Illusion

5 | But You Can Run

5 | But You Can Run

THE WORDS THAT Iris had heard were sharp and cutting - not really in the way that they were said, but rather in the weight that was hidden behind them. At first as she listened it was as if she couldn't understand what they meant, as if her mind didn't want to grasp what was being said. And as she listened more and the realisation dawned, it was as if her chest was being pierced with each further word that was spoken. She was confused mostly - confused about the fact that someone was taking about her with such damning callous. Cecelia was saying those words with such heavy malice, with such little consideration for tact or grace.

"She's ugly to be honest. I don't know what Joey sees in her."

"I'm sure it's a passing thing. He just pities her. I mean I do, so I don't blame him."

"Her dye job is so bad, she looks like a new toilet brush at best."

And when she had finished spilling her poison to her friends about Iris, she left the hallway. But Iris remained and remained in shock. Iris did not feel she deserved the foul words used to describe her, especially as she had never directly communicated with Cecelia in any way. She tried to forget what had been said with worthless benefits but an irritation grew in her, like a rash who had made her presence very well known, a rash she knew she wasn't allowed to scratch. Hate was an emotion that she felt rarely and couldn't handle well. So she tried and she tried but was unsuccessful. Almost blindly she fell into her subconscious. She could see Cecelia when she closed her eyes and she was surrounded in blue flames. Other familiar faces floated around her field of vision, most notably Joey. However Iris was surprised to see more than just Cecelia's boyfriend in her mind. The blue flames warmed to a fiery crimson with flicks of gold and brown and The Boy From The Nurse's Office came to view. He had yet to have a real name in her world. She was afraid that if he had one he would become closer to her, he would be able to influence her life like Joey had done.

She opened her eyes as wide as possible, reality stepping and pulling like a waltz around her. Anger whipped at the calm in her mind in small waves, pressure building in her psyche. The world was too blurry for her to distinguish so she crouched against the lockers nearby and shut her eyes tightly again. Her pants were very audible now so she tried to draw them back within her, her hand flying to her chest.

She had seen them together. Cecelia and the Boy From the Nurses Office. They were together in a way that Iris wish she hadn't seen, or could even imagine. All she could feel was guilt. How could she keep this information from Joey? How could she tell him? There seemed to be no way out of this conversation. Every time she closed her eyes she would see Cecelia in his arms, her eyelids lay gently closed and her lips parted slightly. She couldn't see his face but she knew it was him - his aura was unmistakable. Lowly mumbles left Cecelia's mouth, until a name was discernable.

"Vaughn."

Vaughn was his name. Iris tried to psychically shake the vision from her mind. She shook her head until it hurt before she stopped and gripped her skull between her fingers. A slow tear drop slid into her lap.

As she sat crying softly in the hallway, Vaughn watched on from the corner. He leaned in slightly and watched as she shook her head. He thought that she would stop soon but she looked like she was seriously hurting herself. With each painful turn of her face her tightly shut eyes loosened and her jaw slackened. She stopped abruptly and he felt himself lose tension. Although he'd been told to stay away from her, he couldn't let her knock herself out in the hallway. She regained her composure slowly and sat there until her breathing returned. But she didn't feel normal in any way. She wiped her eyes and stood up when she heard a distant set of sneakers tapping around the  opposite corner.