After The Storm (Vlad and Levi 1x1)

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassandra looked at her fellow campers - well, mainly Tripp and Ayleigh. She knew what she had done. They knew what she had done. Or, rather, what she had tried to do. She crept on her knees over to Tripp, trying to not make noise. "Tripp? Are you awake?" she whispered to him. There were things that needed to be said.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

From where he lay on the ground on his side, trying to fall asleep, but ultimately failing, Tripp heard Cassandra's whisper--and he turned slightly, looking at her.
"Y-Yeah..." he replied, reaching over for his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt before putting them back on again. He blinked a few times, letting his eyes adjust, then looked to Cassie again. He wasn't really exactly sure what to say at first--after what had hapepend today, he hadn't been sure what to say for most of the rest of the day. Nowadays, it wasn't so much the prospect of speaking that scared him--it was the prospect of saying something wrong. "...Are you okay?"

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassie smiled a little at his reply to her. At least he wasn't asleep. She had a feeling Ayleigh knew that she liked Tripp, but he seemed oblivious. Then she registered his question. Was she okay? She wasn't sure. But she needed to talk to him. "I need to talk to you. Privately," she said more forcefully than intended. She softened her countenance so as to not seem too forceful before standing up and extending her arm to him.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp seemed a bit surprised by Cassie's reply, staring at her hand for a moment before taking it and allowing her to help him up to his feet. He took a moment to straighten out his clothes a bit, then fixed his glasses.
"Privately--? Th-That's--that's alright, let's go," he replied to the raven-haired girl, unable to help but be curious about what might be in store for this conversation. Was it about the ruins earlier? Or something else? While Tripp had gotten a bit more used to conversation in general, the fact that it was labeled with the word 'private' threw him off a bit--it was exclusive, and gave the talking an air of importance--if there was ever a time to make sure to say the right things, it would be now. He did his best to smile, waiting for Cassie to show him where she wanted to talk. "R-Ready when you are..."

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassie walked Tripp away from the campsite, to a spot where voices would definitely not carry. They could still see each other fine, due to the piss-poor programming of the world they were in lacking proper shading, thankfully. "About what happened earlier...I remember we had figured out Leviamon was the one that corresponded to me..." she gulped anxiously. That sigil had definitely belonged to him. "...well, I thought... If he was there for me, if I gave myself up, everyone would be fine..." She knew she had said this previously, but it was leading to something. "In the real world, I don't have much to live for. So it would have been just as well either way..."

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

As soon as Cassie began speaking and referred to 'earlier', Tripp bit his lip slightly, getting a bit fidgetty and fixing his glasses again. As she continued, he took a moment to process her words, thinking about his response very carefully. It was a tricky subject, at the very least. During the chaos of the flooding, he'd been very quick to object to Cassandra's actions--and that showed his true feelings. He was still determined to get through this without anyone dying. After all--Cassandra and Ayleigh were probably the only people at this point that he wasn't terrified of being around.
"I...can't say that I know what your life outside the game is like, really, b-but..." Tripp started, doing his best to think of what he could say. "A-And...I know that we were all really scared and panicking when the water was rising, but...but--even...even if you don't think you've got anything to live for outside the game...we're all sort of dead ends out there, either way...b-but that's not the point...! Th-The point--the point is--" He struggled for a moment, trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "Th-The point is...you've still got something to live for in here, at least, right...? We all do...I mean, Ayleigh is walking around and healthy, I'm out of my room, I guess...I...I-I don't know what's happened to you in the real world, but...there's no reason for you to die, Cassie. He would've gone after the rest of us anyway, I'm pretty sure...they're pretty evil, right...? B-But it's okay, we're not mad--just...don't do it again, okay...?"

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
What's happened to you in the real world, Tripp had said. Cassie bristled at his words. She couldn't keep it a secret much longer, could she? That was one of the things she brought him out here to tell him, but she wanted to wait a little bit longer. Her eyes began to water. "Tripp... nothing 'happened' to me in the real world... no, my problem is..." She had to divert herself for a moment so she could figure out how she wanted to say it. "...I appreciate that you aren't mad at me... really, I do. You mean a lot to me. Er- both of you." She wanted to save that part until after this first revelation. "...Do you ever feel like life has gone out of its way to screw you over?" She paused for a moment but continued before he could respond. "It did for me. When I was born, eighteen years ago." She swallowed. Moment of truth. This is it. Do it. Just say it.

"When I was born Alexander Baddle."

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp seemed oblivious as ever to Cassie's first slip-up--however, it was the confession itself that seemed to hold his attention. He looked at Cassie for a few minutes, letting what she'd said sink in. 'Alexander Baddle'? Cassie was born as...Alexander?
"I'm sorry, I--I'm not sure I understand what you mean...?" He didn't seem upset at all--moreso that he just wanted to understand the situation better. He was still pretty young--and hadn't come across anything like this before. He seemed patient in waiting for Cassie's answers--he could tell that she was having a hard time saying this, so he didn't want to push her. After all, if she was saying this in private, it was probably something pretty serious...

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
The tears were flowing now. He was staring. She knew it, he thought of her as a freak now. Then came his words, which reassured her. Maybe it was incredulousness - but he did seem to miss a fair number of things. Maybe this is one of those. Either way, the overthinking made her face begin to contort in sadness. She restrained herself from throwing her face into his shoulder on the off chance that he actually was disgusted. She took a moment to compose herself before swallowing and saying, "Tripp, I... I'm transgender." There it was. It was in the air now. "At birth I was assigned male, and given a male name, and given a boyhood..." At this point she was back to crying. "It was only two years ago I realized who I really am - that I'm a girl, that I'm Cassandra, that I'm trans..." She pulled a small pill bottle from her pack. Estradiol, 4mg, taken once daily. For use by Alexander Baddle. That's what the bottle said. "These are the pills that let me... become me. Hormones - estrogen - the opposite of what both of us got in puberty..." She sniffled as the jargon distracted her from the pain. "And this..." she said, gesturing with her other hand towards her groin, "This is my favorite thing about this world... a big part of why I don't want to go back..." A tear fell. "As are these," she continued, gesturing the hand towards her chest now. "In the real world I have to tuck it between my legs and stuff my bra with socks... Here, I don't have to..."
"Here, I'm the girl I'm supposed to be."

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

The moment that Tripp saw the tears, he felt bad. He had said something off, hadn't he--? He wished that he could understand this better--maybe if he wasn't so afraid of people, he would be able to understand them better. Still, he didn't give up on the situation--he continued to listen quietly as Cassandra continued to explain. His expression didn't seem to change much during the explanation--he was processing the information, rolling her words over in his head and looking at them from every angle he could think of.
"I...I think I get it..." he replied after a moment, his voice quiet. "That's why you were so okay with not leaving...because you didn't want to have to go back to hiding and wanting..." He felt a sort of sadness wash over him--and suddenly felt quite selfish. Tripp had willingly sealed himself away from the world in order to escape from his problems--Cassie's couldn't be so easily avoided. He had no right to complain...
But suddenly, in that moment, he seemed to connect a few things in his mind--and the intensity of his words suddenly seemed to increase somewhat as he put his hands on Cassandra's shoulders, looking right into her eyes and speaking,
"Well, you'll always be a girl to me, Cassie. It doesn't matter what people say about you--don't let them push you around. They just want Alexander, but Alexander's not here anymore--you're just you. You're Cassie. People might want to force Cassie away, but she's right here. People can be terrible. Really, really awful. Don't let them get to you. A body doesn't make a person, and no matter what anyone else does, Cassie is right here." He seemed to calm down a little bit then--abruptly pulling away from her and stuttering in a whisper, "S-Sorry. That was weird. Sorry."

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
He didn't see her as a freak... He saw her as who she was. He touched her. He looked her in the eyes. Cassie's mind was buzzing, not having expected such a positive reaction in the least. Instead of freaking out and pushing her away, Tripp had understood as best as he could, and comforted her. Her eyes began to well up again, but her cheeks were high this time. She wrapped her arms around Tripp and buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you... thank you so much..." she muttered between shuddering breaths.
"There's... one more thing... One more thing I wanted to tell you..."

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp seemed to stiffen at first when Cassie hugged him--he was still quite unused now to human contact, and even just touching Cassie's shoulders before resulted in him recoiling a bit--but this hug didn't feel exactly bad, either. He hesitated for a moment, then relaxed a bit, slowly wrapping his arms around to Cassie's back.
"Y...You're welcome..." he replied quietly to Cassie's thanks, not really sure what else to say. If any time, of all times, he wished that he knew what to say at this exact moment. He wished that he knew what to say--but he didn't, so he remained quiet. It was then that she said that she had another thing to tell him--which let him do the easy thing: ask a question. "Y-Yeah?" was all that came out. Maybe he wasn't so good with asking questions, either...

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
She took a deep breath - she had the more important on the cosmic scale confession out of the way, but that wasn't going to make this one easy. She pulled her face out of his shoulder and looked to him, but not quite making eye contact. "When we first met, one of the first things you did was save my life..." She restrained herself from appending Worthless as it is to the end of that statement. "And, maybe I'm just a sucker for old movies, but..." She swallowed and looked into his eyes. "You saved me... And... that means a lot to me..." She pulled her arms from around his back and placed them behind his neck. "A lot. So incredibly much... And you've only continued to do more for me... You're amazing Tripp. Never think you aren't... I definitely know you are." She smiled an impish smile.
"And you can have this as a reminder of how much you mean to me," she said, her face drawing near to his, gently pressing her lips to his.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

As Tripp listened to Cassie speak, slowly, a hint of red began gathering into his cheeks--only intensifying with each word out of her mouth. 'You're amazing, Tripp'--those words meant so much. Nobody had ever said that to him before. Not once. And now--it hit him simultaneously like a surging tidal wave and a soft carress. It was easy enough to discount yourself--but when somebody else close to you said something like that--it's harder to try to make it out to be a lie.
As she placed her hands around his neck and leaned in, he felt his heart race, his face burning bright crimson, only seeming to get redder with the closer she moved. He had never been this close to another person before...And then it happened--she kissed him. Tripp's brain stopped working for a moment. Everything seemed to slow to a halt. He was obviously quite surprised, at the very least--not really seeming to know what to do with the rest of his body while his face got so red that one could have probably compared him to a tomato. Once the gentle kiss was done, he stared for a moment, blinking a few times and trying to process the information--before suddenly pulling her in close for a tight hug again, not saying anything at first. He stayed like that for a moment, slowly letting his head rest against her shoulder. This was real. This was happening. When he had first locked himself away from the world, he hadn't thought he'd ever meet anyone new ever again--let alone go to camp, get sucked into some crazy video game world, fight for his life, and get a kiss...he was changing. He could feel it. This was all new and he could tell--despite how much he hadn't wanted to go to camp at first, now that these doors were open for him, there was no way he wasn't going to plunge through them full force.
He stood there with Cassie in his arms, his face still bright red, not seeming to have exactly recovered from the shock of the kiss yet--but he did speak, in a quiet whisper,
"Cassie...thank you. Thank you so much."
He looked up slightly after a moment, seeming unsure of what he was about to do--before planting a kiss on Cassie's cheek and immediately looking away, clearly quite bashful over it.

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassie nuzzled up to Tripp's shoulder after he kissed her cheek. Maybe life has its merits after all... she thought before looking back to him. This nerd - no, this perfect nerd - that saved her life on multiple occasions and was one of her two friends that she had since coming out - and they'd only known each other for a few days at that - and they had exchanged a kiss. Everyone at school thought she was disgusting because she was different. Her walk across the stage was under the name Alexander and was met with boos from the audience. She had felt like a stranger in a strange land - just looking in the mirror. But here - in Tripp's arms, she felt somewhere she belonged. Of course, the digital world giving her the equipment she should have been born with only helped. But there was something else afoot here. This was something right. This was home. She wished this moment could last forever - but even in this heaven of a hell they were in, it couldn't. She needed some assurance. Looking up to Tripp, she turned his head gently with a hand on his chin.
"Are you my boyfriend now~?"

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp looked to Cassie for a moment in surprise after she had spoken--his face immediately turning beet-red the moment after he processed her words.
"B...Boyfriend--?" Was this...him being asked out? Tripp couldn't help but pause and think for a moment--what were you supposed to do when you were asked out? Was there a proper way to handle this situation? He thought and thought for those few seconds--then came across an idea, and managed a smile, speaking again, "Well...how about this--we both get through this together alive--both of us, and everyone else, too--and then I'll be your boyfriend. I...I-I'm sure that we could find each other pretty easily in real life, if we used the internet or phone numbers....how does that sound?"

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassie saw him flush and giggled. He's so adorable... she thought, smiling at him in awe. Then came his proposition.
She pondered on the suggestion for only a second or two before saying "It's a deal~" and giving him another quick peck on the lips. As she pulled away though, she looked at him questioningly.
"In the meantime... what are we?"

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

By this point, it would really take a miracle for Tripp's face to get any more red than it already was--and as Cassie asked her question, he actually had to pause and think on it for a moment. He thought and thought--and finally spoke,
"I...I'm not really sure...If--If anything...we're people. We're both people, and nobody can do anything about that." He gave Cassie a smile, reaching up to readjust his glasses slightly. "D-Does that sound alright...?"

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Not the answer she wanted to hear. People? Just... people? Nothing more...? Maybe he misunderstood... That was pretty likely. She hid her mild disappointment and began, "No, no... You..." she said, placing a hand over his heart, "And I... What are WE? If we aren't dating... then what are we to one another?" She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping he would give the answer she wanted now. Her mind began spinning with the possibilities, and the flush began to drain from her face, but she tried to not let her fear and anxiousness show as she pondered on if life was worth continuing to if he didn't share the way she felt.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp seemed to stiffen slightly as he detected a hint of disappointment behind Cassie's voice when she spoke again, and he quickly mentally scrambled to come up with the answer that maybe she was looking for. What they were...? As in what their relationship was to each other? Was that it? He wasn't sure--and the more he thought about it, he began to panic. He didn't want to make Cassie upset. That was the exact opposite of what he wanted. 'Calm down,' he thought to himself as he did his best to stay standing exactly where he was without breaking eye contact, something that his panicky mind was making very tempting right now.
"What we are...to each other?" he asked, trying to verify the question for himself. This whole situation suddenly became a lot heavier for Tripp--Cassie had been crying earlier. He didn't want to see her cry again. If he made Cassie cry--well, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He didn't want to panic--but as he frantically tried to think of what to say, he felt his throat begin to tighten in anxiety. What if he said something off? What if it sounded weird, or hurtful? What if he just wasn't up to the level of complexity in a person that Cassie was looking for? "I...I-I don't know...I--I know that we m-must be something, but I don't know the exact word for it....I'm...no good at this..." His voice had become very quiet the more he spoke--he didn't want to upset anyone, but he didn't know how to keep them happy, either. That had always been the problem. And this whole conversation had gone by in such a whirlwind, he was still in a daze of unsorted emotions--so he didn't know how to respond.

⛔--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------⛔
A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassie saw Tripp grow distressed. She didn't hear most of his words over her own thoughts. He looks worried, he looks upset... She widened her eyes. She did catch him saying that they 'must be something' and that he was 'no good,' but the rest slipped through the cracks. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, rubbing his back affirmingly. "Don't worry about it..." she said softly, her displeasure not fully leaving her voice until the second syllable of 'worry.' "Whatever we are... it's immaterial in here. You're perfect, and I'm smitten. This is enough... right?" She knew she had to be strong for him right now, like it or not. So she made the effort to be.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp remained quiet as Cassie told him not to worry, his facial expression still set into one of guilt and concern. He was scared. Scared that he'd end up hurting her in the end--he had no idea how these things worked. He was pretty sure he would mess up somewhere along the line, just trying to make things work...still, he told himself that he'd start facing his fears...and although this was definitely quite a big leap to start with, it was something...
"Y-Yeah...that's all that matters," he replied quietly, finally managing a smile, although his mind was practically screaming out silently, 'I'm not perfect. I'm not half the person you think I am. I'm a dead end.' Still, despite his thoughts, he knew he couldn't let himsel falter. Not here, not now. "S...Sorry. I-I just...I only just k-kind of learned how to deal wih people in general, so...I don't really know what to do here..." And it was true--he still wasn't even quite used to people yet--it was only Cassie and Ayleigh that he didn't feel completely uncomforable around. All of this felt like it was moving at the speed of light for him, and although Tripp still felt a pang of uncertainty deep down in the pit of his stomach, he wanted to try. He really did. If he never tried, he'd never grow--and if he didn't grow, he knew he was going to be trapped in his own bedroom for the rest of his life.

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A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada

Cassandra Baddle
Sad Girl With A Secret
"Here goes nothing..."
Cassie smiled to Tripp. "If you don't know what to do... then don't do anything. Just do what you've been doing... you're a great friend. You're great to be around. I fell without you doing anything besides being you." She wrapped her arms tightly around him. She wanted this moment to last forever, but the clocks on their digivices were still going. Cassie didn't want to leave this world before - but now? Now that Tripp... yeah, yeah, she did want to leave. With him. She had hope for the future. She had friends. She had a possible lover. But right now... she had to get some rest.
"Tripp... should we head back to camp? Someone might have woken up and wondered where we went," she said with a yawn.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｏｕｒ  ｗａｌｌｓ  ｂｕｉｌｔ  ｔｏ  ｋｅｅｐ  ｏｕｔ  ｓａｄｎｅｓｓ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｅｎｄ  ｔｏ  ａｌｓｏ  ｉｓｏｌａｔｅ  ｕｓ  ｆｒｏｍ  ｊｏｙ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Tripp Jaeger⧱
⧰Reserved Shut-In⧰
⛔-------------------------------------⛔
One of the worst fears . . . . . . .  . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . is the genuine fear
of the people around you
⛔-------------------------------------⛔

Tripp remained quiet and contemplative during Cassie's hug, reciprocating gently as he tried to sort out everything rushing through his head at present. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by Cassie reminding him that they were in fact on a clock--and they definitely needed some sleep. He pulled back from her cautiously, looking around to see if anyone had seen them--and it didn't appear as if anyone had. That was good...he would be pretty uncomfortable if somebody else had seen--especially if it had been anybody besides Ayleigh.
"Yeah...we should head back," he replied to Cassie quietly, looking to her and hoping to God that he'd be able to treat her the same after this evening. He still wasn't sure what to do...he had to sleep on this. Maybe he'd be able to figure something out in the morning...

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A Quiet Presence - Yutaka Yamada