The Necessary Talk [Frogerio]

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

After meeting with Maria, Brittany returned to the gym to pick her backpack. With so many concerns towards her health and physical care, she had once again forgotten it in the bleachers before heading to the infirmary with her friend. Once she got it, she sat down, inhaling and exhaling deeply... The bruise on her shoulder still hurt, and the cold, slicky sensation didn't help much. Prior to that moment, she had sent a quick yet characteristic message to Frogerio asking for him to come to gym so they could talk, taking into account the place was empty and they could chat at ease with no chance of being eavesdropped or spied on. As she waited, Brittany buried her head in her knees, letting the hair cover most of her face. Hopefully, he wouldn't take long to check it...

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

Frog's days after his last meeting and the whole proclamation of affection with Brittany were quite different than what he was used to until that point. Not only was she more on his mind than ever before, but he also felt obliged to not be alone all the time anymore, seeing as they were kind of intrinsically considered to be together now. So when he felt a slight buzz in his pocket, he quickly pulled the phone out, a droplet of sweat forming on his forehead as he contemplated whether it could be Brit, hoping that it was the case.

And yes, there was a message from Brit. Derailing himself from her no longer, Frog made his way directly towards the gym.

---

"Brit." He called out as he opened the door. He'd asked her where exactly she was, so he could find her easily once he'd made his way over to the place, and, when he saw her, he smiled. "Hey, did something happen?" He sort of had a vague idea of what it could be...but he wasn't feeling dependable enough yet to just say it out loud. The whole Invidia deal...it weighed on them all. He made his way over to Brit as he waited for a response from her.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

The familiar voice came sooner than she expected. Or maybe not; maybe she had dozed off on her own, wandering in the vastness of her own recent thoughts too much to notice the presence of Frogerio immediately. Once she did, though, she lifted her head and readily stood up with a smile. A kinda restrained smile compared to the usual, ear-to-ear ones Frogerio would always warrant.

“Hi! I'd hug you but, you know...I hurt my shoulder early morning trying to practice. It's okay for me to hug you out of nowhere, right? I mean... we can do it from now on, can't we? Erm... I'm starting to spurt nonsense again, that's not what I texted you for, I just...”, she bit her lip, signs of the smile shying away and giving space for anxiety and visible insecurity. She still had her cheerleader outfit on, so Frogerio would tell her tale was true. “I need you. Like... I need to talk to you...”

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

She hurt her shoulder!?!? Frog had no idea what to do in a situation like that. And she wanted to hug him but couldn't because of said shoulder? Then he wasn't gonna pressure her to, or maybe he should just hug her? This was complicated. "O-oh does it hurt a lot! C-can I do something about it?" He said, raising his hands nervously as if wanting to pick something up to help her or something. He really didn't know what he meant by the gesture but it happened. "And about the hugging...

I think we can. Out of the blue. Not...really sure...but it's okay with me."

He spoke slowly and it calmed him down a little. His arms dropped down and he sighed, smiling again. His eyes darted down momentarily but he brought them up to gaze at Brit almost instantaneously. "You want to talk about what happened, right?" He asked.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

She had to admit, Frogerio's display of desperate concern was the most endearing act of his. In battle he was fierce and courageous, daring and bold, but out of it he was so different Brittany couldn't but to bring once again the smile to her lips and giggle a bit. Maybe not as she expected to, but it definitely soothed her anxious mood. “It's alright. I can't lift this arm without feeling like screaming my lungs out, but it's just for a while. You know, until it heals. Then I'll be good as always!”, she said, reassuringly. However, about the second topic...

“Yeah...I want to talk about it. Not only about it, about... ahn....” It was hard. Conveying emotions into words that wouldn't be like planting a knife on your own back was hard. She sat down on the bleachers once again. Thinking. Pondering on the best way to say it all. Her eyes were not set on Frogerio's, but llost in some spot in the vast space that is the school gym. “I tried to do a move for the cheerleader practice today, but... I couldn't. I was dismissed from the team for a while because I can't concentrate. Daisy - you remember her, right? Yeah, she was on and on about how I, like, seem to be in another sync, so I'm, like, out of the main team for a while. And... I tried to practice this move so I could get back on the team, but I can't, because... I can't stop thinking of everything. Not only last night, but since this whole thing started... And last night was just...”

Inhale. Exhale. Rehearse and repeat until you're ready. And when she was ready, Brittany said for the first time:

“Did we... really kill another human being?”

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

She hurt herself so bad but he couldn't do much. If it was okay with her...but then again maybe she wanted him to step up and help her somehow despite what she was saying. Ugh, it was complicated, he just couldn't process it all, so he was going to abide by what she said. "If you say so. But if it hurts that bad, it must've been a big fall..."

Frog listened to Brit's reply intently. It was all getting to her so much and she looked so confused by the whole situation they put themselves in. And honestly, he was confused and scared too, yet...a tight cold fear clasped his heart as she went on, a fear colder than the one he felt of the nights to come-it was the fear of being left behind. A fear that Brit might one day give up on the Terrorist thing and he'd be left to fend for himself in that world. And he didn't want to give up, so could he give up were she to give up? That was what scared him. However, another thing bothered him a lot, and the very mention of them killing a person was enough to push the air out of his lungs. His eyes widened as he lost his breath. Instinctively, his eyes darted around the gym, confirming the two of them were alone, and his hand moved to his chest, ruffling his shirt in a tight grasp, like a claw. "Brit we-" He started but didn't know what he even meant to say to that. He wanted to lie to himself and to her that they didn't kill a man, but that would be too cruel, and too weak. He had to be brave and strong to show everyone that he couldn't be trampled. That he would trample. Yet...they'd left the real Invidia without a choice in the matter, and Frog wanted to warrant everyone a chance at salvation. A chance to struggle for survival at their very last moment and show the strength to move on amids the chaos. Failure would mean defeat and unworthiness, yet everyone could still emerge strong and show they deserve to live. That was Frog's position on things. Skelter's was much simpler than that, obviously. It was just to kill. They were all guilty in Skelter's eyes. Frog's vision was grey, not black and white like that. All of them were equally guilty, just of different things. That was how the world was. It was not his place to judge, but his place to provide a situation in which the judging can naturally occur. The Great Divide was such a stage in his opinion. Those who truly wished to be saved survived. He was stronger than the ones that died that day. He was sure of it. Brit was strong too.

"We killed a man. I can't say we didn't. However, I can say that I don't want the next time to play out the same. It's bothering you...and me... Skelter is not a man whose ideals I want to look up to or embrace, yet...he's the best choice to side with, in my opinion. We just have to get him on our level, or get ourselves on his level." The weight slowly pulled from his chest as he went on and changed his train of thought. "What do you wish to do, Brit? I don't want to stop being a Terrorist. I want to show Skelter he can't just have his way. And I want to show the Playhouse that they're in the wrong. That they're weak for clinging to being as naive as they've been thus far."

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

"We killed a man". The verdict she hoped Frogerio wouldn't state. So... it was true, then. If Frogerio said they didn't, then she'd be at peace and perhaps get back to her usual self. She expected this, she expected him to save her. After all, he was the Amphibian Prince. Her prince. But he was honest, he was real. And him being real meant they were murderers. No, they didn't actively pull the trigger. They did worse: they allowed someone to, and did nothing but to watch. It was a heavy reality to handle, like an anchor to her heart. Closing her eyes momentarily would only bring back the memories from the convoluted night that sealed their definite deal as the label "Terrorist", so she opened them, with a disapproving grimace. Not disapproving of Frogerio, but of herself. She was a killer now, there's no coming back.

“I trust you...”, she said, lifting her head to reach out to her boyfriend's gaze. “I won't stop trusting you. It's just... I dunno, Skelter seemed so convincing when we were in the Playhouse. He seemed like he knew what to do, like he had a plan, he had the answers, he could make stuff happen and we could return the world to how it used to be. When we were kids, remember? I want that... That's what I wish to do... I wish we could, you know, erase and rewind before this, before aaaall of this. I know we can't, what's done is done and that's silly, but... I really hoped getting with Skelter, we could, like... at least hope. But yeah, Skelter is so ruthless now, so brainless...”

As a bout of silence installed, a part of her admitted she was still a kid at heart who thought they were heroes trying to break free from the tyranny of a horrid queen and her oppressive government. Another part was starting to get comfortable with the idea that yes, Skelter might be their best bet for the ultimate goal and yes, they are indeed terrorists with all capital letters. “I'm not gonna stop being a Terrorist if it means leaving you alone. Like hell I would! But... My loyalty is with you. Not him. Okay? So... If you ever think he's not right or, like, not enough... I'll follow you wherever.”

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

Frog smiled. He didn't smile because he wanted to comfort Brit. She was strong enough on her own. He smiled because he was happy that she was with him. That she was going to follow him following her, in a cycle. "Skelter is just full of rage. Being a Terrorist is like an exhaust pipe for him. I don't even know what his goal is yet, so we can't leave until we find out. Until then, we've got to keep following him, but I-I won't follow him forever. Being a Terrorist here in this city means breaking free. We're different, special. If anyone can return the world to how it's been, it's people like us-wouldn't you agree that that could be possible?" He looked down, giving a small chuckle. His cheeks had reddened as he spoke and he felt the need to scratch the back of his head as if he'd said something very embarrassing right now. All his thoughts were quite childish and embarrassing, honestly. He was still a huge idiot.

"I'm sure Skelter has at least some idea of what he's doing. Like, he's got Bee and Alice following him. Iunno if they're just as crazy as he is, but I feel they all have some connections we could make use of. Either way, I won't return to the Playhouse, yet I won't abandon them as potential allies either. Whether they'd work with us at times will be entirely up to them. And well...considering some of the people we know from there, their cooperation is less than guaranteed. I do have to wonder if Skelter's gonna take us to go recruit some more dissatisfied Playhousers~? Maybe after they fail again~?" Frog's tone had grown a wee bit mischievous and he grinned as a joke. He looked back up at Brit's face and smiled. "We can't be afraid of Skelter. We've got to make him afraid of us. For now, if we ever come to a situation like with Invidia, let's promise to do our best to stop Skelter from doing anything impulsive, gotcha?"

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

“I... I promise, yeah...”, she finally said, after listening to everything. A faint smile blooming as he gave her exactly what she needed: security. Reassurance. Even if Frogerio felt he was a huge idiot, to Brittany he was clever, ambitiously intelligent and the cutest, sweetest thing when he spoke with such strong confidence despite, or rather, because of the behavior quirks of embarrassment. In the end, despite the sorrows of having her hands forever dirty from now on, the cheerleader felt like a burden was lifted and lightened her heart, at least for a moment. All she had to do was trust him, and that she definitely does.

“It's a bit weird that I came to you like this all of a sudden in the morning, isn't it? I mean, such a heavy, stupid topic too bring up so soon... But I couldn't take it out of my head, I barely slept last night. So, uhm, let's talk about something else! Are you done with your classes for today?”

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

When Frog noticed Brit's smile, he didn't know what to think of it once again. First off, it sent a wave of relief flowing over him and cooling him down, yet then again, it was a different smile. A smile that wasn't just happiness, but something else as well, be it positive or negative. It worried him that she was so bothered by this all, and then it also worried him that he couldn't be as bothered by the same as she was. Like he was being unworthy of her affection because he couldn't feel the regret and guilt the same way she could.

She surprised him with her question and the sudden change of topics. He wanted to say it really wasn't a problem that she called him so early since it was her and he loved her, but he couldn't find the words quickly enough before she moved on, so he was left in the dust. "Sure let's go somewhere." He didn't wanna say he still had some classes........................
But who gave a crap.

"Where do ya wanna go?" Was a restrained version of the question in his head: /where do couples like us go?/

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Actually, Brittany didn't feel like going somewhere else. If anything she was comfortable with making the huge, lonely gym the stage for her teenagery existential crisis while the bleachers she was sit on were her intimate divan for unspeakable confessions. On the other hand, she took it as if Frogerio didn't have any classes for the second half of the morning, meaning he wasn't ditching this moment.

“Uh, I dunno. Wherever is fine. The courtyard, maybe.”, she stood up, picking her backpack by the handle and hanging it on the healthy shoulder, agreeing with the suggestion of going to another place. “I think I'll have more free time from now on. Since I'm technically on the bench for undefined time because, you know, Daisy. And with the injury, I don't think I'll be able to perform until I heal... It's funny because I always complained, not to you or anyone, but internally, for myself, you know...”

A small pause, giving time for Frogerio to say something if he wanted too while Brittany occupied herself with glancing every corner of the gym, as if she meant to nostalgically say goodbye. “Like, I always complained about the job and the cheerleading taking too much of my time but actually I miss this. I already miss the training, the dancing, everything. When I joined school, I knew right from the start I'd be in the cheerleader team. I always wanted this... Since I was a kid, you know. It was cool to watch the girls hanging together, being happy together, dancing, making people cheer with their performances... It was so cool that I wanted to be part of it. I wanted to be one of them, I wanted it so bad. And now that I am one of them, feels like I'm not anymore. Because they're so different than what I used to watch in the TVs... Does that make sense?”

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

Frog got up and was ready to head out to the courtyard, but Brit's voice brought him back and locked his feet firmly on the ground as he turned towards her, eyes widening momentarily, like petals in the wind, dancing. He watched her look at the gym, and as much as she tried to keep her desires hidden in face of his rushed and meaningless suggestion to leave this place, the way she looked left an impression on him. A light washed over his eyes' watery surface, glinting. Frog held back a tear.

"Brit, let's stay." He said, sitting back down. He waited for her to follow suit, looking up at her frame against the lights illuminating the gym. They were the suns. They were enough. The hardboard flooring was the grass. And the bleachers, they were hills upon which they could relax.

"I never knew you felt that way." He continued. Brittany came off as such a shallow stereotype at first, and he knew most people only knew her by her exterior, but once you got to know her better. It wasn't fair, it really wasn't. The way people judged you. The way they judged the Pee Tee's. "But even if it's different than what you expected, you still enjoy it, don't you? I can't speak from experience...most of my decisions were made by others and their expectations, so I want you to tell me more." Nothing was ever as it seems. Cheerleading to Brit was like Brit was to the world. Once one found meaning within it, though...

"Y-you know, I've always kinda liked all the performing arts..." Frog's voice stuttered. "Like, not watching them. Watching only made me envious. I always wanted to see how I'd fare, you know. But I never did because I thought I'd be judged if it ain't something that my family and others think I should be wasting my time on. So I admire the people who have had the opportunity to do the things they liked. Like you. And and a bit jealous too." He chuckled, once again holding back a tear. There was a spring welling up within him. One Brit was free to drink from, apparently.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Frogerio's decision surprised her, and how unexpected it was for her was rather visible in her face, if only for a brief moment before she smiled and agreed with settling down on the bleachers back again. They didn't need to go somewhere to talk and risk people hearing the intimate confessions from one to another. Oh no, this was a moment just for them to share.

It's only natural he wanted her to open up more. Despite being a social butterfly, the life of the party, one to go to when you wanted to spice up your days, Brittany hardly opened up to people. She always made sure to be easily approachable but keep a safe distance from people, in order to keep a safe distance from her past as well. It had been working fine, as long as she was know as the "beautiful it girl from Seven Stars", the "model in ascension", "the bright cheerleader". But now... she didn't feel like any of these things. Because there was someone else who made her feel less like a sobriquet and more like her own identity. Even if said identity ties to something the girl didn't want to be attached to: her own suffocating past.

“...I don't know if you remember well, but... I was different. Back when we first met, I mean. I was shy, I was mostly on my own. I was the lonely weirdo, I didn't have friends...”, she paused a bit, eyes shifting from one side to another, but not to Frogerio's face. Not for a second, not now. “So... I decided to change. I decided to be myself. Like, the "myself" in my head. To be the Brittany I wanted to be. And the Brittany I wanted to be is someone with friends around, someone reliable, someone people wouldn't mind but, you know, like... That's why I envied the cheerleaders. Like I told you, in the TVs they always looked like a squad, a gang of inseparable sisters who stuck together no matter what, who supported each other no matter what. So I wanted to be part of them... They make people happy and everyone in the school loves them! This is why... I thought that, if I was a part of it, maybe I would have the many friends I never had in my childhood... Even if it drained the life out of me, because hell it's so exhaustive, at least I'd be part of something for once and not all would be wasted, you know...”

She said gradually lowering her head and letting it rest on Frogerio's shoulder, timidly. Perhaps the cheerleader should ask for permission first to borrow his shoulder. Perhaps he wouldn't mind, perhaps it was all brand new to him just like it was too new to her: the whole status of being romantically committed to someone and wishing for physical comfort.

“Then I realized that maybe cheerleading teams aren't this much of friends as I thought. Maybe they just aren't, some dislike each other, some talk about others behind their backs. Or maybe that's my fault for being clumsy lately...”

Weakness:

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 26

"Yeah I remember, you had like, short brown hair." Frog's words were followed by a welcoming laugh. It was fun being able to reminisce something with someone else. He never had things he could reminisce about. Nothing stuck to his mind, and the things that stuck were tied to people who he lost contact with over time. He thought he lost contact with Brit, but they found each other after long years. And they could reminisce. Oh how good it felt. Every change felt so great to him.

He listened to her carefully with a smile. He was really envious. She, unlike him, had found the strength in herself to change into what she really wanted to be from the start. He could never do that, as his own strengths limited him, and his weaknesses pulled him back. He wasn't as balanced or as bright as her, despite having felt the same way as what she was describing. As she placed her head on his shoulder, he tried his best to remain calm. His face, however, grew considerably redder in a moment, and his lips curled slightly up, as he adjusted his shoulder under the weight of her head and shower of her hair so as to be as comfortable as possible to her. He didn't want her poking herself on his bones. "That's just life, though, isn't it? I've always yearned that it could be as easy as it is on the TV screen. All the people there have the bad parts in their lives removed unless they're explicitly needed for their character arcs to progress. S-sorry if I'm talking weird... Anyways, I've always been disappointed having to return to reality. Reality stinks, it's hard, people aren't focused only on me and like, people's moods change every day. One day you could enjoy, another they could break you. But everyone else is the same as us. Everyone has everything. It's just the aspects of that 'everything' that they choose to train and show vary." He sighed, slowly but surely letting his arm move over across to her shoulder, resting on it shakily. "I-I mean, I don't wanna say you're wrong in being disappointed...I just mean, uh. Gee, I'm sorry, I really dunno, sorry." A creeping doubt that he was wording it all wrong and talking about the wrong subjects appeared in his heart. Did he say she was wrong? Because he didn't mean it. Did he say she wasn't special because everyone felt like that? NO WAY! "BRIT YOU KNOW YOU'RE SPECIAL TO ME, DON'T YOU?" He let it all out, looking up at the ceiling, trying to force himself to look down and meet her eyes. His forehead grew glossy with sweat. "You've always been just as great as you are now. B-but your hard work wasn't for nothing, r-right? You changed into what you wanted to be. Other people don't matter. You're the same Brit yet also different. Every Brit in you is Brit too. So um, I'll always be there, ok. Next time, show them all that you're the best cheerleader. Not for me and not for them. For yourself."

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Brittany felt funny. Usually she was the one to pump her friends up and inspire them, give them the moral boost they needed whenever they felt down. Her? Oh no, she was always in high spirits because "Brittany and bad mood just don't match at all". It was taking longer for her to recover and say the exact same motto this time because it wasn't any regular friend conversing with her. It was Frogerio, her significant one, the guy she fell for since a kid without knowing (or maybe knowing very well), cheering the cheerleader up when she was down, comforting her in his awkward but as sincere way, as she'd like him to be.

“...I changed, but... you didn't...”, the girl said, slowly raising her head not too far from his shoulder, but just a tiny bit to be able to look at him. He remembered her, how she used to be, or at least a part of her he was allowed to meet. Right now, Brittany didn't even care about Frogerio not knowing her entirely, or wondering if he would accept her past the truth revealed, but instead about how he seemed to like her just the way she is. “You're still the same. The same hairstyle with bangs, the glasses, the same stuttering sometimes...”

Her hand moved on her on, delicately adjusting his bangs to the side, an attempt to make sure no hair strands would be in the way between their eyes. Gratitude was expressly visible in her eyes with how each word by him resonated. The girl could thank him verbally, he deserved that and more, if only there weren't other thoughts occupying her mind, thoughts that brought smile back to her otherwise silent lips. “Still the same sweetness... The same kindness... I did change, yeah, but maybe that's because I wasn't "okay". Maybe you remained the same because... you are the one who has always been great as you are, not me. You are the one good enough on your own, so you don't need to change...” To her, Frogerio was the one with his own glow. A glow not everyone can understand, something unique even among the unique ones she know, but someone who can shine bright through his own merit. This was not the reason why Brittany initially was dragged to him, but is definitely the reason why she gravitates towards him since always.

» Companions in Arms (Frogerio)
» Shitposting in the Thunderdome 2008
» The Deep Abyss (Frogerio's Alliance)
» Gotta Go Fast! (Patricia & Frogerio)
» Late Breakfast [Afternoon :: Frogerio Zander]