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“So, it’s posted. I’m really interested to see what kind of rections we’re gonna get,” I say giddily to my friend Anne. She just hit post herself on her laptop, sitting on my bed.
“I just hope they won’t hate us. These drabbles are dark!”
“Yeah, between your Nick poisoning Charlie and my Charlie murdering Nick I think we’ve gone as dark as anything,” I sigh.
Anne was spending the weekend at mine. As usual, our Heartstopper and fanfic conversations had escalated. She had told me about her idea for a dark drabble series, and I instantly got inspired for some dark drabbles of my own.
My mobile binged, notifying me of an incoming mail. “Let’s see if we’ve already got a comment,” I say excitedly. Anne peeks over my shoulder as I open the mail she shrieks, “Comment! And from the Irish Girl!”
I instantly click on it and read the comment.
I don’t think you and Anne should be friends anymore. Luv you both but this friendship is dangerous 😂
Anne’s gasp tells me that she read it, too. We look at each other, then we burst out laughing.
Suddenly, I have an idea. “Hey, isn’t her birthday in a week?”
“I think so, why?” Anne asks. “What is that brain of yours doing now?”
“How about we both write her a drabble each in which we kill off Nick and Charlie, but this time we make it funny!”
Anne looks at me flabbergasted. “How do you suggest we make killing them off funny?”
“Er,” I start. That is a problem. “No idea?” I offer lamely. “But the idea is good, you have to give me that.”
Anne rolls her eyes, then suddenly she gets excited. “Oooh, I think I have an idea! Can I kill off Nick?” She nearly jumps with giddiness.
I laugh. “Brilliant! So you go kill off Nick, and I take care of Charlie.”
We both immediately get down to writing.
Once we’re finished it’s got quite late, and I yawn. I look at my work in satisfaction. “Let’s get some sleep, it’s late,” I suggest, and Anne nods, seemingly as satisfied with her work as I am with mine.
The next morning I sit down at my laptop again to go over my drabble once more.
But when I read it all the blood drains from my face. Is that a prank Anne pulled on me? “Er, Anne?” I try to wake her. She stirs on the guest mattress and looks at me. “Morning to you, too. Mind telling me why you woke me?”
“Did you do something to my drabble?” I ask, trying to keep the accusation out of my voice.
“Er, no? Why do you ask?”
“Well, I’m just rereading it, and this is not what I wrote.”
Anne scoffs. “Drabbles don’t just change themselves!”
“That’s why I was asking you! I thought it might have been some kind of prank!”
Suddenly, Anne lunges for her own laptop and opens her drabble. “‘Oh, Charlie, I love you so much. You are the love of my life, I’m so glad I found you.’ What the fuck??? I didn’t write that!”
“Ah, so yours, too? Still better than mine, listen to this, ‘Nelson, I swear if you ever leave me Tori will have to help me get rid of your very dead body.’”
“Well, there seem to be two different styles. Hey, go check if somebody has remote access to your laptop! I’ll do the same!
“How do I do that?” I am completely lost when it comes to things like that, and Anne has saved me more than once on that front. So she coaches me through it as she checks on her own laptop for some remote access.
“Right, nothing,” she finally says. “Hmmm, weird.”
“Really weird,” I huff out, keeping to myself what just went through my mind. Maybe Nick and Charlie …? But no, stop it, that would be bonkers.
“I guess there’s nothing we can do except write these drabbles again,” Anne shrugs.
So we do just that. Afterwards we head into town to have brunch.
When we come back we both read our drabbles again.
“Bloody hell!” Anne shrieks, and I am about to do the same.
“‘You better not do anything crazy, Mister, or I might have to use my new axe on you!’ Who the hell writes something like that?” I say indignantly. I really liked my drabble.
“I somehow like it more than mine. Here, listen to this, ‘I will love you till the day I die, and I don’t plan on dying, so I will love you for a very long time.’”
“You’re right, that’s cheesy,” I admit.
“So, rewrite?” she asks, sounding a bit desperate. I stare at my screen and just nod.
“Ah!” Anne screams when she opens her drabble again after dinner.
“Same!” I groan helplessly. Who the hell is messing with us?? We look at each other, lost for words and both on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
That’s when the doorbell rings. I am kind of grateful for the distraction.
“Bit late for visitors, are you expecting someone?” Anne asks.
“Not really,” I reply. “Come on, let’s see who it is, I think we could both do with the distraction.” Anne just nods.
When we get to the door I open it - and my mouth falls open.
“Close it, it’s cold,” Tori scoffs at me while she looks at me with murder in her eyes.
“Now, now, my dear, no need to be rude,” Sarah Nelson reprimands her softly.
Anne lets out a disbelieving huff.
“You - you - but you -” she stammers, pointing from Tori to Sarah.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, we are only characters in a graphic novel and have no business being in the real world,” Tori says sardonically, then turns to me. “You should have thought about that before you attempted to kill my little brother. Now you’ll have to pay for that.”
I’m fucking scared as Tori shows the axe in her hand.
Sarah looks mildly terrified, but goes on to say, “I am so sorry for her harsh tone, but I have to say that I agree with the sentiment. I don’t think you want to do this, my dears.”
“Besides, if you kill them off you can’t write smut about them anymore,” Tori scoffs.
Suddenly, I have enough of this. I am the author, I can do whatever the hell I want!
I look at Anne, grinning slightly. She gives me a confused look. I turn back to Tori and shrug.
“Ghosts can fuck too, you know?”