and suddenly everything changed

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷

     Holt wakes up with his arms and legs restrained, prompting him to frown as he makes an attempt to sit up from the cold, metallic surface that he lays against. He grunts, gritting his teeth when he finds that he cannot actually sit up. His eyes widen at the blaring screeching of the aged, rusting metal clanging together just inches above his head which allows him to quickly realize where he is and what's happening. The boy thrashes against the restraints confining him to the death trap menacingly titled The Trick or Treatment. He screams and cries, fighting with all his might until his efforts are useless and before he can think of anything else to do, the jagged, pointed edges of the withered machine sink deep into his flesh.

     Holt instantly jolts awake with a loud shriek, scrambling out of his desk at a speed that sends him straight to the floor; a show for the whole class to watch. He does not waste a single second though before scrambling to his feet, brushing the invisible dust from his t-shirt and straightening his red leather jacket before he's left to stand awkwardly at his seat, making direct eye contact with the older gentleman who had been covering for music theory that week.

     He still hadn't caught the guy's name, just kinda referred to him as the short old guy with the big white beard and hair—but that was beside the point. Holt shakes back into reality, taking a brief moment to glance around the room and cringe at all the eyes glued to him. "Could you take your seat please mister, uh," the older man leading the class takes the roster from his desk, squinting a moment before glancing back up "Hyde?"

The blue boy ignores the hushed snickers and whispers sprinkled throughout the class as he moves to take a seat, his face going hot with embarrassment as he scrambles to gather his things after taking a quick look at the clock near the door.

     It's only a matter of moments before the bell rings signaling for class to be over, thus prompting Holt to instantly rise from his seat and nearly climb over his own desk to get to the door in time. He lets out a huge huff in relief as he manages to be the first one out the door, not pausing even for a moment when he hears a familiar voice calling after him.

     "Holt—Wait!" A mint green-skinned girl held together by stitches shouts, rushing after the red-head who bolts through the students gradually filling the halls. He's almost in the clear when all of a sudden he reaches a dead end; a hall closed off for maintenance. He tenses for a moment, struggling to quickly come up with a plan of escape, but before he can even turn around, he feels a firm hand land on his shoulder, causing him to whip around with wide eyes in surprise.

"Hey!" The green-skinned ghoul greets, though her friendly smile falters at the sight of Holt's uncharacteristically panicked expression. Normally, this is a face she'd find Jackson sporting—he is quite the jumpy fellow—and Holt is always the exact opposite.

     "Is everything okay?" She loosens her grip on Holt's shoulder, tilting her head to the side with a look of concern.

     "Yeah." He grumbles, shrugging her hand away as he averts his gaze from the ghoul's blue and green eyes.

     The green girl takes her hand back with a frown, furrowing her brows quizzically as she examines the boy before herself. "Holt, what's going on? Did something happen?"

     "I uh," Holt glances around uncomfortably, fidgeting with the orange strap of his backpack slung against his shoulder. Then all of a sudden he looks right back up at her and straightens up, the uneasy look on his face nowhere in sight "You know what? I gotta go to the bathroom, like, really bad. I've been holding it in, like, all morning." He affirms with a nod, quickly moving to brush past her as he begins to walk away.

He pauses a moment before turning to face her once again. "I'll catch you later, Frankie-Fine." He states with a wave and a bit of a forced grin before turning back around to head off on his way, his smile instantly faltering as he rushes off on his own.

     Frankie blinks in surprise, watching the blue boy with an arched brow in confusion before she moves to follow right after him. Something is not right, she thinks to herself, brushing her black and white streaked hair behind her ear as she follows in Holt's path.

     Considering the next class was Jackson's, Holt figured he could at least try to move on from whatever that mess was from the last period and stay on schedule. However, just as he reaches their shared locker, he catches a glimpse of none other than Frankie Stein herself in his peripheral vision, which forces him to divert from the locker and rush to the nearest bathroom.

     It's almost like a game of cat and mouse between the two as Holt struggles to pick up the pace without looking suspicious while Frankie trails right behind him eyeing his every move. After what feels like a century long marathon, Holt finds himself rushing into the first bathroom he can set his eye on, not even bothering to look back as he rushes towards the nearest stall and immediately locks the door. He drops his bag and sinks against the metallic wall of the stall, letting out a huge sigh he didn't even realize he was holding in up until this point.

He raises his hands to his head, running his fingers through his red-orange hair as he takes a moment to just breathe. The bell indicating the start of the next class startles the boy, causing him to jump at the sound. He stares down at his backpack on the tiled-floor that certainly does not belong to Jackson. He groans in frustration, mentally noting yet another tardy due to the fact that he can't stay on schedule. The school may as well give him an unlimited tardy pass at this point. He drags his hands down his face with a tired sigh, pulling his phone from his pocket and leaving a quick message for his counterpart.

late for rotter, sorry :(