Spooky

Chapter 13

{Author's Note: I'm working on the character-design refs and things (what were mentioned last chapter y'know) for this book alongside the writing, and I'm going to make all the character sketches and things a separate section. Some of the drawings will be REALLY old because the concepts for this story were floatin' 'round my head for 'bout a year 'fore I got to writing it.
Speaking of old shit, this story actually has like 5 different one-shots tacked onto it, unpublished and just kinda chillin' out. Should I post 'em? If so, where? Should I just jam them in here (don't much want to do that, as it'll disrupt the story's flow), or should I make them a separate one-shot book? Tell me which you'd rather have.
...Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I—There's a lot going on in my life right now.}

-Scourge's POV-

It's pitch black in the dorm room tonight, the moon absent and the faintest rumble of thunder in the air as rain slashes against our window, and the only light in the room comes from my phone as I check the time for the hundredth time. 4:35 AM. I can't sleep, I won't be able to sleep, it's too cold in here, and I groan, shoving my phone back onto the nightstand. Across the room from me, Shadow snores away, facing the wall, and I envy him for a brief moment. I'd never thought much of it before, but now that I've gotten to know him more, I realize...he has more friends than I do, probably a more stable life than I do, better grades, everything. Despite all that, he's decided to be my friend—I think. We've only known each other for a few weeks, really, but he seems to have taken a liking to me. I can't understand why he can even bear to be around me at all, but I'm grateful for it. Lightning flashes, and I flinch, squeezing my eyes shut as thunder roars across the sky, but before that even begins to fade, a second and much closer bolt of lightning strikes, thunder screaming in my head, and I curl into a ball, hands over my ears. Christ. Something thumps against the opposite wall, and I hear Shadow yelp. Immediately I lift my head, looking over; he's sitting up, rubbing the back of one hand with an irritated look on his face.

"Thunder wake you up?" I croak, coughing once to clear my dry throat. In my defense, I haven't spoken since 10PM.

"Yep," he growls, voice sounding similarly rough. Glancing over, he raises an eyebrow, turning his head to face me. "You?"

"Never went to sleep," I sigh, and he frowns gently, letting his hand fall back down.

"If we weren't already in trouble, I'd suggest calling in sick..." Turning to stare out the window, he squints when lightning flares again. "But I don't think they'd appreciate it." Thunder punctuates his sentence.

"Probably not," I yawn, shivering a little. "Ugh, it's cold..." I whine, tucking the blankets closer around me. I'm already wearing the shirt Shadow gave me, but it still seems chilly in here, and concern flickers across Shadow's eyes.

"Really?" He gets up and comes to sit on the edge of my bed, pressing a hand to my forehead. I blink up at him, confused. "You feel really warm though."

"Oh," I answer. "Oh no..."

Shadow sighs, letting his hand drop. "Yep. You're probably sick. Stay here—" He gets up, and I hear him shuffle off and open the closet, muttering to himself. A few minutes later, he scuffles back and I feel a quilt draped across me. "Maybe you should stay in tomorrow."

"No, I'll be fine," I mumble, closing my eyes. It feels kind of nice, in a selfish way, to have him worry over me, but I don't want him to really worry. Mild worry is nice.

He doesn't answer right away, just gently touches my forehead again. "If you've still got a fever in two hours, technically you're not allowed to—"