John rubbed his forehead, trying to get the voices to quiet. It wasn’t that there were more voices; they were just so much closer than they used to be. It was one of his bad days; where reality seemed to be only on the most tenuous of strings. It was times like these when being outside was the best thing for him. It was the only place he felt like he could breathe. He didn’t want to see Blake on days like these, or Ryder for that matter. Nat saw him on occasion, but even that was usually too much for him. For the boy who hated to talk about himself, being compromised like he was in that moment was not an easy pill to swallow.
He was so wrapped in himself, he didn’t even notice that someone else was in the small clearing he had sat down, letting out a burdened sigh as he laid down in the grass. There was a dull thud against his forehead, and John blinked his eyes open, looking at the upside-down figure of someone else in the grass. As he sat up, she went rightside-up and John looked at Sam. He wasn’t even sure she was there. His mind loved playing tricks with him; projecting others’ daydreams like they were his own. He offered a lopsided smile, trying to think of something good to say. “Hey.”