The sound of music filled the small room, digitized and repeating itself often as it looped endlessly. In the far corner, a student sat at her desk as she played the game she held, the black and white video footage failing to catch how her hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight that had been streaming through the window earlier in the day. Leaning forward, the young man reached out to run his hand down the monitor screen tenderly, achingly wishing he could touch her instead.
How easily this student had caught his attention over the months she had been attending the college he worked at. The smiles she sent to those who managed to worm their undeserving selves into her life, taking advantage of her kindness. How quiet she always was, speaking up only when she had to for lessons or to give advice to someone in need. Even how focused she would become on her games that she played when she had a free period, finding herself a quiet room to seclude herself in as the rest of the world faded around her.
Every video he had taken of her was treasured, the cameras he had hidden quietly around the campus cherished for their ability to capture glimpses into her life that he would otherwise miss as he tended to his job. Being the night janitor was both a blessing and a curse to him. Cursed because it kept him from seeing her more often, but a blessing because it is what had allowed him to meet her and be the one to offer assistance when she had fallen asleep playing games one evening.
He could still remember how his breath had caught when he found her, her eyes blinking in confusion as she looked about her, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth as she began yawning. Even the soft squeak she gave in surprise when she finally noticed him standing frozen in the doorway before he managed to shake off the shock that had overwhelmed him. He had stammered a little as he explained to her the situation she was in, locked in the building due to falling asleep in an unused room. At her panicked reaction, he had been quick to explain that he could let her out, her being lucky enough that he had found her during his shift so she would not be stuck overnight.
It was the smile she gave him, followed by a quick hug of gratitude, that had him hooked. Nobody had ever smiled like that to him before, few ever even noticing his good looks since he was a janitor. People didn't bother paying attention to him even when they did look, simply shaking their heads and muttering to each other at what a waste good looks were on someone like him, as if they thought he couldn't hear them or understand what they were saying. Like they thought he was stupid because of the job he held.
But at that moment, none of it had mattered. Nothing had mattered except the sound of her voice as she thanked him, soft and shy like the girl he had once dated in high school before she had moved away. He knew this girl wasn't her, knew the girl he had liked had moved far away and moved on years ago, but maybe this was a second chance for him.
One he was not about to let slip away so easily as the first had done.
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I sighed as I slid my game back into my bag, hefting it over my shoulder as I got ready to head to the next class I had. It sucked there wasn't a longer free period for me. I just know if I had another ten minutes that I would be able to figure out the final boss's special attacks and defeat him. Of course, that would also mean the game was over and I didn't have the money to buy a new one, so maybe it wasn't so bad that I had to wait until classes were over for the day.
Wandering my way through the halls, I thought about what game I hadn't played in long enough that it wouldn't be too boring playing it through again until I could save up enough money to get something new. Of course, this just made me think about what new games there were that had caught my eye recently.
By the time I got to class and sat down, I was mentally exhausted with all the thoughts of old games versus new games and was totally shocked when the teacher called out my name. Luckily, it was just attendance and not to answer a question on the board. Blushing in embarrassment at being caught unaware, I stuttered out a here, blushing even more at having stumbled in my speech as the class laughed at my fumble.
Placing my head face down on my desk, I wished for little more at that moment than to be back home where I could hide in my room and lose myself in my games.
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There had been another note inside my desk today, the third one this week now, although I hadn't noticed this one until class was over. Still no signature, but whoever it was had me beyond curious to find out who they were and why they were leaving me these notes. For over a month now I had been receiving small notes in my desk. Some days, it would be a simple 'Hello, (y/n). How are you today?' and other times it would be a comment on a grade I had gotten in class.
But today it had been a little different, a short poem that had been slipped inside the notebook I had forgotten to take home yesterday. It might not have been equal to Poe or Frost, but it had still made a blush creep across my face as I glanced around to make sure nobody was left in the class, watching me. I'm not sure if I was happy to see the room empty or sad that the person leaving these notes hadn't been there to show themselves at last.
Although, it was odd that they had used a printer to write the poem and not the usual ice blue ink they had seemed to prefer in the past. Maybe they had run out of ink?
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Hand firmly held against his chest, the teen let out a shaky breath, still unable to believe he had actually left the note for his longtime crush. If only he'd had the courage to stay there when he'd seen her head move to look around. But he was a step closer! He'd seen the blush on her cheeks and it gave him hope that he had a chance with her! Next time he would tell her how he feels in person!
Nodding to himself, the young man walked to his last class for the day, never noticing the cameras that hid among the shadows of the corners as they watched students come and go all day.
But then, nobody ever noticed the cameras.
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He pressed play on the video yet again, watching the blush tint her cheeks as she looked down to the note in her hands, scowling as he saw the boy hiding in the doorway duck out of sight when she looked up for just a moment. Switching to a different clip, he watched the same boy leaning against a wall down the hall from the classroom. The look of confidence slowly growing on the boy's face made the rage in Gray's chest burn.
Quickly turning the monitor off, he shifted everything back into place before exiting and locking the small room, heading swiftly to the offices upstairs. The floor was cold under his bare feet but he really didn't care, not as long as he got to walk the same floor that his beloved (y/n) walked.
It was not long before he was unlocking the door leading to the office he was looking for, where all the student information was kept. Everything about each of them could be found here, from their grades and school history to where they lived, it was all in the files this office held. All you needed to access them was the right password.
Sitting in the chair, he pulled the keyboard towards him after turning on the computer, waiting for it to boot up as he stared at the blank screen. He gave a cold smirk as the screen finally showed the computer was loading, the school logo soon appearing in front of him before he began typing.
Above a bookshelf to the side of the desk, hidden behind a metal vent, a camera watched everything he did.
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Classes had been canceled for the day, the teachers wanting to give everyone a chance to deal with the sudden death of one of the students. Rumors flew that it had been everything from suicide to depression, no one really sure what had happened. All I knew was that everyone was slowly being lead into the counselors' offices to "talk about" their feelings.
Although I was sad that a student had died, whatever the cause had been, I had yet to even hear about who it was. I mean, sure I had heard their first name, but do they even realize how many people there were in this college that could have the same name? It's not like Tom is that rare of a name in this area, knowing at least three guys in my own classes that had that name.
At that thought, my stomach dropped, realizing that it could very well be one of the guys I knew. So what if I hadn't really known any of them very well, mostly talking to them only to help during a class project or if they were talking about one of the games I had played or was interested in. Just the thought that someone I had shared a class with each day could have died suddenly hit me like a fist slamming into my gut.
Feeling my knees ready to give out, I sat down on the nearest place available, a plastic chair next to the water fountain.
"Are you okay, (y/n)? Hey!" I heard a frantic voice call out to me, dark hair swimming before my eyes moments before everything went black.
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Although it felt like hours had passed by the time I woke up, it turned out to only be a few minutes. The school nurse had been more than happy to rush me out of his office as soon as I had been able to stand on my own, pressing a couple pain relievers into my hand and telling me to go home for some extra rest before closing the door behind me. I wasn't quite sure how to feel about how quickly he had ousted me from the room, but since it meant I was permitted to go home and try to get a handle on what was going on without having to see the counselor, I wasn't going to argue with him.
Saying a soft goodbye to a few familiar faces in the crowd on the way outside, I was soon on my way off campus and heading home. It wasn't until I had shut the door to my room, shoes already kicked off and laying in the corner, that I realized I hadn't even asked who it was that had brought me into the nurse's office to begin with.
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It had been a few days before classes resumed again, my heart heavy upon finding out that I had in fact known the boy who had died. The police had finally listed it as an accidental death, the early winter ice simply not thick enough to have held Tom's weight when he was apparently messing around the local pond. The empty beer can that had been found nearby had matched the half-empty case in the trunk of his car.
Although nobody wanted to admit it out loud, we all knew that Tom had enjoyed a few beers here and there. A few of us knew he enjoyed a little more than that sometimes. Either way, nobody really questioned it, spending their time grieving the loss of a friend, a classmate, even just an acquaintance for many of them. Tom had been accepting of everyone and his loss was felt by all, even those who had only met him a handful of times. Even those who had never met him could feel the somber attitude that filled the campus these days.
With the passing of time, so passed the day of his funeral, nearly half the school showing up for the event. Looking back, all I really remember is the seemingly endless amount of hugs that everyone gave each other, myself included. It didn't seem to matter if it was student or teacher, everyone was offering what comfort they could give.
I even remember seeing the night janitor from school, someone I hadn't expected to see and thus causing it to stand out to me, but maybe Tom had run into him a few times during his evening escapades. Giving him a shaky greeting, I had hugged him as well before moving on to a fellow classmate who I spent some time sharing memories with.
Nobody seemed to notice the smile that appeared on his face as he left the service, carefully removing and folding the jacket he had worn before placing it on the passenger seat of his car.
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Sitting in the darkening room, I watched as the character ran across the screen to attack yet another enemy, enjoying the new game I had received as a gift. To be honest, I had almost forgotten about my mystery admirer in the weeks that had followed Tom's death. If it hadn't been for the slips of paper I found, most offering sympathy and gentle comfort as best that written words could, I would have forgotten entirely about the poem I had found just days before the accident.
Part of me felt guilty that I was moving on from the pain so much quicker than most of my classmates seemed to be doing, but another part of me felt relief that I wouldn't be drowning in the pain forever. Amidst all the internal conflict, finding solace in the game that had been so carefully wrapped and placed within my desk this morning. After my shaking hands had unwrapped it, I hadn't been able to help but want to play the game immediately, barely able to hold on until classes had ended for the day.
I didn't even notice when the halls grew silent, the sun sinking slowly below the horizon as I stared at the screen held within my hands.
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He stood silently for several minutes, just soaking in the sight of her sleeping form leaned up against the wall as the screen from her game case a faint light on her face. He'd even pulled out his phone and taken a few quiet pictures of her as he listened to the music from the game he had bought for her played in the background. It was expensive, being one of the newer games on the market, but it was worth it if this was the reward he got, something even better than the smile he had been expecting to see on the video recordings.
Putting his phone away, he began walking forward, reaching out a trembling hand to give her shoulder a shake. He felt the excitement of finally touching her again fill him, his mind flashing back to the hug she had given him just days before, as he watched her slowly begin opening her eyes.
His ears barely caught the faint mumble she release and he had to fight to keep the sudden anger off his face as the name Tom seemed to echo inside his head. She wasn't supposed to think about that boy! She was supposed to think about him, filling her head with thoughts of Gray and Gray alone!
In a fit of jealousy, he suddenly pulled her against his chest, ignoring the soft gasp that she let out is surprise. It was just a few quiet moments before he had to hide his own gasp, feeling her arms slowly wrap around him, filling him with warmth that brought a smile to his face. One that came crashing down the moment she opened her mouth and began talking.
"It's okay. I miss Tom, too," (y/n)'s voice whispered softly into the room, her eyes shut as a single tear streamed down her face. "He was a good friend."
It was only because she called him friend that Gray was able to keep his heart from breaking when he realized she thought he'd been trying to comfort her over that boy's death. As if it was something he would be sad over, remembering how Tom had been trying to take his (y/n) away from him!
Not that it stopped him from continuing to enjoy the feel of her arms holding on to him, her body pressed lightly against his as her cheek rested against his shoulder for a while, until finally she pulled away from him and smiled sadly up at him.
"We can help each other keep moving forward, Mr... I'm so sorry, I can't remember what your name is," her face turned red as she looked guiltily up at him, eyes wide as she began picking at the hem of her shirt in that nervous habit of her's that he found so cute.
"Please, just call me Gray. My dad is the Mister in the family," he smiled at her, forgiving her easily for not remembering his name.
After all, they would have years ahead of them for her to get to know him better.
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Ever since I had met Gray again that night, it felt like I was seeing him everywhere. Some days I would see him in the hallways before classes started or late in the day if I stayed for a while playing games, others it was seeing him show up out of nowhere when I was sitting in the park with my handheld or checking out the new games in the mall.
It wasn't really that odd at first, taking them as chances to talk to each other about how we were doing and me comment once in a while on how strange it still was not to see Tom sitting in class joking about how the clock must be running backwards. Sometimes I would see an odd expression pass over his face at such times, but figured it must be due to something he was remembering about Tom, maybe something he wasn't comfortable enough around me to talk about yet.
After a few weeks of these meetings though, I began to notice how he always ended up steering conversation away from Tom, even going so far as to interrupt me a few times. What was unsettling, however, was the way he had begun to get closer to me.
The way he slowly inched closer to me on benches, until I had to make excuses for needing to get up because I could feel the heat of his leg slowly bleeding into mine. How he would 'accidentally' brush his hands against mine when reaching for things, which I hadn't noticed much at first but had once caught the flash of a smile on his face as his fingers had traced over my skin.
I had begun hinting to the few real friends I had that I trusted how I would not be against them texting or calling me every once in a while, just to be able to give myself the chance to make excuses for needing to leave if things had gotten uncomfortable again with Gray. Heck, I had even hinted to the man that I was not interested in relationships at this point in my life, wanting to focus on building towards my future instead.
All that had done was make him smile and comment how he was happy to hear that I was not interested in any of the other guys I knew, how immature they were. It was like he didn't even understand that I was aiming the comment towards him.
Like he refused to understand.
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He was getting tired of all the distractions that kept interfering with their dates, her friends becoming more annoying by the day. Oh, Gray knew that (y/n) had asked them to do it, but he didn't blame her. She was far too innocent and naive about life to understand what she was doing. But her friends, the moment they seemed to catch on to how much he cared about her, they let their obvious jealousy begin getting in the way.
Not that he couldn't understand the desire to have all of (y/n)'s attention to oneself, but he refused to be denied his share of her time. Which, of course, was supposed to be the majority of it. Especially once she realized they were obviously meant for each other. What was the term for it? Ahh, that's right.
Soulmates.
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I was slowly becoming terrified of being alone with Gray, refusing to spend any more time with him as his growing obsession becoming obvious to anyone. I'd confronted the school about the issue, them promising to do something about it quickly. It had been a huge relief when they had ended up firing him after he'd begun arguing with them that they were interfering in his personal affairs.
His choice of words and behavior made it obvious to them that not only was he stalking a student but that he refused to stop. Not even giving him a chance to claim any belongings he might have left behind, they told him they would send over anything they found at the end of the week to the address they had on file, stating that if they ever saw him on campus again it would result be a quick call to the police.
I could only sob in relief when I found out that he was gone from the school, banned from the premises for good. Wrapped up in my mom's worried arms, I began the long process of filing for a restraining order against Gray, my father looming quietly in the background. If I hadn't already seen the worry on his face before we left that day, I would have thought he had no interest in the events happening.
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In the days following his firing, things became nightmarish, the replacement janitor finding things that nobody had expected. An entire hidden room filled with monitors showing various hallways and classes was bad enough on its own, but the pictures that covered the walls had everyone who saw horrified that they had been in the same building as a man like Gray.
Not all the pictures were of (y/n), some being of her friends or of classmates. The part that had shivers running down the staffs back was how every picture she was not in looked like someone had taken a blade and ran it across the surface multiple times until the person in the picture was almost unrecognizable. Pictures with her and others had the other person cut out of the image.
The ones that were just of (y/n) were focused mostly in one area, around a small, wooden shrine that sat in the back of the tiny room. When the security guard had opened the shrine, everyone in the room stared in horror at various items on display. Strands of carefully collected hair nested inside a small glass box, used pencils with bite marks near the erasers, old school-work that had been held so many times you could see the wear on the areas Gray's fingers must have been, and so many other items that had chills run down their spines.
What had the security guard calling (y/n)'s parents right then and there, however, was the picture that was framed and settled in the center of the shrine. Smiling happily as she gazed forward was an image of (y/n), eyes sparkling as she waved at the person behind the camera. Carefully cut out to look like he belonged at her side was Gray, his face turned like he was looking at her with a loving smile.
Everyone knew that this image on display had never happened, a couple of them recognizing the photo of (y/n) from a just a few weeks after school began. She'd been showing her mom around campus, even introducing her to some of the staff they ran into. Gray hadn't even been there, leaving everyone to wonder how he knew about the photo, let alone how he had gotten a copy of it.
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The loud sounds of the arcade filled my ears, bright lights flashing within the otherwise dark room that housed games, both new and old. Relics of the past stood in the back as the newer games took up space in the front, catching the eyes of passing shoppers in an attempt to lure more into the slightly crowded space within the mall. It was always busy, being the only arcade still operating for miles around, the rest having shut down over the years and leaving just this one for gamers to come to if they wanted to hit an arcade.
Resting my hip gently against the wall, I took another sip of my drink while waiting as patiently as I could for my turn to come. It didn't take long before the kid ran out of tokens, running off into the mall to beg his mom for more money like I had been doing since he got here.
Stepping forward, I sat my cup down and popped in a few tokens of my own, smiling in delight as the screen began showing the opening sequence. It might be an older game, but sometimes a person just wanted to enjoy themselves and see what the old school games had to offer. After all, old games were what lead to the current stuff.
You couldn't have Final Fantasy XV without Final Fantasy I-XIV.
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Putting my last token into the newest game the arcade had, I focused my attention on aiming the gun at each zombie that appeared on the screen, working hard to get head shops when I could. I didn't even look over when someone came up and dropped a token into the second player slot, picking up the other gun and getting a few quick shots off without a word. Slowly, we began working together to take out every enemy that appeared, our scores climbing higher and higher with each passing minute.
It wasn't until my character finally died that I looked over, smiling at the teen standing there before thanking him for sharing a game with me and walking off. I couldn't keep the grin off my face as I kept picturing that bubble-gum pink nest of hair glowing in the light from the screen as he gave me a big grin and waved, yelping in shock when the game announced his sudden death with a loud "Game over" before prompting him to put in another token to continue the game.
It was a great way to end the afternoon, heading outside to walk along the front of the mall's shops, even if this place barely qualified as being a mall. It was more just a cluster of stores that had sprung up on both sides of the once empty lot and had decided to turn the space between them into a mix between a cafe and a park if parks had ceilings put over them, tile floors instead of grass, and walls on each end. After enough time, the community had dubbed it a mall, calling it that until the town gave in and put up a sign labeling it as The Cornerstore Mall. Silly as it sounded, the name stuck.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I pulled out my game and began working through the current quest, not noticing the eyes that followed me as I slowly walked further and further away from the safety of the crowds the mall held.
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Opening eyes that I didn't even remember closing, I went to bring a hand up to rub at my scratchy feeling eyes, startled when my hand was stopped suddenly as something tugged against my wrist. Looking down blurrily, I made out something dark wrapped around my wrist, causing me to shoot up in place and begin pulling against the strap. It was when I went to bring my other hand over to pull on the strap that I found it was also restrained in the same manner, filling me with fear.
Looking closer, I noticed the dark metal clasp on each strap, looking almost like a belt buckle. Although, seeing this did no good since there was no way I could get my hands close enough to each other to release said buckle and free my hands.
Looking around in hopes of seeing something that could possibly help me, my eyes widened in fear as I saw the rest of the room, pictures of myself lined up along the wall. And not just recent pictures, but also ones from my early childhood all the way up to the present. Most seemed to center on my high school years, but a few seemed off.
It took me a moment to realize why before finally noticing that those ones had been altered. A dark figure had been added to them, sometimes in the background but sometimes beside me in place of one of the friends I had been with.
Panicked, I began pulling harder on the straps before a realization came to me.
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Sitting in the corner, still unnoticed by the one he loved, Gray watched quietly as she used her teeth to try and tug on one of the straps. It would have worked, too, if he hadn't already thought of such things and made sure that there was no way for her to undo the bindings. A slightly sadistic grin found its way onto his face when he heard her begin cursing before he leaned forward and made his presence known to her with a small clearing of his throat.
(Y/n) looked over and with fear filled eyes took in the man sitting in the corner, his jacket open to reveal the blue shirt he wore, looking like he was ready to go out on a date as he smirked at her from the red chair he sat in. It wasn't until he moved his hands that she noticed the carefully wrapped present held within one of them, her face draining of color at the sight of the familiar paper and ribbon she had seen from time to time over the past several months.
"I hope you like this gift, (y/n). It's the latest in that series you like!" Gray smiled at her, thinking fondly of how hard he had worked to get ahold of the game, having special ordered it over a month ago. But she was worth the extra effort it took to get it. "Maybe I could get a small kiss as a thank you this time?"
A shout of denial filled the air for a moment before being cut off, muffled by his lips as the gift was pressed against her hip by the hand resting there, his other hand holding her head still before he pulled away. Fearful sobs began filling the air as she repeated the word no over and over again, ignored as Gray lifted his fingertips to his tingling lips, a dark smile on his face.
"Don't worry, (y/n) my love. I'll take good care of you. And this time, nobody will separate us. Even if I have to kill them to keep you here." Dark eyes met hers again before he turned away, leaving the present on the table beside her before he walked over to the doors and exited the room.
The sharp sound of a lock falling into place with the turn of a key echoed against the soft blue walls of her prison, her eyes filling with even more tears as she wondered how long it would be before she was found. She began shaking when she started to wonder if she would be found.
Upstairs, Gray frowned at the image of her on the monitor, wondering if a new game system would cheer her up. Something she could play while her hands were strapped like that. After all, he needed to keep her secure until he knew he could trust her not to try and escape from him. Maybe something for two players would be nice.
She'd seemed to enjoy playing that one game with the pink haired brat. He was sure she would enjoy playing something with him even more. It would be good for him to learn to do more of the things she enjoyed, instead of just watching her do them. He wanted her to be happy that she was with him. He wanted her to want to be with him. That is how it was supposed to be, after all, him and her happily together for the rest of forever.
After all, they were soulmates.