FPE Impetus AU: Grading

Engel sits on the bus. It'll be a few hours until he leaves it. He still thinks about what he's going to say to Alexa. What happened to Claire. That idea changes to a different one. Why did this happen to Claire? Who decided that her life was worth taking. Alice of course. But ... who allowed Claire to get to ∆lice? *Engel pulls out his phone. He scrolls to the end of his contacts, as they're sorted from most recently used. Oliver/K. Engel calls them. * *Ring* *Engel is practically sweating through his fur. It's been years since he's talked to them. The phone picks up. * Oliver/K: I told you not to call. Engel: ... I'm sorry. Oliver/K: What? Engel: I'm sorry. I don't know for sure exactly what happened. I don't know what Claire did. But I'm sorry. On her behalf and mine. Whatever happened, I deserved it. Everything you said about me? It was correct. You're right. Oliver/K: ... Engel: I ... I want to be able to talk to you in good faith. I have two things I wanna talk about. Oliver/K: What is it? Is it about how stupid your clothes look? Engel: No. I wanted to tell you that I don't hate you. I just wanted to tell you that I forgive you for killing Bubble. I'm still upset. But, ... I can't. Not after seeing how you used to act- Oliver/K: Shut UP! Engel: Alright. I just wanted to know, why? Oliver/K: Because you're a lo- Engel: We both know that isn't the reason. Oliver/K: Why should I tell you? Engel: Why not? Oliver/K: It would be all the better to make you and those students suffer when you don't know why. Engel: That problem is solved. Oliver/K: huh? Engel: I'm not going back to school. I'm on the bus right now. Oliver/K: Y - You're bluffing. Would you really leave behind your mom? Engel: I'm not leaving her behind. If anything, she'd be happier with me out of the house. I'm not lying. Oliver/K: Why would you even want to leave? Did you give up on your friends? Engel: They're *Engel hesitates. * They're not my friends. I don't know them. I don't want them to be hurt, but I don't have strong ties to them. *Oliver/K squeezes their phone, causing the glass on the screen to slightly crack. * Engel: If all of this was because of me and Claire, then leaving would be the best way to get you to stop. Even if you don't ... I can know that this isn't my fault. I guess that's selfish, but I can't be bothered to be selfless. Not after that selflessness failed. I won't contact you again. All I want is to know why you did all this. Oliver/K: ... ... I don't ... Alice told me that she was the reason she got hurt. She didn't tell me the exact details. That's all I know. Engel: ... Claire wrote something. A while back. She wanted to give it to you, but she can't anymore. I copied the words to give to my own mom, but I never ended up using it. I'll leave, but I just want to say, Thank you. *A small alert pings on Oliver/K's phone and they hang up the phone call. They consider ignoring it. They consider just acting like it isn't there. They open the message. It's a picture of a note. * Note: " Dear Oliver or Katie Happy Mother's Day or Father's Day I'm not sure which one you're more comfortable with, so I can change it if you want. Whenever either of those holidays happened in the past, I always thought that I would give these to my mom. But, I rarely get a chance to give any letters to her. But I think I know who my parent is. You. You're there. You take care of me. You teach me. You bring me to school. You're what my mom is supposed to be. You're my mom. Or dad. I'm happy to call you, my parent. Sincerely, Claire. " *Oliver/K stops squeezing their phone. * They stare at the note for hours while they sit in their room. Their arm that's holding the phone starts to shake. Then their whole body starts shaking. Their breathing becomes heavier as the memories .... The memories start resurfacing. "No. No.. No.. I -- Don't ... It doesn't matter. She's NOTHING. SHE DOESN'T MATTER. IT's its fake its fake. its fake. i ... i ... i dont care. *ha* *haha * *Hhahahahaha* I don't care. I never did. I don't! Connor: Oliver/K? Ar- Oliver/K: SHUT UP! shut up   shu -   s -   ...   i'm fine. *They stop shaking as a smile appears on their face. One devoid of remorse. There's no need for it anymore. * It's fine.