Chapter Text
Blyke walked down the school corridors, wiping his sweaty palms on his uniform. While he couldn't see it, he knew people were turning their heads to take a look at him, as they'd been doing the whole day. Blyke kept his head down, counting his steps on the green floors.
'Thirty-one steps, thirty-two... Take a left turn after this and run to the second door on the right.'
As soon as the hall ends, Blyke turns the corner, and once out of sight immediately sprints, using his lasers to propel him. He yanks the door open to the unused classroom and slams it shut, locking it and pressing his body against it. He slowly slides down to the floor, burying his head in his hands.
"What the fuck, what the fuck. God, it’s so creepy.” He muttered to himself, slightly shaky.
After last night, everywhere he looked, people were staring at him. It wouldn’t have bothered him— It shouldn’t have, but it distorted their faces into something horrifying, and anyone would’ve been creeped out. Blyke briefly considered skipping school altogether to avoid seeing people. He has to stay though. There’s the Safe House meeting and a trigonometry test he studied so hard for today, but any more of this, he might just go crazy.
'But then again... what excuse do I have? I can’t let some stupid ability ruin my grades and Remi’s faith in me.’
"Fuck, am I actually going to do this? I can't, I can't." Dread washes on him at the prospect of having to go back out to the stupid hallucinations, but he has to. So, Blyke stands up. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he opens the door and walks out, doing his best to keep his posture straight and face mostly normal.
That “normal” is immediately shattered as he almost runs headfirst into a girl, with her features all blurred out and leaving only eyes watching his every move. His smile twitches, he feels his mouth go dry, and suddenly the hall feels much, much smaller. It’s suffocating. Blyke manages to give a small wave before he tears his gaze off them, running to his class. He’s the first one there.
Blyke sits in the back corner, Thank God, but he also sits next to Isen. Isen— his best friend who happens to be nosy and observant. There’s no way Blyke’s fooling him, but he’s nothing if not stubborn. He’s not letting his best friend figure out what he’s been doing on the weekends.
‘It’ll probably only take a few hours to wear off, just keep cool until then. Abilities don’t last that long. You’ll get through it and nothing will have happened here. Nobody has the stamina to keep using their ability for this long, right?—’
“Dude, what the hell are you doing just standing there?” Blyke jumps at his voice.
‘Speak of the devil.’ Blyke grimaces, before putting on his best act and facing his friend.
“Heey!—
‘Oh my fucking god why, why me. That’s him?’
— buddy pal of mine! I’m doing great, what about you!” Blyke tries to force his mouth to resemble something like a smile. It fails miserably, and he looks like he’s going to cry.
It’s so much worse when it’s the “face” of your friend that’s disturbed. He’s pretty sure he’s going into cardiac arrest with how fast his heart’s beating, and he’s clenching his hands so hard to stop it from shaking. Blyke knows Isen knows something’s up, but the eyes are getting to him, and it’s so hard to remember this isn’t some demon, it’s Isen. Maybe he should’ve skipped after all. It doesn’t look right, seeing someone he knows so well have their faces blurred out and having wide, unblinking eyes trained on him at all times. He knows if he looks at the door, three more faces are staring.
Blyke’s pretty sure he’s stopped breathing, and at this point, all he wants to do is get out of the room. The sight makes him sick to his stomach. Why is Isen still looking at him? Blyke’s eyes are watering, blurring the view, but still unable to stop looking away from what feels like death itself. Dread crawls up his back, settling heavily in his heart. He’s suddenly fighting for air, he can’t breathe and he needs to get out, GET OUT OF ITS SIGHT—
Blyke blinks and suddenly finds himself locked back inside the empty classroom, against the door like he was just minutes ago. His whole body feels weak.
“What the fuck just happened?” Blyke looks down at himself and finds he’s trembling.
Usually, he’d be a little disappointed in himself for being scared of nothing, but he’s exhausted. He slumps down a little more. Blyke’s head is pounding. The adrenaline eventually drains out of him, and just like that, he’s out like a light. Blyke’s unconscious body is hidden away from prying eyes behind classroom walls.
When Blyke wakes up, he finds he’s still in the classroom and slowly pulls out his phone to check the time. The device lights up, displaying 3:12pm on the top. The lock screen of Remi, Isen, and him still looks normal, to his surprise.
’So the ability can’t work through photos? Is it a strictly in-person thing? Maybe I can do online classes— Not like I’ll need them, this can’t last forever. I’ll… call in sick tomorrow if it’s still there.’ He feels a little bit of cold comfort from his own thoughts.
A loud buzz from his phone makes Blyke flinch before he looks down at the text.
‘Oh, fuck.’
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pen bitch: blyke are you alright? what happened
delivered 12:31
pen bitch: dude pls respond are you ok
delivered 14:30
pen bitch: where are you are you in the caf for lunch
delivered 14:30
pen bitch: remi and i are worried, please text back dude
delivered 15:00
pen bitch: are you going to the safe house today? do you want me to skip and head over to yours? let me know im seriously
freaking out over here
read 15:13
pen bitch: BLYKE HOLY SHIT DUDE WHERE ARE YOU
read 15:13
hotdog toppings: sorry i fell asleep
can we not talk abt what happened in math?
keep it between us ill fill you guys in later
im coming to the house rn gimme a sec
read 15:13
pen bitch is typing…
————————
Blyke closed his phone and immediately started dreading the interaction. He couldn’t look them in the face. He’d honestly rather die. He won’t— no, he can’t explain this to them either. Blyke was nothing if not stubborn, and right now, he refuses to let them know he started vigilantism again. That he’s going crazy because he doesn’t listen, and didn’t want to quit. So he’ll have to tough it out.
Blyke sighs and feels his hand shake a little at the thought of seeing both Remi and Isen like that. Maybe he’ll keep his eyes on the floor. He can put on a blindfold, tell them he has a migraine, and avoid their faces altogether. Better yet, what if he just sleeps? John's done it before. So has Isen.
'Yeah. Let's go with that. Sleep through the last forty minutes of the meeting, and then get out and stay in your room.'