ic contact;

[orangehoodie]

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION | ETC.

Comments

[pheromonecoffee]

He's a dad. It's what they do. I'm sorry if you got in trouble because of me...

[orangehoodie]

I'm not in trouble. [He started off on one side of Matt, but he takes a few steps forward, ending up on the other side, peering up at him.]

Hey. Would it be better if I stayed away for a while? I mean, it can't be easy, right? Even if he's just worried, having him breathing down your neck like that... I mean, he's not gonna stop us from talking, but. Maybe I should hold off on visiting for a while?

[pheromonecoffee]

[He blinks in confusion and then looks... guilty.]

You do what you want. Okay?

[orangehoodie]

... I want to keep hanging out. [He lets out a breath. Not quite a sigh, but a deeper breath than before.] Over the summer, even if we don't go to New York, and if you're not busy, I want to do homework with you once school starts, too.

Nadia's dad thought she was getting Echoes because of me, once. And he's the senator. I thought we were a goner and I might not get to see her anymore. I didn't want that. But I didn't... want her to to get in trouble, or for her to worry that she'd get me in trouble by being around her.

Is it hard to be around me?

[pheromonecoffee]

... You're like a little brother I never got to have, Ken. It's not that it's hard to be around you. [He crouches to look him in the eye, so he's shorter than Ken and takes him by the shoulders.] But I was supposed to be keeping an eye on you and you got hurt.

[orangehoodie]

... You've done a better job of looking out for me than SEES ever did with him.

[He looks back at Matt, not breaking eye contact, but raising one hand to grasp Matt's sleeve gently.]

You're still like a brother to me. One dumb mob's not gonna change that.

[pheromonecoffee]

We aren't SEES, Ken. We have chances of being happy. Of not running into danger we can't beat.

I saw you get hurt enough to last a life time.

[orangehoodie]

... I don't want to see anyone get hurt. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore, either.

But -- being a Numbered got me friends. I don't want to let go of that either. It's dangerous, and it's messed up -- Ken keeps giving me fucked up memories and so does Minato to you -- but I want to stay, and be your friend.

[pheromonecoffee]

Being Numbered didn't get you friends, Ken. I was tutoring you, whether you were Numbered or not. And you were lonely. It doesn't matter we share echoes--I would have been your friend. You were nice to Nadia when she didn't know what was happening. You helped her when she had no one else. You were nice to Basil in class when he could've been feeling alienated.

Ken, that's not being Numbered. That's being you. Do you think anybody cares about your Numbers? They care about Ken Amada. The only thing being Numbered did was give you a better platform.

[orangehoodie]

[His face turns red, and his mouth shuts tight. The blood rushes to his head and he his grasp on Matt's sleeve tightens.

Without the Numbers, to him, he would never have had the chance. Matt would've been any other tutor, any other person sent his way by a teacher or his father. He would've never spoken to Nadia; he would've never spoken to Basil if he never spoke to Nadia. Even if they didn't care about his Number, it was because he had it that he even had this chance. Even if it came with the memories of being shot at or being crushed by a table, or losing so many people to death. Being a Numbered had given him the chance for all that change, even if he hated it. He even cared about Nemesis, at this point. She was his.

if he lost his Number completely, he might forget something important. Maybe not everything, but something important. That scares him.]

... Are you [a pause] okay with me sticking around? [He doesn't want to lose anything he's gained. But he doesn't want to hurt the things he's come to care about either.]

[pheromonecoffee]

I don't want you to get hurt from my stupid ideas, Ken. [Of course he wants Ken to stick around. His grip tightens on the smaller boy's shoulders.]

You're just a kid. You need to be safe.

[orangehoodie]

You're older than me, but you need to be safe, too. [He's still holding his friend's sleeve.] Your ideas've never hurt me.

[pheromonecoffee]

I was the one who took you to Vegas.

[orangehoodie]

You didn't take me to Vegas saying we were going to jump into a pool of brainwashed attackers. We didn't know it was gonna happen. [He shakes his head and sighs.] I have dumber ideas than you.

[pheromonecoffee]

I should've prioritized getting you to safety. I didn't realize they'd attack you.

[And then he is pulling Ken close and tightly holding onto him because he has run the worst case scenarios in his head a hundred times.]

[orangehoodie]

[Oh. Oh he wasn't expecting that. He blinks in surprise and is still for a moment before he raises his arms to wrap them around Matt in return.]

I don't think anyone thought that. But I'm here, and I'm okay. I promise.

[pheromonecoffee]

I want you to stay that way. I need you to. [Please. He doesn't want to lose people.]

[orangehoodie]

I will. You don't have to worry about me going away from you.

[He holds him back tightly, and his fingers curl in Matt's shirt.] I promise.

[pheromonecoffee]

I mean it. Do everything you can to be safe. I get scared, too, you know.

[orangehoodie]

I will. I won't go anywhere. You stay safe, too, okay?

[pheromonecoffee]

Who's going to keep an eye on you if I don't?

[orangehoodie]

[He takes one hand and hits him. Lightly. And leans a little on him. Just a little.] Exactly.

But, I was saying with Nadia, we might try to take some classes. Self defense... I can't have a spear on me all the time, and it'll be better than nothing.

[pheromonecoffee]

[Matt ruffles his hair.]

Sounds like a smart plan. And to think I tutored you.

[orangehoodie]

I'm glad you're alive.

[pheromonecoffee]

Like a crowd could kill me? I wasn't hurt badly.