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Quinni was rather used to various people from her social circle walking into her room unannounced. She ultimately didn't mind it, though, so she was unbothered (if a bit confused) when Ca$h showed up unannounced.
"Hey, Ca$h" she greeted, setting down the book she was reading to talk to the man. She'd coincidentally just reached a good stopping point in the book, so she wasn't too concerned or stressed by the sudden transition away from it. "Why are you here?"
"Hey, um..." he swallowed awkwardly, shutting the door quietly. He knew that her dads weren't a risk to his privacy- They barely knew him- But the shut door still provided him a sense of security in what he was about to say. "I think I might be Autistic"
"Oh" Quinni replied, a bit caught off guard. It was a suspicion she'd had for a while- That he may be on the spectrum- But she hadn't voiced it to him. People tended not to take well to being asked if they're Autistic and she was never that close to him, so she hadn't seen a reason to bring it up.
"Sorry" Ca$h shook his head nervously. "A bit random. I've just- It's something I've wondered about in the back of my head for a while but I didn't really have the space to think about it when I was still in the eshay shit, y'know? But now with being out of prison and with the school not being a distractor, I've been thinking and researching about it more"
"I understand" Quinni nodded. "And you came to me because I am the only Autistic person you know?"
She didn't mean it to sound irritated or judgmental. She understood perfectly well if that was the case. Ca$h let out an awkward, apologetic smile.
"Well, yes, but you're also my friend" he explained. "I don't know. I didn't know who else to go to. Darren's great, but..."
"They don't get it" Quinni finished. Ca$h nodded. Sure, Darren had been more understanding with her than a lot of people but they were far from amazing in that regard. Hell, even if their reaction to Ca$h telling them that were to be better that 'Well, I don't think you are', they'd probably just refer him to Quinni anyway. Yes, it was probably for the best that he went to her first. "Well, sit down" she invited, patting the bed. "Talk to me"
"Okay, uh..." he stiffly sat down. "Well, to start, I just took a bunch of those online quizzes and stuff, like the RAADS, and-"
"What was your RAADS score?"
"Uhhhh a 137, if I remember correctly"
"I see"
"It's not just that, though" he explained. "After that I started watching all these videos and reading all these articles, and the more I learned the more I realized that a lot of this stuff aligns with my experience" he went on. "I think I've been masking a whole lot my entire life. I mean, I had to with Chook and stuff"
"Yeah, I get that" Quinni nodded. "Is it something you're looking to get professionally diagnosed?"
"I am admittedly a bit curious but it's not at the top of my priorities list" he told her. "I guess ultimately I just wanted at least one other person to know. I feel like that much at least can make certain things easier"
"Of course" Quinni smiled. "And if you ever need a sensory break or anything, I'll be there for you"
"Thank you"
"No need"