Chapter Text
“Kitty…?”
SCRATCH SCRATCH
“Are you there?”
Luke woke up with a tired groan. The sunlight beamed through his window, cruelly alerting him to the reality of the morning. He forgot to draw his curtains. Again. Of course he did.
You can’t even remember the most basic of things? No wonder Kitty died. So much for being “smart.”
Luke shuddered. Logically, he knows that these are just irrational thoughts, unfortunate byproducts of Kitty’s death. He can’t help it, though. Not when he knows that there was more he could have done. Not when he knows that it was his fault.
Kitty must hate me a lot, huh?
He shook his head. These kinds of thoughts are counter-productive. They can’t bring Kitty back. So he should stop wallowing in self-pity and just…
Oh. It’s time for school.
Shit.
By some miracle of the gods, Luke managed to make it to school. He tried to force a smile as he stepped into the classroom.
“Wow Luke, you look like a zombie.”
...That bad, huh? Thanks for the vote of encouragement, Oliver.
“Did you not sleep again?” Joy asked, a look of concern crossing her face. It really is obvious, isn’t?
“...Shut up, my head’s ringing because of you guys…” Luke mumbled. Oops. Too harsh? Too harsh.
“...I’ve just been getting annoying dreams.” He admitted. Oliver tilted his head in confusion. “Dreams?”
“I can’t see anything, but,” Luke paused. They’ll probably laugh at him. Oh well. He’s too tired to put up much of a fight. “I keep hearing scratching noises...like Kitty…”
Kitty used to scratch at his door whenever he accidentally locked him out. Luke would then get up and open the door, because what kind of monster would ignore such a cute cat? After he finished telling him off in high pitched and repetitive mewls, he’d move to curl up on his pillow. The traitor.
Joy’s expression softened as she moved to sit next to him. “Luke…” she began, “Kitty’s dead.”
“So you’re getting nightmares because of that?” Oliver asked. Uh-oh. He doesn’t like where this is going. “Because of a cat? ”
Luke could feel his face heating up. Kitty wasn’t just a cat , he wanted to cry out. Kitty was my best friend , he wanted to scream. That wouldn’t bode over well, though.
“Shut up!” He says instead. “I told you my head’s ringing!!” Both Oliver and Joy got quiet and looked away. Whatever. He’s not too inclined to care at this point.
Wait.
He’s being watched.
He looks over to his side and spots the red-hooded perpetrator sitting next to him. How long has that guy been there…? He sighs. It doesn’t matter.
The other boy appears to be lost in thought. That is, until he notices Luke staring right back at him. The red-hooded boy’s expression turns to one of confusion, and then panic. Luke knows what that means.
He’s judging him.
“...What are you looking at?” He snaps.
“Um, huh? Me?” The other boy asks, pretending to be ignorant. Luke’s not putting up with it.
“You’re the only one looking at me.” He says. Then he gets angrier. “You think this is funny? I feel like I’m dying, you know?” The other student shrinks back. Good. He should be scared. “You think I’m funny?” He repeats. “Huh?”
“N...no. I was just…” the other stammers out. “You were talking about a cat...so I was just wondering what it was about…” He trails off.
Now it’s Luke’s turn to go silent. Wow. He’s a jerk.
“I...I’m sorry…” The other boy tears up a little. Why are you apologizing, he thinks.
Luke sighs. “No. It’s okay.” He says.
“I’m sorry...Wait, huh? It’s okay?” He sounds surprised. Is he really that scary?
“If it’s about my cat, then that’s fine.” Luke explains. “Hey, if it’s something like that, just hurry up and say it. I’m not exactly in a good mood these days, so I might have lost it if you kept being hesitant.”
“Uh...Okay.” The other nods. “Thanks…”
“A...anyway, you look...tired…” Huh? Admittedly, Luke thought that was the end of the conversation. The poor boy seemed scared half to death, and he wasn’t going to push it.
“Huh?”
“I…” He seems to be thinking really hard about something. Seconds later, he appears to have made up his mind, nodding to himself and looking up at Luke.
“I hope you get...some rest!”
Huh.
He looks over at Joy and Oliver, who are wearing similarly shocked expressions. The hooded-boy looks somewhat shocked at himself, too.
That really was the end of their conversation-- they didn’t say anything more after that line.
What a weirdo.
Luke’s curiosity gets the better of him. He asks his friends about it later on the way home.
“Huh? That quiet kid you almost beat up earlier?” Oliver asks. He cringes, but he probably deserved that. He nods.
“He’s always super quiet and anxious. Never making eye-contact or talking, aside from when the teacher calls on him.”
Joy nods in agreement. “Actually, I think today was the first time I heard him form a full sentence. Pretty wild, huh?”
Luke doesn’t know what to think about that. Or about the reason that he spoke today was because there was a very real threat of violence. He...has really got to get better about that.
Oh well. That’s something to worry about another day. Right now, he just wants to get some sleep.
Before the nightmares inevitably come.