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She had to get back to her room, she had to get back to her room right now.
This dumb bracelet was still on her wrist, the key to take it off clutched in the hand it would free, the metal a sharp sensation against her palm. Surely it was the reason why Abbi couldn't hear Viveca, why when she searched for her in the halls of her mind she was silent and absent. There was no way the ghost would have normally been so quiet when the teen had been so frightfully stupid all day. Every action she had chosen had been the wrong one, the whole thing had been a frightful display of naivety that left even Abbi feeling embarrassed over her actions.
When she'd been excused from the classroom, Jack had offered to walk her and Stormy back to their rooms, but when Stormy had declined by walking away and Jack had hesitated, Abbi had bolted. No one wanted to be with her, not right now and not after her stupidity. That's why she needed Viveca, someone who couldn't leave her even if they wanted.

Running had been her initial course of action, but she grew tired quickly from how stressed she was so that by the time she reached her hallway she had slowed considerably. Not able to remember if she'd locked her own door or not, the teen faltered into a stumbling walk as she closed the remaining distance to safety. The hand not wrapped with a restricting bracelet shook for a moment before it started to lift and unlatch the door, but something intervened.
With a gasp, Abbi turned, not at all fighting the hold on her, especially when she was acutely aware of the fact that it was a gloved hand on her wrist.
A strangled noise left her to see Ripley, a number of emotions welling up within her chest.
He had been safe, he hadn't come along on their excursion or she would have seen him in the classroom. But he looked worried and winded and somehow she just knew he had seen it. Someone had said the others on the outside had been watching, had he seen her?

The guilt surged forward first and she wasn't sure what to do, stuck with her wrist in his hand and shaking still. That same strangled, weak noise left her again. But she had to say something, the silence was driving her crazy.
"I-I don't-- I-I didn't-- They lied-- I got in trouble--I-I--"

Still trying to stutter out something logical, the teen only got out a few more "I"s and wordless noises before he pulled her in. There was no fight, not like there really ever would be, but it still surprised her to be swept up like that. Now that she wasn't drunk she was acutely aware of how very close he was, eyes open wide against him as he held her tight. No one had ever held her like that and initially, its uncomfortable. But when he says her name her muscles relax and it makes more sense how people can get attached to this kind of attention.
Her hands are caught against him, one splayed out over his heart so that she can feel it thudding about as fast as her own and if she tilted her head back, she would be perfectly eye level with his collar bone. Its hard to breath, but its been hard to breath since she woke up in that classroom, so thankfully it is something that has ceased to really bother her.
You're alive.
Was this alive? It felt like she had died and been granted entrance to Heaven, even if she didn't believe that really existed.

"Y-you saw it--" She begins, taking in a deep breath and finding a familiarity in the scent of him that she feels isn't fair. But nothing is fair, isn't that what the man in the classroom had said?
"I-I didn't mean t-to kill her, y-you have to believe me!" With hands up against him, she can just skate them along to press against her face. She's already cried twice today, why not once more?
"Th-there was a man... Before the... The pod and th-the water... He said I had potential. I-I believed him." That b*****d had lied about the dagger, he probably lied about being special too. How had they known though? How had they been aware that that was all she wanted? To be unique and clever and full of potential?
"I-it wasn't real-- It can't be-- I-I just--" It had all been a terrible dream.
But not all of it had been...

A sob breaks her entirely and she clutches at his shirt, burying her face against him in hopes it will keep her from screaming.
"He hurt Finn! Th-the man in the classroom! The leader! Our leader! He hurt Finn!" Whatever flood gate of tears she'd been holding back before breaks now and she dissolved into terrible sobs that leave her gulping for air one moment and shaking with emotion the next. Its all been so much, too much, and she's seen what people are really capable of.

They were in a hallway, one where anyone could wander out of their room and see them, hugging and one of the pair crying, and begin to wonder. Never before had Abbi ever really bothered to care what others thought of her, but mostly it had been because most of the outsider's view was strange and not worth their time. Here on Deus she had friends, she had met people who liked her and did not think her over the top exuberance was annoying, they did not judge her for the myriad of strangeness she found normal. They would surely wonder if they saw her like this, wouldn't they?
But that thought dulls in her mind, fading to the background amidst the cacophony of competing worries. Despite her deep sorrow and fear, the comfort of being held by Ripley of all people starts to soften the edges of her panic. The worry that someone will see dims and instead is replaced with a new idea.
With the way he's holding her, she can only see him and a flicker of a wall across the hall. No one exists here but them, and if she folds her arms in, if she curls her hands against her heart in the little valley between her breasts and lets her cheek rest against his chest she can disappear too.

"P-please don't hate me... Please don't... I-I was just trying to help I..." He's already said he believed her, there isn't a reason to keep trying to convince him. But he wasn't there, he didn't know what it was like to have a blade stuck to your throat by someone you'd once protected and tried to help.
As for his words on potential, Abbi only ducked her head further down against him, not wanting to talk about that. It hurts too much, that wound is more raw than the others and she wants to pretend it doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that he is warm and sweet and far too good to her. The hand on her back is nice and she starts to lessen her sobbing, finding the noises in her throat quieting considerably because she isn't a child who cries so hard. A brighter warmth blooms against her forehead, dulled lightly by her bangs and in a second she's stopped all noise altogether.
What's happening registers slowly, the teen blinking wildly and gasping for air since her already racing heart has entered double time. But he's talking in her ear and another sob chokes her because she has forgotten one crucial bit of information.

Stumbling but hurrying she turns and enters her room, feeling cold now that she's out of his arms but with a new mission. More tears fall down her face and her vision is getting hazy, a sign she needs to take out her one sign of vanity. But that can wait as she instead sticks out her wrist, the hand at the end shaking as she unfolds her fingers to show him the key that matches the bracelet that chains her.
"I can't hear Viveca..." Its a plea more than anything, her face turning back up to his, freckled cheeks streaked and wet and bright red, her heart sprinting and confused and far too scared for just one little girl who is being doted on in a way she'd always thought too much to hope for.

Even a promise feels too weak right now, but its all that she can accept so she does. Overwhelmed doesn't begin to describe it and Abbi realizes as she steps over the threshold of her room that she has so much to tell him. He's seen some of it, sure, but he couldn't have seen what Stormy had done in the darkness or how no one had mentioned it. She would definitely not tell him about finding Chelsea in the dark and getting felt up, even if it was funny and an odd moment to break the seriousness of what had been going on. And above that there was what had happened in the room, how Caelius had gotten so angry over what they'd done and about Finn.
That causes her to seize up a little, her breath coming quicker and scared as she stopped in the middle of her room. That had been real, that hadn't been a dream and surely there was honest damage done.

But she can only handle one thing at a time right now and first, she has to stop thinking alone.
Once Ripley had taken the key, Abbi was able to breathe a little easier as she stepped closer to him, bending her elbow in attempt to get back to his warmth and make the possibility of getting the bracelet off much greater. The teen would have done it herself if her hands hadn't been shaking so much.
"She's bossy and loud and mean and she curses a lot but... Sh-she was my first friend here... She knows me best. Sh-she... She'll be glad I'm safe." And Abbi would be glad to have someone she could lay everything out to without having to say it.
The free hand not being extracted from a bracelet rubs at her eyes, trying to get the cloudiness to go away.
"S-sorry I'm... Such a baby. I-I didn't mean to cry... Again." Speaking is still a strange concept, but she's at least stopped sobbing.
The train of apologies was not going to slow down anytime soon.

"Yes I do... I-I really messed up today." Honestly, she felt a stronger word was more appropriate but she also felt it morally wrong to curse. Kill someone to save others sure, but a cuss word? Heavens no.
More apologies and pleas for forgiveness coupled with more explanations had been planned, but the pressure of his hands on her arms stops her. Quietly, Abbi looked up at Ripley, patient for once as he explained to her what the plan was. Her mouth opened to say something, but closed a second later. Another question was reconsidered and after a small purse of lips she finally settled on, "Do you not like my contacts? Which eye color do you like better?" That was very obviously something important to know in the middle of all this drama.

But as much as she wants to keep him close, Abbi also understands the importance of a few moments to herself to collect what semblance of sanity she has left, so she doesn't argue. Once he finishes, she nods once and before he can take her wrist, dodges forward to grab him in a quick hug. Since she's smaller, she has the advantage of being a little bit quicker, able to slide her arms between his to wrap around his waist, fingers snatching at the fabric on his back to holder tighter. The spot in the middle of his chest is perfect for her face and she squishes her nose against him as she mumbles a muffled 'thank you' that sounds sweeter and more honest than she initially intended.
With one more squeeze she lets go and offers up her wrist, sniffling a little and trying to keep calm for the next few seconds until Viveca is back. A deep breath is taken right before the bracelet is unlocked and pulled away, a magic trick used to make it disappear.
Abbi watches Ripley take away the key and lock with a slight of hand, but her eyes are widened and unfocused as a loud and very angry voice snaps into her head, mid-rant. A strangled noise leaves her before she can stop it and both hands crush against her temples, but the teen is smiling.
Viveca is, not having realized she's been unmuted, in the middle of a very heated scolding over how stupid Abbi's been, how her actions were downright embarrassing, how she put herself into danger and--
And just like that the words flip and are all simpering and sweet, angry doting as she realizes Abbi is back and safe and unharmed. The teen laughs and sinks to her knees, arms wrapped around herself in the best hug she is able to offer her weapon.

Mindful of the man outside, and with a weapon suddenly curious and cautious over this as well, Abbi kept her reunion short. After all, it hadn't been that long since she'd been separated from Viveca, a fact her partner was happy to reiterate. Quick as she could the teen removed her contacts, only now starting to doubt how much work she was having to put into wearing them, before she shed her jacket and scarf. He'd told her to get comfortable, and it wasn't as if he hadn't seen before, but pajamas just seemed a little... Too casual. (Viveca is happy, now that she is validated in her role as voice of reason thanks to Abbi's dramatics, to remind the teen that this wasn't a date and impressing him would get her nowhere.) Still, she finally settled on thigh high socks, a pair of fleece shorts and a large hoodie with two floopy pieces that fell off the hood in imitation of rabbit ears.
One last rub of her face is given before she takes a few deep breaths and hurried over to the door to peek out.
"Ripley?"

Cheek pressed against the door frame and hand curled gently around the entrance way, Abbi was wholly unaware of all the thoughts Ripley had. It was actually very bad for him to give her such attention and let things be all about her, for she would use this without reserve, even if she might not be aware of such.
She blinks up at him to see him worrying his own hair and can't help a small, lopsided smile break through.
"Hey..." Its a hushed greeting, dulled by how serious he always is. But she winces with a laugh at his question and she mimics his smile. "Kinda... I think she's gonna wait until I'm asleep and give me a headache when I wake up." A hand, the one not still holding onto the door frame, reaches up to lightly rap her knuckles against her own temple. The ghost inside only grumbles happily, glad to be back and fully planning to extract her own form of revenge. But if she's being honest with herself, she's just glad to know she was missed so much, a fact Abbi is vaguely aware of even if she hasn't figured it out entirely.

Another question needed answering but just as she was about to do so Ripley interrupted himself and the teen went wide eyed to listen to him. For a moment she looked surprised as the scolding but when he finished she laughed, an actual one, not one of the fake ones she had considered trying.
"Sorry..." She began, taking a breath and nibbling her bottom lip for a moment. Should she send him away? Didn't he have other people to worry over? Didn't he need to go check on Jack and Toto? Why had he come to her?
A part of her knew the answer, but the part that made her cheeks darken, the part that was clinging to how nice it felt to be held by him, mumbled something different. Both were up for grabs, but Abbi looked back up to him with a shrug.
"If uh... If you don't have anything else to do... Um... I'd like if you uh... Stayed. With me." Before she could stop herself she hopped out of the room, both hands waving from side to side.
"I-I mean, I'm not saying you have to stay or that you don't have anything more important to do! You probably do! You're like a way important guy so its ok if you uh want to go do your important things!"

The waving hands stopped to clasp at each other, dropping down in front of her as she dropped her gaze to her feet.
"I just... Don't really want to be alone right now... And you came to me... Were you... Looking for me?"

Another soft laugh.
"Thanks, I'll need it." She smiles and looks away, not sure if this is flirting or not but liking it in any regard.
The 'no' startles her and she stops, hands in the air for a moment before they drop. Before she can move he's back in front of her, hands on her arms. More startled than she intends she jumps under him, turning big eyes up at him and a nervous smile. (Why is she so nervous?!)
"J-just... Me?" Her cheeks color and she isn't sure if looking at him is good or bad. After a few quick glances up into his eyes (gosh, have they always been that gold? And handsome? Like wow she could probably make a ton of really bad metaphors about his eyes like how they were like a thousand melted Rings of Power or um oh uh stop daydreaming ok--), she finally decided to look away. Just as she did the hands dropped from her and she looked up to see.... Ripley was really close and moving closer and um um ummm!!!

A squeak left the girl as she took a few steps back before she jumped forward, practically crashing into his chest as she pushed her hands against his shoulders.
"D-do you wanna change out of your uniform too? I-I don't have the be the only one in pajamas!" She chirped, jumping up and down and totally not moving backwards so that she kinda jumped a little against him. After all, she'd seen him in pajamas (were those what he wore to bed? Wait that was not a thought she needed to have), and she had a lot to tell him so they might as well be comfortable...