"In my head," Aza said and tapped her temple. "They talk to me." She returned to her spot on the tabletop. "Isn't-Is it weird to you?" Aza flinched slightly, as if Raeden's response could be poisonous. She blinked and hit her head with the heel of her hand. "Stop! Stop, stop, stop!" she hissed.
"No. I… I hear voices too. Only sometimes, they tell me to do things. That's why I do this project. I'm trying to quiet them. It's not weird… I guess…" Raeden prayed he phrased it right. He never know how to say things.
"You're doing it wrong. It's the iodine and the hydrogen, then the chlorine," Aza said and took the vial out of Raeden's hand. Her hand brushed his and she winced, not liking the contact. But then…
"Oh… okay. How do you… how do you know what I'm making?" Raeden brushed his hand against hers on purpose; he wanted to see her reaction.
"I'm in your chemistry class," she said tightly, still reeling from the light touch of Raeden's hand. When his hand brushed hers again, she pulled back abruptly, spilling iodine on the table.
"What the hell?!" Raeden exclaimed. "Go get a new thing of iodine. I'll clean this up." He turned around and paused. "Wait. Even though you're in my chemistry, you'd have to read my notebook to know what I'm making. This sure as hell isn't the lab. Tell me. Did you look in my notebook?"
"I'm a professional pickpocket," Aza said softly and turned her back to Raeden.
"THE HELL?!?! NOBODY LOOKS IN MY NOTEBOOK, ASSWIPE. GET OUT OF HERE. NOW!" Raeden was furious. Why the hell did that girl look in my notebook?
"I'm sorry," she said even quieter, not entirely sure Raeden heard her or would believe her.
"Why did you look in my notebook?" he asked before Aza left the room. "Tell me, please."
"Because I'm fascinated by you," Aza said truthfully.
Raeden stopped. "Fascinated? The hell do you mean?" To be truthful, he had liked Aza for a year and a half, he just pretended to not know her name.
Aza waved her hands. "You seemed so perfect, so impervious, so careful."
"Me? Perfect? Never. I'm broken, bruised, depressed, sad, and I don't belong here. I don't know where you got 'perfect' from, but I'm pretty sure you're the perfect one here."
Aza shook her head, bewildered. "What?"
"I said you're perfect, idiot."
"I heard what you said. That doesn't mean I understand," Aza said.
"It means that I think you're gorgeous and kind and funny and maybe a bit insane which all adds up to perfect. Get it now?"
"Absolutely not," Aza snapped. She hugged herself, wishing to disappear. Someone who said that she was perfect was someone to fear.
"Absolutely not, you don't get it? Or absolutely not, I'm not perfect? The latter is wrong. I've had a crush on you since sixth grade, Aza. Why are you so scared?"
"I've been hurt," Aza said, sinking to the floor and pulling her knees up to her chest. "My heart's been stolen from me multiple times, then shattered and dumped back into my lap like a piece of trash. Knives have been stabbed into my back thousands of times, leaving me more broken and heartbroken every time. I ran away because they loved me, Raeden. They loved me."
"But I don't love you. I like you strongly. I'm on the aro spectrum. You don't have to love me. I don't have to love you. We can just like."
"No. No, I can't." Aza shivered, hugging herself more tightly. "I can't."
"Hey. Heyheyhey. It's okay. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear it on my life. Anyway, don't you have a lab to finish?"
"Stop. Stop." Aza buried her face in her knees and cried softly, not wanting Raeden to notice.
"Okay. I'll be quiet. Let me know if you need to talk, Aza. I'm here for you." Raeden walked back to his corner of the lab. Iodine then hydrogen.
"They're coming," Aza said, looking up at Raeden, tears streaking her face. "The monsters."
"The… monsters? Aza, how can I protect you?! I'm weak, you know that!" Raeden was starting to panic. Monsters?
"Here," Aza whispered, tapping her head and pulling her knees closer to her chest, wishing to disappear.
"Talk to me Aza. How can I tell them to shut their faces and get away from you? I want to help you make them stop. Should I just talk to you so you can ignore them?" Raeden was clueless what to do.