Difficult Decisions

Spotlight

Georgia's POV:

"What are we gonna do, Alex? I'm not ready to choose yet..." I slump against the wall and lay my head back. "Neither am I." She says, joining me. "What the fuck are we gonna do? They can't just expect us to choose when they're ready." There's a knock at the door. They all flood in, no words or glances exchanged, all silently hoping they're names are said. I close my eyes and take a deep breathe in. My head starts to spin. "Woah..." I stumble and fall onto the bed. "Georgia... Are you alright?" What did she just say? "What's the time Alex?" I see a faint image of her checking her phone. "10:30... why?" She asks concerned. "I think my sleep is catching up with me..." Her eyes widen. "Shit." She races to my side. "Are you gonna be ok?" I open and close my eyes. Reality. Darkness. Reality. Darkness. "I think so..." She sits next to me, and all of the guy's eyes are staring at us hopefully. "I'll count down from five, say the name of the person you have chosen. Ok Georgia?" Alex breathes. I nod in response. "Five..." Mark? "Four..." Matt? "Three..." Felix? "Two..." Loneliness? "On-" "STOP! I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T!" Oh no. The room is spinning rapidly, and their once normal faces are morphing. "No! Stay away!" I huddle into the corner of the room. "Don't hurt me!" They inch closer. "Georgia...It's ok." Don't listen to them Georgia... "NO! It's not! You're gonna hurt me!" The surreal beings surround me. "C'mon Georgia... You're fine..." No. "No! I don't want to be hurt again! My heart is damaged enough!" They all stop. "That's new. She's never said that before." A female voice says. "What did she mean by 'again'?" A deeper male voice asks. "No... no...please..." I shiver. A thinner one reaches down. "NO!" I get up and burst out of the room. I can't let them catch me.

Alex's POV

"We need to find her." Matt says, his eyes tearing up. "It's 11:00 at night Matt. We're not gonna find her." I say sternly. "Bu-" "I know. I'm scared for her too. She's the closest thing to family that I have right now. I want to run after her as well. But we can't run around outside at this hour. It's too risky." His face hardens. "So you're telling me, that it's too dangerous outside at this time and that we shouldn't go, when Georgia's somniphobia is playing up and she's running around like a mad man in that same place you don't want to go because it's 'too dangerous'? What a friend you are." He's right. We should go. Especially because the dark makes her phobia worse. I sigh. "Gather all the torches you can find. I can't lose my sister."

Georgia's POV

I don't know where I'm going, and quite frankly, I don't care. "Georgia! Where are you!?" Oh god. The monsters have found me. I run around frantically, searching for any possible place to hide. I duck in behind a bush, not daring to breath. The beam of a flashlight flashes across, followed by a pair of feet. The light triggered a memory.

FLASHBACK

"Georgia! Where are you!?" Josh yells, laughing a bit. Under the cover of night, I run across one of the many small road of the caravan park my family and I stayed in when we were younger. I stop dead as the light Josh was holding shines on me. "SPOTLIGHT!" He yells triumphantly. "Dammit! You win... AGAIN!" He hands over the flashlight. "We have to walk back to our caravan. That was the meeting place, right?" He questions. "Yeah. Eliza should be there." We walk back to our caravan, whilst telling lame jokes and being siblings.

END FLASHBACK

Oh how I missed those days... I step out of the bushes.

Alex's POV

After at least an hour of running around hopelessly, I come up with one last idea. I send a text to our group chat and tell them about a game she used to play when she was little. Let's do this. As I'm walking around, I see a dark figure looming around, but I an't quite get my flashlight on them, but someone on the other side can. "Spotlight...?" Someone I assume to be Felix says uneasily. Georgia responds. "Felix!"

Georgia's POV

"Thank you Felix..." I whisper. He pulls me into the most protective hug I think I've ever been in. Memories of today flash behind my eyes as I close them, causing them to open wide. "Are you ok?" He asks with an infinite amount of care in his voice. "Yeah..." I lie. I still don't know who I'm going to choose... I could choose Mark... He's smart, witty and funny... or I could choose Matt... Who I guess is the most surprisingly caring person I've ever met... Or Felix... Who is the cutest most shy person around me and only me... I can't bring myself to disappoint any of them. I can't and I won't.

Alex's POV

We all meet back up at the house, Georgia under Felix's arm, receiving sad glares from Matt and Mark. Surely she hasn't chosen yet. I need to lighten the mood. "Hey guys, wait!" They all turn around. "Since we've got the flashlights out..." Georgia's eyes gleam. "Dibs not the spotlight first!" She smiles, followed by the rest. "Guess I'm the spotlight then." They all run off in different directions. "Hell no! I'm staying with Georgia! She's experienced!" Felix runs after Georgia. I turn and face the wall. "1...2...3...100!" I'm too lazy to count to 100. Eh. Where should I start. The library. I make my way down the street. As I'm about half way there, I hear a noise in the bush. "Sean! Move over!" I hear Mark whisper scream. "Shit. Ssshhh. She's right there." Sean whisper screams back. I run toward the bush at full speed. "SPEED IS KEY!" I scream. I part the bushes and shine the light on the two knuckle heads. "SPOTLIGHT!" They both pout. "You guys are too loud. Go wait at home. That's the meeting place." They both nod, and as Sean passes me, he kisses me on the cheek. "Good luck... be careful..." He looks to the ground and catches up with Mark. I touch me cheek where he kissed it. Huh. I keep on moving to find the others. I find Matt and Ryan in the library. "Myan. I ship it." I laugh. They walk off to the house. "Now... where could those authors be... probably in the shadows somewhere... oh. Wait. Never mind. It's night time. Eh." I groan and keep walking around... until I bump into a pole. "Pole what the fuck! I thought we were friends!" I rub my face in pain. I hear a high pitched laugh and a deep chuckle. "Shut up!" A thick Swedish accent hisses. "Idiots." I breath. I walk up to the tree their all perched in. "SPOTLIGHT!" Author Matthias falls out of the tree. "GUYS! You let me down!" He sulks. The other authors hold their heads low as they walk back. "Now... Just Matthias, Felix and Georgia... I'll go for Matthias first." I walk around the moon lit town, clueless. "JESUS! WHERE COULD YOU BE!?" I hear a twig snap. I immediately turn the flash light in the direction of the noise. I see Matthias in a crouching/walking position, trying to cross the road without me seeing him. His face was scrunched up in disappointment. "SPOTLIGHT BITCH!" His shoulders sag. "Dammit." He turns in the other direction and walks home. "Now... where are those two blonde idiots." I laugh to myself. "The only downfall about this game is that I hate the dark..." I hear Georgia whisper. "It's ok... I'll keep you safe..." Felix whispers back. Saaaah kyaaaaat. Jokes aside... it definitely seems like she's chosen... but I know she hasn't. I approach them slowly. I peer over the low fence, and see Georgia shaking in Felix's arms. Oh Georgia. I bring up the flash light slowly. "Spotlight..." They look up at me. Georgia smiles a small smile and gets up. She turns and helps Felix up.

Georgia's POV

I don't know how I'm gonna do this... Heeh... It's just gonna be for a little while... I need a break. Maybe a few days... a week at most. I resume packing my bag. I hear the door opening. My eyes shut tightly, trying to think of an excuse. "Georgia... what are you doing?" Alex says shakily. "Do you not know how to knock, Alex?" That came out harsher than expected. "Sorry..." I turn around sharply. "What do you want?" She walks closer. "I was just wondering what you wanted for dinner, but, that's not really my main concern anymore." She speaks with concern in her voice. I sigh. "Alex, look. I need time to decide. I can't choose just yet."This time intentionally harsh. "Ok... so, you can just choose here. You don't need to go anyw-" "Alex! Stop. I need some time alone. I need to recover from that sleep catch up as well! Trust me. It'll only be for a few days! A week at most! I need thi-" "Is it really fair though? Is it fair to keep them waiti-" "Is it FAIR!? What do you mean by 'is it fair'? What isn't fair is that they expect me to just make up my mind here and now. I can't just make my emotions decide! I mean, Mark is smart and funny, Matt is the most caring person ever and Felix is just too damn cute around me. They're all amazing people... I can't bring myself to disappoint any single on of them! I can't do it! I JUST CAN'T ALEX!"