I wake up to a group text going to everyone except for Kyle. It’s an invitation from Simon to have a meeting. He wants to meet today after school. I reply by saying that it would be great. It looks like all of us can go.

I get ready for school and grab my breakfast.

Eggs, again.

“So, Allen,” my mom says, “You stayed at a friend’s house the other night?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

She tears up.

“My little boy has friends!”

Ouch. But, I guess I never told her about them. Mom isn’t usually home after school, so I never bothered to tell her where I was. She would have never known that I was even out.

I haven’t had friends for a long time, so I see why she would have been worried about me.

“Yeah, I’ve made a lot of friends recently. Sarah, Dylan, Simon, Rachel, and Christina,” I left out Kyle on purpose. He made me mad the last time I saw him.

… am I petty?

“That’s so many! Good for you. You said Sarah’s name first…” She winks at me, “Is she special to you?”

I cough on the eggs I was eating.

“Mom! N-no of course not.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” She laughs, “But from that reaction…”

I glare at her with the meanest face I could muster.

“Right, right. But, you’re back in the game. Only a few months of school left before you graduate, but that’s plenty of time!”

Wow. I’m really close to being an adult. That’s… scary.

“So, whose house did you spend the night at?”

Uh… this could cause a misunderstanding.

“… Dylan’s?”

“That’s fun. I’m glad that you’re finally in the groove of socializing again. Don’t try to ‘set them straight’, you got it? That’s where your other friends went.”

Yeahhh, I did do that a lot. I’m still fixated on justice, but Dylan and Sarah haven’t bothered me yet. They seem to fit well with me. I won’t promise not to set them straight, but I believe that I won’t have to.

I pull out my phone and…

“Look at the time! Sorry, mom! I’m going to be late!”

My mom smiles at me, “Bike safe!”

I hop on my bike and pedal like I never have before!

After school, Dylan and Rachel go home on the bus and I stay with Sarah. I’m going to do it. I’m going to ask her on a date.

I talk with her on the way to her car.

“What’s your favorite genre of movie, Sarah?”

“… Horror, probably.”

Oh, I’m bad with horror.

“Horror movies are cool… want to go see one with me?”

She looks up at me and then quickly looks away to blush, “That sounds good.”

“How’s tomorrow? We’ll be hanging out with Simon and the other’s today.”

“That sounds good.”

“Do you have a certain one that you’d like to see?”

“That sounds good.”

“I think I broke her.”

She smiles and breaks into a laugh.

Mission success!

“Sweet! I’ll see you at the meeting!”

I sit on my bike and get ready to leave.

“Wait…” Sarah interrupts, “Do you… want to ride with me? You can put you bike on the back of my car.”

This is the best day of my life.

We ride to the meeting in mostly silence. Not an awkward one, I think. Just the typical silence you get with her. I understand now that she doesn’t always want to talk, so I’ll start conversations occasionally. If she doesn’t add much to it, I’ll leave her alone.

That sounds like she doesn’t want to talk to me, but I don’t want to misunderstand her. That would be the bad. She already unloaded all of her thoughts on me, the ones she didn’t want to tell anyone else. She trusted me because she believed that I wouldn’t misunderstand her. I need to live up to that.

Sarah is a person who doesn’t always enjoy social interaction, not because she dislikes the person talking to her, it’s just because she doesn’t feel like it. I can’t really understand that because I get really lonely, but I need to accept that part of her.

We arrive at the old school building and get out of the car.

We park in the same spot as always, a short walk from the actual building.

“Hey guys!” I say as I walk through the door.

Simon, Christina, Rachel and Dylan are already here. We were last to arrive.

“Welcome!” Simon greets us with a smile.

“Hey, why’d the two of you show up together?” Christina notices.

Why does she have to be so observant?!

“Well you see,” I begin, it’s already too late and I know it. Sarah can’t stop herself from blushing, that’s just how she is. There’s no reason to hide it, it’s just embarrassing. Actually, now that I think about it, would denying our relationship in front of Sarah be mean? This is a sticky situation. I guess I’ll tell the truth, “I asked her out on a date.”

Dylan’s the only one who showed even relative surprise.

Christina looked really happy, “Good goin’ girl!”

Simon too, “Congratulations!”

Wait, did they already know Sarah liked me? Was it that obvious? Or maybe they were just happy for her, but it sounds to me like they knew already.

Dylan was confused, “Wait. You two are like, dating now?”

“Heh heh heh,” I nervously laugh. It may be awkward for Dylan from now on, “Yeah, I guess so.”

Sarah looks at the ground and doesn’t make eye contact with anyone. I hope I made the right decision.

“Wow, that was sudden. But, congrats guys.”

Christina looks excited for this drama, “Have you been on a date yet? When was it?”

“Not yet. We’re going to see a movie tomorrow.”

“Ah, I see, I see. You love birds have fun!”

Again, as weird as she said that, I really can’t deny it. If I do, it would be kinda mean to Sarah. Christina is really good at making the most of this opportunity. She’s messing with us hard.

“Anyway,” I try to change the topic, “What’s up with you guys?”

“Not much,” Simon says, “We’re preparing for our finals at school, they’re coming fast. They even gave us some kind of packet.”

“You’re still a junior, right?” Lucky. I envy that right now.

“Yeah, I’m only a year younger.”

Christina goes pale, “I forgot about the finals. I haven’t studied at all! I might fail.”

Simon pats her on the back.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. We could hold a group study session, that would be fun!”

“I’m all for it,” Dylan says. He’s probably behind in his studies too.

Actually, I haven’t studied either. I’m smarter than Dylan, but I still really should study.

I’m sure Sarah has it covered though. Her and Rachel might not even need to study! I guess I don’t know if Rachel is smart, but she gives off smart vibes.

“Guys, I hate to do this, but I have to go for now. I’ll come back, but I left all of my textbooks at school. I’m going to need them this weekend, so hopefully the school hasn’t locked it’s doors yet. I’ll try to be fast!” Christina says as she hurries out the door.

“Bye!” Simon shouts to her.

“… Can you tell us more about Christina?” Sarah quietly says, “She’s one of the few people I don’t know that much about yet. She seems a lot like Dylan, but I haven’t heard too much from her.”

I guess we really don’t know much about her. I wasn’t really thinking about it, but Sarah’s right. She must’ve had it on her mind for a while, she said it right after Christina left.

“Hm…” Simon thinks for a moment, “She talks big, but she’s a small person. Not in a bad way! She just isn’t too strong on her own. That’s why I need to be there for her.”

That’s really sweet. The cute little Simon looks out for the significantly bigger and tougher Christina. It seems like the opposite on the surface.

“That’s really nice,” Dylan says.

“Yeah, she’s great. She’s funny and talkative and is always looking out for me. Well, she tries to, but all she can really do to look out for me is make sure nobody is mean to me. I don’t have any enemies anyway, so it’s not super helpful,” Simon looks up and smiles brightly, “But, I really appreciate her.”

Man, I really hope that Christina is hiding behind the door, listening. This is so heartwarming.

I wonder what Christina’s Delusion is. The fact that she has one means there’s got to be a little more to her, right?

“Sounds more like you two are dating than Allen and Sarah,” Dylan remarks.

Simon’s cheeks go a little rosy and he looks at the table, “N-no! We aren’t.”

“I know, I know,” Dylan winks, “I’m just teasing ya.”

“Hey!” Simon’s cheeks puff out and he pouts at Dylan.

We all laugh at Simon’s expense. Although, he laughs too so it’s all in good fun.

We continue to chat for awhile and mess around. Eventually Christina returns with her textbooks and throws her arm over Simon’s shoulder.

“I’m back! You wouldn’t believe how close I cut it.” Christina says.

I can’t help but smile at seeing Christina hanging off of Simon. It’s so adorable now.

Our little meeting continued until the sun began to set. There were plenty of laughs and we had a great time. Dylan eventually needed to go and everyone began to leave.

First it was Dylan and then Rachel, and then Christina and Simon, leaving me alone with Sarah.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask.

“Of course.”

We both get in her car and begin to drive back to my place. I don’t really know much to say to her, so the car drive is mostly quiet.

You know what? I could use some music right now.

“What type of music do you listen to, Sarah?”

“… Probably indie rock or alternative rock.”

“That’s a pretty good choice. Want to listen to some?”

Sarah always kept her radio off. She probably prefers the silence.

“Sure.”

She turns to her favorite station and some music begins to play. She keeps it at a relatively low volume.

One of her favorite songs come on and I can just barely hear her singing along.

“We’re here.”

“Thanks for driving and I can’t wait for our… date tomorrow.”

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it,” She smiles.

I unpack my bike and walk through my door.

I pop a frozen dinner in the microwave and wait for it to cook. I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going to be great, I hope.

“Knock Knock Knock”

It hasn’t been long, I wonder if it’s Sarah.

I open the door and Sarah looks up at me.

“Sorry I already came back. I forgot to tell you something.”

That’s peculiar, “What is it?”

“Well, my phone broke and I just got a new one. It has a new number, I wanted to tell you so that you’ll know if I text you.”

“Oh, alright. What’s your number?”

“Here, can I see your phone?”

Well she isn’t too talkative, maybe she doesn’t want to say every number.

I hand her my unlocked phone on the contacts app.

She types quickly and hands my phone back with her updated contact.

“Thanks.”

“Of course! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The door shuts and she’s already gone.

That was interesting.

***

Saturday

I wake up on Saturday and I’m ready for our date! I can hardly contain my excitement.

I am worried too though, what if it goes poorly?

All I can do is believe that it will go well.

I shower, pick out the perfect dress, and do my makeup. I need to look good for our date.

“Pling”

That must be from Allen.

“I’m ready for our date! Just confirming that you can make it.”

“Of course. I’ll be there.”

After I finish getting ready, I grab my car keys and walk out the door. My parents aren’t home, as usual, so I simply leave without anyone to say ‘goodbye’ to.

On my way, I listen to my favorite song and try to calm down. This is going to be great! My first ever date.

I’d never listen to this song in front of Allen, or anyone else. It’s a bit embarrassing. My taste is very different.

“You look great, Sarah,” Allen compliments me as I meet him in the theater.

That makes me so happy. I’m really glad he said that, “Thank you. You look great too.”

We order some popcorn and take our seats.

The movie plays like any other horror movie. It’s decent but the plot isn’t amazing. It’s about a mad scientist who sacrifices everything to bring his dead wife back. He only ends up creating a monster that haunts him. There were plenty of holes in the plot and the characters were decent at best, but I watched it with Allen.

Actually, the effects were really good. The scary elements were even enough to bother a horror veteran like me. Allen must be great with horror too. He never even jumped once.

As we walk out from the theater, “That was a pretty good movie, right Sarah?”

“Yeah. I enjoyed it a lot.” That isn’t even a lie. Despite being a mediocre all around movie, being able to watch it with Allen made it amazing.

“I’d ask if you wanted to come back to my place, but my parents are still there. I’m sure they’d bother us. Would it be alright if I went to your place?”

“W-w-what?!” I couldn’t control my voice. How bold! I never would have thought him the type, not that I dislike it, “I-I guess so.”

“I don’t have to if you don’t w-”

“No! You should come… back to my place.”

Eek! I’m so nervous. He’s so bold all of a sudden. What’s he going to do?

We enter my house and I escort him to my room. I feel like any other room would be a little strange. Although bringing him to my bedroom when no parents are home sounds scandalous.

I walk him into the room and turn on the light. He shuts the door behind us.

“H-how do you like my room?” I sit down on my bed.

“It’s pretty,” He sits close beside me.

“…” I can’t think of any words to say. My heart is beating so fast.

He stands up and starts to walk around, looking on the tops of my counters, “It’s really spacious. My room is much smaller.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“So… what ever happened to your gem?”

Excuse me? That’s a weird thing to ask in this mood.

I open a drawer and take out the clear gem. After losing my Delusion, it became clear like glass. All of the glitter and light inside disappeared.

“Oh wow,” He picks it up out of my hands.

“U-um.”

I guess he took it. I can’t get my words out to ask what he wanted it for.

He examines the gem and after a second it begins to glow.

Wait.

That’s not right.

Something is wrong. It has been for a while. All of this is weird.

The glassy gem between Allen’s fingers begins to sparkle with every color of the rainbow.

“Thank you, Sarah. You’ve been a great help to me,” A familiar voice speaks.

It sounds familiar, but I can’t outright tell who it is. It takes me a second to realize, Rachel. I could only figure it out by process of elimination.

“W-what’s going on!” I demand.

But, I already knew. It was obvious now. Too obvious.

Rachel just obtained her third gem.

If the gem wasn’t there when Kyle disposed of the body, there was still one person who could have taken it behind my back. Rachel. I was distracted by both Dylan and Allen dying. She could’ve easily raided Luke’s corpse.

“You’re smart. I’m sure you figured it out. Now, you are a witness of my crime, but killing is wrong. I have a different plan for you.”

Allen’s face and body shift back to that of a female. The body of Rachel. For some reason, her eyes remain brown. Didn’t she have blue eyes?

I try to sound calm despite my dangerous situation, “Your eyes. You forgot to change them to blue.”

“Is that so…” She blinks and upon reopening her eyes, they become blue again.

“I see… Rachel doesn’t look like that, does she?”

She glares at me. I must be striking a weak point.

I, myself, am weak. I don’t even have invisibility anymore. I have no hope of leaving here unless I use my brain. I need to hit her were it hurts, in her mind. Maybe I can somehow distract her so that I can escape. If not, I’m done for.

I continue my observation, “Yes… Who knows what Rachel looks like? If not even Rachel does, then who- what even are you? A monster! That’s what!”

She stares me down angrily. She really doesn’t know what she looks like anymore? What a fate. I almost feel bad for her.

After shape shifting, unless you perfectly remember what you look like, you can never go back. After shifting a large amount of times, there’s no doubt you’d be different. To completely forget who you were? She must have been shifting her whole life. Even before we got the gems.

I hate to sound like Kyle but, metaphorically, of course.

As I taunt her, I begin to circle around her to the door.

“Your Delusion is obvious! You’re an open book,” This is hard, I usually don’t talk so much, but my life depends on it, “You’re ‘two faced’! Right? A filthy liar who doesn’t have a personality of their own. No wonder you’re popular at school. You just say whatever the other person wants to hear, right?”

“No! You’re wrong!” She closes her eyes tightly and grits her teeth in frustration.

Now’s my chance.

I dart for the door.

“Hey!”

She’s right behind me.

I throw the door open and it smashes into the wall.

My heart is beating faster than ever. Even on my date with Allen. Oh, I guess that wasn’t him, huh?

My legs can hardly keep up. I need to be faster! I’m much shorter than Rachel, but the adrenaline is keeping me in the competition.

My breaths become heavy as I get to the front door. Rachel is practically right behind me.

I swing open the door and take a step out.

Uh oh.

Something grabs my leg and I fall straight forwards.

Thud.

My head slams against the metal on the bottom of the door way.

Blood runs down my forehead.

I… need to… get away!

It becomes increasingly harder to think as fear engulfs my vision.

“No! AAAAA!” I scream as loud as I can.

No one will come, will they?

I turn around to see Rachel standing several feet back. Her arm that grabbed my leg stretched out like some kind of dough. You’ve got to be kidding me. I never even stood a chance.

She really is… a monster.

Her arm begins to retract and pull me with it. I desperately try to hold onto everything as I pass by in vain.

I’m helpless. My brain can only take me so far.

Rachel lifts me up effortlessly. Does shape shifting give monstrous strength too? Can she even create stronger muscles in her arm?

She puts her hands around my throat, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Killing is wrong. I’ll just knock you out and hide you somewhere until I’ve obtained the rest of the gems.”

As my oxygen is cut off, I feel true fear for the first time.

I stare into Rachel’s empty, fake eyes. She’s a complete monster who isn’t even human anymore. Her body isn’t composed a normal way, it’s not right!

Does that mean I wasn’t human until I lost my power? Is this what Delusions really are? Is Allen human?

Allen?

Allen.

Allen!

My mind can only think one last thing before I can no longer stay conscious.

“Save me… Allen.”