Chapter Text
It hurts.
The pressure surrounding her head pressed in harder. That was good, she supposed, since it felt like her head was breaking apart into tiny pieces. Or maybe it was her brain liquefying and her hands pressed to her ears were to keep it from leaking out of her skull.
Oh. That’s what it was. She was holding her head in her hands with a desperate force that she hoped would make the pain stop. That’s all she could feel. Pressure and pain and something stabbing in her chest with every heartbeat—
Someone was speaking. At least that was her best guess. They were either speaking near her or speaking to her and either way, she wanted it to stop. The sound around her was a buzzing in her head that throbbed and swelled and hurt it hurt it hurts it h u r t s
Go try again. Do it right this time. This was meant to happen so try again
try again
try again
“I don’t think she can even hear me. It’s either she can’t hear me or she’s refusing to respond and each option is equally likely if she’s having a meltdown.”
I’d answer if it didn’t hurt but I can’t even tell you
“Is that what’s going on? Cause I’ve never seen one of Webby’s meltdowns start like that .”
Not a meltdown. I wish it was a meltdown. I wish it was a meltdown and I could see you and feel you and feel a n y t h i n g but pain and how much it h u r t s
“I don’t know, Lena. If it was a meltdown, she’d be refusing any touch she didn’t ask for but she doesn’t even flinch when I try.”
That’s Granny. She can recognize her voice now. She isn’t sure she would have figured out the other voice was Lena because it all still sounded like static in a tin can. But that’s Granny. Granny is here. Granny can help. Granny makes things better.
It hurts
stop the hurt and try again make it stick make it last make it be forever and make him hurt as much as you do
“Do you want me to do any magic? I could, I dunno, quick scan. See what’s up physically. If we need to, I can sedate her.”
It hurts.
it felt good to have him at your mercy and it didn’t hurt when you tried the first time so try again and do it right this time
“Perhaps in the next few minutes if she seems to be escalating.”
It hurts.
break him beat him choke him hurt him hurt him hurt him so you stop h u r t i n g
“What doesn’t escalating look like? We don’t even know what’s wrong.”
“It hurts.”
Silence met her. The absence of voices pressing into her skin felt like a void opening up to swallow her whole. Or maybe in bits and pieces. She could practically feel herself splitting apart.
“It hurts.”
Large hands pressed to her cheeks. “What hurts, Webby?”
She gritted her teeth and moved her hands from clutching her head to resting over the hands on her face. She tried to explain, tried to tell Granny that her head was about to explode, but all that came out was a strangled cry.
Smaller hands rest on her shoulder. “We don’t know what’s wrong, Pink. You gotta tell us so we can help.”
She forced her eyes open. She could barely make out the worried faces of her grandmother and best friend swimming in a filter of tears.
She was crying? Huh. That made sense given how much pain she was in and how much it hurt —
“Something’s wrong,” she croaked, forcing herself to say the words despite every syllables’ halted utterance. “Something’s wrong it’s wrong it hurts I don’t know what’s happening and it hurts so bad—“
She took in a strangled breath, and then another one, and then another one, it wasn’t working, there was no air, her lungs were broken, her chest was caving in, she needed help from someone, anyone please
“Sweetheart, I want to help you but I don’t know what’s wrong. Try to tell me.”
If it was easy, she would have done it by now.
“If I knock her out, we can work through this later when everyone has calmed down and maybe she’ll be able to talk to us.”
“Is that safe?”
“You know I’d never do anything I thought could hurt her.”
Getting knocked out sounded really nice, to be honest.
“Webby,” Lena said steadily, “tell me what hurts.”
She bubbled out a sob. She tried to say it, tried to explain that she wasn’t even sure anymore but she knew it hurt.
“Will you let me use some magic to try and take the pain away?”
“Please.”
Lena’s hands replaced Beakley’s on Webby’s face. She took a deep breath and exhaled with a blue glow seeping out from under her fingers. The glow traveled up Webby’s temples with the faintest after image standing out in her veins. “Go to sleep,” Lena murmured. “You’ll feel better when you wake up.”
Webby really hoped that was true because just then, it hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt.
I t h u r t s
And then it didn’t.