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It was just a stupid game.
A stupid game of hide-and-seek. Something they’d all played.
The thrill of scurrying through the halls of the House of Freedom, seeking out an adequate hiding space was something they’d done on so many free days. Laughing as they play, letting themselves be kids for a little while, their studies forgotten. It was simple and silly and all it took was one miscalculation.
Ana knew she was running low on time, but they were playing without abilities and so she was trying to find somewhere she wouldn’t immediately be found. But she was too slow and her heart pounded as she heard feet fast approaching.
Somewhere, beyond the rush of blood in her ears, she knew it was one of her friends- who was seeking this time? But her heartbeat was loud and strong and painful and suddenly she wasn’t just playing a game. Not just running from a friend who would just grin and help her out of her hiding space when they found her, who would wink and offer her one of their favourite snacks if she told them where the others were. Not just a friend who she’d laugh with and shrug off, not just a friend.
Instead the adrenaline shoved her back into her past, before she had any powers and only had her mind and small frame to avoid danger, and her mother had just gotten home and she was coming up the stairs and no, no no no tonight was a bad night she needed to run she needed to hide maybe if it was hard to find her she’d just give up-
Instincts took over and she was climbing up the stone pillars, forcing herself into the small gap between one of the turrets and the roof, shoving her hands over her mouth and nose to muffle all sounds she made and she tucked herself fully into the shadows, ducking her face into her chest to hide the pale sphere of her face and stars above please don’t look up don’t look up don’t look up!
Footsteps draw close before pausing beneath her, and it’s only years of ingrained training that halts a sob before it can rip itself from her throat. Her breath ghosted over her arms, eyes squeezed tight, tears burning behind closed lids. Then, as soon as they stopped, the footsteps continued, moving away from her hiding spot.
Ana dared not breathe any louder, even as the footsteps faded from her strained hearing. Her eyes remained closed, body tense, heart pounding. More sets of feet echoed through the halls and yet she stayed perfectly still. It didn’t matter if they were friends or foes, cops or friends of her mother’s, she would stay hidden until she couldn’t. She’d done it before, stayed locked in her room for days, only sneaking across the hall to the bathroom. She just had to wait for the house to quiet.
However long that took.
- - - - - - -
Jake sighed as Kiko’s smiling face appeared in his line of vision.
“Found you!” The bunny girl grinned as she extended a hand to help him out from behind a large cupboard.
“Yeah yeah. Stupid dust…” He muttered as he rubbed at his nose. Kiko’s smile fell.
“I was already looking there before you sneezed Jake. The sneeze just confirmed your location.” The teen flushed bright red at being called out, and offered a quick apology before starting to walk back to the entrance. He huffed out a laugh as Kiko immediately returned to stalking the halls. Even with her slight frame, she could be scary.
He shook his head as he glanced around the empty halls, casually looking around in case he saw someone. He hummed as he flicked a solid glob of his goop between his hands, eyes scanning his path. It was a habit he’d had as long as he could remember, longer than he’d been at the Academy and possibly from as far back as his days in the System. It wouldn’t surprise him.
Regardless of where it had originated, both the Academy and the Sharp Gang had helped him hone and use his observation skills, and it was because of this that he spotted the figure Kiko hadn’t.
Even then, he almost missed the flash of pink near the roof.
“Ana?” He called softly, a frown tugging at his brow at the lack of a response. They’d all confirmed Kiko was the hunter this round. Maybe she couldn’t hear? His frown deepened as he kicked off the ground, repeating his call to his friend.
“Ana? You okay?” He reached out slowly, concern ebbing into his tone as his fingers brushed Ana’s barely visible shoulder. As though shocked by a live wire, Ana flinched away and through the roof, falling from her perch toward the ground. Jake could only stare in shock and mild horror as she fell nearly ten feet, only snapping out of it when he realised she still wasn’t reacting.
Panic flooded his veins as he shot down and felt sick as he caught her, horrified at the realisation she hadn’t been intangible. Upon touching her though, she flinched violently away once again before going rock still, eyes glassy. Panic attack? That seemed most likely, but what had triggered it? Had she gotten stuck? But she could phase through it…
“Ana?” Jake repeated, softer. He kept his hands in front of him, sucking in a breath to calm himself. ”You can’t help anyone if you need help first.” Alexis’ words from the last time he’d tried to help with a panic attack while panicking himself. She’d said it gently but it had still stuck with him.
“Fishy? You in there?” He’d hoped there’d be a response to the nickname, but no such luck. He sighed softly, grabbing his watch from his pocket. If he couldn’t get her back soon, he’d send his guardians a message and get backup. His gaze returned to Ana and he had to suppress another frown.
The girl wasn’t hyperventilating, wasn’t shaking, looked like her normal colour- aside from not responding and the unfocussed gaze, there weren’t any obvious signs of distress. Her breath was slightly raised but that also could have been from the rush of falling. Frustration began to well up alongside his concern, and he knew it was a cover for feeling helpless but he still hated how it felt, hated how hard it was for him to control his emotions enough to stay calm.
But him getting frustrated at his frustration wasn’t helping Ana. But then again, it didn’t feel like anything he was doing was helping either. He suppressed a sigh, turning the exhale into a soft hum. His hum lost its depth as he began to sing softly. He didn’t really expect it to do anything, so he blinked away his surprise as Ana closed her eyes and began humming along to the song. A quick flush of embarrassment shot through Jake’s system. Ana was the only person he really trusted not to laugh at his singing, and even then he rarely sang around her. He squashed down the embarrassment as he caught her eyes fluttering under her lids, as though she were waking from a dream.
“Fish?” He asked cautiously, reverting to humming as her hazy gaze met his. Her brow scrunched as she watched him.
“Jakie?” She muttered, clearly confused and scared.
“Yeah, yeah it’s me.” Slowly, still not sure how she’d react, Jake scooted a little closer, offering his side to his best friend. He felt a warm glow spread from his side as she leaned into him, fingers tapping against his thigh. Jake opened his mouth to say something, what he wasn’t quite sure, when Ana suddenly flinched against him, ducking further into his side.
“Fish? What’s wrong…?” As he spoke he heard what had spooked her- heavy footsteps running toward them.
“Oh sugar.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Ana and scooped her into his arms. Their friends were well meaning but Ana was clearly not in a place where their fretting would be helpful. He started humming again as he kicked off, floating up to sit on a window sill, running a soothing hand through Ana’s hair as Darwin sprinted by beneath them, cackling, with Kiko and Zenith running after him.
Ana whimpered at the loud noises, and Jake mentally apologised as he covered her ears and called down. “Oi! Quiet down or piss off!” He tried not to snarl, he really did, but of course as soon as they became aware of his presence, and then Ana’s, Zenith tried to join them, concern flicking across his face.
“Jacob? Ana? Are you two alright?” Jake glared at them.
“No, she’s not. Now either back off or don’t blame me for what happens.” He snarked. Zenith blinked, then frowned.
“Jacob, if she needs help-”
“She doesn’t need your help Angelface, she needs you to stop crowding her. Now fuck off before I bite you.” He bared his teeth in a violent grin and Zenith finally got the message, backing up, still looking no less concerned. Though, Jake noted, he may have looked slightly more afraid than when he’d approached.
Good.
With his arms wrapped around his precious cargo, he stood, glared down at his classmates, then slipped backward off the window into the air, quietly flying toward his cubby. He’d apologise later, when Ana wasn’t in the midst of a panic attack.
- - - - - - -
Ana didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep, but when she awoke the sun was level with the grassy hill Jake’s treehouse existed on. Well, ‘treehouse’ suggested the cubby was in the tree’s crown, instead of in the roots and hollow, but eh, tometo tomato.
Groggily, she sat up, fluffy blanket slipping from her shoulders to her lap. As her eyes adjusted to the glare, she caught sight of the snack pile next to her. She grabbed her water bottle and an apple, then shimmied her way out of where she’d been napping. She poked her head round a set of roots to see Jake muttering along as he read a book.
“Hey.” She called, wincing at how raw her throat felt, then at how her head throbbed to her heartbeat.
“Hey.” Jake responded, smiling softly as he placed the book down. “How are you feeling?”
“Sick.” Ana answered truthfully, sliding next to him, relaxing as he gently massaged her scalp.
“Mm, do you know why?” She yawned before glancing up at Jake.
“No? I’m guessing something happened then?”
“Yeah. But we don’t gotta worry about it for now.” He tugged her closer and picked his book up again.
“Want me to read to you?” Ana hummed in response, shifting to lay over Jake’s leg as he restarted reading, his voice soothing even where he stumbled. Ana could hear the smile in his voice as her mind began to drift, contentedness warming her almost as much as the blanket Jake had retrieved. The tug of sleep returned and she let her sore eyes drift shut, letting her senses fade into the murky safety of rest.