Not Even Real | Dream SMP School AU

45 - Basement

Augh... Oh... My knee... What happened?

Darryl opened his eyes, his vision clearing up as he studied the room. He stood up and took hold of the railing of the stairs. His head was throbbing with pain. Darryl closed his eyes and took a few calm breaths before calling out.

"Zak? Hello?"

His call echoed throughout the basement, touching every wall with no sign of stopping. Darryl's heart sank as he tried again. And again. And again. And eventually, he crippled, falling to his knees in a slow, prolonged motion. His lip quivered as he let out a final squeak.

"Z... ak?"

"DARRYL!"

Darryl gasped and shot onto his feet, quickly grasping the railing. He frantically looked around, trying to see where the voice was coming from.

"ZAK!" He called out to the darkness, his heart now racing with hope.

That was when he arrived, right in front of Darryl. The two boys stared at eachother for another few heartbeats, letting the relief sink in. After a while of speechless silence, Darryl felt a shooting pain in his head, reminding him of the pain that the stairs had inflicted on him. He sank down to the floor and let out a sigh of pain.

"Gosh... Ow... Zak?" He breathed, his head spinning.

"Dar! A- are you okay?! What happened?" Zak gasped, sitting down next to him.

"My head... My knee... Him. Ah... Ah! It was him!"

Darryl stood up and turned to the door. He yelled up the stairs, his anger beginning to take over.

"You... You! How could you do this!? You... You..!"

Zak's eyes widened, a small grin forming. Was Darryl- the oh so kind and against swearing friend of his- about to cuss our an adult? And the principal of all people!

"You... You..! YOU MUFFIN HEAD! YOU ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS POTATO!!!"

...oh.

"Darryl, I think he left." Zak told his angered friend, placing a hand on his shoulder as they turned to leave the door.

The pair walked around the basement for a while, trying to find some kind of alternative exit. Unfortunately their venture was left with nothing but failure once they realized that there was in fact no exit.

Zak and Darryl sat on a bench lit only by the small amount of light coming in from a nearby window. They began to wonder if they'd ever be free again...

"Why don't we climb through the window?" Zak suggested.

"Do you really think we'll fit through there?" Darryl sighed, resting his head on his hands.

"I- Uh... No..." Zak admitted.

The two of them sat in silence, their thoughts being the only sound in the room. That was when Darryl got an idea that could help them make light of the situation.

"Why don't he just explore the basement? I mean, we kinda just walked around the walls, ignoring everything that looked nothing like an exit... Maybe we could find some cool things!" He smiled, tilting his head to the side.

Zak thought for a moment before standing up and turning back to Darryl.

"That sounds like a great idea! I bet I'll find the coolest thing!" Zak laughed as he ran off.

"No way!" Darryl called back as he dashed off into a different direction.

-With The Principal-

Hmm... I wonder if I was too harsh... Nah. That Zak his is a walking accident waiting to happen, there's not a chance he'll make it past high school. Darryl on the other hand was unexpected. He's usually so well behaved... It's probably Zak that's swaying him to become-

"Sir, your coffee."

The Principal looked up from his desk to see Eret standing there, setting down a mug in front of him.

"Ah, I see you actually held up your end of the deal." The Principal snickered, taking a sip.

"Yeah yeah, I get you your coffee, you stop drinking during school hours. I'm the one who should be surprised about your habits being dropped so fast." She sighed, glaring up at him.

"Well, if I can get coffee without getting up just for stopping my old way of living, what makes you think I'd pass that up?" The Principal laughed as Eret rolled their eyes.

Eret let Schlatt continue his laugher as he went on to find out where the two reported missing students may be.

-In the Basement-

"Now let's see... Ah! Darryl, I found some of the expensive paint Ms Puffy told us about!" Zak exclaimed, rummaging through a clear bin holding various at supplies.

"Ooh! We should tell her! I bet she'll- ...oh. What the..?" Darryl trailed off leaving Zak confused.

"Darryl? Darryl!" Zak looked up to try and spot his friend.

"Darryl!" He ran off to find Darryl, his worries beginning to find their way back into his head.

"Dar-!" He stopped in his tracks to see Darryl hovered over a cardboard box.

What in the...

Emerging from the box was an eerie glow, like lava bubbling within a volcano. As Zak stepped closer he noticed what the glow was caused by. A red egg, like a ruby that shimmered in starlight. It felt like he was being hypnotized, the now pulsing glow the only thing he could focus on.

"Zak... I think..." Darryl could barely speak.

"Doesn't it feel like this egg is... Kinda hypnotic?" Zak asked as he lifted a hand closer and closer to the egg.

Just before he was about to touch it, Darryl grabbed his wrist and pushed him away.

"Ah! Hey man what the-"

"Zak! Don't you know how fragile this could be?! I mean, it's an egg! What if you touch it and it breaks?! We can't be so reckless with it, we have to take care of it! Keep it warm, keep it safe, you know!" Darryl's hands were shaking, his eyes wide and twitchy. He smiled like this was his hopes and dreams finally being achieved.

"Darryl? How are you going to protect it when we get out?" Zak questioned, slowly approaching his friend with caution.

"I'll- I'll sneak down here every lunch hour, I'll bring it things from home! Don't you get it Zak? It's like... It's like we're it's parents!"

Zak's face flashed hot with the word. "Parents", the people that take care of children. He didn't understand why this was so strange to him, but he didn't care. Hearing Darryl say that he was like the egg's parent made him feel good. Weird, but good.

"Okay okay okay. We can take care of it. We shouldn't let anyone know though. They might try to hurt it." Zak told Darryl, glancing back at the egg.

Maybe this would be a good thing, something to look forward to, a way to motivate his to go to school.

Or maybe... Maybe this would be something so... Much... Better.