Calm Down- HAGDay 2014

SMASH! CRASH!

The sounds of breaking glass and other destruction sent me running. You'd think that I'd be running AWAY from the sounds, but nope. I ran straight towards them. You say I'm insane? You could be right.

I should probably introduce myself. Th' name's Annalise Nicole Brayden, or Anni for short. And before you start, I did NOT spell it wrong. That's just how I spell it. Anyway, I'm 15 (almost 16) years old, I have medium brown eyes, medium length brown hair, I'm roughly 5-foot-5, and almost no "special features" to be noted (unless you count the teeny-tiny birthmark I have on the inside of my right upper-arm). In other words, I'm a very average looking human girl. But believe me when I say that my life is far from average. Hence the reason why I was running towards the sounds.

I ran down the hall, racing for the bedroom at the end of it, where the noise was coming from. You're probably thinking that it only took me a second, but I'm sorry to tell you that you're wrong again, but only because my life's so odd. You see, just like my life, my house isn't a normal house, or at least, not for a girl like me. In fact, technically, it wasn't even my house, but I still lived there. This house, instead of being built for a perfectly normal human family, was actually... a lot bigger. In fact, it was giant. It was giant because it was a house for giants. It was built for a perfectly normal giant family.

I stopped when I finally reached the bedroom in question. Slowly and quietly (even though the people in the house probably wouldn't have heard me anyway), I peered around the huge frame of the door I had run up to. My eyes widened at the sight inside.

Inside the room, glass was being shattered, items were being thrown across the room, and violent tremors shook the floor. Even scarier than that was what was causing all of that. Standing in the middle of the room, hands balled into fists, and causing more destruction than any human demolition crew, was a 100-foot tall teenage boy.

"Oh, TJ, not again," I said softly, shaking my head. Yeah, this happens a lot. Hopefully, this time TJ wouldn't hurt himself.

I was so focused on keeping an eye on TJ, I didn't even notice the large shadow looming over me until its owner spoke.

"Agh, he's at it again, isn't he?"

I looked over my shoulder and up at the giant who'd miraculously snuck up on me. TJ's twin brother, Alex, was kneeling behind me. He stared at me from behind his thick glasses, and I stared right back. Alex and I still didn't quite see eye to eye (both literally and figuratively), but there was one thing that we had in common (besides our love of junk food). We both agreed that when TJ got like this, we'd do whatever we could to keep him safe.

I sighed and looked at Alex wistfully. "I liked it better when he was just TJ, before he had this crazy rage side to him." Normally, TJ wasn't like this. He was kind and gentle, especially when I was around. Sure, he could be a bit of a hothead, but it was nothing like this.

Alex shook his head. "I'm not sure if there was ever a time when he didn't have this crazy rage side," he told me, keeping his voice low. "He just managed to keep it hidden from you. What's got him so worked up this time?"

I shrugged. "No idea." I stood up and took a few steps forward. "But I'm gonna find out."

"Wait," Alex said, stopping me in my tracks. "Remember what happened last time."

I didn't turn around when I answered softly. "I will never forget."

Slowly stepping forward, I tried to look where I was going and keep an eye on TJ at the same time. I wasn't afraid of TJ; at least, not anymore. That didn't mean that I wasn't afraid of his rage, though. I took deep breaths and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. He's still TJ, he's still TJ, I said in my head over and over again. "He's still TJ."

I stopped several yards away from TJ, though for him it was only a few feet. I could feel Alex watching me, ready to jump in if I needed his help. But I wouldn't. I knew what I was doing, and I knew TJ wouldn't hurt me. After all, I've done this before.

I looked up, way up, at TJ. I cupped my hands around my mouth and took a deep breath. "TEE-JAAAAY!!!" I shouted as loud as I could. Involuntarily, I shuddered as the giant boy slowly turned to face me.

We simply stood there for a moment, sizing each other up (figuratively). I looked into his dark brown eyes, which held more intensity than usual. We stared at one another, each daring the other to look away. Any other human would've been intimidated by the stare of an angry giant, but not me. Despite the fact that he was literally hundreds of times bigger than me, I wasn't afraid of TJ at all. Because I knew that in a stare-down between the two of us, I would win.

After a moment of us simply watching each other, I decided to break the silence.

"TJ," I said slowly, keeping my voice steady, and only raising my voice enough for him to hear me. "Calm down, TJ. It's me, Anni. Relax." I was using the voice that I used to use when I was calming a little kid down back at Fireworth. "Everything's okay. Just calm down."

TJ continued looking at me for another moment, before his face changed. The scowl on his face vanished, and the hard look in his eyes softened. I let out a sigh of relief. I had gotten through to him.

"A-Anni?" TJ stuttered softly. Slowly, he dropped to his knees, eyes focused on me. Then he looked at the damage around us. "I-I guess I did it again, huh?" he asked sheepishly.

I gave a small smile in return. "Yeah, I guess you did," I said, trying to make the situation not seem as bad as it was for TJ's sake. I knew how emotional he got after a rage. "But hey, it's okay..."

"No it's not," TJ snapped, cutting me off. I took a step back, wondering if his rage was really over. TJ noticed it and he sighed. "See? I did all this," he gestured to the mess around us, "and I-I scared you. A lot." TJ hung his head in shame.

I put my hands on my hips. "Okay, first off," I said in an irritated tone, "how do you even know you scared me or not? Pretty sure you don't." I paused and took a breath, continuing in a calmer voice. "And second, it is okay. It's not like you meant to do this. I know you can't help it. Your rages just sort of happen, right?" TJ nodded and I smiled at him. Then my eyes wandered to his hands, and my face paled.

TJ's hands were a bloody mess. I could see pieces of glass stuck in them from... whatever glass he had been breaking. Not only that, but there were other cuts in his hands as well. I nearly fainted. I get queasy when I see a lot of blood, and that would've been a lot if TJ and I were the same size. Seeing that much blood so close almost made my heart stop.

"T-TJ, your hands..." I murmured. He looked at the condition of his hands and his eyes widened. I managed to tear my eyes away from his hands and say "We'd better get you cleaned up," trying to regain my calm composure.

"We?" TJ asked.

"Yes, we," I told him. "You're not gonna be able to wrap up your hands on your own."

"B-but..."

I shook my head. "No buts. I'm helping."

☆☆☆

A few hours later, TJ's hands were all bandaged up, courtesy of yours truly... with a little (or more than a little) help from Alex. We had also managed to clean up most of the glass, which is where I truly came in handy. Now, TJ and I were lying in his bed. He was on his side facing me, and I was curled up on the other pillow on his bed, which was where I usually slept.

"Something tells me you won't be doin' much for a few days," I told him, gesturing to his hands. TJ smiled and I smiled back. Then he sighed.

"Anni... I'm sorry," TJ said softly. The breath from his words weren't the only thing that washed over me when he spoke. A wave of sadness and a little guilt came right along with it.

My eyes widened. "Oh, sweetie, don't be sorry," I said, forgetting that I was on a pillow and leaping to my feet. I stumbled on the plushy surface, trying to keep my balance. Before I could fall off the pillow, TJ's eyes widened and something large and warm gently wrapped around my torso. I felt my face go red as I realized TJ had shot out his hand and caught me. "Th-thanks," I stuttered, embarrassed.

"No prob," TJ replied with a half-smile. With slow, gentle movements, TJ's light grip tightened slightly, and he lifted me up, setting me on his pillow, right in front of his face. I was happy to see him smiling, but his smile soon vanished.

I tried again. "TJ, please don't be sorry. You didn't mean for this to happen, and it's not your fault. You have no reason to be sorry." I scooted toward his nose, getting ready for what I knew I was going to do. Leaning forward, I wrapped my arms around TJ's nose, giving him the best hug I could manage.

I felt the air shift as TJ let out a small gasp of shock. Repositioning myself so I could look into his eyes, I saw that he had to go cross-eyed in order to see me. Giggling, I nuzzled his nose a bit, and then rested my cheek against it. Reaching out to stroke the bridge of TJ's nose, I sighed. "Please don't be upset, TJ. Please."

I could feel the muscles in TJ's face move as he smiled, and even more when he spoke. "It's too hard to be upset with you snuggling up against my nose like that."

I giggled again and hugged his nose even tighter. "Good." Grinning at him, I added, "Ya know, on this one website I like, deviantArt, some friends of mine invented a holiday. It’s called 'Hug a Giant Day'. And if I remember correctly... it’s today. July 21st."

"Hmm, interesting," TJ responded. "I hope there’re no rules against the giant hugging back." Then it was my turn to gasp when TJ gently rested his hand on top of me just under my chin, retuning the hug in a way. Within minutes, we were asleep, still in the same position.

I spent the rest of night hugging my giant.