you almost seem to jump out of your skin at the sound of the thunder. its booming roars feel as though its coming from right behind you ... it makes you think of how scary and fickle nature can be. you ... hope that lightning doesn't strike anywhere close, but maybe that is simply due to your own worries getting the best of you.
( and gosh --- did you have a fair bit of time to sit with your thoughts ... )
even more worry comes from the way you hear them crack their joints as they finally stir awake. sure -- you had times when you'd feel achy when you woke but that ... was concerning. maybe it's just because of the way that they'd ended up falling asleep ?? desks tend not to make the best of pillows, and the position they were laying in ... couldn't have been the most comfortable, either.
" faha, yeah ... you're probably right. " you'd like to imagine that the faculty would check every room before locking up. but ... you've never stayed in school this late. " just a little worried ... i guess ?? wondering if maybe they tried to leave haphazardly before the storm hit but -- saying it out loud ... that sounds a bit silly ... "
c'mon, noel ... use your brain.
your fingertips tap on the desk, as your gaze meets theirs. why were they ... smiling at you like that ??
( maybe some kind of prank ?? it felt so ... unnatural and was ... more than just a little creepy. )
they tell you you should be more scared to be trapped here. the sentence alone is enough to make your blood go cold, the way that they were ... approaching you only making you feel more unsettled. they walked like they were some sort of zombie ... and your eyes go wide as they touch your shoulder, making you nearly jump in your seat in the process.
" eek !! " you squeak out a scream, placing your hand on your chest. a certain silence hangs heavy in the air, hands a little shaky. " th -- that ... isn't a funny prank ... kris ... !! " you eventually tell them. you take a deep breath, close your eyes for a few moments and ...
... okay. you think you're feeling a little better now. maybe, at least. your hands have stopped shaking, if nothing else. " it's ... it's okay just... " your gaze shifts away from them, down to the desk you sat at. " ... please. don't do that again. " it was scary. did they want to make you freak out ??
" i don't think it'd be safe either, though ... we don't want to get ... blown away, fahaha --- " you try to lighten the mood with a joke, but even you can feel it failing as the words leave you lips.
then they ask you why you stayed.
" oh um -- " it's a reasonable question, anyone --- everyone else would have simply left them be.
" i think ... um. if anything happened to you ... i would have felt bad. " storms like this ... they were dangerous. though you may have made a joke about it just a moment ago ... you didn't want them to get whisked away. you already had one important person in your life disappear.
... you didn't want it to happen to another. even if things were ... fractured -- at least compared to how they used to be. if something were to happen to them ...
( it'd shatter you into a million, teeny tiny pieces ... you wouldn't be able to come back from that. the guilt would eat you alive. )
" i just wanted ... to make sure that you got home safe. leaving you to wade through the storm alone felt cruel. so, i decided that if nobody else was going to ... then i may as well. "
sure, this probably should have been your teachers job, but, it's not like you would have anyone waiting for you at home right now anyways.
