Keep An Open Mind {Lynn Gunn}

13) Shape Shifting.

We were currently on the cliff, just wandering around and talking about life. It's incredible how close I grew to them in such a small time, but they were like long lost friends to me.

Alex raised his red apple and looked at me as if saying 'want an apple?' I gave a firm nod and he tossed the apple right in my hands. I thanked him and bit the apple as Brian jumped on the grass beside me, with eyes glued to his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked and he glanced at me for a second, then started focusing again on his phone.

"Playing Flappy Bird." he replied, biting his lip. You could tell he was really concentrated. I let out a laugh.

"You hate that game. Didn't the therapist say you shouldn't play these kind of things because they may irritate you too much?" he shook his head in response.

"I don't care what they said, I do what I want- DAMN YOU STUPID BIRD WHY DIDN'T YOU JUMP!" I laughed again, rolling my eyes. Alex was laughing too.

"Told you."

"Shut up."

"You should try Cat Mario."

"Don't challenge me- OH DAMN BIRD ARE YOU EITHER STUPID, DRUNK OR HIGH YOU MUST BURN IN HELL DUMB" he went from a low voice to nearly yelling in the blink of an eye. That caused me to laugh again, but I stopped when he glared at me.

"Stupid game!" he groaned, throwing the phone on the ground. Not enough violently to break it though.

"You're going to need another phone if you keep doing that." I stated.

"Nah, I have insulating tape and glue. Besides, gimme the apple." he said, sounding pretty hungry. I glanced down at my apple and fake frowned.

"But it's my apple!" I protested. "But I'm hungrier than you!" he made his point and I sighed, handing him the fruit.

"Meanie." I pouted.

"You know it." I smirked as he laid down, biting the apple. Then I turned to Alex, who was quietly playing with the zipped of his fellow jacket, lifting it up and down. His silence was always a mystery to me, but he had his reasons and I would never blame him. It just saddens me that a nice person like him was going through that.

I wonder how it is to stop speaking definitively pushing the rest of the world away and resting your vocal chords that much. I had felt like doing that sometimes, but no, doing it on purpose would've been ridiculous. He didn't have a choice, and I sure as hell wasn't going to stop talking on purpose.

But I meant it though, sometimes I didn't even want to speak. I just wanted to lock myself up and hide somewhere far from here, away from the rest of the world, wherever I'm able to stop the fire that consuming my heart. I constantly felt myself burning up.

The thing is, what's the point in speaking if no one's willing to hear?

"Alex, is it hard to... you know, avoid speaking?" I asked, trying to sell a delicate tone.

"I may not speak, but I use my eyes better than most of the people. And I see things they wouldn't see." the phone read.

I got what he meant. Everyone's got eyes, they simply don't know how to use them. Such a shame they don't understand where good eyes can take you.

"If we look very closely and very accurately at things and past things... We might see the truth, someday. The one and real truth. Perhaps, more than just that... I don't know." he typed.

"Words don't matter without facts, reality is a fact, even though everyone tries to ignore thinking about it." Brian interrupted. I just shrugged.

"I don't ignore reality. Actually, I know exactly what reality is, and it's all brutal and cruel. I just see it as something I don't completely belong to." I said and turned to him.