𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝?~~ Madness Combat oc lore

·2·

The night before had passed already, fleeting. Why did the things that happened that day even happen? Ah, who knows. People are weird. That stuff happens every day, or at least it did. Now what about the day this whole mess began? Hnng.. don't remind me.

Today was the 4th of July. The streets were busy and the yards of the suburbs were bustling with grills and cookouts. Celebrations happening everywhere. Today was a day to have fun, relax, feel patriotic and free. At least it was supposed to be a day to have fun. What's the point of holidays anyways?

Our little boy Alex was on summer break from his school. He hated summer break because it was the longest break. But today wasn't as bad. He didn't like paying attention to his birthday, as much as other kids loved getting gifts on their birthday he always felt selfish because of it. He rarely got attention on his birthday since it was the day after a holiday and his parents were most likely hungover.

The boy sat in his room again, like usual. He knew today would be nice for him for a number of reasons. He sat in his lonely and quiet room. He could hear the chatter of adults in the living room downstairs. It was only the morning, and this was the beginning. Alex's parents were both pretty social, so they had lots of friends. Kind of odd how their son was so antisocial.

He listened, he was bored and felt an urge to go and say hi to the few children that came over with their parents. However he held himself back. He heard his dad let out a laugh as he assured the kids that Alex was "cleaning his room, he can't play right now." Great. Now he hadn't any chance of making friends.

Not like he wanted to make new friends anyways. Tff- he didn't need friends. He had himself he could rely on. He didn't need to support anyone else. He continued listening to the conversation going on while he laid down on his bed. Neatly made as always. He didn't move, nor did he do anything but audibly observe the mingling of adults downstairs.

Something in him made him itch to get up and go out to play. The children seemed eager to meet him. They didn't know Alex because he usually stayed in his room, but some of them did meet him a few years before. They missed him, they enjoyed being a companion for him. But he just didn't feel like being social anymore. He felt as though it dragged him down.

The sounds started to die down around 12, indicating everyone was going outside. This was the unpleasant part of the day. He would also have to go outside to be a part of the barbeque. His parents didn't want to make themselves look bad! Oh no, they really didn't want that. Their reputations are on stake here, kid! He stood up and took a deep breath before opening his door. His mom called him as it opened.

He walked down the stairs, forcing himself to hold his head up high and smile. He made himself look as though he wasn't dead inside already. And only at 10 years old. Jeez..

"Alex come outside, it's time for lunch." She instructed. "Alright mom-" He said, once again stopping himself out of habit. His mom didn't cut him off because she was distracted, but he still cut himself off for her. He walked through the living room and past the kitchen to the front yard. It was littered with guests.

So many adults, oh dear god how many are there?! It overwhelmed Alex to see so many people bigger than him. He looked around with wide, panic-stricken eyes. He made his way to a table set neatly outside and sat down. He stared down at the table and fidgeted with his sleeve. Another habit, eh?

The children were already playing games with each other in the back yard. He heard them. He could sense their wonder, their questions. "Where is Alexander? Why can't he play? When can he come out?" It made him beyond sick to think about it. So to try and not worsen the situation he stayed out with the adults. Silent, nervous, and a wreck.

Before he knew it his dad was barking orders for him to come up to the grill and get a hamburger for lunch. He quickly and neatly got up and zipped over to the grill to pick up the nearest burger, make it, take what he wanted for lunch, and sit back down as fast as possible. He didn't want to keep anyone waiting. He fumbled with his plate and dropped it before setting anything on it.

"Alex, what the hell are you doing?!" His dad said, almost dropping a piece of meat. "Sorry dad!-" He said, getting cut off like usual. "Be careful!" His dad said, sweetening his tone a bit to look better in front of his peers. Alex nodded and fixed the situation as fast as possible. Once he was done by the grill he walked over to the same spot on the table again.

He tried to eat his lunch as quickly as he could without seeming like he wanted more, afraid to go back and get anything more. He wasn't hungry enough to want more, but he definitely ate quickly. He was hungrier than he thought, but he didn't have to go back. Thank god. He walked inside after he was done and washed his hands. Thankfully he was able to sneak off to his room, his parents both in a conversation.

He walked up the stairs silently and walked inside his room, shutting the door gently behind himself. He didn't want to be heard, despite not being able to hear the door slam over the noise of several people talking anyway. He stood with his back against the door, sliding down against it until he was eventually just sitting on the ground against it.

Something didn't sit right in his stomach. Was it the usual dread he felt before his birthday? Was it the lunch he ate? Alex didn't know, he just didn't like it. That something clawed at him from the inside out. Something wasn't right at all. He tucked his knees to his chest and prayed for it to go away.

It never went away though. It didn't get any better either. In fact it got worse. So much so that the boy started crying. He was realizing how insignificant and small he felt. Poor kid..