cigarette daydream ━━ the raven cycle

2; long is the night

    WHEN I WOKE UP AT 1:23am when the alarm buzzed through my ears.

I was sure I never set that alarm clock, especially since it was a weekend. I didn't dwell on it much, though, I was certain it was my younger brother messing with my alarm clock just to get a laugh out of me. Just when I thought I had defeated my long messed up sleep schedule of sleeping in through the days, and up at nights. I reached for my alarm clock, pressing on the button several times for it to stop.

When the alarm clock wouldn't stop buzzing, I got off the bed and pulled the wire out. The buzzing still didn't stop. "Felix, you are so dead." I mumbled to myself.

I stormed out of my bedroom, making my way across the hallway to my little brother's room. "Beth? You okay?" He took off his headphones, putting down his remote controller.

"Felix, when I taught you how to prank people for a little amusement, I didn't think you'd do it to me." I stated obviously, groaning.

He looked at me, perplexed. "What are you talking about?"

"Okay, quit playing innocent and just undo whatever you did to make my alarm clock buzz even when I unplug it and cut the wires off." When he still wouldn't budge, I pulled him into my room. "Well, unplug it." I gestured to the alarm clock. "Before mom and dad wake up."

"Beth..." He was looking at me with an expression I was on the receiving end of only three times in my life.

The first time I received that look was from my mother after she caught me making out with Kavinsky in the closet of a charity event both our families dragged us into. The second time was from my History teacher when I gave an admittedly scarring and barbaric presentation on Colombus. And lastly, two days ago, when I nonchalantly explained to the police officer why and how I burned down my family's cabin.

"I don't hear any buzzing..."

I had to stare at him for a moment to fathom whether or not he was serious. He was. I shut my eyes for a moment to make sure I could hear the buzzing, that it wasn't imaginative. It wasn't.  Then I had to decide what route to go with. I didn't want my little brother to think i'm insane. So, of course, I lied. I burst out into fake laughter. "I just realised I put on white noise before falling asleep. I forgot I still have these headphones on."

"But your not wearing headphones—"

"They're prototypes of bluetooth wireless headphones some company sent to Dad, you just didn't notice them because it's so dark here–" I said as I pushed him out of my room, preventing him from looking for nonexistent headphones on my ears. "That's a funny misconception we'll never speak of again, isn't it?! Now— go back to your video games, goodnight!"

I slammed the door in his face, my back slamming against the wall afterwards.

EARPLUGS, HEADPHONES, AND LOUD MUSIC.

That's what it took to block out the constant sound of buzzing. I considered telling my parents, in case it was a symptom of some dire disease, of course. But after staying up until seven in the morning researching just before passing out, I was sure it wasn't anything of the sort.

What did show up was an article titled signs you're being haunted as well as an article with the title telltale signs you have an undiagnosed mental disorder.

"It's probably the haunted thing." The waitress at Nino's said decidedly.

"I don't believe in ghosts." I retorted.