Vivian

3 • Paranoid

Vivian was walking down the hallway. She walked past the bathroom and heard someone puking. She walked inside and could see the lower half of Chrissy from the bottom of the stall.

She ran to the bathroom door. "Hey Chrissy, it's Vivian. You alright?" She asked while pressing herself against the door.

Silence. Chrissy didn't answer. She heard Chrissy move, but she never responded.

"Chrissy? Hey open up, are you okay? Chrissy cmon answer me are you alright?" Vivian asked, becoming more and more worried.

"Chrissy cmon, what's going on in there? Chrissy don't make me open this door myself. Please Chrissy answer me." Vivian was knocking on the door repeatedly.

"Alright that's it." Vivian said standing back from the door and holding her hand up, focusing on the door. Suddenly it slammed opened, and at the same time, Chrissy stood up gasping for air and ran to Vivian hugging her.

Vivian hugged her back, hoping Chrissy didn't see what she did to open the door. Chrissy breathed quick and heavy into Vivian's shoulder. Vivian wiped the small bead of blood from her nose while Chrissy wasn't looking.

"Chrissy what happened?" Vivian asked pulling away from her. Chrissy looked at her, almost like she didn't want to tell the truth. "Just an anxiety attack, a bad one." Chrissy said obviously lying.

Yeah, Vivian could have read Chrissy's mind, but she didn't want to infiltrate her friend's mind. It was wrong. She learned that after doing it to Mike when he didn't know.

"Chrissy, I know you've been having this problem a lot lately. This is gonna sound crazy but I think I know something that could help you. After school, meet Eddie Munson in the woods, he will sell you a drug that comes from the earth or some shit, but it helps calm you down okay?" Vivian tried explaining the best she could.

"I'll try anything at this point Vivian. Thank you." Chrissy said. Vivian smiled. "I have to go to class. You sure you'll be okay?" Vivian asked worried. Chrissy nodded her head, Vivian left the bathroom.

Vivian didn't go to class. She went to Mr Teller's room, where Eddie was. She hunched down, her eyes peering through the small window. She saw Eddie in the back of the classroom asleep.

She looked at him trying to motion for someone to signal him awake, but suddenly Mr Tellers eyes met with her own through the window. Vivian jumped back as he opened the door.

"Ms Harrington, can I help you?" Mr Teller asked annoyed. The class had started to giggle from second hand embarrassment which woke Eddie up.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I uh, came from Principle Higgins office. He wanted to speak to Edward Munson." The girl lied. Somehow the old teacher believed her and yelled for Eddie to come out of the classroom.

Eddie closed the door behind him. "Viv Harrington lying to a teacher? That's new." He said while playfully punching her shoulder as they walked down the empty hall. "What did you get me out of class for?" He asked.

"I got you a hopeful customer." She said to him with a smile. "Chrissy Cunningham. You're gonna meet her at your spot in the woods after school today."

Eddie looked surprised. "Chrissy Cunningham? The cheerleader? You're joking right?" He said with his eyebrows raised. Vivian shook her head with a smile. "She's paranoid and filled with anxiety, I told her about something that will help her." She explained.

"Well I thank you, m'lady. Have you heard anything from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum about finding a sub for tonight?" Eddie asked.

"No. Last I heard they were asking Steve." She replied. "Harrington? Your cousin? He said no right?" Eddie asked, almost worried. "Of course he said no." Vivian said.

"Thank God. One Harrington is enough." Eddie joked. Vivian rolled her eyes.

All of a sudden, they heard footsteps marching down the hallway on their right, coming towards them. "Shit! If I get caught skipping class again, I'll get another strike and can't graduate!" Eddie whisper yelled at Vivian.

She didn't want to be the reason for that. She had to do the last thing she wanted to do. She looked down the hallway quickly to see principle Higgins walking down quickly.

"Stand against the wall. Trust me." She quickly whispered turning to Eddie. He nodded his head and complied. She put her back flatly against the wall right next to him.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Boom. She was in principle Higgins mind. Not only could she hear people's thoughts, she could make them think anything she wanted them too.

She made principle Higgins think that her and Eddie were posters against the wall as he walked past them. She stayed in his mind, keeping the thought there until she knew he was no longer in the same hall as them.

She opened her eyes. She felt her hand tightly grabbing something and looked down. She was squeezing Eddie's hand so hard it was nearly purple.

She looked up at Eddie, who was staring at her nose. She started putting her hand up to wipe the blood away, but the droplet spilled off her top lip and onto the ground.

"How the hell did you do that? He didn't even acknowledge us?" Eddie asked. She looked back up at him, letting go of his hand. She started to say something but ultimately didn't.

She quickly turned around and went out the nearest exit she could. She didn't know why she did that in front of him, and she sure as hell didn't know why she opened her eyes to her squeezing his hand off.

She decided she was gonna ditch the rest of the day to go hang out with Steve at the Family Video. She could tell him everything, since Eleven wasn't there anymore.