For Everything

Creating Evil

The rest of the night I was in a bad mood, obviously. My parents knew I wasn't happy about my predicament but they paid no attention to my attitude, instead focusing on Rosie the whole night, like always. My parents never paid much attention to me, and that was fine with me. I didn't like a lot of attention. After our conversation, my parents confiscated my phone, which made me even angrier. I spent the rest of the night in my room, reading, while my family was having a good time out in the family room watching a movie. I was in a sour mood, but I didn't care. I wanted all of this to stop, to go away, but every time I wished that, something new would just come and overwhelm me even more. I went to bed angry that night and woke up angry the next morning, leaving the house without kissing Rosie or grabbing breakfast. How could I eat at a time like this? I was trapped, and there was nothing I could do to escape, so why bother trying? My anger was my best coping mechanism right now, although it wasn't helping very well. I reach the sidewalk and start walking to school, my backpack slung over my right shoulder. I walk until I reach the corner of Salmon Street and Trout Lane, for the billionth time, and round the corner. I expect to see the hooded woman standing on the opposite side of the road, staring at me, but that's not what's there. She's not standing across the street, she's not standing anywhere. The woman with the turquoise hair is nowhere in sight. She's gone. I walk across the street to where she would be standing to find a piece of paper sitting on the ground. I pick it up. A small slip of waxy paper that has one word written in ink on it. ALMOST. What does that mean? Almost. I don't know what the paper means, but it's clearly written for me. I put the slip in my pocket and rush to school. Almost, almost, what could it mean? I haven't the slighest clue, and eventually I give up trying to solve the mystery of the single word. So much is happening, and so fast. Things are beginning to spiral out of control, and I'm not going to see any specialist about my condition. No one can help me now. I needed to stop thinking about all the things that would stress me out, and take a break. I needed to let go, if just for a second. I needed to see Gale, he would take my problems away. I reach the school building and get my books from my locker. I eventually spot Gale walking towards me through the sea of students, and walk up to him. "Hey Hunter," he says, "Are you, are you okay?" I don't respond, instead I grab his hand and lead him to an empty hallway. I should have taken us to maybe a bathroom or somehwere private, but I didn't know what chaos this would cause in the future. "Hunter, what's wrong?" Gale says again. I don't say anything back to Gale, but push him against the wall of the hallway and press my lips to his. He tenses up but then relaxes and kisses me back, putting mis hand on the back of my head, caressing my hair. I do the same, pulling him closer. Everytime we kiss, I always pull him closer to me, just to feel our bodies pressed together. It feels natural, just like instinct in a way. We kiss in that hallway for a while, and Gale does take my mind off things for a little bit, but just until the footsteps near us, the footsteps that I didn't hear. Neither of us heard them, until it was too late. 

"Gale?"

"Hunter?"

Gale and I break away from each other like lightning to see Alex and Felicity standing there, horrified. I was the first to speak.

"Uh. Hi. Guys. Um, please. I can explain everything."

"No explanation needed," Alex snarls, clearly fuming with anger. There's also another emotion in his voice, sorrow. "I knew it all along. Ever since you got here Hunter, things changed. Of course I tried to become your friend, to be nice to you, but you didn't want that. Everything was fine before you came. Gale and I were happy, Felicity was content, and this school was completely fine. But then you got here and Gale started drawing away. I thought he was just a little interested in you, but clearly I was mistaken. You took him, from me." Alex's voice begins to crack, and his eyes gloss over.

"And you," Alex says, pointing to Gale, "I thought we were something Gale. I thought we were happy together. But then, this, thing comes along and suddenly you're all goo goo eyes over him. I, Gale, am, your boyfriend."

"Was," Gale says, "Was my boyfriend. Not anymore. I tried to stay with you Alex but you're just too difficult. I didn't know how to tell you without hurting you."

"Too late," Alex says, angry tears rolling down his cheeks, "You're both too late. I tried to let things go, but that's what you get for letting things go, now doesn't it. I just want you both to know something. I hate you. Both of you." With that, Alex turns around and storms off, leaving only Felicity standing there.

"Felicity," I begin.

"Don't," she waves her hand, stopping me, "Don't even try to make up for what you did Hunter. I liked you for a long time, especially when you started coming here. I was nice to you, I showed you around, I even became your friend, so you wouldn't have to be alone on the first day. I didn't have to do any of those things, you know. I could have left you to figure it out on your own, but I didn't. Do you know why, Hunter? I did it because I felt compassion. The first time I saw you, I thought to myself, This kid probably hasn't been treated very fairly in the previous years of his life. Was I wrong Hunter?"

"No, Felicity. You weren't wrong, but-"

"I felt compassion for you, Hunter," Felicity interrupts, tears welling up in her eyes, "and that's why I did it. We became friends, or so I thought, soon after, and I began to like you even more. At one point I thought you liked me too, so I kissed you." Gale looks at me, but I don't return the gaze, not wanting to get into that right now.

"When you told me you weren't ready, I respected that. I was hurt, sure, I was hurt. But I respected your decision, thinking maybe you would come around some time, but you didn't. I thought we had something going, but apparently we didn't. I gave you everything I could, Hunter, but you pushed away. I assumed you just wanted spaced after the whole thing, so I gave you space. I stayed away from you for a while, and then you made up with me. I was happier, but still hurt. I'm sorry, Hunter, for everything I've done to you, but I wasn't ready for the kind of betrayal I would witness here today. You lied to me. You both lied to me, and Alex. I had no idea, Hunter, and that didn't soften the blow at all when I rounded the corner. All I want you to know Hunter, is that you just broke my heart, and," at this point Felicity was full out sobbing, and choking on her own words, "And, I- I hope the both- both of y-you are very h-happy together, Hunter." Before I can respond, Felicity turns and walks away, sobbing down the hallway, until her voice and footsteps are gone. Gale and I stood there, speechless. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to feel, other than guilty. I felt like I had just killed someone and spat on their corpse. I didn't know it then, but this was definitely not the last time I would confront a pain like this. I didn't know it then, but I had just added fuel to the fire, and given Alex and Felicity a reason, a reason for all my future pain. I had just created something, I had just created an evil in Blackburg Elementary. An evil that rooted as a betrayal, then sprouted as revenge, and blossomed as anarchy. I had just killed so many people, including myself.