~(Y/n)'s POV~

Another two weeks have passed. I haven't had another encounter with Rath since the day in the alley. I've been paranoid ever since then, shrugging off just about everyone who's tried talking to me.

Right now, I was in class, however it has yet to start. I was sitting at my desk, hands clasped together at my forehead, my knee bouncing up and down.

'Can't get close to anyone. Don't get close to anyone. Won't get close to anyone. Can't get close to anyone. Don't get cl-'

"Hey, um, (Y/n)? Are you okay?"

My head snapped up, only to find Rachel standing in front of me. She looked worried. Then it felt like all of my anxiety was taken away. I don't know why, but whenever I'm with her, I feel relaxed. She's the one exception to my rule of not getting close to anyone. I've even pushed Cam and Val away a bit.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry if I worried you." I smiled.

We've gotten pretty close these past two weeks. A few times I've paid for her lunch. She's had a few more incidents as well where she's ran off to the bathroom.

She let out a sigh, then took her new seat next to me. We don't have assigned seats or anything, people just started sitting in the same seat out of habit. However, because we've grown closer, she's taken the liberty to take the seat next to me for herself. Not that I'm complaining.

"Ms. Flores, can you come with me please?" I turned to see Mr. Hunter standing in the doorway, a grim look on his face.

"Oh, sure." Rachel gets back up and follows him into the hallway. After about thirty seconds, I stand up and walk to the door, only to see Rachel run off with tears streaming down her face.

"Rachel!" I called out, running after her. I take a quick glance at Mr. Hunter, only to see him wipe at his eyes.

I continue to chase after Rachel, and see her enter the girls bathroom. I screech to a halt, staring at the door in front of me.

'I can't go in their.' I thought to myself. 'But Rachel...she's upset.' I brace myself before pushing the door open and running in. "Rachel?" I called out.

"(Y-Y/n)?! What are you doing in here?! You can't be in here!" Rachel said from one of the stalls.

"I came because I saw you run off crying." I said, checking underneath all the stall doors, before seeing her shoes. "What's wrong?"

No response.

I sighed, before sitting on the ground with my back against the stall door that was next to hers. "If you feel like talking about it, I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

After a minute or two of me sitting on the ground, I heard a click, and looked up at her stall. She slowly opened the door. I stood up and turned towards her. She looked up at me, tears still flowing down her face and her clay that I gave her in her hand. She bit her bottom lip before collapsing into my arms, head against my chest. I squeezed her tightly, trying my best to relieve her of her sorrow.

"She's dead...she's dead, she's dead, she's dead, she's dead." Rachel sobbed.

"Who's dead?" I asked.

"My grandma. She passed away this morning out of nowhere. She was healthy, she walked every day, always ate right. So why...why'd she have to die?!"

"I'm sorry Rachel..." I rubbed the back of her head.

"We were so close. I loved her so much." She grabbed my shirt, tightening her grip by the second.

I hugged her tighter. "I know it sucks losing a family member. There's nothing that hurts more than losing someone you love. Well, maybe when your dog dies."

Rachel let out a quiet laugh. "S-Shut up. I'm upset, don't make me laugh."

"Sorry. I know it hurts right now, but as long as you remember her, she will always be in your heart. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"C-Can you just...stay like this with me...for a little while longer?" She asked.

"Of course." I said "I really hope nobody walks in right now."

She laughed again, this time she sounded less sad.

"Y-You know...back in middle school...I always used to go to her house after school...we became so close...I can't imagine living without her..."

I could feel myself tearing up. This world truly is cruel. Taking someone precious from someone as kindhearted as Rachel. It's not fair.

~Time Skip~

"I'll be right back." I told Rachel. She wasn't crying anymore, but you could tell she was still broken over it, and who could blame her.

I left her sitting on the ground outside of the bathroom to go to the vending machine and buy her some water. After I got the water, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I checked it and it was an instant message from Chloe.

I read it aloud. "I know your secret..." My heart dropped. "H-How is this possible?" My hand started shaking as I continued to read her text. "Meet me at Fall Cabin in the center of town tonight at seven or I will reveal your secret to the entire school."

My heart was racing and I started taking frantic, deep breaths.

'Calm down (Y/n). I just have to make her think she's crazy, that's all.'

I took a minute to calm down before returning to Rachel. I handed her the water and took a seat next to her.

"How're you feeling?" I asked her.

"O-Okay I guess. I just...I can't believe she's really gone." She started to tear up again. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She started to cry again and I started rubbing her shoulder.

After a few minutes, she stopped crying.

"Hey (Y/n)?"

"What's up?"

"Can you promise me something?" She was looking at me now, but didn't move from my arm.

"Sure."

"C-Can you..." She started

"Can I what?"

"C-Can you promise me..." She continued, her face slowly becoming red. "Can you promise me...that you won't leave me too?" She started playing with her clay again and a giant blush spread across her face. "I-It's just that...you're always really nice to me a-and...you're my best friend..."

I couldn't hold back my smile. I found it kinda funny. Three weeks ago, she was telling me she wants nothing to do with me, now she's asking me to never leave her.

"Well, it is a lot of pressure. I don't know..."

"O-Oh...that's fine..." She looked dejected.

I chuckled a little bit. "I'm kidding. I promise."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

I poked her forehead. "Yes dummy, I'm not that mean."

"A-Are you making fun of me?!"

"Maybe a little."

She started to pout, and looked away from me. I started laughing. She looked back, and started to laugh also.

~Time Skip~

Mr. Hunter understood why we were late to class, so everything turned out fine. Right now, I'm on my way to Fall Cabin. I ended up getting there slightly early, so I took the liberty to get seated for the two of us. While looking over the menu, I heard a familiar voice call my name.

"Mr. (L/n). I wasn't expecting to see you here." It was Mr. Hunter. He seemed to be alone.

"Oh yeah, I'm kind of meeting someone here." I explained.

"If you don't mind me asking, is it perhaps Ms. Flores?"

"No, actually. It's Chloe Frazier." I said "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why do you incorporate guitars into your lessons? How does it work?"

"Well, I make all of the questions myself. Every few numbers makes a music note. For example, any answer from one to ten makes one specific note, and ten to twenty makes a different note."

"Okay, I think I understand."

"It looks like Chloe is here, so I'll leave you be."

I turned around, and Chloe was walking through the door. She saw us, and walked over.

"Hey (Y/n). How are you, like, doing?"

"I'm doing fine." I said "If you don't mind, can you tell me what secret you were talking about earlier when you texted me?"

"We'll get to that. So for now, let's, like, order."

We ordered our food and talked for five minutes before our food was brought to us. We kept talking, but I was thinking about what I was going to do if she accused me for having powers. After a while, we payed the check, and while we were waiting for it to come back, we talked about what I came here for.

"So, the secret that I know."

"Yeah, what's that about?"

"(Y/n), let's not, like, play dumb."

"What do you mean?" My heart started to race. What was she about to say?

"I know that you have a crush on Rachel."

...Huh? That's the big secret? I let out a sigh of relief.

"Is that all?" I asked

"Yeah, it's, like, totally obvious. How you always run after her when she's upset. The way you look at her. It all adds up."

I laughed. "You caught me."

" I knew it, I'm a genius."

The waitress returned with our check. When we left, it was already eight o'clock and it was already dark and nobody was on the streets.

"So, are you gonna be a gentleman and walk me h-" She was cut off by something grabbing her. Then a scream rang throughout the streets.

As she was pulled away, my eyes widened. I slowly turned around.

"Rath..." I whispered.

Mr. Hunter ran outside. "I heard Ms. Frazier yell, what's going- What the hell..."

We were both standing there in disbelief at what was in front of us. What was standing in front of us froze us both in place. Rath had transformed himself into an octopus with sixteen tentacles easily spanning thirty or more feet. It was like staring down the Kraken. He ran off in the opposite direction with speed that matched my own.

'What should I do? I can't just leave Chloe to die.' I thought to myself. I became frustrated quickly. "GOD DAMN IT!" I summoned a dagger. "Are you coming?!" I asked Mr. Hunter.

"One of my students are in danger, you better believe I'm coming!" Mr. Hunter yelled.

"Great, just don't do anything stupid! I'll explain everything when we catch up with him!" I grabbed onto his arm, and ran after Rath. After running for a few minutes, we stopped. Rath was standing there, waiting for us. We were in the middle what seemed to be a field where most of the grass was gone, and there was only dry dirt.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Chloe screamed, hovering above the ground while wrapped in a tentacle.

"Didn't I tell you I didn't do enough to torment you?" His voice sounded different, like nails on a chalkboard.

"Aw, cute. Trying to save your little friend?" Rath cackled.

He swung one of his tentacles at me, but I jumped over it just in time. When I landed, I saw another tentacle coming straight for my head. I managed to lean my body backwards before my face was impaled.

"FUCK THAT WAS CLOSE!"

I started charging in, dodging another tentacle that was going for my legs which I dodged again by jumping over it, only for another tentacle to ram into my stomach. I skidded on the ground on my feet before coming to a stop. I was about to start charging in again before I coughed up blood.

"Those tentacles of yours have some strength to them." I said before coughing up more blood.

"Mr. (L/n)! What the hell is happening?!" Mr. Hunter screamed 

'If I'm already coughing up blood after taking one hit from him, there's no way I can win this fight alone.' I thought, looking from Rath, to Chloe and then to Mr. Hunter. "Listen up, because I'm only saying this once! We humans have powers hidden deep within us! They're called Shimmers! I'm going to need you to unlock yours as soon as possible!"

"Wait, wait, wait. We have POWERS?!" Mr. Hunter yelled. "Do you realize how crazy that sounds?!"

"You see me using them right now, do you not?!" I yelled, charging back towards Rath, dodging multiple tentacles that came at me. "The first to discover Shimmers were the monks! They spend countless days sitting in one position with a clear head! While doing that, they reached deep inside of themselves, and stumbled upon Shimmers!"

"Okay, so what is that thing?!"

"That's Rath! He's an evil spirit who's been tormenting my family for a century! He has what is called a Shade, which are the same as Shimmers, however they've been corrupted by the evil intentions in the users heart!" I continued to explain, before a tentacle came at my head again. This time when I dodged, it grazed the side of my face, a cut forming in its place. "You need to be in a complete state of clarity to unlock your Shimmer! You have to clear your mind and focus all of your being into the center of your body, and your Shimmer will be awakened!"

"But there are some people that meditate all the time! Why wouldn't they unlock it then?!"

"Monks take meditating to a new extreme! Once you're at a point where everything around you goes quiet, open your eyes! You'll be in a white room, where a bright light will be waiting for you! Just grab onto that light and it'll awaken your power! It'll seem like a dream, but it isn't! It's more of a state between dreams and real life!"

Another tentacle came flying at my stomach. I spun out of the way, only to be hit in the face by another tentacle. I went flying backwards, eventually hitting the ground and bouncing even further.

"(Y/n)!" Chloe screamed.

I slowly started getting up, my arms wobbling under my weight. Before I could get up, my arms crumbled, and I fell back to the ground. I started getting up again, this time fully getting up. I could feel blood dripping from the top of my head, my nose and my left ear. The blood from my head quickly started pouring out, before reaching my right eye. Eventually,  it started dripping from my chin.

"Give up (L/n)! You know you can't win!" Rath yelled

"You're...right...I have no chance...of winning." I took a few breaths, each one hurting more than the last.

"Oh, so you're actually going to g-"

"However...that doesn't mean...you'll stop me from doing...what's right. I'm not just going to stand by...and watch you kill an innocent person. What kind of person would I be...if I just let you kill someone...when I might've been able to stop it?" I got back into stance, ready to attack Rath again. "I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LOOK AT MYSELF! SO I PROMISE YOU RATH, I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL THAT GIRL!"

"HAHAHAHAH! YOU'RE A LOT MORE FUN THEN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT! WELL KID, GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!"

"HURRY, MR. HUNTER!" I yelled, charging back in.

Mr. Hunter still looked puzzled, but complied. He ran a few feet away, before sitting down, and started going through the procedure.

"Wait a minute...is he attempting to unlock his Shimmer? LIKE HELL I'LL LET THAT HAPPEN!" Rath screamed. 

A tentacle shot from his body and was going straight for Mr. Hunter. I jumped in front of, using my dagger to dry and deflect it.

"Like I'd let you!" I used all the strength I could muster at the time, and deflected his tentacle in a different direction. I smiled and stared into his eyes. "If you want to get to him, it'll be over my dead body."

~Mr. Hunter's POV~

Everything outside went silent. I slowly opened my eyes, and was met with a bright light.

'What...is this?'

I looked around, and sure enough, there was nothing but a white room and a light.

'It was just like he said...'

I reached out towards the light and grabbed it, and a blinding flash occurred.

~(Y/n)'s POV~

I was out of breath. I've been fighting off these tentacles for close to fifteen minutes now. Mr. Hunter still hasn't unlocked his Shimmer.

"Are you sure your friend is still alive?!" Rath shot another tentacle at me.

 I was able to dodge it, but another one was coming straight at me after the first.

'I can't dodge it!'

Next thing I knew, a loud sound wave knocked the tentacle back with its force.

"AAAAAAGH!" I screamed, covering my ears.

The sound wave was so loud, it felt like my eardrums were going to burst. I turn to the source of the sound wave.

"Mr. Hunter?"

"Sorry for the wait Mr. (L/n)!" He yelled.

Mr. Hunter had six guitar strings on his hands. There was three on each hand. One was connected between his index finger and his middle finger. The second was connected between his middle finger and ring finger. A third was connected between his ring finger and his pinkie finger. It was the same for his other hand.

He pulled one of the strings between his index and middle finger, aimed it towards Rath, and let go of the string. Another sound wave was created. It looked like a slice in the air, heading straight for Rath. It hit him, and Rath screamed in pain. He dropped Chloe, and transformed back into his human form, immediately covering his ears.

'This is my chance!' I thought

I ran towards Chloe at full speed. I skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Hop on my back!" I yelled

She did as she was told and climbed onto my back. Mr. Hunter was still shooting sound waves at Rath. This time, he used one between his middle and ring finger. While the blade of sound was smaller than the last, it was much faster. Rath was barely able to avoid it, but by then, I had already picked up Mr. Hunter and was running back to town.

"SHIT! THAT STUPID FUCKING KID AND HIS STUPID FUCKING FRIENDS!"

~Time Skip~

We made it back to town. Once we knew we were safe, I collapsed and started coughing up more blood.

"(Y/n)! Are you, like, okay?!" Chloe asked me.

"Does it look...like I'm okay?" I forced out. "I think...I broke a rib...or four..."

"Is there anything we can do, Mr. (L/n)?"

"I'll be fine. My mom knows a doctor...who can teleport to us. He's incredibly skilled in healing. Like me...he has two Shimmers." I explained. "Both of you...you need to promise me...that you won't tell anyone...about anything you've seen here today. If you do...it'll get out. The world...isn't ready for that. It's way to shitty...for everyone to know of the existence of Shimmers."

They both nodded.

"Thank...you..."

Just like that, I passed out.

A/n: Sorry for the wait. My friend was visiting for the past three weeks from college and I don't get to see him much. This chapter has 3,000+ words, so I really hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you guys thought. I'll try getting the next chapter up soon.