You of all people - Stosuh

The aftermath - Stephen

I should have never gone to the party. That's the easiest way to sum up the nightmare. I got my heart broken, I saw people who I didn't want to see, and then I got publicly embarrassed. I had walked out, tears streaming down my red face and I stomped home. I didn't want to go find Jay and ask him to go home. I didn't want to bother him and make him go home early because of my stupid hormonal feelings, and it was all doomed from the start.

Now it was Sunday. I wasn't really in the best mood yesterday, which I mostly spent with Ann, though that pool thing had still pissed me off. What pissed me off was that it was Hosuh who had gotten me soaked in pool chlorine. So many people considered Sunday to be great, but what was so good about it? Sunday, what was it about that day that everybody seemed to think it was so great? It was just another reminder that: "Tomorrow you have school, and then you'll have to spend 8 hours every day, for five days, smiling at people, being polite, trying not to sucker punch somebody, and stress about work. Isn't that exciting?!"

I always dreaded Sundays, and tomorrow would be Monday. Anyway, Ann had chased me down after I had walked out on the party, and coaxed me into agreeing to have brunch together to say sorry, even if it wasn't her fault that I had gotten wet. She just knew that the only reason I had come was because of Jay, that she was one of the causes which lead me to the party.

If I hadn't had been standing by the pool, I would've gone over to Jay's house after the party and had a sleepover. Then we would've gone out for breakfast in the morning and do stupid stuff like we used to in middle school. Though hanging out with Ann wasn't bad. In fact, she was really funny, and polite. I just felt as though it wasn't my kind of tea. She was too extroverted and chirpy, all the things I used to be.. It felt as though she was another version of me, from an earlier time.

...

I sighed as I stared at my computer, reading an article to do with school work. The basis of it was a bad crisis in a close state near us, and I had searched for a while to find something interesting. Though that didn't stop me from clicking my tongue and staring at the screen then to the clock, then back to the screen. Once more to the clock. I felt empty. I didn't have to do this right now. It could wait, but I couldn't help but feel like something bad would happen if I didn't do it now, and just let it sit there on my computer waiting to be done. Some mall had been quarantined and was on lock down. It's been about a week since the lock down started, & people said it was due to some sort of sickness that was being contained inside of the mall. Intriguing? Definitely.

But not intriguing enough to catch my attention for long. I saved the website to my history and shut the computer, leaning against the back of my chair and exhaling slowly. My stare was met with near darkness. The only light that had been in my room was on the computer screen and the window. And even then, dusk was falling outside & it was just a little past sunset, a small sliver of light among the horizon.

My phone buzzed and I picked it up, to see it was Jay who had texted me. "How are you?" It read. I never really replied to texts anymore. Or phone calls really.. And I wasn't going to start now.

Sucking on my hoodie tassels, I just sat there, eventually getting up and just lying down onto the bed, letting the darkness retrieve me.

...

School was boring. It was always boring though, so that wasn't what I was worried about. What I was worried about was the fact that every turn I took it felt as though trained eyes were watching me.

I had a hunch to who it was, and I was right.

"Hey- Stephen!" He yelled from behind as he jogged up, me ignoring him as I went faster.