A/N
I didn't post yesterday's chapter because I fell asleep, sorry. Here's two to make up for it.

——

Just what in the hell is happening? Why is it that I can't tell the difference between reality and delusion? What did those twins do to me!

I was waking up for school but then the next thing I know, I'm in Kage's house. He put a few more holes in me then I was on my way to school.

And now the biggest delusion yet, I'm chasing Cody and he's running away like death is at his heels. Like come on!

"Get your ass back here!" I screech after him.

"You're going to kill me!"

"Why am I going to kill you!"

"Because I told your m-dad!"

"What?" I stop running, close to slamming into his back when he suddenly stopped.

"I told your dad everything. I told him how much you hate him. How much you despise him. I told him you wanted him dead. You were glad you didn't have to get your hands dirty for it."

"Cody?"

He turns around but it's not him. It's Kage.

"Kage? How did you find me?"

I glance around at the trees standing so tall and close together that they seem to have no way of exit.

"You can't run from me, Jackie. You're mine now."

His face takes up all of my vision. All I can see is him. He's intimidating. Terrifying.

"Please don't. Don't tell anyone," I beg.

"It's too late. I already told everyone."

Kage disappears and I'm standing in the centre of an old classroom. Primary school kids stand in a circle around me. They're pointing at me. They have their other hand covering their mouths that I know are grinning but I can still see their happy eyes.

"Stop laughing! It's not my fault!"

"Did your mommy tell you that?" One of the kids steps forward, uncovering his mouth.

"Yes, so what?" My voice sounds younger.

I look down at my hands and see that my whole body has shrunken. I'm even dressed in my old school uniform from primary school.

"Jack-ie! Jack-ie!" the class starts chanting my nickname.

"Jackie is a liar. He made his dad die and his mom cry. His real mom is somewhere far, uncaring about him. Poor little Jackie. No wonder you lost too."

"What did I lose?"

They're all laughing.

"What did I lose!"

Their laughing is loud. Too loud for me to make sense of my surroundings anymore.

"Tell me!"

"Jack! Wake up!"

I stare up into the blurry face of Mikhail. His face is scrunched up with worry. He looks scared. He looks regretful.

"Mikhail? When did you get here?"

I look around the room we're in. It's dark and dusty. It's the old storage room in the school that no one uses because of the rumors of it being haunted.

"I'm so sorry, Jackie. I didn't think it would affect you. It only affects people with a depressing personality ... or so I thought. Jackie. Please tell me what you're seeing."

"What are you talking about? Mikhail, did you do something?"

"You're having this nightmares, right? Involving traumatic experiences, right?"

"... You're a wizard, Mikhail."

"Are you seriously trying to joke in a situation like this?" he snaps.

"Like I've said before. Comedy is the only thing I've got going for me. So it's you who is putting me through t-this hell!" I shout dramatically.

"Can you stop? This is serious."

"Mikhail. Mik ... hail! Make this stop Mik-hail."

"Stop quoting memes and shut the hell up. I'm trying to help you."

"Do it faster! I've been seeing way too many Kages than necessary," I groan.

Mikhail suddenly gets angry and punches his fist through an old moldy crate that was conveniently just there for the perfect dramatic effect. Actually. Couldn't the spores in here kill us? Is this how I'm going to die?

"Goddamn finally," I mutter.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just leave me behind. I'm weak anyway."

"Jack. I am begging you to stop."

"It's time to stop! I actually think I'm getting high off the spores."

"Stop breathing them in then!"

"That's like telling me not to breathe! Bitch, just tell me to up and die already!"

"Please don't die."

"You have a heart," I coo happily.

"I don't want the lasting guilt that comes with it as well as the cops coming after me."

"Tell me about it." Mikhail frowns at my comment. "I mean the guilt part. I'm not in jail ... yet."

He sighs. "You are one crazy asshole."

"Feeling pretty crazy right now. These spores, man."

"You know, your constant stream of rubbish makes me want to kill myself."

"Double suicide," I gasp. I'm already planning out the ways we could possibly die together.

Maybe we just die from these spores in each other's arms. Or maybe, I can hold onto him and we'd fly up to space and scatter into little frozen pieces. We could sparkle, baby!

"Please get out your head."

"I can't help it. Theme on point."

"I don't want to know. What I want to know now is why you aren't going back to normal."

"Pfft, normal."

"Jackie."

"Space Man."

"What?"

"It's my superhero name."

"You save people?"

"Why don't you ask about my powers first? Everyone just has to nitpick about the hero part."

"That's the whole point of being a superhero."

"I haven't saved anyone yet but I plan to." I throw my hands up towards the dusty brown ceiling. "I'm going to save the entire world one day."

"You're a dreamer." He smiles. "Dreamers die."

"And that's why I'm suicidal." I smile up at him.

"I don't know why it isn't working."

"What do you do usually?"

"I touch their arm and think 'Stop' or something like that."

"Sounds like a floppy power if you ask me."

"It's not a power. It's a curse. Put on me by some-"

"Random old lady from the woods?"

"No, my-"

"Mother who is a witch."

He slams a hand over my mouth. "My friend from my previous school who does have powers."

"Diphant thingh tha wath pothibel." (Translation: 'Didn't think that was possible.')

"I'm stuck like this forever because of some jealousy."

I take his hand away. "Sounds like a hot love life you have."

"And I never had sex since. Wait, no! Stop pulling me along your thought stream! I need to fix you!"

"I don't think that's something you can do," I advise.

"Not that. The nightmares. Whenever I touch someone with a negative outlook on life, they have constant waking nightmares until they die."

"Then it's fine. I'm going to die soon anyway."