#TooSoon

Chapter Six

The weeks went by with different activities here and there. Yasmine and Michael seemed to be doing better, happier, but the opposite could be said for Jason. At first, he didn't think the change he experienced was all that bad, but now, he truly felt like he was in a mental hell. The mundaneness of life had returned in full force. The general fact he could not progress in life, grow as a person, was eating away at him. He couldn't believe that most people around him had been going on in this state for years. And the past just wouldn't leave him alone.

The group, besides Michael, were at the local high school this evening, watching one of the first football games of the fall. Derek's little brother was the quarterback for the team, and the group was cheering for him all the way. Jason was surprised at how adamant the group got, especially Derek and Veronica. They would get so hyped, even be louder than the people of the living, even though no one could hear them. Jason tried to match their enthusiasm, but his heart just wasn't in it.

Derek's brother had won his game, and Derek went to join in the celebration with his family. Asia also tagged along, giving him the support he needed, leaving Yasmine, Jason, and Veronica on the bleachers. "He really seems to have the perfect balanced with this." Yasmine was saying.

"It's easy for something to seem perfect to others." Veronica said.

"Right, I know. I just feel...envious."

"Envious?" Jason questioned. "Don't you pretty much have the same relationship with your family now, or at least, close to?"

"Yeah, but he just seems to be so happy with them." Yasmine clarified. "While I just feel so...twisted around mine."

"Well, you've been pretty giddy when your brother has been brought up lately." Veronica pointed out.

"With that wedding coming up in middle of October?" Jason added.

Yasmine blushed, with the widest grin coming across her face. She squirmed with excitement, then that rib cracking cough came. The grin was wiped clean from her face, as she coughed up some blood.

"You can't keep getting that excited whenever the wedding comes up." Veronica said with worry as Jason tossed Yasmine a bottle of water.

"I just can't help it!" Yasmine said with the smile returning to her face. "I've never been this excited before. And they're having it in town, so I won't miss it!"

"At least try to control yourself." Veronica pleaded. "You were out for four days when you got the news that your brother was getting married."

Yasmine sighed. "True. It's just nice to see my brother going through something great without me dragging him down. And thank the world for Michael. He was such a saint for those for days."

"I can't believe you get along with him so well. He's so..." Veronica was trying to find the right word.

"Him?" Yasmine finished with a smile.

Jason chuckled. "That sentence fits him perfectly."

"I don't know." Veronica said. "I just get uneasy around him."

"Well, you're first meeting wasn't great." Yasmine replied. "He pulled a gun on you and you ran at him with a knife. I had to scream 'STOP' before anything happened."

"I think it's his paranoia that gets to me." Veronica said thoughtfully.

"He's such a kind person to his friends, and an absolute monster to the people that go against him."