Splintered Illusion

» fourteen «

My shoulders ached from the weight of my backpack on my back as I walked to school. The straps dug into the tender flesh of my shoulders and my bruises practically screamed in pain. It didn't help that I'd have extra work to do for missing school for practically a week.

Exhaling heavily, I play with a strand of my hair and scan the street around me. It seemed oddly deserted and an uneasy feeling washed over me when I heard the sound of a branch snapping behind me. Eyes wide, I spun around, only to find the place behind me empty. A breeze whipped past me and I frowned, ignoring the feeling in the pit of my stomach as I turned back around to continue my walk to school.

The paranoid feeling of being watched didn't go away, but I tried my best to ignore it and get to school as fast as possible. Only when I reached school grounds did a wave of relief wash over me, the sound of noisy high schoolers bringing an odd sense of comfort to my heart.

"Hey, Polly," a voice called from behind me.

I turned to find a flushed Owen running towards, waving his arms in the air manically. I chuckled when he finally halted in front of me, trying to catch his breath. "Hi, Owen."

"Jesus, Polly. I've been chasing after you ever since you got here. You have super speed or something?" he asked, watching as I smiled at the irony.

There was no way I had super speed. "Sorry," I apologized sheepishly.

"Come on, you wanna walk to class?" he asks, waving off my apology and pulling me after him rather than waiting for my reply. "Did you know that in Japan, letting a Sumo wrestler make your baby cry is considered good luck?"

My eyes widened. "Really?" When he nodded, I giggled. "What? Did you get that from an anime?"

"Yup," Owen replied, not ashamed to admit it at all.

My stomach somersaulted when I caught sight of Puck making his way to class as me and Owen and entered together. When he saw us, a flash of hurt flickered in his eyes before understanding dawned in them. I watched as he quickly shook a lock of his hair into his face, settling into our normal bench.

I was thankful when I saw that the seat next to Owen's was occupied and quickly made my way to the bench Puck sat at, taking a seat next to him. When he looked up, I smiled at him tentatively and whispered, "Hi."

"Hi," he responded, staring at me with those dark eyes. "Did you eat?" he whispered to me midway through the lesson.

I bit my lip. No, I didn't. "Yeah." I nodded my head.

Puck didn't seem convinced. But before he could say anything, the bell rang, loud and shrill and the teacher entered the room, her glasses perched on the edge of her nose and ready to take roll call.

As soon as she was done, Puck grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my seat. My eyes widened and I shook my head but he ignored it, dragging me out of the classroom, the teacher not even bothering to look up as she started the lesson. Every student except for Owen looked away. He sent me a confused look and I shook my head, sending him a reassuring smile in return.

"Puck, what are you doing? I have to be in class. Where are you taking me?" I asked as he pulled me down the empty hallway, his strides long and determined as I struggled to keep up.

Puck pursed his lips, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "You'll see," he replied vaguely, turning into a stairwell and pulling me up with him as he starts to ascend.

We went up and up and up. All the way until we reached the end of the stairs and he pushed open the door leading to the rooftop. My breath caught in my throat when I looked over at the ground - we were so high up.