Riddle Middle Two

Chapter 27: The Relationship

3rd person

5 walked across the cracked, crumbling sidewalk. It was quite nice out, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. 5 sighed. He didn't want to go home; not to his mom. He decided to hang around for a bit. Maybe his mom wouldn't be there by the time he got home. Technically she wasn't his mom, not yet anyway. He found a bench in decent condition and sat down. 5 mumbled to himself about everything that had been going wrong recently. Joy, Alisa, my project, grades... he thought. His thoughts and emotions were piling on top of him like the unfinished homework on his desk. "5?" A feminine voice asked. Great, another girl. He thought.

"Leave me alone..." he said. "...Okay..." they said. 5 looked up. Sure, 5 wasn't used to people listening to him, but who would actually leave him alone? Lila. 5 began to regret what he'd said. Some company could be what he needed. "Err... You're actually leaving?" He asked. "Well, you told me to leave you alone, right?" Lila said, continuing to walk away. "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I didn't mean it..." he said. Lila turned around and approached 5 again. 5 inched over so Lila could sit next to him. "...So... What's wrong?" Lila asked. "...A lot of things. I just... I don't know what to do..." he said. "About what?" Lila asked. "I... Uh... I- I'm really sorry about this, but... I... Uh..." 5 said.

Lila waited patiently. "Phil... I beat up Phil, he didn't 'fall down the stairs'. I haven't gotten the chance to apologize yet..." he said. "Oh," Lila said. 5 sighed. "I feel horrible. Even if Joy told me to do it, I shouldn't have listened to her. I can't believe how stupid I am..." he said. Lila inched closer to 5. "You're not stupid, just gullible," she said. "Is that any better?" 5 asked. Lila shrugged. Lila subtly leaned on 5. 5 felt different around Lila than he did with Alisa or Joy. Lila seemed reasonable. Logical. Different. Despite this, 5 wasn't looking for another girlfriend, though he could do with some friends. "Lila?" 5 asked. "Yes?" She asked. "You have a boyfriend, right?" He asked. He wanted to assure himself that he wouldn't have to deal with any more girlfriends. "No. Why do you ask?" She said. "Um... No reason..." 5 said. He didn't want his newfound friend to think he was weird or judgmental. Lila blushed and looked away from him. 5 didn't know why, but he had a guess. "Uh... I have to go," he said. "Already? Okay," she said. 5 rushed away towards his house, not thinking about what awaited him there.

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More 3rd person

Pico had been eavesdropping on 5 and Lila from behind them. He stayed in a bush. He was going to say hi to Lila, but listened instead. 5 was long gone, but Lila remained on the bench, sighing. Pico stood up from his hiding spot. "So," he said. Lila jumped and looked behind her. "Pico! Why are you here? Where did you even come from?" She asked. "What was that about?" Pico asked, ignoring Lila's questions. "Uh... Me and 5 were just talking," she said. "Just talking? He asked if you had a boyfriend. You said no," he said. "Right," Lila said. Pico glared at her. "You realize that we were forced to kiss at the dance, right? Neither one of us ever said we were together," Lila said. "You brought me lactose free ice cream," Pico said. "Yep. Just because were not together doesn't mean we aren't friends," she said. The lack of emotion in Lila's voice aggravated Pico immensely. He wanted to slap her. He calmed himself. "You rejected me. We aren't friends anymore," Pico said, a slight growl to his voice. Lila still looked blank. Before anything bad happened, Pico decided to leave Lila and just go home so he could think things over.

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More 3rd person

Phil sat on the couch, watching a murder mystery show. It was unclear to him if it was real or not. Part of him assumed it was fake, but the other side thought maybe it was real, or at least based on a true case. The front door slowly opened, and Lila came in. "Hello, Lila. Do you want to..." Phil didn't see any point in finishing his invitation, since Lila ignored him and ran upstairs to her room. Phil wanted to forget about that interaction with Lila, but he couldn't let it go. He sighed. He paused his show and went upstairs to Lila's room. He knocked gently. "Lila?" He asked. Lila didn't unlock her door or respond. Phil put his nonexistent ear on the door and listened. Lila was silent. "...Lila?" Phil asked. He couldn't hear her at all. He sighed. "What happened?" He asked. "Go away, I'm fine," she said. It was obvious that this wasn't true, plus, Phil had wanted to know what happened before she got home.

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More 3rd person

Pico went to bed a couple of hours after he got home. He woke up in a vast, white space. It was hard to tell if it was enclosed or not. He felt like he was nowhere. In a void. He looked around. On the floor in front of him was a gun. An Uzi. A loaded Uzi. His eyes brightened, and he picked it up. He heard a groan behind him. He turned around. Lila, sprawled out on the floor. "...Lila..." he growled. Lila looked to his gun, then to his expression. Lila blinked. "...You wouldn't-" Before she could finish, Pico absentmindedly pointed the Uzi at her and pulled the trigger. She fell to her knees, then collapsing onto the ground. A twisted grin formed on his face at the satisfaction. This is just a dream. She's not real. It's better to get my anger out here than in the real world. Not that I have a gun in the real world. He thought. Rather than being disgusted, he laughed at her wound. Not necessarily because it was humorous, but because it made him feel powerful. He watched Lila slowly bleed out on the white floor, her dying body convulsing. He laughed again. Once she was dead and the excitement was gone, he felt a tinge of guilt. After all, he'd just killed a girl he liked. He sighed. A few moments after, he reawakened back in his bed.

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More 3rd person

Phil was alerted by a door, possibly Lila's, creaking open. He hadn't been able to fall asleep, and he wasn't quite sure why. He assumed it was because, even if he didn't want to be, he was extremely worried about Lila. He went outside and found Lila's bedroom door open. "Lila?" He called, trying to keep his voice down. It was well past midnight, and he could barely see. He went outside and to Lila's room. He peeked inside. "Lila?" He asked again, louder. She wasn't in her room. He looked around. The house was silent, apart from the rumbling air conditioning and muffled snoring. He decided to look around Lila's room, just for a minute. As he walked in, he remembered what had happened when he'd read her diary before.

He looked to her bed. Her phone was laying on it. The screen was cracked, he noticed, and it wasn't before. She probably just dropped it, he thought. He went to her desk and tried not to feel guilty when he grabbed her diary. I'll give it back... At some point... He told himself. He brought it back to his room, turned on a dim light, and flipped to the most recent page. Rather than being written in Lila's usual cursive, her handwriting was illegible. Phil sighed. How could he figure out what was going on with Lila if he couldn't even read her handwriting? Even if he couldn't read it, he knew something was off. Lila would never write like that, not if she was 'fine', Phil thought.

He couldn't find anything recent enough that he could read, so he just decided to return it. He went back to her room and tried to put it back exactly where it was. Phil went back outside of Lila's room, once he had assumed he'd done a decent job. Before going back to his room, he decided to tell his mom, despite it being three in the morning. He went to his parents room and nervously went in. He gently shook his mom awake.

"...Hm?" She asked. "Mom, I think something's wrong with Lila..." he said. His mom mumbled something to herself. "Phil, it's very late... Or early... I'm sure Lila's okay, just try to get some sleep..." she said. "Y- You really think that Lila's okay?" Phil asked. "Yes. She just switched to a stronger medication a few days ago. If she has a stomachache or something, don't worry about it," she said. Phil moaned and went to Lila's room. He wanted to check on Lila one more time. Her door was locked. He knocked gently. "...Go away..." Lila mumbled. Phil was over Lila by that point, and he just went back to his room and accepted that he wouldn't sleep that night.