NIGHTMARE - unOrdinary

✢7

Previously on NIGHTMARE:

"One new person has viewed your profile" She shut her phone off and held her hand to her chest.

"John, I really hope that was you."

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John pulled out his cell phone and scanned the text from Isen. It included Claire's social media handles and her phone number. He looked back and forth, making sure the hallway was empty before punching in the numbers. His thumb hovered over the call button and he immediately began to sweat. "Now? Here?" he sighed. "I- I can't. I need some time to think about what I'll say." John slid his phone into his back pocket again. He turned to leave only to collide with a pink haired girl who was sprinting through the hallway.

"ACK-" he exclaimed before hitting the ground. He opened his eyes to see the girl sprawled out across from him, clutching her head. She sprang up and ran over to extend her hand to him.

"I'm so sorry! I was in a rush and wasn't looking! I hope I didn't hurt you," she apologized profusely. She dusted herself off and kneeled to pick up the mess of papers scattered around the hallway.

"It's fine, um..." he looked at the papers that she was rushing to pick up and noticed that they were crumpled. He picked up the one that had rolled next to his foot and smoothed it out to read it. Highlighted in bright red at the top, the words "DEATH POOL" jumped out at him. He looked up to see her standing in front of him, expecting him to hand the paper over. "It's a shame people would do this," he said quietly, giving her the wrinkled flyer. Her face darkened a little.

"I feel the same way. I really wish people could appreciate them for all that they do instead of joking about their lives. It's cruel." She quickly stood up straight and crumpled the paper again. "Sorry about that! I don't want to keep you here any longer. I'll see you around," she waved and took off down the hallway.

❃❃❃

John sat huddled in the corner of the school library with his back to the wall, hoping no one would notice him. He keyed in Claire's Instagram and watched the page show up. There weren't many posts but he took his time viewing each of them.

"She's really gotten older," he mumbled under his breath. He clicked onto the next image in which she stood next to a familiar blonde boy. John laughed softly at Adrion's confused expression but immediately felt a pang of hurt and guilt afterwards. "I never gave them a proper apology. I should've, but I didn't." He rested the side of his face on his hand and tugged at his hair with his fingers.

"They look happy without me. They've probably forgotten about me by this point. But if that were the case, why is Claire trying to contact me? Am I really in trouble? Does this have to do with that...nightmare?"

"John." His eyes flickered up to see Seraphina leaning over him, trying to see his screen. He scrambled to close the tap and slammed his laptop shut. "What were you looking at?" she said, snickering.

"Huh? I was, um, it's not really, uh, it was nothing," he finished, trying to look confident. She rolled her eyes and grinned.

"You can tell me."

"I was... looking at your social media page!" John finished confidently. He opened his laptop and flicked to another window he'd been browsing the day before, Seraphina's social media. Her eyes traveled across the screen, causing her cheeks to turn pink as she realized that he'd been browsing through pictures of her.

"In the middle of the day?" she asked, sitting next to him while trying to cool her face down. John grinned, then laughed.

"Yup! After taking that difficult test, you're a real sight for sore eyes! I-I mean, you always are." Despite her best attempts, her face flared up in a deeper shade of red, though John didn't notice. He closed his computer again, relieved that his flimsy excuse had sufficed.