Not Like Your Demons

Chapter 8

Dinah sighs, closing her eyes, disappointed with herself. The thing that sucks most when Normani's not around is that she can't do a lot of things on her own, no matter how badly she tries. Like something as simple (complicated) as remembering the freaking directions. Like right now. She wants to go to the cafeteria, but she's here again - back at the bleachers where she's been a few minutes ago. How stupid is that?

She looks around once again, trying to recall the way. She remembers the way to the classrooms now, but she knows the hallways tend to be confusing either way. If she's honest with herself, she'd starve before she finds the cafeteria. Sighing, she decides to give up and text Camila to get her.

Wear r u' pls get me, Im in the feild. sad face

(Normani said putting sad face at the end of a pleading text makes it more effective.)

She's about to send her message when she hears something, confusing her. The sounds were barely there, but for some reason she hears them anyway.

Soft sobs, specifically.

She strains to listen better. Are they coming from behind the bleachers?

She frowns, her heart dropping considerably. She really doesn't like it when someone cries. Hurting is not a good feeling. When Dinah cries because she's hurt, her chest would feel heavy and her throat would close up. Plus, the tears leave this sticky and gross path on the cheeks.

She believes that there really shouldn't be a sad person in the world and that's why she really hates it when Normani and Camila and the rest of the school makes someone sad. They always say they're only doing what's proper, putting people in their right place, keeping the balance, but truth be told, Dinah doesn't understand anything about it. If they really want to have balance, everyone should be equal.

She hears the soft sounds again. Making up her mind, she puts the phone back in her pocket and tries to follow the sound. It takes her a while - following sounds is hard - but eventually, she does find the source.

Her stomach drops when she spots someone lying on her side over the cemented long chair under the bleachers. They are crying softly. Her stomach drops further when she realizes its Lauren.

Sure, she was excited to see Lauren again, but definitely not this way. Remembering how easily her friend gets frightened, she takes her steps as quietly as she can, watching the other girl closely.

"Lauren?"

She sees Lauren's body tense at her voice, curling over herself more. Lauren has stopped her sobs now though, and instead is trying to suppress her cries and keep quiet as she hugs herself.

Dinah starts walking towards the other girl carefully. "Don't be scared, Lauren. It's me, Dinah. Do you remember me?"

Lauren doesn't answer her, but she continues walking anyway, hoping Lauren would trust her enough to talk to her eventually. Once she's close enough, she kneels on one knee and tries to get Lauren to look at her. Lauren wouldn't meet her eyes, though, no matter what she does.

"What are you doing here? I'm sure you're not lost like me because you're smart and all."

Silence meets her once more. The usually quiet dorky girl is just lying there - totally silent - but her face is drawn and Dinah can't tell if she can hear her or not, making her worry worsen.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

Again, there is nothing. And it scares Dinah; Lauren is usually quiet, but this is a different kind of quiet. There's not even a nod, or even the tiniest movement of the head.