Echoing Back (BxB)

※ 𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕖 𝕀 ※

(24.04.24)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Wake up. Go to school. Go to whatever after school activities I had. Go back home. Get to sleep. And repeat. That was my schedule. Day in and day out.

At least school hadn't started yet. I still had a couple days left of summer break, and I still can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. I hated the routine of doing the same things over and over, but then again, it kept me busy. Between school, homework, studying, and all the extracurriculars, I had very little time to spend inside my own head.

So I guess I was happy for school to start, even if I did have to go back to that stupid routine. It's a small price to pay.

"Louis, get your arse down here!" Mom yelled from the bottom of the staircase. I looked up from the game I was playing. It would have to wait. I wonder what this was about. My brain went over everything I had done today—nothing that was too bad.

Her hands were crossed, and she was glaring at me as I went into the kitchen. "For god's sake, Louis, how many times do I have to tell you to put your dishes in the dishwasher before you actually do it?" Ah, so this was what it was about.

"Sorry, I forgot." I said, grabbing my plate and squeezing it into the already overflowing dishwasher. She shook her head.

"You're not a little kid anymore; you shouldn't need me to be reminding you about every little thing."

I nodded. She didn't see it, though; her attention was back on the stove, where a pot of water was boiling. I left the kitchen, determined to get back to my game, but only got as far as the third step. "Not so fast; I need to tell you something." She called.

"What is it?"

"Take a seat," she said. I pulled out one of the stools under our kitchen island and slid into it, a worm of uneasiness settling in the bottom of my stomach.

"I invited some friends over for dinner."

"Oh, that's nice."

She rolled her eyes, and yet they held no humor. "They moved away a couple years ago, but came back again, four days ago, I think." I hummed along, feeling my interest drain away. "You remember the Campbell's, right? You and little Kagan used to do everything together."

Wait... What?

My stomach flopped so hard, I physically felt it flop onto the ground and die. This was a joke. It had to be. But as I gazed into her eyes, I felt time stretch before me, swallowed into an eternity. She was serious. Kagan was back.

"Louis? Are you okay?" She asked.

I stood up from the chair, walking briskly towards the front door. Away. I had to get away. "Louis!" She called after me. "Where are you going?"

"I just need some air."

"Louis, Are you okay? What happened?" she asked. But I had already descended down the steps, breaking into a jog.

Kagan.

Kagan.

I'm Sorry. I didn't mean it. I picked up my pace, the thought pushing my legs to run faster. I went past house after house; eventually, the colors blurred together into a sea of indistinguishable hues as I began running out of breath.

I came up on the intersection; usually I went straight, which led into town, or left towards the soccer fields, but today I went right. Towards the outskirts of town. Not many people wandered here, including me. I had always found it a bit eerie, especially at night. There was a bridge at the end of the road that no one ever used anymore, covered in graffiti and overgrown with vines.