Felix awoke in a cold sweat, a prickling sensation of fear pulsing through him before dying down as he recognised his surroundings. Felix often had bad dreams, and considering his habit of overthinking things on the night before, he most probably drifted to sleep with not the most pleasant of thoughts. Sure, just a couple of bad coincidences went wrong- even when he just considered the hedgehog. Felix couldn't help but squirm a little bit at the thought that maybe the poor thing would still be alive if he'd done something, though. But it was natural, right? Kind of. He groaned into his pillow. The Circle of Fucking Life.
His alarm bleeped twice, signifying the pass of an hour. 5am. Felix sighed, pushing back the messy hair from his forehead. His parents wouldn't be up yet, and he already knew his mind wouldn't let him drift back off to sleep. He could draw a little more but his hand would surely be groggy and stiff, having just woken up.
He lifted a sleepy hand, wiping the sleep goo from his thick lashes. Feeling across his bedside table and searching for his phone, he finally managed to grasp it. He switched it on, showing his colourful home screen.
04:56 Danny
Hey Felicia. You up?
04:57 Danny
Ok so don't even THINK about taking the piss but I had a god damn nightmare and I can't sleep. Wake your skinny ass up.
Felix grinned. Oh, how afraid Daniel was to lose his manliness.
Daniel and Felix, the best of friends, were complete opposites to each other. Felix being a girly boy, Daniel always brought up by his three older brothers to be manly. Daniel's dark, smooth skin made Felix's freckle-specked cheeks look even paler when they were stood next to each other. Even their personalities were noticeably different.
"Opposites attract, I suppose." Felix used to joke, with a nudge- which was most often followed by a soft punch and a sarcastic "That's pretty gay, dude." From Daniel.
Felix swiped the message, softly tapping in his password- which, lets face it, was probably something sappy- and hastily typed out a reply to his best friend.
5:02 Felicia
Same here. Are you ok? Want a glass of milk?
5:02 Danny
Shut up, mum.
Felix allowed himself to snicker slightly.
5:03 Danny
You wanna meet up? I'm already outside your house. ;)
The redhead narrowed his eyes, considering checking the window but deciding against playing along with Daniel's trickery.
5:03 Felicia
You better not be. Unless you want a special beating from my mother.
5:03 Danny
I'm kidding. Tell her she can put the belt away.
5:03 Danny
Or the slipper. Whichever she prefers I guess.
Felix scoffed, rolling his eyes.
5:04 Felicia
I'm still thinking about the hedgehog.
5:04 Danny
Ughhh... don't remind me. I thought you didn't care anyway?
5:04 Felicia
I never said I didn't care, I just didn't want you being so upset about it so I didn't make it a big deal.
5:05 Danny
Hedgehog guts are a pretty big deal when you have to scrape them off a Toyota.
5:05 Felicia
Y'know, if you want me to NOT disown you as a friend I'd appreciate you not mentioning the complete DESTRUCTION of that poor, poor Toyota.
5:05 Felicia
Absolutely disgusting.
5:05 Danny
You wouldn't disown me. I am the best friends of all friends, right Felicia?
5:05 Felicia
You're fucking pushing it, Daniel.
5:06 Danny
lol.
Felix gently poked the small bruise on his shoulder. He winced at the pain. Opening the camera in his phone, he flashed it at where the mysterious injury had appeared. Already the bruise was an angry purple-red colour, glaring up at him as if to say: "Look at how I frustrate you! How did I appear? No one knows!"
He would probably ask Daniel about it in person the next day. Or not, it wasn't really that important- it was bugging him, sure, but there was no need to make a fuss out of tiny injuries. His mother had always worried he was a hypochondriac, and the more Felix thought about it, the more he figured she was right.
It doesn't even hurt. It just kind of itches. Oh well.
As long as it doesn't grow into anything serious, it'll probably go within a few days.
YOU ARE READING
Birthmarks and Bruises
Mystery / Thriller"X marks the spot." The town has suddenly become barren, infected with either demonic monsters who take the faces of people they've killed, or innocent citizens pushed to the brink of insanity. Felix, an optimistic redhead with good intentions and...
