Creative Corner

Reusing post

So, I want to get back into writing, but I've been having trouble summoning the muse.

A lot of my writing has either been here or in DMs to my friends, so I'm hoping that maybe if I write some short stuff here, I'll get somewhere. We'll see.

Cooper flipped his scarf over his shoulder, then stirred and sipped his tea. "How are you doing?"

Will looked out the window. "She's adjusting."

Cooper raised a brow and took another sip.

Will groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "She doesn't talk to me. I can't ever tell what she's thinking. When I ask, she just says she's okay, but I can tell her heart's not in it. But I have nothing. The teachers says she's a good student but quiet. They're concerned that she seems to have no friends and doesn't really interact with the other students." Will sighed. "I'm at my absolute wit's end. I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and this all to bl--"

"Will." Cooper reached over and caught his hand. "Buddy. She just woke up. The docs said the tech's experimental, right?" He rubbed circles across Will's knuckles. "I did some digging and found the list." Cooper pretended to whistle and karate chopped at his own elbow. "That was a hella long list of complications. Everything from aphasia and inability to understand speech to mood swings and 'other unspecified personality changes'."

"I know--"

"--but it hasn't really sunk in?" Cooper gave a wry smile. "Give yourself time and space, Will. It's going to be hard. Even without all this, parents and children get into...rough patches all the time. The first step to helping her is to take care of yourself."

Will smiled.

---

This would probably fit better in creative corner C:

@nuttysaladtree Moved to the Creative Corner!

Thanks, JCStitches!

---

"Get in, Lily." Cooper donned his aviators. "We're going shopping."

Lily opened her mouth then closed it. She eventually decided on, "I'm already in."

"Oh, pfft, you know what I mean." He shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. "It's an old—you know what, never mind."

At the next stop sign, Lily said, "It's from Mean Girls, right? 'Get in, loser, we're going shopping.'"

"Oh, hey." Cooper gave her a finger gun in the rearview mirror. "I didn't think the school or Will would've shown you it."

Lily looked down at her lap. "They didn't."

Chilly silence fell. Cooper worried at his lip as he pulled into the shopping center lot. He set the brake, killed the engine, and opened the door. Lily hadn't moved.

"Come on, sunshine," he said, "up and at 'em."

He nearly missed her quiet "okay" as she released her seat belt and opened the door.

The grocery run was uneventful, except for a brief minute: Cooper had proceeded down the aisle, only to panic when he realized Lily was not following him. Luckily, he found her, when he double backed, at the end of the aisle.

"Ah, yes." He stroked his chin as he considered the display. "Monopoly. Ended many a friendship."

A corner of Lily's mouth quirk upward. "There are better board games out there." Gaze faraway, she touched one of the shrink-wrapped boxes. "You know what I want to play?"

"What?"

"Catan." She looked up at him. "My gaming group—" Her mouth shut with a click. She hugged herself and turned back to the shelves.

"Hey. If you want to talk—"

"I—" Her voice and eyes betrayed fear and uncertainty. Lily looked down. "What's left on the list?"

---

Cooper decides it is a good afternoon to visit the ducks by Infinity Pond.

"What are we doing here?"

"I like to watch the ducks."

It unnerves him a bit to see her simply nod and settle down beside him. Aren't teens supposed to be whine a bit or get restless and bored? Lily didn't act like the young child she'd been during the accident, either. Speaking of which...

"Hey." He continued when she straightened from the slouch she'd slumped into. "You know Will wouldn't mind if you talked about. You know. What happened while you were out."

The willow trees weeping on the banks held her attention captive.

Cooper sighed. So much for that. "Look, you don't have to say anything. I'll drop it and never mention it again. Just think about it, yeah?"

"Have you ever heard of changelings?"

He considered her question. "Is that what you feel like, Lily?"

"Someone who looks like his daughter, sounds like his daughter, has the DNA sequence and Social Security number of his daughter wakes up without her memory or personality."

"I think Will's just glad you're awake and walking and talking."

"Is he?" She glared at the pond.

Cooper sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I say that as his best friend since nappies. But I have a feeling you need to hear it from him. Talk to him, Lily."

She opened her mouth but reconsidered. "Fine," she gritted out.