Haunting Words - an unORDINARY Fanfic

5 - Who to Trust

< John POV >
< Wellston Stairwell >
< Monday April 26th 11:03am >

As I climbed the second last staircase, I breathed a sigh of relief. I would finally be gone. Dead. And everyone would be better for it. The only thing troubling me was what Arlo had said to me. His words kept taunting me, telling me to help her, but each time I had to remind myself that I couldn't. She would never take anything I said as fact so all I could do was let others help her.

As I tried to tune out his voice, I turned to look up the final staircase at the roof door and froze like a deer in headlights. There in the doorway was the girl with short magenta and chartreuse hair I'd tried to desperately avoid this past week. Seraphina hadn't spotted me yet, but that wasn't what concerned me. The first thing I noticed was her distant and depressed expression, second were the eye bags that rivaled Doc's and were fast approaching mine, and finally I noticed her overall appearance. Her blazer shoulder was up and her extensions were out.

I could theorize about why she made those choices all day, but there was one thing that was perfectly clear; she was not doing okay. I was screaming in my head to push forward and take the jump. I reminded myself over and over that she would never believe me, but Arlo's voice kept ringing in my ears, telling me to do whatever I could.

In the end my legs moved, but in the wrong direction, carrying me far away from the rooftop. When I finally stopped in a random hallway, I thought over everything. She wouldn't believe me after everything I said, but at the same time I couldn't leave her right now.

I thought she would be getting better after a week, and didn't fully believe Arlo when he said otherwise, but now I saw it for myself. While she looked very down on the previous Monday, she looked completely defeated now; an expression I'd seen on her before, but never wanted to again. It was blatantly obvious that she was only getting worse as time went on, and she didn't seem to be getting the help from her other friends and acquaintances either.

I cursed myself as I came to my conclusion. Somehow I'd help her, then after that was when I'd make the jump. I still didn't know how to help her, but I'd find a way before I let myself die.

* * *

< Wellston Boys Dorm >
< Tuesday May 4th 6:30am >

As the alarm clock I'd set specifically for today went off, I opened my eyes and let the stream of illusions fade away. They weren't quite dreams since I didn't actually fall asleep when they happened. In fact I hadn't actually fallen asleep for more than an hour at a time since before my fight with Seraphina. Most of the rest I got came from when I'd lie down and let the illusions take over, resulting in some rather defined eye bags.

As I got ready for the day ahead of me, I ran through what I had to do today. It had nearly taken me about five days to come up with a way to have Seraphina believe me and three more to set it all up. Zeke pestering me day after day didn't help, but seeing her look worse and worse with each passing day urged me onward.

All that had lead to today. This was finally the day I would talk to Seraphina and she would know the truth. After that I would commit suicide and Wellston could go back to being the prestigious, selectively peaceful school it was.

It was a bit poetic really seeing as it was a Tuesday, the same day the first Joker attack occurred. I still remembered pulling Zeke's paper lunch bag out of the trash bin and destroying him while wearing it. Looking back, I found it hard not to chuckle at the ridiculous disguise, but back then there was nothing funny about the situation. He had hurt Seraphina. She had even cried. There was no way in hell he was gonna get away with that, and with his paper bag I had everything I needed to get revenge on him.