The sensation of someone touching my arm saves me from my daze. I turn my head to face one of my closest friends. He had a worried look on his face. "Are you doing alright?"
I nod my head and rest my hands in between my thighs to keep myself from fidgeting. The bell rang, signaling the end of third period. We rose from our seats in unison and collect our stuff before exiting into the hallways.
We made our way over to our lockers as the halls quickly got clustered with other students. I do the combination and put my stuff away for lunch and turn to my friend as I slam my locker shut.
"Thank you for this morning," I say as we walk to his locker. He stops at it and opens it. "You don't need to thank me," he says as he puts his stuff away and slams his locker shut. "That's why I was there with you. I was only caring for you."
"Still... thanks." We make our way over to the cafeteria. I kept my eyes on the floor as we walked. I could still feel it lingering around me, waiting for it's next attack. It was close. I could feel it. My time was running out faster than I hoped for.
"I'm going to tell everyone," I say. He glances over at me for a moment. "Are you sure?" I look over my shoulders as a shiver ran down my spine. I was being watched by someone. "Yeah."
I kept closer to him in hopes the feeling would disappear. It eventually did as we got closer to the cafeteria, where I could see our friend group already huddled around a table. Sadye notices us first and smiles, waving a hand at me.
I wave back with a smile of my own. I break free from my friend as he greets his buddies, and take a seat next to her. "Are you doing okay?" I ask her, to which she nods.
"Yeah. My grandparents are a bit better now," she says. I felt a bit of relief at that. "That's good." I wanted her, especially, to be okay before I disappear. I watch as Easton joins the growing line to buy his own lunch.
I was unsure how I was going to bring it up. It was pretty sudden, despite it happening for awhile now. I doubted any of them were going to believe me, but I didn't care about that. I just wanted them to know for when the time comes.
I look back at the group. Sadye's boyfriend joined with his tray, giving a peck on her cheek as a greeting. I smiled at them, feeling my heart flutter at the sight. They were so cute together and I was so glad they finally began to become more comfortable to take things to a higher level.
I wished I could be there for them after graduation in a couple years, or be there for support if things get out of hand. I looked away as I let in a deep breath. It wasn't the time to break down crying.
Easton takes a seat beside me, handing me a fork so we could share. I gave him an appreciative smile and took a bite of the lasagna.
We make eye contact for a moment. He raised his brows to encourage me to speak. I chew on the inside of my cheek as I look at the rest of the group. "Guys, I have something to confess," I say, catching their attention.
I began to feel a little awkward about this. I felt the shiver run down my spine as something grazes my arm, leaving goosebumps where it made contact. I ignored the feeling the best that I could and open my mouth.They needed to know.
"There's been...something." I glance over at Easton, who kept silent. I needed to say this, not him. "Something going on at home," I say and look at Sadye.
"Are you okay?" Sadye asks, putting a hand on my arm in a comforting way. "...I'm going to be honest, I don't know how I'm supposed to say this, so I'm going to be blunt.
"I'm dying." They all look at me in shock, unsure what to say. "You have cancer?" Anthony asks. I wanted to laugh, but this wasn't a laughing matter. "No."
"There's this thing that keeps attacking me in my sleep and trying to kill me." It wasn't until then that I realized how crazy I sounded.
"Like Freddy Krueger?" Drake questions with a bit of an unsure smile. I shake my head. It began to feel cold. I looked around as the feeling of eyes watching me returns again.
I felt it crawl up my back and slowly snake itself around my neck. I stand up abruptly and run out of the cafeteria. I wasn't sure if I could run away from it, but I didn't want this to happen in front of them. They were already worried enough now as it is.
I wasn't sure where to run to, so I rush out the front doors of the school and collapse in the patch of grass. It was gone, but I still felt like I was suffocating. My hands began to freeze from touching the fresh layers of snow.
The sounds of the doors slamming open could be heard from behind me. Footsteps near me before someone finally collapses beside me. "Hannah! Are you okay?" Sadye's worried voice questions as she puts a hand on my shoulder.
I allow myself to catch my breathe. Easton wasn't too far behind. He kneels down beside me to match my level. "Just remember to breathe," he says.
"Now I'm really worried. What's going on?" Sadye asks. She looks at Easton for answers, but he doesn't say anything. I lean back and sit down, my pants getting wet as the snow melted underneath me.
"I don't even know myself," I admit. "There's this thing that just comes out of nowhere and tries to kill me. I know I don't have much time left, and when I disappear I want you guys to know what happened, whether you believe me or not."
Sadye falls silent as she takes in the newly given information. I know it was going to be hard for her to believe. I'm not sure Easton even fully believes me, but at least he seems like he does to some extent.
She suddenly pulls me into a hug as she breaks into tears. I let my own fall as well, wrapping my arms tightly around her. Easton joins in as well, although I'm not sure he sheds a tear.
We're all silent as we hold each other close. The others eventually join us, stopping when they see the situation. "What's going on?"
I pull away to look at them, wiping my tears. This wasn't the first time I had cried in front of them, but it was still rare. "I told you what's going on," I tell them.
I get up and look over my shoulder at the forest that surrounded the school. There was something moving around in there, but I couldn't tell what. It might just be a moose or a bear, or even someone's dog, so I leave it.
"Why don't we go inside?" Sadye suggests before sniffling. I nod my head, wrapping an arm around her waist and making my way back inside.
I look up just in time to see someone staring at me. I furrowed my brows when he doesn't look away. He looked familiar, but I wasn't quite sure who he was. I was pretty sure I shared second period with him.
He eventually looks away. I got a bad feeling about him. The way he looked at me was worrisome. I looked over my shoulder to get a look at him one more time as we walked past, but he had already disappeared.
