killjoy - joshler

rain

josh woke up, feeling sore and groggy.

his neck hurt, but he couldn't tell why. he remembered going to school yesterday, then zero, then coming home, but that was it. he must've slept the whole time he was home.

he began to get ready for the last day, finally getting out of that hellhole called school for three months. he trudged into the bathroom, almost flipping his shit when he saw a patch of dried blood on his neck.

"what the fuck?"

with shaky fingers, he poked it, making a face as it still hurt. he looked back at his bed, seeing the red splotch on his white pillow, and then back to the mirror.

this must have been deep, but then again, what caused it?

he was disturbed, confused, and scared. it was almost as if something had bitten him, but there weren't any dogs big enough to do that in his neighborhood. he quickly left the mirror, turning on the shower for the water to heat up before taking off his bottoms, streaks of dirt and red stuff staining the grey material.

he held them up to his face, trying to figure out what that red liquid was.

he decided it was just juice, that he must have gotten up in the middle of the night for some, and threw them in his hamper. stepping into the warm shower, he hesitantly let the stream hit his neck, screaming in pain when the temperature seared the wound.

"josh? are you alright?" his mom called from the hallway, about to make herself breakfast.

"y-yeah. i'm f-fine!" he called, staying quiet to make sure she didn't come inside of his room.

he moved away from the water, holding onto his neck and feeling the hardened blood underneath his palm.

this was disgusting.

he went for it again, grimacing and watching the water turn red at his feet, his neck burning. he got used to it in time, and gently rinsed it out with his fingers. he tried to remember, but began to grow frustrated with himself when he came up short repeatedly, like a wall was blocking his thoughts as soon as he started to think about it.

after painstakingly trying not to wet his neck while taking a shower, he eventually got dressed for the last day of school and did his best to cover up the mark on his neck with his hoodie. he didn't look at it, or touch it; in fact, he pretended it wasn't there. he pulled his collar over his neck and went downstairs.

"josh? i thought you said you weren't going to school today." his mom called from the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.

"i did?" he asked, voice raspy.

he touched his throat, but it wasn't sore.

"are you sick?" she asked, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"i don't think so."

"alright...have a good day." she waved, making josh smile as he left the house.

===

josh was thankful that zero hadn't shown up today.

he had an alright time at school, his nose in his comic book all day, making his way home quickly. it was about to rain, and he didn't want to get caught up in that.

"i'm home!" he called, jogging up the stairs and closing his room door.

quickly, he pulled down his collar and looked at his neck, trying not to scratch it. it had been irritating him all day, and the fabric rubbing against it didn't help. it was scarring over, except for the two holes at the ends of it. every time he looked at it, he felt like crying. he had no idea what happened, or what did it, and he couldn't even tell his mom. he didn't need her freaking out over this.

what if he died? what if he got sick as well?

he sighed, passing his hand over it and throwing himself on his bed. he reached underneath it and pulled out his book, flipping to his place. it began to rain, josh leaning back into his pillows and reading more about fantasy creatures.

they were interesting.

as soon as the rain picked up and started pounding on the roof, josh found himself beginning to grow tired. he reached over to shut off the light, his eyelids heavy. he stretched, snuggling underneath his covers and drifting.

he probably should've woken up when he heard a different type of tapping on his window.