Lunchtime

Brew was in the queue for food in the school cafeteria. He looked around the place- it was still his first day, and he was pretty unsure still of what to do. Granted, no mental breakdown yet but he still didn't know if he belonged here. He hadn't made any real friends (though admittedly he made little effort to actually befriend anyone) and was still feeling like an outsider. Maybe it was his thing with girls. He just couldn't help it! If you'd accidentally made a virility boosting mix in science then mercilessly kissed, nobody would be doing well! It wasn't his fault! It was her fault! She made him give her it, then tortured him by kissing him. Well look how well that went- a nervous breakdown, a trip to the psychiatrist and then the teasing. Oh, the teasing. "Brew's gay!" "Brew doesn't like girls!" "Brew's a jerk! He made Icy cry!"

He calmed down and took his food. The grub here was decent- not exactly gourmet cuisine but not any bugs in the food either. He got himself some beans, a couple of sausages and a drink of orange juice. He sat down at a table by himself, unsure as to whether he wanted anyone to sit with him or not. He noticed a group of girls all sitting at a nearby table, and a couple of them were looking at him and giggling. He turned his eyes away and kept eating. Nobody liked a shy guy. Besides, Brew wasn't all that attractive. The eye thing aside, his hair was messy and he made sure not to eat anything with mint in it. His breath wouldn't stink, but wouldn't be too Rosey either. 

He took out his phone and started looking at YouTube. He watched a couple of one piece openings (11 and 16 to be exact). That would really keep them away- anime nerds were liked even less than shy guys.

(Forgive any errors in school system. I'm Scottish and don't know how things work for you yanks.)

(Yanks... psst. I've got none of that ridiculousness in my blood.)

Rosella sat down by herself at the only empty table in the cafeteria. She really didn't mind it. Solitude was better than seeing somepony get hurt because of her, and that happened so often that she had given up on the friend-making.

She completely ignored the salad in front of her, instead staring angrily at her fingers. They were immaculately perfect, showing the devotion the lovely teen had put into the care of her body, but she hated what they could do. One hand snaked up to her chest, where, hidden under a rather pretty scarf, was the only imperfection on her glowing body. The heart-shaped scar ached a little at her touch, but she preferred the pain to the memories.

Dealing with Multiple Personality Disorder was hard. She envied others with her diagnosis; at least they didn't remember what happened when their other selves took the wheel from their control. It was not as bad as screaming but not being heard, crying but not being seen, as her other, sullen self ripped the reins from her hands and lost her all of her companions... all because of a stupid, painful broken heart.

She brushed her curly hair out of her face and pushed her food away. She wasn't hungry, anyways.

Brew was getting rather uncomfortable- those girls were still at it. He heard faint "aaaaaaw"s and decided he wasn't going to put up with it. He stood up and decided to take his food elsewhere. He noticed there was a quite bare table. Granted, a girl was sitting at the end of it but so long as she didn't try anything then she and Brew would get on just fine.

He walked up to the table and set his food down, sitting not too far away but not too close to the girl. He continued eating, and thankfully he didn't hear any more giggling. Brew took a glance at those girls from earlier and saw they were making a sort of "don't do it" gesture. Brew just stuck his tongue out at them and kept eating, though he heard another burst of giggles at that. To distract himself, he turned to the girl at the table.

"Erm...hi. I-I hope you don't mind if I sit here. Those harpies keep giggling and pointing at me, and I'm pretty sure one of them tried to pinch my butt."

The pretty girl raised her eyebrows at the boy who sat at her table. She thought the rumor had gotten around by now about the crazy ginger senior, but, evidently, this guy hadn't gotten the memo. 

She wasn't ginger, really. Her hair was red, like the rose she was named after, not orange. And, granted, she did have freckles, but they lined her cheekbones in an orderly fashion, not like someone had spit on her face. 

"Don't worry," Rose murmured. "I'm not interested."

She brushed her curls back with her slender fingers again, a habit that had developed from years of having thick hair. She looked over at the so-called harpies and, for a brief moment, thought she saw them laughing before they avoided her sad gaze.

"Let them laugh," she said. "I don't care. You'd think by now they'd give it up. They never get a reaction from me. I grew out of such childishness a long time ago."

Brew didn't really mind the somber mood this girl gave off. If anything, it was kind of refreshing. Most girls he'd met in this school were either really upbeat or like a certain gaggle of girls referenced previously. He smiled at her. Nice to see a girl that he didn't feel uncomfortable around.

"That's good. I'm not exactly comfortable with that stuff- that's the main reason I moved here. Anyway, nice to meet you."

Brew noticed a few people were staring at them, as if in anticipation for something. What, were they expecting them to start arguing or something? He didn't really know, nor did he care. However, he was slightly annoyed when a piece of paper hit the back of his head. Angrily, he looked around for the culprit. Nobody was even looking anymore. Brew sighed and picked up the rolled up ball of paper. Unfurling it, the letter read:

"She's a psycho, get out of there."

Brew simply raised an eyebrow. This girl seemed perfectly nice. A little quiet, but nice. He decided to make conversation to show that he wasn't scared.

"Well, my name's Mixed Brew. What's yours?"

Rose looked up at the boy. He was rather good-looking, which set very loud and obnoxious warning bells off in her head, but, seeing as his intentions were innocent for the moment, she complied.

"My name is Rosella Petals, but I've been called many things. Rosie, Rose, Ella, That Thing, The Witch, Psycho Girl, Insane, Deranged... you get the point." She sighed. "It's nice to have someone to talk to these days. This school is full of lies, deceit, and angry cliques. At least back home, I had a few friends."

Rose shifted her gaze to the table where all of the girls sat, twittering away like birds. Showing weakness for once, she looked away quickly, directing her stare down at her fingers again as she quietly hummed a morbid song.

Brew's eyes turned sympathetic. He did his best to hide his orange one though- didn't want anyone to notice yet.

"I don't really like those nicknames. I'll just call you Rosie, if that's alright."

He was thinking about asking her why exactly she was called all those names, but it was probably an uncomfortable subject. He was finished with his food, but he didn't want to leave Rose alone. Being lonely was never fun and-

Wait, why was Brew being so friendly? He'd only been talking with Rose for about five minuites and already he considered her a friend? And that she was a girl? This just didn't make sense. He guessed him and Rose just identified with each other- both bullied and both clearly damaged. Maybe that wasn't solid foundation for a friendship, but who cares? He liked Rose- she seemed nice.

Hmm. So, not another idiotic flirt. She nodded in acknowledgement, looking up at him with her golden eyes.

"So, what did the twitter group do to you?" she asked. "You're one smart cookie to not meddle in that business, but their advances are very  sharp and straightforward. I've seen many helpless prey get ensnared in their grasp."

She wondered why she was being so friendly towards this boy. After all, being nice often morphed into screaming matches and fleeing "friends." 

Rose missed Blindsight, Stargazer, and Calla Lily. They really were the only people who understood her, but they were far away, and here she was. Instead, she focused on happy thoughts.

Brew shrugged at Rose's question.

"They didn't do a whole lot. Just kept looking at me and giggling, plus one trying to pinch my ass on the way past. And yeah, I remember hearing about some guy named Braille or something getting caught up with them."

He thought a moment. Rose had mentioned earlier about her having friends back home. He'd put that one in the 'to be asked later' hypothetical tray. He checked his watch; only 5 minutes until the bell goes.

"What do you mean exactly by 'ensnared in their grasp'? What do they do to someone who falls for them?"

A harsh laugh slipped past Rose's lips, leaving her frowning angrily at the group.

"Oh, the usual..." she started. "They pick up a guy, play with him like a cat toy, and throw him away when they get tired. If anyone cares about popularity and gets caught in this cycle, they can kiss their social life goodbye. It's rather tragic to watch. No one wants someone who got dumped by the perfects."

She leveled with him.

"I'd encourage you to not get caught in their web. After all, people get hurt in there." Rose scowled. "After all, I've seen enough of the pain to last multiple lifetimes."

Brew gave Rose a small smile.

"Don't worry. I'm not the type to get caught up in that stuff. I'm terrified of it, to be quite honest. Won't bother you with the details."

The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. Brew got up and looked at his timetable.

"Hmm...science next. What do you have? If it's near science I'll walk there with you if you want."

After getting his response, Brew waited for the 'Perfects' ,as Rose called them, to leave. He noticed a couple of them dawdling at the door, but when Brew flashed his eyes at them they scarpered. Never failed that one: show off the mismatched eyes. He quickly got back to trying to avoid Rose seeing his orange eye; he didn't want her to think he was a freak.

Rose bit her lip. Her next class was supposed to be free, but she usually was harassed into a session with the counselor about her behavior. After all, she kept her disorder a secret. She certainly didn't want Brew thinking she was a freak.

She gave him a weak smile and tugged on her scarf, making sure the heart scar was covered up and out of sight. 

"I've the next two periods off," she said sheepishly. "I usually spend it in the library, though, and it's pretty close to the science classrooms. We can go slowly... If you have Mr. Hanson, you know he doesn't care about people being late. Are you in his AP Biology class?" 

She stood up, her dress clinging to her statuesque figure as she leaned down and picked up her books. She could have fit in well with the Perfects if she wasn't so broken. Standing back up, she caught a glimpse of his other eye, and a small smile flitted across her face.

"I like them," she said, gesturing to his face. "Very exotic and unique. Remind me to show you my imperfection; they make a person special, do they not?"

Brew wasn't sure how to react to Rose. On one hand, it creeped him out a little. It was a pretty personal thing. Still, she'd already seen his eyes anyway so he guessed there was no loss. She didn't seem to think he was a freak anyway. He decided he'd go along with it- who knows, if he learned to trust her maybe he could get back to how he was before:  not so much exuberant, more just satisfied with himself and not feeling like running from every girl he met.

Brew took out his timetable and checked.

"Yeah, I've got that class. I'll go with you. Also, I don't really know if he doesn't care. I just got here today."

He walked with Rose, going at her pace.

"So, what's this imperfection of yours?"

Rose chuckled nervously, looking down at her glittering shoes and biting her lip. "Oh, there's really two. One was self-inflicted about two years ago, and the other is much more important, but it's internal... up here."

She tapped her temple.

"They call me crazy, but I'm not. No, it's much more serious than that..."

Rosie looked at him hesitantly, suddenly afraid. Many a time she had scared away potential friends with her secret, and many a time she had hurt them as well. Would the same happen here?

Instead, she pulled the scarf off of her neck. Where one would expect there to be smooth white skin, there was a puckered scar, obviously left by a deep cut. Standing far enough away, one could make out the shape of a heart, carved over the place where the vital organ rested. It was a tragic tale, part of the overall problem, and she figured this was the best way to start out.

"If this doesn't scare you away, then maybe I'll explain further," she said sadly.

Brew listened intently. So she had some psychological damage. He'd already got that impression anyway, and he empathised. He knew that it was difficult being mentally different to seemingly everyone else. When she showed him the scar, his eyes widened. The blue one seemed to shimmer with sympathy while the orange one dulled a little. When she said what she did, he gave her a look.

"I won't be scared off. You need to talk about this from what I can tell, and I want to help you. Please go on."

He was internally theorising what it could be. Bipolar disorder? Nah, he hadn't seen any mood swings. He didn't think she'd self-harm herself on a whim- Rose seemed far too strong for that. Brew listened, eager to learn more.

Rosie sighed, her breath shuddering out of her lungs before she started again.

"I'm not crazy, but one would think so if there were two girls in one body. See, I was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder two years ago. Apparently, my second personality sat dormant for a very long time, but a... heartbreak.... brought Her back. I'm different from the others with my diagnosis, though. Most people are unaware of what goes on when their other personality comes out, but I'm shoved to the backseat, directing but being ignored."

Tears pooled in her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could show weakness.

"No one understands how hard it is to scream and not be heard, to cry and not be seen, to shove and not be felt. I'm powerless, struggling to take the reins back from Her when She takes over, and She's a violent, sullen, emotional person. That's why I don't have any friends, Brew! That's why I separate myself from others. It's so I can suffer in silence..."

Rose's eyes widened as she realized that she had just revealed her most closely-guarded secret to someone who was practically a stranger. Horrified, she clenched her fists and looked away.

Brew was really feeling a little ashamed. Here he was whining about his little issue while this girl here felt completely alone due to something she desperately wanted to prevent. He didn't really know what to do about her sort of turning away, so he said the only thing he could really think of.

"I'll be your friend."

That might seem trivial to someone else, but to someone constantly rejected and ostracised it can mean the world to them.

"And if it's any consolation, I have a bit of a psychological thing too, albeit less extreme. You okay if I talk about that?"

Rose felt the tears really come this time. A friend? Here? In Hell? Gosh, what a lovely dream to have. She turned back to Brew, a smile shining through her tears, before she gave him the very unexpected hug she had longed to give for months.

"Sure, Brew. I'll hear it all. Mr Hanson probably won't mind if you show up to class today, anyways... they're watching a movie. Do you mind if you skip a class? We'll have loads of time."

Friend. How sweet the sound was in her mind, as it rang and glimmered with an evanescence that she hoped would stay tangible.

The only test, of course, was to see if he could stand Her.

When Rose hugged him, Brew resisted with all his might not to run away. He just managed it, Rose breaking off the hug. He tugged at his collar, then decided to tell the story.

"First off, I'm up for missing a period. I'll just say I wasn't sure about whether I was okay here and so on. Anyway, it started last year. I used to go to Manhattan high over in New York. I had a particular thing for chemistry- I was always good at that. So one day I mix up what was meant to a rejuvenating mix. However, I was reading the wrong page and ended up making a love potion. Well, distilled hormones but it's pretty much the same thing. I give it to my lab partner, a girl named Icy Word. She drinks it and the next thing I know she's holding me down on the desk and kissing me like I was the last guy on earth. That might sound great, but I didn't consent to it and it was choking and horrible and scary and it was like she was raping me and......"

Brew took a deep breath, fighting back tears. 

"Anyway, to make a long story short I ended up getting really jumpy around girls. Then rumours started to spread in my school: that I was gay, that is hurt Icy and was a terrible person for it." 

He but his lip, holding back the painful memories.

(Oh sweet Celestia the aaaaaaaaaangst)

"Oh," Rose said in shock. "What an unfortunate twist of fate. See, that's why this school is so messed up. No one gives anyone else a chance."

Speaking for the both of them, she led him into the library. "Sometimes, there's a decent person underneath all the hardships. What a horrible way to meet; both broken, licking wounds that seem like they'll never heal." She looked up and gave a pleading sigh. "Do you mind if I explain the catalyst to my problems? I feel like I need to get all of this wretched weight of my chest. Relationships, much like yours, is what started mine." 

Quietly, she tapped her foot on the ground, a sense of impatience taking over her. 

"I'll tread carefully in these treacherous waters. I'm very sorry that the misfortune had to happen to you, and I hope that Icy and you make up someday, if you haven't already."

Swift Reaper and Starlight entered the cafeteria, late as usual. The room got slightly more silent as whispers could be heard, entailing words like 'creep,' 'skelly,' or even 'necro.' Of course, none of this was true. Magic was pretty flippin fake, but Swift always had that mysterious look to him. There were rumors that he murdered someone and brainwashed the police, but everyone was pretty scared to speak out. Besides, they would say with a nervous laugh, that's just a silly rumor. But, in their heart, they all harbored some fear towards Swift, who sat down at a table, prompting the people sitting there to relocate.

Starlight, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Nobody knew why Starlight fell for Swift, but they all knew that she fell pretty far. She was often with him at all times, but this day, she was at her low point. It was afternoon, and night-owl Starlight was not pleased with her exhaustion. She went and sat by the nearest table without grabbing food.

Swift quickly ate one bite before throwing the rest away, and walking towards the library. There, he saw two people. Rose was, surprisingly, talking with Brew, who was terrified of girls. He walked up to them, his presence seemingly causing the light around him to grow dimmer.

"Hello, Brew. What is currently transpiring in this great library? On what grounds are you speaking with your greatest terror?"

Swift was always blunt, but this was odd for him. Then again, Brew wasn't exactly his best friend. Far from it, Swift really disliked the guy for how he gave Starlight the creeps. He wished the guy would stop glaring at his girlfriend, seriously.

Brew nodded at Rose.

"Yeah, you mentioned a heartbreak earlier. Of course I'll listen. We're friends after all."

He rolled that word over his tounge. Friend. Felt kind of weird. He had pals back in New York but after the incident he left the city behind. Brew just laughed at he and Icy making up.

"Oh believe me. We won't ever make up. She hates me for ruining her reputation and I can't look at her without remembering her suffocating me with her lips."

Some random guy suddenly started talking to them. He talked like he knew Brew pretty well, strangely.

"Erm...how do you know about that stuff? I've only been here half a day pal."

Brew got a bad vibe off the guy, yet didn't want to be mean. It was hard being ostracised, and for the way this joker talked and behaved Brew got the impression he was rather shunned. It would make him a bit of a hypocrite of he got worked up about a guy just because of a vibe then whine about how he was (kind of) bullied.

Rose's face hardened into the mask of slight disinterest that she wore when she didn't want to share her emotions. Maybe she'd wait; this was surely some sign that it wasn't time to say anything about Recurve yet.

"Hey," she said sternly. "Back off. I'm not really in the mood for snide comments, and I'm pretty sure that if you keep going, She's going to do something we'll all regret."

Rose realized that she'd slipped up. She looked quickly at Brew, grasping at strings with which to recover from this grave error. Faust, she was stupid. This guy didn't seem like the type to hold back, either, and she was sure she'd get some heat if this problem wasn't resolved anytime soon.

((Sorry for late posting!))

Swift kept his composure, saying, "I am in association with several informants. As for you, Rose, I do believe that I will regret no such thing." He smiled beneath his creepy green mask, drawing a sheet of EVA foam from his backpack, along with PVC, a heat gun, and a large stack of papers before going off to make his latest LARP stuff. It was little more than a hobby to him, but it helped to pass the time. He began cutting out EVA foam in the shape of a scythe.

He kept working, pretending not to notice the two while secretly listening.

Brew was creeped out by this guy- informants? This was weird. Plus, he wouldn't regret Rose's other personality coming out? Did he want to see her or something? He looked at Rose and said:

"We'd better move to another table. That freak will probably be listening in on us."

After they moved, Brew kept talking in a whisper and kept an eye on this guy. He couldn't place why, but he just gave him the creeps. Brew whispered to Rose, quite close to her ear:

"So, you wanted to tell me about this heartbreak? I'll understand if you don't feel like talking about it, especially with captain creepy over there listening in.

(Ish okay. I didn't mean to moan at you in PM if I did. Huggles? >^_^> )