"Did they drug me?'
Y/n felt his breath hitch, and a painful lump formed in his throat at the possibility that his childhood best friends had gone out of their way to actively drug him. he started sniveling tears.
'No, No! Not now!'
The boy gripped his hair to try and replace the overflowing emotions of melancholy with pain, but it only seemed to worsen his cause. As all his sorrow threatened to spill overboard, an idea blossomed in his mind, stopping him from falling into the pit of a panic attack.
"That cafe." Y/n dropped his hands and stared wide-eyed and bloodshot at the ground before him. 'If I can meet Alex again I can ask if there are cases of people getting drugged... If I know if it's a reappearing occurrence at parties or any other, easy-to-access drug places, perhaps i can find out if they really put something in my drink... Cause there is no way they are gonna give me an answer if I ask.' The boy took a deep inhale to calm himself.
Y/n peeled the bandages around his head, if he was going out he wanted to avoid unneeded attention. After taking off the bandages the boy looked around his space and saw his bag in the corner, he walked up to it and opened it, he saw the bag of (favorite snack), he clenched his fists, Y/n felt tempted to throw them away out of petty spitefulness.
His inner voice and stomach fought against the urge, he was really hungry, so the boy opened the bag and began chewing on the contents. he walked past the mirror, glanced into it, and nearly had a heart attack, behind him, sitting on his bed, was Rachel Garcia. or at least, he thought so, he had only seen photos of her on the news, when she was smiling, her eyes gleaming, looking into the camera.
Now she just appeared dull, a sorrowful expression plastered on her face. Y/n turned around to gape at his bed, but no one was there, he stumbled back and began shaking. 'I'm hallucinating, I'm hallucinating, I'm hallucinating, it must be whatever they gave me.'
The boy staggered to his school uniform and put it on before swiftly grabbing his bag and fleeing the room 'I need to get out of this house.' The boy almost flew down the stairs, temporarily forgetting about the second resident of the household. He put on his shoes and jogged out of the house to his desired destination.
.
.
.
Y/n reached the cafe and walked in, the sound of the bell sounded through the cafe, perking up the ears of the cashier, and she gave him a smile to which he returned the gesture. The male observed the space but couldn't see Alex anywhere. He really hoped the blond would show up today as well.
He ordered his drink and went to sit by the window the two had sat by the day before. Y/n took sips of his drink as he peered out the window. about ten minutes went by with no sign of Alex, But soon enough the bell of the store was heard and Y/n looked up to see the one he was waiting for. Alex.
The blond walked up to the cashier and ordered. He took his drink and turned around. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Y/n. The h/c haired waved to him. Alex walked up to him with a shocked look "Y/n, I didn't expect to see you here." He greeted and sat down opposite the h/c haired male.
"Yeah, I needed fresh air." Y/n admitted, "Couldn't sleep, huh?" Alex questioned, Y/n fidgled with his fingers breaking eye contact for a split second "Something like that..." The blond took a sip of his own drink and sent a downcast smile "I get that, I haven't been able to get the best sleep the past few months as well." Y/n caught on to the indication and nodded in understanding.
"I actually wanted to ask you a few questions if you don't mind?" Y/n carefully asked, Alex nodded his head "I don't mind, ask away." he approved. Y/n cleared his throat as he thought over the questions he wanted answers to.
"As there been cases of people getting..drugged or drug deals going around in town?"
Alex paused for a moment, registering Y/n's question before whistling "Deep.." Y/n pursed his lips "Sorry." He murmured, "No it's okay." Alex reassured and straightened his posture "When you mention it..." the blond put his knuckles against his jaw "There have been..frat parties, of sorts going around a while ago, there hasn't been one in months, what I know off." Y/n leaned closer toward the blond to take in each word.
"There were rumors, that there were..um...people, especially girls getting roofied, at the parties, Rumors that drugs like GHB, Rohypnol, and Ketamine were being dealt specifically for assault. It has never been proved, no one has reported being roofied or assaulted at frat parties." Alex crossed his arms leaning back in his chair.
"I remember dad and mom never let me or Avery go to any of those parties because of the rumors, Avery was not happy with it, she wanted to go to one, but couldn't, the opposing meanings caused fights between Avery and our mom sometimes," Alex concluded taking a sip of his drink.
Y/n scrunched up his face as the new information sunk in "That's...a lot. and there were never cases of people reporting getting roofied?" Alex shook his head "No, there were just rumors. People losing consciousness, feeling dizzy, or vomiting, that stuff. But there was no sign that they got spiked"
"..okay, thank you for answering." Y/n thanked. "No problem. Hey, Maybe we should exchange numbers so if you have any other questions you could text me, instead of hoping we'll meet up again by conscience." Alex said. Y/n reached into his pocket to grab his phone but felt nothing 'Damn it.' Y/n bit the inside of his cheek in embarrassment "Sorry... I forgot my phone at home."
"No problem, you know what? I'll write my number up so you can text me when you want." Alex grabbed a napkin and a pen, wrote his number up, and handed it to the h/c haired boy "Thanks." Y/n stuffed the napkin in his pocket.
The two continued chatting until it eventually was that to pack up their stuff and walk to their school.
.
.
Alex and Y/n reached the school, they decided to go at a reasonable time so they would show up when other students also started pouring in. This was mostly Y/n's suggestion, He didn't wish to accidentally stumble into any of his childhood friends, he told himself he would avoid them to the best of his abilities, at least for today.
The two males partnered as they each went to their lockers. Y/n got to his lockers and grabbed his needed books. He peered back up from his bag into the mass of students and almost choked on his saliva. a few meters away he saw Elio, he was talking to someone Y/n couldn't see due the other students blocking his sight. But he was sure it was one of the others.
The boy didn't wait around to be spotted and whirled around to hurriedly walk away with his bag. 'Nope. No way, not happening.'
.
.
After his homeroom class, he had a class with Nova. Y/n walked into the class and didn't bother sparing the ash blond a glance and sat at the farthest away seat.
During the entirety of the lesson, Y/n could feel Nova's icy gaze on him but kept his resolve up and refused to meet his eyes.
After the class Y/n packed his bag up and moved out the classroom, that was until he heard Nova's voice "Y/n-" The h/c haired bolted away, not looking behind him for a second until his lungs eventually burned and he had to stop to catch his breath.
Y/n inhaled laborious gasps of air as he leaned against the wall, his chest burning from the unexpected exercise 'I do not care how embarrassing that looked, I am not talking to them today.' the male adjusted his bag on his shoulders, and went to his next class.
After that class, Y/n decided to go to his locker to put away his books to not carry the extra weight in his bag during lunch. But stopped in his tracks when he saw Nova leaning against his locker with a leg propped up 'Are you kidding me? Why is he at my locker?' Nova and Y/n locked eyes and stared at each other. Y/n broke up the stare by shifting his eyes downwards and briskly walking away.
'Do they know I'm avoiding them?'
Y/n reached the cafeteria and got in line with a tray. after he got his food and went up to Kiara and Clark and sat down.
"Hey, Y/n!" Kiara greeted happily. Y/n waved toward the girl and took a mouthful of his food "I have a question." Kiara and Clark directed their attention to Y/n "Have you guys heard of frat parties?" The two shared a look before Clark coughed into his fist. "Yes, a few months ago, this guy, named Brandon would throw them like every week, everyone could come," he explained.
"Have you guys ever gone to one?" The brunette shook his head. "No, frat parties are not our thing, it's filled with drunkards and incels." Clark rolled his eyes to emphasize his disdain. Y/n hummed "Have you guys heard rumors about people getting roofied?" The pair once more shared a look "No, we haven't heard about anything like that." Kiara mumbled
Y/n furrowed his brows, there was something about Kiara's tone that didn't make sense. But he chose to dismiss it, for now.
Timeskip
School ended and Y/n stood by the school gate kicking the peddles on the ground as his only entertainment. Soon the bus was seen coming from the horizon. Y/n stepped into the vehicle and took a seat at the window. 'I wonder if mom is home. She has been working a lot recently.' He sighed and glimpsed out at the passing scenery 'What am I gonna do tomorrow? i can't avoid them forever.'
The bus came to a stop at his home and the boy thanked the driver as he went out. Yn walked up to his front door and unlocked it. The male had expected his mother to still be at work, so when he saw the older woman sitting at the dining table with two cups of tea, he was left speechless.
When the older woman noticed him, she smiled warmly "Oh hey dear, come have a seat!" she gestured toward the chair opposite her. Y/n took off his shoes and put down his bag, making a perplexing expression as he moved into the living room.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work, Mom?" He asked sitting down "I took a day off." Y/n tilted his head "A day off? why?" His mother made a regretful face "I..feel bad for working so much lately." she revealed.
Y/n gave his mother an incredulous look before he regained his posture "Mom.. you don't have to feel bad for doing your job, you're doing your best to stop a serial killer. and help loved ones of the victims." Y/n assured.
The woman gave him a sad smile. "Thank you, Y/n..." She nodded but her tone indicated she didn't seem to completely believe the statement.
Meanwhile
Harper was walking to her car, school had ended and she was done with her after-school curriculum. The parking lot was empty apart from a few other cars and her own.
The girl reached into her purse to get her car keys while she was digging around her bag, her ears picking up a pair of footsteps behind her and she stopped to concentrate on the sound. But before she could swirl around to see who it was someone grabbed her and covered her mouth and nose with a cloth.
Harper started to thrash around in the hold but it was futile. A strange scent started to go up her nose and she felt herself dozing off. With one last struggle, she fell limp.
Her consciousness slipped away.
......[WARNING GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF TORTURE].......
Harper woke up sluggishly, blinking her eyelids heavily, She tried to move her limbs, but couldn't This was when confusion started to form in her mind. She tried moving her arms again but to no avail, they wouldn't budge. Suddenly, the girl was wide awake. She looked down at her form and noticed she was strapped to a chair. Harper tried to scream but she was gagged, preventing her from making any sounds apart from muffled cries of help.
There was one dim light bulb above her, highlighting the dark room she was in. A few meters away, she noticed a table, and when she saw the items on it, her face turned white.
a scalpel, a hammer, knives, a lighter, a can of gasoline, and other trinkets.
'What the hell?'
a slam of a door was heard and Harper bolted upright. from the darkness emerged someone, They were wearing all black with leather gloves on, a hood pulled over their head, a dirty beige mask, covering their face.
Harper felt a shiver go up her spine, she knew whoever stood before her, wasn't there to help.
The person remained motionless for some time, staring at Harper. They finally moved when Harper began to struggle with her restraints and scream into the gag. They approached the table, gliding a gloved hand over the tools as though they were considering which one to pick up. their palm came to rest on the scalpel, they picked it up and examined it over,
Harper let out a stifled sob, feeling scared, Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes The stranger gave her a glance whilst tilting their head. They stepped towards Harper, holding the scalpel in their hands.
They stood looming over the girl, much to her surprise, a gloved hand reached up to her face and she felt a thumb glide over her damp cheek, Harper flinched, not only because of the seemingly gentle touch but also the cold leather.
But before the girl could react, a slash was heard The individual had stabbed the scalpel into her cheek they dragged the tool through her skin from her cheek to her mouth, creating a huge wound
Harper let out a piercing scream, or at least tried to, the gag prevented any actual sound from coming out, preventing anyone from hearing her apart from her attacker. A hand grabbed her chin and pulled her head up to look at the stranger in the eyes. They stayed silent.
Harper didn't know what was scarier, the fact that she was kidnapped and was most likely about to be mauled—or that she didn't know this person's motives.
Whatever it was, Harper didn't appreciate this creep getting all touchy with her.
So, mustering up all her strength, she headbutted them. The scalpel was removed from her wound, and blood was dripping out. The person stumbled, and Harper swore she saw their mask shift from the hit. They dropped the bloody scalpel to the ground and swiftly turned their back to Harper.
Their hands went up to their mask to adjust it. A few moments passed with Harper's kidnapper staying still, after what seemed like an eternity, they dropped their hands and glanced back. Harper gulped, she could feel the anger seeping from the pores of their body despite their seemingly calm composure.
The stranger slowly bent down to pick up the scalpel and walked up to Harper. Fingers reached around her eye socket, pulling her eyelids wide open. Harper started thrashing around as the scalpel slowly neared her eye.
She screamed as the scalpel started gouging her eye out. blood sputtered out and small veins pulled out together with her eyeball, making a gross gushing sound as her choroid separated from her organ leaving the spongy layer bloody and exposed.
It hurt so much and the girl couldn't do anything to stop the pain.
The maniac loomed over her silently before moving back to the table and putting down the bloodied scalpel to pick up a small knife. They slowly approached the scared girl. Their hand shot up to the gag and ripped it off.
But just as Harper was about to scream, They stabbed the knife into her mouth, The edge of the blade reaching her uvula, the knife started moving, creating a gaping wound in her palate to her gums. blood filled her mouth and she started coughing violently.
once more the stranger moved to the table, this time picking up a hammer. they strode back to the girl, lifted up the hammer, and let it down. striking her in the kneecap, a shattering sound was heard and Harper screamed out in agony. They raised the hammer once more. Her other kneecap shattered.
They watched as the girl cried in agony. after a few seconds, they lifted the hammer again, hitting her in the shoulder blade. raised again, hit in the ulna bone. After that, they smashed the hammer on the side of her skull, forcing her head to jerk to the side.
The girl was left a sobbing mess. The individual went over to the table one last time and picked up a gasoline can and a lighter. Harper was bawling and spitting out blood at the same time. the stranger uncorked the gasoline can and started to spill the substance on her.
Harper coughed from the scent of the gasoline and felt it run into her mouth, making her gag from the sensation. Her hair was wet and was dripping on the ground.
drip.
It almost felt like a countdown to her demise.
drop
The stranger flicked on the lighter and stared at the moving flame. Harper caught on to the implication and started shaking her head slowly "N-no plea-" Too late.
They threw the lighter onto the girl and it ignited into a burst of flames. Harper's agonizing screams were heard as her skin started melting off her skin.
The individual took a step back to avoid the inferno and stared at it in awe.
Soon the screams died out and only the scent of flesh and death was left behind.
Author note: don't ask me how i managed to publish a new chapter within 24 hours, i just did. I'm just built different like that. jkjk :,)