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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 31, 2017 4:15:53 GMT
Yang figured Shadow would ask how she was doing eventually. That was always the question on everyone's mind. Was she okay? Was she still having nightmares? Could she manage alright with one arm? She knew everyone was just concerned about her, but she felt bad sometimes when she had nothing new to report. She hated saying she hadn't made much progress. Well, that wasn't true. She was making progress physical-wise. She was learning how to do stuff with one hand, and was slowly doing more things on her own. Heck, she felt like she was finally getting down how to tie her hair in a ponytail with one hand. Having Omar show her really helped out. But it was always the mental stuff that seemed to be at a roadblock. She remembered Pitch telling her she should be more honest with people, that opening up was probably going to help her get better. Maybe she could at least start here. "Okay, most of the time," she replied. "Still have some...bad days. Nights still suck." No matter how many times Yang had the same nightmares, they never failed to scare the crap out of her. She always awoke with her heart beating fast and her chest heaving in and out as she tried to catch her breath. Tears were usually part of the package deal too. Really, she felt like that was the scariest time, because nobody was usually around. Adrien couldn't stay until she fell asleep every night, and she hated calling someone at two in the morning because of a bad dream. It'd get old really quick. So, she dealt with them on her own as best she could.
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Post by Zuyuri on May 31, 2017 5:42:08 GMT
Shadow nodded wordlessly. Well, that was good news at least. He didn't ask the cliche questions that he already knew the answers to. She was still having bad dreams. She was doing well with one hand, which impressed him a great deal. But the big improvement he saw was this time, she wasn't hedging around a topic or trying to avoid it. This time, she was being honest with him. It touched Shadow on some level that he'd be considered trustworthy by someone as young as Yang. "Yeah, nights are always the worst. After Thorn Ma..." He paused, realizing he had never told Yang the whole story of how he and Sunshine met. That had been trauma for him, mostly for her, but for him as well. It had been the one time he had been exposed to actually being weak.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 31, 2017 16:51:12 GMT
If Shadow wanted specifics, he didn't ask for them. Maybe what Yang had said had been enough. It still felt odd, being really honest about what was going on. True, she didn't give all the nitty gritty details, but at least she was headed in the right direction. Besides, some people didn't need to know every single thing. Just stating it broadly seemed to be enough. Although, that never seemed to work with Yang's doctors. They always wanted specifics. How many nights a week was she having nightmares? Did she notice a pattern in what triggered a flashback? How many days out of the week did she actually leave the house, or speak to another person? She knew they needed to know these things to do their job, but all the questions still gave her a headache sometimes. She wished she could just show them what was going on inside her head instead of having to explain it. She ate her cake quietly, still thinking about it when Shadow mentioned something that caught her ear. "Thorn what?" she asked, not able to keep her curiosity away.
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Post by Zuyuri on May 31, 2017 17:24:57 GMT
The clinks of china and metal hitting were the only sounds for a while. Wherever Omar got this cake, Shadow had to ask. He wasn't usually a cranberry kind of person, but this wasn't bad. There wasn't any "winter" flavors, as Sunshine pointed out. Yang mist have heard them cut himself off, and he decided, well, the beans had to be tossed sometime. "Oh. That's where Sunshine and I met. Back then I was the cop, she was the civilian in distress. I was investigating a vampire gang activity with my current partner, Rouge. An intern ran ahead, and the gang got the jump on me while I was distracted. Came to chained up in a room with a terrified girl sitting across from me. We couldn't just..walk out the door. So, we spent..." he counted on his fingers. A rough estimate would have to do. He had no track of time while he and Sunshine were getting beat up and scared to death by vamps. "...almost a whole month in there until we eventually got out. I still have nightmares about it."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 31, 2017 17:32:28 GMT
Yang's eyes widened. "Jeez." It was a underwhelming statement, but what else could she say? Shadow had been through enough by losing his memories and losing Maria, but spending a whole month trapped with vampires? It almost seemed like too much. And she couldn't believe that Sunshine had been through something like that and come out so...normal. Heck, she was beyond normal. She was as perky as could be. She was called "Sunshine" for a reason, after all. How could she be so happy after going through something like that? At least Yang had only dealt with her enemies for a little while. She'd never been held captive by them for a whole month. "I...I don't know what to say." It seemed like a lot of her friends had gone through some rough stuff, one way or another. Omar and Jane lost their family, and were separated from each other for years. Aqua had lost Terra. And now this.
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Post by Zuyuri on May 31, 2017 21:31:08 GMT
"Sunshine was traumatized for about the same time. She still is. You've never seen her when the word vampire comes up. She just...freezes." Shadow had realized Sunshine was probably never in her full fearful state around Yang. He had seen the trauma and how it had effected her. How she had jumped at the slightest of noises, the constant shifting of her eyes whenever she was with him, how she refused to take night shifts because of what had happened.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 31, 2017 21:50:35 GMT
Yang could relate to that. Anything that reminded her of what Thrax did to her, at the very least, she got sick to her stomach. Worst case scenario: she got a vivid flashback that left her feeling all sorts of horrible things. And could lead her to punching someone in the face. "I never even noticed. She just seems...happy, a lot of the time." Of course, Sunshine was a human being. She got upset like any other person would. But she certainly tended to look on the optimistic side of things. It was like she had this bubble that nothing could penetrate. Or, if it did, it didn't bother her for long. Yang felt like she was the opposite. If something bothered her, it stuck around for a long time. Even though it had been years since her parents were killed, Gavin and Gothel still lurked in the back of her mind. Them being dead didn't change anything. They were still people that had hurt Yang deeply, just like Cinder and Thrax had.
Just when Yang was wondering if there was anything else she should say though, she felt her phone vibrate, several times. She pulled it out of her pocket, and grimaced. It looked like social media pages were finally blowing up about Adrien's interview, and notifications were filling her phone at top speed. She quickly skimmed through a few online posts. The interview itself didn't seem too bad. Adrien just stated that Yang was a friend, and that she'd lost her arm defending someone from Thrax. And if any reports were caught harassing her, he'd never do business with them again. Of course, every post about the interview was accompanied by the pictures and videos that captured Yang punching the camera man out. Apparently, the guy wasn't going to press charges. Yang didn't know if it was because he was afraid of getting punched again, or if he thought it would put him on Adrien's good side. Either way, the content itself wasn't the problem. Everyone's interpretations and theories was what set Yang on edge. Everyone had different opinions. Some thought the whole thing was a publicity stunt by Adrien, to get his father's fashion company more attention. Some didn't believe Adrien and Yang were friends at all and were secretly dating like Romeo and Juliet. Some thought Yang deserved pity. Others thought she should get mentally evaluated, although those opinions tended to be in the minority. Yang just kept scrolling, astounded by it all. She had figured this whole thing would blow up on social media, but not this much. And she could only sum it up with one word muttered under her breath. "Fuck."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 1, 2017 1:27:43 GMT
Shadow put his fork down and chewed thoughtfully. Sunshine had a lot going for her that balanced out all the negative attributes of her life. She had a loving family, she had friends who kept her happy and, well, he hated to admit it, but she had a supportive boyfriend. It was all the thing he lacked in his life. Oh, he had a few people he called friends, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't sure that he could even find the creeps that made Yang's life heck. She sure as heck wasn't going to try and find Jasmine.
All of the sudden, Yang's phone started blowing up. Not explosive blow up, but social gossip blow up. He had no real accounts to look after, so his was silent. But Yang was swiping back and forth, and a look of shock slowly etched itself onto her face, and her swore under her breath. "What's wrong?" Shadow asked.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 1, 2017 1:46:55 GMT
Yang hesitated for a moment before answering. Should Shadow know about this? Everything between her and Adrien so far had been hush-hush. In a way, the people online describing their relationship like Romeo and Juliet was a bit accurate. Except Adrien's dad was probably the only person who wouldn't approve. And maybe some fangirls. But everyone else would be fine with it. But, keeping something like this a secret probably wouldn't bode well. Yang was trying to open up a little more to her friends. She might as well start with this. "Well, I guess there's no harm in showing you. You'll probably find out eventually," she said, handing him her phone. It was almost amazing, how fast something like this could be blown up over social media. People were either talking about the photos of Yang socking the camera man, about Adrien's interview itself, or any of the theories surrounding both. That was what people online liked to do. Someone posted something. Someone else commented on it. Other people could chime in, whether they agreed or disagreed. Yang just wondered what it meant for her and Adrien. He seemed pretty confident that this would blow over quickly, like most things on the internet. Yang hoped he was right.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 1, 2017 2:34:24 GMT
Shadow took the phone when Yang offered him the phone. Something told him this would be bad. Did some sicko decide to rip off the Killing Joke and get a bunch of embarrasing photos to blackmail Yang? The only suspect that would do that would be Cinder. If the sources could be tracked down, he'd find the person trying to mess with Yang Xiao Long. She had been through enough shit, why couldn't people leave her alone? He swiped through the pictures, his expression unreadable. At first he thought it was some kind of joke. A really good editor had put them together. Someone who liked the idea of her dating the billionaire heir in some fantasy shot. But then shots came of an angry Yang tackling a photographer. He bit back a laugh; if he was getting harassed by paparazzi, he'd probably do the same thing,. "You hung out with Adrien Agaste?" But then he scanned the comments. Npe. People were making it more. She was with him, he had tried to shield her from the press..."...Oh my God..." Shadow put the phone down.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 1, 2017 2:47:29 GMT
"Yeah. He...kind of took me out on a lunch date," Yang said, her face turning red. It was the truth, it just felt a little revealing to talk about it, especially to a guy. Most of her romance woes had only been talked about with Jane in the past. However, she felt a twinge in her gut when Shadow saw all the comments people were making. He seemed almost as astounded as she had when he had told her about Thorn Manor. She hated seeing him so worried. "I'm sure it'll blow over," she said reassuringly. "Most celebrity gossip does. I mean, by next week, everyone will probably be back to talking about miracle diets and the crime rate, all that good stuff." Maybe if she believed hard enough in what Adrien said, this would blow over by next week. But really, that was only one aspect of this that was worrying her. She still couldn't forget how she had felt when a flashback had been triggered, how she had felt so infuriated and ready to smash everything in sight. She hadn't felt that angry in a long time, and it scared her a little.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 1, 2017 3:03:29 GMT
Adrien Agaste taking Yang XIao Long on a lunch date? The paparazzi's obnoxious poking into the private lives of people could be...well...irritating. The only way a rich kid like him...wait...Yang said date. Shadow felt absolutely stupid. Chat had asked what the cop would do if he ever found out who he was. Shadow had honestly said he wasn't sure. Now, he was staring at probably the most damning piece of evidence to put two and two together. It was how Chat knew about the dirty acts the rich people pulled. It was how he could access fancy technology he thought only the police had access to.
Chat and Adrien were the same person.
"I hope, for both of you it does," he massaged his temples, still adjusting to the current present.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 1, 2017 3:18:40 GMT
Yang glanced at Shadow. He seemed to be expressing more worry than curiosity. She felt like anybody else would have been all over this. She could hear Jane's voice now. "How did you two meet?" "Are you sure he's not one of those rich douchebag boys?" "He makes one wrong move, I'm kicking his butt." Maybe Shadow was still taking it all in. Yang had been sort of a high profile with the police department when she was living on the streets, this was something different. This time, reporters were all talking about her instead of officers. "I'm just worried about how it'll affect him. His dad isn't...the nicest guy. And..." She gave a sigh. "I still feel a little mad at myself for...having an episode. I thought that if I could just get through a lunch date normally, it'd mean I was getting better. Adrien thinks me coming out at all shows I'm doing better, but...I don't know." She knew Adrien wasn't mad at her for what had happened. That had been a main source of her worries. But her meltdown after the whole incident had been mainly about herself, and her frustration at how slow her recovery was going. She just wanted to do normal things without being scared all the time.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 1, 2017 3:32:18 GMT
"I never liked the paparazzi. In fact, I never liked reporters." Shadow mumbled this dryly, looking at the nasty comments people had been writing. They had no right to judge a couple that they didn't know. The reporters had no right to snoop around and snap their cameras because the pretty boy had his arm around a girl who deserved him more than any snobby supermodel. The benefit was at least Adrien didn't have to worry about breaking Yang in two. "And Adrien meant well, this was just a situation you two had no control over. I would have reacted the same way if it helps. Though," he swiped to a shot of Yang's fist aiming high, "I'd probably aim for the crotch as opposed to the face."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 1, 2017 3:38:01 GMT
Yang gave a little smile. "Yeah, I bet you would," she said. She and Shadow were alike in that way. Their tempers could bring some serious damage on anyone who messed with them. No doubt it was a fatal flaw, as Yang's friends in the past had lectured her more than once on her fiery temper and how controlling it might keep her out of trouble. But, even with one arm missing and everything she had gone through, it seemed like that part of her hadn't changed too much. The thought comforted her a little bit. Of course, the flip-side was that she was a lot more scared than she used to. And these days, her lashing out had to do with fear almost as much as anger. Shadow's advice about aiming for the crotch next time made her laugh. "Well, good thing I've got a handy-dandy fire extinguisher to help me out too," she joked. "Although I did like Adrien's offer of installing a sprinkler system." Heck, Adrien would probably pay for it himself, along with hiring someone to install it. Yang still struggled with letting people help her, but she felt like this was something that'd make her feel a little better.
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