Day 9 in August 17, 2017
Time: Unknown

James kept on laughing, half-crazed and mad, his fingers pointing at the paper exaggeratedly.

"The fuck? This is hilarous! Hey, guys-- yo, you seein' this?!" he wheezed out a question but no one answered.

Sammy was on the floor, Mark was staring off into the distant and Fei was floating out of her mind.

And just like that, everything took a skip.

They were now back in the clinic. By them, that means Mark and Fei only. They were sitting on their beds, still staring at nothing, their eyes catatonic and their body unmoving. The unseen sun of this world seemed like it was starting to dip into the equally unseen horizon, with the yellow light starting to get tainted with green and it turned into a darker shade as time passed.

Their sulking was interrupted when they heard James on his way to the clinic, his footsteps rhythmic and he was singing something, way too energetic for their situation.

They heard his footsteps stopped by the doorframe and a cake peeked in first, followed by his face that had an all too bright smile.

"Ta da!" he said, entering the room, giddy on his feet. "I got us a cake!" He pointed at it with his free hand as if it wasn't obvious, like he was modeling it, his lips still curved upwards. "Who wants a slice?" He asked, but no one answered. He was left hanging.

"Oh, come on guys! This is delicious. Oh, hey muse!" He snapped his fingers and dashed towards Fei, almost caking her face with the... cake. "Want me to spoonfeed you? Come on, it'll be great!"

"James," Fei called, but he didn't hear it.

"Don't worry I'll give you the biggest slice."

"James."

"Oh, shit! I forgot to bring a knife--"

"James!" he finally stopped when she tapped his hand. His eyes met hers and his mumblings droned off. "We're not hungry. But thank you, though," she said, voice gentle.

But it seemed like it didn't work and James took offense in it. His face turned into a snarl and he quickly stood up from her bed. "Fine! If you all don't want it, then don't!" he yelled at her and stormed out of the room, still carrying it in his hand. "Dumb fucks," he said lastly before slamming the door shut.

"He didn't have to be such a jerk about it," Mark said, his eyes staring at the door that had just been unceremoniously closed.

"Let's just... leave him be," Fei said and she stared at it too, hearing his rapid footsteps disappear into the hallways fast.

---------

"So, how did it go?" Sammy asked James once he entered the Principal's office. He was so pissed off about that cake that as soon as he arrived, he let it clatter down the desk, making it look like a big smudge of something, unrecognizable and disgusting.

He hated that cake, everytime he saw it, it reminded him of their fail attempts to save someone. Everybody worked hard, they even had a feast planned and everything but things never goes their way and now he felt like an idiot that he even wrote a congratulatory message on that cake for someone who didn't get to see it.

Before they went into battle he warned Laine not to waste everyone's effort and live. She said yes to that and he saw that she really did try to held up her part of the bargain. She really tried to live, she did her part, but they failed to do theirs.

Shit.

He dropped himself to the nearest couch he could find and scowled at nothing, his arms crossing on his chest.

"They said they didn't want it." He went back into topic and answered with a bite, his eyes trailing Sammy that had been gliding inside the room this whole time. She was starting to make him dizzy with all that circular movements.

"I told you so," she said and if he over analyzed it, he could hear that she was proud of it, her eyes not even opening completely as she twirled around the room with her hands in the air as if there was someone in front of her.

"What are you doing anyway?" he asked.

"Dancing," she said and she made another turn. "The winter ball is coming and I was assigned to teach a formal dance to the students. I'm just practicing it now."

James scoffed at that.

"Bold of you to assume that we'll get out of here."

"James," she called. "James."

"What?"

"We'll get out of here. Don't ever doubt that. I'd still get to teach this to the others and I'd still get to see you all three in formal dress and suits. It'll be beautiful and of course, Laine, Mae and Josh will be there too." She let out a giggle as she imagined all of them in sparkling dresses and the boys awkwardly standing to the sides, their lack of confidence making them look like a penguin rather than a gentleman. My oh my. She guessed she's gonna to have to help them out too.

"I don't mean to be rude but..." Sammy almost jumped when a hand met hers and another landed on her waist. When she opened her eyes completely, James came face to face with her, he fixed her hand on his shoulder and he carried her away with his swings. "Shouldn't you be planning right now, Prez? With all the bombing and all?" he asked, his eyes still on her, his feet surprisingly matching up to hers.

She just smiled at him and she hummed in contentment. She closed her eyes completely, letting James guide her as their movements melt into one. Her skirt swayed in the air, the silhuettes of their bodies made the light dwindle and their shadow danced with them, black against the green. "I decided to just be spontaneous about it," she answered simply.

"What? Would that even work?" he asked, surprised.

"Well, we had a plan earlier but did it work? I realized now, that this world doesn't have any rules to follow so any plan we make would just slip right through our fingers. I know that now and I had to learn that the hard way."

A single drop of tear glistened from the side of her eyes. It didn't fall but it dispersed when she twirled, glittering her eyelashes with it.

James saw all of it but he chose not to push anymore. He guessed if there's anyone here who blamed themselves the most, it'd be her. She was just great at hiding it. Way better than him.

"So, why did you decided to dance, anyway?" Sammy asked out of nowhere, her voice starting up with renewed energy. "It's not everyday you get to see the tough guy James dance," she joked, her voice gentle, not mocking.

"Well, there was someone I wanted to ask to dance to ball with me. It'd be great if I get to dance with her even just once," he said, a bit shy but trying the hardest not to show it.

If Sammy knew better-- which she was-- she wouldn't have pushed. But she decided to be spontaneous and how bad could it be?

"Want me to take a guess who it was?" She smiled at him, her stare had that underlying, "I know who it is" vibe that James suddenly got scared of her.
But he chose to play it cool--he had to save face dammit-- and just simply said: "No."

Back in the clinic, Mark and Fei was chatting idly about topics that came to mind. Anything at all. From the old cartoons they used to religiously watch daily as a kid, to ridiculous ways they could tell people about their misadventure in a different dimension. They could make a book out of this experience. Or maybe, just plain out telling it to the masses, but they quickly backed out of that idea because they might end up in medical facility. So, they just stuck to the book idea. They'd sell books about it and people will think it was some fiction even though it was not. Part of their autobiography would be screaming at people's faces but they'd still think it was a product of an imagination. Yes, they'd get millions of dollars out from it. Best selling.

Time dragged on and their voices started to drone off and Fei saw that Mark's eyes were starting to flutter, his frame swaying with fatigue.

She silently approached him and gently pushed him down the bed to lay down, he had been sitting there for a very long time and he had to take a rest even just for a bit--

"No!" Fei almost jumped when Mark screamed all of sudden. His eyes blinked only to come back bigger than before. His hand grabbed hers and he tensed his body, not letting it meet the sheets. "Don't," he said. "If you lay me down I don't know if I'll be able to get back up again." His voice was scared, it was urgent and it scared Fei. What did he mean by that? Won't get back up again?

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I just want you to take a rest."

"No. Just no." He shook his head." Just let me sit here.

Tears pricked at her eyes because of how terrified he was. What he meant by "not get back back again" she still didn't know, but she made her way around his request and tried to make things better.

"O-okay. Don't lay down. But atleast let me make it a bit comfortable. Here." She raised a pillow against the headboard of his bed and she tapped it, prompting him to lay his back against it. When he didn't move she guided him towards it. It was a painstakingly slow process but she was patient with it. She could see him biting his lips just to stifle a groan or a grunt and there was blood on his teeth when it had sunked in the insides of his mouth.

He was trying so hard not to show it but she didn't have the strength to point it out, so she just let it be.

She didn't notice that she was frowning until his bandaged hand landed on her face.

"Swoop!" he said and his hand came down from her forehead to her jaw. Her face was covered for a moment and when it showed again, and her eyes met his, his smile dropped and he frowned back.

"I thought I could wipe that frown off your face, but it ended up turning into a scowl instead." He laughed at her and his arms were in the air but it was interrupted with a cough, wet, hard and wrenching, it was like he was popping from the inside and he was hunched as it wrecked through him.

Fei's breath shook as she watched him cough painfully, tears welling up in her eyes. Her hand instinctively reached out for one of his bandaged hand that was in the air and she wrapped both her hands around it, gentle, her eyes scrutinizing it.

"What happened to you?" she asked and her voice breaking as she rubbed her hands on it, she carressed the reddening bandage there like it was her who was hurting and she couldn't help it anymore and tears swelled out of her eyes, small droplets made its way into the fabric, leaving gray dots on its surface.

"It looks like it hurt. Why are you trying so hard-- I'm hurting for you instead," she said and she full on hugged his arms, her face rubbing on it, like she was afraid it would be taken away.

Mark was watching her, he was looking down and his eyes were more scared than before. Because some things really hurt but the part that she was grabbing on now didn't hurt anymore. It had long been numbed, he couldn't feel it anymore and it was a struggle just moving it. He knew that was a bad sign. A very, very bad sign. Injuries hurt, pain was one thing but complete loss of feeling there was a whole new topic. And he was afraid to close his eyes because he might lose feeling of his body too. It had already happened to his arm, it was hard to move. Just imagine if it spread throughout his whole body.

It was terrifying.

It was death.

"It's fine." But still, he said that, a smile forming on his lips. "I just need to clean it up again. Rebandage it-- if it was the right word."

Fei didn't look like she believed him but she still nodded. She sniffed and went on ripping the end of her skirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked, eyes wide.

"We need something to use that will not be affected by the reset. We can't have you all wrapped up just for it to disappear on you when the time comes. This is the only spare fabric that I have and don't worry, I have enough. I have the longest skirt among all my classmates, after all." She looked up at him and she smiled. It was forced but he still took it.

She really did went on with it. She unwrapped his arms and head and renewed the bandages there. He thought he heard her gasp when she saw his wounds but he threw it off as a trick of the wind or something.

Just when they were about to get finished, James and Sammy came in and James pointed at them fast.

"Dude! What's with you and using girl's clothes as a bandage?" he asked, his voice exasperated and his pointing stance exaggerated.

Mark brandished a shit eating grin at him--yeah he was saving it for this moment-- and oh man, you should've seen James' face when Mark had sparked that on him.

"I don't know." He shrugged, still had that grin. "I guess girls just loves me that much," he said and James had almost jumped at him if Sammy hadn't held him back.

"Why you--" he was cut of when Sammy pulled his shirt back.

"Now, now James. Be nice," she said, going along with the piss-off-James games that Mark had started.

Everybody in the room snickered as James barked at slur of insults at Mark from the corner he was stuck in and Sammy was there as a fence between them.

Fei laughed too and when her eyes met Mark's he pulled at his coat.

He pushed it towards her and smiled. "Can you please give this to the President? She gave her shirt to me earlier and now she's left with nothing but that thin sleveless shirt. It must've been uncomfortable. And don't tell her this, but me and James could see her bra from all the way here because of how thin it was," he whispered at her and she just chuckled, her head shaking fondly.

"Alright," she said and she took it from him. Fei jumped off the bed and went for Sammy, talking to her about something that he couldn't hear from the side of the room he was in and he could see her draping his coat over her shoulders with Fei pointing at him and Sammy smiling back.

He smiled while watching them. Fei had finally made a friend on her own. The him from the past month would've laugh at the idea, but now, he knew better. And he could see it unfold before his very eyes.

He guessed he graduated from being her only friend. He thought he would get to keep her for himself but she was spreading out her wings now. And sooner or later, she would have less time with him, she would be busy hanging out with her new friends, but he would always be there. Always.

He sighed. Oh, how times had changed.

He was about relax for a bit when he heard another set of footstep approached him. When he turned his head, he saw that it was James and he had a serious look on him.

"Mark, can we talk?" he asked, his voice hushed, keeping their conversation as discreet as possible.

Mark's eyes returned the seriousness it received. He knew things are about to get rough and for the first time, James was the first one to make a move. This was when he realized, that starting now, things will get even worse, and whatever they'd talk about must remain a secret between the two of them.

He nodded at James.

"Sure. Let's talk."