Smol Fry | Hercules X Lafayette

C h a p t e r S e v e n t e e n

{^^ Don't ask, I love the film. My laptop just deleted a whole chapter so I had to start this goddamn thing again. Contains homophobic language}

Laff's POV

Darkness.

My greatest fear. One of the things which made me panic the most. And I was sat in it. Sat, surrounded by the unknown, anything could be staring at me. Anything. Was I asleep, awake or just completely insane? I was longing for all of this to be a twisted nightmare, and I would wake up with my friends. Yet despite being awake, this was still a nightmare; despite being aware of this, I was still trapped, asleep.

Silence.

To add to my fear, wherever I had found myself was covered by a blanket of sheer silence. It was as if this place wasn't with the rest of the world: as if the concept of time had been lost. The only noise which could be heard was the faint sound of my breathing, which only emphasised how lonely I was. Or how lonely I thought I was. What petrified me the most was that it was the unknown lurking sinisterly. Too weak to move, I simply sat, my back slumped against a wall.

How long had I been sat there for? An agonizing pain in my side told me possibly a long while. However, as the room didn't seem to run with the rest of the world, I could have been there for only minutes. A sudden thrash of guilt overwhelmed me. What had happened in Samuel's case? If he was hurt, it was my fault! If only he didn't want to speak to me... after all, not many people did. And if Samuel was hurt, was he there too?

"S-Samuel?" I managed, the pain in my throat almost unbearable. No reply. That was it, I was completely alone. Darkness crept over me from every corner of the room, that is, if I was even in a room. Perhaps, if the sharp agony in my stomach was non-existent, I would've searched for a way out. A way to find my way back home. Back to my friends. Without any hope, I shut my eyes once again, despite my view of dimness throughout the room being the same either way.

Before being knocked out, I could walk. Of course, my side ached a little, but it wasn't unbearable. Surely something must've happened during the time I was out cold. Even though it was painful, I lightly chuckled; I was relying on someone to come and find me. Nobody would, the only thing anyone had ever given to me was pity. I was hardly a likeable person - clumsy, annoying, ignorant... It didn't come as a surprise someone would do this.

But...

Hercules. Hercules somehow managed to pick out my non-existent features. He saw the 'likeable' qualities in me. At first, it would have been clear to see it was pity, but when he smiled, it wasn't fake. Then, tears began to form in my eyes. What if I never saw him again? What use would life have if it didn't include him? I sat, quietly sobbing in a room as dark as a black hole. The throbbing in my chest began to grow whilst the sobs morphed into waterfalls of tears.

When suddenly, I heard footsteps.

They seemed to come from all around me. Was I just hallucinating? The footsteps, showing no signs of the owner, grew louder. My heart began racing: fear, nerves and panic. Whoever, or whatever, it was sounded agitated - did I really want to be found now? In a matter of seconds, it sounded like the person was only inches away. Closing my eyes, I prayed for it to be Hercules. Of course it wouldn't be, but simply imagining gave me a small trace of hope.

Out of nowhere, I heard muffled speaking - I didn't recognise the voices from hearing them at that volume. I wasn't imagining things. Whoever they were, they were real, and wanted me hurt at the very least. After listening intently, I realised their voices were in front of me... Behind a door. That's where they were. Behind the door which I most likely was trapped in here by. Sheer terror racing through my brain, the footsteps began again. Tears escaped my eyes whilst the pain in my side got even more unbearable - I wished I could have told Hercules my feelings before this, if only I wasn't such a coward, I wouldn't be here...