Fear of the Dark

The Jock and the Nerd |

    While Scott didn’t have classes until the night, he always made sure to not stay in his dorm room as that could develop a very bad habit and he’d start skipping classes again…which was not a good thing. Walking to the cafeteria, Scott stomach started to sing the usual lunchtime song that Scott had made when he was in middle school and it stuck.

    Getting his tray and piling various meats and starches, Scott could feel his stomach agree with his choices of sustenance and checked out using his meal plan. Turning around, Scott saw a familiar looking person make eye contract with him, but then the person said hi and his name. At first, Scott didn’t connect the fact with a name for a second or two, but it clicked.

    Scott’s eyes widened and his figurative tail starting to wag, “Oz!? Holy crap! Hey buddy! I haven’t seen ya in a couple years! How’ve you been!”

    Scott, as the puppy he was, didn’t notice nor remember Oz’s anxiety or such.

Their name. Scott had said their name, and it was like the tiny voices in Oz’s mind were on high panicked mode. Were they really that recognizable? Oz was sure that they stayed mostly to the shadows while desperately trying to fit in, something that shouldn’t have entirely worked the way that it did. They sucked in a breath through their nose, snorting with a grim realization: did Oz do something to Scott that forced the jock to remember the nerd?

Oz shook their head, feeling the heat rise to their cheeks and forehead. They took a deep breath, flexing their fingers against the backpack’s leather strap as they stepped closer to the table and the overly loud jock. The excitement in Scott’s voice probably would have been appreciated by 90% of the population, but Oz’s quiet persona often had him shying away the such ferocity.

Sunlight | Open Starter

Fushimi wasn’t a litterer. He actually despised people who did litter but sometimes he was clumsy and missed a trash can or had it fall from his pocket or such when he was walking. Things happen and well sometimes he couldn’t stop the inevitable.  He was walking to his apartment from his last class when suddenly he heard someone supposedly call out to someone. He turns to find that someone was apparently calling out to him and holding out a candy wrapper. He looks at it in surprise, it was the candy that he just ate two minutes ago. He swore he but the wrapper in his pocket but it must have slipped out.

 “Oh. Oops. That was my bad. I didn’t mean to litter. Thanks for picking it up and returning it to me” he says. Sometimes he could be nice if someone was nice back that is. “Sorry for the trouble. I won’t do it again. I actually hate when people litter” he states.

Oz stared with wide eyes at the stranger, still trying to find their voice after discovering their own embarrassment with the situation. Every time they tried to utter something, it felt like a frog was stuck in their throat and there was a desperate croak to be set free.

“I- uh- sor- um.” Oz forcefully gulped, feeling the ebbing dryness pulsing against his tongue. They glanced down, taking a deep breath in an attempt to settle the mind. “I wasn’t, uh- I wasn’t trying to accuse you of littering.” Dark eyes stared at their yellow shoes, painfully watching the antsy nature of their feet as they refused to stand still. 

@savage-cutie needs a starter

Nighttime was possibly the worst time of day for Oz. Meetings with their therapist had helped to soften the overwhelming fears that manifested within his mind. Those appointments didn’t diminish these fears, though, and once the sun set, their mind went on a haywire as darkness loomed.

But as they entered Ursa Traditional Dorms, there was no thought about how things could go wrong. Instead there was a sense of relief that washed away their prior anxieties, grateful to be in a fully lit building instead of relying on dimly lit light posts outside. In their newfound comfort, Oz let down their guard just as they saw a shadow creeping out of nowhere.

The sun was in the perfect spot for Oz to head outside and practice some of their drawings. They sat on a dry patch of grass, the blades tickling the small of their back as they hunched over their notebook and began making magic happen. The Quad was a great place to work because it allowed Oz the opportunity to watch everybody and attempt to mimic their postures in their art. But today, as he watched the passing students and teachers, they saw someone drop something.

“Ah.” The single syllable left their mouth as they watched the tiny, glistening paper drop onto the ground, seemingly catching the sun’s rays. They nibbled on their lower lip before scooping up the notebook and shoving the pencils into it. Oz stood up and hurried after the pencil, picking up the tiny paper that fell. “W-w-wait,” they called out, finally catching up to the person. “You dropped this... candy wrapper?”

@friendly-werepup​ needs a starter

Oz tightened their grip on the leather strap of the bookbag as they walked through the cafeteria building on campus, the overwhelming throng of loud talking overstimulating their senses. It was too much for them, and they wished that they dared to have another peanut butter and jelly back in his dorm, but the required meal plan was wasting away. And they couldn’t handle another confrontation with their father about money left unspent.

When they finally dared to turn around on their heals to leave, a familiar sight stopped Oz in their steps. They stared at Scott Howl, star quarterback of their high school, and their mouth ran dry as it gaped open. Why was he at the same school?

And then there was the eye contact. Quickly Oz averted their eyes, heat quickly covering their face as they glanced down at their feet. It was now too late to turn back. They needed to do something.