Nonconformity | Henry Creel

Calamity

GUYS AHHHHH
this chapter is low-key cute af im gonna cry

BTW THIS IS PETERS POV

The silence was all encompassing.

Henry practically had to pry Sixteen away from the door. She cursed and threatened him with all manners of vulgar language, until she eventually tired herself out and collapsed on her bed. For a long while she sat there, soundless, gaze on her lap. The quiet was broken only by her intermittent muttering. Henry watched her wordlessly, eyes catching on every twitch of her hand, every shuddering breath in a futile attempt to see inside her mind. As nonchalantly as possible he stood in front of the door, creating a buffer between Sixteen and the exit should she prove herself less... agreeable. Though, truth be told she wasn't incredibly agreeable to begin with. The crest-shaped cuts on her palms reopened soon after she sat down. Part of Henry wanted to walk up to Sixteen, take her hands in his until she had no choice but to stop cutting into her own skin.

The other part was fascinated.

He dreamt of this moment for a long, long while. Dreamt of confessing his truth with a sugar-coated tongue. It would be a saccharine type of lie, easy to swallow, sweet enough for her to believe but not so sweet that it became cloying. He would paint himself as a valiant nonconformist, victimized and beaten down by Papa. 'Oh, it was terrible' he'd say, 'that's why you can't trust anyone else here. That's why we have to leave.'

Henry had grown accustomed to predictability. Having no choice but to sit and observe for the past decade, he learned to notice patterns. Everything and everyone had a tell. Whether it was rosed cheeks, avoidance of eye contact, or something as obvious as a stutter, Henry knew exactly what someone was thinking just by looking at them. That particular tool was quite helpful when it came to anticipating people like Brenner, but it also meant everyday interactions were predictable. Boring.

Sixteen was a welcome respite from the tedious monotony that was his everyday life. There was no telling what she would do next, a fact which deeply unsettled and invigorated Henry at the same time. And despite all of that, he still couldn't shake that particularly destructive habit of underestimating her. He knew she was powerful beyond words and much too smart for her own good, but her tenacity was unexpected. He wouldn't have ever anticipated something like this.

He almost laughed as he watched her. Sixteen sat with sloppy posture and ever-fidgeting hands, the very picture of unassuming. If he didn't know her so well, he would go as far as to call the girl meager. He'd learned his lesson, though. He knew better. Beneath enchanting features and a lovely smile, she was a viper. Coiled up, fangs dripping venom like acid rain, prepared to bite at any sudden movement. If he was smart, he would've cut off her head by now.

Oh, god, but it was all so exhilarating. Never in a million years would he expect her to be so conniving. Breaking into his head-- it was a stimulating sort of betrayal, one he probably should've been more upset about, but he just couldn't bring himself to be angry. After all, he was finally being rivaled, offered a real, genuine problem that he hadn't predicted beforehand. How unprepared he was, how electrified. If he weren't trying to maintain his composure, he'd be grinning ear to ear and showering Sixteen with praise. What a force she was. What a gift. For once in his life, Henry could almost call himself blessed.

"I knew it," Sixteen's voice pulled Henry from his thoughts. Her eyes didn't meet his as she shook her head and muttered, "The dreams. They were you, weren't they?"

Henry faltered for a moment. He supposed he could grace her with at least one truth, "Most of them, yes. Look at you catching on so quickly."

"I knew it... Well, I mean, I didn't 'know it' but I had a feeling." She spat out the words like they'd been burning her tongue. "And then I talked myself out of it because I thought it was insane. How could boring, dull Peter get into my dreams? Honestly, I'm impressed, who knew you were capable of tricking me not once, but twice?"