Chapter Text
“Dear diary,
Why do I deserve this? Sure, I understand that I’m an asshole and that everyone around me hates me. Hell, even my own mother hated me. She hated me so much that she wanted to kill herself. My father doesn't think I know this, but I do. Everyone does. She told me. She told me that she hated how I acted toward others, how I somehow always find a way to upset my father. I don't even do it on purpose but I always do. She told me that she wished I was never born, that she wished she could have strangled me as a baby, or even gutted herself as soon as she found out about me.
Everyone hates me. EVERYONE. Few admit it, but they do. My father, my classmates, the people at church, the lady from the convenience store, the town scum that probably sells drugs, the …” The entry Larry just read out loud continued. The writing getting sloppy and sloppier by the letter.
“Holy shitballs dude, where’d ya find this?” Larry looks toward Todd in an almost desperate manner.
“This guy seriously needs help… Or girl” Larry continued looking towards Ashley and Maple, Maple who’s currently braiding Ashleys hair.
“No way, are you sure Larry?” Ash turned towards him, putting her ‘outstanding acting’ on clear display.
“Haha, yeah I’m dead serious ASH.”
“Alright jokes aside, I think this person genuinely needs help.” Todd finally being able to answer Larry’s question. Looking over from his computer to look at the diary with him.
Larry continued to scroll through the diary, one page catching his eye.
“Helphelphelphephelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelp…”
“What the fuck…” Larry can’t tell if this was supposed to be a joke, I mean who just repeatedly repeats one word in a diary? He certainly doesn’t.
“Yeah…” Todd says, not questioning but he wonders if he should.
“Guys? What's going on?” Maple asks, having been so focused braiding Ashley's hair to not have listened to the rest of the conversation.
“Yeah what’s going on, what happened?” Ashley also asks.
“We uhm, I was flipping through the pages and uhm.. Just look.” Larry takes the withered diary, turning it to Asley and Maple. The girls hunch over the book reading tensely, trying to find anything else other than that word.
“The fuck? What is this?” Maple asks as she tenses even more.
“Todd found a diary and decided to look through it.” Ashley answers, being the only one who realized Maple has been nearly lost in this conversation.
“No, I didn’t find it. Remember that guy I’m going out with? His parents are apparently super christian, so I decided to ask a little about it and he gave this to me. He said he found it behind the church in the fireplace.”
“Right. What was the kid's name again?” Larry looks at Todd.
"Oh! I know, it’s Neil, the guy in grade 11!” Maple says.
“Yeah, how’d you know that? I don’t really talk about him alot.” Todd says surprised, not only at the fact that Maple knew this, but also at the fact that she was weirdly loud. At least for being Maple.
“Well, I remember you talked about him some time ago, and I wanted to do my research. To make sure he wasn't some creep. Turns out we actually have a lot in common!”
"What? You’re friends with Neil!?” Todd even more choked at this information. Raising his arms as if he were in agony. Agony of embarrassment.
“Basically.” Maple shrugs it off as if it were nothing.
“And you didn’t think you should’ve told me?” Todd now brings his hands up to his face, dimming his glasses.
“Hm, I guess I forgot.”
“Alright let’s stop this before you give Todd a heart attack.” Larry chimes in.
“Oh my god.. I’m so sorry Todd.”
“It's okay Maple, I’m just surprised.”
“Remind me why you thought this was a good idea.” Todd runs a few steps to catch up to Asley and Larry.
“You can’t tell me you aren’t at least a little curious on who it is.” Ashley says. Neither Todd or Larry knew how they ended up in this situation. Maple had decided to leave Todd's apartment shortly after the conversation about Neil, probably going to Chug’s apartment instead.
“I guess” Todd sighs and takes a deep breath. Now wishing he didn’t, because now it feels like he deepthroated an icicle.
“Are we there yet?”
“Just a little longer.” Larry says, surprisingly being the only one of the three who’s been in the town's church.
“It’s too cold to be doing this. Couldn’t we do this NOT during a blizzard.”
“It’s not that cold.” The other boy says, huttering.
“It kind of is LARRY.” Ash agreed, hugging her elbows, holding on for dear life.
The trio shutting up, when they come to a stop.
“Phelps Ministry Church” Larry says proudly.
“Let’s go!” Larry started to run.
“Hey!” Ashley and Todd say in unison, quickly following Larry behind.
One quick turn later they're in front of a fireplace. It looks run down, like it hasn’t been used in months. Moss climbing the edges, stone shattered, graffiti seen under the moss. But the fire raging in it is beautiful. All three in a trance standing in front of it. The fire is so orange, so strong and so bright it looks like it couldn’t ever go out, like you could stare at it for an eternity.
Suddenly a snap is heard.
“Shit!” Someone shouts. The trio turned around to see who it was, whoever it was was running away, so fast that the trio almost didn’t see the man. He was wearing long black slacks and a jacket, covering the back of the man's head. He looked tall, and he was oddly quick, even for his length. The man ran so fast, he didn’t even notice he had dropped a something.
Todd wanted to run after the man, shout or anything, but he couldn't.
The voice of the man sounded way too familiar, he couldn’t tell who it was though.
“Who the fuck was that?” Larry being the one to break the silence to no one's surprise.
“I don’t know, but they dropped a book.” Todd says, walking towards the book, picking it up.
“Oh my god, that looks just like the diary!” Ashley says, swooping her out of her face as she runs a few steps towards Todd.