I wake up to a group text including everyone other than Kyle. It's an invitation from Simon to hold another meeting today after school. A meeting not about the gems, but the bond we share over them.
I reply saying that it sounds great. After a few minutes worth of responses, it looks like all of us can go.
After getting ready for school, I walk downstairs and sit down for breakfast.
Eggs, again.
"So, Allen," my mom asks me inquisitively. "You stayed at a friend's house the other night?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
Unable to hold back the emotion, her eyes well with tears.
"My little boy has friends!"
Ouch. But, I guess I never told her about them. I haven't had friends for a long time, so I see why she'd be worried about me. Mom isn't usually home after school, so I never bothered to tell her where I was. She would've never known that I was going out with friends this whole time. She only knows now because I was forced to spend the night at Christina's.
"Yeah, I've made a lot of friends recently. Sarah, Dylan, Simon, Rachel, and Christina," I recite while leaving Kyle out on purpose. I'm still annoyed from the last time I saw him.
… am I petty?
"That's so many! Good for you. You said Sarah's name first…" She winks at me. "Is she special to you?"
The scrambled eggs in my mouth get caught in my throat, causing me to cough violently.
"Mom! N-no of course not."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she laughs. "But from that reaction…"
I glare at her with the meanest face I can muster.
"Right, right. Still, you're back in the game. Only a few months of school left before you graduate, but that's plenty of time!"
Wow. I'm really close to being an adult. That's… scary.
"So, whose house did you spend the night at?"
Uh… this might cause a misunderstanding.
"… Dylan's?"
Before I could catch myself, I lied.
"That's fun. I'm glad that you're finally in the groove of socializing again. Don't try to 'set them straight' anymore, you got it? That's where your other friends went."
Yeah, I did do that a lot. I still won't give up on my justice, luckily Dylan and Sarah haven't bothered me yet. We seem to fit well together. I can't promise not to set them straight, I will only believe that I won't have to.
I pull out my phone and…
"Look at the time! Sorry, mom! I'm going to be late!"
Mom smiles at me, "Bike safe!"
Hopping on my bike, I pedal like I never have before!
After school, Dylan and Rachel go home on the bus while I stay with Sarah. I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask her on a date.
To start, I chat with her on the way to her car.
"What's your favorite genre of movie, Sarah?"
"… Horror, probably."
Oh, I'm bad with horror.
"Horror movies are cool… want to go see one with me?"
Again, like it was natural.
She glances up at me, then quickly looks away again, "That sounds good."
"How's tomorrow? We'll be hanging out with Simon and the other's today."
"That sounds good."
"Do you have a certain one that you'd like to see?"
"That sounds good."
"I think I broke her."
Her lips stretch into a soft smile.
Mission success!
"Sweet! I'll see you at the meeting!"
I sit on my bike and prepare to leave.
"Wait…" Sarah interrupts. "Do you… want to ride with me? You can put your bike on the back of my car."
This is the best day of my life.
The ride to the meeting is mostly silence. Not an awkward one, I think. Just the typical silence you get with her. I understand now that she doesn't always want to talk, so I'll start conversations occasionally. If she doesn't add much to it, I'll leave her alone.
It can feel like she doesn't want to talk to me, but I don't want to misunderstand her. That would be bad. She already unloaded all of her thoughts on me, the ones she didn't want to tell anyone else. She trusted me because she believed that I wouldn't misunderstand her. I need to live up to that.
Sarah is a person who doesn't always enjoy social interaction, not because she dislikes the person talking to her, it's because she dislikes the talking. I can't really understand that because I get lonely easily, but it's a part of her I've accepted.
We arrive at the old school building and get out of the car.
We park in the same spot as always, a short walk from the actual building.
"Hey guys!" I smile as I walk through the door.
The old building feels a little like home now. As I turn into the doorless doorway, I can't stop myself from grinning.
Simon, Christina, Rachel and Dylan are already here. Sarah and I were last to arrive.
"Welcome!" Simon greets us with a smile.
"Hey, why'd the two of you show up together?" Christina smirks at Sarah.
Why does she have to be so observant?!
"Well you see," I begin, it's already too late to be shy now. Sarah can't stop herself from blushing, though. That's how she is. There's no reason to hide it, it's just a little embarrassing for late bloomers like us. Actually, now that I think about it, would even beating around the bush or understating be rude to Sarah who is right beside me? Better to be blunt, "I asked her out on a date."
Dylan's the only one who shows even relative surprise.
Christina claps her hands together, "Good goin' girl!"
Simon nods his head, "Congratulations!"
Wait, did they already know Sarah liked me? Was it that obvious? Maybe they were just happy for her, but it sounds to me like they knew already.
Dylan was confused, "Wait. You two are like, dating now?"
"Heh heh heh," I laugh nervously. It wasn't something I thought about at first but it could be awkward for Dylan from now on, "Yeah, I guess so."
Sarah stares at the ground and avoids making eye contact with anyone. I hope I made the right decision.
"Wow, that surprised me. Congrats guys."
Christina looks excited for this fresh drama, "Have you been on a date yet? When was it?"
"Not yet. We're going to see a movie tomorrow."
"Ah, I see, I see. You love birds have fun!"
Again, as weird as she phrased that, I'm not in a position to deny it with the girl in question right beside me. Christina is really good at making the most of this opportunity. She's messing with us hard.
"Anyway," I try to change the topic. "What's up with you guys?"
"Not much," Simon says. "We're preparing for our finals at school, they're coming fast. They even gave us this giant packet to study."
"You're still a junior, right? You've still got another year. It's weird that this is the end of highschool for me."
"I'm only a year younger, it can't be that big of a difference in feel."
Christina goes pale, cutting our conversation short, "I forgot about the finals. I haven't studied at all! I could fail…"
Simon pats her on the back.
"I'm sure you'll do fine. Maybe we could hold a group study session? That would be fun!"
"I'm all for it," Dylan chimes in. He's probably behind in his studies too.
Actually, I haven't studied either. I'm smarter than Dylan, but I still really should study to be safe.
I'm sure Sarah has it covered though. Her and Rachel might not even need to study to ace the finals! I guess I don't know if Rachel is smart, but she somehow feels that way.
"Guys, I hate to do this, but I have to go for now," Christina explains while hurrying out the door. "I'll come back, but I left all of my textbooks at school. I'm going to need them this weekend, so hopefully the school hasn't locked its doors yet. I'll try to be fast!"
"Bye!" Simon shouts to her.
Once Christina is gone, Sarah quietly asks, "… Can you tell us more about Christina? She's one of the few people I don't know that much about yet. She seems a lot like Dylan, but I haven't heard too much from her."
We really don't know anything about her. I didn't realize until just now how little I knew about her. Sarah must've had it on her mind for a while, seeing as how fast she brought up the topic after Christina left.
"Hm…" Simon thinks for a moment before speaking frankly. "She talks big, but she's actually a small person. Not in a bad way! She just isn't very strong on her own. That's why I need to be there for her."
How sweet. The cute little Simon looks out for the significantly bigger and tougher Christina. It seems like the opposite on the surface.
"That's really nice," Dylan says.
"Yeah, she's great. She's funny and talkative and is always looking out for me. Well, she tries to, but all she can really do to look out for me is make sure nobody is mean to me. I don't have any enemies anyway, so it's not super helpful to be honest," Simon looks up and smiles brightly. "Still, I really appreciate her."
Man, I really hope Christina is hiding behind the door, listening. I'd love to see her face hearing all this.
… I wonder what Christina's Delusion is. The fact that she has one means there's got to be a little more to her, right?
"Sounds more like you two are dating than Allen and Sarah," Dylan remarks.
Simon's cheeks go a little rosy and he looks at the table, "N-no! We aren't."
"I know, I know," he winks. "I'm just teasing ya."
"C'mon!"
We all chuckle at Simon's expense. Although, he laughs too so it's all in good fun. It was me a couple minutes ago, so it's only fair.
We continue to chat and mess around for a while. Eventually Christina returns with her textbooks and throws her arm over Simon's shoulder.
"I'm back! You wouldn't believe how close I cut it," Christina sighs deeply.
I can't help but smile at the sight of Christina hanging off of Simon again.
Our little meeting continued until the sun began to set. There were plenty of laughs and we had a great time. Dylan eventually needed to go and everyone began to leave.
First it was Dylan and then Rachel, and then Christina and Simon, leaving me alone with Sarah.
"Are you ready to go?" I ask.
"Of course."
We both get in her car and begin to drive back to my place. I don't really know much to say to her, so the car drive is mostly quiet.
You know what? I could use some music right now.
"What type of music do you listen to, Sarah?"
"… Probably indie rock or alternative rock."
"That's a pretty good choice. Want to listen to some?"
Sarah always kept her radio off until now. She probably prefers silence.
"Sure."
Sarah turns to her favorite station and some music begins to play. She keeps it at a relatively low volume.
"We're here."
"Thanks for driving and I can't wait… for our date tomorrow."
"Yeah! I'm looking forward to it," she smiles.
Waving goodbye, I unpack my bike and walk through my front door.
I pop a frozen dinner in the microwave and wait for it to cook. My mind wanders in anticipation for tomorrow. It's going to be great, I hope.
"Knock Knock Knock"
It hasn't been long, I wonder if Sarah forgot something?
I open the door and Sarah looks up at me.
"Sorry I'm already back. I forgot to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Well, my phone broke so I just got a new one. It's from a different provider so it has a new number, I wanted to make sure you knew before tomorrow."
"Oh, alright. What's your number?"
"Here, can I see your phone?"
She isn't a talkative person, maybe she doesn't want to say every number?
I hand her my unlocked phone on the contacts app.
In a flash, she hands my phone back with her updated contact.
"Thanks."
"Of course! I'll see you tomorrow."
The door shuts and she's already gone.
***
Saturday
Despite not being a morning person, I wake up and I'm already ready for my date with Allen! I can hardly contain my excitement.
It's a little nerve wracking too though, what if it goes poorly?
All I can do is believe that it will go well.
I shower, pick out the perfect dress, and do my makeup.
"Pling"
That must be from Allen.
"I'm ready for our date! Just confirming that you can make it."
"Of course. I'll be there."
After I finish getting ready, I grab my car keys and walk out the door. My parents aren't home, as usual, so I simply leave without anyone to say 'goodbye' to.
On my way, I listen to my favorite song and try to calm down. This is going to be great! My first ever date.
I'd never listen to this song in front of Allen, or anyone else. It's a bit embarrassing. My taste happens to be a bit odd. Unfortunately, it isn't something I can bring myself to be honest about.
"You look great, Sarah," Allen compliments me as I meet him in the theater.
Just the words make me happy. I'm glad he said that, "Thank you. You look great too."
We order some popcorn and take our seats.
The movie plays like any other horror movie. It's decent but the plot isn't amazing. It's about a mad scientist who sacrifices everything to bring his dead wife back. He only ends up creating a monster that haunts him. There were plenty of holes in the plot and the characters were decent at best, but I watched it with Allen.
Actually, the effects were really good. The scary elements were even enough to bother a horror veteran like me. Allen must be great with horror too. He never even jumped once.
As we walk out from the theater, "That was a pretty good movie, right Sarah?"
"Yeah. I enjoyed it a lot," It's not a lie. Despite being a mediocre all around movie, being able to watch it with Allen made it amazing.
"I'd ask if you wanted to come back to my place, but my parents are still there. I'm sure they'd bother us. Would it be alright if I went with you to your place?"
"W-w-what?!" Control over my voice falters. How bold! I never thought of him as that type, not that I dislike it, "I-I guess so."
"Perfect."
Eek! I'm so nervous. He's so bold all of a sudden. What's he going to do?
We enter my house and I escort him upstairs to my room. I feel like any other room would be a little strange. In my house, no room other than my own feels like home. Although bringing him to my bedroom when no parents are home sounds scandalous.
I walk him into my room and turn on the light. He shuts the door behind us without saying a word.
My room is relatively girlish, I'd say. The walls are painted a deep purple and all of the furniture is a clean white. Since I spend so much time here, it isn't sparkling clean. I follow his gaze to ensure he hasn't spotted any crumbs.
"H-how do you like my room?" I sit down on my bed quickly.
Between combing my hair with my hands and twiddling with my fingers, there's no way he hasn't noticed how nervous I am. Which only makes me more nervous.
"It's pretty," he sits down on my bed close beside me.
"…"
I can't think of any words to say. My heart threatens to beat itself out of my own chest.
Allen stands up and starts to walk around, looking on the tops of my counters, "It's really spacious. My room is much smaller."
"Oh, thanks."
"The color of these walls reminds me of your gem. Whatever happened to it?"
Huh? That's a weird thing to ask.
I stand and open a drawer, taking out the transparent remnant of my gem. After losing my Delusion, it became clear like glass. All of the glitter and light inside disappeared. The hollow shell of my childish delusions.
"Oh wow," he picks it up out of my hands.
"U-um."
I guess he took it. I can't get my words out to ask what he wanted it for.
He examines the gem with a stiff grin. After a second the empty gem begins to glow once again.
Wait.
That's not right.
Something is wrong. It has been for a while. All of this is weird.
The glassy gem between Allen's fingers begins to sparkle with every color of the rainbow.
"Thank you, Sarah. You've been a great help to me," Allen speaks in a voice that is not his own.
It sounds familiar, but I can't identify the voice by itself.
It takes me a second to realize, Rachel. The voice itself has nothing to do with the realization, just the recollection of her Delusion. For some reason her voice is so indistinct that it's hard to pin it down in my mind.
"W-what's going on!" I demand.
I already know. It's obvious already. Too obvious.
Rachel just obtained her third gem.
If the gem wasn't there when Kyle disposed of the body, there was still one person who could have taken it behind my back. Rachel. I was distracted by both Allen and Dylan dying. She could've easily raided Luke's corpse.
"You're smart. I'm sure you figured it out. You're a witness of my crime, but killing is wrong. I have a different plan for you."
Allen's face and body melt and mush back to that of a female. The squelching of her liquid like composition sends a chill down my spine. Rachel stands in front of me with her shoulder length brown hair and matching brown eyes. She stands above me, slightly taller than the average girl.
It feels uncanny. Something is wrong.
Doesn't she have blue eyes?
Trying to sound calm despite the precarious situation, "Your eyes. You forgot to change them to blue."
"Is that so…" she blinks and upon reopening her eyes, they're a beautiful blue once again.
"I see… Rachel doesn't look like that, does she?"
She glares at me. I must be striking a weak point.
I, myself, am weak. I don't even have the power to turn invisible anymore. I have no hope of leaving here unless I use my brain. My words need to hit her where it hurts, in her mind. Maybe I can somehow distract her to buy time for my escape. If not, I'm done for.
I continue my provocation, "Yes… Who knows what Rachel looks like? If not even Rachel does, then who- what even are you? A monster! That's what!"
She stares me down angrily. She really doesn't know what she looks like anymore? What a fate. I almost feel bad for her.
After shape shifting, unless you perfectly remember what you look like, you can never go back. After morphing your shape a large amount of times, there's no doubt you'd be a little different. To completely forget who you were? Eye color and all? She must have been shifting her whole life. Even before we got the gems.
As I taunt her, I begin to circle around her towards the door.
"Your Delusion is obvious! You're an open book," this is hard, I usually don't talk so much, but my life depends on it. "You're 'two faced'! Right? An empty liar who doesn't have a personality of their own. No wonder you're popular at school. You just say whatever the other person wants to hear, right?"
"No! You're wrong!" Instinctively, Rachel breaks eye contact and looks down to her left.
Now's my chance.
Without a second thought, I dart for the door.
"Hey!"
She's right behind me.
I throw the door open without care and it smashes into the wall.
My heart is beating faster than ever. Even on my date with Allen my heart wasn't this fast. Oh, I guess that wasn't him, huh?
My legs can hardly keep up. I need to be faster! I'm much shorter than Rachel, but the adrenaline is keeping me in the competition.
The sound of her footsteps echoes behind me. The vibrations of her steps travel through my feet and up my legs and back. Sprinting down my staircase I nearly slip and fall onto my neck. My breaths become heavy as I reach the front door.
Rachel's footsteps stopped following me at the base of the stairs, though I didn't notice until just now.
Frantically yanking the doorknob, I swing the door open and take a step outside. The fresh air pours into the house and into my lungs. The bright sunshine bounces off of my skin and burns my retinas.
Uh oh.
Something grabs my leg and I trip over forwards.
Thud.
My head slams against the metal on the bottom of the doorway.
Blood runs down my forehead.
I… need to… get away!
It becomes increasingly harder to think as fear engulfs my vision.
"No! AAAAA!" I scream as loud as I can.
No one will come, will they?
I turn around to see Rachel still standing several feet back at the base of the staircase. Her arm that grabbed my leg is stretched out across the floor towards my ankle like some kind of dough.
You've got to be kidding me. I never even stood a chance.
She really is… a monster.
Her arm begins to retract and pull me with it. I desperately try to grab onto everything as I pass by in vain. My grip just isn't tight enough.
I'm helpless. My brain can only take me so far.
Rachel lifts me up effortlessly. Does shape shifting give monstrous strength too? Can she even create stronger muscles in her arm?
It's no use. I can't think clearly.
She puts her hands around my throat, "Don't worry, I won't kill you. Killing is wrong. I'll just knock you out and hide you somewhere until I've obtained the rest of the gems."
As the blood flow to my brain is cut off, I feel true fear for the first time.
I stare into Rachel's empty, fake eyes. She's a complete monster who isn't even human anymore. Her body isn't composed in a normal way, it's not right!
Does that mean I wasn't human until I lost my power? Is this what Delusions really are? Is Allen human?
Allen?
Allen.
Allen!
My mind can only think one last thing before I can no longer stay conscious.
"Save me… Allen."