Lost And Then Found (Ib Fanfiction)

Kittens

Ib woke up to hear something from the hall. She lifted her head from the pillow and looked around her room for anything to take with her. She decided on her pillow, hugging it to herself before stepping out into the hall. Nothing. Was it coming from Garry's room? After the first day of school he'd gone home unusually quiet, although he kept swearing that everything was fine. Ib suspected it had something to do with Erick and Melanie in homeroom, and then she'd gotten quiet to him until he apologized for being rude. The rest of the week had gone by with no more awkwardness. She opened his door inch by inch and peeked her head in. Garry was sleeping shirtless, facedown with his head underneath his pillow. In the few days that he had had the room he had messed his room up badly. There were clothes on the floor and a shirt was even hanging on the ceiling fan. Ib thought about cleaning it up, but considering that it was midnight she would probably scare Garry. He twitched and groaned, turning around and pushing the pillow off of his face. It hit Ib in the shoulder and she stepped back into something hard. She squealed and clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Garry shot up, pulling the covers up to his neck and looking around. Ib had fallen to the ground, nursing her foot. Garry turned on his bedside lamp and looked down at her. "Ib? Oh, thank goodness. I guess. What are you doing in my room?" He put down the covers and smoothed them down. "I wanted to see if you were awake," Ib said, huffing. Garry scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Oh, haha. Sorry, Ib. I was going to clean this place up..." He hesitated. "Sooner or later." Ib nodded, standing up and hugging her pillow to herself. "Grab me mine," Garry asked, holding out his hand. She sighed and handed it to him, and then he seemed to realize he was shirtless. "Uh, Ib, if we're gonna watch movies or whatever I think it's a cool idea, but..." He didn't finish his sentence. "But?" Ib pressed on. "But my pajama pants are somewhere in this room-" Ib's eyes widened. "Garry!" He chuckled softly, sounding embarassed. "If I'd known you were stopping for a visit I would have them on by now!" he said in his defense. Ib didn't bother replying as she went back into the hallway and down to the living room. A few minutes later Garry came downstairs, wearing pajama pants and his tattered coat. "We're not leaving the house," Ib said, unsure what he was doing. "Yeah, but... I like this thing. Brings back memories." He sat down. They watched some horror movies. Garry gasped at every jumpscare and Ib just smiled. They watched a movie about a girl who was trying to find her past, even though she had amnesia, and then Ib had a question. "Garry," she began. "Hmm?" he said, sounding sleepy. "What do you remember?" Garry looked at her. "The gallery? The mannequin heads. The paintings. The-" Ib shook her head. "No. All those years." Garry's mood changed in his face instantly. "Ib..." he began. "I want to know, if I can." Garry sighed. "I guess you have a right to know. You remember the purple hallways?" Ib nodded. "I was walking in one of them. It went on for ages. Felt like years. Maybe it was. Then I saw a door. Two doors. They were both open, and there was one on the left side of the hall and one on the other. But the hallway kept continuing, so I didn't know which way to go. I decided that the last door was like Mary. It was almost shimmering, like a waterfall, or something. But it looked fake, and so I didn't take it. The hallway started turning blue, like my rose. I was about to go towards it. But then the door on the left..." He glanced at Ib and he looked like he was blushing. "I saw a girl..." he said. "It was like a ghost shape. It looked a lot like you, Ib, when you were younger. So I thought it was you, and I went through that door, and then I was walking through a red hallway. And," He hesitated. "I kept hearing footsteps in front of me, like you were walking, so I kept following. It got weaker a little bit after that, so I just walked slower or stopped completely. And then, only a little bit after that... Do you remember the painting, Ib? The Fabricated World painting? There was a painting like that, at the end of the wall, and I felt someone grab my hand, and they pulled me into that painting suddenly. I woke up then, in the gallery inside of the fabricated world copy." Ib was silent, processing that. Something helped to lead him out. "Ib, did you ever think about me after the gallery?" Ib nodded. "How much?" She thought about it. "A lot at first, I guess. And then when it looked like you'd never speak to me again, then hardly. I thought you'd just forgotten about me." Garry nodded. "Was that all?" he asked, sounding almost disappointed. "Well... no, actually. A few weeks ago I had a dream about the gallery, and then I asked about you a lot until I heard that they found someone at the gallery and it was you." Garry turned his body to her. "Maybe," he began. "It was like your care. Think about it! You were like the ghost girl I saw at first, when you really cared about me. Then you were just always there, even though sometimes you could have forgotten. And then in the end, you suddenly thought about me and then I was pulled through. If you'd completely forgotten about me, do you think I would still be...there? In that hallway?" Ib wasn't sure if maybe Garry was just hopping to conclusions, but it surprisingly fit all that had happened. He poked her and she dragged herself back to the real world, and his question. If the dreams and nightmares hadn't come... Ib swallowed nervously as she looked back into Garry's purple eyes. "Yes," she said solemnly. Garry nodded, closing his eyes for a few seconds. He lay down, his head close to Ib, and sighed before speaking. "Thank you, Ib."

Ib woke up to feel something warm underneath her. Or someone, she realized as she put her hands on their stomach. It was Garry. She sat up, wiping her eyes. The television was still on, softly humming in the background. Ib crawled over Garry and stood up. She heard something in the kitchen and froze. Was someone else awake? If so, they'd probably seen her and Garry. What if her parents got suspicious? She peeked into the room. Her mother was cooking something. "Good morning, Ib." Her voice made Ib jump and grin sheepishly. "Good morning, Mom." Her mother turned to her, holding a cup of coffee and taking a sip. She was hiding a smile behind the cup, Ib could tell. "What?" Ib said defensively. "You should have seen your face this morning," was all her mother said. Ib huffed, confused. "Sleeping like a kitten. I don't remember you ever looking quite so happy, Ib." Ib felt her face heating up. "I was just, err, having a funny dream." Her mother chuckled. "You're lucky your father didn't notice." Ib's eyes widened. "What? Why? We weren't doing anything, if that's what you're thinking. We just accidentally fell asleep." Ib's mother laughed softly. "He would have taken pictures is what I meant. Ib, you're a very smart girl. Me and your father don't believe you would do anything so dumb. We're just teasing you is all, sweetie." She smiled suspiciously. "And we trust Garry, too. He could have left you to die, from what I've heard, if he'd wanted you to, but he didn't. He's saved my daughter's life and I don't need to see anything else to trust him." She suddenly cleared her throat and turned back to the breakfast. "Oh! Good morning, Garry," she said without looking. Ib turned and saw him standing behind her, still shirtless. 'Oh. Good morning! I didn't think that you would notice me coming in." Ib's mother turned partially to them. "Oh, I just know these things," she said, winking at Ib. Ib rolled her eyes but left the room smiling. 

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