Awaited

When Nicholas arrived at the dormitory, many were wary of meeting with him, of welcoming his arrival. For some odd reason, Nicholas felt it as both an insult and a show of respect. Though his last tantrum had been purely the act of his insanity being let loose, he couldn’t help but feel the same emotions emerge at the sight of them all gazing at him—this time out of pity. They kept their distance, and it was what he preferred, but he did not want to be seen as a crazed man. The entire week, he felt his mind at work, which only heightened his sense of paranoia.

"You don't look so well, Nicholas," Olaf remarked multiple times a day. "Do you want to go down to the hospital?" he would ask, followed by the practiced refusal from Nicholas.

"I am fine, just a bit hungry, is all," he would say.

But he was not fine. He felt as though a fire raged inside him—pure hell.