Flicker - Chris Sturniolo

Millie

Matt sped on over to Isabel's house because if there was one thing he knew it was that Chris needed him to be there so he was doing everything in his power to make sure he got there as soon as he could. Alora sat quietly in the passenger seat anxiously biting her nails. The two of them didn't have a clue in the world why Chris wanted to be picked up but that didn't minimize their worries in the slightest.

The 10-minute drive felt like forever by the time they pulled in front of the house Alora assumed was Isabel's. When she saw Chris practically run out the door she took it as her cue to get out so she could move into the back seat. As Chris got closer she saw the panicked sort of look on his face and when he was in hearing range she asked the boy, "Are you okay?"

Chris had barely noticed her standing in front of the passenger door till his ears were met with the sound of her familiar voice. He abruptly stopped in front of her and let go of a breath that he didn't know he was holding when their eyes met, "Yeah, yeah I'm good," He quickly spoke trying his best to calm his own nerves.

The way his chest was quickly rising in falling didn't go unnoticed by Alora. Putting a hand on his shoulder she told him, "Chris breathe," and Chris listened. With the comforting hand on his shoulder and her eyes pleading with him to slow down he took a few deep breaths, "There you go," She told him as she squeezed his shoulder.

Small gestures were something everyone craved whether they acknowledged it or not. In a way, it was quite scary how much control someone could have if they made a vulnerable person feel heard.

Alora gave him a small smile and opened the back door, making herself comfortable in the middle seat of the back row so that she could see both Matt and Chris.

Matt didn't waste a second checking on his brother once he made contact with the seat of the car, "Yo you good? What happened?" He asked.

"She got a message from one of her friends or something and Siri read it out loud," He mumbled as he buckled up. Matt and Alora shared a confused look as they waited for him to elaborate, "She wanted the fame that came with hanging around me," If you weren't listening closely it would have been easy to miss what he said due to how quiet his voice was.

Alora's expression soften as she looked at Chris who hung his head low. Matt was comforting his brother with words as Alora took it upon herself to put her hand back on Chris's shoulder using her thumb to rub circles on his upper arm.

As soon as Alora's hand made contact with his skin he leaned his head on top of her hand, attempting to be as close to comfort as he could. Alora wasn't always good with consoling words but she knew how to speak louder with her actions. "You don't deserve that Chris and she doesn't deserve you. If she wants fame she can pull something out of her ass and have to work as hard as you, Nick, and Matt did to get to where you are. Don't beat yourself up over it. You couldn't have known," She said. Matt nodded his head in agreement as he pulled away from the house.

Chris knew Alora and Matt were right, but why didn't that help? He finally found himself catching feelings for a girl he could potentially see himself ending up dating, but why didn't she want him for something other than fame? His thoughts just caused him to sigh which earned him a look from Alora, but he couldn't see that. He had only felt her hand give him a tight squeeze that caused him to lift his head and look back at her. She had a small but sad smile sitting on her face. He gave her the same small smile as she put her hand up to his cheek. He didn't even realize that he was leaning into her touch till rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone. She got closer so only he could hear her ask, "Chris are you sure you're alright?"

He gave her a small nod and lifted his head slightly so that she could pull her hand away. Matt hadn't noticed the moment between the two because of the way he was flipping off the driver in the lane next to him. Suddenly Chris felt cold without feeling Alora's hand on him. He bounced his leg up and down trying to distract himself from thinking too much, but his attempts at that failed when suddenly he was back to thinking of the text he heard echo through Isabel's room.