Tok.

Tick.

Tok.

...

...

The clock's arm ticked ever so slow, Nathan thought. Feeling the march of time - painfully, painfully slow. Ten minutes were left till the end of class and his classmates were already bouncing from desk to desk, socializing within their circles. He, however, refused. His head rested, cradled by his folded arms on his desk as he sat. Socializing had become burdensome to him, especially with the girls his age. Their subjects only ever encompassing the latest couples, celebrities, and how much they loved~ that cute guy one class over.

Nathan himself was considered 'handsome'. A labeled 'jock', his good looks often made and somewhat approachable personality made him popular with girls of every age. His short dark brown hair flared up naturally, with black asymmetrical eyes with the faint beginnings of a 5'o clock shadow and lightly tanned skin. He was considered a manly person, leaving the girls around him deeming him - "The Bad Boy". It wasn't a particularly enjoyed, trying to ignore its existence. It ended up morphing into "Ice Prince".

Only a few months remained of the school year. Afterward, he'd be thrown into the confusing, never-ending maze of adult life. Maybe go straight into the workforce, or attempt college and hope he was smarter than a fifth grader. Maybe, in the end, he'd be on track for a high paying job. Either route was viewed as a hassle to him. He wasn't great with books, rather, liked to learn hands on.

It was all the same though, disinterest with life slowly becoming grey. He never could remember when it happened. A slow chasm widened between him and his friends. Between the girl he 'loved'. A somewhat social butterfly and womanizer when he first entered high school. That naive, gentle smile had long been replaced with a calm stoic lazy face.

Before was a different fling every month. Sex was the best thing next to the invention of pizza to him. Now? He'd rather torture himself trying to play that retro E.T game. It was a chore. Socializing was an even bigger bore. Gossip, drama, who was in, and who was out. A never-ending vicious cycle that only seem to consume anyone involved. Of course, he wasn't immune to its siren songs, but now he couldn't even bother himself to talk along when he heard about things.

Slowly, but surely he wished for a different world.

It was a place where 'Nathan' existed. Video games. Fiction novels, and movies. These places had captured his complete heart. A place he could shed his skin of a mediocre 'young adult' and spread his wings. Doctors and psychologists say it's merely depression and it was normal to have it during puberty. It didn't help him solve his problem though.

Yes, that lul of a feeling. Disinterest in the world - his world. With each passing week, he grew fonder of fictional stories of heroes, monsters, and magic. Some days it'd be fictional sci-fi. Others it would be mysteries. Movies, novels, and video games. Anything and everything. He loved to escape to them.

He didn't what to be a hero, no. He wanted an adventure. An escape from that soul-crushing life this world was bound to hand him in a few months.

Travel unexplored lands, traverse through ruins and fight monsters. He wasn't interested in being the main character, he wanted to be free. Wonder from place to place and see that world. Free from the shackles this world placed on him. That was his dilemma he would say.

In this world, most lands have been explored, there were no monsters beside humans themselves. There were no unexplored ruins he could find by simple wondering aimlessly within the forests nearby. He also wasn't particularly skilled either. That was the only common denominator between him and his classmates. Certainly, there were others wrangling with his thoughts as well.

His thoughts roamed, just as they've done every day before. It most like would tomorrow too. The clock's ticks lulled him, beckoning him to a sweet sleep. The voices his classmates slowly faded. The tick-toks began to echo before it too began to fade into the distance. He felt his thoughts melt away and darkness embraced him.

"Wakey wakey~"

A girl's voice whispered softly into his ear. His mind bucked into gear, with his body following suit. His eyes shot open as he raised his upper body. A girl that looked no more than 15 sat on top of his teacher's desk. Ponytail of silky black hair, ink-black eyes doting healthy white skin, and a charming smile that could topple countries. Wearing blue denim skinny jeans and a loose black blouse. She was a stunning beauty, a beauty Nathan could recognize within a split moment.

"Lily...?" Confusion in his voice, his eyebrows furrowed and expression cramped slightly. His mind raced to piece things together. He then noticed that the room was bare, in fact, it wasn't his classroom anymore. Four white walls, a white floor and white roof with no doors or windows. There were no lights, no other desks and his classmates were absent. Yet, despite this, the room was brightly lit.

His desk and chair; Lily and his teacher's desk.

Only this existed inside the room. "O..? So you do remember me?" Her smile morphed into a grin, ear to ear. A felt a chill on his back. He knew this expression all too well. She was pissed. "I'm surprised you do, I heard you were sleeping with plenty of women behind my back while we dated." Yes, she definitely was pissed, but her claim was false.

It was actually different... Lily was his longest relationship and he was definitely serious about her before... His dilemma began to run amuck in his life. "No, I never cheated on you." Disregarding the whole situation. He still cared about this girl, that's why he left. To deal with his issue. Sort of a 'Set her free' trope if you will. Her eyes were frosty black like a tundra in the night. Her legs began to swing faster, agitated.

"Don't lie to me, your ex-girlfriends told me you were sleeping with them. That's why you're here. As payback..." With each word, her voice became colder. Her expression becoming stoic. Only her eyes displayed her anger and her fingers that tapped to some unknown rhythm."I'm dropping you into my world!" When those vindictive words left her mouth, the room began to slowly distort.

Panic rose in his mind, he didn't know what was happening. He rushed out of the chair and charged forward. Lily's was dumbstruck by his sudden charge. Before she could react, his arms wrapped around her protectively as the room disappeared. An endless abyss swallowed them up before either could say or move...