I'VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE, NO, THIS ISN'T A FIRST

===

A month later, nothing had happened.

Angel didn't know whether to be more disappointed in Herobrine or in herself. She chose to opt for the former, since she knew how desperate she had been to see Erebus again. There was no other option than to bargain with Herobrine, and he had not delivered on his side of the deal. She had held up her end; Gameknight999 and his NPC friends had believed her when she told them the fake plans that Herobrine had instructed her to. Now, a month later, there was still no sign from Herobrine that he had done anything on his end, and Angel was dejected.

The wind blew faintly in her hair as she walked over to a familiar bench underneath a tree, her eyes surveying the park she had visited far too many times. Shouts and laughter of young children sounded from the nearby playground as they frolicked, running around and climbing on the various structures as they enjoyed themselves.

Angel envied them. Was a normal childhood too much to ask for?

She sat down on the bench, clutching her notebook to her chest. Not wanting to forget about anything that had happened during her time in Minecraft, she had written everything down, paying attention to details as she did so. Many of her pages were devoted to Erebus, and her experiences with him; she was nervous that one would find it obsessive if they found out about this, so she desperately wanted to keep it to herself.

Her aunt and uncle, Clara and Tom, knew about it, however. They were the only people she trusted enough to know about everything that had happened. Of course, they wouldn't understand completely, but they understood just enough to be of comfort to Angel. It made her feel relieved that she at least had someone to talk to about the things going on inside her mind.

Shuffling slightly on the bench, she opened the notebook, reviewing the notes and little excerpts that she had written down in it. She had tried her best to write about how everything made her feel, mostly in a poetic form - this was an exercise she took to frequently, especially whenever she was overwhelmed. It was healthier than disassociating, as Clara often reminded her.

"Hey, it's the tranny!"

Angel's head shot up, and she groaned in dismay.

"Fuck's sake..."

Three of her classmates from the previous school year were approaching her, matching smug grins on their faces - Brandon, Jake, and Chad, appropriate names for the douchebags they were. Angel had experienced far too much torment at her school because of them, especially after she had come out as transgender. She had learned to just ignore them and their rude comments by now, which was what she was planning on doing now that they had come. Standing up, she turned to leave, but it was soon apparent that they had other plans for her.

"Where do you think you're going?" The burly form of Chad stepped in front of her, and she sighed quietly.

"What do you want?" she snapped. "Don't you have ten-year-olds to beat up or something? Just leave me alone."

Brandon stepped up, placing a hand on his hip. "Aw, can't we just catch up with an old friend?" he cackled. "What'cha reading there, huh? You tryin'a find a doctor to neuter you or something?"

"At least I still have balls, unlike you," Angel said, clutching her notebook close to her body. Brandon's sneer faded. "Now fuck off, I'm trying to get shit done."

"Not until you give us a look," Jake spoke up from beside her, swiftly reaching out to snatch the notebook from her. His hand hit the edge, and it fell from her grasp onto the ground.

"Motherfucker-"

Angel tried to grab it before any of the others could, but Chad was quicker - he yanked her away by her wrist, allowing Jake to snatch it up with a raucous laugh of triumph.

"Give that back!" Angel shouted, fighting against Chad as he wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her firmly in place. "It's mine, fuck off!"

Brandon roughly pulled the notebook from Jake. "I wanna read it!" he snapped, flipping it open to a random page. Angel's painted fingernails dug into Chad's arm to try and get him to let go, but he barely reacted. Helpless to do anything, she watched as Brandon scanned the page, giggling to himself.

"Now what do we have here..."

"Jesus Christ..." Angel muttered, gritting her teeth as she twisted around, stomping hard on Chad's toes. He yelped, letting go of her for a second, and she lunged forward, hitting the notebook out of Brandon's hand.

"Asshole-!"

Angel's fist collided with the side of Brandon's face, knocking him to the side. Before she had any time to process how good that felt, she was shoved to the ground on her stomach, her wrists tightly grabbed; Chad was on top of her, holding her down as she struggled, shouting in pain as one of her arms was twisted behind her back.

"You'll pay for that," Brandon spat, glaring at Angel as she panted heavily, barely able to fight from the contorted position her arm was now in. "This book must mean a lot to you, huh?"

"Let me go, or I swear to god..." Angel growled, watching Brandon with unbridled hatred. "I'm gonna beat your fucking ass as soon as you do..."

"Hey, tranny, who's Erebus?" Jake asked; he had picked up the notebook and was scanning over the page Brandon had been looking at. Angel's blood turned to ice. "Is that your boyfriend?"

"Lemme see!" Brandon exclaimed, pulling the notebook from Jake's grasp and scanning the page closely.

"A shemale and a fag, just what we needed..." Chad muttered, twisting Angel's arm harshly. She hissed at the sharp pain, clenching her fists at his tight grip on her wrist - his fingers were digging into some spots in her skin that she wished he would have avoided.

"Your roasts are so undercooked, I'm getting salmonella," she retorted. "Stop calling people slurs, it makes you look more like shit than you are. None of you deserve to have partners."

"You're one to talk," Brandon taunted. "An unlovable tranny whose parents don't love you... it's a wonder you're still alive right now."

"A wonder indeed," Angel murmured. "At least I'm living with people who appreciate me now- ah!"

Brandon's foot collided with Angel's ribs, earning a sharp shout of pain from her. "You fucking cunt," he snarled, kicking her again. "You don't get to say shit like that."

Wincing, Angel glared up at him. "You literally called me slurs-"

Chad twisted her arm again, to the point where she feared it may snap. "Yes, because you're a worthless piece of shit who doesn't deserve love," Jake chimed in. "No one should have come for you after what your parents did, and no one's gonna come for you now."

Angel hated how she was unable to defend herself; she could barely even fight against Chad due to the hold he had on his arm. All she could do was take it as Brandon and Jake hit her, praying that it would be over soon, like she had many times before. A kick to her head caused her vision to go blurry, and the last thing she felt was the pressure finally being relieved from her body as unrecognizable voices shouted something she couldn't understand, before everything went black.