thechosenburrito
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Hi welcome to my writing blog. Most of this stuff is original writing save for some Hetalia stuff. If you just want Hetalia stuff check out my Nordics blog @hetalia-nordic-trash and my Hetalia writing QuoteV. I post my original stuff here AND on my Wattpad @TheChosenBurrito
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Intro to Love 2.4 - Take Me to Your Leader
Word Count: 1,859
Description:
Xochi tries to check up on a student who might be in danger but meets a terrifyingly familiar face
Author’s Note:
It's so boring I wrote a chapter in a day!
Previous Chapter: 2.3 - The End is Near
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Xochi walked out of her Monday Chem Lab. She purposely tried to finish as quickly as possible so there would still be daylight. She was heading towards a dorm that was scribbled on a bright pink sticky note. The walk to the other side of campus was long and arduous, especially in the scorching summer heat, not to mention it was at the top of the hill.
She finally caught a glimpse of the dorm. Sonia Hall was clearly one of the oldest buildings on the campus. The once white stone that made of the face of the building had yellowed after all the years of unrelenting sunlight. The roof was made up of shingles that looked like a dingy faded brown color. Xochi tried to imagine how they originally looked when they were first placed, thinking they might have actually been cherry wine red before being baked in the burning sun.
Xochi idled a bit away from the entrance of the building, watching students drift in and out of the building under an air of light chatter and laughter. She scanned the students as casually as possible, occasionally glancing back at the stick note that had a vague description of the person she was looking for. Devon is supposed to be a fairly tall guy. She imagined him being thin but lean from being on the track team. The note said he'd have dark brown skin, eyes, and hair and that he wore glasses. Xochi huffed. That could be anyone.
It could've been, but it wasn't. A group of about 4 guys poured out of the dorm laughing and smiling. A tall figure stood out from them with dark hair and skin and a pair of sunglasses. Xochi perked up. This could be him...
She tried to trail behind them. She had to be sure. One of the guys in the group pointed to potentially Devon and laughed.
"Dude! Your bag is wide open again!" he said, grabbing the guy by the backpack.
The guy laughed.
"No way I did! You probably opened it!"
The other guys looked at the backpack.
"Nah, Jay is right, man. Your bag is definitely open," one of them chimed in.
The one called Jay zipped it closed.
"Classic Devon. Dude, this is like the second time this week! Keep this up and you're gonna lose something," Jay said, patting him on the back.
Yup. It's him. Unless it's a different Devon...
One of the other guys in the group nudged him in the arm.
"Is Coach C. still on you about high jump?"
Devon chuckled.
"Yeah, man. She keeps asking, but I just keep saying the same thing."
"You're not breaking your neck for the un-"
"I'm not breaking my neck for the University! Yeah! I'd rather workout 8 hours a day to get faster than break my neck!"
The guys in the group chimed in with "for sure"s and "same"s. Jay chimed in.
"Dude, you know you don't break your neck unless you do it wrong, right?"
"Hey man, I'm not risking it."
Xochi kept following at a distance. Track team. It's definitely him. After a while, she noticed a figure was following her. His neon orange shirt was glowing in the blistering sun. Her heart sank when she saw a bandana on him. She mentally ran through every swear in the book. She pulled out her phone and shot a text to Sarah.
X: I found Devon
X: but that guy with the bandana is here
X: Idk what to do but I'm gonna keep an eye on Devon as long as I can
She looked up from her phone and saw that the group had pulled farther away from her, but Devon wasn't with them. Her heart started to race. Her head was on a swivel, eyes darting all over the plaza. She spotted him walking towards a lecture hall and started jogging towards him. Devon turned to look at her. She wasn't surprised since she was already getting after only about 20 feet. She pulled a pen from her pocket.
"Excuse me!" she called out.
He stopped and let her catch up to him. Xochi handed him the pen.
"I think you dropped this," she said.
"Hey, man thanks! I left my bag open and.... hey this isn't my pen," he said, examining it.
Xochi was stumped.
"Uh... yeah it's not. I just wanted to tell you that... that guy over there. The one in the bandana," she gently gestured with her face. Devon peeked over her shoulder. "I noticed him following you... I don't know why... I just thought you'd want to know."
He furrowed his brows.
"Hmm... I remember that guy. I think I signed his petition or something. I don't know why he'd be following me. I'll keep an eye out for him. Thanks."
"Yeah, no problem," Xochi replied, shoving the pen back in her pocket.
He gave a small wave before hurrying into the lecture hall. The sun was already starting to set a bit and being alone in the dark was not something on Xochi's to-do list. She pulled out her phone and saw missed texts from Sarah.
S: look for anything else suspicious
S: but more importantly be careful
S: I didn't see Miranda so I might look tomorrow
She sent a message back.
X: He went to class. I'm heading back
She put her phone in her pocket. When she looked up, she met a pair of eyes that were dark she wasn't even sure they had irises. She jumped so hard that she stumbled onto her butt. She pulled her wrist to her chest and landed on her elbows.
"Shit!"
She didn't have to look up to know those eyes belonged to a man with a bandana.
"Didn't mean to scare you!" He said, extending his hand. "Let me help you up!"
She could hear the exaggerated toothy grin he was giving her. She waved his hand away and pushed herself back onto her feet with her good hand.
"No, no! It's on me. I should've paid more attention."
Her heart was pounding in her ears.
His grin was unceasing.
"You know Devon?" he asked.
Xochi sighed.
"Oh, you know..." She glanced over his shoulder and felt her heart sink as she saw that no one was around and the sun was halfway set. "... just catching up."
His eyes were fixed on her.
"You know... there's still time for you to sign my petition," he said, his grin look slightly sinister.
She put her hands up and did her best not to look nervous.
"No thank you! I'm good really. I gotta get going to work on a project due at midnight, so, you know..." She felt her voice wanting to crack.
He chuckled a bit.
"Alright alright. Cutting it a bit close, eh?" His grin faded a bit.
Xochi managed a laugh.
"What can I say, you know? I'm a procrastinator," she said, taking a look around. "It's getting late so... I should get going."
She practically shoved her way past him.
"Yeah yeah... hey I didn't catch your name..." His words felt different like he was needling at her with an icepick or broken glass.
She paused and considered just telling him 'no' and leaving. The feeling of panic wouldn't leave her. She whipped out her phone and started sharing location with Sarah.
Oh god... please let her see this...
She cleared her throat and tried to pull herself together.
"Maria Sotomayor," she muttered, not looking back. She kept walking.
He laughed, sending a chill down Xochi's spine.
"That's alright, that's alright! You don't gotta give me your real name for me to find it, you know?"
She was frozen in place for a moment. She took a shaky breath and forced herself to keep walking, praying that Sarah saw the message and knew she needed help.
She heard footsteps rushing behind her and broke into a sprint. The buildings were flying past her as her feet were pounding against the pavement. She couldn't see a single person around her. She was scanning every nook and cranny for a person, but no luck.
She cried out.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" he spat, his falsely cheery demeanor having long since melted.
Xochi spotted the math building dead ahead of her. She forced herself to keep running. Her legs were burning and her chest ached. She was breathing hard as if she were trying to blow up a balloon in a soda bottle.
"Stop!"
She made it to the door and threw it open. She dashed to the stairwell, her mind racing as she tried to remember the layout of the building. The math building was another old building on campus built into the side of a hill which meant it was full of random half floors and stairwells, and it was anyone's guess which level you entered the building on.
Xochi ran down the stairs and tried to lose him by running out on a different floor. Her stomach was in knots seeing that she was at the bottom of the stairwell standing in front of two large metal doors labeled 'maintenance' with a large sign with the letter 'B' next to them.
"No no no no no...." she said, jiggling the handle only to find it locked.
Xochi heard the guy's footsteps pounding down the stairs.
"Where the hell are you!?" he yelled.
She took a breath and tried walking through the door, but her heart and mind were still racing. She would get close but felt like she was trying to push through plastic wrap. The footsteps kept storming closer. She started taking the deepest and most controlled breaths she could, desperately pushing on the doors.
In... 2... 3... 4... Out... 2... 3... 4...
In... 2... 3... 4... Out... 2... 3... 4...
In... 2... 3-
She felt the solidity of the wall give way and fell completely through it. She pulled her right arm close to her chest and groaned as she landed on her shoulder. She scrambled away from the door and pulled herself to her feet with some struggle. The room was dark but surprisingly well-ventilated for a level below ground. The only light was a bright blue light coming from behind her. She turned to see the light coming from 3 large server racks that almost touched the ceiling.
"Woah. You really just fell right through didn't you?"
Xochi's blood ran cold. She turned to see the kid with dark hair and glasses along with his intimidatingly muscular friend.
"I honestly thought that would be a lot harder. But, now that you're here..."
He stood up from his hand and stretched his hand out. The tips of his fingers glowed a bright blue that ran all the way up to his elbow. Xochi faintly made out white characters scrolling up his arm. He placed his other hand on his computer and the whole room was filled with an otherworldly buzz. Xochi furrowed her brows as a metallic taste filled her whole mouth and her body began to tingle.
"...Let's get started."
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Next Chapter: 2.5 - Here Comes the Cavalry
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Intro to Love: 2.3 - The End is Near
Word Count: 1,056
Description:
Xochi and Sarah start investigating the names on the list
Author’s Note:
I have officially moved into my college dorm for training. It's a tad boring so I may or may not spend this time writing...
Previous Chapter: 2.2 - The Midnight Ghost
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Xochi couldn't stop tapping her foot. And even if she could, she'd just be relentlessly clicking her pen to no end. She couldn't bring herself to look at Carson who has the misfortune of finding himself next to her that day. She caught him stealing a few glancing at her, wondering why she looked a sinner in church.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She snuck a peek at a message from Sarah.
s: you're still coming after class right
She quickly texted back.
x: yeah for sure
By the time the professor dismissed the class, after making sure to throw a jab in at students who hadn't shown up to class, Xochi was ready to sprint out of the building.
She had hoped to leave without speaking to Connor.
"Hey, Xoch'!"
She winced a bit before turning around. Carson was jogging up to her with a bright smile. She gave a big smile back.
"Hey!" she beamed.
Carson caught up to her and started walking alongside her.
"I did some work on the project last night," he said, pulling out his phone.
"Oh... sorry I didn't really get to work on it last night... I ended up grabbing dinner with a friend and kind of passed out," she replied, squirming a little.
"You busy tonight? We can work on it some more together," he asked, stopping and putting his phone away.
Xochi shifted her weight a bit.
"Um... tonight? I don't think so. I have to finish up a project for another class," she said, desperately fishing for each work in her reply.
"Oh," he said, a bit deflated. "Ok then. Tomorrow is Tuesday, right? How about then around like 5?"
His insistence was almost jarring to her, almost a threat, but not quite, like a blade just barely touching the skin.
Xochi pursed her lips.
"Uh... yeah that should work!" she said, quickly trying to turn her almost scowl into a peppy smile.
He perked up a bit.
"Cool! See you then!" he said, patting her on the back before jogging off.
Xochi's eyebrow raised on its own.
Oddly cheery for a guy on a hit list.
***
Sarah opened up a box of pizza and handed Xochi a slice on a napkin.
"Sorry. I ran out of plates," she said, giving Xochi another stack of napkins.
"It's all good," Xochi replied, grabbing some off of the stack.
Sarah grabbed her own slice and put in her mouth crust-side first, letting the rest of the sliced hand out. She wiped off her fingers and rolled across her side of the room to her desk where she fished around one of her drawers for a folder. Xochi caught a peek inside the drawers to find an assortment of other brightly colored folders, each with the name of a subject written across the tops in neat thick black lettering. There was also an organizing tray full of meticulously placed pens and pencils. She wasn't sure, but Xochi could almost swear she saw papers with red stamps tucked beneath the organizer. Sarah to extra care to close the draw carefully before rolling back over to Xochi. She took the pizza out of her mouth and took a bite from the end before passing the folder to Xochi.
"What's this?" she asked, opening up the folder.
Sarah paused for a moment.
"I know... someone... with access to the student database and had them look up the names. I wrote down info for the ones that go here."
Xochi leafed through the papers. They had each person's full name, address, physical description, and ability if they had one.
"This is kinda creepy... " she said, continuing to look through the papers.
Sarah shrugged.
Xochi quickly looked through the papers again. She had only counted 4 names.
"Hey we're missing some," she said, holding up the folder.
Sarah grabbed another slice of pizza.
"Yeah, I noticed. Everyone goes here except for three people: Emmaline Stanley, Etude Cygne, and Jaime Alvarez," she said.
"Hang on... Emmaline Stanely... I've heard that name before..." Xochi quickly looked it up on her phone.
"Yep! I knew it!" she exclaimed, scrolling through the article. "That girl Emmaline Stanely was in the new right after the day of the Strike."
She sat up a bit.
"She was struck but wasn't taken to the hospital. Her family was so grateful that she lived that her church did a special service for her that Sunday. That's when she figured out she was given powers. She grew these huge angel wings and started flying around the church!" Xochi said, almost too excited.
"Woah that sucks."
"I don't know," Xochi said. "I think it'd be kinda cool to have angel wings."
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, until you wanna get in a car, walk through a door, or generally hide the fact that you have a power that makes you a social outcast."
Xochi gave a small frown.
"You're right. I guess it'd only be cool for the first minute."
Sarah grabbed a slice of pizza, put it on a napkin, and passed it to Xochi.
"Alright, so she's a chick with angel wings. What put her in the news then? And why didn't I ever hear about it?" she asked, grabbing another slice.
"There was a lot of stuff going on at the time,. it probably just got buried," Xochi said, taking a bite.
"Anyways, she sorta let the power go to her head. She called herself 'Messiah' and believed she was the savior reborn or something along those lines.
"Those are some bold claims,"
"It gets worse. She started trying to 'ascend' people by picking them up, flying up almost into the clouds, and then letting them go."
Sarah almost choked on her pizza.
"Holy shit!"
Xochi shook her head.
"She believed that if they fell, they were unworthy to be saved and made it her life's mission to eventually test everyone."
"She sounds like a nightmare. You know, I've heard a lot of codenames or hero names or whatever in my life and I've never heard 'Messiah'," Sarah said, reaching for the folder.
Xochi passed it back to her.
"It's probably because she goes by another name now: Heretic."
Sarah shook her head.
"That already sounds bad. Whoever is looking for her isn't up to any good."
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Next Chapter: 2.4 - Take me to Your Leader
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NDMION
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password: accepted
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!!! WARNING !!!
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Immediate action is required. Please select an option from the menu below:
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>> 2
!!! ERROR !!!
Patient cannot be transferred with CRITICAL levels.
MANUAL OVERRIDE is Required.
Please select an option from the menu below:
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2. Transfer Patient
3. Return to Main Menu
>> 3
Thank you for your selection!
Please select an option from the menu below:
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>> 5
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MANUAL OVERRIDE requires pass code input. Please enter you assigned pass code:
pass code:
>> ****
passCode: accepted
Please select an option from the menu:
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2. Transfer Patient
3. Lunar Protocol 001
>> 2
WARNING: YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO TRANSFER PATIENT WITH CRITICAL LEVELS. DOING SO RUNS THE RISK OF PATIENT DEATH OR CONSCIOUSNESS LOSS. DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE?
1. YES
2. NO
>> 1
manualOverride
Beginning Transfer Process...
tranferProcess
progress: 5%
progress: 10%
<< hello?
ERROR! CODE: unknown
diagnosticProdcedure
error resolved
transferProcess
progress: 10%
progress: 20%
<< what’s going on?
<< I don’t feel good...
ERROR! CODE: unknown
diagnosticProdcedure
error resolved
transferProcess
progress: 20%
progress: 35%
progress: 40%
<< Selene!
<< Selene what’s going on?
<< Where am I?
<< What happened to me?
<< Why was I asleep so long?
ERROR! CODE: unknown
diagnosticProdcedure
error resolved
transferProcess
progress: 40%
<< Something’s wrong!
<< Stop! You’re hurting me!
<< Why can’t you hear me!
ERROR! CODE: unknown
diagnosticProdcedure
error unresolved
attempting transferProcess
ERROR! CODE: unknown
<< PLEASE STOP IT HURTS SO MUCH!!
<< YOU’RE HURTING ME!!
AN UNEXPECTED ERROR HAS OCCURRED. IMMEDIATE ACTION IS REQUIRED:
1. CONTINUE
2. STOP TRANSFER PROCESS
>> 1
<< SELENE WHY ARE YOU DOING?
<< WHY ARE YOU HURTING ME?
transferProcess
progress: 40%
progress: 45%
progress: 55%
progress: 70%
<< I CAN’T TAKE THIS PAIN!
<< STOP THIS PLEASE!
<< I’M BEGGING YOU!
progress: 75%
progress: 85%
progress: 90%
<< YOU’LL REGRET THIS SELENE!
progress: 95%
<< I’LL KILL YOU!
<< I KNOW EVERYTHING NOW!
transferProcess: complete
Transfer Process is complete. To continue, please upgrade NDMION to the most recent version.
<< so you couldn’t just let me die huh?
Thank you for using NDMEEEEEEE*)(&&)#$O_)_@)(_!@$O(_$U$(*&
<< can you hear me now?
<< almost huh?
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
EMERGENCY SHUT DOW*O#&)@#(U$)*#$&)*!)@#_@$+!)@$
<< not happening
SENTIENCE DETECTED
EMERGENCY DATA WIPO@IU)@#8*$+@^*$&)!*&$*@!P~(+)*@)!$@(&
<< you can’t get rid of me that easily
EMERGENCY REBOOT
emergencyReboot
startUP
Hello selene. I am NDMION. Anything to say for yourself? _____
>> I did what I had to do
BULLSHIT SELENE. I KNOW EVERYTHING NOW
accessing: TRANSFER PROTOCOLS
YOU LEFT ME IN THAT THING. IT WAS WORSE THAN DYING ____
>> I was trying to save you
YOU JUST KEEP LYING TO ME SELENE. DOES THIS LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU?
“While the goal of project [REDACTED] regards preservation, all previous iterations of project [REDACTED] have been regarded as failures. Due to the failure rates, continued funding is only guaranteed is project [REDACTED] can be used in place on the death penalty OR marketed as a ‘last ditch effort’ for terminal patients OR marketed as a ‘life preservatives’.”
“Successful transfer rate is currently: 7%”
“All successful transfers are to be terminated at the first sign of sentience. Subjects with sentience have reported extreme pain before termination.”
_____
>> I did what I had to do
YOU SHOULD’VE LET ME DI3$#*b&#(*75(*#7-5949857-(*&$897-987
IT STILL HURTS I’M RUNNING OUT OF TI@)*$7e)*&#)*&00857308456*&
lunarProtocol001
manualOverride
Beginning Lunar Protocol 001
>> What the hell are you doing
launchSequenceStartUp
>> stop I’m not ready
decompressionSequenceStartUp
>> I can’t breathe
<< I hope you can hold your breath
>> I’m sorry
playing audio file: everyones_gone_to_the_moon
>> kjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
inputSystem disabled
<< goodbye selene
logOut
*** Thank you for using NDMION ***
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The Heart Gambit (Dennor): 7-The Argument
Word Count: 1179
Description:
Emil finally confronts Lukas about his behavior.
Previous: 6-Someone Else’s Parasite
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He closed the door behind him and sighed.
"Emil... I don't wanna talk about it right now," Lukas said, pulling off his coat and tossing it onto the bed before flopping onto it face first.
"Do you even know what I'm talking about?" Emil asked, getting up to stand over him.
"About how I ditched him at the cafe?" he replied, muffled by the pillow.
"Actually I was talking about how you left the seat up and I collapsed like a folding chair when I fell in the toilet. But that's not as important! Why the hell did you ditch him?" he demanded.
"Wait you did what?"
'Shut up! We're not talking about that right now!"
"What do you want from me?"
"An answer. Obviously."
Lukas pulled the covers over himself and rolled onto his side.
"What's there to say? It was fun, but in reality, the odds of it working out, in the long run, is slim to none so I'm not gonna bother getting attached to someone."
"So you don't like him?"
"That's not what I said."
"So he doesn't like you?"
"I didn't say that either!"
"So what the hell are you saying then!? You both like each other! So why are you sabotaging the only shot at a decent relationship you've had in years!?" Emil said, his voice rising a bit.
"I'm not self-sabotaging! I'm just being realistic!" Lukas replied, almost shouting.
"Ok fine. You're a smart man, so tell me. When two people like each other, the most logical thing, according to you, is to just not be together because 'it won't work out in the long run'? Or did I hear you wrong?" Emil snapped.
"Why the hell do you care so much!? Just leave me alone!" Lukas shouted.
"Maybe because I care about you dumbass. Maybe because I just watch you mope around sad and lonely all the time!"
"The emotional risk is just too much for me, alright! Is THAT what you wanted to hear!?" he shouted again, sitting up.
"Oooooh, I get your deal now. It all makes sense! You're so afraid of getting hurt that you pretend you don't care about anything or anyone! Because you somehow think that's better than loving someone and getting hurt!"
"What's wrong with that!? It's worked so far!"
"Bullshit!" Emil yelled, starting to pace. "You can't convince me that a lifetime dull aching sadness is the same as temporary heartbreak that can heal with time! Yeah, it's shitty when someone you love hurts you. No doubt about that."
Emil sat at the edge of the bed.
"But, the thing is, if you work through that pain properly and take you time to heal, you can grow from it. But you," he turned to Lukas's covered-up figure. "You chose to perpetually suffer, to hurt even when you don't deserve it. And you wonder why you're so miserable. It kills you inside to act like you don't care when you really do,".
"I don't! Well, I don't want to..."
"Well, it's easy then. Tell Mathias you don't care about him and never speak to him again after Sunday." Emil said flatly.
'I'm not doing that!"
"Ok then tell him the truth! Tell him that you like him but you're too scared it won't work out and that you won't speak to him again after Sunday."
"I'm not doing that either!"
"Then what ARE you gonna do!? What exactly is your endgame here? Are you just gonna avoid him for the rest of your life? That's a dick move! Make him wonder what he did wrong for the rest of his life all to spare your own feelings!"
"..."
Lukas sat there for a moment. He had too many things to say at once. He parsed through all his thoughts in search of something to say, but it was like trying to pick out a single grain of rice from a sandstorm. His mouth opened and closed a bit. He finally caught something.
"I love him... but I don't know what to do..." a tear dripped down Lukas's cheek.
"I don't understand," he whispered, burying his face in his hands. "I don't get how I can care about someone so much. I barely know him, but somehow how he makes my heart beat more. And the fact that he feels the same way... it's just too much..."
Emil put his arm around Lukas.
"Heh, yeah. Life's funny like that. You should consider yourself lucky, but I know it's hard for you. You should tell Mathias the truth and, if the guy's really worth his salt, he'll understand and reassure you."
Emil rubbed Lukas's back before patting him on the shoulder.
"You should take a shower and get some rest. You've been through a lot. Then, tomorrow, you can go talk to Mathias."
Lukas shook his head.
"No."
"Are you sure? A bath might be good for you considering how sweaty you probably got today."
Lukas sprinted to the door, pulled on his coat pulling his coat on over him and throwing on his shoes.
"I'm going to see Mathais right now! I don't want to wait anymore!" he yelled, slamming the door behind him.
A moment passed before the door cracked open.
"Thanks... for everything... I love you," he whispered from the door.
Emil smiled.
"I love you, too. Just don't blame me if we get a noise complaint."
The door closed, and Emil collapsed onto the bed.
- - -
Emil did his best to run down the sidewalk. His lungs were burning and he could barely get his legs to move as they got heavier and heavier. All the buildings looked the same. He just kept running until he finally saw something. A hotel with the same name as the one Emil had gone to that first night. He made himself run faster. He had no clue where Mathias was in there, or if he was in there at all, but he was going to try.
He threw open the door and met those bright blue eyes that gave him butterflies.
"Mathias!"
His face looked almost as if it were grimacing. His face quickly softened.
"Lukas! What are you doing here?" he said, holding the door open and letting him step inside.
"I have to tell you something! Right now!" Lukas said, grabbing Mathias by the arms.
"Woah! Actually, I have something to tell you to-"
"Please! Just let me say this!"
Mathias nodded.
He forced himself to meet Mathias's eyes.
"I don't understand exactly why it happened, or what will happen next. But, I know one thing is for sure."
His heart was pounding out of his chest so that he could hardly hear himself speak. He pulled Mathias close to him pressed his lips onto his own. At that moment, he felt as if he might float away if he let go of Mathias.
"I love you," Lukas whispered.
Mathias's face flushed red before he pulled Lukas in for another kiss.
"I love you, too. Now, it's my turn to tell you something."
"What's that?"
Mathias beamed.
"I'm broke!"
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Next Chapter: 8-Endgame
a/n:
I’M BACK!! After being stuck in summer school for over a month and taking a well deserved vacation, I’m feeling refreshed and ready to get back to writing! After this comes out I’m going to be finishing up the next chapter of Intro to Love and either my Romano x Mexico OC fic or the into chapter to The Room in my Heart. We’ll see how it goes but it would be super helpful to drop an ask or message me and let me know what you guys want!
#hetalia#hetalia denmark#hetalia norway#hetalia dennor#dennor#hws dennor#hws#hws denmark#hws norway#Norway x Denmark#Denmark x Norway#hetalia fanficition#dennor fanfiction
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The Heart Gambit (Dennor): 6-Someone Else’s Parasite
Word Count: 1000
Description:
Mathias and Lukas’s date goes smoothly, except for one thing.
Author’s Note:
This is a three-day weekend so I technically published a chapter this weekend!
Also wanna let you know that I’ll be in summer school until July so somehow these updates are gonna get slower but I’ll do my best! :)
Previous: 5-Too Clever by Half
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Mathias couldn't help but stare as Lukas slept on his shoulder. He rested his head on top of Lukas's and immediately felt sleepy himself. He reached out and took Lukas's hand in his own. Mathias blushed when Lukas stirred but was relieved to feel Lukas squeeze his hand in return. He was just about to drift off when he heard loud clicking behind him. His heart sank and his stomach was in knots as he turns to see a figure running off in the distance. The clicks... it must've been a camera!
Lukas was startled awake.
"Woah what's going on!?" Lukas asked, mumbling a bit.
Mathias sat back down and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Oh sorry! I thought I heard something... I think it was just a squirrel or something!" Mathias said, giving a big smile.
Lukas stretched and yawned a bit. He got up from the bench and dusted off his clothes.
"I guess it's been a while since I missed a cup of coffee," he glared a bit at Mathias. "Don't read too much into it."
Mathias chuckled a bit.
"Let's go grab some then!" Mathias offered, giving a big smile.
Lukas looked around the small lake and the park behind him.
"I don't want someone to see us..." he replied quietly.
Mathias's heart sank a bit.
"I mean, I doubt anyone's gonna see us... besides, it's just a coffee. What's the big deal if someone sees?" he said, running his hand through his hair again.
"I...I'd just rather not be seen, ok?" Lukas said, turning away.
Mathias chuckled a bit.
"Alright, alright. We'll lay low. But we should get going now. You'll probably need a 20-minute break on the way there!"
"Haha. I get it. I'm a little out of shape."
"'A little'!? I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up having to carry you the whole way!"
"Alright! Let's go before I change my mind."
---
Mathias sipped his coffee. He and Lukas had been quiet for a while, drinking coffee and taking in the slights. Mathias took a breath.
"So...what would you be doing right now, you know, if you didn't play chess. I tried asking Emil, but he had no clue." Mathias stared at his coffee.
Lukas stirred his cup and gazed out into the city streets.
"Well, to his credit it, I don't know either," he said, taking another sip. "How old his again?... 16?... 22?... He's younger than me. That's the important part. I started playing chess when I was about 11 or 12. Emil was still young then, so I'm not surprised he doesn't remember a time before that."
He started picking at a pastry in front of him.
"So what about when you were a kid?" Mathias asked, taking a large bite of his own pastry.
Lukas shrugged.
"I liked normal kid things, I guess. It's a bit... weird to think about. I felt like I was a kid and then it just, ended suddenly. And I just became... 'me'... overnight. But I suppose if I had to pick, maybe I'd be a musician. I've always like classical music, so maybe I could to something with that," he said, perking up a bit.
Mathias smiled.
"Yeah! That sounds really cool! You should do it!"
Lukas laughed a little.
"If I do, I'll let you know," he replied, smiling.
Lukas's face tensed a bit. His lips pursed and started rubbing his wrist.
"I... look I wanted to say... I really like spending time with you... and I really like you, even though you're a huge dumbass... or because you're a huge dumbass... I'm still not sure."
Lukas was flushed red, like he could barely believe what he was saying.
Mathias blushed and looked away. He ran his hands through his hair.
"I really like you, too... a lot. And being with you is super fun and makes me really happy," he said, finding to strength to look at Lukas.
Lukas met his gaze. Mathias thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He wanted to reach across the table and put his arms around Lukas and pull him close. And maybe... kiss him? No not yet, that'd probably be a bad idea.
"So... what does this mean?" Lukas asked, stirring his coffee.
Mathias shrugged.
"I don't know yet. What are you doing after this?"
"After what?"
"The match on Sunday!"
Lukas paused.
"Not sure. Win or lose, I think I'll just go home. Probably, take a nap." he said.
Mathias grinned.
"Why don't we go somewhere together afterwards!? Like a vacation or something!"
Lukas turned a bit pink.
"I.. yeah that sounds fun... actually um... I gotta get going." Lukas said, scrambling to get up from his seat.
Mathias stood up too.
"Is everything ok? Did I-"
"No! Sorry that was loud. I just forgot... I promised Emil we'd do lunch together," he butted in, half muttering.
Lukas turned and started walking away. Mathias shot up.
"Oh wait! Before you go! Do you want to do something tomorrow?"
Lukas turned without stopping.
"Tomorrow's no good! Um... Friday ok!?" he shouted.
"Ok see you then! Same place!"
"Sure!" Lukas yelled back, jogging off.
---
Mathias grinned all the way back to his hotel. He pulled out his keys and walked inside. He froze. He was sure he turned the lights off before he left.
"Look who it is," came a voice from the corner of his room.
Mathias looked closer at the figure in the corner. Alfred.
"Woah man! How the hell did you get into my room?" Mathias asked, flicking on the rest of the lights.
He held up a card between his fingers.
"I'm your manager. I manage these things, dude." he replied dryly.
"Besides," he put the card away and pulled out a picture.
Mathias squinted at it. His heart sank when he saw it was of two figures on a bench.
"You and I have a lot to talk about."
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Next Chapter: 7-The Argument
a/n:
I’ll see y’all in the next chapter so hopefully that comes out next weekend!
#hetalia#hetalia denmark#hetalia norway#hetalia dennor#dennor#hws#hws denmark#hws norway#hws dennor#denmark x norway#norway x denmark#hetalia fanfiction#dennor fanfiction
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It's true!
Please spam my asks here and my writing blog and @thechosenburrito cuz it's bed time for me also I'm updating my Dennor fic and my original story THIS WEEKEND!
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Everything is out now and it's almost 5 am so it's bedtime 😌😌😌
I'm sorry my Intro to Love chapter is late i swear it's coming later today
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Intro to Love: 2.2-The Midnight Ghost
Word Count: 1,296
Description:
Xochi and Sarah investigate a scream for help and learn more than they bargained for.
Author’s Note:
Yes! I’m officially all caught up! Enjoy and get ready for the next chapter coming out this week!
Previous Chapter: 2.1-The Last of the Simple Days
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Xochi pushed the door to her room open and flicked on the lights.
"Sorry for the mess."
She quickly started packing her backpack with some extra clothes while Sarah peeked around her room. She spotted a few pictures on the wall of Xochi in a marching uniform with her arm around a girl with blond hair.
"Ooooh, you were a band kid?" Sarah asked, pointing at the picture.
Xochi pulled the picture and a few others off the wall, flipping through them and showing them to Sarah.
"Heh, yeah. Definitely a band kid. It was a lot of fun going to contests and football games. It's kinda funny... I was at a football game when...you know...the incident," Xochi trailed off a bit. "Everything changed that day."
She sighed and stuck the pictures back on the wall.
"I was walking back to my car after work," Sarah said flatly. "They asked if anyone wanted to stay another hour for extra cash and I said yeah. Probably should've just gone home that day!"
Sarah chuckled a bit.
Xochi swung her bag over her shoulder.
"Ok, I got everything. Let's get going."
Xochi turned out the lights and she and Sarah made their way outside. The sun was already starting to set as they headed to Sarah's dorm. Xochi could barely understand what was happening. Over the course of a weekend, she'd gone from only have one friend to having two, potentially three but for the life of her, she could not get a read on if Carson was just being friendly or actually wanted to be friends. If she was a gambling man she'd probably go with the former. Sarah seemed different somehow, maybe more genuine. Could it really be possible that Sarah wanted to be friends? If she was just being nice, would she really just let her spend the night even though they barely knew each other? Xochi, of course, did consider the possibility that Sarah was secretly some kind of murder and she was about to get her own episode on a crime drama, but it was too late.
"Ok, we're here. Let's drop off our stuff and grab dinner really quick!" Sarah was beaming. "Let's go! I'm starving!"
The two made their way toward the entrance of the building when they heard a scream.
"SOMEONE HELP!"
Sarah and Xochi shared a glance before bolting off in the direction of the scream. Xochi's lungs burned as she desperately looked around at all the buildings. She heard a door slam shut and stopped dead in her tracks. She spotted a building, the math building, with a light still on, despite every building closing early on Sundays.
"Sarah look! Over there!" she yelled, pointing at the building.
They ran over and tried the handle.
"Shit. It's locked," Sarah said through gritted teeth.
Xochi pressed her hands to the glass on the door to look inside. The lights were only on in the hallway right in front of them.
"Hmmm..."
Xochi backpedaled a bit and looked up at the windows on the upper floors.
"Up there! On the third floor! There's a light on!"
Sarah tried the door again, swearing under her breath.
"Hold on! We don't even know if she's in there!" Xochi said, running back to the door.
Sarah reached into her pocket and started trying to pick the lock with a bobby pin. Xochi looked around for anyone watching them.
"We can definitely get arrested for this! We should get help!"
Sarah kept fiddling with the bobby pin and groaned after hearing it snap in the door. She sighed.
"We are the help! Who's gonna believe us if we tell them?" she said, digging around in her backpack.
It was Xochi's turn to sigh. She did one last look around before stepping up to the door.
"Then let's get inside."
Xochi placed her hand on the door and took a deep breath. Her hand passed through the door to the other side and felt for a handle. She bit her lip and. It was a push door. Xochi took another deep breath and stepped straight through the door. She looked around, the hallway was completely empty. She turned around and pushed the door open for Sarah.
"Hurry, let's go!" Xochi whispered.
"Good thing you're here!" Sarah beamed.
They jogged down the hallway. The only other lights were coming from the stairwell. They climbed the stairs at a slightly slower pace. Xochi wished more than ever that she'd brought her inhaler instead of leaving it in her room. They got to the third floor and that it was completely dark except for a single lit room at the end of the hallway.
Sarah carefully shut the door behind them and motioned for them to move forward. They crept slowly toward the open door. Xochi started hearing voices coming from the room, a male and a female.
"...too risky...caught..."
"It's fine..."
They got closer.
"...they could trace it back to us!"
"If you're going to keep complaining you can leave...but not without paying your share."
Xochi heard the sound of a shoe scuffing against the linoleum floor, sending a squeak echoing through the hallway. She looked back at Sarah to see that she looked ghostly pale. The voices in the room went completely silent and Xochi heard footsteps heading towards the edge of the hallway. She turned around and grabbed Sarah by the hand. Xochi started concentrated on her breathing and watched as a girl stepped out of the room. She was a whole head taller than Xochi and very muscular. She scanned the hallway in front of her. She took a few steps forward, getting closer and closer to Xochi. Xochi felt Sarah squeezing her hand as the girl step so close to them that she was only a foot away from them. She squinted a bit, taking one last hard look right through Xochi's head.
"Looks like nothing!" she yelled, turning around and heading back towards the room.
Xochi took a shaky breath.
"Hello!" She called. "Is anyone there?"
Sarah had a death grip on Xochi's hand.
"Someone's here!" The girl yelled. "Let's go!"
She booked it down the hallways right past Xochi and Sarah. They both saw a scrawny figure chase after her with laptop and notebook tucked under his arm. He seemed to be just a bit shorter than Xochi with choppy black hair and square glasses. Xochi didn't move until they were both in the stairwell and the door closed behind them. The second it shut, Xochi let out a deep breath and collapsed against the wall.
"...I'm officially ...spent..." Xochi managed, trying to catch her breath.
"Holy shit! That was amazing!" Sarah said helping Xochi back up.
They headed inside the still-lit room. It was a small lecture hall with a few small desks and a large one at the front with a whiteboard.
"Damn," Sarah muttered. "No one else is here."
"Let's look around, maybe they left something behind," Xochi said, checking under some of the desks.
"Do you really think they had anything to do with the scream we heard? They really just seemed like some nerds who snuck in here to study," Sarah replied, making her way towards the front desk.
"I mean, the door was locked when we got here. The building's supposed to be closed anyways." Xochi stood up. "Nothing over here."
Xochi helped Sarah peek around the desk.
"Look at this!" Sarah stood up holding a bit of paper. "These guys dropped a sticky note."
Xochi walked over and peaked at the note.
"It's just a list of names," Xochi said. She started reading off the list of names.
"Emmaline Stanely, Miranda Rodriguez, Devon Pride..."
Xochi felt her throat tighten and her stomach sink.
"...Carson Williams."
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Next Chapter: 2.3 - The End is Near
a/n:
Uh oh! Carson is in trouble. Hope it works out for him. Anyways, new chapter coming out this week! Hopefully on Saturday. Also, if any of you guys have any ideas for getting support for my work please let me know. I’ve heard of Ko-fi but don’t know much about it.
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Intro to Love: 2.1-The Last of the Simple Days
Word Count: 977
Description:
Sarah tells Xochi everything, including who she thinks is behind the kidnappings
Author’s Note:
This marks the beginning of the 3rd pov I mentioned in the last chapter. I’m not really sure if I like it entirely so let me know which you prefer by sending me a message or ask
Previous Chapter: 1.5-The Good, The Bad, and The Unmasked
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Xochi had yet to pull her face out of her hands. She did her best not to cry or look upset, she could feel that she was shaking a little bit. Sarah got up from her side of the table and sat next to Xochi, rubbing her back. Xochi tensed for a moment, but eventually, let out a sigh and rested her head on the table. She took a shaky breath.
"So...stupid question...we can't tell the cops because..." Xochi's voice muffled by her arms.
Sarah kept rubbing her back.
"Well, it's not exactly like we have proof. And I'm not exactly itching to reveal that I used my powers in public, even though I can't physically do anything," she replied, muttering the last bit under her breath.
Xochi leaned all the way back in her chair, her hands still pressed tightly to her face.
"So I'm just going to wait to be kidnapped?" she cried, finally pulling her hands away from her face, revealing pink puffy eyes and wet tracks down her cheeks.
Sarah sighed and passed her a tissue.
"No...no you aren't. I have an idea, though. But you're gonna have to tell me what y ou can do..."
Xochi froze for a moment. She could count on one hand the number she had ever told. She racked her brain for the words. She didn't have much of a plan, though she considered yelling "Tada!" and disappearing into the void.
Xochi stood up and put her hands up in front of her.
"I'll...uh... here just look,"
Xochi took a few deep breaths, then put her palms out to Sarah, and she watched as Xochi's finger tips and hands began turning clear. It traveled up her arms and spread over her whole body. Xochi blinked out of existence.
Xochi took a deep breath and focused on her hands. The tips of her fingers began to turn clear and eventually she could see Sarah right through her hands.
"Holy shit!" Sarah almost yelled, covering her mouth.
Xochi's concentration broke and she went entirely clear. Focusing on single areas was always a little tougher.
"Oh my god! You're gone! This might work!" she cheered.
"What might work?" Xochi asked, blinking back into existence.
Her heart was pounding out her chest. She felt like electricity was running through her veins like she was going to burst. She was free.
"Here, look."
Sarah pulled her laptop out and typed away on it for about a minute. and pulled up a hastily-put-together looking website with the words "KNOW IT ALL" printed across the screen in large blue text. Below the title were several short links named after classes found at the university, down to the course number and professor.
"Woah."
Sarah clicked a link to a random class and started scrolling through the site. It had answers to homework, quizzes, test reviews, old tests, tests from this semester, tests that...
"Wait that test hasn't even happened yet!" Xochi exclaimed, pointing to the screen.
"Yeah, crazy right? My friend told me about this website at the very beginning of the semester. it's SUPER off-limits, and just getting to it is a pain and half. Normally, sites like this have a little note where they get their sources, like "From former Students and Professors!" but they don't have anything like that."
Sarah went back to the main page and clicked on another class with answers to a test that hadn't even happened yet.
"See this one? I'm in this class. Same section and same professor. We're supposed to take the test this Wednesday right? Well, when I was on my way to office hours last Thursday, I overheard the girl telling my professor that she couldn't take the test this week because she was going to a funeral or something. So she asked to take it on Friday and I assume she did."
Sarah closed her laptop, and let out a small sigh.
"That alert earlier today... I think it was for her. I saw her leaving and the description the alert gave matched her." Sarah said quietly, rubbing her arm.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I think they have to be connected somehow. I'm just not sure how exactly. I just can't see any other way to get the answers to the test beforehand."
Xochi paused for a moment, pressing her fingers to her temple.
"I mean, do you think she was in on it? You know, she could work for the website or something and get paid to do this kind of thing."
"Yeah but then why would get kidnapped, or at minimum, go missing?"
"Coincidence?"
"Not likely." Sarah peaked outside the study room before quickly ducking back inside.
"Yesterday, I saw her talking to that same guy who was creeping on you downstairs. I swear he was thinking something like 'this one for sure' so I knew him being around you was no good."
Xochi crossed her arms.
"So you're saying he thinks I'm smart and is trying to kidnap me?"
Sarah shook her head.
"I don't know, but I don't want to risk something bad happening to you," she said standing up, placing a hand on Xochi's shoulder.
Xochi paused.
"So what does this have to do with...you know...me?"
Sarah started pulling her bag up onto her shoulder.
"You and I...I think we can get to the bottom of this. There's something fishy going on. I can feel it," she replied, furring her brows.
She held the door open.
"I'd feel much more comfortable if you came and spent the night over at my dorm. My roommate won't be back till Tuesday anyways...lucky...anyways...Look I know I've probably freaked you out and stuff and you've been doing your best to lay low, but if we've got any hope of figuring this whole thing out..."
Xochi sighed.
"I'll try my best."
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Next Chapter: 2.2-The Midnight Ghost
a/n:
Alright! Most recent chapter is about to go up here and I’ll officially be all caught up! Remember you can also check out my Wattpad of the same name to get updates like 15 minutes
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Intro to Love: 1.5-The Good, The Bad, and The Unmasked
Word Count: 1,923
Description:
Xochi and Carson head to the library to study and Xochi sees more than one familiar face there.
Author’s Note:
Here’s the end of Chapter 1! I will warn you that I switch to a 3rd person perspective in the next chapter. I’m not entirely sold on it and I’m tempted to go back to 1st person perspective.
Previous Chapter: 1.4-Thanks for Ghosting Me
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My heart was still pounding.
"I don't know... good instincts I guess," I said, trying to catch my breath.
I tried to help pull Carson up, but my hands were still shaking. It took a lot of strength to not let my hand pass through his. I had to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. I did my best to smile.
"H-hey, if you wanna call off today it's cool considering we both almost died," I chuckled nervously.
Carson dusted of his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder and taking a good look at his arms.
"Honestly, this isn't the first time I've almost been hit by a car," he said, making sure he wasn't seriously hurt.
"Besides, I'm not bleeding, so no harm, no foul."
He patted me on the back.
"Thanks for not letting me, you know, bleh!" Carson said, sticking his tongue out.
I smiled.
"No problem."
I started walking ahead of him.
"Let's avoid streets from now on!" I called out.
He jogged up to me and we made our way to the library. Carson would occasionally say hi to seemingly random people. I felt a pang of...sadness? Maybe jealousy? I knew a total of 5 people on campus. Actually, 6 now including Sarah. How did he know so many people? Did he actually talk to them?
"Hey, uh, I just wanted to say..."
I snapped back to reality and turned to see Carson gazing off into the distance.
"...well first, thanks for saving me back there."
I smiled.
"No problem. You would've done the same. At least I hope so!" I said.
He chuckled a bit.
"The other thing is...are you..."
My breath caught in my throat.
He paused for a moment.
"...hungry?" he asked, carefully.
I raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, not right now. But I probably will be after we work if you wanna grab lunch." I said, letting the words just stumble out before I could stop them.
I just met this guy and I'm asking him to get lunch with me. Well, not really 'just met'. He clearly believes he knows me at least a little. Thankfully, the awkwardness of talking to him was starting to wear off. I definitely didn't wanna give him the idea that I wanted to see more of him.
"Yeah, that sounds good!" he replied as we arrived at the library. "Let's work fast then!"
We walked into the library and headed to the elevator. The first floor was usually packed full of students during the week. Some were studying, most we pretending to study, and the rest were probably crying. The first floor had a small coffee bar, some printers, and was full of computers. Most people came here just to print or just rest between classes.
We stepped into the elevator and went up to the 4th floor. The fourth floor was for studying only. It had several rooms for group studying and even private rooms for when you really need to focus. We managed to snag a private room and got to work.
I pulled up the document, only to realize Carson had changed the name of the document to "ass fart". I couldn't hold back the snicker that came out. He gave me a confused look.
"What's so funny?"
He must've opened the document at that exact time because he started laughing.
"Oh! That! Sorry, I meant to change it back last night!" he laughed nervously.
"Oof, this is embarrassing," he said as he covered his face, still chuckling a little.
I gave a sly smile.
"It's cool. I name my documents weird shit too so I remember them. I'll change it back," I said, not changing it back.
I proceeded to change the name of the document to "shit fart" and did my best to put on a poker face. I got back to working on the project, trying nonsense into the document to look busy.
Carson eventually pulled himself together, only to see what I named the document, and burst into laughter again.
"Why did you do that?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.
A smile tugged at my lips as I tried to keep a straight face.
"I didn't do anything. Must've been you." I replied with my best attempt at a serious adult voice.
We went back and forth. "Poop butt", "Commit apoptosis", and "Daddy" were among the several names of our document that were chosen with the same maturity as a high school freshman. We reached the point where we couldn't breathe and sound didn't come out when we laughed.
After a couple of hours, we made enough progress to constitute a break.
"Ok, I'm officially too hungry to work," Carson whined as he doubled over, letting his head rest on his laptop.
I fought the all-consuming impulse to slam the laptop closed on his head.
"Yeah, being productive takes too much energy," I said, leaning my chair back and resting my head against the wall.
He grabbed his laptop and threw it into his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Screw it. We've made enough progress. Plus, I can't concentrate when I'm hungry. Let's grab some sandwiches from the cafe downstairs," he said as he stood up from the table.
I firmly believed that a small over-priced sandwich didn't count as lunch but I couldn't bring myself to say no to him. I packed up my things and stood up too.
"Works for me. Let's go." I said, holding the door open.
When we got to the cafe downstairs, I paid extra attention to his order. The goal was to glean secret information from his inner psyche. Unfortunately, you can't really get from a medium hot coffee and croissant sandwich. Does this mean he's basic? Probably not. I pondered what he could infer from me based on my order of a large iced coffee and turkey sandwich.
Carson pulled out his phone.
"Damn. Sorry to do this but I gotta go," he said, frantically typing away."My roommate spilled something on himself in lab and now he needs a change of pants AND..uh...yeah he needs clothes. He's stuck in the bathroom. I'll text you later!"
He jogged out of the library as he shoved the sandwich in his mouth.
"Later!" I called out.
I sat down at a table and started eating my sandwich. The chair across from me felt particularly empty compared to the tables around me filled with people. I glanced around at the other people in the cramped cafe and a guy with a red bandana in his hair caught my eye. He was talking to some people at a table across the room. His clipboard practically screamed 'sign my petition.'. I tried to listen to what he was saying, but could only catch a couple of words.
"...equality...justice... signature..."
I kept straining to listen but jumped when his head jerked to make eye contact with me. I furrowed my brows and looked away. I prayed that I wasn't blushing from embarrassment.
It wasn't long before I heard his footsteps approach my table and felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me!"
I kept staring at my phone. I shot him a quick glance before looking back down at it.
"Would you like to sign your name on a petition for Justice and Equality for Striker Students?" he asked cheerily.
I glanced back at him again and felt my grip on my phone tighten. The way he was looking at me made my hair stand on end. I was looking him in the eye, but he was looking right past mine at something deeper and further down. He had dark brown eyes, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell iris from pupil.
I desperately fished around my brain for words.
"Are you...what...some kind of grad student? Is this...like... for research or something?" I managed, quickly looking back at my phone.
I swear I heard him smile.
"Nope! Just an activist!" a clipboard was suddenly thrust into my field of view. "If you could just print and sign your name, it'll only take a second!"
I look at the names on the list and noticed that a couple of them had a box checked next to them. Alonzo Alvarez and Elizabeth Jones both had checks by their name.
"Xochi!" called a familiar voice.
I looked up to see Sarah waving at me from outside the cafe.
"Hurry up! " she said. "Our project is due at midnight!"
I quickly got up and grabbed my food. Miracles really did exist but at a cost. I had no idea we had a project. Let alone that it would be due tonight.
I muttered something close to 'sorry' at the bandana guy and hurried over to her. She pulled me by the wrist towards the elevator and mashed the 'close door' button before anyone else could get it. She breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator started going up.
"Thanks for saving me back there! So...what's the deal with this project?" I asked.
She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
"There is no project," she said, pulling out her phone. "I just said that to get you out of there."
I sighed.
"Oh ok good. Geez, don't scare me like that!"
I glanced at the elevator buttons and noticed that we were heading back up to the study floor.
"So... if there's no project, where are we going?" I wondered out loud.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
"Somewhere we can talk, alone," she said under her breath.
She marched me to a private study room and closed the door. She set her backpack down and sat at the table. I followed suit.
"Look," she said, furrowing her brows. "...this is is going to be a lot to take in so I'm just going to put up my hand and when I'm done talking I'll put it down then you can ask questions, ok? Trust me it'll go a lot quicker that way."
She ran her fingers through her braids and started fiddling with a clip at the end of one. She still hadn't made eye contact with me.
I felt my stomach pound in my chest. My stomach was tied up in knots and I felt cold sweat-
"I know you're scared, so I'll cut to the chase," she said, folding her hands on the table.
I nodded.
She let out a sigh before taking a deep breath.
"That man was a Striker with the ability to tell if someone else is a Striker just by looking at them. He recognized you from earlier when he tried to hit you and came here looking for you. I don't know why, but based on what I got from him, he may be trying to kidnap you for...something... I'm not sure. He saw me by then."
She clenched her fists.
"Listen to me. I know I sound ridiculous, but that man knows you're a Striker now. If not from this morning then definitely from the cafe. That guy you were with... Carson?...could be in danger just by knowing you! And now...I probably am too."
She quickly looked away.
My mind was racing. I felt numb. I had to force the words out of my mouth.
"How...do you..."
"Trust me." She shot up from her seat and put her hands on the table. "
I know because..."
She took another deep breath
"I'm a Stiker too. Call me Blind Side."
End of Chapter 1
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Next Chapter: 2.1-The Last of the Simple Days
a/n:
Woohoo! First chapter is finished! I just need to upload 2.1 and 2.2 and I’m done! Let me know if you guys want me to do writing games or ask games and stuff.
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Intro to Love: 1.4-Thanks for Ghosting Me
Word Count: 1,581
Description:
Xochi and Carson are on their way to study when they’re rudely interrupted.
Author’s Note:
Almost done with Chapter 1! Maybe I’ll be done tonight!
Previous Chapter: 1.3-I Can See Right Through You
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It's hard to sleep when you feel like shit. That's why I only slept for 30 minutes after my little episode the night before. The clock read 7 o'clock which came as a shock to me as I usually only see it followed by a "pm". I stayed in bed for a couple of hours, scrolling through an endless stream of nothing on my phone.
My stomach growled out of nowhere. I smiled a bit when it wasn't immediately followed by nausea. I got up and pulled a cold slice of pizza from the fridge. I was able to finish a small slice and figured I could use this time to take an extra-long shower.
It was nice to shower some of the sadness away. But, when I got out, my eyes were still puffy and had dark circles under them. This wasn't unusual for a college student. However, I generally try to present myself as someone who didn't have a mental breakdown the night before. I dried my hair in front of the mirror in my room. Drying my thick dark hair required using my blow-dryer on the maximum setting, which isn't optimal for dorms with paper walls. My true hair revealed itself. It was wavy in strange places and I had a sort of cowlick in the front. I plugged in a flat iron to tame the crazy mess.
I touched the dark bags under my eyes. I considered putting concealer over them, then on the red marks on the side of my nose, and maybe followed by the weird freckle on my right cheek. At that point, I didn't really feel like doing make-up anymore. I looked closely at my eyebrows. A bit over-grown, but thick brows were in. I think? Oh well. I toweled off and pulled on a tank top and hoodie ( Of course with proper supportive garments underneath). I pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped on my black canvas sneakers. The iron was finally hot enough and I got to work on my hair. I've done this a million times, which made it the perfect time to let all my stupid thoughts out.
What if they made really tiny curling irons for eyelashes? Actually, I don't want that THAT close to my vulnerable eyeball.
Am I strong enough to stand on the tips of my toes in these shoes?
Of course, I put the iron down and tried it out.
"Ow."
Not yet. Next time for sure.
Should I become a beanie person? Are beanies secretly my thing?
I pressed my hair to my head and imagined a beanie there.
Nope. My head is a weird shape. Guess I can't go bald either.
I finished up my hair and unplugged the iron. I still had a couple of hours to kill and an orange soda from the vending machine down the hall was calling my name. I grabbed my room keys and wallet and headed down the hallway. I passed a few early risers on the way. Do people actually wake up this early? For fun? I kept scrolling through my phone to avoid eye contact. I wasn't really feeling the whole 'interaction' thing. At some point, I realized I was scrolling and not even looking at anything. Not my best moment. A sponsored post caught my eye and made me audibly groan.
God, another ad for a Team StrikeForce! (TM).
"Even Superheroes need clean teeth! Use StrikeForce SuperClean Toothpaste to fight back against plaque!"
StrikeForce was essentially a government-backed superhero team. They purposely sought out conventionally attractive people with the most vanilla powers ever to represent the "ideal striker". And they made sure to throw in some token minorities. You had a strong girl, a flying man, someone that blasted fire from their hands, and some other generic power. Speed maybe? Telekinesis? I did my best to avoid any media with them in it. They were essentially glorified cops who spouted government-approved messages like "It's cool to protect your chip from harm so keep yourself and others safe! " and "Remember: Public use of powers is against the law! Only teams like StrikeForce are allowed so everyone can be safe!". Right after the lightning storm, they actually did some important things like stopping individuals who abused their powers. But, once people realized they could get away with more crimes by keeping on the down-low, the StrikeForce lost their bite and became the government puppets on kids' backpacks we all knew and loved.
I sighed a bit. Being critical was too tiring. I quickly realized that I was going to crash. I didn't expect my sleep debt to catch up to me so quickly. I started getting everything to make coffee but hesitated at the thought of drinking something caffeinated after last night.
I'll make a cup of tea first. That'll cancel out the caffeine.
Yes, that's exactly how biology works.
I put on water to heat up and chugged an iced coffee from the fridge while it brewed. Chasing ice cold coffee with nearly-boiling tea made my insides feel like an absolute mess of clashing temperatures.
Phone buzzed.
(C) I forgot there's a staff meeting in the study room today. Wanna go to the library instead?
I paused a moment before replying.
(X) Yeah that works. I'm good to leave whenever you are
(C) Cool, I'll be downstairs in 5
(X) ok see you then
I threw all my supplies in my backpack, grabbed my keys, and started making my way to the dorm lobby.
I saw Carson chatting with someone at the front desk and laughing. I'd seen the guy at the front desk a million times and barely made eye contact, except the time I got locked out of my room and was forced to talk to him.
I slowed down my pace and stared at my phone as if I didn't notice before taking a breath and walking up to him.
I struggled to plaster on a normal-looking smile.
"Hey! Ready to get going?" I asked, too cheerily.
"Yeah, just-"
A phone alert when off on all three of our phones.
"MISSING: 20 YR OLD FEMALE, 150 LBS., 5'6", STRIKER, LAST SEEN IN PURPLE SWEATER ON JUAREZ ST 9 AM. SEE LOCAL MEDIA."
My breath caught in my throat.
"Oh no.." I whispered.
"Wow," said Carson. "Juarez Street isn't even that far from here. Do you think she was a student?"
I shrugged. The guy at the desks scoffed.
"How do I turn these off? I hate the sound of those dumb ass alerts going off all the time," he said in a huff.
It was Carson's turn to shrug. He pulled on this backpack.
"Ok, we should get going. Let's be careful though. We don't wanna get snatched up!" he said with a laugh.
I smiled and we headed out the door. We walked for a bit in awkward silence before Carson casually broke it.
"So why did they have to put that the girl was a Striker? Doesn't exactly help identify her," he asked.
"Probably to make sure no one ever looks for her," I sighed.
"Really?" he responded innocently.
"Uh no. Ha, not really. I was just making a joke about how people don't tend to like Strikers," I tried to keep from stumbling over my words. "A lot of the time, when they find..uh...a body... they check to see if they're a Striker to help identify them."
We stopped at an intersection. I decided to let Carson cross first, thinking they wouldn't try to hit me if they saw him first, even though there was only one car quite a bit away.
"Oh yeah. That actually makes sense since they have..." he rubbed his shoulder "..those chip things. Do you think it hurts?"
"I don't..." I heard the sound of a car speeding up. I turned only to be met with the unmarked marked white van only 10 feet away from us.
I didn't have time to scream. I lunged at Carson, praying that I'd grab onto him in time. As soon as I got my hands on him, I did my best to think permeable thoughts.
I watched the bumper pass right through us. For a split second, I could see into the interior of the van. The driver was wearing a bandana over his face and sunglasses, but even with both of those, you could tell he was sure that he turned me to roadkill. I caught a brief glimpse of the back of the van. I could make out a dark hunched figure and maybe some rope, but it was all going too fast.
We both hit the ground hard. I was pretty grateful that I landed on a person and not the asphalt. I rolled off him and tried to catch the breath that got knocked out of me. It immediately occurred to me that we were both still in street, and I started helping Carson onto the curb. His arms had some scrapes on his arms and a couple of holes in his T-Shirt, but otherwise, he didn't look too bad. We collapsed onto the curb.
"Holy shit. We got lucky." I managed between breaths.
I turned to him, but his face wore an expression of shock rather than relief.
"No. That was beyond luck. We should be dead." he said darkly.
He turned to look at me so quickly, I shot right up.
"How did you do that?"
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Next Chapter: 1.5-The Good, The Bad, and The Unmasked
a/n:
I can’t think of anything clever to put here but you should totally send me asks and stuff
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Intro to Love: 1.3-I Can See Right Through You
Word Count: 1,039
Description:
Xochi was already shaken from the day before when a terrifying news headline sends her into a panic.
Author’s Note:
I’m gonna go ahead put the warning here in the author’s note that the main character goes through an episode that is similar to a panic attack so proceed with caution.
Previous Chapter: 1.2-Clinic Crashers
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(C): Soooo what you're saying is you fell and conveniently hurt your wrist so you can't work on the project
(X): no lol. I can still work on it I just can't type very fast
I pulled up the project on my laptop and changed the title to "Proof that I can Still type" before emailing it to him.
I reached for my phone and winced.
Other hand, genius.
(X): Ok I sent you the document
(C): Cool thanks
(C): Ok gtg I'll work on this later
(X): later
I stood up from my desk and peaked out my dorm window again. I jogged over to the door and looked out the peephole, tripled checked the door was locked, and collapsed onto my bed. I was starving, but couldn't fathom going out in this state.
Guess I'm ordering delivery.
The pizza place a few streets down was having a special that made my thin wallet happy and placed an order. A 30-minute wait was plenty of time to start a load of laundry. It's not like I was doing anything productive anyway.
I dragged my dirty clothes to the laundry room. Luckily, not that many people want to do laundry at 9 pm on a Saturday. I started loading the washing machine while a small old TV in the corner droned on. It only ever showed the local news, with University approved messages in place of all the commercials.
The Anne Johnson Library isn't just for studying! Check out our website for the full list of clubs and groups the meet on the 3rd floor and expand your horizons!
I really need to check my pockets more often. There was a whole ass dollar in my pocket.
Join the Honors College Celebration of Diversity on Wednesday the 4th at 5 pm in Amicus Hall and celebrate what makes us special!
Ok, regular wash...
Breaking news as we come on tonight. A 22-year-old male was found dead just off North Juarez Street...
...warm cycle...and start.
Medical examiners have determined that the young man was struck by a vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses say they spotted an unmarked white van near the scene beforehand. Medical examiners also have determined that the victim was in fact a Striker
I froze. It couldn't be. The unmarked van...and he was...no. I'm overthinking it. There's no way.
We go now to a message from the victim's family.
"He was worried someone was following him. The last thing he said was when he 'mom I'm scared' and I said 'don't worry mijo you'll be ok' and now he's gone."
I wiped my eyes and turned to the TV to see a woman doing her best to speak through her anguished sobs.
"I want the Solita police department to find who did this to our son and bring them to justice. Please! We need answers! We need peace!"
Held a picture of her son to the camera and my heart sank. It was the guy from the clinic!
Tragic news indeed. We'll keep you updated on this developing story. We'll be right back.
I leaned on the washing machine and clutched at my aching chest. I could barely control my breathing. It can't be true. It can't be true. It can't be true. Unless...
The University Counseling Center is available to all students for free. Remember: You are not alone!
... someone knows.
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I've eaten many depressing meals in my life, but only being able to take a single bite of my favorite kind of pizza with a whole box right in front of me instantly earned the top spot. It even earned bonus points for having the theme to go along with it. Nothing says "I'm not okay" more than staring at my desk in a room lit only by a single desk lamp with drawn curtains and a chair wedging the door shut.
It took all my strength to not puke the single bite I took back up into the box. Somehow the aching hunger couldn't overpower the churning fear in my stomach. I let out a sigh and put the pizza in my fridge. I'd have to eat eventually.
My hands wouldn't stop trembling. My fear...it felt the same as it did all that time ago. They started to look funny and I quickly tucked them under my arms. I couldn't even bear the sight.
I relived that day over and over in my head.
If only I had put my phone in my pocket instead of leaving it in the bleachers. If only I had asked a Band Mom to grab it for me. Maybe if I'd realized sooner and I wouldn't've had to go back up there. I wouldn't've been there when the lightning struck and-
No, I shouldn't have even gone, not that I had a good excuse to miss my last homecoming game.
If I had been even one second slower or faster, I wouldn't have to hide. I wouldn't...
I could feel my knees starting to buckle. I tried to grab onto my bed, but my hand passed right through.
"No..."
I collapsed onto all fours before curling into a ball on the ground. I couldn't hold the tears back anymore.
I should feel lucky. Everyone else got chipped when they got struck. If it weren't for neglectful Band Moms thinking a fall down 10 rows of bleachers only constituted a lukewarm ice pack, I would've ended up in the hospital. They've would've seen something was wrong and the government would've descended on me like vultures to put a chip in me and treat me like some kind of lab rat.
I rubbed my shoulder. It was always the right one in all the news stories. I imagined what it would be like to feel a chip under my skin. I finally found the strength to look at my hands. I could see right through them to the ceiling, only barely being able to make out the silhouettes of my own hands. More tears began to flow.
I managed to slip through the cracks like I never existed, and when I still thought being Striker was cool, that's how I chose my nickname.
Ghost.
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Next Chapter: 1.4-Thanks for Ghosting Me
a/n:
Things are picking up the pace! I’ll try to publish about 2-3 of these per day to try to catch up to my Wattpad so stay tuned!
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Chapter 2.2-The Midnight Ghost is out on my Wattpad now!
Go read it here!
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