Red Winter: A Hermitcraft/ESMP Heroes AU

Chapter One (Grian's POV)

My phone started buzzing in my ear, screaming at me to get up. The constant beeping sound hurt my head, but I still wouldn't move a muscle. I wished that I could just sit here in bed forever, rotting away until my days eventually come to an end. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

I got up and turned off my phone, tiredly rubbing my eyes as I looked around my rather empty dorm room. I was lucky enough to not get any roommates, so the right side of the room was rather bare. It looked nothing like the left side, which had many self-drawn posters and shelves of pottery hanging up on the wall along. A homemade dream catcher dangled in the center of all if it, it's sun-like appearance pulling all the attention away from my other projects. If you were to continue up the wall, you would see glow in the dark constellations stuck to my ceiling. It was very pretty to look at from my bed, which was overthrown by a dark, red, and velvety comforter. It was accompanied by ivory white bedsheets and dark gray pillows

I reluctantly threw myself off the comfiness of that bed, though, and headed to the bathroom. I then started to get ready. I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and even washed my face, before looking at myself in the mirror. I frowned, realizing that I still look like a shit show.

My eye bags were sunken in and dark, making them quite the prominent feature. They went hand in hand with my crooked smile, which I noticed, seemed worse than yesterday. It didn't get better when I put my glasses on, though. In fact, I just look like a nerd with them on, and the obvious freckles plastered across my cheeks do not help my case whatsoever. Nonetheless, I would have to deal with it, like I did most things.

With that, I grabbed bindings for my parrot wings, making sure they were tucked in tightly. It was only logical that I hid them when going out, since hybrids weren't exactly liked by society by any means. Most were caged, enslaved, experimented on, or hunted. The few who avoided this, such as myself, were forced into hiding.

Once I felt as if the bindings were secure enough, I put on my favorite red jacket, patched with many crotchet images I knitted on it, on top of the black t-shirt I always wear. I slipped into my skinny jeans and boots, before tossing my bag over my shoulder and scrambling outside.

As I walked through campus, I pulled my AirPods out of my pocket and connected them to my phone. But, I quickly realized that I needed to charge them, since my music was only playing out of one earbud. I started to digging in my bag in hopes of finding a charger, feeling disappointed when I realized I had forgotten it back at my room. I could probably ask the librarian about letting me borrow a charger for the day, or using up one of the stations she has at the very least.

But what if I do that and she says no? What if she thinks I'm stupid for believing she would ever charge my crusty old AirPods and starts to publicly humiliate me in front of everyone? What if people see and start laughing and snickering and recording the tense moment as she screams in my face? What if I get kicked out of Jellie University because they can't afford to have someone as idiotic as me running around on their campus? My thoughts started to whirl in my head, making me ultimately decide I would just have to deal with my AirPods being dead.

It seems like a stupid thing to worry about, I know. But it's just how my brain is. You see, I'm not a very confident person, not in the slightest. I didn't have many friends in high school, since I'm down right terrified to talk to people, causing me to be extremely socially awkward and difficult to have conversation with. Lucky for me, I graduated a year early, and my peers in college seem to hate everyone just as much as I do, so I don't have to worry nearly as much about my social life. It's nice, really. I like the discomforting comfort loneliness brings me.

But even so, I still decided to talk to him for some reason.

As I walked across campus, finding myself climbing the cracked, concrete stairs to the next building, I spotted a man in a wheelchair. He wore a thick, beige jacket with a fluffy hood. Underneath he had on a black Star Wars shirt. His brown hair was long and grown out, and he had a big scar that stretched from his neck all the way to below his eye. It was a truly fascinating scar, if I do say so myself. It contrasted perfectly with his tan skin and green eyes.

I watched from the corner of my eye as he struggled to get up the small, yet steep hill. I was suddenly reminded of Midnight Alley's little acceptance of others. For example, many places weren't very accessible for people with both physical and mental disabilities, as presented here. That's not the only thing, though. There's a lot of things that deem Midnight Alley as bad city. Some examples being: if two people of the same gender so much as so looked at each other a certain way everyone in a two mile radius and their mothers would harass them, women seemed to get assaulted on the daily; in broad daylight nonetheless, the disappearances/deaths in kids and teens was at a much higher rate than any other age, you couldn't go a day without hearing a racist slur, comment, or joke, and even though more than 95% of the city's population was in poverty, popular businesses practically refused to lower any prices for anyone. That's just to name a few. In conclusion, the world of those who lived Midnight Alley was a shitty one.

Upon remembering this, I stopped in my tracks and turned to the struggling man, who already looked very obviously strained and exhausted. I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.

I hated everyone and everything in this god forsaken city, but that didn't mean I was gonna spread that hate. So, I carefully headed back down the stairs and approached the struggling man.

"Need a hand?" I asked, my voice coming out more shaky than I had intended.

The man turned his head to look at me. He seemed a bit startled, but that surprise quickly melted into a friendly and soothing smile. "Ah.. yes please. That would very much be appreciated."

I blinked a bit, his accent catching me off guard, but I quickly regained my train of thought and came up behind him, starting to push his chair up the hill.

There was awkward silence for a few moments, and I prayed that the would start up a conversation, since I sure as hell wasn't.

Thankfully, those prayers were answered, and he cleared his throat. "So.. what's your name?"

"Grian." I said, trying to be louder than I typically would when talking to someone, since I was the one that approached him first.

He nodded thoughtfully. "That's a nice name."

My cheeks flushed a bit from the compliment. "Thanks.."

He chuckled, noticing how embarrassed I got from something so simple. "You're welcome."

He then leaned back in his chair slightly before I decided to ask him a question. "What uh... what's your name?"

He perked up a bit, and gave me a warm smile. "Scar. My name is Scar."