17. Oreos

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The walk back home was uncomfortable, to say the least

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The walk back home was uncomfortable, to say the least.

After Crystal tearfully ran away, everyone just stared at one another —unsure what to do. School was essentially an empty husk if the protagonist wasn't there to provide it meaning.

So they left.

The sky was filled with beautiful action as they were walking: clouds violently crashed against each other in a war-like pattern, monochromatic colors twirled together as if performing a chaotic dance, the gray clouds and a shining sun battled for control over the sky blue. The heavens seemed to be alive with life.

But on the ground, it was deathly quiet. There were no birds twittering or squirrels scampering, even the old couple on the porch was gone. All signs of life seemed to disappear; completely erased. It was only the clicks of their black shoes that filled the emptiness of the alleyway as the usual lighthearted chatter was replaced by grim, silent faces.

A recluse would call it comforting, but to [Name], it was torture. Every step felt heavy. Burdensome.

Was it guilt? Maybe.

Was it fear? Yeah, probably.

'It's human nature to avoid things you fear,'  [Name] reasoned— attempting to justify why the walk back home, which was supposed to be ten minutes, may or may not have taken longer.

'It's just a tiny detour,'  the group promised while purposefully taking the wrong turn

'It's just an itty bitty detour,'  they promised while walking around the same tree ten times.

Their plan appeared to be running smoothly until Sei pointed out the tall, wooden house in the distance. Their hearts all seemed to collectively stop beating. [Name] timidly tugged on Leo's sleeve, eyes frantically darting between safety and death. "I'm scared, Leo," she trembled. He silently nodded. Scratch that, everyone silently nodded.

When their feet eventually stopped at the gates of hell, no one bothered to reach under the flower pot for the key. None of them wished to be the idiot who stupidly rang the doorbell either. Instead, they opted for awkwardly sitting on the front porch in silence.

It was the only option in their minds.

Then, the doorknob started to turn ever so slowly. Turning and turning and turning. It reminded [Name] of those horror movie scenes where the monster was ready to attack the stationary party; not like it helped to ease her panic, but she felt pretty poetic saying it.

"Oh my god, we're gonna die," someone choked out. Everyone agreed internally.

At that moment, the door violently swung open.

[Name] nearly had a heart attack.

"What took you so long?! It's literally been an hour! Please don't tell me you went through the forest," a distraught voice chastised. The owner constantly glanced behind him as if trying to protect himself from someone.

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