Lost And Then Found (Ib Fanfiction)

Distant

Garry's P.O.V. (Finally!)

Garry watched Ib as they walked on the sidewalk, the dark sky making him nervous at the thought of it raining. It had been perfectly fine when they had first entered the movie theater. Ib turned to look at him, turning her head sideways. "C'mon! It's going to rain soon. It looks like it will, anyways." Garry nodded, blinking and smiling. He felt distant from himself, like he was living his life in third person. After he had been found... Garry closed his eyes for a brief few seconds. By the time he opened them he realized that they were passing his former house. The memory made his heart ache. He didn't know where his parents were now. He knew they had to still be alive. They would only be around forty or fifty. Unless something had happened to them, something horrible. He didn't know anymore, and it made him feel empty inside. Distant. He felt something wet hit him on his neck and he looked up. Ib let out a gasp. "Garry, it's raining! We need to run!" Ib began running and Garry broke into a sprint, passing her easily. She let out a fake cry of outrage and he laughed, waiting for her. "C'mon!" he exclaimed, tossing his purple hair out of his eyes. He felt lighter, happier when Ib was talking to him. Garry grabbed her hand and pulled her along, towards the house. By the time they reached the porch they were soaked head to toe. Ib was giggling, twisting her hair in her hands to try and wring out the water. Garry shook his head wildly for a few seconds, and Ib laughed, covering her face with her hands to protect herself from the water he sprayed around. They went inside. Nobody was home and the house was eerily quiet. "Gonna shower?" he asked her. "You can go first. I'm going to make something to eat, if that's all right." Garry nodded and went to grab something to change into when he was done showering. Ib was humming to herself in the kitchen while he picked up a dark blue shirt and pair of shorts. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the water, annoyed at how his wet clothes hung to his thin body. After he finished washing his hair and was certain that he was clean again, he pulled the shirt over his head and put on the shorts. He opened a drawer, trying to look for a comb or a brush. He reached to pick one up and snatched his hand away when he felt his arm beginning to sting. He looked at his arm; He'd cut himself on a blade or something, and it looked pretty deep. Garry closed his eyes, taking a deep breath while he grabbed the towel he'd used. "Uh, Ib?" he called out. She didn't answer. Garry opened the door with his uncut hand and stepped into the hall. The air was considerably cooler outside of the bathroom. He walked into the kitchen and Ib was sitting at the table, typing away merrily on a laptop, food forgotten. "Ib, do you have any bandages?" She looked up, confused at the question, and cringed when she saw his arm. "What did you do?" she asked, standing up quickly to look through the kitchen drawers for something to stop the bleeding. Garry shrugged. "I cut myself on a razor in the drawer." Ib nodded, turning to Garry. She held a roll of white gauze and a bottle of peroxide. Garry wrinkled his nose at the bottle; Peroxide freaked him out. Ib grabbed his arm and Garry tried not to blush while she opened the bottle with her other hand. Ib was almost as old as him... Was it a coincidence? He hoped not. Maybe it was fate? Garry smirked at that thought. He believed that life had no true path. Anything could make it change. He yelped at the sudden pain in his arm. "Sorry," Ib said, looking up at his face with her dark red eyes. "I thought it'd go easier if you didn't realize that I'd poured it already." Garry nodded. "It's fine," he said. "I was just...surprised." I'm such a sissy, he thought to himself, annoyed. Ib giggled every time he freaked out about a scary movie, or something that scared him. Like the mannequin photo. Well, he thought. I did have a reason to get startled. What was it doing in Ib's house, anyways? No way she would want it here. Ib wrapped his arm carefully with the white gauze and Garry blinked, bringing himself back to the real world. Almost. Still distant as ever. Ib finished and Garry looked at the stove. Empty. Oven? Empty. "Ib, did you even try to make something to eat?" Ib laughed, sounding almost embarrassed. "Uh, not exactly?" she answered. Garry smiled to himself as he began looking through the cupboards. He found some spaghetti and pasta sauce and began boiling water for the simple meal. Ib hardly looked up, focused completely on whatever she was doing. "Ib, what are you doing?" Garry finally asked, searching for plates to put on the table. "Homework," she replied casually, before going silent again. "Still in school?" Garry asked. "It's almost over, thank goodness," Ib replied. "Uh, Ib," Garry began. "You know, I need to speak to your parents about that." Ib looked up, confused. "Oh! About me and school, I meant. I never really finished it." Ib giggled. "I wonder what your friends would say if they knew that you never even graduated high school," she teased. Garry chuckled with her, but inside he felt embarrassed. He had asked Ib about her friends, and she'd answered like she was embarrassed. She probably thought Garry had actually had friends himself back at school. Hardly. His only friends were two other teenagers at the time, and then their younger siblings had probably counted as friends. He paused. Seeing as the youngest ones were only around six when he'd first met them, they'd be almost his age now. Maybe he could still see them around town. What was their names... Luke and Jessa were their names. Smiling at the memory, Garry stirred the pasta again and took out a strainer from a drawer, putting it in the sink. He grabbed two rags and picked up the pot, pouring the water and spaghetti out into the strainer. Ib was just putting the laptop away when he was setting the food on the table. "Sit," Garry suggested, pulling the chair out for her teasingly. She sat down and he pushed it in. "I don't think I've ever eaten spaghetti before at least the sun was going down." Ib giggled and he began eating, shaking his head as he tried to swirl the noodles together on his fork. After they ate, Ib stood up to wash the dishes. Garry stood up quickly, almost tipping his chair back in his eagerness to help her. He managed to steady it before Ib even noticed. "Allow me," he said. "Oh, it's fine, Garry. I've got it." Garry took the other plate that had been on the table and stood by Ib, waiting for her to finish washing the plates that she held. She held her hand out for the plate and Garry held it up high over her head, grinning. "Aw, c'mon, Garry!" Garry shook his head. "Go pick a movie to watch. I'll put everything away." Ib reached for the plate, standing on her toes to try and grab it. She put her hand on Garry's chest, determination in her face. Garry tried not to blush. Gah! What's wrong with me?! he thought, disgusted with himself. Ib finally let out an angry huff and pretended to stomp into the living room. Garry heard her looking through the shelves and then he turned on the sink, almost blanking off while standing with the warm water running over his hands. He shook his head and put the plate away, wiping his hands on his shorts before heading into the living room. He'd be sad when he would have to leave, but he didn't like depending on people for too much. He'd depended on Mary, and she'd almost killed him. Trust issues, he thought, scoffing to himself. What a joke. He sat down on the opposite side of the couch that Ib sat in. She was pressing the remote and soon the movie began. Garry hardly even payed attention. He was just...thinking. Was that it? No, it was more like he was just blanking out into himself. Ib poked him and he looked up, blinking. "Hm?" Ib smiled at him, looking almost confused. "I asked you if you wanted popcorn or something to eat twice already. Want some?" Garry nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. Day's been long. I'm falling asleep in my seat, you know?" She paused the movie, and then Ib hopped away to the kitchen, humming. Garry sometimes forgot she was nearly his age with how she acted sometimes. But he was glad for it. After the gallery Ib had rarely ever even spoken to anyone, withdrawing to herself and then sometimes Garry and her parents. She was getting a taste of her childhood now, when he was back, at least. Would it last when he'd go find a place to stay? He sure hoped so. He waited, staring at the black T.V. screen until he heard a beeping in the kitchen. Ib walked into the room and sat down where she had earlier, holding the popcorn out to Garry. He took a handful and stared at the television. Distant. Ib unpaused the movie and Garry blinked slowly as it continued in a blur of words and colors. 

The day had gone by quickly, and it was almost ten when Garry finally got tired. Ib's parents were going to be very late coming to the house because of the traffic on the roads. There was bad weather all around. When the movie finished Garry went to his room. He sighed as he pulled the blankets around him and was reminded of the night when Ib had found him crying. He scowled at himself and closed his eyes, falling asleep within a few minutes.

Garry jerked awake when he heard the loud roaring outside. He lay frozen in the bed, but he could feel himself beginning to shake. He'd always been afraid of thunder. And then, after the gallery, he'd been petrified of it. Now he was right in the middle of a thunderstorm. He stood up, shivering at the coldness in his room. He pulled his coat on and stood close to Ib's room. There was no sound coming from inside. He sneaked downstairs, trying not to wake anybody up. He padded into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. Garry walked into the living room. "Garry?" a soft voice called out softly from the couch. "Sh-!" Garry almost dropped his cup in his fright. "Ib?" he asked. In the dark he could see a small sillhouette on the couch, nodding. He sighed in relief and sat down next to her. "I, er, don't sleep easy during thunderstorms," Garry said quickly. Ib nodded again, and now that Garry was closer, he could see that she was looking down at her hands. She lifted her head and Garry could just barely see her red eyes shining. "I'm afraid of the thunderstorms." He nodded and took a drink from the cup, still trembling from the scare. "You're very brave, Ib. Even if you're a little afraid of thunderstorms." Ib sighed, quiet. "I'm afraid of being alone," she finally said. "And being lost." Garry took another sip. "Everybody is, even if they don't show or act like it." Ib shrugged, looking down at her hands again. Garry breathed out softly and Ib glanced up at him shyly. "Garry," she finally whispered, breaking the silence. "Where are you going after you stay here?" He looked at her, alarmed. Did she want him to leave? "I was just wondering, promise! I don't know if you plan on leaving me-the house." Did he hear her right? Me? He could have sworn she was blushing, but it was too dark to tell. "I honestly don't know, Ib. I'm clueless right now, and I literally have no money that I know of, save for the dollars in my wallet." He thought for a few minutes. "I might ask your parents if I could rent out the room I'm in right now, come to think of it. I'll have to find a job to start paying for-Eeek!" The thunder was so loud the windows rattled in their frames. Garry flinched and Ib gasped, covering her face with her hands. Garry straightened himself up after a few minutes and looked over at Ib. She was shaking and Garry's heart dropped in sadness. "It's all right, Ib. Can't hurt us, right?" Ib nodded, but she didn't take her hands away from her face. Garry gently took hold of her wrists and pulled them away gently. She stared at him with wide eyes, still shaking. Garry smiled, unsure whether Ib could see him or not, but he pushed himself closer to her and began to hum tunelessly. She was quiet and then Garry could hear her beginning to breath slower. He waited, closing his eyes every time he heard a rumble, and then carefully stood up when it was almost silent outside. He scooped Ib up in his arms and stepped lightly to her bedroom, laying her down carefully on her bed. There was a strong and familiar scentl in the air: Roses. Garry didn't know whether to be sad or to smile when he saw the cluster of red flowers in a vase near the corner of the room. He turned to his room and lay down on the bed. He could still smell the roses, probably from when he'd been in Ib's room and he had noticed it. The thunder growled and he closed his eyes, inhaling another rose-scented breath. He fell asleep with it in the air.