█▓▒▒░░░ SWORDS AND MAGIC ░░░▒▒▓█

“Guys, huge problem!” Jerry shouted as he rushed into the dojo. Olivia was quick to stop stretching in worry, turning to her Latino friend. Before she could ask about what was wrong, he spoke up again. “Kelsey Vargas, the coolest girl in school, is on her way down here.”

“Don't panic, we've trained for this.” Pausing, Olivia glanced over to Kim, seeing the confused and almost dazed expression on her face. She was sure her own looked similar to it. “Guys, bust out the emergency deodorant.”

Jack, Eddie, and Milton all took off at a sprint towards their lockers.

“I don't need deodorant.” Jerry rolled his eyes, arms spread out in a v-shape from his waist, showing off his hairy underarms with pride.

“We all need deodorant. We're teenage boys.” Milton sassed as he rolled his eyes and popped open the tube he had. “Our bodies are a smorgasbord of smells.”

“Miltons right on that one,” Olivia smirked as she nodded from her spot beside Kim. The girl beside her raised her hand in a fist, to which Olivia bumped hers against Kim's.

Jerry furrowed his eyebrows, seeming confused at Milton's big words. Olivia didn't bother saying she didn't understand the word 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥 either.

“I don't take any chances.” Eddie chimed in, “I'm wearing a necklace of air fresheners right now.”

Eddie pulled out a bunch of blue tree-shaped papers that were strung together under his bright yellow shirt. Olivia scrunched up her nose as he took a deep whiff.

“This week in Alpine Meadow.” He grinned, braces displaying themselves.

Jerry gave him a disturbed look before shaking his head and turning towards the girls. “I told Kelsey I was a Martial Arts expert and the youngest sensei in history.”

Kim gave him an unimpressed side eye with her hands on her waist as Olivia patted Jerry on the shoulder in mock sympathy. Kim walked away as their Sensei walked up to the Latino boy with a red helmet.

“Oh, Rudy, Kelsey's on her way – dude, please hook me up with that black belt.”

Rudy looked down, lightly grabbing the fabric around his waist, “You can't have this belt. It's a symbol of hard work, honor, and respect.”

Jack — wearing an orange shirt with the top two of four buttons undone, sleeves bunched up, and some dark gray sweats — walked up to them, speaking up.

She couldn't help but look him over, eyes landing on his bare neck. The space looked empty and she couldn't help but think that a necklace would look good on him.

“Well, then why do you use it to walk your dog?” Jack smirked as Rudy quickly spun around as an outraged look formed on Jerry's face at the words. Olivia let out a small gasp in shock.

“That was one time and it was an emergency.” Rudy held out his index finger in front of his face. “I had a pug with the squirts and new white carpet.”

“You have a dog and didn't tell me?” Olivia whined as she pouted. Rudy slightly winced, knowing she would be upset by not meeting the animal.

Jack's look of disgust from Rudy's words changed and he gave Olivia something that resembled puppy dog eyes and a small, barely there smile.

“Look, can we stop talking and get to sparring, please?” Rudy cut off the conversation. “Jerry, you're up against Kim. Eddie, you're with Milton. Olivia, you're with Jack.”

Olivia couldn't help but grin at his words, quickly turning to Jack, only for him to already have his eyes on her from the other side of the mat.

She blushed at the eye contact and looked down, quickly rushing to his side. He smirked and sent her a wink, “Don't worry, I'll take it easy on-”

Olivia didn't let him finish before she had already rushed him, sliding to the ground and kicking out his feet from under him. Her leg made contact with the back of Jack's lower calves, and the boy instantly started to fall backward with a loud cry.

Having been too focused on talking, Jack didn't expect the sudden movement, his body hitting the floor with a grunt, allowing Olivia the time to move back to him, straddling his waist to pin Jack to the ground. The palms of her hands pushed down on his shoulders, his pliant body following her movements without resistance.

She grinned down at him, her face-framing bangs falling from her loose braid as he grinned up at her, seeming proud despite having lost the sparring match.

“What'd you do that for?” He whispered up at her, eyes shining in the light as they flickered between her own, hands landing inches above her knees, absentmindedly.

She shrugged down at him, “I wanted to wipe that smirk off your face.”

Her words caused his grin to widen. Deciding that her actions didn't have the effect she wanted on him — that of being speechless — she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.

His face fell, eyes going wide and lips parting in shock as his face turned a bright shade of pink, painting his cheeks, ears, and even trailing down his neck. His eyes stayed trained on her as his face shifted into one similar to awe.

Focused on the moment, Olivia didn't notice the sound of the door opening nor the new voice starting to talk until Jerry also got flipped by a different blonde and landed on the floor a few steps away.

Olivia gasped as she looked up at Kim, noticing her wide grin. With one more quick glance at Jack, the girl hopped off him and stood back up to distract herself from blushing as well. The girl — whom Olivia assumed was Kelsey — grimaced as she stared down at Jerry's crumbled form, having obviously realized he wasn't as good as he had said.

Jerry swayed as he stood back up, “Yeah, I'd say you've got that move down pretty well.”

Curling into himself, Jerry let out a groan that sounded far too close to a gag for Olivia's liking as he rapidly blinked. Olivia took a step back as her nose curled, almost feeling nauseous from the sound alone.

“Uh, you guys take a five.” Turning to where the girl and Rudy stood, he spoke up again. “Kelsey and I are going to get a froyo.”

Stumbling forward, gear still on his head, Jerry grabbed his Sensei instead of his date and started walking towards the door. A baffled laugh spewed out of Olivia's mouth as Jack finally stood back up. Kelsey looked astonished, the arm Jerry was supposed to take was still hovering in the air as Olivia quickly rushed after Jerry to tell him he had the wrong person under his arm.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Olivia sat on the school stairs, her new camera hanging around her neck, drawing as all of her friends — minus a certain redhead — sat around, talking about what happened at the dojo that day. Her attention turned as a weak kazoo echoed in the hall, laughs following. She looked up in time to see Milton dressed up as a king, wearing lots of yellow and orange hues with tight white leggings underneath.

Olivia couldn't help but smile at the boldness of Milton. While Olivia never went to school dressed up, she still joined Milton in his games. Thankfully, he understood the laughs that followed him around would bother her more than it does himself and never pressured her to wear anything she wasn't comfortable with.

“All hail Miltonius!” He shouted as he raised his staff in the air. “The newly crowned king of N𝘦𝘳nia!”

“N𝘢𝘳nia.” Olivia corrected his pronunciation.

“𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢!” Milton repeated the word correctly, as if he hadn't messed up. With a grin, Milton turned to his friends. Her heart warmed at the happiness on his face, deciding to raise her camera and snap a shot of him before his heart got stomped on by everyone around him.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵?

“You see, Milton.” Jack sighed as he stood up and walked over. “This is the reason you had to go to spring formal with the biolab skeleton.”

Offense covered Milton's face as he turned to the brunette of the group, “I’ll have you know that Bonita is an excellent dancer.”

Olivia paused as she registered the name that fell out of Milton's mouth. Giggles flooded her as she grinned, catching the attention of her friends. “𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦-ita” she giggled as she pointed her finger at Milton. “I get it.”

“Hey, I know what's going on.” Eddie chimed in from afar, head nodding in realization. “It's that time of year when all the dorks come out to play 𝘚𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 in the park.”

Olivia frowned at the title, noting the mocking tone used at the word dork. It was the same one people often used when she got called a freak or weirdo.

“Or if it rains, we use the bingo hall at the senior center.” Milton nodded with a tight lipped smile, seeming unaffected while Olivia frowned in discontent. “We tear it 𝘶𝘱.”

Before anyone else could say anything, a voice called Jerry's name from behind Milton — who was roughly shoved to the side. Olivia whispered her ginger-haired friend's name, his attention turning to her. She didn't say anything, just held up her camera and shook it a little for him to see.

He grinned in return and quickly posed like royalty as Olivia giggled and took a few shots. The conversation with Kelsy, however, didn't seem to work out and Milton turned back to the group as Olivia lowered her camera, making a reminder to sketch him in the outfit in a forest setting.

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬?

“This year, you all are gonna participate in the battle with me.” Milton grinned and cradled his staff to his chest. Olivia could tell he was happy the people he loved could be involved this year.

“What happened to your other friends?” Kim chimed in, her southern accent poking out. “You know, the ones that throw up when I try to talk to ‘em?”

“Well, this year things are a little complicated.” Miton frowned. “Francis has a bassoon recital, Jeffery is a finalist in the mathlympics, and Louis got grounded for teaching his cockatiel bad words.”

Before anyone could say anything else Olivia loudly gasped and stood up. Everyone turned towards her, including a few people around them. “He taught his bird bad words and didn't send me a video?”

Milton nodded sadly, “Yeah, I'm sorry you had to find out this way.”

Olivia pouted and hung her head, “I’m used to that boy's constant disappointment.”

Jerry interrupted them as he spoke up, pointing at Milton's outfit, “Dude, we're not gonna be part of your nerdfest.”

“Very funny, Jerry. 𝘕𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵 is in Minneapolis in October.” Milton shook his head in disbelief, unable to tell he was being insulted.

“See, Milton, a bunch of dudes in tights, running around the woods, beating each other senseless with foam swords? Not our thing.” Jack tensely smiled.

Olivia frowned at his words before she spoke up, her head tilted to the side. “I don't wear tights.”

Everyone fell quiet for a moment, slowly turning to her.

“What?” Jack questioned. Olivia shrugged in response. “I don't wear tights. Mainly corsets and skirts.”

“Wait–” Eddie spoke up. “You're in on this freakshow?”

Olivia flinched at the word, a blush coating her cheeks as she grew hot and took a glance at her shoes in embarrassment. “It's not a 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 and yes. It's actually fun.” She shrugged again, fiddling with her fingers. “I get to dress up as a fantasy character, make myself look pretty, and beat some people up. I don't really get how that's 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘺, but it's fun.”

Milton grinned, “Liv 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 has the best costumes. She uses the clothes in her wardrobe instead of a bought costume and her makeup is always 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 since she's really good at art.”

Olivia blushed at the words, hair falling in her face as Milton continued. “I mean, the opposing team even takes a moment to give her compliments, and they're our 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴.”

No one spoke up for a moment, all of them staring at her in shock. Before she could get into it, Milton spoke. “Look it's my thing — 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 — and I wanna share this moment with my best friends. That's you guys.”

“I don't know,'' Eddie said as he stood up, “I just quit the cello and threw out my panda bear backpack. I'm just starting to get cool!”

Olivia frowned at his lack of care. It honestly hurt that her friend cared more about what other people thought about him. For a moment she was angry before she paused, realizing she does the exact same thing more often than Eddie.

“Come on, just give it a chance.” Milton pleaded. “Soon, you’ll know the exhilaration of bounding down a hill–” Olivia disregarded his words as her friends slowly stood up, sharing a look with each other before starting to creep away.

She knew hurt was apparent on her face as she made eye contact with Jack. He paused before Olivia shook her head and waved him off, walking up to Milton. She cut him off as she grabbed his elbow. “Milton.”

“All for one and–oh… they… left.”

Olivia could almost cry at the heartbroken look on his face. She gave him a smile of understanding as he stared in the direction they walked away in.

With wet eyes, he turned to Olivia and gave her a tight smile, his bottom lip having a minuscule tremble. “Well, at least I still got you.”

Olivia smiled sadly, “You'll always have me, Milton.”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

“I can't believe our own friends bailed on us.” Milton sighed as he paced in the Dojo. He, Olivia, and Rudy were the only people there as Milton rattled off about his upset feelings.

“I don't know–” Rudy started as he folded a pale yellow towel. “Running around in the woods, beating other dudes senseless with foam swords?” Rudy shook his head. “That just sounds like a good time to me!”

Olivia beamed at her sensei's smile. “You should join us!” She chimed in, lightly kicking her feet from where she sat on the bench in the dojo. Rudy's smile widened as she looked over at her. “I just might.”

“I even rented costumes for them.” Milton pouted. Olivia nodded along, “I was going to let Kim borrow my princess costume from last year.”

“Which was a great costume by the way.” Milton pointed over at her. She blushed at his words and muttered a quiet 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 to him.

“You know what? I love stuff like this.” Rudy smiled at Milton as he turned to him, pausing from the work he was doing.

Milton pointed at him a few times, “Are you saying you'll go into battle with us?”

“It would be an honor, my lord.” Rudy smiled and bowed with his arms at his sides.

“Wow. You may be one of the only real friends I have.” Olivia frowned at his words but quickly stood up as Milton grabbed a bow staff, bouncing over to stand by his side.

“With this bo staff, dub thee, Rudy, my faithful squire–” Olivia nudged him at his words and Milton rolled his eyes. “Fine, I dub thee, my faithful knight.”

Rudy gasped at his words, the bo staff tapping each of his shoulders. “I can't believe it! I'm a knight! I'm a knight! I'm a knight!” Rudy clamped his hands together as he bounced in his place, Milton and Olivia grinning at his enthusiasm.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Rudy walked in front of Milton and Olivia as they ventured into the forest.

Thanks to Olivia swaying Milton's decision, Rudy was now dressed up as a knight of Camelot — An outfit Olivia had due to being a fan of the medieval era — with chain link armor, a pauldron over one shoulder that covered the right side of his chest, and a red cape with a dragon symbol embedded in it. He had a lightweight, dull sword that Olivia often used due to the fact it wasn't meant to hurt anyone.

Even as the three walked the treacherous path alone, there was still a sharp pain in her chest. For once, however, it wasn't due to anxiety but hurt. Not the physical type when you over-exhaust yourself running and the side of your ribcage hurts but the pain of rejection that constantly throbbed and would resurface if the world got too quiet.

“Hey,” a voice called out. Olivia turned to Rudy from where he walked on the other side of Milton in the triangle formation they had naturally shifted into, armor occasionally clinging as he stepped. She could see Milton tilt his head over at her, seeming interested in what the older man was to say next.

“Get out of your head, will ya? I can practically hear the gear turning up there.” Her nose scrunched up as a tan finger reached out and poked her forehead, making her slightly stagger backward.

The young blonde muttered a quiet apology in response, resisting a flinch as a turkey leg was half shoved in her face, the left side already missing quite a few chunks. “Here, have some meat! A nice juicy leg always makes me happy.” Milton grinned from the few paces in front of the duo.

Holding back her grimace, Olivia smiled at her ginger friend and took a bite that was half reluctant.

“Mmm. Delicious.” She forced a smile as she chewed, sending Rudy a glare as he giggled under his breath.

Olivia looked back down, becoming so refocused on making sure she did not trip over a root with the thick heels she wore that she did not notice the look exchanged by the two guys — well, technically more of a boy and manchild — nor the fact that they had arrived at their desired destination until she was approaching a different and far curlier headed ginger who was dressed as a wizard.

The boy who stood on higher ground was accompanied by a much larger group than their own, made up of a king and knights alike.

“So, where is this big loyal arm you've been bragging about?” questioned the boy dressed up as a king. Others, such as the redhead wizard mimicked his words and asked similar questions.

“They're just late, they probably got lost in the woods or something. They'll be here… They have to be.” Olivia spoke up, her voice laced with hesitance, doubt worming its way from her mouth as she continued to talk, seeming unable to believe her own words.

Sidney gave an evil, and honestly not intimidating in the slightest, chuckle as he glanced behind him for support. Others were quick to join in as Olivia hung her head in embarrassment, a blush creeping onto her face.

“Who am I fooling?” she muttered to herself.

“Stick to fashion, sweetheart. That's something you ladies can actually understand.” He laughed. The flush grew more as she glanced down at her outfit, rapidly growing self-conscious. The outfit she had once found cute now appeared scarce and left her vulnerable with no fabric to hide behind.

She sniffed as she rethought her look, a beige and silk skirt that reached mid-thigh and was accompanied with tight running shorts underneath in the same color. Paired with a sage green and beige corset and white heels with pearl straps and a bow on the back of each shoe. Glancing down at them, she frowned at the mud that was splattered across them.

Sure, she had already planned on cleaning them as soon as she got back but now she was thinking it might have been a foolish decision. An unsure hand rose to briefly touch her hair that was twisted into elegant braids with delicate flower clips and strings of jewels, the pads of her fingers soon drifted towards her face, feeling the smooth makeup of lilies on her face. Tears burned her eyes as the cool porcelain of her earrings brushed her skin.

She had spent hours on this.

“I got this, Your Highness.” Rudy spoke as he stepped forward and lightly pushed Milton and Olivia behind him. “Yeah, we may be outnumbered, but my king has the heart of a lion, our fairy has the grace of a hummingbird, and I have the speed of a-a-uh…”

The adult trailed from his motivational speech in contemplation, unable to think of his next words. “You know, those animals with the pointy ears and they're really fast?” Hand motions similar to horns accompanied his words as he jabbed them in the air.

“Uhh, gazelle?”

“Yeah…No, no. They're skinny and they don't exactly run as much as they just bound and they go grrr.”

A giggle escaped the girl's lips at her senseis animation of an unknown animal. Milton was quick to interrupt him and step forward in an attempt to realign the conversation. “Let's just go over the rules. One, the first team to capture the other's grail and place it on the pedestal of glory next to their own is the winner.”

The king was quick to continue as her friend took a step back, wanting the opposing team to prove they were on the same page as to how you play the game.

“Rule two, if you get struck in the chest, you're out.”

Rudy took that exact moment to blurt out, “Cheetah!”

Everyone paused as they slowly turned to him, all wearing a mask of confusion or appall. The blue-eyed man only blankly stared before he panicked, “Sorry, it was the animal I was thinking of earlier. It just popped into my head, I… Sorry, keep going.”

Unable to stop the attention from changing to her, Olivia let out a loud belt of laughter, turning her back on the other team as she gripped her stomach and slightly bent over. Unable to focus on whatever was being said, tears welled in her eyes as she took a deep breath of air to try and stop the burning sensation in her lungs.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The teams were quick to split up and prepare for battle, an organized military forming in rows as the three wasabi warriors stood alone. Resounding horns were the only sounds they heard before the war had begun.

“It is an honor to fight with you.” Milton smiled.

“No… The honor is mine.” Rudy sadly nodded with tears in his eyes as he drew his sword.

Olivia widely grinned as she walked between the two, enjoying the rush of adrenaline that flowed through her veins. “Alright boys… It's time to go to war.”

The males on each side of her let out a war cry before they charged but they were quickly overpowered, barely holding their own as troops swarmed their base. Milton was the first to go down with a gasp, tumbling to the floor but without any injuries, real or mythical.

“It's over, Miltonious!”

Olivia was quick to leap into action, ready to fall for her king with the stab of a sword when a double-sided battle axe flew through the air, knocking down the weapon from the king of greed that stood before her.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Jack Brewer had not expected his day to go like this. Venturing through the forest with Eddie, Kim, and Jerry dressed in silly costumes. It was supposed to be a simple shortcut through the park, but somehow the walk was nothing but chaos. Jack had a swollen knot on his head, Eddie had fallen into sticky mud after being swarmed by bees, Kim had completely ruined her hair (not that she knew yet because they would all be dead), and Jerry had gotten repeatedly stung by a porcupine.

It wasn't surprising how he snapped at the sight of some guy preparing to whack Olivia directly in the face when you thought about it. Foam sword or not, what kind of idiot touches his Olive? In his defense, he was having a long day and really wanted to hit something. Launching a double-sided axe seemed to be an easier solution.

The boy in red whined and clutched his hand in a half-pathetic manner. “Oowwwww, who threw that?”

The blonde on the hill shrieked with laughter as she took note of who was charging at the opposing team with war cries. Sydney was quick to screech in fear and yell “Retreat!” as he instantly ran away. The group ran up the hill, Jack leading with languid movements that bordered on exhaustion.

“You guys made it.” Milton exclaimed as Olivia bounced in her spot, unable to hold back her excitement.

“It may not be our thing, but if it means something to you two, then we're with you King Miltonious!”

It was then that Olivia noticed the large lump on his head. With a gasp, she pointed to the injury. “What happened to your head!?”

Jack lazily blinked and mostly zoned out how Milton called Kim a dude with the punked-out mullet. Especially when her cool hands pressed against the overheated skin of his face.

Her thumbs lightly stroked his cheekbones, eyes tracing every mole and injury. He gave her a soft smile, guilt building in his gut as he stared at the beauty before him. How could he have been so rude? How could he have missed the way her eyes sparkled when she stared at him with such faith?

Jack was never one for prayer, but oh my, how she looked at him. As if he was some cherished statue that people worshiped. There was no doubt in his soul that he would be the first to fall to his knees and bow before such love. He would follow her with the devotion of a broken and begging man if it meant feeling the warmth of her care.

He would plead to any god to let this moment last just a little bit longer, but that could never happen. No matter how much he wished, Jack Brewer could not stop time but if he could then he would pause the world for Olivia Holder.

The trio took in the state of them all. “You guys look like crap!” Rudy exclaimed as Milton nodded along, Olivia pressing a quick and unnoticed peck to Jack's chin before pulling away. The group said their protest as Jack spoke up, eyes lingering on the blonde and words slurred for a moment.

“Alright guys, hands in, we got us a grail to capture!” Hands of different sizes and colors overlapped and a slightly larger hand enveloped Olivia's. She took a glance over and noticed the soft look on a certain brunette's face as he only looked at her.

Their staring contest was disrupted as everyone yelled out their dojo's name and threw their hands up in the air but their enclosed fist still remained parallel to the earth under their feet.

“Wasabi.” He whispered to her like a promise or unspoken vow to a shrine.

And with one roaring yell, the group split up, a small and painted hand slipping from a tan, nail-bitten one.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Despite being outmatched, the wasabi warriors still came out on top as they always did. Milton placed the red king's chalice onto the wooden stump that mirrored his own golden and smaller one. What she hadn't expected was for her entire friend group to show up in the same.

She didn't interact with them that day and it wasn't due to their dorky clothes. Olivia was anxious.

She had woken up to a crying Estelle who had an ear infection, causing her to miss her first period and AP biology test, she had a panic attack during her second period because she had forgotten her school project in her haste to get to a doctor, and she hadn't even faced the overwhelming environment that was the lunch room.

Currently, she was hiding in a bathroom stall with tears streaming down her face and a book clutched to her chest. The small amount of makeup she wore had smudged down her face, mascara making streaky lines and snot running into the top of her cherry chapstick lips.

Disgust boiled in her lungs and she struggled to breathe, her nose clogged and chest heavy. Reaching out to her left, she hastily ripped off some of the cheap, single-ply toilet paper and scrubbed the junction between her cupid's bow and nostrils.

The doors to the bathroom slammed open, the harsh bang causing her to jump as her muscles froze. The girls chatted loudly as a strangled sound died in her throat, lips pressed together to prevent any sound and, in the process, forcing Olivia to stop breathing entirely.

Her hand clenched the wet paper, a vile mushing sound echoing for only her ears to hear. Her hand turned sticky and she lightly gagged a silent dry heave. A ringing rose to her ears, drowning out the two new voices.

Had they stopped talking?

She could hear nothing but her own heartbeat and a buzzing sound.

Had they noticed her? Was she too loud? They know. They know she's there, panicking like a weak child. Did they leave? Were they going to tell people? Where had all the air gone?

Olivia didn't even notice the way her body had started rocking back and forth, hair a rumbled mess as it swayed with her.

They were waiting.  Standing right outside the door, laughing, giggling.

The shadows of their feet loomed at the bottom of the stall, or maybe that was just the way her vision was starting to fade around the edges. She was completely trapped, a wild animal in a corner with nowhere to go. She could either run and have more predators chase her or die, alone and scared in a corner.

The clattering of her own book falling onto the bacterial infected ground did not reach her ears, and neither did the sound of footsteps retreating to the commons area. She couldn't feel the pain of suffocation or how her perfectly polished and shaped nails cut into skin.

Even as blood pooled and lingered on porcelain and spotted skin, reality was not something she could face but much like sand. Slowly slipping from her fingers as her hands shook, getting smaller and smaller until there was nothing left to grasp. Her hands would flounder and reach for something she never held in the first place.

Her legs tensed, wanting nothing more to run until no one could hurt her but her legs wouldn't move. She was stuck, slowly fading away like a withered corpse left to rot in the heat of a scorching summer, unable to move and blistered from the burn of hysteria that killed her in the first place.

And so the world keeps spinning, turning as people live and breathe while animals tear at her flesh for food, and rigor mortis makes a new friend.

Or maybe that was just her vision, turning and twisting as her body leaned to the side and fell to the floor as everything turned back. Maybe it was just the way her head smashed into the wall that was created to give others privacy.

And maybe, if she was really lucky, she wouldn't wake up and face the embarrassment of being covered in the sand of truth; that is how the world continues as everything fades into darkness.

Maybe just this once, she won't have to face the reality that is the after-effects of a panic attack.

▒▓▆▅▃▂▁  𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂  ▁▂▃▅▆▓▒