Kahoot x Reader

Chapter 24

A/N: Today is the 1 year anniversary of this story...that is all.

~~~

At first, the boy's pose seems relaxed. But as Bay continues to look at him, the awkward angles and tense stance becomes more apparent, like cracks in an otherwise impeccable facade. Bay stares at him with her head slightly tilted, trying to figure who this kid is.

"Hello? Who's this Kahoot person?" asks the boy, snapping her out of her reverie. Bay opens her mouth, then squints her eyes.

"...You?"

He shakes his head. "My name's Toohak."

Headlights start chasing away the shadows on the street as a beige PT Cruiser (🎶 god he's such a loser 🎶) pulls up beside the house. A man steps out and slams the door, the sound of the car locking resounding out into the night.

"Shiiiiit," curses Toohak. His hands immediately grab onto the window. "You never saw me," he whispers, before softly closing the window and dashing out of the room.

Though stunned, Bay has enough sense to fall back into the shadows. The driver (who Bay now recognizes as Mr. Adams) opens up the front door of the house and goes inside.

For a couple more minutes Bay stands there, leaning against the outer wall with her hands shoved deep inside her pockets. It was common knowledge that Mr. Adams lived alone, no wife or kids to keep him company, so seeing the boy inside was quite a shock. She wonders about Toohak and his uncanny resemblance to Kahoot. Not counting the hair, they're identical, from facial structure right down to eye colour and voice.

"What is this sorcery?" Bay mumbles to herself.

***

Mother's typically say that the happiest day in their life is the day that their child is born. Mr. Adams thought so, too. Creating life is a beautiful thing, but sometimes...lives are taken instead of made.

Complications, the doctors had said. They both didn't make it. Those words had around in his head, slowly taking the seams of reality and turning it into something surreal. Oh, Adams had replied.

That night, when the stars finally came up in sky, he was already in bed. More precisely, a bed that was suddenly much bigger and wore cold sheets. The red numbers on his alarm clock would change, and with each switch he'd look at the door. Waiting. Waiting for ten minutes, then thirty, then an hour before finally getting up and leaving that empty and lifeless bed behind, along with its matching barren crib.

***

"You weren't there. It's like they're the same person! Do you think he's been secretly living a double life?" Bay questions.

"Who's been living a double life?" Kahoot asks, voice deep, acting like he's part of some conspiracy as he falls into step beside you and Bay. She ignores him, still going through theories in her head.

"Hmm...oh! He's actually an evil twin. Or maybe Kahoot is?" Bay faces the boy in question, pointing at him accusingly.

"Huh?"

The closer you all walk to the school, the more frantic Bay becomes in her story telling. She's already filled you in on last night's adventure this morning, but she repeats it for Kahoot. She touches different parts of his face, extenuating her story.

"Same nose," -poke- "same cheekbones," -touch- "and same eyes," -point.

"Wow, I want to meet this dashingly handsome fella," Kahoot says, a smirk dancing on his lips. He turns to you, and feels a sense of pride when he sees that you're amused.

"No time like the present. Wanna go now?" Bay suggests. Kahoot squints his eyes at her.

"But school starts in..." he checks his wrist, where there's once again no watch. "Five minutes."

Bay's continues to stare at him, eyes holding his gaze, as if to say 'so what?'

"I'm in," you announce suddenly. After all, there was going to be some presentation all morning long. You wouldn't miss much.

Kahoot looks to you, then to Bay. He lifts up his shoulders. "To hell with it. Let's go."

***

Wandering the halls of a hospital really makes one appreciate how free it feels to be outside. It also makes one realize how unfair life can be: so much death happens in just one place. Though, it must be noted that a lot of living happens there, too.

Phil Adams doesn't know why he came back here. Looking through the glass pane should be painful, but he doesn't really feel anything yet. He just stares numbly at all of the babies in the newborn nursery, wrapped in blankets in the calm room.

He barely notices as a nurse brings in two more newborns until a word catches his ears. 'Twins,' she murmures.

How unfair, he thinks, as a doctor is paged by the intercom. Someone got two, and I got none. He stays there staring at that set of babies for a long time. So long, in fact, that eventually the whole floor is only occupied by him and the newborns.

That's why no one takes notice when he steps inside the room.

Why no one takes notice as he cradles one of the babies in his arms.

And why no one takes notice when he leaves the hospital with a single baby by the name of Toohak Masters curled into his chest.

Minutes later, a nurse notices a single baby in a bassinet made for two, crying and reaching out to its side. That baby's name is Kahoot.

***

"That's so cliche."

"What? It works."

The rock that Bay throws at the window makes a little mark on the glass. It also makes a decently loud noise, which is kinda the point. According to her, this is the window to the room where she met the boy.

"Mr. Adams lives here?" asks Kahoot, running a finger down the chipped and faded paint of the house's outside wall.

"Uh-huh," replies Bay, throwing another rock.

After that the three of you wait for a bit, marking up the grass with your shoes, and just before Bay goes to throw another rock the window opens up. A boy with flattened and smoothed-out hair pokes his head outside, looking at all of you curiously.

"Hey, what are - oh. You again." Toohak props up his elbows on the windowsill and rests his chin on his hands. "The pink-haired girl."

She smiles. "My name's Bay, actually."

Apart from the boy's hair-do, Bay really was right: Kahoot and him look identical. It's like somebody created a copy-paste version of Kahoot, gave him a haircut, and plopped him down in some shabby house. When Toohak's eyes land upon his own face attached to some kid standing outside, he does a double take. By the way Kahoot is looking at him, he seems to notice their resemblance too.

"Who are you?" Kahoot asks.

"Toohak. Just a family friend," Toohak replies. "I'm visiting for awhile." His words are dry, lacking life. It sounds like he had rehearsed and said that same phrase over and over more times than he could count.

"Haven't seen you around before," you add. Toohak shrugs.

"We could change that," Bay suggests. "Wanna hang out with us for a bit?"

Though he looks a bit shocked at the offer, Toohak also looks torn. He bites on his bottom lip, running over it with his teeth. It looks like he wants to go, but for some reason just can't.

He finally opens his mouth to reply, but his eyes widen as well. You follow his gaze behind you to where Kahoot stands, hands grasping at his head, bent over but still standing.

Your arm is around Kahoot in a second, holding him up. "Kahoot, are you okay?" you inquire. With difficulty, he nods.

"It's nothing, just my head-"

And then he collapses.