Blurred | Lines

Twelve

"Lian."

Eric leans against the door. I look up from my intense gaze at the clock above the door, and stare at him for a second.

Mason comes out, looking petrified, but his time... Eight minutes.

Eight minutes.

I sigh, and rub my face, before Mason claps me on the shoulder. Greyson must see the anxiety on my face, because he pulls me into a hug, and I hug him back, burying my nose into his shoulder.

"You'll be fine." He rubs my arm before letting me go.

I slip out of his reach, sighing. I rub my eyes, and walk towards Eric. His face is expressionless, but I read his eyes. He's angry.

"Good luck!" Zella said, smiling hopefully. I feign a smile, and nod.

I don't question the anger pooling in his eyes, but instead I walk past him, my heart in my throat.

It beats like a drum, intense and loud, and I chew on my lip. Eric walks over to me, and I see Four standing behind the computer, looking over at me.

"You want me to do it?" He mouths.

I shake my head, telling him no. He nods in affirmation, and Eric picks up a serum. He places it in the syringe, filling it with orange liquid,  before brushing my hair aside.

His thumb presses against a spot on my neck before the needle breaks skin and he injects the serum.

I sway as he pulls it out, looking at him. His face starts to blur just as Lauren comes in the room and I hear the door shut.

My eyes open suddenly, and the room I'm in is empty. I walk forward, hearing the sound of rushing water, as if I was close to the Chasm.

I look around, and tilt my head.

This wasn't real.

I knew where I really was, in the Sim room with Four, Eric, and Lauren watching me.

I begin to run out the now open door, and there, to greet me is the Chasm. Faceless men stand around me, and I turn to go back to the door, but it was gone.

I take a deep breath in, and then exhale. I had to stay calm.

One to my left grabs my arm and the one to my right does the same. My knees bend as they pull me forward, and I drag my heels to try to resist moving.

"Stop!" I yell as we get closer to the railing of the Chasm. "Stop it!"

One of the faceless men slap my face, and I bit my lip to suppress a cry of pain.

I end up falling on my back, trying to kick them away, but instead, they grab my ankles and drag me across the ground. It would be easier for me  to stop resisting.

So I just stop, and let them drag me. As they raise my body to toss over the railing, I slam my feet into their groins,  and although I go over the railing, my hands grab said railing, and I dangle over the Chasm.

The third faceless man walks over to pluck my fingers off, so with water droplets dripping onto my face, I let go.

And I close my eyes as my body hits the frigid water, flinching when my body snaps against the bottom, breaking into pieces.

My eyes snap open, and I grab my face. I pant for air, my hands resting on my knees.

I shake my head, before I stand up straight. Lauren rubs my back and smiles. "If it's any constellation, you were only in there for five minutes."

Five minutes?!

I look at her, raising a brow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, Lian." Lauren smiles wider.

I manage to settle my beating heart, as Eric walks over to me. "Not bad, Lian."

I nod, unsure of what I should say, and I turn, walking out the door.

I see Greyson and Zella smiling, and Mason is at their side. "You did it!" Zella squeals, excited.

"I did!" I laugh, running into their arms. We laugh, as Greyson and Mason pick us up, causing us to squeal. I laugh as they ease us down.

I turn around to see Michael glaring holes into us, more importantly, me.

I shake the sudden feeling of unease away, as I pull away from Greyson.

I had this feeling that Initiation was going to end with a dead body in the Chasm.

And I feared it might be mine.

__________

Kidnapping.

Drowning.

Buried alive.

Spiders.

Heights.

Public humiliation.

Public nudity.

Those were the fears of Lauren I had gone through, with public nudity being the worse. That was a fear I could live without.

Meaning, both Four and Eric had seen parts of me only I had seen. I still hadn't gotten over the fact that Eric remembered where the birthmark I had was, right on the back of my thigh, under my butt.

"How's the birthmark?" He had asked.

My response had been a clear blush, and me walking away from him.

I had just gotten out of the public nudity fear again, brushing past Eric as I hung my head down. He grabbed my shoulder, and took his finger to lift my chin.

Four took this as a sign to leave, walking past us. "Careful." He mumbled lowly, as if to warn us both. 

Eric huffs, and stared me in my eyes. I peeked through my bangs, and sigh.

"What is it now?" I ask.

"Shut up for a second," Eric tells me, a smirk on his face.

"W-what?! No wa-" I start, but he interrupts me, pressing his lips to my own.

Instinct kicks in, before my brain and all forms of logic register in my brain.

My hands move from my sides, and cup his face, right under his ear.

Our lips move in some form of their own sync, his hands sliding to my waist to pull me closer.

He pulls away from me, his thumb stroking my cheek.

"I love you." He tells me and my eyes widen.

He couldn't have. He can't.

"Did you hear me Lian? I love you."