The Brothers help the New Girl

“Holy crap you are FAST!” Christoph said, nearly collapsing. While trying to catch his breath, he took a quick glance around the surrounding woods. How far into the forest are we?? He couldn’t really recognize anything, no made-up landmarks, nothing.
Grey stood there quietly, but upon hearing his voice she slightly turned to him. Her big grey-brown eyes just staring at him. As Christoph stared back, it felt like Grey was staring through him. “Uhh…” Christoph hummed to himself, he quickly straightened himself out. “D-do you remember me?” He said with a smile and a small wave.

It took a moment; she blinked a few times then suddenly flipped around. Without saying anything, she shyly waved back. “What are you doing out here?” Christoph had to ask, he did just watch this girl run off into the woods by herself, but Grey didn’t respond. As she looked at him however, she would sometimes, without taking her eyes off of Christoph, turn her head. It was almost like she was listening or hearing something that he could not.
“A-are you looking for something?” Christoph continued to ask questions, even if he was pretty sure Grey wasn’t going to answer. Unsurprisingly, all she did was blink at him as a response. She turned to the forest after a moment of silence between them, anxiously looking around. She looked like a lost fawn.

She did come from the woods… Christoph thought as he watched her, hmm… “Is… Someone looking for you?” He kept trying, “is… Is it your parents?” He continued, without really thinking.
Grey froze and turned back to him, at first, she didn’t really react more than that, but then suddenly her eyes began to widen. It was as if she was seeing something completely horrific, she started to tremble.
“Ah! I’m sorry!” Christoph exclaimed when he saw her reaction. By the Gods I’m an idiot!! Christoph yelled at himself, that's the last thing I should ever mention to another kid! He never liked it when other kids would ask about his mom, why did he think it’d be an ok thing to mention here!?
He tried to calm Grey down, but it was too late, tears were already streaming down her face as she quietly sobbed. “I’m really sorry!” Christoph kept repeating, he did not mean to make her cry! Christoph froze, feeling sick with guilt, he did not know how to help the situation he created. He felt completely awful.

He kept trying to think about what to say when- “I jus- I jus want to go home!” Grey choked out as she sobbed, the first he’s heard her speak today. Christoph felt even worse, but he thought quickly. “L-listen!” He started, “if your family is looking for you, the first place they’d look is back there!” He continued, pointing at what he thought was the way to the orphanage.
Grey rubbed at her teary eyes and looked at him, she seemed uncertain. “Are woo sure?” She asked, slightly tilting her head. “Absolutely!” Christoph said with a smile and a thumbs up, he tried to make himself look more confident to reassure her. There was a moment of silence between them until Grey nodded, “ok…” She whispered. There were tears rolling down her cheeks and she was still sniffling, but it looked like she calmed down a little bit.

“Here- I’ll lead you back,” Christoph murmured, holding out his hand. Grey hesitated for a moment, but slowly held onto his hand. He nodded to her and they silently trekked through the forest.
Christoph wasn’t particularly sure what Grey’s situation was, and as much as he was curious if it was similar to his, he didn’t pry. He didn’t need to know and, from her reaction, he wasn’t ever going to ask. Christoph was trying his best not to react, but he couldn’t stop his arm from twitching from Grey’s sparking; she was that stressed. It wasn’t painful but he could certainly feel it. It felt like the time Max rubbed his feet on the carpet and tried to shock him.
It took a moment, but eventually they came across a small clearing. The grass and leaves were flattened from a lot of activity. Christoph recognized the area, he remembered hanging out with his brother and their friends here. “We are getting close!” He said to her with a smile, Grey’s only response was her unblinking stare.

Not too long after, they began to hear the yelling and laughter from all the kids. Christoph continued on but Grey started to pull back a little bit. Noticing this, Christoph stopped. “Hey it’s ok!” He whispered, waving his hand a bit in an attempt to calm Grey’s anxiety. “If any kid comes near us, I’ll tell them to go away! I’m not afraid to do that for you,” he said with a reassuring smile. Grey still seemed unsure but followed him anyway.
Once he got closer, he took a peek around the orphanage’s clearing. Thankfully they were on the side, closer to the back. All the kids in the front of the orphanage were just that loud. “Ok, it’s clear!” He quietly exclaimed as he gently pulled Grey through the bushes. As he touched them, the bushes branches moved away from them, distracting Grey a bit. When she felt Christoph pull a little bit, she immediately broke out of it and caught up to him. He didn’t mean to pull her away from that, he wasn't aware that she was watching it, but Grey didn’t seem bothered.

“Ok,” Christoph started, letting go of Grey’s hand. “What do you want to do?” He asked her, but again, Grey stayed silent. They both stared at each other for a little bit, neither one of them saying anything. “Do… Do you want me to help you to your room?” Christoph asked to break the silence. Grey stared at him for a moment, clearly thinking, then she nodded. “Ok-” “CHRISTOPH!!”
A familiar voice caused him to jump, Grey winced and covered her head. Seeing Grey like that sparked some anger in him, irritated, he turned to find his brother. Max stared at Christoph as he approached them, Christoph shot him a glare. But once his brother got closer, he wasn’t angry, he was scared.

“Wh-where did you go?? Y-you can’t just run off like that! You know how he reacts to that, Christoph!” Max stuttered, he frantically looked around as he spoke. Christoph’s anger immediately turned to dread, he broke eye contact. “I was just helping a friend,” Christoph said, gesturing to Grey. Her eyes anxiously darted between the two of them, this situation was causing Grey to get even more stressed.
Max looked at her for a second, somewhat surprised, like he just noticed her. “H-hi,” Max anxiously murmured with a wave. Grey’s response was to cover her head again, but Max was unfazed, he quickly turned to Christoph. When silence hung over them, Christoph realized Max was waiting for him to do or say something.

“C-can you help Grey to her room?” Christoph murmured, trying to hide his anxiety. Max’s gaze darted between him and Grey, “s-she doesn’t talk though?” He continued to stutter, he gestured a bit towards Grey. “Hold on,” Christoph whispered to Max before walking over to Grey. 
“H-hey Grey,” he started as he approached her, forcing a big smile on his face. As he did, Grey slowly uncovered her face. “You remember my brother Max right?” He turned and pointed at Max, who waved again. When Christoph turned back to Grey, she nodded. “He’s going to help you to your room- just say the number and he’ll find it.” He tried to make his voice as reassuring as possible. Grey said nothing, “I know he’s a little stinky but he’s got a good heart,” Christoph teased.

“CHRISTOPH!”

When Christoph turned to him, his brother was just horrified. “Now is REALLY not the time for that!” Max whimpered, seeing his brother terrified instead of his usual irritation out only made Christoph feel worse, but he refused to show it. “Come on,” Christoph whispered to Grey, he gently grabbed her hand and led her over to Max. Once the two were right next to each other, Christoph let go and backed off.
Max looked at Christoph for a second and reluctantly turned to Grey. “Ok… What is your room number?” He asked anxiously.

“...I don’t know.”

“Uh… Where is your room?” Max continued, surprised that Grey responded to him.

“In the back…”

“Top or bottom floor?”

…

“Top…”

Max nodded, “ok… We’ll go up there and see if you spot it…” Taking one look at Christoph, he began to lead Grey into the orphanage; Christoph followed them. They took one of the back doors into the orphanage, it was the closest and least crowded. Once inside, Christoph felt the knot in his stomach grow tighter, but he kept a smile on his face.
Christoph expected them to split away from him, but Max suddenly turned to him. “Are you going to be ok??” Max whispered to him out of concern. Christoph, keeping that smile, stood there for a moment. He didn’t know how to respond.
“I’ll be fine! I’m sure he’ll understand,” Christoph replied with his unfaltering smile. Max looked at him, not believing that at all, but he said nothing. Eventually he poked Grey on the shoulder and led her away towards the stairs.

Christoph stood there, watching them walk away. He kept his smile until they were out of sight, then he broke his facade. He should’ve expected this, he took a deep breath and shook his hands as if he could shake out his anxiety. He headed down the hallway, towards the big room at the entrance.
Maybe this time… I won’t get burned…