Dance Of A Parasite

4

Tuesday

Since yesterday, I've been hiding from Rhino. I can't face him knowing what Scorpion told Honeybee. One of them told him. If I see him, I'm dead. I can't look him in the eye, especially if he thinks I stole from his girlfriend. He asked me for a favour and I was unable to fulfill it. Now, I was either going to get a second chance, which was highly unlikely, or Bear or I was going to get hurt. 

Bear is beside me on a park bench a bit away from campus reading a book. There is a large tree above us, its protruding branches looming above us and casting a dark shadow. A roaming silence fills the air between us as he leans on his arm, ignoring my existence. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Ahead of me is a book he says is amazing. I don't know what it's about but I don't have much interest in reading at the moment. 

Currently, all I can think about is what Rhino is going to do to me. I hope it isn't bad enough to where I can still walk properly. 

Everywhere there's people. They're walking back and forth to random places, in and out of buildings. I like to think what their lives are like based on how they look and act. Sometimes I wish I could trade places with them because of how happy they look. When you look at them, you can see their skin and the glimmer in their eyes when they smile. Every time I look in the mirror, that's not what I see. 

From beside me I hear Bear huff. He closes his book and rubs his eyes roughly before he turns towards me. I turn, too. "Are you bored?" I shake my head. "Oh. Do you want to go back?" I shrug. I want to sleep but I know if we go back I'm going to see Rhino. I purposely skipped my classes to avoid him, I can't go now. 

"Oh, what did the red-haired guy say to you when he pulled you out of class?" 

I stare at him for a second before I look away. 

He slides a torn piece of paper my way and sets down a ballpoint pen beside it. I don't want to tell him.

"I borrowed something from him. He asked for it back." 

He hums. "Cool." I don't know whether he believes me or not. "Anyway, let's go. I have a thing with my tutor." 

When he stands, I'm hesitant. 

Leaving means going back into the building and the Hall of Misery. I can't force myself to endure Scorpion or Crow or Rhino. I'm not ready to go back in there. Today was a calm day because I didn't see them. Every other day, I have to be face-to-face with demons. 

"You coming?" he asks, looking back at me. I'm stalling. I'm not allowed. 

Begrudgingly, I stand up from the bench and drag myself across the pavement to catch up with Bear. 

Suddenly, I don't want to be near him anymore. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

He's going to come back any moment now. 

What makes things worse is that Bear is looking to get transferred out of our dorm. He says his sister bought an apartment nearby and offered a prospect of being roomies. To say I'm not dejected would be a lie. I was. He was my only friend in the whole building. He was the reason Rhino doesn't do anything in the dorm. Now, my reason is leaving me. I don't want him to. I want him back. 

Sitting in the corner of my bed, cooped up in the crevice of the wall, is a rat. A disappointment. A stupid rat. A lonely rat. A rat anxiously staring at the clock on the wall, awaiting the arrival of a red-haired devil in disguise to grab him the neck and suck the life out of him. 

I look down, tugging at my bedsheets. At this point, there is no point in thinking he's going to go easy on me. 

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