Zodiac Heroes - Cast Down to Earth

Chapter 23 - Panic Attack

Aquarius

I didn't know what was surprising: The fact that we could possibly be Zodiac Signs and we had scrolls to give us whatever we wanted, or the fact that Taurus won a bet.

"I told you that they'd hook up sometime this week!" Taurus exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, I know." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I had a bet with my sister." Taurus added. "She thinks that they're getting together at the end of the week, and I said yesterday. Well, I guess I'll go and find Libra now."

He ran off, leaving me on the way to the English classroom by myself. On the way, I stopped to get something from my locker. I opened the door, and a note fell out. I picked it up. Judging by the messy handwriting, it was Leo who wrote this. I read the entire letter three times to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating.

So he likes me. I thought to myself.

Just at that moment, Leo came over to collect something from his locker as well. He locked eyes with me, then looked down at the piece of paper I was holding. His face turned red, and I could've sworn that he mumbled something under his breath before turning to leave.

The truth was, Dad treating me horribly at home developed my philophobia. I wasn't just afraid of love, I was afraid that it didn't exist. The way Dad treated Capricorn and I erased my high standards of love immediately. I was afraid that love really didn't mean anything, and it was used as a fairy tale to trick people. I was afraid that I would find someone who pretended to care about me, then would leave me in the dust to die.

I looked up at the silhouette in the distance that was Leo. Does he actually care? I thought to myself.

Looking at the clock on the wall, I quickened my pace. I was almost at the English classroom when someone wearing a black hoodie brushed past me. I turned around and saw that the person was heading towards a supply closet, where students were specifically not allowed to go.

English can wait. I though, turning around to follow the person.

I had reached the supply closet when the person with the black hoodie turned around and noticed me. Underneath their hood, I saw a strand of lilac coloured hair peek out. I didn't need to be a master detective to know who it was.

"Ophiuchus." I said.

She smirked under the hood. "Very smart, Aquarius, but due to your history with my father, I thought that you'd have stopped sneaking around."

I hardly had time to process what she said before she threw the supply closet door open and pushed me inside, locking the door.

"OPHIUCHUS!" I yelled.

I could hear her laugh from the other side of the door. "Have fun in there. I won't come back to pick you up."

The room was very small. I shook the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Someone help!" I tried screaming. "Capricorn? Leo? Anyone? HELP!"

I started banging on the door, hoping that someone would come and help me. It felt like all the walls were squeezing in on me, and that there was no escape.

"HELP ME!" I shouted, tears streaming down my face. No one came.

I didn't know how long I stayed there, but it felt like hours. My throat was sore from shouting, but the tears streaming down my face didn't stop. I was about to accept the fact that I would be trapped here forever before the door opened. Leo stood at the other side of the door.

"Aquarius!" He said. "We've been looking for you everywhere! You've been here all this time?"

I surprised him and even myself by hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shirt. I guess I was just scared and needed someone to be with.

Leo started patting my back. "It's alright, Aqua, you're okay."

"Leo-" I said softly.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Thank you." I whispered in his ear.

He looked down at me, his gingerbread brown eyes gazing into my olympian blue ones. Finally, he looked down at me and said, "I'm so glad that you're safe."

I wiped the tears off my face. "Let's go back to the dorm."

Nobody was in the living room when Leo and I walked into the dorm. I guess that they were probably in their rooms doing homework.

"I'll just leave you to do whatever you usually do at this time." Leo told me. "Let me know if you need anything."

He left me in my room to think about what had happened. I had never thought of Ophiuchus as "evil", but that was exactly what I thought about now. And since when did I have run-ins with her dad? I don't even know him!

Libra had mentioned Ophiuchus before. She described her as a disciplined model student who excelled in science. That did not match up with my latest encounter with Ophiuchus at all.

Virgo mentioned that she saw that the psychic hooded figure she, Leo and Capricorn had seen that day had lilac hair and a green eye. Both of those descriptions matched Ophiuchus' appearance pretty well. Libra saw her with a bruise at the side of her head the next day, which was exactly where Virgo hit her with the lid of a trash can.

"It all makes sense now!" I said out loud.

I decided to spend the rest of my free time making a huge diagram linking all the weird things that had happened this term.

And it's only October. I said to myself.

Slowly, I got more and more tired, until I eventually fell asleep in the middle of making my diagram.

The dream I had was terrifying. I dreamt that I was in a dark room. It was so dark that I didn't know where the exit was. It was like there were walls everywhere, not letting me escape.

The next time Leo saw me, he found me curled up in a ball on my bed, shaking and crying to myself. He sat down next to me like a supportive friend and started whispering comforting words to me.

"Don't worry." He told me. "Things will get better at the end."

But will it ever?

~~~

Here, have this angsty chapter because things were getting too bright.

Just kidding.

Have a good day/night, and stay safe!

Peace out,

The author owo