Tinkering Hearts

Chapter Three

Zaelia

I run through endless hallways of a huge castle. It's eerie, but I keep sprinting through. I make the mistake of looking back and see a girl behind me. She's my age, but faceless.

"It's tiring isn't it?" She steps slowly toward me.

"Who are you?!" I yell.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't hurt you." She laughs. "I'm here to listen to your sorrows. After, you know, your messed up shits."

"Stop! I don't know what you mean." 

"Sweet Zee, you know exactly what I mean and what you did to me," she chuckles, sickly.

"Get the fuck away from me! I DON'T KNOW YOU! NO ONE CARES! NO ONE WOULD EVER UNDERSTAND MY PROBLEMS! No one..."

There is a pause.

"You... are right." I see a faint bit of her face, but not enough to make out the details. "You are absolutely right! You are a loner. You are worthless. You let down everyone! Loser! Freak! No one wants you!—"

I scream and the walls scream back. So I scream back harder, trying to drown out their screams. 

Someone's moving me. Someone's hitting me on my arm. Someone splashes water on my face—

Hold up.

I open my eyes and a blurry figure stands above me.

A dream.
Haha.
Just a dream...

"Are you okay?" A frantic expression.

I straighten up a bit and take in my surroundings. I am still at Starbucks, at my table. My Frappuccino is half empty and the straw has fallen out of it.

"Uh, I am fine. What happened?" I ask. It's the boy from earlier who sat at my table.

"What happened?! You were literally screaming stuff in your sleep!"

An "Oh" is all I could offer.

. * ● ¸ .

A few minutes have passed by. We are sitting across and just staring at each other with narrowed eyes. I'd probably be up for a staring contest but right now, nope. Nothing.

I have screwed up so much since I met this guy. He probably thinks I am weird.

Wait... for the first time you are not accepting that you are weird?

I roll my eyes, mentally.

He finally breaks the gaze and I slightly flinch.

"So..." He bites his lower lip, anxiously, "wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener y'know?"

"Why should I? You're a stranger I just met and I don't owe you anything." I scoff and look down, fidgeting with my bracelet.

"I don't usually like to meddle with people's business and you don't have to if you're not comfortable. But you really scared me for a minute there. I thought you were having a heart attack in your sleep," he says pointedly, clutching at his heart and I immediately feel bad for snapping.

I smile, halfheartedly, my mind still in a haze of what I saw. Who was she?

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened... I am used to nightmares, but this one just scared the daylights out of me." I sigh. "By the way, the name's Zaelia, but I go by Zee too." I extend my hand across the table.

He stares at it, as if in deep thought, then shakes it. "Pretty sure the virus is everywhere, but Sicre. Nice to meet you."

I pull my hand away embarrassed. "L-likewise."