“William hasn’t answered back to any of my calls or texts. Why does he insist on being this petty over something so trivial? God… he’s frustrating!”

Ray slammed his head on the table a little too loud and startled all his coworkers nearby.

“What’s with him? He’s been like this for a few days now…” One of the coworkers whispered into Gabbie’s ear.

To which Gabbie chuckled nervously and responded, “I wish I knew, it’s not like he would ever tell…”

“Sigh… September 5th, what the hell happened?”

“Oh my! He’s talking to himself… must be serious!”

“..Or he’s finally lost it, you can’t tell which.” At least that was something Gabbie was sure of.

“By the way, shouldn’t you leave early today to help out at the café?”

“Oh! Right, I totally forgot! Thanks Ms Rianna. I’ll probably make it in time if I leave now! I haven’t seen my siblings in a while as well. Well, I’ve got to go now. See you!” She dashed off.

“Ah, to be young and brisk again…”

Time ticked and he finally realised maybe he had to patch things up with William before he starts questioning what they’ve been up to.

Something about this situation reminded him of some fond memories from when they were in high school.

A faint click followed by a loud shutter sound spread the room and even the distracted student turned to see that it was him who was being taken a picture of.

“An unflattering angle…” Ray muttered as he looked closer at the camera.

It was brand new and one of first possessions that Ray truly cherished.

“What the-”

“Gosh! That picture is horrendous! I’m not the best photogenic person around but that is downright horrifying!”

“I’m surprised you can call your own face that.” Ray put away the camera.

“Hey, don’t put it away delete it! Right now!” Will demanded that such a picture should never see the light of day ever again.

“Why? You don’t look that bad...” Ray didn’t feel that this picture would taint his record of good pictures.

“Noooo!”

Even after fighting to retrieve the camera, Ray never disposed of the picture even after he left the city for most of his high school.

They talked over the phone and texted each other occasionally but they didn’t last at some point Will stopped viewing the messages altogether and naturally Ray gave up too. It didn’t take long to lose touch and assumed they would never meet again, until one day…

“I’m going on ahead, hurry it up!” A frisky boy of about twelve walked out of a store.

He wasn’t aware of where he was heading and accidentally bumped his head against a person. He looked up and felt like his neck would snap, the person was at least four heads taller than him. To make things worse he revealed none of his facial features, completely masked and capped in blackness. The boy gulped on seeing the tall structure and decided to slip away unnoticed.

“Wait.” The man spoke in a low chilling voice.

The boy turned and didn’t know what to do.

“Kid, I’m talking to you.”

“Y-Yes-s…”

“Do you know this person by any chance? He lives around here…” He took out his phone and showed a picture.

The boy’s eyes widened in horror.

“Arghh!” He was extremely startled by the photo. It wasn’t a scary picture overall. But the blond hair and blue eyes matched the description, but the facial expression was so otherworldly he was too frightened to speak.

“W-what’s going on?! Why does he have this grotesque picture of Will??? Man, is it even him, I don’t even know?! It looks so… bleh!

Gasp! Don’t tell me, he’s going to use this for ransom. If that picture goes to the internet, it’s game over for him!!”

Looks like he was having a mental breakdown from that singular picture to the point that it would be censored in his mind from here on out.

“Dylan, what are you doing there?” Demi walked out of the store with a bag, they were running errands for their dad.

“DEMI! RUN..!” Dylan immediately started sprinting as he looped his arm around Demi’s pulling her along with.

The man stood as the wind hit his face and his cap flew off. He couldn’t be bothered to pick it up from all the havoc that ensued.

“What the hell is up with those kids?”

“Dylan what are you doing?! What’s going on?” Demi stopped him in his tracks.

Dylan started sounding off all at once only spouting unintelligible gibberish.

“Slow down! He has what?”

“A humiliating picture of William! And he’s going to use it for ransom!!”

“Picture? Is it… that bad”

Dylan nodded aggressively.

Demi trusted her brother since they almost have no varied tastes in things.

“Then we have to stop him..!” Demi started racing back the same way they came.

Dylan screamed in protest but failed.

“Why are you on the ground? And… are those tears I see?” A familiar voice emerged from a corner behind him.

“Gasp! W-Will..!”

“Where’s Demi? Aren’t you always together?” Will joked in the usual manner as he walked past him.

Dylan did not have time to correct any of his pointless jokes instead he had to keep him away from that direction at all costs.

In the heat of duty he screamed, “No! Don’t go there!”

“Hm? Why?”

“Uh… the road’s blocked!”

“I just want to reach the convenience store which is right at the end of this road, and I also don’t see any yellow cones.”

“…” Dylan suddenly wished he had the effortless ability to lie like his sister.

“Your reaction suggests a lot of things… Eh- I’ll risk it and go there anyway!”

William obliviously sprinted off towards his destination.

“Look here mister, the picture you have delete it right this instant!” Demi pointed at him with determined eyes.

The man was beyond stunned to even respond and chose to stay silent.

“Don’t ignore me. How about this– I pay you money so you can delete the picture and we’ll pretend we never met?”

He didn’t wish to dilly-dally any further and decided to slip away before the situation escalates.

“Demi..!” A voice approached from behind.

“What are you doing…” Will immediately retracted on seeing the figure that stood before her.

He muttered, “Ray?”

“Finally.” He revealed his face by removing his mask.

“Ray!” William sounded excitedly.

“Will.” Ray didn’t share the same excitement, but he was just as pleased to see the familiar face.

“What are you doing here?”

“Back for the last two years of high school, I suppose.”

“That’s great!”

“Really? Because last time I checked you were definitely quick to forget about me.” He crossed his arms.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Demi quite enjoyed the sudden tension that fell straight from the sky like a comet and watched as her eyes jumped back and forth from their faces.

William laughed nervously, “Well… I don’t particularly have an explanation for that! But I’m glad, extremely glad to see your brooding face again.”

“Ooh~ Risky choice of wording there…” Demi mumbled under her hands.

Ray didn’t say another word and turned away and glanced towards Demi. “I remember you not having siblings, who are they?”

“Oh them! They’re the neighbour’s kids. Our families are pretty close, my mom and their dad go way back.”

“I see.”

The elephant in the room had to be addressed and Demi did just that.

“Hey! You think your actions are excused now that you’ve confirmed your friendship with Will! Why were you loitering around like a stalker?”

“Hahaha! Demi!!” William glared at her.

Ray thought for a second and responded with no recollection of causing a misunderstanding.

“Did I seem like a stalker?”

Demi found it mind boggling how desensitised and insincere he remained.

“I guess, the cap and mask were a bit much…”

“Why the getup anyway?” William poked in hoping to calm the storm.

“Well… I didn’t want anybody to recognise me while I was here. It’d be too troublesome to talk to those folks and their empty words.”

The storm needed no relaxing since it died right there. Demi stood there and found this situation more ridiculous than she could have imagined.

William couldn’t help but laugh. “Hahaha! That sounds exactly like something you’d do!”

Demi side-eyed William and gave in on the interrogation.

Eventually the situation cured and somehow a broken bond was stitched back up along with two more thread to bind the knot. As for what happened to the photo—it remained as a forever keepsake in Ray’s collection of photos along with the new memories they shared.

For someone like Ray—although he rarely shows them how much he cares— he is truly kind hearted and thoughtful to most, albeit misunderstood he still shows unwavering support.

As they decided to walk to Will’s home, Will had numerous questions about his life and the sudden change in looks.

“What’s with the piercings?" he pointed to his left eyebrow, "Have you succumbed to becoming a delinquent?” It was obviously a joke but can easily be misread if one isn’t very close to Ray– he definitely had the looks that could terrorise civilians– that was the perception on William’s end.

“Oh these? I got them for fun and mind you, I don’t plan on becoming a thug, ever. My mom would be very sad.”

“Good to know. Say, how’s your mother doing, is she well?”

“Yeah, she’s better now…”

“That’s great!”

William remembered that difficult period of life that he had recently experienced and realised that although he had lost someone precious—whom he was loved by unconditionally— he felt maybe others around him shouldn’t have to feel the void that he does now. The day it happened was fresh in his mind and numerous times did he regret his actions and time added to the mix, separation was bound to happen.

He found solace when the people around him had a more stable life than he.

Ray turned to him and asked with slight hesitation shaking his voice. “And… how is yours?”

“They… divorced about a year ago.” William said with heavy eyes. “Haven’t seen Dad since and… Mom is so… distant.”

Ray had assumed as much even before their divorce that their relationship was a lost cause. He had never set eyes on a William so distraught. The cheerful and witty expressions were gone, and it was frightening to discover that they may never appear again.

Ray with his eyes fixated at the floor, muttered, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

William turned to his words. “How is this suddenly your fault? I’m fine.”

“You’re strong and I don’t want to bring up old memories, but you pulled through for this long without a shoulder to cry on. You did good.”

William choked on his words and realised his pent-up internal emotions would eventually erupt.

“Guess, I needed a shoulder after all...”

The sound of rushed footsteps echoed through the stairwell. The destination wasn’t far, it was only the third floor and the door to the right. The same old brown door with an icy silver handle with a number lock. Luckily, he knew the combination and would always take advantage of it.

After a rhythm and loud clack, the door opened.

On his way in he felt the need to criticise William like always. “Why does he never close the latch when he’s home…?”

As soon as he entered, he realised he was mistaken. Nobody was home.

“Hmm? He’s not home, strange.”

As he invited himself over to the sofa and collapsed on the cushion from the lethargy of coming all this way he noticed some peculiar contraption on the floor right beside the television.

“Huh? What’s this trash doing here?”

On closer inspection, it was a upside down bucket and books stacked on top.

“Organic chemistry, no wonder it’s so bulky...”

Ray picked up the book and was hit by an immediate rattle from inside the bucket in response.

“What the hell?” He bent down to see what it was.

“CAT?!” He screamed as he immediately released it from its cage.

“About time these mortals released me…” Forsyth thought to herself as she gracefully stepped out of her prison.

“Cat, I thought they loved you…” Ray sat down next to the cat. He wasn’t particularly fond of the cat’s name. Why Angus, of all the names that would be appropriate for a cat—like Mr Whiskers for instance—but they went out of their way to name it after beef.

Forsyth looked up and realised it was a new face. Since she had no one else to amuse herself with, she decided to mess with this potential candidate.

“Hmm… since it’s just us I suppose a bribe wouldn’t hurt.” Ray seemed to have thought up his plan to locate William.

He scooped up the cat in his arms and held it close to his face and took a picture. He then captioned: “I have your cat, get your butt over if you don’t want to me to fatten him up a few sizes.”

Forsyth just stood there on all her fours and watched him silently at work. “This lad is certainly more unearthly than those three…”

“Hm? Why is Gabbie calling me now, did she forget something at the café?”

He picked up the call and stood up.

“Hello?”

He sounded twice but there was no response.

“Hmm…”

He walked out of the apartment outside the door in hopes of getting better reception.

Static filled his ears.

“Huh?” He found the situation a little bizarre. “Gabbie, you there?”

A low noise then emerged; it resembled faint breathing. They were panting for air.

“What’s up with her? Did she accidentally call me?”

He stepped back inside unsure of what the call was about. He thought she would eventually call back, but she never did.

“Guys! We are so screwed!” Dylan clasped his head in a state of horror.

The other two stood motionless in the presence of the light.

“Is it finally time to use the knife?” Demi muttered nervously.

“Are you serious?! Put that thing away now! We have to run guys, come on!” Dylan started to tug on his sister’s arm pulling her out of the light.

“I see you lot snooping around during school hours as well. This is your last chance before I kick you out myself!”

A heated scolding was happening, and it quickly became known that the security guard was never after the three but someone else and he was mistaking them for the usual hooligans who loiter around here.

“…Wait. You guys don’t look like those rascals…”

William let out a sigh of relief when he finally recognised their real identities.

“Yes sir, we aren’t those guys nor are we with them.” He answered calmly.

“Yes, you certainly are new faces, especially you!” He immediately noticed that William was way past his school days. To which William chuckled nervously.

“So, now that we have proven ourselves I don’t see any reason to stay and cause more trouble for you. We’ll be out of your hair now!” William wanted to wrap things up fast and leave since the twins were his responsibility and they were very agitated—atleast only Dylan was.

As the entire gang turned away with their short won relief, they were instantly disrupted by the security guard yet again.

“Stop right there! You think you can slip away that easily? You guys still owe an explanation for all this.”

He was strict and impressive at his job of upholding the law, useful to rile up unruly students. But that of which they appreciated suddenly took a turn into digging their own graves.

“Um… well..” William was scrambling for excuses.

Demi decided to finally step up and do the usual.

“Step aside, it’s time for my spotlight.”

“You see, sir, we happened to have left a few items of importance at school yesterday and it just so happens that we were required to bring it on Monday. I asked permission from my teacher and he was very happy to help and said we could come pick it today.”

“But the school is closed now, that doesn’t mean you are allowed in with or without notice.” He was relentless. But Demi happened to be ruthless.

“Yes! We had to pick it up in the morning, the school was open this morning right? But unfortunately we messed up the timing and ended up super late because of family issues.”

“Why didn’t you just enter the front gate? It’s a front gate for a reason!” He had enough of this nonsense.

“Well… nobody was there when we arrived and the gates were shut, so we went around and also our home is directly behind the school so I always come this way.”

“Tsk-”

“You are still coming with me! I don’t even know if you are actual students of this school!”

“But we are!” Dylan screamed from behind.

“I don’t see any IDs on you, so no!” He gave no last shout determined to send these kids to the authorities.

“…Am I finally suffering the consequences of my impulsive lying..?” Demi found herself in dismay.

“Wait!” A voice was heard from all the way towards the front of the school.

“They are my friends!” They seemed to have paid close attention to their argument.

A boy with short black hair in uniform whilst holding a huge stack of papers approached the scene.

“Sandwich boy?” Demi titled her head.

“Robin, what are you doing here?” Dylan reacted spontaneously.

“Ah? You’re here for the student council meeting right?”

“Yes, I am, and so are they!” Robin looked at the twins with eyes telling them to follow along.

“But they are not here for that…”

“Haha! Well, uh, we were supposed to get it from the student council room! The items of importance…?” Demi seemed to have finally reached the limit of her ability.

The guard thought for a while and second glanced everyone there and finally decided to leave after giving them a stern warning.

“That… certainly worked out… somehow?” William was confused but relieved nonetheless.

“So? Care for an explanation?” He placed down the stack and looked at them exhausted.

“Robin! Our saviour!” Dylan rejoiced that he will no more be branded as a delinquent.

“Sandwich boy, thanks for sticking up for us! You’re the best!” Demi praised him as well.

William found their interactions cute and listened to their every word.

“Don’t call me that! Anyway, just answer the question. Why were you snooping around near the dumpsters, don’t you know this is where ‘those people’ hang?”

“Well…” Dylan looked at Demi with eyes filled with ‘Back me up here..!”.

Demi rolled her eyes and answered, “I wish.”

“Ahem! Okay, guys, it’s getting late. How about we go home? Same goes for you… Robin, right? Thank you for your help by the way!” William interrupted the conversation and decided that it was enough adventuring today and also wasn’t thrilled about publicly disclosing their motives.

“Sorry, who’s this?” Robin sounded as he locked his arms.

“I’m William, their older brother...”

“Neighbour.”

“Stranger.”

Robin was dumbfounded by three consecutive answers and found it mildly suspicious.

“Uh…?”

“Yo! Robin-hood, being good and taking out the trash, eh?” An older student came out of the building and forcibly looped his neck in his arm.

“Ack-” Robin seemed to have been hurt by that.

“What? Did that hurt, be a man, you can do better!” He flexed his muscles and crushed him harder than before.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dylan approached them angered by his actions.

“Ugh… Dylan, it’s fine..!” Robin stopped him in a weak attempt.

“Yeah, he said he’s fine it’s the least he can take.” He snarled at them.

Dylan could not stand it and Demi seemed to be loosing her cool as well. William stopped the commotion and pulled the twins back and whispered in their ears.

“Not now! The situation is bad enough as it is, it would only make it worse.”

Demi cleared her throat and came back to her senses.

“Robin, we will be off now. Take care..!” No matter what she couldn’t sound cheerful.

Dylan didn’t not say a word and walked away as William pulled on him.

The older student finally unhanded Robin.

Before Demi left, she whispered to Robin. “Whatever this was, we will talk later.”

“See you too, Demi.”

“Back to work chump.” He kicked the stack of papers and scattered it across the ground. He walked away in a satisfactory pose and an obnoxious laughter.