Someone From The Dark

Time Stood Still

"What a draaaaaag."
I groaned, throwing my hands up towards the sky.
Hayes and Andrew both chuckled at me lightly.

We were in P.E, but like always, it was storming violently again. So instead of our usual outside activity, the teachers made us sit in the cafeteria for the entire period.
It was always so hard for me to just sit still, let alone for an hour and a half.

"Hey, at least it's better than sitting out there. It's not only raining, but it's fucking freezing!" Hayes wined, rubbing his hands together steadily for warmth.
"And let's be honest, you'd much rather be stuck in here..." Laughing lowly, Hayes' eyes slowly began drifting down to my legs, which were mostly exposed due to the weather man falsely predicting a scorching hot, summer morning.

"Q-quit it! I squeaked nervously as i scrambled to cover my thighs with my hands, feeling my face flush with heat.

Andrew smacked Hayes' shoulder slightly and they both began to giggle like little school boys.

"Look here twerps! Don't make me mop the floor with you!" I growled, trying my best not to stutter.

As their laughter died down, Hayes playfully threw his hands up, shrugging slightly.

"Fineee, fine. Chill out, Ice Queen."

"Ooooo- You're asking for it now!" I shot him narrow-eyed glance as i pointed a finger at him.

All of us began cutting up at our own stupidity now,- attracting a lot of unwanted attention from our fellow classmates.

When we had all stopped, Hayes' features became sharp, and he leaned over the table in the middle, near Andrew and i.

"Xena,"
My name flowed from his lips, and my eyes widened at the sudden change in his demeanor.
"You still don't really know what's going on with Max, do you?"

Without even intending to, i let out a sigh of relief. Not like i had assumed he was going to say something else, but i had a growing feeling of disaster settling in my stomach.

"No, i still don't. The last time i've spoken to him was the night Andrew picked me up from-"
Quickly realizing my mistake, i pressed my lips together awkwardly, cutting myself off.
Their eyebrows practically raised in unison.

"I thought you hadn't spoken to him since before you split Taylor's nose open?"
Andrew began interrogating me, eyeing my reactions intently.

"I-i mean, yeah but-"
Pausing, i tried to decide on a course of action. If i told them what Max had done, it'd literally be starting World War III, but i was already caught red-handed, and i knew they weren't going to simply let this go until they got clear answers.
Deciding to just be fully honest and deal with the outcome, i sighed deeply and looked back up to meet Andrew's curious gaze.

"Well, how it started-"

Wait, are they breathing..?
Or... even blinking..?

Standing to my feet, my eyes quickly scanned the entire room.

Everyone was... Frozen. Stuck in place.
Those who had been mid-conversation were now practically statues; their expressions and positions paused in time.

"What the-? The rain even stopped!"
Astonished, i darted over to the gigantic windows of the cafeteria that over-looked the courtyard after i almost tripped and lost my shit over some loser's purse that had been right in the middle of the walkway.
The dark, gray clouds hung thick and low in the dreary sky, now also unmoving; the rain had halted as well.

Slowly allowing my body to lean forward into the glass, my eyes closed as a low, dark laugh escaped my lips.

"Why did i think that my life would ever go back to being 'normal'?"

Taking a deep breath, i decided to go take a quick look outside, considering nothing on the inside wanted to move at the moment.

The grass squished beneath my feet, as i made my way to the center of the courtyard.
The silence was incredibly unsettling.
Slowly, i gazed around, looking at all the entrances into the school's different wings and main building, silently praying that someone would waltz through one of the many possible doors.
After a few minutes of waiting, i exhaled deeply wracking my brain to try and figure another possible course of action.
What exactly does one do once the world around them as suddenly come to a screeching halt?

After trying for minutes to sort through my racing thoughts, and coming up empty handed yet again, i pinched harshly between my eyes as i felt a stress migraine begin to pound against my skull.

"Hayes was right, i'm freezing my ass off out here."
I gave a quick, yet dark laugh.

"That's about to be the least of your worries, Number Fifteen."