Vocaloid: SHADOWS IN THE SPOTLIGHT [Miku X Luka]

Astraphobia - #21

A/N: The following contains sensitive topics such as depression, self-harm and suicide, and also this fic ships female X female and contains strong language, suicide and abuse, so if you have a problem with that then you may want to click off this story. You have been warned.

Miku's PoV

I lay awake for ages that night, listening to the repetitive sound of the heavy rain outside. Every now and then, a cool gust of wind rushes through the room, making my body shiver and causing me to wrap the blanket tighter around myself.

A sigh escapes my lips as I stare at the ceiling, the loud ticking of the clock in the living room barely audible, but loud enough for me to still hear, disrupting me from sleep.

Very much like last night, I still feel guilty. In a way, I feel like a burden, but when I bring it up in conversation Luka always seems to get upset and shakes her head impatiently, assuring me otherwise.

"Argh..." I groan in pain as I toss and turn. The bruises on my body all sting, the pain a reminder of the traumatising previous events and suffering. Immediately, I narrow my eyes and pull the blanket up over my head, as if it would help block out these thoughts from racing around my mind.

Try and get some sleep. I keep repeating that instruction in my mind, but every time I close my eyes these thoughts come back to seemingly haunt me, and the process repeats.

I roll over onto my side and peer out the window. The curtains are drawn back, and I can see the sky is full of thick, dark clouds instead of pretty, shining stars, though the constant rain pelting against the window makes it difficult to see much else.

Frowning, I try and block out the tedious sound of the rainfall, however with no such luck. With a sigh, I once again close my eyes, desperate to get some sleep.

CRASH. A loud rumble can be heard suddenly, and for a moment, the room lights up. I open my eyes in fear and quickly sit up, glancing out of the window to see a strike of thunder before the light goes out, swallowing the room into darkness again.

Astraphobia: fear of thunder and lightening, a phobia I have. My parents would always find it most amusing when I used to hide under tables, terrified every time a thunderstorm started - there's always been something about thunder that discomforts me, and lightening has always terrified me.

Another rumble of thunder breaks me from my thoughts, followed by another illuminating strike of lightening, making my heart pound nervously. Taking a shallow, shaky breath, I shake my head and kick the blankets off of my body, before climbing out of bed and tip-toeing silently but swiftly out of the room.

"L-Luka?" I hiss into the silence, unable to keep my voice from stuttering in nervousness as I scamper into the living room. Like last night, Luka is curled up on the sofa. Her blue eyes are narrowed, and she looks lost in thought, before blinking and turning her attention on me.

"Miku?" She sits up and stretches, stifling a yawn. "What are you doing up? It's so late..." She whispers, glancing at me inquisitively. I shyly avert my gaze for a moment, biting down hard on my lip.

Just at that moment, another loud rumble of thunder sounds, followed by a strong gust of wind. I yelp in fear as the room lights up momentarily once again, and duck down as if for cover, hugging my knees and shivering.