Scratch

Chapter 7: Unlocked & Shocked

I finished my shower and turned the water off, grabbing my towel and drying myself off. After I dried myself, I stepped outside the shower stall and set my towel next to it, and then grabbing the clothes that Scratch had given me.

A navy blue sweater, along with gray sweat pants. I didn't want to keep Scratch waiting, so I hurried and put on my clothes. I then exited the room. I saw Scratch.

"Oh, H-hi," I said slightly nervously. He grinned.

"Ah, you look refreshed. Well, appearance wise, anyway. Did you enjoy your shower?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you for letting me take one," I said while nodding. 

"Also, your hair is still wet. It's dripping. I'll tie it and put it up so it drips less." He took out an elastic. 

"O-oh, uh, okay."

He went behind me and gathered my hair, tying it and putting it into a small ponytail. He took a step back and looked at me. 

"You actually look pretty different with your hair up. I think it looks better on you, anyway."

"Well, I haven't ever really worn my hair up other than when I was in gym class," I replied while scratching my head. He smiled at me.

"Oh, that reminds me of something. It's hard to tell, because you have kind of like a females haircut, but you act more like a guy. Your voice is like a mixture of both. So I've been meaning to ask, are you male or female? Not that it matters, I'm merely curious. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." I blinked.

I was asked this question before. Quite often, actually. 

"O-oh- Well, I'm a guy," I said while smiling nervously. 

(Yes I knew I mentioned in early chapters that Paige had no gender, but I guess I have came to the decision that Paige is a guy. It was just bothering me, Paige acted almost nothing like a female and it just feels right to make Paige a guy. I'm sorry for those of you who may have wanted Paige to be a girl XD)

"Ah, I thought so. Sorry for asking a question like that out of the blue." I waved my hands at him.

"N-no, it's completely fine, I get that a lot. This is something I am used to, so."

"Guys usually don't have hair like that, so maybe that's another reason why," Scratch said while pointing at my hair. I looked to the side.

"Oh-- Well, I would cut it, but I'm not good at cutting hair. I would get a haircut, but I don't really wanna waste my money on that kind of thing, either." Scratch smiled at me.

"Well if that's the case, then you're in luck. I used to work at a hair salon, cutting hair is my specialty." I blinked and looked at him strangely. I never would have guessed, to be honest. I was quite surprised.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes, indeed, I loved cutting hair. I eventually quit my job, but I still enjoy cutting hair. I would gladly give you a haircut, sometime. I wouldn't charge you or anything, of course." I blinked, and looked at him.

"Oh- I-I'll think about it. Thank you." I paused. "Wait, may I ask why you quit?" Scratch looked at me with a light grin.

"Oh...Well, I kind of cut someone with the scissors by accident..I wasn't in the best state of mind that day. They ended up in the hospital, and so I got fired." He said looking to the side. I looked at him nervously. 

What? I understood that he probably could have given them a small cut, but for them to end up in the hospital..That doesn't sound minor. And it sure didn't make it seem like an accident, either. I smiled nervously.

"Ah..I see." I tried to ignore it. Out of all the people that I have met in my life, Scratch was definitely a special case.

We went back to the room. Scratch sighed.

"Well, unfortunately, I have some business to attend to, so I am afraid I must take my leave, for now. I will be back soon, hopefully. I know you probably wouldn't feel very safe in a place like this all by yourself." I think he probably got his words a little mixed up, because if anything, I would feel more safe if he left. I'm sure anyone would feel unsafe being with a psychotic guy that always carried a knife with him. Then again, it wasn't like I could trust anyone else, either. This place was full of sick twisted people. 

"Oh, o-okay," I responded while nodding. After he had exited the room and closed the door, I sighed. "Ah, some time alone won't hurt.." Despite that even if he wasn't the best type of person, I still felt possibly scared/lonely without him with me. 

In the corner of my eye, I saw something. It was a glimmer of light. I turned my head towards it, and to my surprise, the glimmer of light was coming from none other than Scratch's knife that he had left on the bed. I blinked.

"O-oh..Could he have forgotten to take his knife with him?" It seemed somewhat unusual due to the fact that he always had his knife with him, pulling it to my throat or any other part of my body at least once whenever we met. He was strange that way. I was just relieved that he never actually cut my throat, though. Surprisingly.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. "Ah, wait a minute- He used this knife earlier to pick the lock on the door...So if I tried to use this to do the same.." My eyes went wide with excitement. "I-I could actually get out! I could...Leave this place. I could escape from here!" I quickly grabbed the knife and went over to the door. My heart was racing. Trying to steady my hands from shaking, I attempted to pick the lock. "C'mon..Please work.." I said to myself. After a few seconds of picking the lock, I actually managed to do it. 

I gasped with surprise. "Oh my god- I actually did it!" I opened the door slowly, and put the knife in my pocket. I stepped out of the room, and once again sighed with relief. I was shaking. I took a deep breathe and then exhaled, trying to calm myself. "Alright, I need to pull myself together. This is my one chance," I said quietly to myself. "My one chance to escape-" 

I cut my sentence short, noticing in the corner of my eye someone next to me. My heart stopped. My entire body froze at the sight of him. Scratch was leaning against the wall, next to the room I had just escaped from. My eyes went wide. Scratch looked over at me, and gave me a grin.

"Oh, why hello. Going for a stroll around the school?" 

(I'm sorry this chapter turned out a little shorter than usual XD)