Chaotic Friends: The Rift

Chapter 1 - The Entrance

AUTHOR'S NOTE: (BOY DO I HATE INTERUPTING YOUR READING, BUT I ACTUALLY NEED TO THIS TIME. Please skip if you don't want to read this, again, this is a temporary note and will be removed. This book is actually a rewrite of a fanfiction I made as a teenager back in 2015. Yes, my old pen name was TehSpaceSnake. I am redoing it to much love and fan-fair of the original. I have made major changes to the story, and this time will be taking things more seriously in subject matter.

A lot of my old books were tone deaf and insensitive. I will be writing this with better care. However, I want to keep the story faithful to the first in some of the themes. Please be aware, there are themes of power imbalance, pain, romanticism, and manipulation. The characters are fictional, and this has been intentionally written so the reader can slip easily into the perspective of the protagonists. If you find yourself in a relationship where you are being abused, please seek help and talk to a professional. I wish I had the foresight in the past to think about how my stories might affect people. With that out of the way. I hope you have fun and enjoy this dark fantasy!) (Note will be removed on October 15th, 2022) END NOTE

~Annie~

A vicious, frozen wind battered our faces as we huddled together in the snowbanks of an unforgiving blizzard. I shivered intensely next to my best friends Chloe and Tori. Their bodies and faces were shielded by heavy winter clothing, scarves and hats. A large group of college students stood nearby like frigid statues. Chloe's medium-length black hair had icicles clinging to the tips of her curls. Tori's dark brown hair, on the other hand, was shorter and clung to her neck, protected from a maroon beanie she wore on her head.

I coughed harshly as I attempted to peer out at the snow-covered road. The storm threw flying pieces of frozen water and they pelted my cheeks firmly. My long, straight, light brown hair stuck in frosted clumps against my pink jacket as I held my hand over my brown, thin rounded glasses. A distant chugging noise could be heard growing louder and louder as it approached. It was the bus. Finally.

A flurry of snowflakes and smoke was kicked up into the air as the city bus squealed to a stop. My eyelashes were white with debris and I coughed loudly from the stinky smog covering our faces. The bus opened its doors with a loud eek against its rusted metal doors. I climbed up the steep steps of the bus as my friends Chloe and Tori followed behind me like a line of penguins. I tore off my purple hat and pulled down my scarf as I collapsed into the dusty navy seats. A horde of students piled in afterwards and the bus became packed with strangers.

Tori sat close to me and she adjusted her hat and black square glasses so that she could see the rest of the bus. Chloe, on the other hand, was fixated on grooming her hair as she tussled her fingers through the curls and sighed in frustration. I took a deep breath and slid down into the seat. The stagnant air was quickly growing hot around me and I unzipped my jacket for the long ride home.

"I hate winter," I groaned softly as I dug into my backpack for my Nintendo Switch.

Chloe grumbled with me, "Tell me about it. I can't seem to get my hair to look nice in this weather."

"Yeah, it sure is cold. I'll be happy to get home and read my book," Tori confirmed tiredly.

My backpack was a black bag with fabric rabbit ears and many zipper pockets. It had a pastel goth style like the rest of my wardrobe. My switch, on the other hand, was a bit older with a pink rabbit case attached to the Joy-Cons and console. The bus chugged down the highway quickly, the roaring and movements of the long vehicle made me anxious. I powered on my Nintendo Switch and played Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I had already finished my game and completed the Pokedex, and now I was just hunting for shiny Pokémon.