FicWad

We live in an in-between universe.

I sat at my desk, staring down at the pencil that was sitting limply in my hand. I could tell the teacher was hovering over me, her hand waiting to take the paper I didn't have. I closed my eyes, breathing out slowly.
"Told you you should have worked on your homework more." Cogstenn muttered.
"Ryan, where's your paper?" The teacher asked as she looked down at me. I glanced up at her before looking back down at my pencil. She looked pissed.
"I don't have it." I muttered.
She sighed. "I'm going to need to see you after class." I gave a short nod and she walked away. The kid next to me scrawled on a piece of paper, handing it over to me as discreetly as possible. I gave him a questioning look as he made a motion for me to open it.
"You know, that kid is just going to get you into even more trouble." Cogstenn said in a voice that would resemble that of a disapproving parent.
"Shut up." I whispered as I quickly scanned the words. 'Do you wanna eat lunch with us?' My brows furrowed as I tried to think of a reason as to why anyone would want to try and be friends with me. I scrawled a quick 'Sure.' hating how girly my hand writing was. Alaan must have noticed since he decided to comment on it while I passed the note back to the other boy.
"Ryan, sometimes I think you should have been born as a girl."
"Shut up Alaan, he's at school." Tonna said as she pushed him. I watched as the two fought, Cogstenn shaking his head in disappointment.
"You know Ryan, their just going to end up hurting you." Cogstenn said as he stared straight at me.
"I know, but I've never had any real friends." I whispered as I looked back down at my pencil. The boy passed the note back to me, the teacher noticing it.
"Spencer! Are you passing notes again?"
He shook his head. "No miss." He sank down in his seat a little as I hid the note on my desk. She walked back over to the front of the room, keeping a watchful eye on Spencer. I unfolded the note, scanning the letters quickly. 'I'll be waiting outside the classroom for you.' I gave a soft sigh, folding it back up so I could slip it in my bag.
The rest of the class moved slowly, the stillness and silence of the room putting me on edge, but it ended eventually. I walked up to the teachers desk, standing in front of it as I waited for a lecture. All of the other kids flooded the halls, leaving me alone with someone who obviously didn't like me. She sighed, taking her glasses off as she looked at me.
"Look Ryan, I know you've had a hard life and you obviously...see things that aren't...there, but that doesn't mean that you can just ignore everything. You're not better than everyone else in this class. You have to do your work or I won't be able to pass you." I nodded.
"I know." I said as I stared at my feet. Alaan was laughing, Cogstenn trying to shut him up. "May I leave now?" She nodded and I left. Spencer was waiting outside like he said. He gave me a small smile before talking.
"Get your shit, we're skipping."
"Ryan, don't you dare listen to him. You know how your father will react when he finds out." Cogstenn was trying to warn me. Like I would listen.
"All right." I said as I started to walk to my locker. Spencer followed me, talking as we walked. I didn't really pay attention to what he was saying, seeing as the only thing he was rambling on about was his boy toy. I grabbed my books out of my locker, watching as hiders ran out of it and down the hall. I closed my eyes for a few moments, trying to remind myself to act normal.
"You okay?" Spencer asked. I nodded, muttering a yes before following him out of the building. It felt weird to be able o walk right out, but it was nice for a change. There were two boys waiting outside, the one named Brendon and the one called Jon. Brendon ran over to Spencer, hugging him like he hadn't seen him in over a year. Jon gave a small wave.
"I see you made it back home in one piece." He said with a smile. I gave a short nod, feeling slightly breathless.
"All right you two, let's go." Spencer said with a large grin as one of his hands hit my back, the other one latched onto Brendon's. I followed the group to a small diner, sitting in a booth between Brendon and Jon. A waitress walked over to the table, a small smile on her thin pink lips.
"You boys skipping again?" She asked as the three laughed.
"Always." Brendon said with a smirk. She had short brown hair in a pixie cut, with dark brown eyes to match. "This is our new friend Ryan." Brendon pulled me into a hug and I gave her a small smile.
"I'm Karen." She said with a short nod to me before looking over at Jon. "I'm assuming Summer is going to meet up with you?"
"Yeah, she said she was going to be running a little late today." Jon said with a small smile. Brendon whispered in my ear.
"Summer is Jon's girlfriend."
"I told you he was going to hurt you." I stared at Tonna who was sitting happily on the table in front of us, her legs crossed. Her purple skin seemed to shimmer in the sunlight coming from the window. I glared at her and she gave a small shrug. "Just thought you would want to know that I was right." She gave a small wave before leaving, and I couldn't help but feel slightly sick. The rest of the group ordered their food, Spencer deciding he knew exactly what I would like. I tried to tell him that I didn't have any money but he didn't listen. Actually, they all seemed to have a slight problem when it came to listening.
The girl named Summer showed up, sitting on the edge of the booth next to Jon. Her face looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I had seen her before. Long blond curly hair with green eyes. And a perfect figure. Of course, what straight boy could resist? Granted, she looked as stupid as a rock, and proved it with the first few words that she spoke. I tried to ignore the things that only I could see, talking only when I was spoken too.
"So Ryan, I haven't seen you at these skipping parties before." Summer said as she looked at me. There was a smug tone in her voice, something that I couldn't help but to hate.
"He's my new best friend." Brendon said somewhat defensively. I could tell by the tone in his voice that he didn't like her either. He had his arms wrapped around my neck, holding me close like I was a teddy bear.
"Where did you used to go to school?" She asked in an arrogant voice.
"I don't think that particularly matters." I said as I stared at her.
"Well, now that she mentioned it, it is kind of a curious thing. Ryan, we don't know the first thing about you." Jon said as he looked at me with furrowed brows.
"What's there to know? After this I'll just be another face in the crowd for you." I looked down at my hands, toying with the sleeve of my jacket. "Why do you have to know things that don't matter?"
"No, he's right. It doesn't matter. The point is that he's here now." Spencer said in a defensive tone, obviously just as angry as Brendon.
"Listen Jon, I have to go. But before I leave, I want to talk to Ryan alone for a moment." Summer said as she looked up at Jon, who smiled back.
Brendon mumbled, "Pathetic." Spencer nodding to agree with Brendon.
"Okay." Summer and Jon both got out of the booth, allowing me to follow close behind. Jon got back in and I followed Summer to a more private area. I could hear Cogstenn following.
"I know who you are Ryan."
"As do I. You're Summer. Well, this was a nice chat, think I might be going now."
"Do you remember me Ryan? I used to work in your ward. I helped you back to your bed every night. You always sleep walked. It was either that or night terrors." That would explain why her face was so familiar.
"So I guess you're going to tell them then?"
"What would I gain from doing that? How about this, you stay the fuck away from my Jon, and I won't tell them a thing."
"That's stupid. You honestly think I like Jon?"
"Ryan, it's the most obvious thing ever. I can tell just by the way you look at him. So tell me, what are your imaginary friends telling you now?" That I could kill you and get away with it.
"Don't listen to her Ryan, she's just jealous that she can't hear us." Cogstenn said. I shook my head, walking towards the door. I glanced at the table just in time to see her snogging Jon, Spencer looking disgusted as Brendon watched me. I shook my head, walking out the door.
I let my feet wander, my bag weighing me down as my uniform made the heat all that much worse.
"Their going to find out eventually anyway." Tonna said from behind me. "It's not something you can avoid." I didn't have any place in mind. All I knew was that I couldn't go home.
"If you look on the bright side, you'll always have us." Alaan said, his voice sounding distant.
"Ryan, don't beat yourself up over this. So a few kids don't like you, that doesn't mean a thing." Cogstenn said as he tried to keep his pace up with my own.
"No, it's fine. I don't need real friends. You're right, I'll always have you guys." I walked up to an abandoned building, looking up at the rotting wood and broken windows. "How about a little adventure?"
"BURN IT TO THE GROUND!" Alaan screamed as he ran inside, followed by Tonna. I walked in slowly, looking around at the house. There was a small amount of light that came in through cracks in the wood, a large hole in the flooring. Cogstenn put his hand on my shoulder.
"Do you hear them Ryan? Living in the walls?" I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the white creatures moving all about the house. There were different types in this particular building. I wondered if anyone would care if I did let it burn.
"Ryan, what are you doing in here?" I turned to see Brendon, standing in the doorway. He was looking around, a somewhat scared look on his face. "And who have you been talking to?"
"Brendon, I'm sick. I'm very, very sick. The school I used to go to was a hospital." He stared at me for a few moments, the door closing behind him. I could see all of the different hiders. They were running towards him. Towards us. I swallowed, closing my eyes as I tried to shake the feeling of them digging into my flesh.
He ran over to me, hugging me tightly. The hiders attacked both of our bodies.
"Then why did you leave? The hospital I mean." I could feel them crawling all over me. Squiring on my skin.
"They can't do anything for me anymore. I'm not fixable." They were digging into me, crawling under the skin. My mind was racing with my heart.
"I'm sorry Ryan." I needed to get away. I pushed Brendon off of me, running out of the house as fast as I could. I could hear him screaming but the sound of the hiders buzzing was scaring me more than what would happen tomorrow.

I didn't get in trouble with my father, then again, I avoided him at all cost. I did my homework, eat dinner with him, and went to bed. It didn't take long for me to be woken up.
"Ryan, get up Ryan. We have a busy night tonight." I opened my eyes, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I gave a small yawn as I stood, slipping my hoodie on. I put the hood up, walking to the garage of the small house we lived in. I picked up a can of gasoline and a box of matches, following the voices instructions. It brought me back to the abandoned house.
I walked in, looking around once more. It was different from the first time. Where the first time it had an odd beauty about it, now it just seemed like the worst building ever, making me sick. I took the cap off of the gasoline, walking through the house while pouring tiny amounts here and there. I stopped when I got to the middle of what I was guessing used to be the main room.
Hiders came out to protect their home, not that I cared. I ignored it all, dumping the rest of the gasoline before lighting a match. I placed it where the match would burn and catch the whole place on fire, giving me a few moments to get out. I left the container, walking out of the house with my hands in my pockets. I could hear the fire crackling behind me, and couldn't help but smile and laugh as I made my way back home.


~~~~~

So I know the previous chapter kind of sucked, and I can only hope this one makes up for it. Promise to update soon.

AnotherKnifeinMyHand:All in good time. They'll find out eventually. But who knows how long it'll take.

-xoxo Pansy.