The Degeneration of Gwen Weaver

Doubts

After some Ibuprofen and a Hershey's bar (courtesy of Faust), Carly seems to be feeling much better. The bell rings, signaling ten minutes until class, and she turns to leave.

"Wait!" I say, grabbing her sleeve.

"What, Gwen?" she protests.

"We need to talk."

"Not right now."

"It's really important! Just..." I lower my voice, "Just skip class. Just this one time. It's really important."

"Gwen, I can't miss any more class."

"More class?"

"Any class, I mean. Yeah. You know how I am about my attendance! Haha..." She pulls her sweater free from my hand and walks away.

"Carly! Carly!" I call, but she turns a corner and is gone.

I sigh in exasperation and turn around to head to class, almost running into a gangly girl with her hair in a sleek ponytail.

"Hannah! Hey!"

She casts her eyes around the hallway, the floor, the ceiling; anywhere but my face. "Gwen."

"Thanks for getting Carly yesterday. I wasn't feeling well at all."

"No problem."

"So, how's Student Council going? You're Secretary, right?"

"I uh- I need to get to class."

"Bye!"

She rushes off. I watch her go with a sense of satisfaction. My suspicions were correct- she was gossiping about me. I'm not happy about it, but at least I know.

Suddenly, I feel the buzzing in my head that signals the beginning of another episode. I stumble behind a secluded stairwell and sit down. I lean my head against the cool brick and try to control my breathing before my vision blurs and I fall.

~~~

I'm standing in front of my bedroom mirror, but it's hanging suspended in the air. I can't turn my head to look around, but it's clear I'm in an unfamiliar place. My eyes focus and I realize that the mirror is blank. I have no reflection. Soundlessly, my reflection walks into the frame, turns, and fixes her glassy black eyes on mine.

Gwen.

"What do you want?"

I think you know.

"..."

It's about Carly.

"What about her?"

She's hiding something.

"No -no, she's not!" Lead hits the bottom of my gut as I realize that it's true.

Don't you want to know what it is?

"Go away! Whatever this- whatever you are, I want no part in it."

My reflection smiles softly.

Alright.

"What? You're just gonna... let me go?"

I can't force you to do something. I know us, and I know that we, at least, would never betray our friends.

I ignore the implication as my reflection disappears.

~~~

"Hey!" Carly whispers fiercely. The sounds of thirteen hundred high school students envelops me and the brick wall presses uncomfortably against my skull. "You missed second hour! What's going on?"

"I already told you, I keep having these visions!" I say, my voice rising in annoyance.

"Gwen, I wanted to talk to you, but my academic and attendance records are important."

"And I'm not?!"

She pauses. "Of course you are! But if you're well enough to be at school, I figured it could wait."

"Well, obviously that's not correct."

"Gwen, I was stupid. I made a mistake. But I really care about you and I want to help."

I stand up, brushing off my floral dress and grabbing my backpack. I look straight ahead as I walk past her and head down the hall.

I hear footsteps behind me and Carly's frantic shouts, and I can't help but turn around and wait. She catches up with me, resting her hand on my shoulder.

"Please, Gwen."

I sigh, realizing that I can't tackle this alone. "Okay. I need to get to Lit, but can you come over tonight? It's a Friday..."

"Friday? I've got a thing..."

She sees the look on my face. "A family thing. But I can do Saturday. At my house."

"..."

"You can pick the music..."

"..."

"Do you want my help or not?!"

"Hey, hey, you're fine. Of course." I grin, and she knows that she's forgiven. We walk down the hallway for a bit, when I realize something odd.

"Wait, how did you know where to find me?"

"This is my class, sorry. Bye!"

As if someone is whispering in my ear, a thought permeates my mind.

Don't you want to know the truth?

Go away. I trust her.

No, you don't. But when you need me, I'll be here.

"No!" I accidentally shout, causing a football player to turn around and look at me oddly. I cast my eyes to the ground and hurry quickly down the hall.

A/N Hey guys! Thank you all for your lovely reads, votes, and comments! It's so much encouragement to know people enjoy my work. I don't really have a question of the chapter because the past few parts have been a tad slow. Sorry 'bout that. Thanks for reading and, if you liked it, please vote!