Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the middle of a room, there sat a darkened figure. It stared forward without pause, eyes unfocused, the gaze falling onto a screen in front of it.

Said screen displayed nothing but static and yet, the figure was entranced by it. Oblivious to the  filth that grew around it by the day. Grime and mold stuck to the walls. The windows, or the things that once resembled windows, were so thick with muck that it was impossible to see through them.

But the thing seldom payed attention.

It seemed as though, to it, the only thing that exists and had ever existed was the screen, showing nothing but static.

It continued to stare. Only moving for the necessary acts that kept it alive.

Minute after minute.

Hour after hour.

Static.

Surely no sane person could ever live in a place as abhorrently disgusting as this, right?

The door slowly creaked open and a girl slipped inside. In her hand was a yellow rucksack. She closed the door and quietly made her way across the room, being careful to avoid the muck.

As she got close to the figure, she paused for a second and spoke softly. 

"I'm home."

. . .

There was no response.

A pang of frustration shot through her. She turned away, strode down to the door, through the hall and up the ladder that led to the attic, avoiding the numerous bags of smelly garbage that littered her path. The moment her head poked into the attic, she let out a sigh of relief and inhaled deeply. Thankfully, it didn't smell nearly as bad up here as it did down there.

She unceremoniously dropped her rucksack into a corner with a loud thud, causing some dust to fly up from the force of the impact.

Her room -If you could even call it that- was situated in the attic.

It wasn't exactly the most well built part of the house, what with the ceiling being partially broken and filled with a number of holes, some brought on by natural decay and others by more, man made issues. Dust from the wooden planks fell from above on a regular basis, covering everything beneath in a layer. It became a part of her routine to clean her room, even if it was a real pain in the ass.

Still, she would take the dust over rain anytime.

She opened the drawer in her bedside table and pulled out a mask and a pair of rubber gloves.

Homework would have to come later. Clean now.

The lack of proper tools didn't make it any easier but she would manage.

She always did.

______________

Sunny let out a deep sigh.

It was so damn annoying, being stuck behind a counter for hours on end and having to dealing with customer bullshit for a little bit of minimum wage.

Working part-time in retail is such a pain in the ass. But what else could a desperately broke teenage boy do for some ch-ching.

I guess becoming a streamer might be an option?

Sunny shuddered.

Nah, never mind.

He'd rather not face sexual harassment from weird creeps insisting he wear maid outfits.

Compared to dealing with... that, working in retail was MUCH more preferable. Plus, rude customers were a rare occurrence since the shop was small. Both physically and metaphorically.

The convenience store had a wooden floor with concrete walls, a glass door, and windows only situated on the right side of the counter. It really just looked like any generic convenience store.

Unfortunately, there was no chair behind the counter so he wasn't allowed the leisure to sit down and relax during slow hours, but that was okay.

He was an expert in daydreaming and could get lost in thought pretty easily. Sure he drooled a bit when he was doing it but he was getting better at controlling it.

. . . 

Yeah actually he could daydream a bit for a while. There doesn't seem to be anyone around and it's been raining pretty hard for a while now.

He looked out the window to his right.

Huh... It's really dark outside. And it was only 5 PM.

If he remembered correctly, the weather forecast said that there was gonna be a thunderstorm.

. . .

He couldn't imagine anyone coming in through weather like this.

. . .  Just in case though.

Sunny walked out from behind the counter and went to the door. He flipped off some of the light switches, plunging the store into semi-darkness. The only source emitting light now was a small desk lamp on the counter. He shuffled over to the door and placed his hand on the Open/Closed sign. 

They weren't supposed to be closed yet but surely no one would notice if he. . .

He lifted the sign up and-

At that exact moment, lightning streaked across the sky. It temporarily lit up the sky and, like a scene right out of a horror movie, illuminated the figure of someone standing directly in front of him.

He froze for a second. Then the roar of thunder made him jump like a poodle, flailing onto the floor in a heaping mess.

He clutched his chest and gasped, his heart trying to escape his throat. Whoever it was outside started knocking on the door. His thoughts sprinted from "SERIAL KILLER" to a prank by some asshole with too much free time. Whatever was the case, it didn't take long for the shock to turn into rage.

The bell rung as the person walked inside.

Sunny spun around angrily, prepared to give the person that almost killed him an earful. 

But his anger evaporated almost immediately.

"Um. . . hey," their voice prickled his ears "Is now a good time?"

Standing in front of him, drenched from head to toe.

Is a Girl.

"You guys are still open, right?"

Her piercing cyan eyes immediately caught his attention. They seemed to glow faintly in the dimness of the store. Her hair, bubblegum pink and wet, shone brilliantly.

'Light were off so I thought there was nobody in the store. But I saw you were in here so...?'

Sunny felt himself beginning to sweat. Everything about her screamed for him to shut up and listen. His thoughts whirled with the same intensity of the thunderstorm.

'How in the hell do you handle this situation you've n e v e r had social interactions with a girl. I mean nothing could've prepared you for THIS. Mom was right you should've gotten out more, talked a bit more with people and developed actual social skills. Discord ain't doin SHIT NOW IS IT??

YOU F@#$ING MORON!!

WHY DIDN' T YOU LISTEN TO HER?!?!

NOW ITS ALL COME TO BITE YOU IN THE ASS-'

His mind was running in 4 different directions at the same time, arguing, tripping and crying all the while.

"Hey dude, are you okay?"

Her voice snapped him out of his inner panic attack. She looks at him with concern.

'her. . . beautiful gorgeous eyes-'

'NO FOCUS DAMMIT!!!!!'

"Y-yEs"

The awkward silence holds for a solid 6 seco nds after that absolutely horrendous voice crack.

His face feels hot-

Sunny took a deep breath and mentally shot himself. Several times. In the head.

"One moment please."

"Okay?"

First things first, he quickly flipped the switches, flooding the interior of the store with light.

Then, ducking behind the counter and leaving her confused as hell, he grabbed a handful of hair and cursed himself into oblivion. Blushing so hard from embarrassment that it wouldn't have been surprising if steam had begun to rise from the top of his head.

CURSE YOU, LACK OF SOCIAL SKILLS!!!
 
He tried to swallow but his mouth felt more rancid than a youtube pranksters personality. 'Focus FOCUS. Don't make a fool out of yourself. This is your chance to actually talk to someone cool! Steady yourself.'

'Aright! YOU GOT THIS!'

After psyching himself up, he left the safety of the counter and opened his mouth with an air of determination-

"How much for these?"

He looked down at the pile of goods that she just delivered on the counter.

"A-ah um...." he stuttered, trying to drum up some kind of response. It doesn't work and he ended up silently staring at her, mouth open mid-word. He really wanted to just stop existing now...

As if he wasn't already battered enough, she hit him with a look that made his blood run cold and hammered the final nail in the coffin.

She looked at him with the same eyes everyone else, like they were looking at a weirdo.

His heart began to sink.

He did it again. He fucked up another interaction. 

Dejectedly, Sunny picked up the items and started to scan them. His gaze was fixed on the task he was performing, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Maybe this was his fate. Doomed to forever be socially inept and alone. Why did he even think to try and make conversation with this rando? Because she was a girl? This is the kinda stuff weirdos who spend too much time online would do... which makes sense, he was exactly like one of those people now.

Jesus, how pathetic is he?

As if he were in a trance, he collected the payment and handed the girl her stuff, without looking at her. She said something but he was too busy wallowing in his misery.

Yeah this was it. He was officially a loser. Worse then a loser. An Incel. Oh god this is a new low.

Maybe he should quit this job and go back to playing Valorant or something. That'd be more appropriate for him than trying to masquerade around like a functioning member of society.

The bell tingled again. The sounds of reality faded back in as the rain thundered onto the pavement. Not really thinking, he raised his eyes to the sound.

What is she- oi waitwaitwaitwaITWAITHOLDON!!!

"HOLD ON A SECOND!!!"

The girl stood in the doorway holding a plastic bag in each hand and readying herself to sprint. She starts slightly at the volume of his voice.

"A-aren't you going to use an umbrella?" He asked, incredulously.

The girl looked away, "It broke on the way." She prepares to run again, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine"

"W-wait! please wait one second." She looked back at him, annoyed but he paid it no attention. He quickly dove under counter again. 

'Its gotta be here somewhere! I know its- AHA!!'
 
He grabs the thing by one end and yanks it out. Brushing the object off, He walks up to to the girl and hands her the umbrella. She glances at it for a moment before shooting him a look. "I don't have any more money."

Sunny shakes his head, "Its fine, this one isn't owned by the store, it's mine." He hands her the umbrella. "And I've got spares so it's really not that big of a deal..."

She grabs the umbrella and stares at it for a moment, before looking up with a small smile. "Well if you're offering, I can't exactly say no."

A smile.

"I'll come over by tomorrow and give it back."

'Is my heart trying to beat out of my chest?? what is happening??'

"See you around"

She walks away, giving him a small awkward wave. He waved back dreamily until her outline faded.

'Is this how extroverts felt all the time? This sense of fulfillment was amazing.'

'And that smile... '

'WAS TOTALLY WORTH GOING HOME DRENCHED!!!!'

He clenched his hands tightly and raised them in celebration, before another roar of thunder made him scream like a mouse.

_________________________________________

The girl walks alone in the rain. 

Nothing has changed. 

She's still alone.

But...

weirdly enough, she couldn't help but think about what just happened.

.

.

.

The sound of the water hitting the top of the umbrella was nostalgic.

__________________________________________

A few hours later . . .

Thankfully, the rain had stopped before his shift ended. He reached home dry and managed not track in any dirt. Things would've gotten a bit ugly, what with his mother being a neat-freak.

He made his way to his room, logged onto his computer and opened the group chat. Maybe in the real world, he couldn't talk with people. But online, he had no problem with it. He had even managed to make a few friends in a server over mutual interests.

*PING*

*PING*

*PING*

Ah they're already going at it.

Rowan> The guy was really mad lol

Mr Jash> dude fr?

Mr Jash> thats kinda cringe (O_O)

Rowan> I almost quit from how loud it got

Sunny cracked his fingers and began typing.

OmOboy> Hey

Mr Jash> Well well well

Mr Jash> Look who it is.

Rowan> !

Rowan> Finally back from work?

OmOboy> no.

Mr Jash> Nah dude hes still at work he just took his computer with him

OmOboy> Kek exactly

Rowan> -_-

Hei> Hello OmO

OmOboy> Hey Hei

Hei> -__-

Mr Jash> LOOOL

Hei>That joke got so old so fast

Mr Jash> wait that's kinda genius

OmOboy> So how are you guys?

Lian> You all are being too loud

Mr Jash> YOOO LIAN THEY LIVIN FOR ONCE

Mr Jash> whats good??

Rowan> Hello Lian :DD

Lian> Im getting so many pings in seconds

Lian> Hey rowan :)

Mr Jash> :)

Lian> No.

Mr Jash> D: what did I do

Rami> Good morning everyone!

OmOboy> It's noon.

Rowan> Its night????

Lian> Tbf it was storming so bad that noon looked like night

Hei> I know right?

Hei> the was a leak in our walls because of it

Mr Jash> Bunch of spiders escaped and he screamed like a little girl

Hei> HEY!

Hei> SPIDERS ARE GROSS

Mr Jash> Bro you dissected an actual frog what

Hei> it

Hei> It was required in our course studiess!!!

Rami> heheh~

Rami> You're so cute when you get flustered

Rami> (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Hei> (,,>﹏<,,)

Rowan> Eww

Lian> Gross

Mr Jash> Im throwing up right now

OmOboy> Sickening.

Rami> heheheh 

OmOboy> Aright that's it i'm going to sleep

Rowan> Already?

Lian> Thats rare for you

OmOboy> Dang am I really that much of a nightowl?

Rowan> Yes

Lian> Yes

Mr Jash> YES

Hei> Yes

Rami> Jesus christ, yes

OmOboy> . . .

OmOboy> Oyasumi nasai o/

Mr Jash> Weeb.

OmOboy> [-_-] 

Rowan> By the way

Rowan> with summer vacation over, we all have school tomorrow right?

Mr Jash> OH CRAP I FORGOT

Mr Jash> UH

Hei> Remember to brush your teeth

They're gonna keep going for a while, discussing about school and other stuff.

But it was time for you to turn in.

You turn the screen off and let out a huge yawn. You aren't looking forward to going to school again after a while. All you really do there is sleep and wait until the day is over. The one person you would talk to was your sister but now she's gone too.

You lie down in bed and close your eyes.

It'll just be a pain to deal with school again. But you'll manage. You close your eyes and begin to drift off.

Wait. If you're going to school then...  

The words "see you around" ring in your head.

You're starting school again.

You're going to have to quit your part time job.

x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x

Chapter Text

In a small faraway town, dawn had begun to break. The sun rose slowly, growing brighter by the second and shining brilliantly on a number of houses that populated the area. The birds chirped cheerfully in the trees. A breeze rustled the leaves of the branches that they were perched on.

On the streets, a few cats slowly stirred from their long nap. All in all, the atmosphere was peaceful. In that moment, it felt as though nothing could go wrong.

Until. . . .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

. . . ?

Um. . .

I guess nothing goes wrong for once? 

That's... rare. 

Usually there'd be some big- oh wait there it is.

*BANG*

"KELLLLSEEEEEEYYYYY!!!! NO RUNNING THE HOUSE, IDIOTA!!!"

In an instant, the silence was broken. A loud bang, followed by the screams of an angry mother reverberated out from inside one of the houses. Weirdly enough, no one seemed to be bothered by this. 

The cats on the street merely glanced at the house with a bored look while the birds kept chirping cheerfully. No one came out of the surrounding houses to see what had happened. 

It was as though things like these happened around here a lot. And indeed, they did.

After all, this was what the other kids called "Hero and his dorky brothers house." and in this house, there never seemed to be a single calm moment. The only time there was any semblance of it was after midnight.

The door of the house burst open and someone literally bolted out of it, so fast that they almost tripped on their feet. They managed to catch themselves right before they did, wobbling dangerously on one leg before regaining their balance and running again.

This ladies, gentlemen and all in between, was Kel. A tanned 15 to 16-year old with long brown hair. He had a well built, lengthy frame from participating in many sports that he found enjoyable.

Usually he wore an orange jersey for convenience but now he was wearing a plain white undershirt with a collared, buffalo plaid shirt with the buttons undone, blue jeans and dark orange shoes. In his mouth was a piece of toast with melted butter on top. 

Like one of those stereotypical anime girls in a Romance Manga, except this was a dude running faster than Usain bolt.

Kel was known for a lot of things. His participation in sports, his personality, being that one kid who everyone feels responsible for, being Hero's brother and making literally every meme canon etc. But his speed was one thing that he prided himself on.

The man was literally human sonic.

He ran as fast as he could while trying to eat the bread he had in his mouth. 

Dammit! If only he'd prepared his stuff earlier. He wouldn't have overslept. Now he'll be late ON HIS FIRST DAY!!!

He sprinted faster.

No! He'd reach it in time. He's going to make it.

He slowed down to turn round a corner and put on a huge burst of speed. His feet barely touching the ground.

*BANG*

For the second time in this chapter, something collided with something else. And this time, it was two bodies hitting each other. Well more specifically, one body crashing into the other with the speed of a moving truck. 

Even more specifically, Kel killing someone by acting like a human bullet.

The poor unfortunate person he ran into flew forward and rag dolled onto the pavement. Kel thought it was a pole that he ran into and so, he paid it no heed.

What he DID pay heed to was the immense pain that he was now feeling. The impact had completely knocked the wind out of him.

He clutched his stomach in pain and dropped his sorry-keister onto the cold pavement. At that moment, he remembered something his science teacher taught him. 

"Newtons laws state that, to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Kel could feel the opposite reaction in full effect. It hurt like a b*tch. He curled into a ball and groaned painfully. 

After a few seconds, the pain started to subside and Kel stood up gingerly.

Damn! that stings.

He jumped in shock, remembering why he was in a hurry.

Shit! times a wasting.

Rubbing his stomach, he starts to slowly walk. Before he can get too far however, he hears something. Someone groaning.

He looks back at the thing he collided with and realizes...

Crap its a person!

He jogs over them as fast as he could and puts a hand on their shoulder.

"Hey man, you good?"

"....uuuuuuuuurrrhhhhhgg...."

"You're right, that is stupid question."

As he was propping them up, Kel noticed something familiar on them. 

A badge. But not just any badge. It was a badge that all the students of his school had to wear to be recognized by the school. Meaning that this kid...

CRAAAP HE GOES TO MY SCHOOL !!!!

Kel could see the headlines already. Local boy 15 murders innocent schoolmate by fucking running into him like an idiot. Jesus that title sucked.

He looked at the guy. He had yellow hair that stuck out in places. His pale skin made him look a bit sickly. He was wearing a cyan shirt and-

WAIT NOW ISNT THE TIME !!!!!

Kel stood back up and paced around, trying to remember what he needed to do in this situation. 

He could call an ambulance but that'll take too long and by then he'll definitely be late. His mother will ground him, take his phone and leave him unable to communicate with his friends.

On the other hand, he could abandon this kid here to die alone by an injury that HE caused. But he would definitely reach school on time.

. . .

Eh, you win some you lose some. 

Kel prepared to sprint away but before he could, the kid on the floor let out an even bigger groan. He could feel the guilt writhe inside him.

God dammit.

He turned around, grabbed the kid and balanced him onto his back. Damn, he was heavy!

Kel took a moment to prepare and, with a deep breath. He ran at half speed towards the school.

If he couldn't pick option 1 or 2, he'd kill two birds with one stone and take this kid to the infirmary in the school.

Sometimes, his own genius amazes him! This day could still be saved yet!

_____________________________

1 hour later....

He sat in front of the teacher in the school infirmary. The kid he knocked unconscious, was lying in one of the bed across from him.

"So let me get this straight," The teacher spoke slowly. "You were on your way to school when you came across a random kid lying on the floor, already passed out. After noticing his badge, you picked him up and carried him all the way here?"

"That is what happened, yes." Kel replied. He was pretty sure he screwed up big time. He had arrived late by 45 minutes with a kid that he knocked out (not that he told her this).

"Well, he seems to be all right." The teacher sighed. "You know, I'll have to tell this kids and your parents about this."

Kel was expecting that but it wasn't any less disappointing. His mother would be furious and ground him. His brother would be disappointed and his dad would probably just sit on the couch and watch TV. He'd be stuck in jail and hAVE HIS XBOX TAKEN FROM HIM and he was NOT prepared for that.

He kept his gaze on the floor.

The teacher stood in silence for a second before letting out a small laugh. Kel looked up, surprised. 

"Oh relax, you aren't in trouble. After all, you helped an innocent person who was hurt, right?"

She looked down at the boy lying in the bed. "Poor kid," She sighed. "I wonder who could've done this to him..."

Kel rubbed the back of his head nervously. "N-no idea." His guilt hissed but he paid it no heed.

"But hold on, didn't I come after the bell? Aren't you gonna call my parents for that?"

"Huh?" The teacher looked confused, "Don't you know? Todays the first day so school starts a bit late. I believe all students were notified of this."

"Wait... so i'm not-"

"Yes that means you are on time." She smiled, "Though, make sure you aren't late tomorrow! Now run along, I believe class is about to begin."

Kel turned around to leave the office. The teacher called out to him just before he left, "And don't worry about your friend. He'll be all right in a few and I'll notify you when that happens."

He forced a smile and replied nervously, "That's good to hear."

Man he really screwed up. Probably ruined that kids first day. The guilt in his system burned his insides, screaming for retribution.

He lowered his head.

If he hadn't been running like an idiot on meth, maybe if he was paying more attention...

Jesus, he r e a l l y screwed up. 

Kel stopped for a second, before raising his head and slamming a fist on his chest.

IT WAS DECIDED. That kid was gonna be his first friend in this school. He was gonna make it up to him, no matter what and give him the best day of his life.

Kel smiled.

He had a lot to do...

x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x

About the same time as this....

The boy in the infirmary jolted to life in a cold sweat. He felt awful.

Other then the fact that he was pretty sure he got hit with a truck. He also felt as though something terrible had happened and his peaceful high school days were over before they even began.

He swallowed nervously.

This did not bode well...





x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x ~ ~ x

Chapter Text

Aubrey ran across the streets, weaving and bobbing around every obstacle in her path.

This was not good.

She ducked under a low hanging branch and jumped over a trashcan. Her bag almost flying out of her grip in the motion. She gritted her teeth and strengthened her grip on the strap.

This was really not good.

She whirled around and took off again. Her pink hair shone brilliantly in the sun, whipping around wildly with each hurried step.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. How could she be so irresponsible.

She gracefully dodged a couple of pedestrians without breaking her momentum.  She turned a corner and almost tripped into a fire hydrant. Cursing internally, she somersaulted and skid a couple of meters onto the pavement.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Aubrey had pictured herself on a calm stroll, admiring the scenery and the general vibe of a morning walk to school. Maybe she would help some old grandma walk across the street or stop to pet a cat for a minute or two.

Well, both of those things weren’t exactly possible for her. The neighbourhood regarded her as a scourge to be purged and every animal she had ever come across was scared or hated her. The ideal normality of a morning walk to school was something she was never going to experience.

Still, there was nothing weird about a good fantasy or two, right? And there was absolutely nothing wrong with staying up late and overthinking every detail of her first day to her new school, to the point where you wake up late on your first day and now you have to run like a maniac to get to school in time.

Yeah, that kind of stuff was normal right?

Right?

She was so distracted that she almost missed her destination. Skidding to a halt, she took a couple of steps towards the gate and put one hand on it to steady herself. She tried to slow down her breathing in an attempt to soothe her frantic heartbeat.

‘I... made it...?’

Hope bubbled in her chest. If she wasn’t late then...

In the distance, the sound of an assembly taking place became more apparent. Her heart began to sink.

She did not, in fact, make it.

She looked down for several seconds.

That was fine.

She attempted to swallow down her bitter feelings.

This was fine.

She didn’t want to be part of the assembly anyways. They’d all just stare at her and whisper behind her back. Just like always.

Besides, what would they do if she was late on her first day, call her parents? Whatever. It’s not like they knew or even cared about her.

Aubrey didn’t care. Taking in a sharp breath, she closed her heart to it and marched on through the courtyard and towards the front doors.

She already regretted being here.

.

.

.

.

She strode down the hallway. The salmon-coloured walls were unremarkable, fluorescent lights buzzing with fervour.

The thing that caught her eye was the god-awful posters that adorned every surface that wasn’t either a locker or a door. They all said things like ‘You did it!’ or ‘Hang in there!’ with an image of children playing with a jump rope.

Looking at the messy collage of posters, Aubrey couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. It looked like the kind of scene you’d see in a Japanese horror anime, with the seals keeping whatever unholy abomination was haunting the room bound.

Whoever thought this was a good idea needs to put gagged and bounded in a janitor’s closet, away from any position of power.

She tore her eyes away. There were more important things to be focusing on.

She looked down at the little strip of paper clutched in her hand. It was sloppily torn with two letters scribbled on the top right portion.

2A.

This was where her fate would be decided. She had even written it down to make sure she didn’t mess it up.

She wouldn’t mess it up.

Her attention was torn away when she heard the sound of a trumpet in the distance, followed by the voices of many people cheering.

She wasn’t sure what was going on but one thing was clear. She had to move fast.

Her pace quickening, she slung her bag behind her and marched down the hall, passing door after door. She climbed a staircase onto the second floor and kept walking, all the while looking around frantically.

‘Arts room.’

‘2C’

‘2B’

Finally, she had arrived right where she needed to be. The door was at the end of the hallway. Coincidentally, there was a window that showed the courtyard where the assembly was taking place. She paused for a moment and looked down.

The assembly was over. People were streamlining their way into the building.

She stood there for a second or two, watching them slowly disappear to the front of the building. In the distance, she could hear the sound of many feet.

OK Ok. Calm down. You’re fine.

It was going to be ok.

Everything is going to be ok.

She steadied herself. It’s all going to work out.

She grabbed the door handle and pulled.

...

...

..?

It-

It didn’t budge.

She frowned and tried again. The door trembled a bit but didn’t move.

Are you kidding me. Really??

She grimaced and grabbed it with both hands, straining as she pulled.

Why was everything going wrong??

And then it all broke loose. All the fear, anger and tension that had been building up from dealing with the cavalcade of shit that was her life for the last few days finally hit a breaking point.

She breathed heavily as her frustration welled in her chest.

Fine.

This stupid door wanted to be difficult? It didn’t want to budge at all.

F I N E.

Aubrey became enraged. She clenched her fist and took a stance.

Guess what comes next.

Well, if you guessed that she punched the door with a beautifully mastered technique, shattering it into a thousand tiny shards of broken wood, then you’d be ¼ right.

Instead, what she did was kick the door. And she didn’t kick it like a normal, reasonably angry person would, no. She kicked that door with all the strength she could muster in her body. There was no technique of the body or mastery of motion that you’d see in karate experts.

It was just pure frustration.

See, what Aubrey failed to realise here was that the door in question opened inwards. In others words, what you need to do is push the door from the outside, not pull it.

And the door opened. Oh BOY did it open. Nearly flew off the hinges too.

Aubrey’s eyes widened in shock as the door slammed open, hitting something with a loud *THUD*.

‘Oh, it was... the other way...’

Her shock turned to confusion as she watched that something crash into a desk, making a hell of a racket. And then finally to fear as she realized that ‘something’ was ‘someone’. The most notable thing about him was the fact that he was out cold on the floor in a mess.

Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc-

“WOAH”

She flinched at the sudden appearance of a young boy standing a few feet away from her. The kid looks at the door that she almost annihilated and slowly turns his head back to her.

This isn’t good. A cold shiver runs up her spine.

“That was... SO COOOOOOOL.”

Yep. She’s doomed.