The Real World | A Walking Dead Story

1.1.3 (21)

Reede House

Bart's now at his house, having just got back from prom little time ago, after his mum came to pick him up. Bart is now in his private bedroom, lying on his bed like he was at the start, this time not listening to music, just lying on his bed in a dark room, with none of his lights on, still wearing his same prom uniform. 

His eyes are closing, but not going to sleep, just resting for a moment, even though he feels like he could right now, it's been a long day. 

Lance isn't back yet, the only person back from their singular 'event' tonight is Bart, and Claire, if you think driving Bart to and from prom, is an 'event'. They're not starting the various activities yet, since Bart just wanted to settle in. 

Bart already answered all the dying question from his family, about how it was, whether it was fun or not, how the performance was, and how it went with June. He said well to all of them. 

Bart, tired, listens to the distant speaking of Lilly, Dean, and Claire in the living room, combining with sounds of shattering plates and banging on counters, coming from the kitchen. 

Bart just wishes it was entirely silent, to hear nothing, he's reasonably exhausted from the day. He just wants to briefly rest his eyes and ears, to not have to deal with the noises of everyday life. To help with this, Bart has his window half-opened for fresh of the dark night, to hear the sounds of fatigued birds chirping, and the dripping of water from the previous rain. The sounds of cars whooshing past the street, sounding different to how it is in the daylight, and the sounds of wind blowing through the window, into his room, and that same wind heavily hitting against the closed window, beside the open one. Or, the sounds of the far planes flying in the high sky. 

While Bart's eyes are closed, he listens and feels all of this, like the darkness in his eyes enhances the ability of hearing, and understanding, making it clearer and refreshing. It helps him fathom things better, closed eyes always do, pinpoints other senses. 

Bart does listen to music usually, not for any reason except it makes him feel good, and his ears hearing good, but sometimes it is better to just listen to precisely nothing. When Bart decides to listen to the outside, instead of songs, it connects him more to nature, and the world, forming his knowledge of the Real World, feeling like Colourful Times. 

He doesn't think any else does this, he thinks he is the only one, and that people take this for granted. He is just a normal teenager in a normal world, normally lying on his bed, focusing on the sounds outside. 

Until, he hears vexatious ringing from the front door, meaning that someone is here, wanting them to answer the door. The first thought that pops into Bart's head, is that it's Lance, but he wouldn't be back this early unless something rough happened, so it probably isn't him, but no one knows who else it would be. 

This wakes Bart's resting eyes up, it makes him open his eyes, and sigh. But, instead of checking just now, knowing that someone downstairs can handle it, he closes his eyes for the second time, and instead, decides to focus on listening downstairs, to see who it could be verbally. 

He waits for one of his family members to procedurally answer the door, during the nothingness, Bart reminds himself that they will soon be playing games with the family, whatever they are going to do, so he will have to go downstairs and be apart of it. 

By the sound of a person walking across the creaky planks on the corridor, the formation of the steps, timing, and weight against them, Bart makes out that it is his father, Dean, answering the door, from the familiar cues.  

He waits for the door to be unlocked, the turn of the key, the grab of the handle, and the pull of the door, to find the speaking of the person from inside and outside. All of this happens, except the speaking. Bart hears the opening of the door, the sound of nothing happening, which makes Bart possibly believe it could be a knock-door-run gameplay situation. But, that changes when the speaking does happen, it takes a little while for Dean, and whoever the other person is to speak, which is strange.