Third floor was the best choice. Their room had clearly been tailored to meet the needs of flying Pokemon, which is exactly what Odile's hyperactive ass needed. A room with enough leg room to soar around without breaking anything, and enough places to perch where she could hang upside down or climb around without making too much noise. And of course, the skylight and balcony were for Odette and Enora to enjoy. A good view was a nice plus.
It was hard to enjoy it all, or even see it, through tears.
Odette had practically sprinted from the dining hall, and didn't allow herself to slow down until she was inside the room she'd chosen. The damned tears didn't even give her the common courtesy to wait until she was safely inside her dorm, out of public view. They were half way down her face before she even made it up the first flight of stairs. She didn't dare take the elevator, because why risk running into somebody else when she was acting like this?
The dam broke as soon as she slammed the door shut, and she leaned on it for leverage as sobs racked her small frame.
In the past, whenever she was overwrought with emotion, she usually just screamed. A single scream, and some deep breaths. That's all it took to right herself. But nowadays, she'd demoted herself to childish tears. Panic. Sometimes she even couldn't breathe; it was absolutely ridiculous. Crying her damn eyes out because strangers were looking at her funny? Or because something had flashed her back to that
thing, or Dorien, or Ultra Space, or Team Enigma, or--
Right. The therapist had a name for what this was called. And Odette wasn't doing herself any favors by crucifying herself for having it.
She adjusted herself to sit on the floor, having not realized Enora and Odile had moved up next to her. Enora had her ribbons wrapped Odette's leg, while Odile stood by, wringing her hands uncomfortably.
"Can I please help you this time?"
She was quiet while she thought about it. It didn't take long before she nodded. "Please."
Enora brought her ribbons up to the sides of Odette's head, caressing her temples with them. The tips of them began to glow with a soft pink light as they imbued a sense of calm into her.
The relief fell on like a wash of warm water. It felt good. She felt so much less weighted now. "Thanks."
"̷D̶-̶d̸i̶d̴ ̷I̸ ̴d̸o̴ ̸s̸o̴m̷e̶t̸h̴i̵n̴g̷ ̴a̶g̷a̸i̸n̶?̵ ̴I̵-̴I̸ ̷r̷e̴a̵l̴l̶y̴ ̷t̵r̷i̶e̸d̴ ̴t̶o̶ ̵n̸o̸t̷ ̵c̵a̷u̸s̷e̵ ̴p̶r̵o̸b̴l̴e̴m̸s̷ ̶o̵n̴ ̶p̷u̸r̷p̸o̷s̸e̸ ̷l̷i̵k̴e̶ ̸I̴ ̶s̵a̴i̵d̴ ̶I̵ ̵w̵o̸u̷l̵d̵,̵ ̸b̶u̷t̵ ̴s̶o̶m̴e̴t̷i̴m̶e̸s̵ ̷I̵ ̷c̷a̵n̸'̵t̷ ̶r̵e̵a̵l̸l̵y̵-̷-̵"̷
"No," Odette said slowly. "You were actually very good tonight." Even though she'd stolen an entire tray of food straight off the bar, but that was entirely preferable to her feeding off somebody's untapped wrath and causing a fight. "I appreciate it."
"̸F̴U̴C̸K̶ ̶F̶U̶C̷K̵I̴N̷G̵ ̶Y̸E̷A̴H̵,̶ ̴I̴ ̶L̶I̸S̵T̸E̶N̷E̸D̸.̸"̵
For once, Odile's random outbursts was a pinch of comedy that she needed right now. She forced a small laugh through her lasting sniffles as she wiped her eyes.
Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzzt.
"Shit," she said upon feeling her phone buzz against her leg. She whipped it out, and suddenly panicked when she saw it was Clovis video calling. She didn't even have time to be grateful that her phone still had service, now that she knew for certain this was a multiverse setting, because she stood up and rushed to put herself back together.
"Stop crying. You're chill. Everything's chill," she told herself. She wiped her eyes again with her sleeve. "No tears. Don't freak them out. You're fine." She sniffled, then took a deep, shaky breath as she balled her hands in determination.
"WE. ARE HAVING. A FANTASTIC. TIME."
She pressed the answer button.
"Hi, Bunny."
She was a little taken aback to see that it was Guzma, holding the camera up to the mirror, showing that he was dressed to impress in perhaps one of the nicest suits she'd ever seen him in.
"'Dette,
check this motherfuckin' drip. I'm a fuckin'
baller," he said as he struck some Chad-esque pose.
In the background, Clovis's voice rang out. "Guzma, Loic, where the
fuck is my phone? I left it here on the night stand."
Somewhere further off in the distance, Loic shrieked. Something crashed. Assorted Pokemon cries could be heard.
"I have it, idiot. I'm callin' O. Mine died," Guzma replied after a long cringe.
"I TOLD YOU TO CHARGE IT."
"'ND I DIDN'T LISTEN, GROUND ME."
Clovis soon rushed into view of the mirror, also dressed fabulously. He'd even pushed his hair back, good fucking gods. They
matched. What a sight they were.
She wished she was with them and not here.
"Then you're going to have to give it to Vikavolt in the car, because we're going to miss our reservation if we don't leave now," Clovis sighed, adjusting his tie.
"Dinner plans?" Odette asked through a smile.
Clovis finally stopped his primping and walked over to peer at the phone. "Hiiiiiiiii Sweetness," he cooed. "Yeah, we all have reservations with--"
He suddenly paused, and his brows knit in concern. He snatched the phone from Guzma and switched the camera around. "Honey, were you crying?" he asked frantically.
That eagle eyed motherfucker. She felt herself blanch. "No, I--"
"Hey, yeah," Guzma whined, now also looking. "Yer eyes are all puffy." His expression quickly became furious, and he pounded a fist into his palm. "WHO 'M I ROLLIN' UP TO FUCKIN' BEAT TO DEATH FOR MAKIN' YOU--"
Clovis pushed on Guzma's head aggressively, and he stopped talking.
"What's wrong, Sweetness?" Clovis asked softly.
She shook her head, stammering over an onslaught of excuses. "I-I wasn't crying. I was just...homesick."
Neither of them said anything at first. They just exchanged glances.
"Want us to come getcha?" Guzma spoke.
That was out of the question. If either of them knew this was another one of those multiverse things, they'd flip the hell out. She shook her head frantically. "No, don't worry about it. I'm okay, really." Besides, she was no quitter. PTSD or not. She wanted to be anywhere else but here, yes, but she was determined to pull through without having to run back to them. "All good. I'm more concerned with whatever Loic just broke," she joked, pushing through a light laugh. How they were going to get his ass through a nice dinner was beyond her, but that was a far more entertaining thought than whatever was plaguing her now.
She sauntered over to her bed and sat down, feeling as Enora hopped up next to her. Odile merely sat on the floor at her feet. She looked back and forth between them almost solemnly, before laying back onto her pillow.
"Tell me about your dinner plans." Anything to keep them off her puffy eyes, and her mind off of the next two weeks.
