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listen to never not
~ lauv
for this chapter

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I rushed through the hallways, making way through the crowds, muttering about a dozen apologies along the way. Could I trust the writer of these notes? Either way, I had to find him, he had to know.

Whatever happened to "I don't want to see your face again"?

Shut up.

I looked around frantically, my mind in a chaos. And there he was, leaning against his locker, talking to a couple of his friends. I anxiously signaled at Arden to come over and talk. He didn't seem to notice. Groaning, I walked over to the group, grabbed his arm and quickly apologized before dragging him with me to a secluded corner.

"Did you not see me waving and clapping like a seal to get your attention? Or were you too preoccupied with your newly gained popularity?" I asked harshly.

He raised his eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to talk to me?" he asked, smirking smugly. "And they aren't my friends. I was attempting small talk, but apparently no one here wants to talk to the new kid," he added, "except you, surprisingly."

"I have to tell you something," I said hurriedly, ignoring his smug look.

He visibly tensed and his eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "Is something wrong?"

I drew a deep breath. "She's awake."

His face fell.

"What? Aren't you supposed to be happy?" I looked at him incredulously.

Slowly, he spoke, his voice low and quiet, "I already know."

I blinked.

"That's what I'd been trying to tell you, but you kept cutting me off."

I looked away, guilt and shame painted on my face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, "I really am."

He simply looked at me with a sad look on his face.

"What was with the 'I know who you are' shit? That wasn't funny," I huffed with annoyance.

He scrunched his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"The notes?"

"What notes?"

"Stop fooling around."

"You sound crazy right now. What are you talking about?"

I gritted my teeth as I showed him the crumpled note that I held in my hand.

He snatched the note from my hand and observed it carefully. "That's not even what my handwriting looks like," he retorted.

"Stop LYING, jerkface!" I hissed, grabbing the note from his hand.

"I'm not lying, River. I swear on Twinkies," he said, looking earnestly straight into my eyes.

Okay, now I had to believe him. This dude was an overgrown baby and his love for Twinkies was the most self-evident truth of all.

"Fine, I believe you," I said, trying hard to not let the laughter escape from my lips.

Obviously, I failed.

"Hey! Stop laughing, Twinkies are heavenly!" he whined.

"Y-You b-baby," I laughed, clutching my stomach as I doubled over, "You ha-haven't ch-changed at all!"

"Shut up!" he protested.

But I couldn't. Tears sprang from my eyes, but I couldn't stop laughing.

*rolls eyes*

I- What? You're a part of my BRAIN, how did you just roll your eyes at me?

I'm a figment of your imagination. I do whatever you imagine.

Um, okay, wow. Stop?

*rolls eyes*

Hey! You're supposed to do what I tell you to do!

No, I'm supposed do whatever your subconscious mind tells me to do.

Just–ugh.

"Hello?" Arden asked, breaking me from my trance.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"You were laughing and you just sorta stopped midway and spaced out?" he asked with a mystified expression.

I just looked at him like he had declared himself to be a secret-purple-spider-monkey-superhero who was a trapeze artist on the side.

"You're doing it again."

I blinked. And then I burst out laughing, remembering why I was laughing in the first place.

He shook his head and facepalmed. "You're weird," he muttered.

"And you're a baby. Twinkies aren't even that great," I retorted.

"Take that back."

"Nope."

"Take. It. Back."

"Nope."

"It's time to teach you a lesson," he growled.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Wrong move. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, being tickled by a furious Mr. Gryffindor-Forest-Twinkie. I was in a laughing fit, and my cries for help were drowned in my giggles, escaping from my lips as mere squeaks.

Finally, His Royal Pain-in-the-Butt decided to show mercy upon me after a very long two minutes.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, gasping for air.

"Now you know what happens when you mess with Twinkies," he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

I rolled my eyes at him.

Finally. I see you learned from the best.

Shut up.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

The rest of the day went by quickly. Before I knew it, it was the end of the day and everyone was rushing to get home. I desperately hoped that Mom was back to normal once I got home, I had to fill her in on what happened today. I was on my way to my locker, looking down and lost in thought, when I realized that I was about to bump into someone. I looked up and my eyes widened as I stumbled and the books went flying out of my hand and fell on the floor with a thud.

I gawked at the guy I bumped into, fumbling for words, probably looking extremely stupid.

But you always look that way.

Shut up.

He was tall and lanky with a gaunt face and hooded eyes, and was wearing a dark hoodie, hands in his pockets. He had headphones on, and his face was chalk-white, looking as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"I'm so sorry, I'm not usually like this, I swear," I began, bending down to collect my books, "I don't know what came into me, I—"

I stopped midway, realizing that I was talking to absolutely no one. I frowned. That was strange. Where did he go?

I shook it off as just another weird encounter.

I walked up to my locker, only to find another note stuck on the locker door.

I know what happened.

I stood there, my face ashen and legs rooted firmly to the ground, clutching the note in my quivering hands.

Was he the one who wrote the notes? Was that the reason he looked like he'd been caught off-guard? Was that why he walked away so quickly? A million questions rose to my mind. I had to know who this guy was.

»»————-　♡　————-««

A/N: hey guys! i'm extremely sorry for not updating in so long. life's being a pain in the butt. *sigh* who do you think this mysterious guy is? what did you think of that cute lil scene with arden? i'm so sorry if this chapter seemed short and wasn't what you expected. i originally wanted to make this a longer chapter, but it seemed fit to end it here. if i wrote any longer, the chapter would end up being way too long. i promise you though, the next chapter will be worth the wait! find out who's awake in the next chapter as we unravel the past's mysteries!

much love. ♡