xp_logs | A little after the last one...

His unpacking done, Angelo was curled up in a corner of his bed, knees drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around them, trying very hard not to think about anything.

Jamie knocked on the door hesitantly. He'd never exactly been _close_ with Angelo, but he couldn't get over that feeling he'd had of seeing a mirror in the other boy's empty eyes, down by the gym--and if it had been, _when_ it had been him, he'd wanted someone to come find him.

Angelo looked up sharply, startled out of his not-thinking and wondering who was there. Surely Paige hadn't had time to find and talk to Jono yet... "Yeah?" he called. "Come in."

Jamie pushed open the door, pausing just inside the room. "Hey, man. Just thought I'd see how you were doing."

Angelo smiled weakly. "Hey, Jamie." He noticeably didn't say anything about how he was, unsure if he could lie believably at that moment.

"Sorry about the whole . . . thing with the, you know." Jamie made a quick gesture evoking the hold he'd put on Angelo. "Couldn't figure out any other way to get you to stand still long enough."

"S'OK, man", Angelo answered quietly. "Glad you did it."

"Yeah, well." Jamie shrugged. "That kinda thing's what worked best on me when I was having flashbacks. Guess it seeped in." He paused. "It's okay if you're not okay, you know? It isn't your fault, or anything."

Angelo looked up at him. "That's what Paige said", he admitted, voice low.

"Well, she's smart. And I hope she says it a couple more times, 'cause sometimes it takes a while for it to sink in all the way."

Angelo ducked his head, avoiding Jamie's eyes. "I guess."

"You gonna talk to the Professor about it? Or Dr. Moira? They're both really good."

"Yeah, I will", Angelo promised, before admitting, with pain in his voice: "I don't really know what happened, though. Last thing I remember is... Jono."

"Well . . . when I got there, you tore out of the gym like the Roadrunner and plowed right into me. I think . . ." Jamie hitched his shoulders uncomfortably. "I think you might've hit Paige. But I dunno for sure, I didn't see it. And if you did, I'm _sure_ you didn't know what you were doing, I've been there, actual reality kinda . . . fades out."

Angelo retreated further into his curled-up posture, resting his head on his drawn-up knees. "I know I hit Paige. She was here, before, and I saw the bruise. It's the last thing I would have done, knowing..."

"'Course it was, everybody knows that. S' one of the big ways I knew something was seriously wrong."

Angelo didn't look at him, instead muttering, almost too low to hear, "What's *happening* to me?"

Jamie shrugged. "I dunno for sure. When it was me . . . the Prof said, it was kind of like getting hurt and then healing wrong, so sometimes it opens back up again. Like scabs, only in your head. Only he didn't call it scabs, I came up with that myself right now. I'm sure he can figure out how to help you fix it, though, he helped me a lot."

Angelo nodded slowly, taking that in. "I'll go see him."

"Cool." Jamie stuck his hands in his pockets. "So, you gonna be OK for now, then? Want me to get you something to drink, or anything? Or find Paige or Ms. Blaire or somebody and send them up?"

"Yeah, I'll be OK", Angelo said, almost convincingly. "And Paige said she'd come back a bit later, so I'll just wait for her here. I'm not thirsty or anything just now.... but thanks."

"Anytime." Jamie turned to leave, but paused in the doorway and looked back. "It does get better when you get help. Takes a while--maybe longer for you than me, if you've been carrying it longer--but it gets better."

Angelo finally raised his head again to look at Jamie. Grateful for Jamie's reassurance, but unsure how to say so, he eventually just said, "Thank you."

Jamie nodded. "If you wanna talk some more, I'm always around." He slipped quietly out the door.