A World of Our Own

An Ordinary Day

"Today is the day!"

That thought has always popped into William Butler's head as he gingerly approached the bathroom scale.  A silent prayer that he would finally be under 200 always became the first heartbreak of his day.  As his eyes panned down in modest hope, they would turn into quiet dread as the glow of the digital numbers would scroll past his hope of 200.  Today the numbers stopped solemnly on 220.  A look up into the mirror revealed his disappointed look to most anyone, if anyone were to see this spectacle.  To William however, there was a different look that caught his gaze.

In his eyes, he saw a monster.  He saw in his 33 years a thing who had long been denied the feeling and joy that comes with love.  Love to him was nothing more than a luxury that he could not afford to have.  Most would see his blonde hair and brown beard and just see an aging man, and yet William only saw a monster.  He saw a hideous thing of indescribable terror, capable of scaring anyone who got too close away.  

With a depressed sigh, he set about his day… a quick shower before heading off to work to deal with the hell that is retail and the mindless and belligerent masses within its prison like walls.

Another day, another dollar… and with it, another headache from another disgruntled customer.  How many times did he simply just want to tell them off for being the morons that they are?  Too many to count, that is for sure.  

Finally, after a hard day… the routine continued with a venture into the online world.  His only form of escape from the shackles of this dull 33 year old life…  with a brief smile he clicked the sign in button to his favorite chat room.

<Online World POV>

As soon as the button was clicked, the world around William changed.  He wasn't William anymore.  He was Billy, a man who could have anyone and anything he wanted.  His plain white walled bedroom became a vibrantly colored wonderland full of hope and majesty.  Every different chat room was like a different nightclub, each with its own flavor of debauchery and fun.  He would scour the guest list and pick someone on the list to try and fill the void in his heart.  Some would grant him the joy of a fun and meaningful conversation, while the rest would just leave William feeling hollow inside and wanting more and more of the list.

It was the perfect escape. And he didn't discriminate in this endeavor, sometimes going through as many as 20 different people a night to satisfy his wish to fill that void.  A wish that his life left unfulfilled.  A wish that seemed as possible as  lighting a candle in the middle of a hurricane.

Tonight as he scoured the room, he noticed the regulars which he avoided because they weren't there for the escape he craved.  There were also the scammers, always hoping to find a fool or two in the room to prey upon.  Billy tried to ignore them the best he could because it was not the distraction he was seeking.

As he skimmed through the list, he found one or two potentials for the night.  Well until he saw HER name that is, Kayleigh. It was almost as something pulled him to her.  He clicked her profile and saw she had a boyfriend and that he meant everything to her.

"Yeah, right.  That's what they all say"  The thought in his head as he opened the private chat window readying his move.  And with four keystrokes, he did.

"Hi."

<Her POV>

"I wonder who we will meet today?"

Was it this thought that pulled Kimberly Thatcher out of her slumber?  No.  Was it the alarm clock that has been screaming at her for the past 15 minutes to get up and get ready for school?  No.  It was her mother, standing at the head of her bunk bed that she shared with her sister furiously calling her name.  

"KIMBERLY ISABELLA THATCHER!!!"

She really hated hearing her name out loud.  She hated even more the fact that the students at school called her names based on this fact.  Kit Kat, Kitty, Kitten, and Turn-a-Kit were their favorites.  Most times she would ignore it and shrug them off, while others would meet her knuckles with no remorse or hesitation.  These were the things a girl had to use to survive high school, especially with rumors from jealous classmates echoing the halls that gave her a false reputation that brought looks of disgust from the girls and looks of lust from the guys.  

She shot up out of bed like a bullet out of a gun realizing that she only had a half hour to get to school.  Forgetting breakfast, she was able to arrive at the school with just enough time to meet her boyfriend, Lance Edwards.  He was her best friend and everything in her eyes.  She hurried over to him and delivered the first of many kisses that she was going to give to him that day.  This weekend was huge for them.  Her 18th birthday had just passed and they were going out to his parents cabin out on the lake.

"Hey baby," said Lance.  "I am so excited about going out to the lake with you tonight.  I've been thinking about being there with you all week."

"I can't wait just to spend the whole weekend just curled up in your arms" said Kimberly.

Before they could continue going on and on about their weekend plans, the class bell rang and they parted.  Kimberly couldn't wait for lunch so that she could be with the man she loved.  She could barely concentrate on her studies as her mind drifted to thoughts of the weekend.  She thought of walking trails and having fun during the day and sleeping nestled in Lance's arms at night dreading Sunday afternoon and the return home.

The day was uneventful for the most part.  She only hit five people today for calling her one of her nicknames.  She couldn't wait for Lance to pick her up at 7 and be on their way for their romantic getaway.

7 o'clock came and no sign of Lance's Chevy in her driveway.  Then came 7:15 and 7:30 and with those came worry, especially with no answer to her texts.  She was starting to cry as the sound of his text tone sounded off, springing her back to life and over to the phone with hopes of a damn good explanation as to why he isn't there.

Hey baby.  Sorry about this weekend.  My cousin, Henry got rushed to the hospital and we all went up to Youngstown to make sure he was ok.  I am so sorry.  I will make it up to you.  I promise.

With a frustrated cry, Kimberly threw the phone across the room.  Her weekend was ruined and she was mad that he didn't think to pick her up as well.  She had been friends with Lance for almost the entirety of her life.  She was pretty much family.

With a couple of deep breaths and a sigh, she grabbed her laptop and logged into the chat room she frequented whenever Lance had to be away with his family or whenever they had a big fight.

She hated the internet.  Just because she was a woman, she would enter a room and be bombarded with messages.  They were all from a bunch of sick and deranged perverts who wanted nothing more than to try getting pics of her naked or to make her do things that she would only think to do with her boyfriend.  There were a couple of close friends on there.  She even considered a one of them to be her "big brother" and only because he was older than her by a week.

It was a boring night in the chat for her.  Nothing was going on in the main room for discussion and she was angered by all the perverts.  Just as she was about to call it a night she heard the sound of another direct message.  Rolling her eyes at what she thought was going to be just another pervert, she opened a message from a ChillWill313.

"Hi."