Klara • The roses speak to me (ladyoftherose) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-12-20 11:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, ~2017 december, ~25 points, ~~evan hansen (andhereswhy), ~~~klara prast (ladyoftherose) |
Who: Klara Prast & Evan Hansen
Where: Forest clearing
When: Yesterday afternoon?
Why: Because we felt like it
Status: Completed GDoc
Warnings: None
Klara was… well Klara was young, but not naive. She saw the world through jaded eyes, she’d seen so much in her time that she couldn’t help it. She tried, very hard, to be a cheerful 16 year old girl. But she’d been beaten down so much that sometimes it slipped. Today was one of those days, she’d been frustrated by trying to do math that she had no basis for and had thrown the notebook across her room and left the house. She found her way into the forested park and climbed up a tree, she coaxed a few vines out to make a swing and she slid down them to sit on it and just swing there in the middle of the park in the cold air, and try to let the Green, nature, do its work. She needed to calm down and not get so frustrated. But it was hard when all she knew was nothing like what was here. *** Evan appreciated everything Turner had done for him since he’d arrived and she found herself named guardian for a teenage boy. He was grateful for the bed to sleep in, food on the table. She had been amazing so far, kind and caring without being over bearing; she let him have his space. Today that meant going out into the cold. His arm ached, though he imagined it was mostly healed inside the cast by now. The cold, damp air made it ache and itch under the plaster. He needed to get outside, get some fresh air. Maybe getting out among the trees he loved so much would ease his anxiety even just a little bit. He headed for a stand of trees in the park. Some of them were perfect for climbing, with lower branches that gave him a place to start. One branch after another, he could make his way up, high above the ground where the sun felt warmer. Except there was a girl nearby swinging on a swing made of vines? He didn’t remember seeing that before, and it caused him to stop short. He fidgeted with his hands, the fingers of his unbroken arm picking at the fingers of his other hand. He didn’t know what to do now, because she was there, and he had to recalculate, figure out somewhere else to go. *** Klara smiled and lifted a hand in greeting. “Hi!” She called out with a warm smile and a tilt to her head. She was sixteen and nervous about people. But here in her element she didn't worry as much. “Want to swing too?” She asked as she smiled, fingers slipping up the vine, coaxing more to form a second swing on the next tree over she forgot herself for a minute but oh well. “I'm Klara” *** “I…” he swayed slightly on his feet. It was nerves, nothing more. Being around people made him anxious, and he either spoke slowly with repeating words or way too fast without pausing at all between words, as he did now. “Idon’twanttobeabother,” he muttered, his voice stunted and awkward. He glanced up, just for a moment. And he saw that a swing was materialising out of the vines. How was that even possible? It shouldn’t be possible, but it was happening right there, right in front of his eyes. Maybe he was finally going absolutely crazy. The stress of the whole thing with Connor and Connor’s family and lying to his mother about where he was all the time, and the sudden popularity he was experiencing at school...after years of being damn near invisible, people were noticing him, and not just noticing that he was there, but actually talking to him, making him feel for the first time in his life like he belonged. That was enough to break his already fragile psyche. Was any of this even real? “Evan,” he said, with an awkward sort of cough. Funny how it was hard, almost foreign, to even say his own name. “I’m Evan.” He had no idea what to do now. Was he supposed to sit on the swing? He didn’t know, but he imagined himself swinging high. Swinging and forgetting about everything else, that would be ideal. *** Klara smiled warmly at him, she was quiet, not loud and she was patient. She worked with plants all day, almost anyway. She liked plants and they liked peace and quiet. She didn’t seem to mind much that the young man was nervous or running his words together. “It is no bother.” she smiled warmly again, welcoming as humanly possible. She didn’t bother explaining how things happened, she just let him think his world broke into pieces and this was a dream. Explaining would only make it worse. “A pleasure to meet you, Evan, come swing. I promise it’s safe.” she pushed off the ground to swing herself on hers, lazy and comfortable. She’d made the seats wide enough to sit on and they were soft but stable. The tree branches it was attached to was thick and sturdy and she’d picked trees that left them room to swing without hitting each other. *** His eyes flickered up for just a moment, a mere fraction of a second. It was the best he could do. She seemed so nice, so kind and compassionate. It was hard to ignore that, or the effect it had on him. It didn’t quell his anxiety, but it did make him feel a little less tense. He decided to go for it. He moved to the swing and sat. He kept his feet on the ground, pivoting on his toes as he moved the swing back and forth a little bit. He was used to people ignoring him, as if he wasn’t even there. He was used to not having to say anything because no one heard, or even saw him, anyway. As a result, he had no idea what to say now. She was so nice, and he felt like he should say something, but what? He felt his anxiety like a hand around his throat, choking him before he could say anything and he ended up sitting there, gently moving the swing, and feeling stupid and worthless and inadequate. *** Klara didn't push for him to talk to get, she just swung lazily, enjoying the day. It was nice out, chilly but nice, and she was content. She lifted her head to smile at him. “You're welcome to come here anytime, is a nice place to think.” She said quietly as she swung, feet brushing the ground lightly, she tipped her head back to let her hair brush the ground. She was at peace out here among the plants. It was lovely, absolutely lovely. *** Evan felt at peace when he was among the trees. Trees were so much easier for him than people. They didn’t talk, or expect him to talk, but they listened like an old friend if he did talk. They were just there,, no pressure and no expectations. “Idon’twantotbeabother,” he said, the words said quickly, like he had to get it all out at once, before he changed his mind. Not that his coming out to the trees should be a bother to her, or anyone else, but Evan was hyper aware of being a nuisance to anyone and everyone. Even though he felt like he was never really seen, he also felt like he was always in the way. *** Klara smiled warmly at him “You wouldn’t be a bother, you know, I invited you to share the space after all.” she tilted her head at him and leaned back for a particularly big swing, lazy and slow. She was amused at his rush of words. “You don’t need to worry about bothering me.” she said honestly as she lapsed back into companionable silence, she didn’t know how nervous he was, but she would have felt bad had she known. She didn’t like people being uneasy around her, she liked people. Even if she’d seen the worst of the worst. *** Klara in and of herself didn’t make Evan nervous. He actually felt a sense of peace around her. But life made him anxious, without the support of the Murphys to bolster his self confidence. Without them, without having the family he’d always wanted to run to, he didn’t know who or what he was anymore. Just like that, everything he’d tried so hard to build back home was gone, like the rug had been ripped out from under him. He should have known better. It had been too good to be true. After a while of swinging slowly and without talking, Evan eventually got to his feet. He tugged at his jacket, pulled at his pants. His fingers twitched. “I um, I enjoyedthis,” he said. “But um, I should go.” He didn’t want Turner to worry about him not coming home. She worried about him enough already. *** Klara swung in silence as he ran over his thoughts and let his mind wander, then return to whatever bothered him. She didn't pry, and rarely did she want to do so. She understood the need for people to be on their own little daydreams. She often had been, after all, how else did anyone think she'd survived what she had? When he got up she smiled warmly. "Come back anytime, Evan, it was a pleasure meeting you." she dipped her head warmly at him and watched him go. She hoped he would come back to visit sometime. |