S.O.S/The Winner Takes It All

Chapter 8

I open my eyes, blinking rapidly to clear my vision. I squint around at the room I'm in. It seems strangely familiar.
Then it hits me.
I'm in my apartment.

Why am I in my apartment?

I look down at my wrists, they're tightly bound down to my own kitchen chair.

This is ridiculous.

There's whispering coming from the kitchen, but I can't see anyone.
I stare in shock as Courtney walks around the corner, brandishing a knife.
My kitchen knife.
"Hi Shayne." She tucks her hair behind her ear, like she normally does.
"Jesus Christ, Courtney, what are you doing here? Why did you just kidnap me?"
Courtney raises her eyebrows. "I didn't kidnap you. You came here by yourself."
"No, I didn't! You literally put a cloth over my mouth, and now I've woken up here! Now you have a knife, and I'm tied up!" I shout at her, my wrists turning uselessly in the ropes. She doesn't reply, instead rolling her eyes. "Yeah Courtney, I wanted to see you so bad, that I kidnapped myself, wrapped a rope around myself, inhumanly tight, and waited for you to come along with my kitchen knife!" I gesture as best as I can to her hand. "I use that to cut onions!"
Courtney laughs. "Shayne, you don't understand. You love me. I know you do. And I love you too. That's why you're here." She walks over to me, slapping me gently across my face. "Wake up Shayne..." she whispers.

My eyes shoot open and I stare straight into Courtney's eyes. I am sitting in my office chair, my feet propped up on the table.
Noah walks in with a bowl of water, stopping with a disappointed look on his face. "Oh, he's awake."

I sit up, pulling my feet off my desk. "Wait, what happened? I was getting lunch!"
Olivia holds up a sandwich in a container. "You wouldn't wake up so I just went and picked this up."

Keith nods. "Yeah, dude, we tried everything. We pointed the fan at you face, and you still didn't wake up. We were gonna splash you with water."
I am struggling to understand the situation. "But I went outside, I met a fan called Alex, then I was kidnapped, then I was in my apartment. That was a dream?"

Noah nods. "Must've been. You literally said you were going to get lunch, then you sat down in your chair, grabbed your keys and fell asleep."
Courtney raises her eyebrows. "Are you sure you're getting proper sleep? Because you wouldn't fall asleep that quick if you were."

The squad agree with her, murmuring among themselves as if she had given them some kind of pep talk at school.

I decide to be truthful. It's time to tell the others about Kristen anyway. "No, I'm not." I stand up, turning to the others. "Kristen and I broke up and I just haven't been myself lately."
Olivia hugs me, then gives me my sandwich. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't get to say it earlier as you ran away, but you know..." She walks away, sitting back down. I decide not to question her weirdness. I place the sandwich container on my desk. I don't really feel like eating now.

Courtney smiles to herself. "Why don't we take a walk?" she suggests, guiding me out of the room. I follow her, still confused. We walk outside the building, and sit on a bench. Courtney turns to me, flipping her hair over to one side of her head. "Okay." She clears her throat. "I understand that you've just ended things with Kristen, and it's very recent, but-"
A loud exclamation stops her mid-sentence. "Courtney! Is that you?"