The Monster Under the Bed || Kickthestickz

Bleach

"Christopher Kendall! Where were you last night? I was worried sick" I hear as I trudge my way into French the next day.

"I fell asleep at Calum's. Jeez, Pj. You don't own me," I reply as I grouchily slide myself into my seat on the opposite side of the classroom to him. All through the lesson I try as hard as possible not to look at Pj and his group of jerks, which turns out to be very much harder than I actually thought.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jacob asks from the seat beside me. At first I'm shocked; he never speaks to me, like at all.

"Oh, nothing," I say back, still shocked that he actually spoke. Glancing back up my eyes lock on Pj, looking down and concentrating on translating the paragraph in front of him. His brow furrowed and his plump bottom lip caught gently between his teeth. I gulp and look back down at my own work on the table. I stare at it blankly it until the two hours pass.

*

"Wait, so has he even talked to you yet?" Calum wonders as we make our way through the halls on our way to the tree for lunch.

"Technically it wasn't a conversation. He more like demanded to know where I was but I don't-" I'm cut short by hearing the familiar giggle and excited chatter, which can only mean one thing.

"The girls are here," both Calum and I groan turning ourselves around to see our worst nightmare striding towards us. For one month of the school year the girls school come to visit us. They pack up all their things and live at our school. Heaven knows why because all they do is get in the way and their school is perfectly adequate. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of friends who are girls and they were as friendly as can be, but these ones? Eughh.

After they excitedly run past, we resume both walking and our conversation. "Anyway, as I was saying," I start over, "He was just kinda interrogating me as to where I was last night."

"So you just said you were at mine?" Calum inquires.

"Yeah," I respond, "But I don't see why he got all edgy about it. It's not like I belong to him, we're only friends."

After a few moments pause, Calum bursts out, "Exactly! That's it!"

"What's it!?"

"He likes you, Chris."

"We've already established that, Calum. But were not sure, remember. I don't wanna be one of the people he just plays. I don't wanna be just another side-bitch to him. It'll break my heart and I don't think it'll fix."

"But, just listen to me," he begins, attempting to calm my feelings. "I have never, in all my time at this school, seen Pj Liguori care about someone so much. I'm being serious here, Chris, I really do think he likes you."

"Whatever," I sigh as we turn in to the outside air, placing our bags down at the base of the tree.

*

Everything goes black hands my hands fumble for the light switch and in my haste knock over the glass of water on the side. After a few moments my fingers find the smooth plastic and flick the switch this way and that. Nothing. The soothing sound of Pj's slow and sleeping breaths have vanished and are replaced by a growing silence that presses hard against my eardrums and hangs in the air threatening to devour me into its nothingness. Sharp, ragged breaths fall from my lungs as I try to block out the sudden ringing in my ears that gets stronger with the silence. I stumble back to what I assume is my bed to find it white hot. But too late, I've already flung myself onto it, paralysed with the searing and torturous burns that flicker through my skin. I try to scream out, only to find both my mouth and airways blocked and my head shoved back against the bed, my skin blistering from its heat. I struggle against my urge to breath and attempt to calm my body which proves near enough impossible to do. Suddenly, harshly, I find myself jolted upright, and shoved directly in front of mirror.