. *. ~.*. 'It takes a few seconds to hurt someone, and years to repair the damage.' . *.
~~~
Ahaha scary title 2
Honestly think this chapter is a mess, but it needed to happen.
Love ya <3 ~ Owl
~~~
-Zak's POV-
Somehow I wake up in my bedroom. The clock reads off 8:10 am. Wednesday morning. Pain splinters through my head, and I clutch it with one hand. The world is a little distorted, my eyes taking longer than usual to focus. I close my eyes and open them again, letting out a groan when I realise this is reality and I do have to deal with it.
Oh my god my head...
What the hell happened?
Completely ignoring the fact the bus arrives in just over 10 minutes, I lay back in my bed, searching my head for anything I can remember. Blurred images form in my head. The party, drinking a lot.
Well that'd explain my headache...
The bathroom. Vincent and I ran up there after he was choking on the hanahaki.
Hanahaki...
Did our plan work? Why can I remember...
The last thing I remember is us on the bathroom. My head was spinning, I probably passed out. I'm not sure why I'm here, someone must've brought me back home. Must've been Vincent. I grab my phone off the side and send him a quick message.
You
Vin what happened yesterday? I can't remember a thing lol. Did our plan work?
8:14 am
Also not coming to school today I can't. Thanks for bringing me home, I'm guessing that was u.
8:15 am
My vision distorts just from sitting up, so I lay back down. My headphones are laying on the table beside me, so I plug them in and block out the world with music. Subconsciously I'm skipping through my playlist to our song. Blinding lights. A smile creeps across my face as my head floods with happy memories from Darryl. I love him so much.
Should probably text him too...
You
Morning Darryl! Not coming to school today sorry! ❤️
8:17 am
[ERROR. THIS USER HAS BLOCKED YOU]
What the hell...
I stare at my phone in confusion for at least five minutes. Darryl has blocked me, he must've blocked the wrong number by accident.
Calling him has the same result. Just an error message telling me I'm blocked. Well that's not good. I don't know anyone else who has Darryl's number. Just Callahan, and I don't have his number.
Vincent hasn't responded to me either. Trying to take my mind off it, I decide to just check my socials.
What...
My eyes widen as I check through people's stories. Another after another after another of the same video. It's clearly from the party last night.
I can't believe my eyes.
The video is of me and Vincent in the bathrooms. I remember coming to the bathroom, but thought I'd just passed out. No. I hadn't.
My eyes widen in horror. Vincent and I are kissing. There's flower crowns around our heads, made of the same blue daisies from Vin's hanahaki. They're floating there, as if by some magical force.
It all makes sense.
I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner. Can't believe I let Vincent feed me those lies, it was so obvious! Vincent's hanahaki isn't because he has a crush on Clay, it's because he has a crush on someone else.
Me.
~~~
My head protests as I change at super speed and fly out of my house down the street, right in the direction to on of Northbrookes. I don't care that I've missed the bus, I don't have to be on time anyway.
After about twenty minutes of nonstop running, I make it to the front gates. The bus pulled in about five minutes ago, and all the kids turn their heads in my direction. They yell one word at me, the same one plastered all over every social media along with that video.
Cheater.
I run to the student dorms, up the stairs and down the hall in the direction of Darryl's dorm. The hallway is buzzing with people, all staring at me. I don't care about them, I know why Darryl has blocked me and I need to clear it up. It wasn't a mistake after all.
"Darryl! Darryl!" I bang on the door a couple times before realising there's a note stuck to it.
The note reads:
'Zak,
I'm no longer going to be your tutor. You are expected back at class at normal time. They'll find you another one.
I don't want to talk to you. Don't try calling or texting me. I know what you've done. I can't believe you'd do this to me.
To us.
Please leave your door key with Callahan, you won't be needing it anymore. I've left your things you'd left here with him too.
Darryl.'
Before I know it tears are rolling down my face. The people around me are shouting things like 'serves you right cheater!' and 'can't believe you'd do that!' as they watch me break down in tears. Wiping my eyes on my sleeves, I turn to the door behind me and knock three times. It's answered almost instantly, as if they were expecting me. "Zak Carder. I was expecting you. Here are your things." Callahan pushes my duffel bag with my baseball kit in it towards me. He outstretches his hand. "The key" he mutters.
"Callahan wait! This is all a-"
"Save it Carder. You've broken Darryl's heart. He loved you, he truly did. And you took advantage of him. I told him not to hang around with kids like you, but he did it anyway. I thought you'd changed Zak."
Changed. I thought I'd changed too. I've tired so hard to break the cycle...
NO! This isn't my fault!
"Calla-"
Callahan reaches towards me, snatching Darryl's spare keys he gave me out of my hand. He shoves my bag out of the doorway, slamming the door behind him.
The tears keep coming, and I can't push them away. Darryl thinks I cheated on him. He won't answer me, and Callahan won't listen.
I turn back to banging on Darryl's door, begging for an answer. Callahan returns after a few minutes. "Zak Carder!" he fumes. "Get the hell out of here! Darryl doesn't want to see you. Him and I went to the party last night to find you. He was worried sick about you. We saw it happen first hand, you can't hide it."
That last sentence makes me run away. Grab my stuff from the floor and just run, as fast and as far away as possible. My head is still pounding and I'm still out of breath, so I only make it to outside the dorms. I collapse against the side of the building, openly crying like nobody's watching. But they are, I can feel everyone watching. They're shouting at me.
'Cheater!'
'Cheater!'
'Cheater!'
The whole school thinks I cheated on him. There's no way around it. Even the teachers are giving me glares, hollow looks without sympathy in their eyes. My friends come through the gates. Clay and George.
I scramble over to them, only to be shoved aside by George instantly. "Save it. We're not talking to a cheater" George spits at me, following Clay into the crowd. So they all think I'd really do that.
Realising I have no other option, I reappear this process. Each friend I run up to gives me the same answer: 'not talking to a cheater'. The yelling doesn't become any quieter, each person coming in spitting some remark at me.
I never thought this school had the right morals. Awful things would happen and nobody would pay any attention. Now as soon as something properly awful comes up, people find their morals.
They found them at the wrong time.
My music gets louder and louder in my ears as I desperately try to tune out the world. I call Vincent over and over. Every time my only answer is voicemail.
I didn't kiss Vincent willingly. I was drunk, I had a daydream about Darryl when he was staring at me. I thought he was Darryl.
This isn't my fault...
This isn't my fault...
This isn't my fault...
It's a misunderstanding...
It's a misunderstanding...
It's a misunderstanding...
The phone goes through to voicemail for roughly the tenth time and I lose it. "VINCENT FUCKING ANSWER ME!" I scream into the voicemail, causing more heartless laughter from the surrounding crowd. The voicemail ends, and a message comes through mine and Vincent's chat.
[ERROR. THIS USER HAS BLOCKED YOU]
I scream, shoving my hands over my ears as the crowd laughs and shouts at me. I can't tune them out. My legs come up to my chest, making myself as small as possible.
I didn't want to hurt anyone.
This isn't my fault.
Please can this be a nightmare...
Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please.
This is it.
I'm alone.
Nobody is here to help me. Nobody is going to listen. They all think I'm a cheater. They think I'm lying. I've lost my friends. Lost my best friend. Lost my boyfriend.
Nobody's coming to save me now.
The laughing won't stop. My screaming can't drown it out. My throat becomes hoarse from all my yelling, and I'm forced to stop. I pick myself up and use the last of my energy to run out of the gates and as far away as possible. I don't know where I'm going, and I don't care.
I thought I'd broke the cycle.
But I'm just stuck on Replay.
{ROLL CREDITS! jk jk!! You'd surely all kill me I'm not ending here.}
———————2 DAYS LATER———————
-Vincent's POV-
I've not been out since that awful day. I can't bring myself to do it, to see anyone. Zak called me on repeat on Wednesday morning, he must've seen the video. Should've shut the door.
If only I could've reached the damn door...
I tried. I tried so hard to make sure nobody would see, I really did. I just didn't want to die. I wanted to just shut the door and get it over with. He was so drunk it would've worked too.
Is that so selfish?
Pathetic. I betrayed my best friend's trust. Convinced him I gave him the lighter alcohol, when in fact I'd saved that green bottle just for him. The alcohol in Clay's and George's wasn't even that strong. The strong stuff was saved for him.
Zak.
I hope he's ok...
I lied to him. He was so willing to help me. He made up the plan that ended in his own demise. He thought I was planning this party against him. Thought I was inviting Clay, getting him drunk and kissing him to make the problem go away. Can't believe I pinned my love on Clay.
It was Zak.
Zak I planned to invite.
Zak I planned to get drunk.
Zak I planned to kiss.
I should've done it before. Should've told him before he was with Darryl. But I couldn't, I just couldn't. The hanahaki wouldn't have beloved it.
Bloody hanahaki.
Why did I have to have feelings for my best friend?!
Stupid stupid stupid!
Now I'm laying in bed, Friday morning and still not going to school. I've played off that I'm sick to my parents, I'm not sure how much longer I can pretend.
I can't tell Darryl what happened.
How do I even explain that?!
I tried to get him KILLED I was that crazy, sided with ZELK I was that desperate.
Now I've created this. I'm sure they aren't talking. This is all my fault.
Maybe I should've just let the hanahaki kill me...
Deciding I need a distraction, I turn on the TV. The first thing on is the local news, and I'm about to turn over to another channel when a picture catches my eye. The picture is of Zak.
The words 'missing' underneath it.
My stomach drops, tears brimming my eyes as I turn up the volume and listen.
'Seventeen year old Zak Carder has been reported missing this morning. He was last seen at Northbrookes academy on Wednesday morning. He has a phone, but won't answer any calls or messages. If you've seen him please call...'
The reporter recites a number to call. This is worse than I thought. I was convinced I'd ruined Zak's relationship with Darryl after the video was posted, but I didn't think it would go this far. I'm so selfish! I shouldn't have kissed him!
I need to tell Darryl what really happened. Now. It's too serious, Darryl needs to know the truth. I can't hide it anymore, he won't listen to anybody else. I need his help.
Zak ran away.