"Not only that, but the bags underneath your eyes have only worsened..." Billy anxiously pointed out; placing his fork down so he could gently tip the top of your chin up a tiny bit. "Have you noticed...?"
"Are you having trouble sleeping...?" Stu wondered worriedly, clasping your right hand between both of his and staring at you with intensity. "Do you have insomnia too...?"
"Well, not exactly..." You sheepishly mumbled, feeling awkward and trying to smooth over the truth somehow. "It's just, what with moving house, finding the unwanted admirers, and also keeping up with my studies, all at the very same time...It's proving to be pretty hard."
"I can't imagine..." Cadence nervously spoke, her eyes widening after she took in everything you'd previously just said. "Perhaps you should go to the University's Nurse's Office—"
"No!" You declined stubbornly, raising your voice and causing your three friends to suddenly look hurt. Shit. "I mean, I appreciate it, but no thank you. I'm...I'm fine. My roommates will catch the unwanted admirers, I'll catch up on my studies, and everything will go back to the way it was. I...I promise."
"You don't sound so sure." Stu stated softly, his kindhearted expression causing you to smile and grow shy all at once.
"Don't worry about it..." You hastily replied; pushing your exhaustion to the side before pulling your hand carefully out of Stu's. "I guess I just don't get why people would still want to stalk me, that's all. I'm not used to being put on a pedestal."
"You've gotta be KIDDING me...!" Amber exploded wildly, dropping her cutlery onto her tray while she stared at you with a surprised look. "There's TONS of reasons why a person would stalk you, (Y/n)...! You're like, the prettiest-looking girl in our year...! Not to mention how kind you usually are around everybody."
"I...I don't know about all of that..." You lightly laughed, trying to brighten up the atmosphere and push it away from you. "I just think people give me far more credit than I deserve."
"Nah, you're just super-duper sweet, y'know...?" Billy complimented comfortingly, shooting you a soothing smile as he finished his food and attempted to cheer you up. "I mean, you offered to help us with our cinematography studies...gave us your phone number even when you didn't particularly want to...All of these things were really really nice of you, (Y/n)."
"These things were no big deal...really..." You timidly trailed off, finishing your meal as well before tidying up your tray. "They were just offers, that's all...Besides, you were only trying to help with the whole phone-number thing..."
"Speaking of which, did something happen to your cellphone...?" Stu asked nonchalantly; his question causing shock to spread across your face like lightning after your mind flashed back to Saturday night.
—
With a hysterical scream, you flung your phone across the kitchen and completely lost it; holding either side of your head whilst also collapsing to your knees. H...How...? How was it that this person kept on finding your number...? And...And so easily too...? No doubt about it, this person was the unwanted admirer. But...But wait a second...Didn't Michael and the others say that there was two of them...? Just what was going on here...? Were you losing your mind...!? Struggling to keep your composure, you carried on gazing at the ground; terror continuing to consume you until the others stepped in.
"(Y/n)...? (Y/n) darling, what's wrong...? What's the matter...?" "What happened...?"
"Yeah, what the FUCK was THAT all about?"
"Don't you have any amount of tact or understanding of others, Krueger...?"
"T...They...M...My phone...M...My number..." "They're...They're the same. I-I...I didn't think they were...the same...but t-they...they are..."
"Who's the same...? Just who have you been talking to, (Y/n)...?"
"I...I don't know..." "Really, I...I don't...They...They wouldn't tell me..."
"And just how long has this been going on, exactly...?"
"Well, um...Maybe since Friday...?" "Friday afternoon...?"
"So, if I'm correct, you've been interacting with this individual for a total of forty-eight hours...?"
"Not entirely..." "They just kept switching numbers...With the same creepy voice...and I didn't know how to go about it...Because blocking their number didn't work - they'd just use another one - and they...they just wouldn't leave me alone...!"
"Shh...Shh...Try not to stress your body out too much." "That certainly won't do your mental state any favours, health-wise or otherwise."
"But their threatening remarks...W-What they said to me...It was...It was just awful." "I should've just kept hanging up. But...But their calls were just becoming more and more exhausting..."
"(Y-Y/n)-!?" "I-Is everything a-alright-!? A...Are you okay...!?"
"N...Norman...? I...I don't understand...Michael said you were upstairs..." "What are you doing back down here...?"
"I-I was, b-but I...I was just so, SO w-worried about you...a-and you s-screamed too...!"
"I...Well, I uh...I was just startled..." "I'm sorry...I-I didn't mean to cause a scene...I-It was just...What with my phone and all—"
"Y-Your phone...?" "W-What about it...? D...Did s-something h...happen w-with it...?"
"Don't worry about it..."
"Hmm...Well, there is one way we can stop them from toying with your phone number and keep them from messing with you altogether."
"There is...? How so...?"
"Krueger, I assume you know where I'm coming from...?"
"Wait, where're you coming from...?" "I don't understand...what are you talking about...?"
"Say, Princess~?" "Answer me something~"
"Alright, what...?" "What do you want me to answer...?"
"Why didn't the skeleton have a mobile~?"
"Wait Michael, DON'T—!"
"Because he had no BODY to talk to~!"
"NO...!" "That was a TERRIBLE idea...!"
"How so...? It stopped them from communicating with you, didn't it...?" "So what's the problem...?"
"What's the problem? WHAT'S the problem!?" "That was the ONLY way left that I had to speak to my Mom! Not to mention Cadence and the others!"
"I...I'm sorry, (Y-Y/n)..." "B-But...But it...it's for the b-best..."
"How on EARTH was that for the BEST...!?"
"Please don't fret, mia amata, this'll all be over soon. Besides, Michael didn't mean it out of malice."
"B...But all of my contacts...! M-My Mom...! M...My friends...!" "How am I supposed to reach out to them now...?"
"As soon as we've caught the unwanted admirers, we'll buy you a new phone."
"What, you expect me to have memorised every single phone number in there...!?" "Are you nuts...!? I can't remember that many...!"
"Relax, relax, He's most likely already taken care of that. Haven't you, Michael...?" "So you see? Everything's just fine. There's no need to worry."
"You've got to be kidding me..." "How are my friends and relatives supposed to recognise my new number...?"
"I'm sure you'll be able to text or call each person and convince them that it's you." "Won't you? If not, Michael's probably more than happy to break into each and everyone's household, as to update their phone number information."
"T-That WON'T be necessary...!"
—
"What...? No...!" You quickly denied, doing your best to lie and hide what had actually happened whilst you hurriedly stood up also. "Why would you think that...?"
"Oh, no reason." Stu spoke breezily, his pleasant behaviour still showing while he stood up alongside Billy. "I just tried calling you last night, and the phone-line went dead."
"I tried calling you last night too." Billy added awkwardly, "But nobody picked up. Did you get a new phone or something...?"
"Yeah, I couldn't text you either..." Amber joined in with uneasiness, holding her lunch tray as she became rather curious. "Did something happen...?"
"No, no, no...!" You exclaimed in alarm, your anxiety rising while you struggled to smooth over what Michael had done on Saturday. "I-It's just...It's just..."
"Did you break your phone...?" Laura suspiciously speculated, collecting her things whilst the bell immediately rang for your last psychology lesson.
"Did you change numbers...?" Cadence asked with surprise, not expecting you to have switched numbers so suddenly. "Is this because of the unwanted admirers...?"
"Yes...! Yes...! That's exactly it...!" You answered stressfully; faking a faint smile before hurrying over to the end of the cafeteria's tray-line. "Sorry, I didn't bring it up - or tell you guys sooner - but it was just so sudden, y'know...? My roommates also thought it would be best if I didn't share my number with anyone right now. At least, not until they - or the authorities - have caught the unwanted admirers yet."
"Oh..." With a hesitant tone, Cadence replied; sending you a pleasant smile in the process as she placed her tray at the end of the line and caught up to you. "That's understandable..."
"Perhaps we could have your new phone number sometime in the next few days, though...?" Laura decided politely, her calm expression and casual smile of her own throwing you off completely.
"Yeah...! I mean, we're friends, aren't we...?" Clapping her hands together, Amber grew excited; your third friend also dropping her lunch tray at the end of the line as she joined your side. "We could help like - I don't know - cheer you up, give you some composure, things like that...?"
"That would be lovely, but uh...I'm afraid that'll have to wait..." You regretfully replied, glancing at the clock on the wall and realising that you were all beginning to be late for class. "Sorry everyone...Our afternoon psychology session has already started, and I'd rather not miss out on any more important information. Especially not for the upcoming exam."
"But, (Y/n)—!"
"The exam isn't even all that serious—!"
"What are you acting so stressed-out for—?"