What I'd do for Love

Grey

I was home. I had no idea how long it took me to get there, but I was there, and I was examining a bloody object in my hands. The Mask was off, I don't remember taking it off, and my eyes were fixed to the ground. I could tell I was in my bedroom. I had no idea if anyone was in the house or not. Fuck it, who cared? I'd just finished off another crazy soul. What else was I supposed to do? Just die I guess. Yeah, and get to hell quicker...
'There is no hell' the mask appeared in my mind 'there isn't a heaven either. All that matters is here and now. You either stay normal, or stand out. There is no in between. You know what that is?' The Mask changed the topic so cleverly, I didn't notice.
'No, I have no idea what so ever.' I replied. It seemed stupid that I wasn't speaking out loud, but who would hear me anyway. I'd trapped myself in a cage of guilt, and I wasn't coming out anytime soon. Fuck. All I can see is me sinking a weapon into everyone: Justin, Blondie, Mercedes.... I couldn't do that, ever.
'Your holding a crystal. It's worth a lot. The man it was on was worried that people were catching on to what he was doing, so he decided to cash in at a pawn shop, or something like that. I'm not too good with human shops, or whatever you are. Anyway, he was caught by crazy-man-who's-face-I-shredded, and you've now taken it back.' The Mask seemed to want me to ask something. Took me a while to actually realise what he meant.
'So I could use this to escape somewhere?' I questioned, wondering how much this thing was actually worth. Maybe billions. Who would have that money though? That's a hard problem. I could leave now, never come back, move on. But, all my friends here, and Mercedes. Oh... Not to mention my parents.
'Obviously you'd have to kill literally everyone who knows you well, including your treasured one and your parents. At that point though, I'm fairly sure you've lost all respect for other and want to run. I get that. It's common in crazy moments. I don't judge for it. You'd have a fresh start as soon as you wanted it. I could even make the passport checker kill himself so you could slip through the ranks and get onto the next plane. The choice is yours. I suggest you clean the blood off of it beforehand though.' The Mask had clearly had this conversation before. This was the object that I'd collected off of the dead body by the back of The Grill. Damn. Seems like centuries ago. As if it was a few days ago. Bull. Shit. I never thought time could fly so fast... preoccupation with the thought of going to jail and/or being killed has taken up most of my brainpower. Fuck it. I might as well call it a night. The sleep I need is crazy. Putting the crystal somewhere safe, I slotted the mask out onto the table (the thing shouldn't just see the darkness of my bag all the time), called my parents to say I was going to sleep, and followed through.

The nightmares are the same. I lose her. Every time. There is nothing else. Just her and me. And I can't stop it. No matter what I do. It. Is. Unstoppable. The Mask says it's a dream over and over, which comforts me slightly, but I can't help the panic when someone steals her and I can't stop it. I wake up sweating, as par usual, and find the time is 10:00. FUCK! I'm so late it's actually unreal. I sling on whatever clothes I can scavenge off of the floor, deodorise, and dash downstairs. As I go into the kitchen, I see a note is attached to the front of the fridge. It read:
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Hey Grey, you looked really unwell yesterday, so we thought you could do with the day off. This is the only one you'll get though, so don't go exploiting this!
Love, mum
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Well that's nice. A day off.
'Everyone who knows you is exterminated now, right?' The mask seemed unearthed by the fact that I had a day off of school. This never happened before.
'Yeah. I think so. No one saw us, the older mask welder is dead, and all witnesses are dead. All things that are related to the first incident is dealt with. The teacher is definitely dead?' I asked the mask
'Yes. I made sure he basically cut his head off. I'm pretty sure it was hanging by a thread. A dead man he is.' The Mask still was unshaped at everything that had recently happened. Just another day at the office for him I guess.

I spent the day on social media, just catching up. A lot of people around lunch were linking videos about Justin. I'd clicked on one, as nothing interesting was going on at the current moment. Turns out, shit hit the fucking fan at school, as Justin beat the crap outta Ryan. What a guy. I may have just killed his best friend, but wow. He was really having him. I'm pretty sure Ryan wasn't going to live. Well, I'd have a buddy at prison at least. It's a crazy moment, thinking that Justin actually beat the shit out of someone. As if. I thought he was the calm, compassionate one! It took me a second to work out what to do next.
I rang his phone. A couple of rings later, he picked up.
'Hey.' I heard Justin's flat voice on the end.
'Christ. What did you do?' I asked him, a bit of a mean way to be honest.
'You too?! Fucks sake, yeah it's nice to see you. I'm still alive by the way. Whatever. See you at some point. I'm not up for this shit right now.'
I heard a click. Wow. Justin never hung up on anyone before. I never thought I'd see the day. To be honest, at least I have something to brag about.
'Why don't we go find him?' The mask said, chiming in yet another new idea. Where was this thing my whole life?
'You have to be one of the smartest damn things I've ever found. Let's go then I guess.'
I put some sort of coat on, and took a step outside. The cold air rushed me. Looking up, I saw the beginnings of rain clouds forming. In the distance, thunder tumbled across the city, shaking the houses and dimming the streetlights. The smell of worry and fear was prominent.
'Ain't no good, coming from a storm like that' the mask uttered his warning.
It was fucking correct. As usual