Chapter Text
Oayth couldn’t believe it. She spent all this time practically working day and night just to have enough confidence to finally pop the question to Tyson Ramaj: If he could accompany her to the prom. It was seemingly perfect; nothing could have gone wrong. Nothing SHOULD have gone wrong. So much money was put into the pink hair dye, the pretty yellow bow, and the dress... So much time was spent trying to get to know Ty and bond with him, like joining Miss Portillo’s art club to collaborate with him during art projects or cheering for him during sports events. That’s how Oayth even realised her love for arts n’ crafts in the first place. Because of Ty.
So much money wasted...
So much time wasted...
So much effort wasted..!
It was all seemingly perfect. The stars had formed a giant heart above the two juniors and were basically screaming, ‘Soulmates!’ It was prom night, and she knew neither Ty nor herself had dates. Well, most of his little clique didn’t have one either, but that didn’t really matter. Ty’s little group were jerks anyways. Ty was clearly different in her eyes. In some way, in Oayth’s little mind, Ty was different. Ty was needed; she had a massive crush on him.
The juniors and seniors lounged around on campus grounds waiting for the gym doors to open to start prom night. This was Oayth’s time to strike. Building up all of her confidence and a quick prayer to the Lord above, she approached Ty. Despite stumbling over herself like an idiot, she managed to pop the question. And it felt good. It felt beautiful to finally let the weight off her chest. She looked up at Ty with hope in her eyes and an admitting dopey smile.
Just for Ty to humiliate her in front of his clique. Each one of them pointed and laughed at her. It didn’t feel real. She couldn’t believe it then, and she couldn’t now. So in that moment, she did the only thing she could think of. She ran away.
The junior sat alone in the library on the second floor with earbuds in and her phone out. She resided in her usual hiding spot as she read online stories to get her mind off the situation. She enjoyed reading stories; it made her forget about the world around her. Horror was the best at it for some odd reason. She couldn’t really pinpoint why. But it was a guilty pleasure for sure, as they weren’t ‘holy for the Lord’s efforts’ as her mum had stated.
She looked down at the golden cross necklace she wore as a good luck charm. So much for that. She slowly wrapped her dominant hand around it, while her right hand started to tremble with the phone a bit. Oayth felt her stomach twist and turn with disdain.
As she was always one of the smaller students, she was usually able to successfully hide when needed. She especially needed to be alone after the whole incident happened. She didn’t know how else to process it.
It was no different now.
So Oayth sat alone with her thoughts and her phone as her form of company. She thought Ty was different.. She thought he was the one…
How could she be so stupid?
How could she think she even had a chance with Ty in the first place? How could she when she had competition that was objectively better? She wasn’t naturally attractive like Pearla Weaver; she wasn’t gifted like Mallory Costanza. She definitely wasn’t a social butterfly like them. What did she have?
Hope.
Just hope.
Stupid teenage hope.
She should’ve listened to her mother. If she had just listened and been the good daughter she was supposed to be, none of this would have happened. Maybe if she wasn’t so caught up in proving her mother wrong and trying to gain the love of a boy who barely even cared to know her, just maybe if she was a more faithful daughter..
She looked back on the phone, refusing to deal with the topic anymore. She scrolled through the selection of online books on her favorite fanfiction website, searching through the catalog for something to take her mind off the situation. After a while of mindless scrolling, Oayth finally lands on a story. The concept seems intriguing: it was about some monster called 'The Reynard' who stalks its victims for weeks before playing mind games with them. Minus the whole ‘based on a true story’ which was clearly there for clicks, it looked promising.
─┉┈◈◉◈┈┉─
30 minutes went by, and it was draining.
It started out effective. It was scary, but fun-scary. It was thrilling! Plus, the mystery was a good hook! But then it continued… And dragged… And dragged… The story was getting monotonous. Oayth was barely paying attention to the text; her mind began to wander. It wandered back into the places that hurt most. Ty, Mother, Worthiness — all the ideas came crashing back onto her. It hit like a meteor. A meteor that was seemingly targeting Oayth, just Oayth.
Why? Why did she feel like this? What did she do to deserve this? Was the Lord punishing her for her actions against her mother or some other sin she committed along the way? Was she being tested?
With all these questions digging through her head at once, she didn’t notice her hand tightening its grip on the cross necklace. Her palm dug into the edges of the cross.
No, no. She was a good daughter. She followed the rules; she never spoke back to her mother (until earlier today); she followed Christian practices; and she maintained excellent grades. Not to the valedictorian level of Mallory Costanza, but still worthy of praise! She couldn’t deserve this. Right?
Right…?
Well, maybe she didn’t try hard enough. Maybe she wasn’t good enough. Maybe—
“NO, SHUT UP!!” Oayth suddenly blurted out, almost spooking herself in the process.
She sat there in silence for a few seconds. Processing what she just did. She just screamed at herself. This was getting pathetic, and she knew it. Oayth tried returning to ignoring. But it came back stronger. The muffled sounds of music and people coming from the gym downstairs didn’t help. It made her feel more isolated. Confined. Alone.
“You ruined everything.”
Oayth holds her cross tighter. She was desperate for any sort of reassurance. For some odd reason, her palm suddenly felt cold. Even a bit.. wet? She couldn’t fully grasp what was happening because her mind was preoccupied. The junior stashed her phone away and used her now-freed hand to tuck her earbuds into her pocket. She crawled out of her hiding spot and began to trek through the library. It felt like the space expanded without her noticing.
“How could you be so selfish?”
No, no, no, not again…
Oayth stopped dead in her tracks. Her legs wouldn’t let her move. Her already pale skin turned almost pure white, like the colours were being forcefully ripped out of her.
“I- I’m not.. I just wanted to prove to my mother that… that a boy did like me..” She sheepishly rebuts herself .
“And look where that got you.” The voice replied in a disappointed tone. There was a hint of smugness, like the thoughts were rubbing salt in the wound because Oayth deserved it. “Alone in a library trying to cling for comfort while everyone else has the time of their lives at prom. Alone because you just wanted to feel superior for once and in the right. So much for ‘proving her wrong.’”
“Be quiet! I’m gonna apologize and make it up to them.!”
“What will that get you? Your mum probably already despises you for disrespecting her wishes; Ty and his clique think you’re a joke; there’s nothing you can do.”
She opened her mouth to counter back, but there was nothing. The only thing coming out of her mouth were the quick breaths of a stressed Oayth. She stumbled backward until her back hit the window. Her legs pushed against the ground to make herself lean on the window. The junior was about to place her hands on her cross until she noticed something through the shine of the full moon outside. It illuminated her left hand. She could see a mixture of wet and dried blood. Positioning herself towards the illumination, she also discovered that small parts of her dress were also ruined by it.
It didn’t make sense.
How could that have gotten on her?
It didn’t take long for that answer to be revealed. She looked at the golden cross necklace she was wearing. It was covered in it, including a piece of Oayth’s skin. She must’ve been gripping it hard enough to pierce her palm. That was her dominant hand, too..
“Can’t even last 5 minutes without hurting something around you. That says a lot, huh?”
Not that damned voice again.
“Stop it, please! Just leave me alone..!” Oayth pleaded, her left hand instinctively reaching for the cross again.
“Look at yourself. You just cut your hand on that cross, and yet you still fall back on it when you're scared…”
She psychically stopped her hand from progressing much further after the comment was made. It was getting harder to speak. It was getting difficult to see properly. It was getting almost impossible to breathe normally. It was too much, too much for her.
Too many things are happening at once. She couldn’t focus on anything. Too much emotion, too much fear, too much… too much…
She couldn’t handle it. It was too overwhelming. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, causing her throat to feel dry and a bit sore. Because of the dryness of her throat and the overwhelming sensations around her, it caused her panic. Because of the panic, the breathing worsened.
She had to leave. She had to run; she couldn’t stay there. She’d rather go anywhere else than stay there.
Anywhere. Anywhere but there.
Oayth used the last bit of the remaining strength she had to start pumping her legs towards the exit. It felt like she had to deliberately pump each leg forward continuously, or else her legs might give up and collapse from under her. She pushed the doors to the library open and ran through the halls as fast as she could. There was no thought whatsoever about the surroundings or potential bystanders. Her only goal was to leave.
She dashes across the various doors, lockers, and prom posters scattered inside a seemingly endless labyrinth of hallways and corridors. The thoughts didn’t stop; instead, it was almost like they were fueled by Oayth’s panic. They came in rapid succession. To the point where they were overlapping. One would yell an insult, the next would scream her doubts, and another would shriek her fears. Each and every thought bouncing around and getting into a screaming contest like rabid children. All fighting for attention in her dissolving mind. It was crowded up there, contrasting with how desolate it was in the real world.
It was strenuous for her to keep running. Her legs wanted to quit, and so did her body. But her mind was going at the same speed as her, if not faster. The tears were exposing themselves as well, making her face go red.
The agony was too much. And she couldn’t handle it any longer.
Soon her legs gave out, causing Oayth to crash onto the cold, hard floor. The almost plasticy-looking floors made a squeaking sound when her body slid on top of it. Then it came to a dead stop.
There Oayth was. On the floor, crying to herself as the world faded. She couldn’t even make it to the stairs. Her throat was too sore to wail or weep. So the best she could do was a measly whimper as she began to curl into a ball and let the thoughts overpower her. She shut her eyes completely, everything going dark like the flick of a light switch. The thoughts weren’t as loud anymore, but they were somehow more prominent. It spoke in a tall and demeaning way. Like a disappointed parent in a way, like her mother often was.
She planted her cheek on the floor as her right hand started gripping her hair. The dress wrinkled and shriveled with her. Her face was glowing red with suffering.
She lost… to her own mind. How embarrassing.
Even Oayth started to unintentionally agree with these horrible thoughts. It felt easier to follow than to defy.
But then…
Snap, Snap, Snap.
There was a snapping sound coming from the opposite direction of the path to the downward staircase. It sounded like fingers snapping. Suddenly, all the thoughts disappeared in unison after the third snap. Now the junior could only hear her own unsteady breathing and the steps behind her. She slowly lifted her head up from the ground to get a look at whoever was making the noises. Her cheeks were still red, but now wet from the tears. She looked like a drunk recently out the bar. Once her eyes cleared up a bit, she got a better view of the person. And it was…
It was…
Oh no… Nononono, not him. Why now? Why when she’s like this??
Oayth gawked at the boy. Her mouth left agape and quivering. The left hand slowly made its way back to the cross.
Then, she could only manage one simple question.
“T- Tyson, why are you here..?”