It was already time to go home as the students all gathered around the school gate. Fabien waved his friends goodbye as he was about to walk away, but all of a sudden he felt a tight grip on his arm.
"Where are you going? It's your birthday! We planned something nice for you-", Tristan said excited but Fabien cut him off immediately.
"I'm sorry guys! Could we postpone it to another time? I already promised to spend my birthday with my family! I promise to make it up. I also have to go somewhere alone.. ", he said, smirking guiltily. They weren't quite satisfied with the answer and pouted.
"What's there to make it up for? It's your birthday.", Théo simply said. Tristan sighed in defeat.
"Come on, can't you just tell your mom that you'll be back in 30 minutes or so. We did take all day to plan it out... Well, basically Vivian forced us to but still..", he said, trying to convince Fabien.
"Cut it. If he says he wants to celebrate with his family, there is no help. Call me when it's over. You didn't see my gift yet.", Max butted in while pulling Tristan away from Fabien's nose. Fabien sighed in relief before shooting them a smile.
"Alright. Thanks for understanding.", he said, waving them goodbye. He walked off at a fast speed which confused his friends. But they still turned back to their conversation even though they were disappointed about the effort they put in. Only Max was concerned about Fabien as he watched him disappear into the streets.
"I don't buy it.", he said under his breath, not noticing Vivian standing right next to him.
"Me neither. Just yesterday he said he will spend time with us the whole day. I'm not bitter, it's his birthday but..", she said, also looking in the same direction. Max was startled for a moment as he backed off from her.
"..he's been acting weird since the morning incident in class.", she said, looking like she was captivated in her thoughts. Max knew Fabien for a long time. He went with him to the same school in the now cursed town. Fabien always used to be shy and nice even though he could be cocky sometimes. He always said what he thought and never hid his feelings. But he got a bit of personality change after he saw him again in high school now they moved into the same city. Or was it... After that particular incident?
He didn't know what had changed. Something about his vibe was weird to Max. No one seemed to notice it but Fabien had stopped socializing well with others.
"I don't know. Should we check up on him?", he finally asked, walking off. Vivian was confused for a second but followed after him. She wanted to visit him too but Fabien said it was just a family birthday.
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Fabien suddenly felt a wave of dizziness coming through his head as he walked down the road. His heart pounded fast and he looked like he was robbed out of air. He bit his lips and forced himself to walk to a specific place where he saw a lot of taxis. He waved his hand as he finally caught one. As it stopped, he immediately got in and threw himself onto the seat. The old driver on the front seat seemed pretty nice as he checked upon the boy. His face became mortified as he noticed his pale skin color and sweating.
"You don't look too well, kid. Want me to take you to the hospital?", he asked, concerned, ready to drive off. But Fabien shook his head.
"No. Please just take me to this address.", he sighed, leaning over to give him a piece of paper. The man gladly accepted it but his eyes turned wide with waryness and suspiscion as he noticed the particular address on the paper. He returned to Fabien with a weak grin.
"You know it's forbidden for a youngster like you to go there. The area’s been locked down for four years-", he said but was cut off by the boy.
"Please. Just drive me.", he said, begging and nearly losing his temper. The man looked at the boy for a moment before turning back to the wheel.
