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FACT OR FICTION

NELLY WAS FULLY IMMERSED IN THE TALES THAT BILLY BLACK WAS SHARING.

He spoke of their tribe's history, one she'd learnt in a more watered down form when she was younger, and was amazed by the detail in his stories. He also spoke of their tribe's true nature as spirit warriors, beings tasked with defeating their biggest threat; the cold ones.

It was like one big ghost story to her, and despite its clearly metaphorical nature, she couldn't help but listen in intently. Everyone else seemed to be doing the same, and though time was definitely passing them by, the whole experience of storytelling felt like it only lasted for five minutes.

Nelly found herself wanting more when Billy closed his tales, commenting on how we must harness the energy of the spirit warriors in our daily lives. And though that part was over, the council meeting was still far from finished judging by the way everyone began to stick around and chat amongst themselves.

She made a mental note to avoid the area near the barbecue, because that was where the Ateara boy, Seth Clearwater, and Embry Call took up residence after the stories, and instead started heading in the direction of the Connweller girl.

Like she almost anticipated it, Kim was already turning in Nelly's direction even before she came to a stop right in front of her. "How's Tate?" was the first thing Kim asked, a little concern in her own eyes over Nelly's brother's well-being.

"Grandma says it's the flu, but it should pass in a couple of days," she told the girl, and out of her peripheral she noticed how Jared and Paul were intently staring at her. So, she turned to them with a tight lipped smile, unsure of just why they were staring like she was some puzzle they couldn't solve. "Some stories, huh?"

"You don't even know the half of it," Jared laughed, just before Paul's elbow lodged its way into the boy's ribcage. His laughter faltered into a pained yelp, shaking his head. "What'd you think of it, Nell?"

Nelly smiled at him as she shrugged. "Actually, it was pretty cool," she told him honestly, "there's lots of symbolism to unpack in his stories."

"Symbolism?" Paul parroted back with a quirk of his brow.

She scoffed out a laugh. "Well, wolves and spirit warriors and cold ones aren't real," she said, like it was common sense. "They've gotta be symbols of something else, or something to make us look at the bigger picture."

"Riiiiight," was Paul's response, and Nelly wasn't foolish enough to miss the uneasy glance that the two boys shared.

Her eyes instantly narrowed. "Sorry that you failed English Lit and I didn't, Lahote," she snapped, thinking that the boy was trying to poke fun at her.

His hands were immediately raised in defence. "First of all, I didn't flunk it because I got a C," he retorted, a rising heat in his tone that mimicked his rising agitation, "and second of all, I think if anyone's missing the bigger picture around here, it's you."

It felt like the embers from the bonfire were licking at her neck, making her sweat with something unkind simmering under his skin, like an itch.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that—"

"Woah!" a voice interjected, and there was suddenly a body standing in the middle of the two teenagers that had subtly moved closer, both with their fists scrunched up. Though the body was facing Paul, she knew who it was based on their towering height and intimidating aura. "Knock it off, Paul!"

Paul barred his teeth in a rather animalistic way before he knocked his shoulder against Sam's, storming away with an angry huff.

Sam Uley turned to face the girl, going to open his mouth before Nelly shoved at his chest. "What did Paul mean when he said I was missing the bigger picture?"

The way they all shared a glance, the way they would talk cryptically around her— they were hiding something from her. And Nelly Sequoia was not going to be made a fool of; not again.

His eyebrows furrowed, almost a little frustratedly. "Penelope, I—"

"He didn't mean anything by it!" Kim interrupted from her place next to the Cameron boy. "It was just a little joke, you know how he gets—"

"No, Kim; I don't know how he gets," she growled in response, now aiming her growing frustration at her friend who she'd only just forgiven that morning. "You're always defending them! They're your flashy new friends, not mine!"

Kim's face shuttered. "Nelly, stop for a second—"

"No!" her voice was raised to a shout, and the heat she felt at the back of her neck seemed to rise into her throat. "What aren't you telling me?"

Jared put a hand on Kim's shoulder. "It's nothing," he tried, but the wavered uptick of his tone proved otherwise. "He was just pulling your leg, s'all."

The girl was beginning to feel fucking delusional at that point, hearing them deny her suspicions again and again even though it was so painfully obvious that they were withholding something from her. Did they really think she wouldn't know?

What a bunch of liars.

In a last ditch effort, she glanced back up the leader of the cronies with cargo shorts that were presently grating on her every nerve. "Let me guess; you think it's nothing too?"

Once again, there was a pinched look on his face. "It's not that simple, kid."

"It's never that simple with you guys!" she fumed, and she couldn't even register the sound of footsteps crunching against the grass behind her. The anger that was once simmering below the surface broke the moment he tried to reach a hand out towards her.

She didn't have any control over her body as she went to lurch forward, trying to shove man boy in front of her way with shaky palms. Only, she found that she was being held back by a pair of warm hands around her waist. Nelly instantly began thrashing against their hold, her nails digging into the person's arms bluntly.

"You need to calm down," Sam said, his figure coming into her slightly blurred field of vision. His head was lowered slightly, like he was trying to see her eye to eye, but it only made her efforts to escape the person's hold more uncontrollable.

"Nell, you gotta listen to Sam!" another voice shouted in her ear, and suddenly, Nelly felt her body go stock still as her senses came back to her— one by one, in a sort of agonizing slowness. 

Her breathing was laboured, and she was looking around the vicinity with a sort of dazed confusion. The arm around her didn't waver in its firmness, and the chest behind her seemed to be breathing in a frantic way as well.

Nelly was a fighter, but she'd never fought like that; she'd never fought with such all-encompassing anger in her body, malice coating her tongue. She could make out the face of the Connweller girl in Jared's own grip, the tears in the girl's eyes and the fear on her face made Nelly choke down a threatening sob. She was like a fucking animal, she realized.

Her vision blurred for an entirely different reason now, and the heels of her palms pressed their way into her eye sockets. "I'm sorry– I'm sorry," she whispered out, her voice barely being carried by the wind. "I'm sorry– I wanna go home."

"Nell—" The voice, the one whose arms were still grounding her to the earth, was one she soon registered. And if anything, having him be the one to snap her out of whatever spell she'd been under was embarrassing enough.

Her head fall back against his chest, a wave of tiredness washing over her as the heat seemed to linger uncomfortably. She couldn't be here anymore.

"I wanna go home. I– I wanna go home."

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[ wyn's note ]

told y'all i'd be putting my girl thru it but can we rlly blame her? everyone's being so sketch and she literally sees thru everyone's bullshit so ofc it set her off LOL

but who's finna tell her...

thanks for 6k my loves <3 nelly is my short fused baby fr!!!! all my love xx