Kris' POV
I looked at the girl who was darting her eyes everywhere, searching for me. The same girl who started all this "bullshit" as Mark said it.
That guy's slowly starting to be violent, I tell you. His face earlier could make a serial killer run away with his tail between his legs.
Anyway, this girl in front of me is not the girl I dated years ago. She is not the girl I liked 3 years ago. What made her change anyways?
I shook my head, not believing that I'm even concerned with that matter at this moment. I don't really have to worry about that. All I care about right now is how to teach her a lesson after scaring Kylie like that.
"K-kris?" She stuttered. I grinned evilly as I heard her stutter. That's right. Be scared. No one can help you right now. I made sure no one would pass by this part of the building. Not even a single soul.
I waved my hand to make myself visible to her. I stood in front of her, leaving a few inches of space between us. She gasped as she stepped backwards and hit her back against the wall.
"Why are you so afraid of me, Crystal?" I sent her a lopsided grin.
She was breathing heavily. "You're not real!"
"But I am real." I smirked.
"Y-you won't hurt me!"
I feigned an innocent look. "Oh, how are you so sure of that?"
"Y-you like me! You promised me you would never hurt me!" She gave me a confident look.
Yes, I remember telling her that I would never hurt her. That I would beat myself to death if I ever hurt her. Too bad, I'm already dead.
I laughed sarcastically. "How naive, Crystal. Promises are meant to be broken just like you said," I paused. "After I caught you cheating on me with my best friend."
She shook her head sideways and smiled. "I know you still like me. You wouldn't still be in this world if you already moved on. You even killed yourself just because I cheated on you."
I was stunned at what she said. I killed myself? Just because of her? I..I don't believe it. That's impossible. I'm not that weak.
She walked towards me, plastering a sympathetic look on her face. "You see, Kris? That's how much you love me. You even took your own life just because you found out that there was someone else."
She then stood on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear. "Although you're already dead, you're still tied to me. That is how much you wanted us to stay together. You couldn't leave me, and that's why you're still here, aren't you?"
I stayed quiet and thought over what she just said. Is that why I couldn't cross over? Because of this girl? Maybe she's right. Maybe I can't get over their betrayal? Maybe I'm still stuck in the past? Maybe I still have feelings for her? Maybe, maybe not.
I slowly brought my head down to her level, not breaking eye contact. In return, she looked at me with hooded eyes. She slowly closed her eyes as I keep closing the distance. I just stopped when our noses were almost touching. Fortunately, she can't touch me.
When she opened her eyes, I smirked. "Keep telling yourself that, Crystal. I don't even like you that way anymore. I wouldn't have shown my face to you or even go near you if you didn't make fun of someone I care about."
I stepped back, satisfied with her appalled face.
"Who is it?" She asked or more like demanded after a few seconds of composing herself.
"Hmm, you guess." I smirked.
She glared at me. "Is it Jane Brown? Hailey Smith? Macy Williams?"
She didn't get any reaction from me, so she went on about the people she bullied until something finally dawned on her.
"Kylie Livingston..." she breathed out, eyes wide in realization.
"What is so special about her?! She's just a fake! She just befriended Mark to get people's attention!" She had this crazed look while ranting.
I wanted to strangle her right then and there, but I stopped myself. I would probably regret it later.
"How do you know her anyways?! Why do you and Mark care about her?! Why do you guys like her?!" She looked like a dog with rabies that's ready to bite.
I looked away. "I-I don't like her. Mark is the one who likes her."
She sneered. "You said you wouldn't have shown your face to me if I didn't make fun of someone you care about."
"That doesn't mean I like her." I argued.
She stared at me, as if she knew something I didn't. As if she could see right through me, and when she looked like she got the answer to our argument, she looked away gloomily.
I looked at her, taken aback at the sight before me. I was seeing something I didn't thought I would ever see again. The old Crystal. Her face had no trace of evilness.
Honestly, Crystal was really beautiful. She looked like an angel with her blonde hair flowing in waves, ocean blue eyes, and smooth olive skin.
However, her personality ruined her "angel" image. Right now though, she looked genuinely sad about something. Her eyes held so much sadness in them, as if she had lost the battle. She looked like she was trying her best not to cry in front of me.
But maybe that's just my imagination because as soon as I caught a glimpse of that gloomy face of hers, it was gone. A furious look on her face appeared instead.
For a second, I actually thought it's best to run away. She looked scarier than that old lady ghost I fought long ago. Remember her? No? Well, I don't care. I defeated her anyways. Bwahaha!
"She's such a bitch! One is just not enough for her! She already seduced and manipulated Mark! Not you, too! You belong to me! I won't let her control you! I won't let that manipulating wench take you away from me! Never!"
Something snapped in me when she bad-mouthed Kylie. That was the last straw.
"You don't have the right to insult someone who's so much better than you!" The lights flickered as my anger rose up. I walked intimidatingly towards her like a predator.
"You didn't even give a fvck when I died. You even made fun of me giving up my life, and now, you don't want me to be taken by Kylie because I belong to you?! Bullshit!"
Her eyes widened as she started coughing. Her hands went to her throat as if someone's choking her. However, I didn't care. I didn't care when she dropped to the floor while still struggling to breathe. I didn't care when she started crying in front of me.
I looked down at her and knelt. I looked straight in her eyes and said through gritted teeth, "Listen here, Crystal. I don't belong to you."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "You gave up on me! I gave you everything you wanted! I did everything you wanted me to do! Because I liked you! I liked you, thinking that you would do the same. That you felt the same!"
I paused before scoffing. "How naïve I was."
I stared at her coldly. "I didn't see it coming, you know? I never thought that my Crystal would be able to do that behind my back. Now, you don't expect me to return to your side and happily say that I still belong to you after what you've done, do you?"
I felt my lips starting to form a smile when her face started turning blue. Suddenly, Kylie's worried face flashed in my mind.
"Kris, this is not you." Her voice echoed inside my head. I froze for a few seconds before blinking, realization dawning on me. I abruptly stood up and hastily backed away from Crystal's unmoving body. It seemed that she fainted because of lack of air.
"W-what was I doing?" I whispered absentmindedly.
I glanced at my hands and looked in Crystal's direction. "Was I...was I trying to kill her?"
Kylie's POV
It had been fifteen minutes since we drove off from school, and I have no idea where we're going right now.
"Um..." I mumbled.
"Hmm?" Mark glanced in my direction.
I turned to him. "Where are we going?"
He grinned sheepishly. "I...don't know."
I blinked many times before asking incredulously. "So, we were just driving aimlessly this whole time?"
"I guess so?" He rubbed the back of his neck before turning his head to look at me. "Did I make you upset?"
My eyes widened when I realized he wouldn't turn his head and focus on the road if I didn't answer him.
"No, you didn't! Now, focus on the road!" I accidentally hit his face hard. I was just trying to turn his face for him to look ahead.
"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Did it hurt?" I asked in panic mode.
He was pouting while rubbing the spot where I hit him. "You know, you could've said in my face that you're upset with me. You don't have to hit me that hard."
"No! It was an accident! I didn't do it on purpose, I swear!" I shook my head vigorously.
He suddenly guffawed, clutching his stomach. I looked at him weirdly.
Should I call 911 right now?
I bit the insides of my cheek to stop myself from smiling. Even though Mark sounded like a horse or a donkey when he's laughing, his laugh was still contagious.
"What? What's funny?" I asked, staring at him with a weird face.
He wiped the tears in his eyes before glancing at me. "Hey, wanna go somewhere?"
I just frowned confusedly at him in response.
~~~~~
"Wow," I gaped in front of the entrance of the amusement park.
"This is the amusement park we went to. Unfortunately, you weren't able to come that time." He smiled at me.
"Oh," I mumbled.
"Come on. Let's go inside." He grabbed my hand and led me inside.
~After a few minutes~
"So, which one do you wanna try next?" Mark asked as he looked at me expectantly. We already rode kamikaze and pirate ship which are not as scary as the infamous roller coaster.
"Roller coaster!" I squealed excitedly.
I saw him gulp nervously, but he still smiled at me and said, "Let's go!"
We were strapped securely on our seat when I suddenly felt uneasy. Actually, I felt it a few minutes ago, but I just shrugged it off, thinking it might just go away. However, it didn't.
Is this the time when I should decide if I want to ride this dangerous thing and just let it lead me to my doom or escape my miserable fate?
This imagination came from a movie where they were meant to die, but they escaped the first attempt that will get them killed and from then on, they were killed one by one in a brutal way. Therefore, I conclude that you can't escape death, so I decided to just remain calm and face my destiny.
The car started to move, and I braced myself for the incoming heart attack and hyperventilation. I got a glimpse of Mark who was seated beside me. He was closing his eyes tightly, as if praying to God to save him from his inescapable death.
The ride finally came to an end. All the passengers stood up and left the ride with shaky legs. Except the two.
"Hey, you two–Ahh!" The guard screamed.
"Ah, these two didn't make it. Get their skeletons out of there!" Another guard ordered the others.
"Sir, we can't! No matter how hard we pull, their fingers are stuck to the harnesses like glue. We can't also break their bones because of some unknown reasons."
"What?! Then, just put their tombstone in front of them!" The guard ordered his fellow guards.
R.I.P
Kylie Livingston
February 5, 19XX-October 21, 20XX
"You will remain in our hearts forever." #foreverisnotreal
R.I.P
Mark Stanley
May 8, 19XX-October 21, 20XX
"You will remain in our hearts forever." #foreverisreal
I snapped back into reality and shouted. "Oh, my God! Wait, wait, wait! Don't start it yet!"
The operators looked at me with confusion and irritation.
I inhaled deeply. "I quit."
~~~
"What happened back there, Kylie?" Mark asked in concern.
"Sorry," I looked down, embarrassed for what I did. How should I explain this? That I just imagined that we both died that's why I decided I changed my mind?
On the serious note though, I think the uneasiness I felt was what triggered for me to imagine such things. My uneasiness suddenly skyrocketed to the point where I imagined that Mark and I died?
"Wow, my imagination skills must be in a whole new level." I mumbled to myself.
"Hey, why don't we eat something first?" His smile was so bright that it was hard to say no.
We spotted a cotton candy cart, and excitedly ran to it. I went to a stop when I saw that the line of customers was very long.
It seemed that Mark was spotted by a group of girls. That's why he was delayed and was currently running at full speed towards me.
"Why did you stop?!" I heard Mark shout from behind.
"The line is very–Ahhh!" Before I knew it, he was dragging me by the hand, at full speed too, towards the line.
When we finally queued up, I was breathing heavily, as if I just ran across America like Forrest Gump did. But in Forrest's case, he didn't even get tired of running.
I glanced at the person who decided to run like he was being chased by a group of cannibals, and didn't even break a sweat. Oh, I forgot. He's one of the jocks.
Mark's eyes twinkled while staring at the cotton candy being served. "What color do you wanna buy? The pink one or the blue one? Mine is blue!"
"I want the blue one, too." I answered before frowning at the line before us.
The question is will there be enough blue cotton candy for all of the customers?
"Don't worry. I already calculated the amount being served per person and the remaining cotton candy. We'll make it." He said with confidence.
I stared at him in awe. When did he even calculate those?
He started chanting, "Blue, blue, blue" creepily. I just shook my head at him.
A few minutes later, there were only five servings left of the blue cotton candy. There were three customers who bought the blue ones. Only two servings left, and thank the Lord it was our turn to buy.
"Two of those blue cotton candy please." Mark smiled as the man handed him two sticks of the blue cotton candies. He offered me one, and I took it gratefully.
"I want the blue one, mommy!" A boy cried behind us.
"But there's none left, son. Let's just buy the pink one, okay?" The mother suggested.
"I want blue! Blue! Blue!" The kid cries as he jumped up and down.
What's with blue anyway? All of them just taste the same to me.
I saw Mark looking at his cotton candy sadly for three seconds before making his way to the crying boy.
"Here, kid. Take this. It's your favorite, right? Plus, it's free." Mark knelt in front of the boy and offered his cotton candy.
"Oh, no. You don't have to, young man." The mother shook her head in objection.
"It's okay. I don't really like blue cotton candy that much." Mark's smile was pretty convincing, so the woman let her son accept the candy.
Psh, doesn't like blue cotton candy, huh? He was chanting that ever since we fell in line.
Mark then returned to my side. The woman saw me, and said, "You have a very kind boyfriend. Don't let that kind of guy go. There's only a few of them left in this generation."
"N-no, it's–"
It's not the case. He's gay. He doesn't like women.
"Oh, you don't have to be shy. You two look good together." She smiled giddily. "You guys have a nice day, okay?"
She turned to her son. "What are you gonna say to him, El?"
"Thank you, big brother!" The boy, El, grinned ear-to-ear.
"Bye!" They waved at us whilst walking away.
I looked at Mark who was staring longingly at his cotton candy in the distance. I put my own cotton candy in front of his face. He blinked twice before looking at me questioningly.
"It seems that you really want the blue one, so I'll just give you mine." I shrugged.
It doesn't really matter to me if I don't get to eat this. It's his money anyway.
"Ah, no. I bought it for you, so you eat it." He insisted.
"Okay," I replied, quickly taking back my offering.
Suit yourself.
We walked around with me eating my cotton candy in an exaggerated way. You know, like in some food commercials. Even though the food is not that good, their expressions look like they're tasting heaven. Yeah, right.
I could see that Mark was having a hard time not giving in to his temptation. He was wearing a sour expression, his face all scrunched up. I was about to say that we could share when suddenly, I was feeling restless.
"Hey, could you hold this for a sec? I'll just go to the restroom." I pushed the cotton candy in his face and ran to the nearest bathroom.
I entered the cubicle and immediately check if it's the time of the month. You know, just in case that's the reason why I'm feeling restless, but no. It's not the time of the month.
I sighed loudly. "What could it be?"
What could be the reason for this? Is this some sort of premonition?
"Hey, did you know?" I heard a random girl ask from the outside of the cubicle.
"Know what?" Her friend said in a bored voice.
"That Kris, a former member of EXO, went back to Korea." The girl said excitedly.
Kris?
"Hmm," her friend hummed.
"This might mean something." The girl said, suddenly becoming a detective.
Why am I even listening to them? More importantly, Kris. Not the "former member of EXO", but the ghost one. Maybe something happened to him? I think that the reason why I'm feeling like this is because of him.
I hurriedly got out of the bathroom and made a beeline to Mark. I saw that he ate all of my cotton candy, but I didn't pay attention to that.
I grabbed his arms and said in a low voice, "I need to go home."
He looked shocked at first, then his face morphed into a concerned one. "Why? Are you sick? Should I take you to the hospital?"
"No!" I exclaimed, making the people walking around look at us.
I smiled apologetically before talking to Mark in a calm voice. "I just need some rest at home, okay?"
Mark, being an understanding person, just sighed and smiled tightly. "Okay."
We got inside his car and drive back home. I sighed as I leaned my head against the car's window.
"Are you really okay?" Mark questioned, sparing me a glance.
"Yeah," I replied shortly.
He was silent after that. He probably sensed that I was not in the mood to talk. Soon after, we arrived at our neighborhood. We stopped in front of my house, and before I even got to open the door, Mark locked it.
I turned to him, confused. "What...are you doing?"
He sighed before answering. "You know, if you have any problems, you can tell me. I'll be there to listen."
My eyes softened at what he had said. "I know. You're a good friend to me."
His face fell when I mentioned the word 'friend.'
"Wait, I have a question for you." I said. Just to confirm my assumption.
"Go ahead," he motioned for me to continue.
"Are you really gay?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
He opened and closed his mouth before scoffing softly. He stared at me in amusement, and incredulity. "You really thought that I'm gay? This whole time?"
"You're not?" My eyes widened in embarrassment.
Oh, no! I was going to write a fan fiction for his and Kris' love story. Oh, well. I can just imagine that both of them are gays since my imagination skill is in a whole new level.
Mark burst out laughing. "Of course not."
He stared at me for a while that I started to squirm. He then jokingly said, "Are you feeling well now? Shall we continue our date?"
Date? Was that a date?!
My hand shot up to my forehead, and I started pretending that I'm dizzy. "Oh, I think I'm going to puke. Thanks for the ride and sorry for the money you've used up for me today. Bye!"
I opened the car's door and waved at Mark without looking back. I immediately inserted the key from under the flower pot to the door of our house. I almost took a step back when I entered inside.
It's like the house was...lifeless all of a sudden. The atmosphere was very heavy and gloomy. Not to mention it's dark even though it's barely noontime.
"Kris?" I called out. The echo of my voice was the only reply I heard. I checked every room, but he was nowhere to be found.
Is he not around? But I can feel that he is somewhere inside this house. Wait, there's still a place I haven't checked yet. The attic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
I'm so so so so so so so sorrrrrryyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!! It's been a long time since I last updated. I was so busy with school, and when I was not busy and was willing to write, nothing comes to mind. Instead, unnecessary things and plots pop up in my head.
Also, I'm sorry for those who were notified that I updated the chapter yesterday? Was it yesterday? Anyway, it was because I accidentally hit the publish button, and I had to unpublish it right away for one reason. It's not finished yet.
I'm a terrible writer. After I was gone for a few months, I return with another cliffhanger. I'm sorry! Anyway, this chapter is consist of mostly Mark and Kylie moments. And I think that this chapter is kinda short. I'm very sorry for that!
I hope you understand that I may or may not update for a few months, but please bear with me. I'm very thankful for those who are anticipating for my updates. You guys kinda make me feel motivated but somehow pressured. Haha.
Anyway, thanks for waiting and reading! I'm sorry for any grammatical errors found. I don't proofread my works, so....
Bye! I shall return!