Day .02-1 (cont.)

Im sprinting down the hallway, tripping over my own two feet, trying to get away

from someone inches away from ending my life again.

 I think of the blood lost; I compare my lungs to a sack of potatoes: mashed and murdered by lack of oxygen. I think of the way

Masked Face's fingers felt gripping my neck, their hold tightening and clutching and riding me of life again, and again, and again.

Masked Face swings the whip again, spikes sharpened and ready to make me bleed. The

open window to the left of me calls out to me, signaling to me a form of

escape, so I slide, grab the ledge of the windowsill, and throw myself out of the window, 6 stories away from the ground.

I hear a groan and a slap, and then I feel hands, rough and big, grab my waist

and hug me close to a chest. I look up, eyes wide and memorized at Sebastian; his

grey eyes glowing, his dark hair mixing with silicon white, and his pupils—dilated

and wide—turn a bright sapphire.

Sebastian holds me, tightly, and lands in action, running over tripping feet to scurry

for a clear landing. With strong momentum, Sebastian trips and flips, tumbling

and sliding in the dirt with me cradled to his chest. He shortly comes to a

stop, breathing heavily.

"What…were you…thinking?!" Sebastian gasp, sitting the both of us up. I tilt my head and look up at him, his eyes and hair no longer grey and black, but white and blue.

"What would have of happened if…i-if I didn't make it in time?"

"The hands." I look at him, confused, "I could have-you know-summoned them-."

"But you didn't." Sebastian finally catches his breath.

"Well…yea but," I pause, thinking about the words that are ready to come out my mouth. I

think of the pros and cons, weighing the cons are more than the pros, yet I

still speak my mind. "The-uh-the worse outcome would've been just to start the

day over-."

"Just?" Sebastian grabs me by my forearms and turns me, tilting my body towards him. My nose touches the frame of his collar bone. I smell it, this soft cologne that

glues itself to my senses. "Stop thinking like that."

"Like-dude, it's-." I start, but Not-so-Sebastian cuts me off.

"It's what, Andrew?" Not-so-Sebastian looks at me, his eyes blazing with rage and

his deep voice radiating, pounding in my ear. It does something to me, makes my

heart do this weird jump thing; I never knew my heart could do that. "Haven't

we talked about this already-?"

"Sebastian-."

"No! Not-So-Sebastian snaps. I flinch back, surprised. Sebastian throws his head on my shoulder, his breath hitched, his shoulders hunched, like they're protecting themselves from me. "Stop doing that-stop treating yourself like that-."

I feel a harsher grip on my waist, bringing me closer to him. I let him take me

in his arms and hold me, like this isn't weird, like this isn't forbidden under

God's eyes. Almost like Kyle's words never existed, and society won't ever,

ever, look at us like we're insects, trying to resurrect after they've killed us.

"For god sakes, treat yourself like you've only got one body." And Not-so-Sebastian

quivers; his voice shakes, "because at any moment, you technically do."

"Sorry," I pat his head, guilt stricken, "I'm sorry for doing something reckless, okay?"

"And I'm sorry for ruining this gross moment," Masked Face said, "but duty calls."

"You're not sorry." Sebastian murmurs. Masked Face walks towards us, twirling their

whip rapidly, tilting their head in question. "You're enjoying this."

Masked Face stops walking and nods, smiling. "Sue me."

And then they look over at me, their plain black mask appearing to smile ear to

ear. These big brown orbs that eye me down laugh at me, mock me, shame me, like

I am nothing, but dead.

"He cried for you," I flinch, looking at Masked Face, pleading with them to stop

it. Their eyes, glued to me, snicker. "He screamed 'Sebastian,' 'Sebastian,'

before I killed him. He tell you that? When I choked him-.

"If you continue," Sebastian's eyes, blue and piercing, echo promises. "I will make

sure you plead for me to stop."

"Kinky, but I'm not interested in emos," Masked Face reaches into their pocket. "I'm a

fan of football players, or is it soccer still?"

"Basketball." Sebastian grits out. Masked Face nods.

"Perfect! Catch!" They said.

Sebastian throws me out the way, receiving a hard hit to the face. He coughs, swatting

away lagging smoke. He squints open his eyes, coughing vigorously in his hand and

blinking rapidly. Sebastian screws his eyes shut and opens them to a punch in

the face by Masked Face.

Sebastian staggers, rubbing his eyes. Masked Face swings again, colliding with his cheek. They swing again. They twirl and land a kick on his abdomen. Another blow to

the face. This time a kick to the shin. Left hook to the chin. Right to the

shoulder. Sebastian backs away, trying to see through his eyes, red and twitching as a causation to Masked Face's surprise.

Masked Face tries for another kick, which Sebastian lifts the back of his hand and

protects himself, his hand shaking when Masked Face fights against his strength.

Sebastian curls his hand under Masked Face's feet and twist, and twist, and twist until it cracks.

"You asshole!" Masked Face screams, falling on their knees, holding their ankle.

Sebastian falls back, crawling a few paces backwards and plops on his back, his

palms holding his burning eyes. "You dirty shit!"

"You literally threw a smoke bomb at my face!" So that's what it was, "I think this is perfectly fair. God, my freaking

eyes…"

"You-my ankle!" Masked Face screams. "You broke my ankle you sick fuck-!"

"At worst, it's just sprained…" Not-so-Sebastian exclaims.

"It still hurts you piece of-."

"Relax…" Not-so-Sebastian sighs. "I'm half blind over here…you don't see me cussing at

people."

"I don't have to deal with this!" Masked Face raises their whip and slams it on the ground. "I came here to deal with him, not you!

So, you can fuck off and go to hell, you bastard!"

For a minute, with Masked Face's eyes glowing a bright brown; spiked veins shooting

from the earth and lunging at Sebastian, I suddenly felt weightless.

I didn't feel scared. I didn't feel useful. I didn't feel useless. I didn't feel alive. I felt there, in the moment, watching Sebastian raise his

hands, protecting himself from the oncoming attack.

I didn't think much when Masked Face kept shouting, cursing, almost in a

familiar, too familiar way.

I didn't think of it either, when I raised my hands and clasp them together, closing

my eyes, cradling my hands like I'm praying when this sudden weight pours from

my shoulders.

I didn't think much when blue ghost hands plummeted from the earth and my body,

like tentacles.

I didn't think much of anything when these hands reached for Sebastian, covering

him, protecting him from the attack.

I didn't think at all, when my heart thumped too loudly in my chest, my breath

coming out shallow and haggard.

 I didn't think at all when I coughed from my

dry throat, tasting iron.

"Hey, you quit this shit!" I tiredly look up to Masked Face, spinning wildly

around, running away from the hands that grab their ankles, their wrist, their

neck, covering their face and entrapping them in a ghost prison.

I sway over to Sebastian, tiredly keeping my eyes on him.

The hands dissipate and sink in my body and the earth, like they never existed in

the first place. It was at that moment that my foot gave out, my femur tingling

and spamming. I'm coughing again, one hand on my leg, and the other palming the

dirt, trying to stay upright.

Hands hurriedly pat my back and hold me upright, like I was about to tip over the

edge. Maybe I was, but I'm not sure. I can't think straight, and I feel nothing

and everything at once.

"Did they hurt you? Are you ok-? Shit, you're bleeding." I look from Sebastian's

worried expression to my hand, spots of red and parts of what I hope isn't my

lungs make room on my palm.

"Oh."I weakly laugh. "Yea, I am."

I open my mouth to ask if he was okay, if he was alright, because he looks like

he's in pain too, but I'm sinking in his chest, breathing heavy, my eyes barely

keeping open.

"Andrew-Andrew?!

Hey, what's…what hurts?" Not-so-Sebastian asked.

I want to tell him everything. My leg

hurts. My lungs hurt. My head hurts. My eyes hurt. I'm seeing someone in the

place of Sebastian, but it's not him, but they look like him, so it is him-but

wait, they're kind of pretty. But wait, Sebastian's kind of pretty too-.

"Andrew-?!"

I nod, feeling my stomach tightening. A very, very familiar feeling hits my

abdomen, making a loud noise.

"Yea, just…just a little hungry." I said.

"Hungry?" Sebastian looks at my stomach, horrified. "How hungry?"

"Very..."I laugh, confused at his expression. "Very hungry."

"W-We'll take care of that later," Sebastian swings my arm over his shoulder, and wraps

his arm around my waist. "For now, we need to deal with that."

I follow Sebastian's eyes to Masked Face, still tied to the ground by the hands

pulling them down. I lift my shaking hand and try to remove the other from

Sebastian's shoulder, but I crumble, forcing Sebastian to hurriedly pull me

back upright. He brings me closer to his side and worriedly looks at me, his

blue eyes glistening with too many emotions.

"Don't worry about that right now," Sebastian brings us closer to the tied villain,

his voice strained. "I'll tell you when you need to."

Sebastian slowly places me on the ground, his hands moving at a snail's pace to let go of

me. He stands straight and gives me one last look before heading to Masked

Face, tied up and captured. Sebastian readies himself, standing defensively with

his hands up and feet parted. He turns his head to me, nodding. I raise my

hands and clasp them together in prayer. The hands, acting like chains,

disperse in me and through the ground.

As soon as the hands let go of them, Masked Face screams and attacks, their hands

balled in fist. Sebastian grabs their arm, raises his leg, and stomps on their

back, pushing them face first into the dirt. Sebastian looks down at them, eyes

piercing, like he yearns to do more.

"We have a lot to talk about." He said.

Masked Face screams louder, struggling and coughing under Sebastian's weight.

"Let go of me, man!" They said, "you-."

"No." Sebastian said.

"You piece of-let go!" Masked Face yells. "You-you should know why-!"

"No." Sebastian responds.

"I can't breathe, you mother fucker-!" Masked Face screams.

"It's probably the mask." Sebastian said, mockingly, "Let me help you with that-."

"No-.! Masked Face said, "I'm doing this for us-!"

I watch Sebastian roughly grab the top of their mask and harshly tug. Masked Face

cries out, their other hand pulling the mask down, fighting with Sebastian with

all they have. I try to peak behind Sebastian's tall back, but I can't see

anything other than his coat and his muscles tense under his clothes.

"I swear I'll-." Masked Face said.

"For god sakes, stop-." Sebastian said.

"I'll never let you-!"

"Stop fighting me-!"

"Go to hell-!"

"Enough with this!"

Sebastian pulls the mask as hard as he can, so hard he swings his arm and staggers back.

He heavily breaths before he stops, his back tenses more, and his breath hitches. He drops the mask, peering down at Mask Face.