stabbing in the dark ~fransykes~

3

At lunch time, Josh sat alone. The dinner hall was packed with loud teenagers chatting to one another and eating the food that no doubt their parents had made for them this morning with love. Josh wishes he could relate, instead he has nothing but water for lunch seen as he couldn't be bothered to wait in line to buy actual food from the canteen.

He looks around him, noticing that every other table was full of people except his and one other. On that table was none other than Oliver, the weird curly haired boy who talked to him in first period. Oliver was sat with his hood up, black fabric covering his blank expression as he stared down at the table completely still. Josh blinked, and when his eyes opened up again Oliver was sat up staring back at him with a smirk.

Josh flinched, cursing his vision for playing tricks on him. There was no way Oliver had actually moved that fast, right? It would have been impossible. Josh let his eyes connect with Oliver's for a split second, feeling a cold breeze wash over him as he did. He pulled his blazer closer to his body by the pockets, mentally sighing when he felt the familiar shape of a lighter under his fingertips.

Josh wouldn't say he had an addiction to cigarettes, but they were defiantly something that helped him get through the day without wanting to shoot his brains out. His last set of foster parents use to smoke a lot around him, so he guesses he must have picked the dirty yet satisfying habit up from them. The day before he left their care, he swiped one of their ID cards and now he uses it regularly to buy fags and alcohol from corner shops.

Josh placed his water bottle back into his backpack before getting up from his table and walking straight out of the dinner hall. He almost ran into the schools courtyard as he scanned the area for somewhere secluded enough to have a quick smoke. His eyes wandered around before he finally spotted an abandoned looking bike shed in the corner: perfect.

He walked over causally, pulling out a single cigarette before lighting it discreetly in the space between his body and his blazer which he held at arms length out in front of him. He brought the stick of nicotine up to his lips, taking a deep inhale of the smoke before releasing it into the air. He felt the unnatural mixture of chemicals fill his lungs, giving him the satisfaction he had been waiting for.

"Josh." He heard someone whisper in his ear, the voice sort of familiar but not really, like he had heard it before but only recently. Josh's head snapped around him but no one was there. He shook his head, silently laughing at himself for getting freaked out at nothing. It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him again, it happened sometimes.

"Josh!" The voice came again, this time in a snappier tone followed by a deep chuckle. Josh looked around him again, wide blue eyes frantically scanning his surroundings. But he was alone, no one was there except him. This time he could have sworn he heard something...

"Josh." Someone said, there voice clear and not muffled like before. They sounded like they were right behind him, lips pressed against his ear. His body went cold, like a bucket of ice cubes had just been poured down his shirt. He jumped slightly, turning around only to be met with amused eyes and a smug smirk.

Oliver was leaning casually against the brick wall in front of him, holding a lit cigarette between his finger tips as he smiled creepily at a shocked looking Josh. He laughed before bringing the cigarette up to his lips and taking a long drag. He watched the smoke diffuse into the air before meeting the gaze of the startled boy in front of him.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that these thing are bad for your health?" He asked, motioning to the cigarette that he was still holding close to his smiling lips.

Josh looked down and gasped as he noticed he no longer had a cigarette in between his fingertips. He looked around on the floor, checking if he had just dropped it but nothing was there. He looked back up at Oliver, whose eyes were glistening with something between playful and mischief.