Trying Too Hard [Bunny Love Story]

►Chapter Four◄

If I were to think logically about my entire situation, it would have been a better bet for me to simply stay at home that night and watch something on TV rather than purposely throwing myself into the dangers of the outside world. But then again, if we were going by those standards I wouldn't have started vandalizing this town in the first place. Adding on to that, I was already out and about on the streets and it's not like time machines actually existed so there's no use in turning back now, and if all I had to do was be extra careful about where I'm going then there's not a chance I'd get caught. Besides, even if they did find me there's no way they'd know who I was. My mask protects my identity, after all. That's it's whole purpose and if it doesn't actually hide me then I guess I'm a failure at even the simplest of things.

The night was cold. Perhaps that sounded a bit too cliché if it were coming from an author of some sort, but it was true and I'm not an author. I was literally shaking in my boots, not from fear but from the icy conditions of South Park, Colorado during midnight. As always, the streets were dimly lit by the blinking street lamps that this town apparently couldn't afford to replace and I could see my own breath float into the darkness and then completely disappear from my sight as I exhaled.

Snow was not falling but it seemed like whenever I breathed in, the freezing air would hit against my lungs with some sort of vengeance. Almost as if God might be angry with me for being such a creep.

If I created such an idiot, I'd be pretty steamed too.

On nights like these I couldn't help but stare up at the sky in longing, wishing that I could be as high up as the clouds and as far away from this town as possible. Maybe it's because no one takes the time to know me, or maybe it's because I know myself too well that I just want to escape. But it doesn't matter where I turn because in the end I'll always be stuck with myself. To bury my personality deep inside the crevices of my very existence is impossible, as that would mean there were two of me. After all, saying things like 'I want to get away from myself' implies that there are at least two versions of me that exist during the same timeline. But it's also a possibility that I'm simply thinking too much and things like this don't make sense to people who are actually in their right mind.

After walking for who knows how long, I got to South Park High School. Having no security cameras due to their lack of budget and the fact that they simply just didn't care, it was the easiest and most obvious place where I could display the most crucial part of my message. There wasn't a single speck of doubt in my mind that Kenny would see it and therefore, in my eyes, it was perfect.

The duffel bag that I had brought with me fell to the floor with a 'thud,' and I knelt down beside it to take out my sketchbook and the first spray can I'd need. Always practicing my art before actually going out, I tried my best to copy it with the small amount of light I was given. Being able to only really do such an activity during the night, my eyes were used to the dark by this point and I had little trouble in deciphering what was what. During the several hours that it had taken me to complete the painting, I had ended up humming that song -'I See the Light,' I think - from Tangled over and over again. Such an amazingly romantic song, but most playlists from Disney movies always got me down. Why couldn't I be in some sort of Disney movie? How come nothing was going to work out for me in the end? Most importantly; why can't Kenny just understand my feelings for him are more than that of just simple acquaintances?!

Sighing, I took a step back and admired my work for a moment before checking my phone to see the time. 1:32 AM. I felt exhausted, and all I really wanted to do was go home and get a few hours of sleep in before coming back to this place. But as luck would have it, I wasn't exactly going to be able to do that. Before I even had time to finish piling everything back into my duffel bag, I could make out the voices of two people from the distance. It took me a moment of listening, but I was finally able to put faces to what I was hearing.

"Why would that fatass suggest something and then not live up to his fucking word!" cried Kyle, most likely feeling aggravated. I wondered what he was talking about, but didn't have much time to contemplate it as I needed to hurry up and gather everything before they reached me. "It's four in the goddamn morning! I snuck out for nothing!"

"I agree," came Stan's voice. They were coming closer, and with each step I felt my heart racing at a faster rate as I clumsily threw everything into my bag. "He always does this and it's getting really annoying. But we can find this guy without his help."

I zipped the bag closed and picked it up, running to the nearest bush and practically jumping into it. I had to suppress a whimper of pain when I collided with the plant, and then the ground. I sat up and peaked through the leaves to see where they were and their reaction to my work.

The two had just arrived and were continuing their conversation while looking around. "If we do get some sort of reward for finding whoever's responsible, I'm not sharing jack shit with him." So, Eric must've bailed on them after they had all decided to look around for me. If that's so, then where's Kenny?

"Dude," Stan said, stopping in his tracks and staring at the school. He pointed at the painting and glanced over to his boyfriend before saying; "I think we came here a little too late." I bit my lip and watched the look on Kyle's face go from slightly confused to astonished.

"It's a heart! A perfectly detailed, realistic heart!" Kyle exclaimed.

"No shit," Stan chuckled before going over to it. Hesitantly, he pressed his index finger against the paint and after a moment pulled away. He rubbed that same index finger against his thumb and stared down at his hand. "He seriously couldn't have gotten very far. It's still wet."

Kyle looked at the ground for clues on to where I could have gone, but found none as I hadn't left any marks on the pavement. He frowned. "Where do you think he went?"

"Not a clue," sighed Stan. "We might as well scope the area, though. We'll split up to cover more ground around campus and meet up back here as soon as we're done."

Great.

"Right," Kyle nodded and turned around to walk in the other direction to start looking around for me. Stan came my way and I got ready to bolt out of there. Before either of them got very far, Kyle paused and turned back to Stan. "Stan," he said. The dark haired teenager turned around to ask what he wanted, but was stopped when Kyle pressed his lips against his.

I took this as the perfect opportunity and dashed out of there as fast as I could. They saw me, and were screaming at me to stop - no doubt running after me as well. After taking several different turns to lose them, I eventually made it back home completely out of breath.