Delicate Pulse | Violentine

Extinguish ~ Part 1

[TW: mentions of bl**d, fighting, trauma, su*c*de]

The second my feet kicked into motion, a downpour of cold sweat spews from my chest. Hundreds of voices echo, blaring off the cafeteria walls. An abundance of shrieking, cheering and shouting.

Different phrases struck the air.

"Knock her out! Knock her out!"

"Fight!"

"Beat her ugly ass!"

My limbs whirl in front of me, shoving and weaving through a sea of students. Their figures were blurry, lit with dark auras. Everything felt disproportionate like my mind was a ghost lagging behind my body. Things were happening and I was moving but my brain was still standing behind those tall double doors.

I think I can hear someone calling my name. It sounds anxious, desperate. A muffle plea. "Violet! Stop!"

I resist, knocking into the shoulders of bystanders until I reach the front row. Three separate entities set the scene. A dancer is curling into herself on the ground next to a picnic bench, looking like a ragdoll while she groans and screams. Her hands cradle her face with thick red liquid seeping into her open mouth. It contrasts heavily with the blue hair sticking to her hot cheeks. Stephanie repeats herself in a wailing utterance. "You broke my fucking nose! You broke it!"

Her partner in crime stances in front of her fallen friend like a guardian. A plaguing swell of rage sizzles off her tan skin. Alex grits her teeth at the culprit. "You're a psycho bitch!"

The felon stares back at her absently. Her eyes appear black and vacant but her lips curl into a smirk. The skin on her knee caps is grated open, weeping and bleeding. She's huffing but her breaths exit in controlled gusts, almost as if she's sighing over and over again. I tense up, gawking at the being that is supposed to be a girl I've spent five months sharing a room with.

This was not Clementine. This was an unhinged doppelganger.

She scoffs and her honey voice speaks up, mockingly. "Would you like an apology?"                            

Alex's knuckles pulse a shade of white. Before she can lunge at her, multiple authorities rush to take action. Rigorous hands restrain both of them while other teachers urge the crowd to disperse.

Alex jumps and fights with all her weight, trying to break free. Clementine, on the other hand, sustains her calm composure. Her heels begin to drag among the concrete and she lets them. She allows herself to be towed, melting her body into their forceful grasps. She even smiles.

A sensation of touch lands on my shoulder, startling me.

"Woah, sorry," says Marlon, lurking away in defence. The brightness of his bleach hair makes me squint, more blinding than his pale complexion.

I muster a whisper. "What the hell happened?"

"We don't know," pipes in Brody. The gap between her and Marlon is so close she might as well be a parrot on his shoulder. Nevertheless, I didn't even notice her bound to his side. There's still static in my head.

I hear Omar's soft tone close by. "Stephanie tripped Clementine over as she was walking past," he recalls, drawing in the attention of the others. "The next thing you know, Clem's behind her and smashes Stephanie's head into the table. I saw it from the kitchen."

I dare to peek at Stephanie, who is still making a fuss. You would think she just fell down a dozen flights of stairs.

Ruby chimes in. "Y'know, I saw her fall and I just kept hoping she'd just get up and walk away."