What if Nicky got DID?(part 2)
"Did he just... talk like an old man?" – Ivan dusted himself off from his fall.
"Um... I think something is definitely wrong with him..." – Maritza suspiciously eyed Nicky.
"Ah, in my days, no one panicked over some sugar coma! Where's the resilience? Where's the endurance? Where's the ability to hold a damn box properly?!" – he pointed indignantly at Ivan, who was placing his inventions into a box.
"I... what? You... who even are you?" – Ivan, utterly lost, asked.
"Who am I? Who am I? That's what I should be asking—who are you! Standing here like a flock of lost pigeons instead of pulling yourselves together!" – "Nicky" crossed his arms in exasperation.
"Alright... what kind of nonsense is this? First the gymnast, now he's acting like a grumpy old—" – Delroy was interrupted.
"Excuse me! I prefer the term 'experienced individual,' thank you very much!" – he straightened up, looking deeply offended.
"You talk like you fought on the frontlines..." – Maritza remarked dryly.
"I have fought wars, young lady! Wars of patience, wars of logic, wars against incompetence! But the most terrifying war of all—the war against teenagers!" – he dramatically raised a finger... then suddenly gasped and straightened his back.
"Ah... where am I?" – clutching his head, Nicky looked around... he was still in the clubroom... and that was a relief?
"What are you even doi—" – the door burst open as the nurses rushed in to take Trinity...
Nicky walked through the hallways... thinking about everything... Approaching his locker, he opened it... an old club photo.
His friends (and Delroy too) were preparing to stand against Crowface... that strange man... though was he even human? Nicky wasn't sure.
A younger Nicky would've fully supported this idea... but now, it only sent fear through his veins.
He remembers the horrors... what happened to him in the basement, the betrayal, the fear, the shadow, Theodore Peterson's mad story... and that creature.
But he doesn't remember everything that happened after the basement. Again and again, he would find himself in places he wasn't in just seconds ago... and it wasn't teleportation—hours could pass! As if... someone else took control of his body.
Once, he decided to take a bath, and as soon as he took off his T-shirt... he blacked out and woke up eight hours later... in the woods.
Another time, when he saw that there were no missing posters of him... next thing he knew, he woke up in an abandoned house... five hours later. Strangely enough, it was the very same abandoned house he had planned to visit before being locked in the basement. He had wanted to go there for pendant parts.
A third time, after bumping into his nightstand in his room... Half an hour passed, and he opened his eyes, finding himself in the living room.
But there was one time... he doesn't even remember it... Apparently, a hat fell on his head, and he woke up ten hours later... in the tunnels beneath the school. The hat lay beside him.
And another... when he was looking at a photo of the club members, holding the half-finished pendant he made for T—uh, that he bought for *******. That time, he woke up an hour later... in Theodore's cursed house.
Something was definitely wrong with him... and—
"But sick Nick is still here." – a terrifyingly familiar voice sounded behind him... Finch.
He turned around and saw... her, Trinity... so beauti—uh, normal as always, without that sugar rush. And her parents.
He noticed her smile when she saw him, but he understood that her parents (at least her mother) wouldn't be pleased with them talking... With a heavy heart, he closed his locker and walked away. He even ignored the fact that Trinity had started stepping toward him.
"Don't even think about it." – Mrs. B's voice was instantly recognizable. Nicky had only spoken to her once... and he would remember that time forever.
A little later, he saw their blue car... watching sadly as they disappeared from his sight... Sadness, pain, and loss... that's what he felt.
He thought Trinity's parents had changed their minds about him... He clearly didn't do anything... right?
He wasn't so sure anymore.
Time skip (about 3 hours):
Nicky returned home, tossed his backpack onto the chair in his room, and collapsed onto his bed...
And for some reason, Seth and Ruben looked terrified and slightly beaten when he came to his senses... Before he even fully understood himself, they ran away... What had happened?
And there were no witnesses around to ask, and even if there were, they'd just call him "sick Nick" and snicker before walking away... Thanks, Finch. But he was used to it by now...
He decided to go home immediately—it was safe—easier there.
What was happening to him?
Why did Seth and Ruben run away?
But he hoped to find out.
His parents weren't home again. Did they even need him? Ever since they moved to this town, they were often absent.
They had moved half a dozen times, all because of his father's job. He was a journalist, and most cities simply didn't have enough noteworthy events.
And so, the cities changed, the schools, the surroundings...
But Raven Brooks was different! On the very first day, he started texting the boy who lived across from him... Aaron Peterson.
They had a lot in common. Though Aaron was much gloomier, quieter, and more mature. The theory that aliens had sucked all the youth out of him was still alive!
And then... a lot happened.
He met Aaron's little sister, Mya... and her friend, Lucy. The four of them were such a fun group... Those were perfect times.
But then... Lucy died... and Nicky didn't want to tell Aaron and Mya, but he suspected their father. But how could he say that when the whole town already hated their family? He was basically their only friend left—he had overheard that Maritza, Ivan, and Enzo had stopped talking to them.
And then... that day. The death of Diane Peterson, their mother.
He remembers Aaron's shattered look, Mya's tears... and their father's words.
"Don't come here anymore." – those four words were terrifying...
But he didn't stop. He still kept in touch with them... well, with Mya. Aaron had completely shut himself off... and unfortunately, Nicky couldn't go to their house anymore.
Even though Mya kept trying to look happy, he knew it wasn't real... and maybe he just wanted to help her, help not just as a friend, but as—
"Uaghhh!" – he gasped and closed his eyes...
And when he opened them, they were jade-green...
"Hah!" – he jolted awake... and opening his eyes, he saw... a tree?
What was he doing in the forest?
Wait, wasn't this his... stash?
"What the f@ck is going on... why am I here, and..." – he grabbed his head... why, why...
Why was he here? What was he doing at his stash, where he had hidden... the things he built with Aaron, and... for breaking into Theodore's house?
He didn't know what time it was... but judging by the moon in the sky, it was already late. He needed to go home.
"...Peterson's obsessions." – Trinity finished her sentence, and everyone else looked... shocked.
"Uh... are you sure it was Nicky?" – Ivan asked nervously.
"Yes. Who else would know about this, at least among the people we know?" – Trinity was certain. There was one more option, but...
"No, no, no!" – to everyone's surprise, Ivan started... snapping.
"Ivan, what's wr—" – Enzo was cut off.
"Are you guys serious?! He has memory lapses, sometimes acts like... not himself. He doesn't need this kind of stress—" – Ivan stopped when Trinity walked up to him.
"We're just going to ask about this thing, that's all, I promise." – she put a hand on the engineer's shoulder, but he didn't really believe her.
"Are you serious right now?" – Nicky stared at the group outside his window, annoyed.
"No one's blaming you for anything... I'm just saying that—"
"I mean, you were acting pretty suspicious." – Maritza interrupted her, earning a look from Ivan for some reason.
"You've been acting... different, not like yourself, and... we're worried." – Trinity tried to sound calm, but it wasn't really working.
"Come on, Nicky. Are you hiding something from us?" – Enzo, apparently, decided to stir the pot even more.
"Yeah, like, why did nothing happen to you, but all of us got dragged into this?" – Maritza pointed her finger at Nicky.
"Besides, dude... your acting skills are impressive, sure, but what's the deal with all this performance?" – Delroy couldn't miss the chance to chime in.
"Acting skills... / Nothing happened to me?" – Ivan and Nicky muttered at the same time. The first clenched his fists, while the second gripped his windowsill tightly.
"That's not what they meant. The Crowface is after us, and these amusement park coins are somehow connected to him... Do you remember anything from when you were, well... Mr. Peterson's guest?" – Trinity pulled a token out of her pocket.
"Guest? I have to go..." – Nicky's eyes widened... No... he can't.
"If you can't help, then we'll have to go straight to the source!" – Trinity shouted at him.
"There's a source?" – Delroy didn't understand why they hadn't gone to it before.
"After what he did to me?!" – Nicky slammed his fist against the windowsill.
"Are you insane?! He's a monster!"
Outside, Finch was watching the whole scene unfold.
"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears! But Mr. Peterson's tokens, Mr. Peterson's map... Maybe he was looking for the Crowface too?!" – Trinity started yelling back.
"You're all going to die... every single one of you!" – Nicky shrank for a second but then kept going:
"If you don't stop right now, then Peterson, or the Crowface, or someone else in this godforsaken town... will come for you! For your families! For everything you hold dear!"
Nicky suddenly threw his hands up, grabbed the window, and yanked it down with all his strength. The glass shattered into pieces. Shards flew to the ground, into his room, even cutting his fingers... but he didn't care. He didn't care about the pain, didn't care that the whole neighborhood was now awake and gathering outside his house... He didn't care!
"There's nowhere to hide, nowhere is safe! No one is safe! No one!"
Nicky grabbed a chair in his room and hurled it outside... smashing someone's window in the process. He threw it hard.
Finch just snapped a photo of the scene... and walked away, giggling.
Nicky's parents rushed to him, trying to pull him inside, but he wouldn't budge. He stood his ground.
"You're all going to die! You're digging your own damn graves!" – he hunched over, closing one eye.
"You think this is a game?! This is a goddamn nightmare!"
Another change... His hair fell over his left eye, his voice grew rougher, the dark circles under his eyes became more pronounced.
To everyone's shock, Nicky disappeared from the window...
He collapsed into his parents' arms.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, Ivan bolted into the Roths' house...
And at that very moment, a loud sound rang out.
Trinity's house was on fire.
