December — Roleplayer Guild

• Grayson Donovan •

The effort to bring conscious thought to his mind was immensely difficult for Grayson, and it took a good portion of time before he was successful. The first thing he noticed was the discomfort and burning pain in his abdomen, followed by the rawness of his throat. He groaned and rolled over in his bed, floundering about while he regained his sense of balance and awareness. The darkness surrounding him was broken only by the small amount of light that creeped in through the crack underneath the door.

Grayson's inhaled deeply, however this action was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. Phlegm and mucus ran through his throat, further damaging the raw tissues. Grayson continued to rest, sitting quietly in bed for the better part of an hour, drifting in and out of self-awareness. With nothing else to occupy his senses, Grasyon's imagination seized control, displaying for him memories that he would rather forget.

"What's wrong, Gray?" Daniel's soft voice echoed through his mind, bringing a rush of tears to his eyes as he recalled the memory.

Grayson sniffed, wiping is nose with the sleeve of his shirt as he turned away from his brother. "Go away!" The fifteen year old muttered, putting his elbow on his knee and moving his hand so that is blocked his vision of Daniel.

A small, sad chuckle echoed behind him as Daniel took a seat beside his brother, letting his legs dangle off of the edge of the roof. He slowly wrapped his arms around his reluctant younger brother and rested his head on his shoulder, looking out over the neighborhood that the high vantage point provided. They sat in silence, Grayson begrudged Daniel's embrace but unwilling to force him away. He doubted that Daniel would let go even if he did try.

"Talk to me, Gray." The nineteen year old looked over at Grayson's face, unable to make eye contact with him. The younger boy sniffled and shook his head, gazing beyond the view in front of him into the horizon. Daniel gently turned his head so that his nose pressed against Grayson's jaw, his eyes inches from his brother's. "What happened at school?"

After a long moment of silence, Grayson heaved a shakey sigh and swallowed hard. "I miss Greenville." Grayson's lower lip trembled, betraying the fragility he felt inside. "People there had hearts. They didn't hurt you for no reason."

Daniel sat up, resting his hands on Grayson's shoulder and looking at him with concern in his eyes. "Did they hurt you?" Grayson turned his face away, examining a loose thread in his jacket. "Gray, answer me: Did they hurt you?"

After a long moment, Grayson slowly lifted his shirt, revealing bruises running from his lower stomach up to his ribcage before disappearing under his shirt. Daniel uttered an inaudible gasp and slowly traced his fingers over the purple tissue, unable to notice the slight wincing Grayson responded with. "What happened?"

"They said I didn't have any respect." He spoke in an unsteady voice, ripping out the thread in his jacket. "It was just wrestling practice." Daniel ran his hand through Grayson's hair and pulled him closer, hugging him gently.

"It's still not okay for asshats like that to fuck around with a freshman." Grayson jerked his head around, staring at his brother in surprise. Henry, their oldest brother, had issues getting Daniel to even say damn, much less drop an F-bomb. The sudden vulgarity surprised Grayson, however Daniel merely shrugged. "I don't like it when people screw around with my little brother."

Grayson let loose a surprised chuckle and winced, gently placing his hand over his bruised ribs. "Well, I doubt cussing at them will do much good."

"Well, here, I'll tell you what," Grayson pulled his legs back onto the roof and stood up, helping Grayson to his feet as he continued. "Next time one of those half assed-cowards goes for you, do this." He leaned down and wrapped his left arm around the inside of Grayson's leg, putting his right arm around his wait and picked him up. Grayson's let out a surprised shout as Daniel lifted him into the air, worried that they were both going to fall off of the roof. Daniel chuckled and set him down, gesturing vaguely towards the move he had just used on Grayson.

"Make sure to jerk the arm inside their leg up. Gets 'em in the balls pretty good." Grayson raised his eyebrows in surprise; Daniel didn't even arm wrestle because he was scared of hurting someone else.

Daniel shrugged and let loose a genuine laugh. "What? If they're gonna play rough, you gotta too, Gray. And besides, it's legal."

Grayson shook his head and gave his brother a broad smile. "I'll keep that in mind tomorrow."

Daniel smiled and pulled his brother in close with one arm, giving his a rough hug and messing up his hair. "You done moping now? Because there's ice cream inside that's gonna melt soon." Grayson smiled and nodded, making his way towards his bedroom window with Daniel not far behind.

Grayson smiled and opened his eyes. While he wasn't perfect by any definition, he was still far better than he had been when he woke up. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, taking a deep breath. He held it for a long moment, unwilling to let go of this happiness and return to reality. For the first time since the asteroid, he was genuinely content.

He stood up, still holding his breath, and began to walk towards the door, however a thumping noise behind him caused him to turn around. A soft purple glow seemed the illuminate the room, revealing a man unconscious on the floor, dressed only in his underwear. As Grayson moved forward, he recognized the man's face: It was Grayson.

Grayson released a soft gasp. The moment he did, his world disoriented and he jerked awake, laying on the cold tile floor of his bedroom. He looked around, unable to make out anything with his vision except for the small amount of light shining through the cracks in the door frame. He propped himself up on one elbow and peered around.

Was that a dream? Am I hallucinating? Was that just a figment of my imagination?

As he slowly regained his sense of being, he knew it was too realistic to be something he had imagined.

So how the hell did I disconnect from my body?
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