keep on forgetting │ one on one w/ butter

[Butter Dragon]

At first Chiko thought the jeering was aimed at him. He was sort of the shadow of the school, bullies weren't a frequent appearance in his life but they weren't unknown to him, he was just lucky he managed to go unnoticed for the most part. When that happened he'd either tough it out silently or give them a death stare and walk away. He hadn't decided which he was going to do, but when he looked up neither seemed like an option anymore. "I bet she can't even name one of us!" The leader shouted as another flung a pencil at Robyn. Chiko felt his blood begin to boil as he saw the scene. He didn't even think before he acted, though in hindsight he knew his own motive. It was guilt. He had to protect her because it was his fault. "I know all your names," he growled, "and I'll make sure they spell them just perfect on your headstones," and with that, he lunged.

He passed her, shoes squeaking on the waxed floor. His strength, although lacking, was enough to push down the main bully given the momentum he'd gained. Had his backpack not saved him the boy would likely have cracked his head on the tile. But he was lucky enough to avoid that fate. The other three boys, astonished, immediately jumped to aid their friend. One of them grabbed his hair, yanking it hard, as the other two pulled his arms away from their friend. Even within their grasp Chiko continued to flail, scratch, and snap like a wild animal. The "leader," bleeding from the neck, got to his feet. That left the other three with the trouble of not only holding Chiko but trying to keep their friend from beating him into the dirt.

Being the more unpredictable one, two of them restrained Chiko while the one pulled the shirt of the other. "You can't just let him do that!" The older boy growled, "we're in the hall of the school Shay!" The other retorted "This isn't like the movies!" But it felt like the movies. As the knee of the one he'd attacked made contact with his jaw. As the ringing in his ears began. As the other two boys dropped him to pull back their other friend, desperate to keep him from getting expelled no doubt. He only just getting to his feet as he saw the group usher the less than willing leader into the bathroom to calm down, locking the door behind.

Chiko turned around, the taste of blood welling up in his mouth as he walked back over to Robyn. He caught a glimpse of red on her hands and grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands up to look at them. "I'm sorry, y-you're bleeding," he whimpered, looking at her like a guilty puppy. He didn't even realize the irony, that he was fawning over her hands only slightly stained red while a bruise formed around his busted lip. "C'mere, some wet paper towels should do just fine. If it really gets bad I have at least three boxes of band-aids in my backpack," He tried to smile at the last remark, though the pain kept it from looking as genuine as it felt.

[parker;]

──── ( R O B Y N ! ! ! )

The counselor's office window was shut, and it seemed as if he'd managed to either ignore or forget about what had just happened. She could feel herself trembling when Chiko turned around, her eyes fixated on his jaw. She wanted to say something to him, to criticize his rashness or simply check to make sure that he was okay, but nothing came out. She had opened her mouth only to close it again as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her attention down to the miniature wells of blood. "I-I.... Why did you do that?"

She hear her own voice, filled with concern and guilt. She could have stepped in, no, she should have stepped in. Silently she moved to a different location, a bench not to far away before holding one of the towels to the palm of her hand. "It's not that bad..." She couldn't really find a point in trying to get him to focus on his own wounds. Patiently Robyn waited for the bleeding to subside, leaving nothing more than irradiated red dots where the blood droplets had once been.

Quietly she lifted her hand to Chiko's jaw, gently touching his jaw as she said, "It doesn't hurt too much does it?" The nurse would have some sort of painkiller for students, assuming that her memory was still relaying information she could trust. A lump formed in her throat as she added, "And I don't want you to do anything like that again, okay... I mean... that was my problem and you just got hurt because of it..." Her head had dropped once again, a pitiful smile plastered on her face as she said, "I already know that whatever happened to me is hurting other people... a-and its not their fault but it is kind of mine... just, please promise that you won't end up as one of them okay." Her head shot up, eyes smarting as she sat there waiting for an answer.

[Butter Dragon]

"No Robyn, it's my fault. If only you understood. If only you hated me like you should. I deserve this, not you, it isn't your fault." The words formed in his throat but he couldn't let them out. He wanted to, he wanted to tell her, but he was a coward. He was afraid. She wouldn't believe him anyway, and what if she did? What would happen to him, a memory consuming vampire? It's not exactly like society was fond of new things. "It's not your fault Robyn. It's whoever... whoever did this to you. It's their fault, not yours." he replied, voice more genuine than ever.

A moment of passed before he spoke again, looking up from the floor he'd been staring at. "Uh, do you want band-aids? 'Cause I wasn't kidding about having them in my backpack," He smiled again, biting the pain. He must look terrible, though he wouldn't know until he saw a mirror and the boy's bathroom was... occupied. He wiped his mouth, the residue of red now on his hand and likely smeared across his cheek. Whatever, he'd just say he fell if anyone asked. Which, to be fair, no one would ask anyway. "We should probably get to biology before either Mr. Reed or the boys come out," He offered a hand to her, to help her up, he could only hope that she would take it.

[parker;]

──── ( R O B Y N ! ! ! )

With a brisk nod she took his hand, the other moving in an attempt to rub the smudged blood off his cheek. She'd been able to get what seemed like most of it off, wiping it on the edge of her bag before she said with a smile, "I don't really know how well a bandage is going to work on someone's face but it's worth a try!" The trip to class was rather uneventful, a few odd glances from people who may not have been strangers before she'd lost her memory, people who had become nothing more than unfamiliar faces.

Class was uneventful as well, just some assignment about observing the weather and how it affects the wildlife in a certain environment. They were supposed to come up with a series of hypotheses before going on a few class trips to those areas. Most of the class had been excited about this, as if it had been planned for months. In reality, it had been planned for months, they'd gotten a few adult volunteers to compensate for the AI programs that were running classes and therefore couldn't go to different places. Some of them couldn't even leave their room.

Chiko had been at her side throughout the day, though she couldn't quite tell if it was willing or not. She'd forced him to eat some of her food when he lacked a lunch, and had simply watched him disappear for the next twenty minutes. The final part of the day was spent listening to students talk about how they couldn't wait to go to the beach, or tokyo, or the country, and all the places Robyn couldn't find in her mind. Instead she'd sat in a corner, sadly pointing out that she didn't actually know anyone when they asked her about her parents, or her other friends.

Finally the day was over, after what seemed like years of having people walk up to her with cards saying "get well soon!" or "we missed you" that now took up half the space left in her bag. She'd run off after the bell rang, pulling a reluctant Chiko behind her as her mind traced the steps she'd taken to arrive that morning. Then she heard a familiar voice, that of a brute, followed by the dull thud of her body hitting a wall as she was pushed away from her companion. The two lackeys started beating him, pushing him down and kicking him as the leader pulled out what looked like a knife. He snarled, lips parting into a ferocious grin as Shay and whoever the other kid was forced Chiko to sit up, pulling his hair back to reveal his face.

Something was burning in her chest, it spread to her lungs and made each breath feel like a bonfire. Without thinking her bag was swung at the main boy, hitting his head as the other follower dropped Chiko to attempt to grapple her. Her fist curled into a ball,
missing his head by an inch before the rest of her weight knocked him back, her forearm hitting his collarbone with a cruel sense of power.

[Butter Dragon]

The rest of the day went by as usual, aside from the fact that he was now shadowing Robyn. He tried his best to help her through each subject, though he wasn't particularly adapted to the schedule yet himself, and did his best to console her when the people around her made her feel alien. Lunch had been the real problem. With no friends, you don't have to give answers, but Robyn kept insisting that he eat. He couldn't turn down that face, those sad eyes. Needless to say his stomach, or whatever it was that processed his normal diet, didn't take well to half a burger and fries. He felt bad leaving her alone after that, but he would've felt worse making a mess of the school as he suffered the resurgence of the food.

He'd reluctantly agreed to tag along back to her house for the sake of the upcoming project, though in truth he felt like the last person that should ever be invited to her sanctuary was him. They'd just made it outside of school gates, a silence passing between them as they walked, when a sudden application of pressure forced Chiko to the ground. He could hear the muffled words of Shay, likely mocking him, as his friends who's names he believed where Hitoshi and Rankin pressed his face against the concrete and kicked his sides repeatedly. It didn't take long of the beating before he couldn't think anymore. Pain was clouding his mind and he felt entirely limp as someone pulled his head up to face Shay. It took him longer than it probably should've to figure out that he was holding a knife. He tried to struggle with what energy he retained, which was very little. Out of no where Robyn came swinging her bag at Shay, causing one of the two that was holding him to release his grip and tackle the girl. Robyn was feisty, to be sure, but Rankin would've been stronger than her on one of his weaker days. He stayed holding Robyn while Shay regained his composure and picked up his pocket knife from the ground. Hitoshi, who had clearly taken some sort of martial art, restrained Chiko with ease as Shay approached. "Think twice about stepping out of line again, don't try to be the hero."

The knife wound on his chest stung like hell, not to mention Shay has ripped one of Chiko's only shirts when he slashed across his chest as a "reminder." Rankin finally stopped struggling with Robyn and let her go, pushing her to the ground with moderate force and the group began walking off without another word. Chiko looked over at the girl, he hated that she'd gotten hurt for him- even if it wasn't much. "I-" he started, but even attempting a word caused him to cough and wheeze as his bruised chest expanded sucking in the cold air. He pounded his fist on the ground, Why does she have to deal with this? With me? With all of my stupid, stupid mistakes? "Sorry-" he coughed, sputtering as he choked out the words. "We sh- mmnnngg- we should go." He meant the words, though it didn't change the fact that he was still struggling to get himself off the ground.

[parker;]

──── ( R O B Y N ! ! ! )

They were gone, leaving her line of sight as she sat up. If she saw them again they'd be as good as dead, assuming that she could find a way to make that possible. Robyn felt her lips pulling back to reveal something in between a snarl and a grimace as she shifted her weight onto her knees. With a sudden realization her head turned to Chiko, another silent curse going out to each and every one of the boys who had done this.

She puller herself over to him, taking a few deep breaths before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into an upright position. She couldn't quite understand how she was able to stand up afterwards, forcing Chiko to move along with her before she said, "I'm sorry that you got hurt..." She could feel her arms squeezing him just before releasing his form, her face betraying the elevated level of her concern before she added, "uh- I don't think that my house is very far... and I can get you a new shirt if you want one..." Well, he didn't have much of a choice when it came to her trying to help him. After all, she was the reason he'd gotten into two fights.

She wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling some of his weight onto her before she began to move, half supporting- half dragging Chiko alongside her. It took a matter of ten or so minutes to reach the door, which was left unlocked by her parents. She remembered them telling her about this, how they figured that she'd simply forget where the keys were. Gently Robyn squeezed herself through the door, taking precaution to avoid the doorframe from touching her companion. She finally ended the journey at the couch, allowing his weight to slip off of her shoulder and onto the cushions.

She sat down next to him, the back of her hand absent minded rubbing a scrape on her cheek. Her parents would flip out about this, assuming that they bothered to take the time to notice. After a moment she stood back up, heading to the kitchen where a bounty of baked goods lay at her fingertips. This was both nice, kind and cruel at the same time. She could match most of the gifts to a face by now, but those faces didn't have a name, a story, they were nothing but masks. Her hands finally landed on a smaller loaf of what appeared to be bread with some sort of chocolate in the middle. Picking this up Robyn stepped back over to Chiko, slicing off a piece and handing it to him as she said, "I'm sorry I couldn't have given you more for lunch... a-and about the fights... I should have helped you in the first one..."

[Butter Dragon]

Chiko could only groan at her words. He would've made some sort of pitiful reply, but as it was he could barely keep enough air in his lungs to remain conscience. So, instead, he resigned himself to simply limping along beside the girl as best he possibly could. That walk felt like the second longest he'd ever taken, second only to his walk back "home" after attacking Robyn that night. In reality, it couldn't have taken as long as it felt, but a combination of guilt, pain, and confusion gave it the illusion of lasting hours. How Robyn managed to get him all the way to the couch without somehow hurting him he'll never know. Nonetheless, he found himself being dropped onto the soft cushions as Robyn sat next to him and rubbed her face.

She was hurt. She had gotten hurt because of him. He was about to move to try reach for the bandages in his backpack when Robyn stood up again and rushed into another room. He took that time to mentally address his wounds. Bruises up and down both sides, a (re-)busted lip, a large scratch across his chest, a ripped shirt (this more than anything upset him), and a throbbing headache. He was also covered in sweat, and the salt leaking into his wounds, but worse things could've happened. When Robyn returned she was holding some sort of chocolate loaf on a plate. No, that was the last thing he needed right now was nausea.

He mumbled some sort of thank you and took the plate, though he merely placed it in his lap hoping that she wouldn't notice. It was her comment that upset him though. The fact that she felt responsible. More than anything it killed him. "No," Chiko snapped, before looking down ashamed at his own harsh tone, "N-no you shouldn't have. That was my fault, all of it, you don't need to get hurt anymore because of me." He sighed, looking at his feet. "I'll... be fine... I promise," his unconvincing words came out in spurts as he took harsh breaths between them. "Are you okay Robyn?"

[parker;]

──── ( R O B Y N ! ! ! )

She'd noticed that he wasn't eating, but held back on mentioning it since it was quite unlikely that she could eat either, especially after what had just happened. With a quiet sigh she leaned her head back, resting it on one of the cushions before looking over to Chiko. With yet another sigh she cursed herself, not just for being virtually inept at remembering anything, but also for failing to notice the extent to which her guest was injured.

Robyn leaned down, matching her head level with his before hiding her problems behind a smile and chirped, "It's really nice that you're worrying about me but I'll be fine! I promise." Well no, she couldn't quite promise him that, but there were precautions she could take to make sure that it was kept. She couldn't help but furrow her brow, giving him the same pitiful look she'd given him before lunch as she added in a tone that felt far too stern for what people kept telling her she was like, "You don't have gauze or anything in your bag do you? I mean... y-you do kind of have a cut on your chest and it wouldn't be the best idea to keep that untreated..."

In her mind she didn't need permission to help him, leaning over and grabbing his bag before ferreting through it without a word. It took longer than expected to pull out the three famed boxes of band-aids and what looked like a roll of gauze. She could see a few other items in the bag, notes, books, some sort of journal, and changes of clothes. Before she could look through it anymore her mind forced her hand to shut it as she looked back over to Chiko and said, "Uh... do you think that you can apply this on your own or so you need help..." Why did she keep asking questions that already had an answer, after all, she was just going to sit there with him helping in any way she could.

[Butter Dragon]

"I've always been a worrier," Chiko said. Though it was only partially true. Yes, he'd always been one to worry, but that wasn't why he was worried about her. Immediately he felt nauseous as she started rooting through his bag. His entire life was in there, his entire life. His clothes, the few books he had, and more importantly his journal. He let out an obvious sigh of relief as she stopped and pulled out his band-aids instead. He took the bandages from her hand and set him next to him on the couch, taking his own turn looking through the bag and pulling out his only other shirt.

He turned his back to Robyn and changed shirts, putting a total of six band-aids awkwardly over his scratch before he did. Each movement felt like hell, the bruises on his sides screamed though he did his best to ignore him. "See," he said, turning around and shoving his ripped and bloodied shirt into his bag, "I'm good as new." He set the plate of food on the ground, trying not to make it obvious that he was getting it as far from him as possible in hopes that Robyn would forget that he "must still be hungry."

He licked his fingers, rubbing the dried blood off his lip, trying to make himself look as best as he could given the current state he was in. "Do you want any?" he smiled, meekly, holding out the bandages to her.

{sorry it's short- my brain isn't working?}

[parker;]

──── ( R O B Y N ! ! ! )

Robyn silently shut her eyes as Chiko changed, turning her had to the side as if it would allow her to feel a bit more protected. She could hear him shoving what must have been his shirt into the bag before his voice pulled her out of the trace that had almost evolved into a form of sleep. He'd moved the food father away, revealing another saddened glance as she said with a slight chuckle, "Uh.... just try to eat something soon okay..."

His offering of the bandages was odd, and yet expected. She had her response ready, a simply shaking of her head as she said, "it's just a scrape... I can wash it off later..." Robyn stood up, going into the kitchen to wet some towels before returning to Chiko and handing them to him. She smiled a bit then quickly mumbled, "I'm going to go change... I'll be right back okay..." She could hear her phone buzz in her bag as she left, undoubtedly a message from her parents about how they'd be late again. They'd been late visiting her at the hospital too, she'd even heard rumors about how it was a stranger who called an ambulance and how her parents didn't come till the next day.

It hurt to move her arms, her legs, but it wasn't anything like what they'd done to her companion. Robyn found herself changing quickly, a loose long-sleeve shirt along with some grey sweatpants. The scrape on her cheek was starting to bruise when she looked at herself in the mirror, a blue and purple splotch just under her eye. With a brisk sigh she hurried back downstairs, rubbing her bruised shoulder before sitting down next to Chiko again. She reached up to pinch the tip of his ear, which ended in a point. "You look like an elf."

She could feel a smile appearing on her face as she said this, pulling at the corners of her mouth before encompassing her expression like some disease. She paused, then reluctantly pulled away and sighed, the swift huff of air mixing with a statement. "We should really start working on that project..."