After school, Sebastian engaged in playing video games deep into the night. He just had to get it out of his system as this was one of the things he had been looking forward to all week. By the time he wrapped things up, it was close to 1 a.m. That’s when the lack of sleep from the previous night caught up to him and he couldn’t stay awake any further. He was in the middle of an Omega Man VII run when he felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier as each second passed.
As he lay on his stomach, he closed his eyes for one final time. The controller dropped to the floor and he went face-first into the mattress. Just like that, he was out like a light.
When Sebastian opened his eyes, things seemed a bit different. Surrounded by an eerie darkness, he heard muffled voices around him as if he were underwater. Suddenly, his vision slowly returned and he found himself inside a classroom. The other students around him couldn’t have been older than five or six. None of the other kids seemed to pay him any sort of mind; however, there were three who looked to have a keen interest in him.
The three approached him wearing nothing but smiles. Their faces had no other features as their eyes were hidden by the darkness of a shadow The boy leaned forward and extended his hand toward him.
“Hey, Sebastian! We’re going to play some kickball! Do you want to join us?”
Suddenly, Sebastian’s vision began to blur; however, the last thing he could see was his hand reaching out and grabbing the boy’s. Soon after that, his world had returned to darkness and the muffled voices returned. Sebastian strained as hard as he could to make out what they were saying but the more he tried to tune in, the more his hearing became fragmented. It wasn’t until he relaxed and stopped trying that things came more into focus.
His vision returned once again; however, the scenery had changed. It was a bright and sunny day as Sebastian found himself walking down the sidewalk, the backs of those same three children, now older, in front of him. The boy turned around and wore a smile as bright as the sun itself.
“Sebastian! We’re going to my house after school to read the new comic books we bought! You should come and bring yours with you!”
“Aw, I want to but my mom says that we have something to do today.”
“Again?” said a girl with fiery red hair and green eyes. “I guess it can’t be helped.”
Just as before, Sebastian’s world blurred; however, it returned nearly instantaneously. It was the same sidewalk, and the same three kids; however, the skies were overcast as a few cool droplets of rain graced Sebastian’s cheek.
“Sebastian? What about him? We don’t need him,” said the boy. “He was convenient for a while but not anymore. Once you’re done using something, you just throw it in the trash, right?”
“That’s mean, Bryce but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t true,” said the girl with the red hair. “He was pretty convenient to have around.”
“Well, we had each other before we met him and we still have each other now,” said the girl with long black hair and blue eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, he was just a speedbump we all went over.”
“Sebastian the Speedbump. It’s got a nice ring to it,” said the boy as he snickered to himself. “What do you think, Sebastian? Does that nickname suit you? I think it does because all you ever did was slow us down!”
The boy looked back at him, the bright smile was replaced with a sinister sneer; however, the next words he spoke carried with them a heavier weight.
“Man, you sure were annoying, weren’t you?”
As soon as Bryce said the word annoying, a searing pain jolted through Sebastian’s skull. His world became like static on a television screen. Through the pixelated snow, a silhouette of a man appeared before him, his voice scrambled at first but became clearer and deeper with every word muttered until four familiar words rang true.
“You sure are annoying!”
The voice was gruff and filled with venom. When Sebastian focused his vision, the world filled itself in almost as if a simulation were piecing it together. Suddenly, he was back home but his body felt light and weak. Standing over him was a man who looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a month with scruffy blonde hair and breath that reeked of alcohol.
“You hear me, boy? I said you’re annoying the shit out of me! How many times are you going to bug me to play with you? I don’t want to play with you! Hell, I didn’t even want you, to begin with so STOP ASKING ME!”
Sebastian could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Before his father turned away, he stopped and noticed one escape and roll down his cheek. It felt as cold as the rain and sent a shiver down the ladder of his spine.
“What? You cryin’ now? You better keep that mouth of yours shut. I don’t want to hear you wailing. Gives me a damn headache every time.”
Of course, Sebastian couldn’t hold his emotions back anymore and began to cry loudly. His father pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced back and forth as if he were searching for an answer.
“That’s it. You’ve annoyed me for the last time you little shit. YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH DADDY? LET’S PLAY!”
His father reached down and gripped his shirt tightly. Sebastian felt himself get yanked up to his feet. The next thing he knew, he felt his feet leave the ground, the sensation of flying through the air could be felt from head to toe. As the tears cleared from his eyes, all Sebastian could see was the floor getting closer and closer by the second. Soon, his face scraped against it, the air driven out of his tiny body from the impact.
When he turned over, his father had already positioned himself over him. He tried to cry again but only squeaks and wheezes escaped from his mouth.
“DON’T YOU DARE START AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?”
Suddenly, he felt a blinding jolt across the left side of his face. The sting from his father’s open palm reverberated throughout his entire head. At that point, a ringing in his left ear took command until he felt the same sensation on the right side of his head. Again, that floating sensation returned; however, two heavy jolts in succession caused him to be unaware of what was happening. Soon, he felt himself flying through the air once again; however, this time, he felt the side of his head smack against something solid.
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A warm sensation engulfed the right side of his head as if the cold rain had been heated by flame. The only thing he could hear were muffled voices, all of them shouting at one another. He tried to open his eyes but could only muster the strength to open the left one. Sebastian’s vision was completely obscured by fog and haze; however, he could make out flashing lights of blue, white, and red. The voices, while muffled, got louder and louder until a loud bang was heard and suddenly, there was nothing but silence.
Sebastian closed his eye and his world faded to black. When it opened again, he sat next to his mother who was dressed in her Sunday best. She wore a business suit that seemed to magically shift between gray and black. No matter what color she wore, she turned her head and smiled at him, muttering the same words that sounded a bit broken and echoed.
“Everything is going to be okay, now!”
The world scrambled and pieced itself back together. This time, it looked to be inside of a hospital. His mother was at his bedside where he could feel the warmth of her hand. With tears in her eyes, she muttered those same words with pain in her voice.
“Everything is going to be okay, now…”
Again, the world scrambled and he found himself back home, standing at the front door. He looked at his mother who was down on her hands and knees scrubbing a blood stain out of the carpet. She looked up at him with a bright smile.
“See? Everything’s going to be okay, now!”
Sebastian felt a sudden pain in his head. When he reached up and touched the right side, he felt a warm, wet substance. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in blood. Everything except for the blood on his hand became monochromatic. His mother had disappeared but he heard her voice behind him.
“I’m sorry but he’s not okay right now. Some other time, maybe.”
When Sebastian turned around, he saw Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh standing there looking to be around eleven in age. Bryce peeked around his mother and showed him that sinister grin that he had before.
“It’s fine. We didn’t need him anyway. We’ve never needed him. It’s probably better this way, right Sebastian?”
Bryce snickered before he ordered Kayla and Shiloh to leave. As they did, he turned his attention to the front window and watched them walk away, the cold droplets of rain fell against the glass, eventually distorting them from view. He felt a hand on his shoulder that filled him with warmth and comfort.
“Don’t worry, Sebastian. Everything is going to be okay.”
When he heard those words, the rain stopped and the sun peeked through. A cool breeze washed over him; however, the wind picked up in intensity. So much so that it blew Sebastian’s world away. Once the winds calmed, he found himself outside of school standing there alongside Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh. Bryce turned his head to Sebastian with a bright smile. This time, it was Sebastian who spoke up.
“Hey! They have a new game at the arcade! Want to check it out after school?”
“Sure!” answered Bryce with enthusiasm. “I’ve been wanting to go check it out. We should all go together!”
Suddenly, the school’s bell rang. It jolted Sebastian’s mind to where he had to cover his ears to stop the ringing from getting any worse. Once it faded Sebastian found himself outside once again. This time, he was staring down at the screen of his phone. There was a text message on the screen from Bryce that read Sorry. We’ll have to go some other time. My mother said I needed to come home right away.
When Sebastian looked up from his phone, he suddenly found himself in front of the arcade. Inside, Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh were huddled around an arcade cabinet It appeared as if Bryce was good at the game as many kids were placing their quarters on the screen to indicate that they wanted to be the next challenger. However, Bryce’s skill wasn’t the thing that Sebastian was focused on. He suddenly realized that he had lied to him in that text message. Sebastian headed to the mall that day anyway because he figured that he could check the game out himself and then tell Bryce and the others about it but when he arrived, this was the situation that he had discovered.
Soon, it began to rain outside. Each drop plummeted against the roof of the mall producing a thunderous noise as if the drums of war had been called for. Soon, a bright flash filled the entirety of the mall followed by an immediate ear-piercing crash of thunder. A deep voice then bellowed through his ears.
You sure are annoying.
YOU WANT TO PLAY? LET’S PLAY
It’s fine. We don’t need him anyway.
Once you’re done using something, you throw it in the trash, right?
Sebastian began to chuckle to himself, his eyes widened, exposing his shrinking pupils. He licked his lips as his mouth formed a sinister grin.
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay…” he muttered to himself.
Another bright flash of lightning filled the mall; however, it also erased the world around Sebastian. When it pieced itself back together, he had Bryce cornered up against the brick wall in the school’s back parking lot. The sun was bright, the air was clear, and a cool breeze flowed through his hair.
“Say, Bryce? You want to go check out that game at the arcade today?”
“Maybe some other time. Shiloh invited us over to her house today. To be honest, I’d invite you but every time you do, you don’t seem to want to hang out with us anymore. If I’m being honest, I’m starting to think that you don’t care about us….”
Suddenly, the cool breeze gave way to a cold wind. The very leaves on the trees instantly rotted and fell to the ground. The sun became blotted out by dark gray clouds as drops of rain began to fall once again.
“...so, we decided that we’re going to stop caring about you.”
“Yeah, I noticed. That’s why you went and played that game yesterday after you sent me that text message.”
“So, you were there after all, huh? Then I guess there’s no reason to hide it anymore. That’s such a huge relief, you know? Pretending to care about you this entire time was such a chore. We let you into our group but you were just so annoying, Sebastian!”
Sebastian couldn’t hold back anymore. He lunged in and slammed his fist straight into Bryce’s face. He did it again and again and again. With each thunderous smack, Bryce’s face became covered in more and more blood. Sebastian could hear Shiloh and Kayla screaming at him from behind but their words were muffled and indiscernable. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his shoulder, the fingers digging into his skin. Without thinking, Sebastian spun around and the backside of his fist plunged straight into Kayla’s face.
The force of the impact knocked her to the ground. She instantly covered her face as blood gushed from her nose.
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” screamed Shiloh.
Suddenly, the storm dissipated and the world returned to full color. Sebastian took a step back with a look of horror as he couldn’t believe what he had done. His back bumped up against the school wall and that’s when he felt something heavy press against his left leg. When he looked down, he saw Bryce slumped over in a bloody mess. Suddenly, his heart began to race. He looked around at the carnage that he caused.
“I… I… just… I didn’t… I…”
Sebastian took off running as fast as he could. As he ran away, his mind began to process everything.
What did I do? What the hell did I just do? My friends… I just…. No… they weren’t my friends but… they were my friends! I did this because they turned their backs on me! Yes, I did this because they didn’t want anything to do with me! They’re just as rotten as my father was! They got what they deserved…. Right? Did they? Am I mistaken? No, I’m not! They should have taken me with them! They didn’t want me to go! They are the ones who abandoned me! I’ve noticed it ever since that day! Yes… that day when everything started but why? Why did you do it? It doesn’t matter… it never mattered. Everything I’ve ever had in life hasn’t mattered. To hell with this. To hell with all of it. From here on out, I’m done with having friends! No one is ever going to hurt me again! That way I’ll never have to hurt another friend… NO! THEY WEREN’T MY FRIENDS! THEY NEVER WERE!
A blinding pain surged through Sebastian’s mind. He fell to his knees and gripped the sides of his head.
Make it stop. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!
As he thought that, he felt the presence of someone else. Someone who gave off the gentle scent of lilac. When he looked up, there was a girl with black hair and eyes of amber. She smiled as she reached out with her hand.
“No… stay away. I’ll only hurt you…”
The hand got closer and closer but as it did, Sebastian kicked his feet into the pavement to push himself further and further away.
“NO! STOP! I don’t need you! I don’t want this! WHY WON’T YOU LISTEN TO ME! JUST GO AWAY!”
Sebastian couldn’t back up anymore. He found himself pressed up against a utility pole. The hand and the girl continued to close the distance between them. Sebastian shut his eyes tightly until he felt a warm embrace warp around him. When he opened his eyes, the girl had finished hugging him. When she pulled away, she looked right into his eyes and smiled.
“Everything is okay now because you’re my friend.”
All Sebastian could do was stare into her eyes. A soothing feeling filled his entire body. When he looked up, all of the gray clouds shattered like glass giving way to a bright and sunny sky. The cool breeze had returned and the ground instantly became dry from any rain that had fallen.
“See? Isn’t this a beautiful day?”
“Y-Yeah…” he said as he felt the tears well up in his eyes.
Back in reality, Sebastian continued to lay there on his bed face down on the mattress. His dreams reflected reality as tears poured out of the sides of his closed eyes, glistening in the light of a burning screen on the other side of the room.
What did all of this mean?