Chapter Text
Warning: This story contains manga spoilers, mild swearing, blood, gore and obsessive behavior.
All minors will be aged up, meaning they will be adults in this story.
For as long as you could remember, you were average.
Ordinary, bland, mediocre, forgettable.
Though, it wasn’t as if the others surrounding you were exceptional either. They were all the same; they talked about the same dull things, went out to the same places every weekend, did whatever the next person did.
And you tried your best to fit in, you really did.
You copied what others wore, what they said, how they acted and even took on their opinions. However, despite your best efforts, you were always left behind. In those moments of solitude, you would question yourself: Why? What made you specifically different? How come you were the one that everyone always forgot?
Why were you always the one your friends forgot to invite when they made plans?- when they hung out? Why were you always the one that sat quietly in the corner of the group while everyone else talked and laughed?
Whenever this happened, a cold yet burning sense of loneliness would creep up from the pit of your stomach and clench tightly at your throat.
Yet no matter how bad it got, in the end, you would always come to the conclusion that you would prefer to surround yourself with people who didn't care about you rather than none at all.
And that was... normal, right?
╚══《✧》══╝
"...So everyone got the information, yeah?" A girl with bleached streaks in her hair- Sara- says, "I sent the dinner plans and stuff in the group chat."
What group chat?
You wanted to speak out but somebody else's voice beat you to it, "Should be it. I invited everyone in our group."
What about me? Am I not a part of the group?
It was during lunch break between your classes when they brought up some 'plan' to go out for dinner. Apparently something that everyone in your group had been talking about for a long time; it was also something you've never heard about up until now.
"Um," Pulling out your phone, you swiped at your messages and frowned slightly, "I don't think I'm in it?"
Nobody answered your question.
Feeling awkward that no one heard you, you turned back to face your lunch quietly. Then one of your 'friends'- someone that has never talked to you before called out and pointed at you, "I think she said something earlier."
This time, they all turned to face you boredly. You snapped your head up, a bit surprised at the mention of your name. "Oh- I just said that I don't think that I'm in the group chat you were talking about before."
"Huh." Sara raised a delicate eyebrow and glanced absently at her phone, "Oops my bad, guess I missed 'ya. I'll add you later... um- oh [Y/N]."
Shit... You felt sick to your stomach.
And you weren't sure why. Perhaps it was because of the frustration building up inside of you that they kept on forgetting about you, and that you actually had to remind them yourself in order to be recognized. Or... it could've just been because you ate something bad.
Thankfully, instead of puking your guts out in front of everyone, you pushed down any brewing nausea and merely nodded. At that, they all turned back to their own conversations, losing interest in whatever you had to say afterwards.
The rest of lunch continued the same way as usual- you sat at the corner while people around you talked. Of course it wasn't like you never tried to join in on their conversations, but whenever you tried, they either just blatantly ignored your words or straight up said it was private.
Screw them then, you thought bitterly while twinges of annoyance and loneliness pricked needles at your chest, who needs them when I have myself?
But you knew you were lying.
It was almost funny to you that the times you felt the most lonely were when you were surrounded by others. You gnawed at your lower lip, feeling white hot tears gather in the corners of your eyes, vision growing blurry by the second.
No one noticed you crying. Of course they wouldn't notice. Why would they ever bother with someone like you. Someone so... so invisible.
Fuck. You wondered if they would even care if you even died.
You bit at your lip harder, and bit, and bit, and bit, and bit. Until you could taste the tang of iron on your tongue.
Drops of tears slipped down your cheeks as you licked the wound gingerly.
...Ah, your stomach started to hurt again.
╚══《✧》══╝
When you pushed open your front door, you were greeted with the smell of Chinese takeout and light murmurs in the kitchen. From your parents presumably. What a surprise.
They were nice people you supposed, worked nine to fives, and were too busy to pay you much attention. The usual. Often more than not, they would go overseas on business trips for months at a time and leave you alone in the house with enough allowance to survive. You knew you couldn't blame them for it, they were busy providing for you, for the family. But... still, you couldn't help but resent them a little that you couldn't even find the solace of company in your own home.
You sighed and slid off your shoes on the doormat outside.
Hopefully your eyes were no longer swollen.
"Welcome home..." You muttered.
Noticing the living room lights were turned off, you flicked them on and walked towards the dining room. Your parents were at the dinner table talking about something you couldn't bother to understand. They must've started dinner without you. At the sight of your entrance, your mother glanced at you in acknowledgment before turning back to your father.
You sat quietly on your side of the table with a plate of food.
After a few minutes of eating in silence, your father cut off the conversation and turned to you, "So, how were your classes?"
Why were they trying to play parents now, especially when they never bothered to contact you about your life during the long months they were gone before?
You curtly replied and stabbed a fork into your food. "Fine."
He raised an eyebrow at your short answer, "What about your friends? How's it going with them?"
Stop pushing. Leave me alone. Don't talk like you know me.
"Fine."
Your mother furrowed her eyebrows, "Watch your tone at the dinner table, [Name]."
"What tone." you scowled at your plate. Feeling angry and bitter, you allowed yourself to project your buried emotions onto them. Stop hounding me, leave me the hell alone like you've always have. "I said, like, two words."
Your mother frowned and put down her utensils on her plate, "[Name], what's going on with you? You don't usually act... like this."
Like... this? She's got to be joking.
Without much thought, you narrowed your eyes and scoffed, "What would you know? You're never around to know what I act like anyway."
You froze at the same time your parents did. Instantly you look away to stop yourself from seeing their expressions, guilt biting at your conscience.
At the back of your head, you knew what you had just said was incredibly selfish... but were you really wrong though? They, as the parental figures in your life, should be around to support you at your lowest moments, to help you grow- all they left you was a cold empty home and the ghost of a once happy family.
Your father slammed his hands on the table and rose to his feet.
"[Name] [Last name]!"
Hearing him yell just made you feel more and more repressed. Your face grew hot and your nose started to burn as you desperately tried to push the frustrated tears back inside.
You stood up to match his stance and threw your hands up in exasperation, "What?! You know that I'm not wrong! You leave for months at a time and you never even bother to contact me- " Feeling your throat constrict with emotion, you choke slightly on your words, "Sometimes, I just wish- that I had different parents. Parents that'd actually care about me."
From what you could see in your blurry peripheral vision, you saw your mother's face go slack. Gritting your teeth, you continued, "Seeing how you're never here, you must really not want to see my face-"
"[Name] you know that's not-"
"I don't know anything! You won't fucking talk to me!"
Gasps come out in short breaths and you feel pins and needles in your body. The same tears come pouring out and slide messily down your face. The dizzying roaring in your head deafened you from their words as you took an unsteady step back from the table, "If- If you really don't want me around that much, then I'll leave. I won't bother you anymore."
As you stormed out of the house, the anger in your heart slowly dissipated into wrenching pain. The same way a wet rag would be squeezed of water.
There was a soft plea in the midst of your whirling thoughts: for your parents to come after you, for them to offer you the comfort you so longed for.
You paused at the porch.
Won't you come after me? Or will you forget me the same way everyone else does?
You waited, clinging onto the last shred of hope-
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
...They never came.
A light sob wracked your body and you tore off the porch, onto the sidewalk. You had no destination in mind. You just needed to get away; to leave everything behind. Away from everything you've known thus far.
Water rushed beneath your feet as you stood waiting.
How much time has passed? An hour? Two? You didn't know without your phone- yet, maybe that was for the better.
You had found yourself walking until the part of town you recognized blended into unfamiliar territory. And now, standing by the railing of a bridge, you swiped your hands across your eyes to dry out the wet tears. You weren't going to kill yourself- obviously- you just wanted some space, some alone time. You let out a dry laugh at the thought; loneliness truly is a bliss until given by others.
Honestly, you knew you would have to swallow your pride and go back sooner or later. Willingly or forcibly.
By now, the moon was glinting through the dark clouds and an autumn chill had begun to settle into the air. A gust of wind blew past and you shivered, "I guess I should go back now-"
"Hello."
"-Shit!" Your heart leapt into your throat and you whipped your head around frantically to face the voice, "W-Who the hell?-"
You flinched in shock. Whatever you were expecting, it wasn't this. It was a child... but their body was blended into the dark background, almost like they were blurred from your vision. You pressed yourself towards the railing and squinted. Was it because it was dark? Were you going blind? Perhaps it was a vengeful spirit looking to haunt you?
At that, the person- or thing- laughed airily, "Oh no, my physical form is just like that. Humans tend to just brush past me- but you can see me! Isn't that interesting? "
"W-What? What the hell are you talking about-"
"Hmm," they smiled nonchalantly before scanning you from head to toe, "that's unimportant." You silently gaped at them but they offered no answer.
They raised a staticy finger and pressed it into your chest, "I heard your desire and I believe that I can offer a solution to your problem...for a small price."
Normally, a sane person probably wouldn't have even answered them- let alone a woman at night in the middle of somewhere they didn't know- but its been so long that someone's talked to you like this that you indulged them.
Shuffling on your feet, you pushed their hand away, "A price? And how the hell would you know my desire?"
A smile. "...I know everything about you [Y/N]. I've known you for a long time after all." Goosebumps raised on your skin and you licked your bruised lip, surprised you don't feel as weary as you logically feel you should.
"Anyway, this is besides the point. Give me a straightforward answer. Would you like me to whisk away all your problems? Everything." They raised their hand and smiled, "All you have to do is shake my hand."
Suddenly a sense of blankness came overcame you and you felt less in control of your body than before. Without the ability to think rationally, you hesitantly raised your hand up to meet theirs in the middle.
"Hurry." They urged, almost hungrily and they watched your hand, "It's that simple."
You clasped your hands with them and a static shock twinged up your arm, snapping you out of your daze.
Their blurry lips stretched into a wide grin, "Wonderful. Then I'll see you on the other side, [Name]."
Shaking their hands loose from yours, you stepped back in shock. "Wait- what are you even talking about?"
"I wish you luck." They laughed again, "Be careful of those you keep close."
"What-"
The world split open beneath your feet and you fell into the abyss without a chance to scream.
I think I have a bad habit of writing way too long irrelevant backgrounds and ppl get bored easily LOL (fyi there might be mistakes and stuff bc i didn't proofread- again).
Anyway, this fic is mostly for my self indulgence + a little bit of me trying to improve on writing in general.
Thanks for making it this far!!