Torn Souls

2. Insomniac in the City

Anyone knows the key to an all-nighter, is caffeine. Something this depressed college student did not have. Why? Because he had already drank all of them. And because he had a terrible monster addiction (specifically the Ultra Rosa, which was pink) and he hadn't been asleep for the past three days.

"Oh you're joking." George huffed in annoyance. Looking at the dull, empty fridge, he knew he needed to go shopping anyways. But like most college students, he was also broke. How fun, right?

He grabbed his shoes and pulled them on. Patting his pocked for his wallet- which was next to empty- he began toward the door, stepping out into the corridor and locking the door behind him. He couldn't lie to himself, he was happy to have an excuse to go out at night.

Sure, it was colder. Sure, it was sketchy. But blasting music through his earbuds and watching the cars pass and seeing the blinding city lights had something euphoric about it. It could have been the thousands of people, all with separate lives that fascinated him. It could've been the snow falling and landing on the tip of his nose, like a winter kiss, that sparked that small bit of joy.

It was times like this, when he realized he might be okay. That life was worth living. While he was lonley, while he did so desperately want friends, while he did so desperately want a girlfriend- boyfriend-anyone- to spend his time with, he realized he could make himself happy. George smiled silently to himself. For once content with life- just for a moment.

The convenient store was completely empty, neon signs lighting up the dim isles. George made his way to the monsters, but they didn't have the pink one. "Oh..." he sighed. Did the universe want him unhappy? It seemed so. So he grabbed the red one next to the empty slot. And a green. (Just for fun.)

When he walked outside, with bag in tow, it was a bit colder than he remembered. Still, he trudged through the cold and the snow, which was coming down harder now, and back to his appartment.

Locking the door behind him, he took notice to the atmospheric change. Like he wasn't alone. It felt happier then when he left. More... full. He looked around what bit of the apparment he could see from the door. Nothing there. Placing his keys and monsters on the counter slowly, he opened the lower cabinet and pulled out a pan, wishing he had bought knives at some point.

He crept around the appartment, searching room by room. Every closet. Every corner. Every nook and cranny. When he found no one, he was confused. It felt like he wasnt alone, but clearly he was. He gave up on looking, deciding that if there was someone there, they could just put an end to it. And he wouldn't have to figure out what to do with his seemingly meaningless life.

"If you want to kill me already thats fine. Just go ahead and do it." George said, walking back to retrieve his drinks. "I won't tell." He snorted at his joke, deciding to try the red monster first, looking at the flavor. "I don't have much to live for anyways, or a want to."

He cracked open the can. He cringed at the loud noise that seemed to crack through the air. He opened his laptop and pulled out his binders and folders and books while he waited for it to load. Once it was loaded, he stared at the screen with blank, empty eyes.

He had no motivation to do this. The 10 assignments he had until tomorrow night felt like a cloud of doom hovering over him. He was an english and art major. A few were finance assignments. But most were essays, or writing poems, which made him feel like he was back in his ninth grade English class.

That window looking mighty fine right now. He gazed at it, so desperately fighting the urge. Before it could get any stronger, he decided to pick the oldest assignment first: financial savings. How fun. He was suprised how easy it was, well actually not really. Before him and his parents had their little.. downfall... they were close. His mom worked at a bank and his father was a control freak over the family's money. They both taught him how to manage money since he was a child.

George finished in about 45 minutes. He moved on from one assignment to the next. He had finished his can about an hour ago, and he was still pretty hyper. He had about six assignments left. It was already 4am, and his first class was in five hours. He moved everything from his lap and stood up. He cracked just about every bone in his body from stretching. He decided on a bathroom break- a much needed bathroom break.

George turned on the light, which nearly blinded him. He was a mess; eye bags were darker and heavier then the previous night, his hair was sticking in every direction, his clothes were all wrinkled, and he realized he still needed to shower.

He walked back to his little work station and paused a moment when he saw everything already set. The next assignment was open and the text book was already open to the next page. Something he did not do.

Or maybe he did...

Either way he had pulled all nighters three nights in a row. It was probably just getting to him. He accepted whatever had happened and finished the work. He was halfway done. Finally. He reached for his monster, forgetting it was empty. He was 100% sure he had finished it when he picked it up only to find some left.

Now George was sure he was going crazy. Everything seemed so odd sense he had gotten home. He had a lot of energy, and his appartment didn't feel as dead as it normally did. Things seemed to be going smoothly. His computer had lasted all night. He didn't know why, but it was driving him crazy. He wasn't happier though. Of all things, he want it would be that. And it sure as hell wasn't going to hit him at six o'clock in the morning on a drowsy, snowy, English morning.