➹ LEFT TO LOSE ➷ chishiya s.

➸ CHAPTER SEVEN

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Leaving Tonight • The Neighbourhood

! AUTHORS NOTE !
Just a small content warning for what's ahead; there will be intense description of anxiety episodes where Y/N bites her nails, scratches her skin, and lip chewing until blood is drawn. This is a nervous habit and most likely will be brought up again as the story progresses, so keep that in mind! apologies : )

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➸ "Listen up," The girl in the blue dress leaned closer to the huddled group, banging her fist twice on the table to gather everyone's attention. "That girl there," She nudges her head over to another other girl in the group, her yellow blouse making her noticeable from meters away near the shelves. "She wasn't on our side when we tried to get our stories straight earlier."

Listening to this woman whisper to you was enough to give you chills, but her behavior and appearance made it all the more creepy as her eyes flicked suddenly at you. She slowly leaned back into her seat, not tearing her eyes away from yours. "Should we kill her?" Your breath became shallow as she plopped the lollipop in between her teeth like her earlier words held no weight. "Hmm?"

A huge lump went down your throat almost comically, trying to swallow your nerves down with it but we're unsuccessful. You felt like you were going to pass out and throw up at the same time during this "staring contest" you shared with the woman, seeing the lollipop twirl in her mouth subconsciously.

Luckily for you, she was the first to look away, losing the unspoken battle due to someone at the table blabbing about his unsureness of their risky plan. Unluckily for you, turning to trade glances with Chishiya was like muscle memory to you, so when you did it and saw him already staring at you, instant regret washed away your leftover nerves. You two always had a routine of looking at each other whenever someone said or did something, as if you needed to take a peak at one another's minds to see what they thought of the act.

But, that wasn't the case here, he wasn't paying much attention to the proclaimed leader of the group, just you. Staring at Chishiya felt way longer than with the other girl, and more intimidating in an entirely different way... Something you can't explain clearly whatsoever. With that being so, you forfeited your battle with Chishiya and snapped your eyes away from his.

Turning back to the current group you sat with at the table didn't make you feel any better either, but if you left then they'll just plot against you the following round. Your options were running thin, leaving you to stare at your hands folded in front of you. Having nothing but the distinct features of your hands to focus on, you began to pick at your nails and any remaining ridged edges or dry skin. You normally only do this force of habit when you're anxious, especially when your mind is wandering elsewhere, not entirely focused on your hands. But now, that's all you could focus on, the chatter in both of your ears muffling into nothing but background static. The table behind your hands even began to blur as you intensively chipped away at your nails.

They were already short to begin with, but somehow became shorter to the point where you're just peeling the sensitive tissue underneath. In that moment, everything had seemed wrong, like you needed to fix and re-sculpture the way your fingertips were built. You chewed the bottom-left of your lip to somewhat enhance your focus on the Hercules Task, itching and scratching away at the sensitive skin. It didn't take long for a thin coat of blood wash over the scratches you formed, but still not enough to drop down your arm. The sound of your skin rubbing against each other ever so slightly became louder, pushing you to itch more, peel more, bleed more. Both your top and bottom teeth had a hold on your lip, biting harder and harder down on the same spot to intensify your focus. Everything just got louder, and louder, and louder—