Doctor Doctor! Give Me The News! (Dr. Neville)

When he spoke, telling her to come in, Angie realized some tiny bit of her had been hoping there’d be no answer, allowing her to turn and run and never look at this terrifying door again. But his voice crushed that hope and, more than earlier, she felt as if she were going to be sick. Slowly, she turned the knob and pushed the door open, revealing a distinguished looking man. Very intimidating. Though, she found every man, even in passing, to be intimidating.

Wishing her stomach to soothe, she wrapped her arms tight around her midsection. “Sorry for being late sir. I-” she hesitated, not wanting to lie, but how would it sound if she said ‘I was contemplating turning around and not showing my face’? “I got tied up.” The girl finished vaguely. Though, she wondered if he’d even heard her she’d spoken so quietly.

She looked around the room, trying to get her bearings. This was her first time doing something like this. And if he couldn’t tell she was nervous… Well, then, perhaps she’d need to find somebody else to help her because it was plainly obvious. Even to her.

“Is anywhere fine?” She asked conflicted by the numerous seating choices the room presented to her. Of course, she’d already started to slowly move to the bigger armchairs towards the back. They looked comfy. And the fact that they were towards the back was also appealing to her.

For the first time, since this appointment was first made, she was actually curious. Not about the actual appointment it self or working through her problems. But she was wondering exactly how somebody started these kinds of things? Would he be abrasive about it? ‘Tell me about your parents?’ Or would he more ease into it? Though, she wasn’t sure how somebody eased another into telling all of his or her deepest darkest secrets.

Once seated, her leg began bouncing. As if it wasn’t obvious just how uncomfortable she was. Like the fact that she had yet to actually make eye contact with him. Or that she was still holding her stomach. Or that she’d been almost inaudible when she spoke to him. Nope, with all of those things, he’d never be able to tell she was nervous. Yeah right.

(Yes, I did in fact stalk Sean’s other threads so I could know the basic setup of his office. XD)

‘I don’t wanna be here I don’t wanna be here I don’t wanna here.’ That was the only thought in Angie’s head. To her, the easiest way to deal with, well, everything would be to pretend she didn’t think her power made her a freak or that what… happened never actually happened. And that option was a thousand times more appealing than sitting here having to talk to somebody about those things.

And the sudden thought that he might be offended occurred to her. Angie thought of herself as a freak because she was Meta. But that didn’t mean she thought he was or that any other Meta was. It was more than a little difficult to explain. And probably even more difficult to understand.

“Um… It was ok I suppose?” The way she said it made it sound more like a question than an answer. But that was generally how she spoke, as if asking what she was saying was acceptable. At least to authority figures. “Nothing really happened. Nothing bad at least. So I count that as a win.” She felt as if she was rambling. So, to shut herself up, she began chewing on the inside on her cheek.

Again, she thought of Bell. And how she would so much rather be with him at that moment. She wondered if having him here with her during the session would’ve made her more relaxed. He made her feel safe. But she would be mortified if he knew. Knew that she was seeing Dr. Neville… Or the reasons as to why in general.

Realizing she was being rude, she asked, “How has yours been?” Manners weren’t her only reasoning though. People, most people at least, like talking about themselves. Asking was in the vane hope he’d become distracted and talk about himself. But he was a professional, so she really doubted it would work.

Asking about her plans was a good way to ease her into things. It distracted her a bit from the overwhelming feeling of not wanting to be there. After shrugging her slender shoulders, she said, “Um… I suppose I’ll be spending time with Bell. He’s a friend of mine… I was also thinking of going into town to see somebody I met the other week. Um… Riley. That’s his name.” She did leave out the fact that he was just a tad older than she was, unsure of what he’d make of that.

She had intended to go see him before this point… But the fact that he was so much like her father, physically speaking of course, was more than just a bit off putting to her. Speaking more to herself than Dr. Neville, she said quietly as her eyes dropped to the floor, “I was just going to swing by… But perhaps I should call first. That is why he gave him his number after all.” She could’ve continued working through the logistics, but she was being rude. “Sorry…” Angie said with an apologetic face, looking back up at the doctor.

The girl hadn’t realized that her leg had stopped bouncing or that her hands weren’t shaking… Well not nearly as much anyway. And the nerves in her stomach that were making her feel sick had somewhat lessened. He was a professional. He worked at Hammel. He was a Meta. There wasn’t anything to fear. And logically speaking, she knew that. But the simple act of talking about weekend plans just made him seem… More personable she supposed. Nodding, both as a ‘your welcome’ and in understanding that some students didn’t go home for the holidays, she simply added “Yeah…” because she couldn't quite think of what else to say, but felt as if there needed to be something there.

When he commented that she didn’t need to be nervous, her cheeks turned a bright red. Of course, she’d known that everything about her at that moment was screaming that she was nervous. But actually mentioning it was rather embarrassing to her. Dropping her eyes back to the floor as if she were being reprimanded, she only looked back up once his words had come to an end. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be. I wish I weren’t. But… It’s just so weird.”

Alarm clear on her face, she backtracked. “No. Not this. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… It’s unusual... For me! Not in general.” Sighing, her eyes quickly found their way back to the floor and her back slumped against the back of the chair in defeat. “I’m sorry.”

The smile on her face should’ve told Dr. Neville that perhaps he’d made a mistake in asking Angie to tell him about Bell. This she could do. She could talk about her friends, well friend really. But she’d most likely prattle on about him until he told her to stop. “Bell’s my first friend here. Um… He’s really nice. Older. About two years. He’s really energetic. And funny. He’s always doing something… Kind of ridiculous. But not bad ridiculous.” There was so much she could tell Dr. Neville about Bell, she wasn’t quite sure what to say next about him.

“Oh! He has a blog. He likes to play pranks on his friends and take pictures and then he posts them.” After taking a breath, she continued. “The other day I was at the pond and he jumped out at me and sprayed me with um… whipped cream I think. And I ended up falling into the pond… Though, that was my fault entirely.” To Angie, those things didn’t sound as if they were mean. She knew Bell hadn’t meant any harm and that it had all been in jest. But because Angie knew he hadn’t meant to upset, she didn’t see a need to mention that Bell had given her his jacket to wear to keep warm or that he’d bought her hot chocolate.

Angie realized she hadn’t exactly gotten Riley last name. Or age. Or what exactly it was that he did, except for owning a business. Or really anything about him. Except that his first name was Riley. And an incredibly nice person. But her lack of information was slightly embarrassing to her. “Um… Well… He looks about your age I suppose. But I can’t speak much about the piiies.” Shrugging her shoulders. “But he is really nice. I was lost in town and he fed me and brought me back to the school.”

Recently she’d been hearing that phrase more than she had in her entire life. ‘Don’t worry about it’. But she didn’t know how to not worry about things. Worrying had always been a constant in her life and telling her not to was so much easier said than done.

She dropped her eyes to the floor when Dr. Neville said that it was hard getting used being an only Meta in an otherwise normal family. And it was. She knew that better than anyone, at least she thought she did. But her family situation was a bit different than most.

For the duration of their conversation Angie hadn’t really felt one way or another about Dr. Neville. He was nice it seemed and that had been enough for Angie to not be so entirely nervous and talk a bit more freely than she might have if he had been rude to her. But when he said he was the only Meta in his family too, Angie thought for a fraction of a second that just maybe somebody could actually understand, maybe he knew exactly what it was like to have gone through what she’d been through. After all… He was older. Metas weren’t as widely accepted when his powers should have developed, right?

Glancing up at him without lifting her head up, she asked him quietly, “Am I allowed to ask how your family took the news?” She wasn’t sure what she wanted his answer to be. On the one hand, she didn’t wish her parents reaction on anybody. On the other hand, talking with somebody who’d been through the same experiences, she thought maybe they’d better understand.

When Sean’s voice became serious, Angie realized just how her words sounded at what had been innocent fun. It made her fear that perhaps her friend would be in trouble. “Oh I was fine. Not a scratch. And the fish in the pond were fine too.” Which had been Angie’s main concern when it had happened. But they had scattered away, swimming what she had believed to be normal. Admittedly though, she wasn’t a fish expert. “Only a few people know about it. And he only puts friends up there. Those of us who are good humored enough about it.” Assuring Dr. Neville that Bell’s pranks weren’t harmful emotionally or physically, or at least not intentionally, was something she’d do until she was blue in the face if need be. “I promise… Bell is one of the nicest boys I’ve ever met. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

It was nice to know what the man’s full name was. And that Dr. Neville knew of him. “I think we will too. He seems… He rather nice.” Thinking about the older man made Angie smile softly. He’d been really nice to her when they met. And that was something she hadn’t experienced in a very long while.

Angie listened to the older man as he described what it was like to be Meta back when not many people at all knew what that meant. She couldn’t imagine not knowing what a Meta was. Or discovering your ability without knowing what it meant or what it made you. Being afraid because you didn’t know anything about those things. She supposed it was better to be one now. For a lot of reasons. Most importantly, more and more people were starting to know Metas and accept them.

The young girl took comfort from Dr. Neville’s experience. She had never imagined being Meta when she was younger. And when she discovered that she was… Well Dr. Neville phrased it best. It was foreign. Foreign. And scary. And sometimes (most times in her opinion) horrible. When he said his wasn’t a physical power, Angie wasn’t quite sure what that left, still be new to the Meta world. She did imagine him being able to move things with his mind. Though, to that kind of seemed physical. An object was moving after all. Though, it was being done with ones mind. Perhaps it was a kind middle ground?

“I can’t… Even imagine. Did you parents think you were crazy?” She doubted that was probably the correct term. But, in her young mind, it seemed to sum up the description quite well. “I’m sorry, excuse me. Um… Mentally ill.” She’d hate nothing more than to get off on the wrong foot with Dr. Neville simply because she lacked common knowledge in his area of expertise. “If you don’t mind me asking.” This time Angie only added it because… Well if she hadn’t, it would’ve sounded rude. And her parents didn’t raise her to be rude. Especially to her elders. But, that probably would’ve been the last thing on their minds in this kind of situation.

She felt a pang of jealousy towards the doctor. It was clear through his words that Dr. Neville had a certain confidence that many people worked years or even a lifetime to gain. And it wasn’t simply his words, but the way he said it too that made them ring true in her ears. While she appreciated and admired his confidence, she doubted it would be something she’d achieve.

“What is your power?” Her head naturally tilted slightly to the left as she asked. This time Angie felt no need to ask if it were ok that she asked such a question. Just as before, he’d mentioned it. And she was also beginning to forget that she was here for a reason. She forgot Dr. Neville was supposed to be helping her for issues that she kept secret from the world. Instead, she felt as if they were simply discussing things.

Nodding, Angie assured Dr. Neville that she’d been fine. “Yeah, I was completely ok. Not a single scratch.” And with a smile, she added, “He even got me a hot chocolate to make up for getting my clothes all wet.” The only reason she told him was because it spoke more to Bell’s kinder, gentler side. The side that gave Angie his jacket afterwards because she’d been cold and held her hand in a room full of crowded people she didn’t know because she was scared. The nice side of Bell. “Thanks. I am too.” She said with a little smile. It was true; she was slowly warming up to Hammel. And perhaps in time, she’d start to think of it as home. But she wasn’t just ready to share that with the doctor.

As the girl listened to the older man tell her a little bit about what the discovery of his power had been like her eyebrows had managed to pull together. And for the first she was thankful for her own. Well… Kind of. She was thankful that hers was a physical power. It had to be hard, she imagined, having a power that nobody could see. At least she would be able to prove it if anybody called it into question. She imagined him having to be at a hospital while they did test after test, not a one answering the question of what was wrong. She didn’t realize that her wrinkled at the thought of it. “I’m sorry Dr. Neville. That must’ve been difficult.” That was all she offered and she didn’t ask anymore about it. If he had wanted to share more, he would’ve. Much like herself.

That word she did know. A telepath. Dr. Neville could hear her thoughts? Her eyes grew slightly larger, failing at trying to hide her surprise. And the only thing she could think was ’On god, he’s heard everything’. Which was followed immediately with, ’Oh god, he heard that too’. Adjusting in her seat, Angie’s cheeks flushed a dark pink. After she cleared her throat, she offered a quiet “Sorry.” It was unsettling to her, somebody knowing her thoughts. Things she didn’t want people to know. Things she wanted to forever stay buried. “Do… Do you hear everything?” Her eyes had fallen to the floor again. It figured that when she started seeing a shrink to talk about things she didn’t want to that he’d be able to read her mind. She would’ve found humor in that if it weren’t happening to her then.

Guilt filled her when the doctor said it made people uncomfortable. And it was clear she was comfortable with it too. But… So far it had been going alright? So she thought. Glancing back up at him, but her head still down, she apologized again. “Sorry… It… took me by surprise?” She tried to offer as an explanation. And while she’d do her best to become comfortable, or not think about his power at all, for the moment the only thing she would think about was how to sign the alphabet. “I suppose it’ll take a little getting used to, but…” The young girl shrugged her shoulders. She knew to continue their sessions, she would have to learn not to mind it.

But she did catch what his intent was with what he said. And it made her bite the inside of her cheek. While she appreciated, and she said “Thank you” after a moment, that he was telling her that she’d eventually get all the help she needed and would be fine, it reminded her that there were people at this school who already things she desperately wished they didn’t. “Are there many telepaths at Hammel Dr. Neville?” It would be obvious to a person who wasn’t a professional why she was asking.