A Sweet Nightmare.

Don’t look behind. It’s funny how you always end up doing the total opposite. Every step I took led me to think that death had chosen itself a target. A target namely, me. Black, it was all black. Under the warmth of the street lamps I was basically surrounded by nothing but the cold eerie downfall of darkness. It was ironic how this to me was more like a dream…no, a nightmare. With the only source of light flickering on and off I knew something was off, something just wasn’t right…

I took the usual route back home that day, feeding the dog outside the school building, passing Mr. Harold’s house. Normal. Everything was normal. If it weren't for this ‘bestie’ of mine, I would’ve been tucked under the safe surroundings of a place called home. Wondering why, no, how I ended up in this dark isolated street? Well? This was my story…

Gazing upon the black shadow that had somehow cascaded onto my skin from behind, I balled my fists together, clenching upon what I had assumed to be a stress ball, created by something called ‘imagination’. Adrenaline ran through my body like a torpedo zooming past a vast ocean, bumping and marking every part of my body. Intoxicated by the smell that filled the air I placed a hand on the nape of my neck, clutching it tightly to help support the sudden pain that eased its way into my body.  Fear. I knew it was. I was terrified.

Hands. Cold Lifeless Hands that brought nothing but instead deepened the feeling of fear inside of me. Run. Just. Run. Kicking into overdrive I skidded across the tightly fitted corner, running through what seemed like miles all piled up to make up one catastrophic disaster. Scurrying through my pockets for the keys to the house I cursed silently hearing the sounds of footsteps not far behind. Jamming the key into its rightful place I gasped seeing the small metal object disappear before my eyes. This was not funny. Was this just a game? A strong gust of wind stormed past, drawing the scent of blood across the black oblivion sky. Along with it a ghostly laughter caught me off guard, the inaudible sentence that I had strained to listen to… ‘Krystal...Your Mine…’

Since that night, strange and incoherent things had occurred. It just didn't make any sense!?  As time would force each and every day to come to an end a small pink colored box with the letter ‘A’ would be placed outside my locker. Strange? Not at first, but tearing the reborn apart from its origin, the content left me in a daze. A lock-lock of hair?! There it goes again, the creepy aura of nothing but pure silence had left goosebumps tainted on my skin, trailing its way up my spine.

“Krystal?” Relived. The feeling of being washed away by relief was nothing but pure bliss.

“Aaron” I replied running a hand through my brown locks frustratingly. He was my best friend.

He walked me home that night. Everything seemed like a dream, a dream that was soon about to turn into a nightmare. With me ranting on and on about my hatred for this unknown ‘stalker’ or mine, I couldn’t help but to notice that slight smirk dragging itself from the corner of his lips. Weird? Very, he just wasn’t himself.

“About this problem of yours?” He asked face showing a small amount of amusement.

“Stalker problems” I sighed twirling the long ends of my locks.

“Who’d you think it is?” He wondered, shoving a piece of breath mint into his mouth.

“I-I don’t know” I stuttered warily as he turned his full on attention to me. Awkward.

“So, you say he left you a box everyday for at least a week already?” He leaned in, our faces inches away from each other. I nodded tiredly as he leaned even further, his lips a few millimeters next to my ear.

“Are you sure it’s not Aiden?”

The conversation had led itself to a dead end as I realized I was the only one rambling on and on, his eyes spoke nothing of interest as I spoke about my daily chores. It had seemed like his soul was no longer in his body. He looked like my best friend but I had a strange feeling it was not him deep within.  Mumbling a quick goodbye as we reached our destination, I slammed the door shut. Watching Aaron leave with a wide grin on his face through the mail slot. Think.

For a few seconds there one person immediately ran though my mind ‘Aiden’. Could Aaron actually be right? He fitted the description, he was antisocial, yes he did have the looks but through my eyes he was a total beast. It was him, I knew it was. Aaron’s advice paid off, it was like he knew who it was from the start.  

There it was again. I hated it. I hated how my phone just couldn’t shut up.  It was him, I knew it was. Like a gunshot to the head the ambience of fear coated itself around me once again. It’s been days since I reported ‘Aiden’ in being the ‘stalker’. But these calls, picking it up only to hear the sound of breathing from the other end. It couldn’t be Aiden, I was wrong, Aaron was wrong…Stop. I wanted it to stop. There it was once more, it was endless. My heart cringed and my stomach churned. Just why couldn’t it stop?

I had to talk to Aaron, I just had to. Slipping on a simple jersey and a pair of jeans, I hurried down the stairs towards the brown auburn coloured door that waited for my arrival. Flinging it open, my jaw dropped at the sight of a dead cat placed onto the ‘welcome’ mat. H-He was here? My heart raced as I backed away slowly. Step after step I continued to stare at the door that was still left open. My eyes filled itself with crystal clear tears, trailing itself down my ice cold cheeks.

“Krystal” A voice whispered into my ear from behind. That voice…

My eyes betrayed me as it revealed the sight of my best friend, arms crossed, a sly smirk plastered on his face.

“I-it was you?” I gasped chewing onto my bottom lip. “I should’ve known, it was you from the start”

“You have no one else but me, your inseparable from me” Grabbing the nearest vase, I flung it at him only to feel a sudden pain in my lower abdomen. Watching as the blood flowed down my legs like a waterfall, creating a small pond at the bottom. Giving him one last look, I smiled only before blacking out…

“Seems like she inflicted these wounds onto herself.”

“This could possibly due to the stress she experienced in school.”

“It states, that she has no friends, always alone.”

“What about this kid called Aaron?”

“Principle states that there’s no kid called Aaron attending their school.”

“Then who is he?”

“Teacher says, she created an imaginary friend due to the constant bullying she received.”

No one believed me. They said I was crazy. He was watching me through the window as I was strapped in something known as a ‘special’ jacket to keep me from harming myself. His smile. He smiled a smile so big that his gums and lips tore apart. A smile that reached his ears. There was no sun; there was no light. I was dying. I couldn’t remember what the sky looked like. But I didn’t die. I was lost to a sea of cold and I knew it would be a long time before I could return back to the world of warmth.