done. Just another five minutes but I doubt lucky wouldn’t let me hear the end of it.

“Not favoritism. Plus, I’m making something for both of you right now.” I laughed softly, taking out my phone and not seeing anything from my mom. It’s been almost four hours… Maybe now I should call her? Yeah. I quickly called her, hearing it ring a couple times before she finally picked up sounding tired and out of breath.

“Everything all right sweetie?” She asked, catching her breath.

“Oh um, y-yeah. I was just calling to see if you were okay.” Lucky left the room, mouthing to me that he’ll be right back while pointing to his room and I nodded.

“Oh yes! I’m sorry, Honey. I meant to call earlier but it’s just so busy right now. I’ve been running around the place like a lunatic,” She laughed, “How’s everything going? Are you coming home by nine?”

“It’s going good. Nothing too crazy. Also, they wanted me to stay a while longer for a movie. Is that okay? I should be home around ten.”

“That’s great! Of course you can stay a little while longer. Just make sure to eat something, okay? I’ve got to go, but I love you so much, be safe, love you.” There was a lot of confusion in the background on her side of the call before she hung up.

The timer for the brownies went off as soon as she did. I took them out, letting them cool down before cutting them into even slices. I just hoped they would like them. Or that they didn’t mind that I did this. Would they? That wold not be good if I wasn’t supposed to do that. We’ll find out when I get out of here. I had no idea what they were doing, but I heard Ryker talking to someone. Most likely the girl from before.

“Boo.” I physically jumped, nearly falling over. Lucky snuck behind me, snickering the entire time as he tried his hardest to catch his breath. That was a bit much. I may or may not have overreacted. Probably the latter seeing as I was still visibly trembling. It took me a couple breaths to get back to normal, but it was alright afterward.

Lucky snagged a brownie from the pan before they entirely cooled down, burning his mouth as he bit into it. We were both laughing as I grabbed a cold water to give to him. Just to keep the heat down. I wasn’t a medical expert like my mom on these things.

“So worth it,” Lucky had cheered before taking another bite, “These are amazing. Where’d you learn to bake like this?” He happily took another bite. Did I really have to answer that question? What was I even supposed to say? ‘Oh yeah I learned how to bake from a mental hospital.’ I can’t just say that! I can’t say school either, and my mom doesn’t like baking so if he ever met her…

“A secret.” I nervously laughed. Truth is, they used to teach me how to cook and bake in the mental hospital before I came here. I would just tweak the recipes a bit to make them tastier. Like more brown sugar in cookies to make them taste more sweet. Or add a little of coffee in brownies to make it taste like there’s more chocolate. Just a little things here and there. It keeps me calm instead of being scared like I was right now.

“Angel will love these. So would Ryker if he could eat them. He has a sweet tooth.” Lucky grabbed another one from the pan shrugging his shoulders. Maybe I’ll just give Ryker the recipe then? It seemed like the best option honestly. I didn’t mind if he had it either. As long as I could pay him back for everything he’s done up to this point. I was actually having a great time here. Even if I haven’t been around anyone new besides Angela.

After Angela was done with her bath, Lucky rushed me out the door where it was actually kind of quiet. Maybe because no one besides Ryker and another younger girl were in the living room. Angela went back inside the room to quickly grab something, which was Livvy, before slowly running over to the girl who was sitting down in the middle of the carpet wearing a pair of purple sweatpants and an over-sized shirt. She looked a older than Angela, and of course taller since she was a giant. He hair was a just a little bit wet as we she was playing with little building blocks.

“Isabelleeee. Whatcha building?” Angela ran over, walking around what seemed to be the base of whatever Isabelle was building. I had no idea, but I was terrified. Giants were one thing when they were an adult, but kids had always scared me the most. I still remember being forced to be put in those over-sized clothes while also being thrown around like some rag doll. So yeah, I think I have a pretty valid reason to be terrified and currently hiding behind Lucky.

“What’s wrong?” Lucky had asked, turning around and taking me out of view as I everything in my body threatened to shut down this very moment. Was that what Isabelle would do to me? Make me some kind of doll to play with? A pet. I shuddered, remembering all those times I came back to my parents with black bruises all over my body. Bleeding sometimes.

“You’re… scared of Isabelle?” Lucky had asked, looking at what I was staring at. Isabelle was giggling with Angela as they finished building whatever it was they were making, but those images wouldn’t leave my mind. It won’t happen here, right? They won’t let anything happen?

“Wait. That’s why you ran away that day! You’re scared of giants!” Lucky whisper yelled, trying to get me back to reality. I really did try to calm myself down. Really, really hard. It did end up working, but at a cost. Lucky figured out why I ran. Why I was so terrified to be around giants. Why I couldn’t even talk around them. He wouldn’t tell though, right? He will.

“D-don’t tell th-them. I-I’m trying to get used to it.” I stuttered in as quiet a voice as I could manage. Lucky gave a smile, “I wasn’t planning on it. I kind of figured it out the first time you ran away.”

I wasn’t really expecting that. I thought he was going to go around screaming that I was some kind of scaredy cat. That would be embarrassing I might just drop out of school so I didn’t have to deal with him constantly teasing me. I’m glad it didn’t come to that.

Lucky told me to keep my eyes on the ground as he guided me to wherever we were going. I wasn’t really paying attention, but I’m pretty sure it was towards Ryker. Not that I minded. He was the one I was the most used to anyways. Stick to the plan. Stay with Ryker and Lucky. Nothing bad could go wrong.

“Ry!” Lucky yelled for his attention. Ryker yawned, letting a hand down as Lucky climbed on, helping me up seeing as I was much weaker and short than himself. I was grateful for the help, but also confused at the sudden change. Why was he helping me instead of making fun of me? It seemed so unreal.

“Did you need something?” Ryker asked, yawning again while offering his hand on the arm of the couch. He really looked like he needed some sleep. I stepped off his hand, but Lucky stayed on. Ryker raised an eyebrow while Lucky stuck his tongue out. Was this like some kind of sibling telepathy going on? I don’t know. But obviously Ryker was the one to give in first, letting Lucky onto his shoulder while holding his head up with one of his hands and closing his eyes. How could Lucky do that? I couldn’t be that close. I’d freak out.

“When are we gonna start the movie?” Lucky had asked, making himself comfortable. I was alright with just sitting here. Even if it was an insane height away from the ground. I just have to ignore that part.

“When I feel like it.” Ryker responded, a smirk on his face as Lucky playfully kicked him. Yup. I would not have the courage to do that. Even if I knew that Ryker wouldn’t care. Since he obviously doesn’t. But they were siblings. It’s different. Ryker and I were only friends. At least that’s what I’d like to think we are.

Another person walked into the living room. He was tall with light brown hair like mine, wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt with some grey sweatpants. I was guessing his name was Dylan? I’ve heard his name being thrown around once or twice. I was piecing together who was who. There were a lot of people to memorize. It was weird how he has so many siblings and I had none. No… weird wasn’t the word for it. More like it was… nice? Amazing? I’ll figure it out eventually.

“So we’re just waiting on Jasmine then?” Dylan groaned taking a seat on the other side of the couch, turning on the tv and putting on Bluey, to which the two girls happily grabbed a blanket and snuggled up with each other to watch it. Wow. That was oddly sweet.

“Yeah.” Ryker replied, holding his hand out for Lucky. He happily climbed on as Ryker passed him on to Dylan. They had teased each other for a good while before Dylan had glanced in my direction, flashing a smile. No doubt there that Lucky had told him something. I did a sad little wave before hearing them go back to the teasing. I looked back to Ryker, who just seemed out of it. I had no idea what had happened while I was in that other room, but obviously he’s been tired all day. The weird part is that no one here seemed to really question him. Was he okay? Was I making him do something he didn’t want to do? Was I the problem?

I really hate my overthinking.

A couple minutes later, a girl had walked in wearing a sweater and a tank top with her hair in a wet bun. I was guessing that one was Jasmine. The only name left on the board. Ryker pulled out his phone, checking whatever before standing up and walking over to his room. Leaving me alone with everyone. It’s just for a couple minutes. What could happen? Nothing. Hopefully.

What was only a couple minutes stretched on for what seemed like hours. Jasmine was now sitting on the floor next to Isabelle, watching Bluey with them. Dylan and Lucky were playing a game on their phones. I felt pretty naked at the moment and I couldn’t exactly get down from here without help.

I stood up, looking for a way down and sadly not finding any. I made my way back to where I was, seeing Ryker come back with some money in hand and, as if on cue, a knock on the door. Right. Pizza. I wasn’t all too hungry honestly, but I already know my mom would get really mad at me if she found out I didn’t eat.

Everyone had started moving all at once, making my anxiety grow. Ryker set the boxes on the coffee table in the middle, opening it up and handing out plates for everyone.

“So we’re all fine watching Up, right?” Ryker asked, putting the disc in and standing up. I had instinctively scooted all the way back into the back of the couch. A safe distance from everyone.

Everyone answered Ryker with a yes, while he left one more time. Probably for the popcorn. I was guessing he left with Lucky too since Dylan wasn’t talking or laughing at the moment. So I was really left alone now. I paid more attention to the movie playing, trying to ignore that I was just left alone with people I barely even knew. Please be back soon. I told myself. Just to prevent me from having a panic attack at the moment.

Ryker walked back in the room with a bowl of popcorn, and carrying Lucky in his other hand. He sat back down next to me, flashing a smile before offering a hand. I climbed on, never so happy to be in a giant’s hand before. What? I didn’t know anyone here besides Lucky and Ryker. What would I do if they just wanted to talk to me? I wouldn’t be able to. Then they’d really be questioning me. Then they’d be mad at me…

Ryker set me down on the coffee table where Angela and Lucky both were. I was guessing he wanted me to eat too. Weird. He’s the complete opposite of my captors.

I only ate one slice, but at least it was something. Lucky told me to grab another since I was already extremely skinny, but I didn’t. I was honestly having a pretty nice time. I mean, without having to interact with any of his other siblings was nice, but I’m pretty sure Dylan was going to ask or introduce himself to me soon. Jasmine I didn’t know, and Isabelle was a different story, but if I can manage it without talking, then that’d be great.

I checked my phone for the time, reading nine thirty. We were barely halfway through the movie. I did say ‘around’ though. Plus, my mom doesn’t get home till around midnight. I’d say I still had time. At least that’s what I thought before she had called me.

“Mom?” I whispered, standing up and walking away from Lucky.

“Honey, are you still at your friends house?” She had asked, sounding very, very serious. She’s never sounded like that unless something bad happened. This can’t be good.

“Y-yes. Why?” Ryker glance in my direction, looking from me to the tv and offering a hand and pointed to the hallway. I climbed on, wondering why he was going through all this work for me. But, at the moment, I was more focused on what my mom was freaking out about.

“Okay, honey, this is going to sound crazy, but can you ask your friend if you can stay the night?” The world stopped as she said the words. This was crazy. I wasn’t expecting that. What happened? Why didn’t she want me to go home? Seriously. Ryker open the door to his room, and turned on a dim lamp, setting me down on the desk.

“W-why?” My voice was a little shaky, but otherwise soft and clear. Ryker couldn’t hear what I was saying anyways.

“There’s another riot happening and I don’t want you anywhere near it. So could you please ask to stay the night? I don’t want to see you hurt.” There was a big commotion happening wherever she was at.

I glanced up to Ryker, who had a worried face on, “S-sure, Mom.”

“Thank you. I love you, please be safe.”

She hung up again. Oh. This was bad. Really, really bad. Now I had to stay here? Overnight? Does she realize what she’s going to make me do? This was crazy. Could I even do this? I didn’t know. What happens when they say no? What if they just kick me out? Leave me outside while there’s a crazy mob that wants to practically murder humans? What happens then? What if-

“Everything… okay?” Ryker softly asked me. Physically? Yes. Mentally? No. I couldn’t even talk to him. How would he even reply if I couldn’t even bring it up to him? I’d just have to force myself. Even if I didn’t want to stay here. Even if he says no.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself, “Th-there’s a-a-a riot… a-and my mom d-doesn’t want me t-to go home. Sh-she wants me t-t-t-…” I winced, seeing that his full attention was on me, “T-to stay h-here overnight. I-Is that… O-okay?” I flinched, waiting for some kind of laugh to come out, or some kind of punishment for asking him anything like that. But nothing came.

“Of course? You think I’d say no?” He nervously asked, “Is your mom okay though? You looked kind of worried.” He asked. I nodded, feeling drained from they day.

“That’s good. But, yeah, of course you can stay here. I’ll just tell Lucky to get you a blanket and some things. Sound good?” He smiled softly. I smiled back, my knees nearly giving out on me, “Thank you.”

His palm was laid out flat, but I still had a hard time climbing on without help. That went much better than expected. It’s just that my brain makes everything so much more worse than it needs to be. I’m really grateful that things never go according to my brain. So glad. So, I did the exact opposite of what my mind had been telling me the past two weeks.

I hugged Ryker’s thumb (Or what I could of his thumb), trying to hide the tears that escaped my eyes. Maybe it really was time to give life one more chance.

—————————

And here’s the long awaited chapter!

If you couldn’t already tell by reading, I absolutely love the trope where one partner has a ton of siblings and the other is an only child. Sooo that’s where all of the siblings come in!

We’re almost at the part I can’t wait to write, so trust me when I say there will be more interactions for Nathan and Ryker. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions either! I love answering!

Thanks you for reading! Love you guys ❤️

#G/t #g/t writing #g/t community #g/t angst #G/t fearplay #sfw g/t #G/t fluff #my writing #oc: ryker #oc: nathan #Restoration #I think I described things pretty well #This is gonna haunt my dreams #I regret nothing for some reason #I’m sorry guys #Oc: Lucky #Oc: Dylan

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