Danger Days

Chapter Twenty

Plastic Parade decided today she would eat in the courtyard. It's not that she didn't like the people she normally ate with (or at least did once), it's just that there were less people outside. The cafeteria was full of loud, droning chatter, which set her on the edge of a mental breakdown, and to be honest to herself, she didn't like to eat in front of other people. It made her quite uncomfortable, and she found herself waiting until nobody was looking to scoop food into her mouth.

And so, she grabbed her tray and headed into the courtyard, decidedly avoiding looking at Chemical Innocence, who's eyes she could feel burning into her. Guilt welled up inside her, but she tried her best to ignore it.

"I'm a bad friend," she muttered to herself quietly, staring at the ground as she made her way over to a concrete bench to sit.

She ate her food quickly, not bothering to slow down like she would if she were eating with others. As she ate, she kept her eye on her surroundings, mainly the people, but also a black and white dog that occasionally walked over to her and begged for food (which of course she gave to it. What? Dogs are cute.)

After a bit, when her food was almost gone, she noticed a person running into the courtyard, their face pale and drained of blood. Their eyes were dialated, and they were breathing hard. They clutched their arm with pale fingers.

"Are you okay?" Plastic asked them, setting down her food.

"I need..." the person gasped. "I need a doctor."

"Come on," Plastic rushed them, leading them into the healing room, which seemed to take much longer than normal.

"Sit," she instructed. "Pull up your sleeve."

The person seemed reluctant, but gently pulled up their sleeve with a whimper of pain. The arm underneith was bent awkwardly, obviously broken.

Plastic bit her lip, the sharp taste of copper filling her mouth. "Okay." She grabbed a rag from behind her and shoved it at the person, whom she couldn't tell the gender of. "Okay, bite on this."

They reluctantly shoved it in their mouth, biting down hard.

Plastic's heart began to beat faster as panic set in. "Okay. Um. Oh god. I'm really really sorry."

Wincing, she grabbed their arm, and twisted it back into place with a sickening crack.

They let out a high scream, which was muffled by the rag, and yanked their arm away.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry," Plastic said, biting down on her lip again. She grabbed some gauze and rods of what looked like metal, and made a quick splint.

The person winced, their fingers digging into the thin mattress. "Thanks... I think."

"I'm Plastic Parade," she said. "I'm really, really sorry. But now it'll heal straight."

"I'm Snow Bird," they winced, then smiled. "My arm is the only thing about me that's straight now."

It took Plastic a moment to get it, but when she did, nervous laughter escaped her. "Gay?"

"Actually," Bird said, biting their lip. "Well, it's a lot, and I barely know you, but you seem trustworthy. So here goes, because I'm queer af. I'm a pansexual polyamorous trans boy."

"Yikes." Plastic said. "Okay, I'll try to remember. He/him?"

"Or they/them," Bird chirped. "Either one."

"Okay then."

"What about you?"

the question caught her off guard. "What?"

"Pronouns? Sexuality?" Bird tilted his head.

"Oh." Plastic furrowed her brow. The was a good question actually. When she was in the desert, she was busy trying to find food, and shelter, and all that stuff. She wasn't really concearned with who she wanted to date, or what she wanted to identify as. "Um, I don't know. I guess a girl? For sexuality I have literally no idea."

"Would you date a guy?"

Plastic thought, then nodded. She remembered having a fleeting crush on a few male killjoys she had met.

"Would you date a girl?"

She blinked. That would be odd. "Does it really matter? Just date who you want to date I guess. I don't really care about gender."

"Maybe you're Pansexual!" Bird smiled. "That means you'd date anyone, regardless of their gender." He seemed to catch himself. "Of course, you don't have to identify yourself if you don't want to. Like you said, date who you want to date."

Plastic liked that. She smiled, and took a moment to look at Bird.

He had large brown eyes, high cheekbones, and hair that looked very similar to hers, but shorter and darker. He had on a black jacket over a red shirt that said female (with a checkbox next to it), then male (with a checkbox next to it) and then nah (with a check next to it). He had no mask, which he seemed to notice as well, because he touched his face with his hand, then gasped. "Oh no! My helmet!"

"Your helmet?"

"I left it in my room," he groaned.

"I can get it for you!" Plastic chirped, happy to be of use. "What room is it?"

"It's forty one," he said, smiling slightly. "The door is probably open."

"Be right back!" Plastic grinned, racing from the room, her shoes slapping on the floor. She ignored the curious looks (or at least, she tried to,) as she ran out the cafeteria and through the courtyard. The hallway was thankfully empty, and she ran until her breath was coming in short gasps. Finally she reached room forty one, which had a purple door with a llama painted on it. The door was slightly ajar, and soft music was comign from the inside.

There was a cd player inside, running a cd that she didn't recodnize. It was called 'Pretty Odd'. Plastic allowed herself to catch her breath, and listened to the song for a moment.

"She held the world apon a string, but she couldn't ever hold me. Spun the stars on her fingernails, but it never made her happy. Because she couldn't ever have me. I... I know why. Because when I look in her eyes, I just see the skys. When I look in her eyes, well I, just see the skys." a new voice chimed in. "I, don't love you I'm just passing the time. You, could love me if I knew how to lie. But who, could love me I am out of my mind, throwing a line out to sea, to see if I can catch a dream."

Plastic now realized she had been listening long enough for her to catch her breath, and began to look for a helmet. Before long she saw one sitting on the bed. It was black, with a sort of green frog design. It looked familiar.

She grabbed it and began to run back into the room, smiling to herself. Maybe she'd made a friend today.