“Kill them.” His own voice echoed in his head. Ven glanced around a bit needlessly. It wasn’t to find out who said it. No, it was obvious that it was no name. Moreover, he had his headset on rather than his earpiece so that narrowed it down to solely Futaba. And last he checked, she didn’t sound like him or threaten people’s lives.

Still, the reason he chose to glance around was to see who no name was referencing. No one was around though. What was he talking about? Futaba? That’s a little far-fetched.

“I think no name wants me to kill you.”

“That’s pleasant to hear, Ven.” She snorted over the mic.

“Oh, am I not supposed to tell you that?”

“It’s fine, but most people don’t take kindly to violence. Just saying.”

“So I’m supposed to just lie? Shouldn’t people be warned about something like that?”

“You’re not actually going to do it are you?” She asked. His eyes shifted to his bed where under it lay a box of illegal goods. One such good being a gun he’d bought from the dark web out of curiosity. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d used it. Before it was just on cans when no one was home to test what proved to be terrible aim. He was certainly more of a hands on person. No wonder he used an inkbrush.

“Ven.”

“You’re not going to do it right?”

Why couldn’t he answer? It should be an easy one.

“Ven.”

Of course it wasn’t though. He’d already failed. His bloodied room was a testament to that. He looked over it at first. Maybe he didn’t want to accept it originally. Accept that the box from under his bed was out and opened with the gun laying used and at his side. Or accept the deceased siblings that lay in his room. They looked so peaceful even if there was confusion and hurt on their face and tears in their eyes from being shot by someone they trusted.

“Ven!”

He smiled, eyes moving from the cadavers in his room, back to the game he played with Futaba. “Of course not.”

“Ven.” He heard. A different voice this time. It sounded familiar though. Close even. Ventus looked around again to no avail. All that was with him were the bodies of his siblings and his friend over the mic. And she certainly didn’t sound like a guy.

“Ventus!” It shouted.

It was startling, leaving for him to grab for the gun by his side. “I gotta go, Futaba.” He signed off quick, taking the headset off.

The moment he stood and turned around, he came face to face with the one that wore the jack o’ lantern mask. It was startling to say the least and threw him off for a moment. It’s alright though because he had a gun and the other was defenseless. That’s right, he’d be able to stop them from hurting Strelitzia.

Ven brought his hand up to aim and shoot only to find himself the one defenseless and Jack the one with the gun.

“How?”

In his distorted tone, Jack aimed the gun, pressing it to Ven’s head, and mused “Time to pay up.” Without another word, the device went off.

“Ven!” He was shaken, but he was already darting awake with a gasp by then. Ventus blinked, catching his breath as he gathered his surroundings. He was in a car with Vivi sitting next to him. They seemed concerned but as usual it was pretty hard to tell. To the other side of him, allowed access by an opened door, Seifer stood, gripping onto him and shaking him to a wakeful state.

First thing’s first, Ven wiped at the bit of drool on his lips with his sleeves, then rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his hands.

He’d caught his breath by now, finally gathering what exactly just happened. A dream. That should’ve been obvious now that he thought about it. He’d never hurt Terra and Aqua after all. Or anyone for that matter. Jack though. Those guys. They were up in the air. He sure hoped he never had to see them again anyway. If he didn’t, then Strelitzia and everyone would be safe.

What’d that counselor say though? That he knew the culprits? Well why didn’t he turn them in to the police? Maybe he should go in and ask tomorrow at school.

“You alive, Ven?” Seifer asked, patting a hand a bit roughly for a few times against Ventus’ cheek to get his attention. It worked.

“Huh? Yeah, sorry I was just thinking about something.” He admitted. Glancing around, he found that they were at an empty arcade. Or nearly empty anyway. It was them, them being Seifer’s crew that he rode with. And then Pyrrha and her friends. The majority of which Ven had met. There were two that he hadn’t yet met though. One with long blond hair that wore what looked like an entire laundry hamper. Meanwhile the boy next to her had his black and blue hair up in a short ponytail and wore everything from Hot Topic right down to the alternating black and blue polished nails and coloured wristbands. They stuck close to one another. Were they a couple? Seemed nice to have someone like that. He wondered if he’d ever have that. Fuu came to mind. And Strelitzia, and Xion. He’d love to be close to all of them like that. With being able to lay his head on their shoulders and nuzzle against them. Actually, even Futaba came to mind. She was cute too.

Maybe he could skip all the mess of highschool romances and go straight for the childhood friend. That would work right. Fuu didn’t seem that into him anyway, and the other two were probably taken because why wouldn’t they be. Also Weiss looked like she’d bite his head off if he ever tried so he was a bit afraid of her. He was comfortable with Futaba though! And she did so much for him! She’d be perfect!

Ignoring Seifer’s further attempts to get him out of the car, if only because Ven hopped out to play on his phone as he moved, he pulled up Futaba’s messages.

[Ven]: Can we date?

[Futaba]: Date? As in boyfriend/girlfriend?

[Ven]: Yeah, we’re always doing stuff together anyways so why not?

[Futaba]: You have a point, but I expect gifts.

[Ven]: I can do that!

[Futaba]: Great, I’ll date you then, but don’t expect anything to change.

[Ven]: Aww man, so no pet names?

[Futaba]: I have dignity.

[Ven]: Can I call you pet names? We could make our fans jealous that we’re both taken.

[Futaba]: I think you mean proud that their fanfictions are coming true.

[Ven]: Wanna read fanfiction about us and reenact it?

[Futaba]: Some of those involve mpreg with you y’know.

[Ven]: Pillow pregnancy.

[Futaba]: Please go talk to your friends, you’re embarrassing.

[Ven]: You got it, snookums.

[Futaba]: I’m sending the Phantom Thieves after you.

[Ven]: Then I’ll meet celebrities finally.

Waiting for her reply and keeping his gaze down at his phone, he couldn’t help but to walk into the wrong door and slam against it with a loud thud. Seifer smirked from the door he held open beside Ven. “Way to go, genius.”

“Actually, that makes me feel better.” Ven admitted. “It shows that I am not at all capable of murder because I’m dumb, and that’s very reassuring.”

“You couldn’t tell?” The lead asked with disbelief.

Ven shook his head. “Nope. I had a bad dream and wondered if I was capable. I guess I was both pissed and terrified when I woke up though so it’s anyone’s guess before. Now it seems obvious if I can’t even walk right. I’d be a terrible murderer” He explained. “So yeah, reassuring.” That and it went along with what Terra said earlier about how he was the opposite of threatening. Very helpful.

“So you actually do have murderous thoughts. I was starting to think that one about you was fake.”

“Wow, people really do know a lot about me huh.” Pocketing his phone and heading into the establishment finally, Ven added “Nope, that’s true. I do have homicidal and violent urges. Don’t look it huh, but they’re pretty bad. I usually have to preoccupy myself until they pass so I just lock myself in my room and force myself to sleep if anything.” With a little help, but he wasn’t going to admit to that. People didn’t really take kindly to junkies. Not that he’d really consider himself one. He just used valium to calm himself down on occasion and sleep if urges got too bad, usually when people were being bullies online. He never really took enough to actually get high or build a tolerance. It’s just self sedation. His family did it to him all the time when he was having violent episodes so what’s the difference? Easy to take from dad’s selection at home or even the hospital when you can sneak in undetected since the place is his dad’s and all. It’s not uncommon for any three of them to be at the hospital and playing go-karts with wheelchairs. Not to mention their system was easy to hack and change their inventory. Technology for the win.

But right, they were supposed to be having fun. Not thinking about how he was a thief in more ways than one. It really was easy to siphon money from accounts. He never used it much, but he just kinda had it for in case he needed it he supposed. Honestly, he stole because he could and he didn’t feel bad about intangible numbers seeping from one account to the other. Also, not his actual account. He was way too young for one anyway so it’s kinda an account with money that he set up and never looked at. Maybe he should look and give it back sometime. Save for his grandpa, that shit was his now. Years of abuse, bitch.

“Ya gonna stop spacing out yet?” Seifer asked, hand waving in front of Ven’s face. He blinked back to reality.

“Sorry, maybe I’m still a bit out of it. What are we doing again?”

“We’re at an empty arcade, serving us hand and foot. Everything’s bought so do what you want.”

“But I’ve never been to an arcade before. What do you do?”

“Are you serious?” He asked and Ven nodded dumbly. Seifer sighed only to grab the boy by the hood of his jacket and drag him off towards the rest. “Well first off, we have a birthday of a girl I didn’t invite, but I’m up for some cake so I’ll allow it.”

“Don’t be rude, Seifer.” Yang stuck her tongue out at the boy. Did they already sing happy birthday? The cake was already blown out and being cut. Did he miss it?

Guess I was thinking about drugs and stealing. Maybe I am a junkie after all. Whoops.

“Why did you guys celebrate without me?” Ven whined. “I love birthdays.” Not that he even knew who it was for anyway.

“We didn’t celebrate without you, don’t worry.” Yang offered him a piece on a small, red striped plate. It was chocolate by the looks of it. Looked tasty, but he wasn’t much in the mood to eat. All his mind decided to stall on was valium now that he thought about it. It would be nice to feel good after a dream like that. Just relax a bit. Everything’s been pretty stressful since he started school, what with the emergence of a flood of new people on top of that weird dream that apparently might be true. Either that or that counselor was also a wack job like him. Wouldn’t be surprised by that honestly. Maybe everything was just too much. He wished it would slow down, which left Ven nibbling a bit anxiously at the cake. It tasted of cinnamon along with the chocolate. An unexpected treat.

Maybe he should just call Futaba again. But there was nothing to clear up to his knowledge. Everything was just overwhelming. And while it was nice to be out and about with friends, could he manage it? Maybe coming out with a bunch of people after a fit of depression was a bad idea. What if it came back? Was it already coming back? He wasn’t sure, he just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t feel happy that it was someone’s birthday. He just wanted to flee and calm down. Maybe it was that dream. Maybe it was scaring him, making him unsure of things. He was also tired so that didn’t help.

“What do you know, the local kook is sitting by himself and gnawing on forks.” A voice remarked. It was male but did that matter?

Was he gnawing on his fork though?

Oh, I guess I was.

Must’ve spaced out.

“The name’s Alex.” The boy with black and blue hair pointed a proud thumb at himself. “And I don’t go to your crummy public school. Nor does Tya.” He motioned to the blonde girl who’s birthday it apparently was. She seemed nice, when did that purple haired girl get here though? Creepy. Maybe he was still half asleep so he rubbed at his eyes again. Speaking of the purple haired girl, Alex pointed at her with his fork. “Aspen though, that autistic bitch goes to your dead end school.”

The way he spoke so arrogant and condescending was just aweing. Ven’s mouth was left agape as he uttered out “I’ve never heard anyone talk like that except on the computer and games.” Where it was safe to be an asshole and there were no consequences. He couldn’t say he wasn’t guilty of ever wanting to cause some havoc. Then again, he actually has hacked and doxxed people without them finding out. Anyone that was a jerk for no reason in his opinion. Which was typically irrational when someone caught on. Same goes for those in the real world though. He’ll find them and ruin their lives if they don’t treat others right.

Alex waved a hand in front of his face then. “You wanna stop spacing out and stabbing your cake like a psychotic retard or would you like to continue looking like a freak after all?”

“That’s not very nice to say.” Ventus mumbled a bit self consciously.

“Well c’mon, show me you’re not retarded at bowling then. I wanna get on the crazy kid’s good side so when you inevitably shoot up a school, I’m not targeted.”

“But you just said you didn’t go to my school?” Not that that entire comment wasn’t offensive as all hell.

“Doesn’t mean you won’t be smart and shoot someone else’s school up, but please shoot up your own. Take out Aspen. She’s too incompetent to remain alive.”

“Why exactly do you hate her?” He glanced at the girl once more. She looked pretty, but just like before he didn’t see her talking. It was mainly Yang, Ruby, and Tya talking while Aspen seemed to loiter and watch. Maybe she was just like that though. Nothing wrong with that. The punch cup she held garnered his attention. Maybe he should get some.

“Put cyanide in it.”

He gulped. So overwhelmingly tempting.

Hands shaking, he lowered the plate of mutilated cake. Ventus shifted, putting it onto the table before securing his hands in his jacket pockets. “So bowling?”

“Yeah, unless you wanna spaz out some more.” Alex mocked. Ven frowned furrowing his brows before pleading

“Please, I just wanna get away from everyone.”

“Relax, I have something that might help. Come with me though.” Alex didn’t even bother in waiting for Ven to process what he said. He grabbed his hand, dragging him along and through the multicoloured carpets and passed all the flashing arcade machines that everyone was playing. He was a bit jealous. He wanted to play, but he was a bit of a captive at the moment.

Alex drug him off however, to a nearby bathroom that honestly wasn’t too shabby for an arcade. It was cozy. Maybe he could just lounge there and calm down a bit then go back out later.

“Ever had morphine?”

Ven’s attention snapped from the sinks he could hide under or stalls he could pull his feet up in and instead looked to Alex quizzically. “I’ve been on it when I hurt myself too badly I guess.” Maybe too much to give, but honestly who didn’t have his entire rap sheet by now apparently?

“Well it’s calming so maybe it’ll stop you from stabbing things in dazed fits. That scares people, man.” Pulling out an unmarked bottle from his jacket, Alex unscrewed the cap and slid a few pills out and onto his palm.

“Was I actually doing that?”

“Yyyyyyyyep,” He drug out. “And everyone effectively ran away from you to do better things.” That stung, everywhere even as tears stung at his eyes and his chest hurt just thinking about it. Ven held his hand out and open for Alex to dump the pills in them. He was solemn about it, as he was sure his dad would get mad at him, but he already used valium without permission so why would this be any different. Besides, he had to be drugged to be normal as is so really it shouldn’t be different. He just needed a little extra help so his meds could keep up. Maybe try a different type or higher dosage after this night ended. But for now, he brought his hand up and popped the pills into his mouth. He turned to the sink to scoop up water from the automatic faucet and downed the pills. Hopefully that helped.

“So you’re a druggie huh.” Seifer’s voice called from the door. Or rather there wasn’t really a door. It was more like a hallway into the men’s room.

Wiping the water from his mouth with his sleeve, Ven spoke up. “No, it’s not that. I was just trying to calm down a bit.”

“What? Is our generosity too scary for you or something?” The boy scoffed, scowl effectively dominant on his face.

“No” Ven pleaded again. “It’s not that, I’m just not used to people and I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh so you’re threatening us now?”

Scary. So scary. What to do?

He couldn’t think. The most he could want was for everything to stop. But then why wasn’t it happening?

“You need to leave before I call the police on you. Both of you.”

“I was just trying to make him feel better. He was freaking out.” Alex hissed back.

“Not my problem. Get out.”

With tears streaming down his face, Ven hung his head and moved passed the boy in the hallway. His pace picked up as he saw the rest of the party enjoying themselves for fear of interaction. A few looked at him. They looked about ready to speak so he took out his hearing aid, pocketed it, and brought his headphones to cup over his ears and put them on full blast as he sped out of the arcade.

He went from a fast walk to a full on sprint as he ran from the building and anyone that could follow him, wiping tears with his sleeves and sniffling on the way.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d ran, but he stopped at a clearing in the woods. He doubted they’d find him there if they even decided to look. Besides, the morphine was starting to kick in, and he was starting to feel a bit sluggish and dizzy so falling wasn’t actually part of the plan. It wasn’t all bad though. He actually felt pretty nice. Even through the nausea, he couldn’t complain, but maybe that was because the world was spinning. Easy fix.

Ven pulled the blindfold up from around his neck and secured it around his eyes, tightening it to better fit. That kinda helped. He wasn’t scared anymore. Or anxious. Or mad. He just felt a bit sick, but he was calm. Happy as he nuzzled against the now unseen grass. He gripped against it, snuggling against it as if it were his warm and comfortable bed. It was hard not to think he was already there honestly.

“Aren’t you going to kill them. Get revenge?”

Ven smiled, mouthing a quick and soft ‘no’ as he calmed further to slumber against the woodland floor.