Ethereal

16- The Orphanage

(Y/N) walked quickly down the barren hallway, her feet making no noise on the lightly carpeted floors. She passed wooden doors on either of her sides, each labeled with a number. She only stopped when she reached the door labelled '29'.

(Y/N) rested her hand on the cold knob for a second, taking in a deep breath before slowly twisting the knob and swinging the door open.

The female was met with a large room, bunk beds filling the majority of it. The only sound was the curtains gently fluttering.

Not a single person was inside this room, all of them probably at school. All sorts of things were thrown across the floor, and almost every bed was unmade. (Y/N) picked her way through the mess until she reached her bunk.

She opened her issued trunk at the base of her bed, picking through the few things she owned.

She pulled out a pair of clothes, shrugging and throwing it on her bed. She shoved the rest of her clothes on the ground, before looking deep inside the darkness.

Books of all kinds were stacked neatly and precisely, pieces of paper hanging out of more than half of them. A tangled set of earphones were crumpled up in the corner, and a small box lay on the side. Other miscellaneous items were scattered inside, odds and ends of all kinds that (Y/N) had collected over the years.

Grabbing her school bag, she dumped out all the school supplies and filled it with a majority of the things in her trunk, not even looking at what she was packing.

But before she could finish, something interrupted her. (Y/N) froze, gently placing her bag on the floor and strained to hear something.

Footsteps.

(Y/N)'s eyes widened, before she hurriedly looked around her room, her eyes training onto the window.

(Y/N) slowly stood from her crouched position, grabbing her bag and slowly zipping it, cringing at the sound the zipper made.

The footsteps were getting closer and louder, heading towards the rooms direction with persistence.

(Y/N) slung her backpack over her shoulder, before striding to the window, shoving her fingers under the pane of glass.

She pulled upwards, her fingers straining as she tried to lift the window. The footsteps were getting closer, and (Y/N) let go, staring at her fingers as the blood trickled back into the tips.

(Y/N) grit her teeth, knowing that the person was probably feet away from her door, and tried again. She pulled with all her might, ignoring the pain, until the window finally popped open.

Losing her balance, (Y/N) fell out, landing in the bushes right outside of the window. She struggled to stand, staring at the open window. She was just about to close it when the door to her room opened.

The footsteps entered the room, now seemingly more cautiously. They moved with purpose, as if they had a goal in mind, and (Y/N) heard a trunk being opened.

'Pleaseignorethewindowpleaseignorethewindowplease-'

The person stopped, and for a second everything was quiet, before they started to head towards the window.

'Curse my luck.' (Y/N) thought as she hurried to escape, trying to get through the grabbing branches the dry leaves, but it was too late.

"I wonder who left the window open-" A girl leaned out, gripping onto the glass, and was just about to close it when her eyes met (Y/N)'s.

"Oh."

Both females stood there for a second, eyeing each other. The girl's orbs drifted towards the backpack that (Y/N) held, and her mouth shifted into an 'o'.

"You're running away, aren't you?"

(Y/N) was quiet, and the girl sighed.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. You aren't the first one, anyway... (Y/N), was it?"

(Y/N) sighed as well, before nodding.

The girl smiled. "My name's Audrey. Your secret is safe with me." She gave a big wink, before closing the window.

Okay then...

(Y/N) shrugged, before making her way out of the scraggly bushes, back to where Sophie and Fitz stood. They seemed to be talking about something urgent, but immediately stopped when (Y/N) neared them.

"Did anyone notice you?" Fitz asked, cautious almost. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow. "Uh, just one person, but she thinks I'm just running away or something. Will that be a problem?"

Fitz shook his head. "We should head back quickly. The Washer's will be here any second."

(Y/N) nodded, as Fitz sent her a worried look, before raising his pathfinder to the light. (Y/N) breathed in, before stepping into the light.