Antonym - Sraighten

"They were lolled into a deep sleep."

Antonym - Tidal Pond

"The lagoon was alive, ripples echoing all throughout the water."

Antonym - N/A

"I raised the conch to my ear to try and listen for the sound of ocean waves, surprised to find an animal inside."

Antonym - N/A

"My mother and I sat on the terrace together, enjoying the warm summer morning air."

Antonym - Genuine

"Paxton was silent as he slowly put the pieces together. "...You used me."

"I did what I had to do." Sam shrugged, holding no feelings of remorse for his specious behavior the past 9 months."

Antonym - Approval

"Paxton hasn't spoke to me in like.. 2 years." Sam spoke in regards to his ex-best friend's Enmity.

Antonym - Exterior

Preston set his coffee down with a sigh. "If you want to rebuild your trust with him, you need to show him that you've changed as a person, not wait for some fulcrum sent from god to solve all your problems."

Antonym - N/A

"We can talk about this later. I've been late to enough Matins and I'm sure the people at my church have been silently judging me for coming late these past few weeks." Preston got up from the cafe chair. "See you later."

Antonym - N/A

"Right.. See you." Sam waved as Preston left to go serve his duties as a chorister in the church's choir group.

Antonym - Collection

Sam got up from his chair, about to head out too when he recognized an old yet familiar face tossing an empty cup into the trashcan from across the cafe for a quick dispersal.

"Paxton?"

Antonym - Purify

Getting Paxton to sit with him wasn't very hard, but it wasn't as rewarding as he'd hoped. He just kind of just sat there, staring and waiting for him to speak, and Sam was worried that he'd potentially defile his one chance to convince Paxton he'd be worth speaking to again.

Antonym - Subordination

He ends up taking a bit too long though. "What do you want Samson." Paxton asked starkly, his words sounding more like a statement than a question. But despite his current domination over the atmosphere of this interaction, Sam could see right through that guarded expression on his face.

Paxton was afraid of him.

Antonym - N/A

"I just want to know how you've been doing." Sam wanted to find out where he lived. Not in a weird way, totally. It was just related to the really complex plan he decided on in his head, and if he could find out where to send a lodgment of sorry notes and chocolates, he'd totally earn his forgiveness. Or so he thought.

Antonym - Digression

His eyes momentarily drift down to Paxton's clothing, the darker more grungy style that the other assumed not having changed a bit. He still had that old beanie with the white flower motif at the front.

Antonym - Unrefined

Sam's attempts at being decorous don't go unnoticed by Paxton, who without a hint of remorse speaks cold-heartedly;

"Far better without you."

Antonym - Unwrap

"How bad is it?" Sam asked his older brother, Brandon, who just finished swathing his scratched up arm in gauze.

Antonym - tranquility

Brandon suddenly squeezed his arm, and he yelped out, the increase in contact only adding tumult to the complicated mix of emotions he was feeling already. "Hey- Hey! What was that for!"

Antonym - N/A

Brandon looked up. "You asked how bad it was."

Sam huffed. "And you could've told me verbally- OW!" He pulled his arm away as he squeezed again. While his brother wasn't squeezing and holding, the momentary pressure still stung. He gesticulates with his hand in an... unpolite manner, this time earning a pinch to the ear.

Antonym - Normal

Brandon sighed. "I still don't understand what you told me. You're saying that Paxton, The birdsitter Paxton, attempted to manhandle you into a bathroom to beat you up."

Sam crossed his arms as he renembered how Paxton's errant behaviour after he'd made that blunt remark.

Antonym - Ordinary

As Brandon gently guides his wrist back to his desk to continue bandaging it, he rips it away.

"Get that groteskee hand off of me."

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Groteskee? You mean Grotesque?"

"Yes, that." Sam nods.

"..My hand is normal shaped, thank you. Don't be rude." Brandon lightly scolded.

Antonym - Sink

"Did you see the balloons?" Brandon asked his younger brother.

Sam renembered seeing some festooned on the living room ceiling. "Yeah, why?" Sam asked.

Antonym - N/A

"Are you just trying to make me feel better?" Sam asked.

Brandon nods, evoking a sigh from Sam. "I'm starting to regret running. What if he like... Actually had something important to say." He looked up. "He's probably never gonna talk to me again, and I can't even blame him."

Brandon elbowed him, interrupting Sam's martyring. "Don't beat yourself up too hard. You were probably as stressed as he was, and when you're stressed your mind runs rampant."

Antonym - Compliment.

And Brandon was right. For the most part at least. That "was" was actually still an "is." several blocks down from where Brandon and Sam lived was a house, and in that house was Paxton, going on a tirade.

"-And he just ran. I decide to try and tell him that I'd be willing to give him another chance if he could show me he wasn't the same person he was before, and he just runs!"

Antonym - Commendation

"And not to mention the fact that-... Are you even listening, Claire?" Paxton realized that his younger sister was more focused on her TV. She tilted her head back to look at him.

"When does he become a pony." She asked through a mouthful of popcorn.

"He... Doesn't..?" Paxton responds, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Then silence you yappatron." she holds up a hand. "You talk too much." She says with recrimination in her tone.

Antonym - Aboveboard

Paxton gave himself a moment to ponder things. Nothing related to his sister's blatant disrespect, but Sam's behaviour.

"Maybe this is another one of his mind games." The thought felt a bit conspiratorial, but it wasn't like he had reason not to believe that was the case.

Antonym - Depression

"Or maybe he's really, really Scared to mess things up with you again so he's running so you guys stay on neutral terms forever!" Claire spoke up.

"That's stupid, what fool would ever go to such lengths just to avoid upsetting someone." He spoke rationally, before pausing his thoughts. "..Actually. That would be pretty in character for him." Paxton's gaze softened.

"See? I'm always right. Don't let him get away next time!" Claire spoke with ebullience.

"What happened to me talking too much." Paxton chuckles.

"Oh right. Shut up, I wanna see how they beat the bad guy in my show." She huffs, only to be met with tickles and laughs a moment later.

Antonym - Darkness

On the following day, Paxton took a stroll down to the pier to clear his head. The opalescence of the water never failed to ease his worries.

Antonym - Seperate

On quiet mornings like these, he usually would've gone to the smoothie place he always chilled at, but he'd read online somewhere that the corporation running it was being boycotted, so he figured he could search for some temporary alternatives. But since most of the shops in his neighborhood were corporate run, that proved to be much harder than he'd thought, so he settled for the pier this morning.

Antonym - Believable

"Hey Paxton!" A voice called out, far too enthusiastic for 8AM. Upon turning around, he spots Derek, a friend of his who he rarely saw due to his tendancy to skip, but was quite reliable when it came to random specific information on everyone at their school. He was quite the odd character, but Paxton was fond of him.

He spots a drink in his hand with a logo he didn't recognize, and his caffeine deprived mind zeroed in on it. "Where'd ya get that."

Derek held it up a bit. "Oh this? I made it."

"You know how to make smoothies?" He spoke, the idea of Derek just possesing the ability to make drinks simply inpalpable.

Antonym - Retreat

"Yeah, I told you. I'm good at everything." He held it out temptingly. "Want a taste?"

Paxton felt his hand tremble, but he pressed it firmly to his side. "You put your mouth on that."

Derek sighed, wiping his sleeve haphazardly over it for 3 or 4 seconds before offering it again. "There, happ-" Paxton basically snatched it from him, and Derek's eyes widened at the sudden incursion.

"Hey, I said a taste not the whole cup!" Derek exclaims.

Antonym - Concealed

Paxton hands him the cup back, feeling 10 times more energized. "I needed that, thanks." He spoke greatfully, ignoring the fact he showed quite blatant signs of an addiction.

Derek scoffed, tossing it into the garbage can. "Anytime."

Antonym - Friendliness

Derek was still staring, and it uneased Paxton beyond just passing it off as him being annoyed he drank the entire cup.

"What?"

"You seem a lot less tense today." Derek commented. "Usually you would've called me an idiot by now." Derek called out his usual belligerence, and it made Paxton feel a little bad.

Antonym - Honestly.

"Is that so?" Paxton spoke, listening intently.

"I mean, yeah. Now that I think about it, this is the longest you've stayed to chat with me about anything." Derek chuckles. "You're a pretty lonely person nowadays."

"..Does it look like I'm trying to be?" He spoke, looking for an honest answer.

"Yeah man. No offense." He spoke, trying not to let his words come off maliciously.

Antonym - Cleanliness

"None taken. Walk with me for a second, I want to ask you some things." Paxton began to walk, not really giving him the option to say no.

"Oh. Uh. Alright then." Derek trailed behind, following him down the pier until they made it to the beach. Brighton beach was a detritus area, with small pebbles and stones rather than sand.

Antonym - Definite

"I saw Sam in a cafe yesterday." Paxton spoke, ignoring the incredulous look that almost instantly appeared on his face.

Antonym - Tiny

"You WHAT?" He exclaimed, buried feelings of rage towards Paxton's ex-friend resurfacing. He looked just about ready to hit something.

At that same moment, the sound of waves crashing caught both of their attentions as in the distance, a leviathan of a whale dove back into the water.

Antonym - Terminable

And for a moment, they both forgot about Sam, rushing to the edge of the pier.

They watched the whale disappear into the interminable blue sea.

Antonym - Confident.

"Man.. Ah, I got distracted." Derek redirects his attention back to Paxton, who was subtly trying to shuffle away.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Paxton tensed, diffidently offering a casual smile. "The loo?"

Derek huffed. "Not after telling me you saw Sam again."

Antonym - Closure

Paxton sighed as Derek guided him to a bench, ushering him into it. "Look, I've got it under control."

Derek's eyes soften. "You said that last time."

"Dude!" Paxton exclaimed, offended.

"I'm just saying, the last time you isolated yourself Sam took advantage of you. I don't want you to get hurt again." Derek didn't want to create another chasm between them.

Antonym - N/A

"I'm fine. right now I have a feeling he's more scared of me then I am of him." Paxton dismissed.

Derek could tell he'd struck a nerve, so he decided not to keep pushing for information. "Alright.. Just don't want you to get yourself in another pile of guano."

Antonym - N/A

The plinth held up the various vases, creating a sculpture like structure.

Antonym - Stationary

"I just- Forget it." Paxton shivered tremendously.

Antonym - Obediently

"Screw you!" Patricia had said mutinously to her teacher.

Antonym - N/A

Paxton rubbed his shoulders, his previous lamentations regarding Sam resurfacing.

Antonym - Peaceful

But.. He still couldn't get over the way he ran. It reminded him of the kind of person he is.

Antonym - focusing

"Just take a breath and speak." Derek nudged him, trying to avoid him becoming too discursive.