TeamFortress2's New Addition

Chapter Forty-Two

You walked back with Demo, feeling both content and satisfied for the first time in a long time. He moved his hand to lay his arm around your shoulders. He smiled down at you. You looked up at him, smiling and feeling a tear prick at your eye as you realized you quite possibly have a genuine friend. You welcomed the gesture, laughing slightly in such a blissful moment.

You both crossed into the hallway leading to the living room and kitchen. Engie passed in front of you two and saw you walking together. He shifted a bit, looking pleasantly surprised. He waved at you and smiled. You giggled and waved back.

"What's for lunch?" You found yourself asking. That's kind of weird, I'm usually silent. Engie let out a short laugh.

"Well, I'd have ta say that I don't know darlin'," he answered honestly. "Pahro was cookin' today, so how about we go find out?"

He pointed to the kitchen and waited for you and Demo to catch up to him. Demo let your shoulders go, and you kept your smile on your face. You walked in front of them, but you heard Engie and Demo having a conversation behind you. Going against your usual nature, you decided not to listen in. I'm only concerned with lunch today. I don't want anything else to worry about.

Almost everyone was gathered there, except for Scout and Medic. Still, you grabbed a couple of slices of pizza Pyro made and sat down at your usual spot. You thanked Pyro and he gave you a happy thumbs up. Oh that's awesome. This whole moment's awesome.

You couldn't help but notice everyone snatching glances at you and murmuring to each other. It put you slightly on edge, but you decided to push it aside. Maybe they're just happy for me! Yeah..., or they're confused as to... why I'm so happy after what happened... with Medic.

You stared at your food for a second as worry tried to trickle onto you and settle in. Then, you mentally slapped yourself. No! I will not think like that! It'll ruin my mood..., but are my emotions a lie? Am I just ignoring the problem? Am I just trying to cling to one of the only happy moments of my time here? No, no! I will not think like that! I'm letting my brain do too much shit to me right now, and I will not have it! I don't care if I'm clinging to a lie! At least it's a happy one!

You shoved your food into your mouth to distract you. The pizza tasted slightly burnt, but who cares! You sure didn't! It was good and you were going to be happy from now on! Well you know emotions don't last forever, right? Shut up! I don't want your negativity right now! The glass is half-full, not half-empty. Well, actually it's half-empty and half-full, but it's just a glass of water. I'll drink it to spite you! Um, sure.

Scout walked in and passed you a concerned look. It seemed to burn into your brain, but you brushed it aside with the rest of your concerns and waved happily at him. See? I'm fine! He lifted an eyebrow and nodded slowly, grabbing a plate and sitting down. Come on, don't let it bother you. See? You're fine! Nothing will faze you.

Then, Medic walked into the door, and it was like your world just screeched to a halt. The words around you became a fuzzy mess as you watched him scan the room. Any happiness you felt suddenly disappeared. In its place, paranoia, worry, and panic filled its place nicely. You couldn't find the will to speak, but it wasn't like you would have anything to say to him. Your mind was blank.

He scanned the room and made eye contact with you. You snapped your gaze away. You could feel people looking at you and then back to Medic. I'm not bothered, right? You chose a half-lidded expression and looked down at your plate.

It's fine, you'll be fine. Just pretend that everything's normal and it'll all go away. No, you know that's stupid! The answer to the problem is to talk to Medic, but I can't bring myself to do it! What am I going to do?