Trouble in Tiltown

School day

                          Laurence's POV

As Jerrick and I said goodnight to each other, I flopped my messy hair onto my pillow and sunk into my bed. My dark and long eyelashes fluttered slowly, falling into the sleepiness.

I was standing in a dim parking lot, with only the one street lamp buzzing loudly above my head. My eyes took in my surroundings but it wasn't much, as for it was far too dark. Beyond the dim parking lot, had just been a complete void.
"Hello?" My voice echoed throughout. I began to hear scattering from all around me. It ran, the sound of it's nails hitting against the pavement. It stopped suddenly, a few seconds after hearing me. A man appeared from the void. He had black hair, glasses and a stubble.
"They know you know." He spoke. That's when I realized, that this man was me.
"What?" I replied. His skin melted away like a candle and the man who was once looked like he was in his 40's, appeared to be the same age as me.
"Run."

My hand lifted me up from my bed quickly as my chest rises and falls. I brought my arm up to wipe my head as I felt wetness spread across my forehead. Quietly, I rushed to the bathroom and splashed the cool water onto my face. Looking up to see my tired eyes in the mirror, for a split second, I could've sworn that my reflection blinked. My head shook, I knew I was losing it now. Laying on my bed, my eyes stared at the ceiling above me. So, I kept staring until my eyes burned with insomnia. However, a knock on my window caused me to jump up. As I lifted the blinds, there was a letter stuck onto the outside of my window. Raising it up and grabbing the letter, it wrote,
"I HAVE MY EYE ON YOU. ALL THE TIME. -J" Shiver running up my spine, I crumbled up the paper and threw it in my trash bin before laying down again with deep thought. It couldn't have been Jerrick, could it?

As I write down notes for class, the sound of students writing with sharpened pencils was the only sound in the room. Jerrick who was now sitting in the front row, glanced back at me.
"Why are you avoiding me?" He mouthed. Pretending I didn't see him, I looked back down at the paper in my desk and quickly finished up. Returning to my seat, I noticed the girl sitting next to me happened to be Elouise. Her hair was a blonde bob now, thanks to Jerrick. It certainly looked better now though.
"Hi." I greeted her with a low whisper.
She stared at me, as if I had just startled her.
"Oh, hi." She smiled a breath of relief. Her hazel eyes gleamed with the lights that hung over the desks. I picked up one of the books off my desk and began getting lost in it.

I munched down on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, drinking the chocolate milk along with it occasionally before Elouise sat down by me with a warm grin.
"I thought you could use a friend." She spoke as she started eating the school's lunch which contained of a cold slice of square pizza. My nose scrunched up at it as she chewed with closed eyes.
"I guess so." I laughed.
"Usually you and Jerrick sit together, how come you aren't anymore?" She questions.
My eyes trailed around the cafeteria, not finding Jerrick anywhere. Strange, I thought.
I faced her again, "Just trying to focus more on school now."  She brushed off invisible crumbs off the floral dress she wore and looked at me.
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" She asked with a frown.
"No, not at all." I reassured her as a smile laid across my face. Soon enough, we began talking and rambling on about Tiltown.
"This town is boring." She sighs dramatically, tossing her head back.
"Really? I think it's the complete opposite. It's a weird town when you really get to know it." I responded. Suddenly, the bubbly personality she had turned into annoyance, almost anger.
"My father, the mayor of this town, is a good man. He makes this town as good as any ol' farm town can be!" She defended.
"But you just said that it's-
She groaned loudly, interrupting my point and stood up from the table.
"I was trying to be nice but this town is the most normal town ever. You should be grateful." She spat, walking off with the tray. People eyed me, giggling and laughing. However, I ignored it and kept eating my sandwich until I was completely done.

The bell rang loudly throughout the school hallways as I rushed through the crowds of all ages of teenagers. Grabbing my backpack from my locker, I attempted to make it outside. My face got met with the pleasant scent of fresh spring air. Suddenly, I felt a jab in my waist. When I looked up again, holding my side, Jerrick was standing there in front of me.
"What's your problem?" I winced as the pain pulsed.
"You keep avoiding me, why?" He said, looking down at me.
"I'm trying to focus on school and just have a normal life. I don't have time for shenanigans anymore." I explained, angered with him. I began walking home with speed as he followed for a moment.
"That's not a real excuse! I know there's something else. You're hiding something!" He hollered to me. When I looked back and turned my face straight again, my eyes spotted West. Standing at the corner of the sidewalk, glaring at me. Waiting. Once I finally met up with him, his eyes looked me up and down. Rude.
"What do you want now?" I groaned.
He took his hands from behind his back and revealed to me posters.
"I need your help finding my dog, Bo."