I can't really tell you when it all started but I can get close. I remember it being sunny and breezy the day the world went to hell. Kind of ironic, isn't it? You'd think that the day the universe fell apart would be full of storms and thunder and a symbolic tornado would come crashing through and destroy everything in its path. But no, it was perfectly pleasant; not even a cloud in sight to ruin the good mood I was in.
I showed up to my classes just like any other weekday; I slumped into my desk and mentally braced myself for the snooze-fest to follow. Historical architecture was my least favorite hour of the day, but since my parents were paying a hefty sum for my college education, I figured I'd better show up. I didn't promise I would stay awake, but hey, at least I was in my seat.
"Muslim art and architecture is all around us. Even this room you can see…" My professor's voice seemed to drift farther and farther away while I stared out the window of the Grand Nomura lecture hall. The sky was impossibly blue. I kept looking for a tuft of white to ruin the endless sea, but none were found. At the time I didn't know that a cloud wasn't necessary to ruin the day. Oh no, something much more terrifying would take care of that.
Class ended after I took a nice little nap. I stretched in my seat and then collected my bags, waving to a guy with spiky blond hair at the other end of the lecture hall.
"Hey Roxas, wait up!" I trotted my way over to my best friend eagerly; I hadn't seen him last night in our dorm. He had gone over to his girlfriend Kairi's place to spend the night. They were a new item; they had only been together a month or so. Roxas liked her well enough and she took his mind off of his old girlfriend Namine, whom had left him three months prior. I thought he would never get over her. But Roxas, resilient as ever, seemed to have perked up and gotten through his heartbreak.
"Come on, Sora. It's nacho day in the cafeteria and you know how important that is to me!" Roxas was walking ahead of me, strolling at a pace that I could barely keep up with. I pouted (a pesky habit I acquired over the years) and picked up the pace to stay in stride with Rox.
"I don't see why we can't just eat at home; you know I hate the cafeteria." I grumbled to myself, knowing I wouldn't win the argument. I never win. I'm a push-over, an adorable guy who is too easy-going and care-free to throw a fit about much of anything. Sure, I'm prone to whine a bit here and there, but for someone who normally goes with the flow, I think I'm entitled to a bit of grief over corn chips and fake cheese.
"Because I love nacho day, Sora. I love it more than I love breasts, and Netflix, and all the music you can illegally download off the internet. Now kick that skinny ass into gear; I have a fiesta to attend!" Roxas broke into a flat-out run at this point, leaving me to sputter in his dust cloud.
After a fairly casual walk into the cafeteria I noticed Roxas at the front of the line, practically drooling in anticipation for his food. I shook my head disapprovingly and walked over to our table where the rest of my friends sat. Olette and Hayner where heatedly arguing, as per usual, so I plopped down next to my brother, Vanitas, and laid my head on the table.
"What's up?" Van lifted an eyebrow at me in his cool and reserved way. He was munching on some baby carrots off of Pence's plate, whom protested halfheartedly, before groaning and holding his stomach. His face was far too pale, and a little green. Nacho day will do that to a man.
"Another boring lecture." I sighed. "I like my psych courses so much better."
"Sora, you sleep through that whole class so how would you know if you like it any less?" Vanitas shook his head and snatched a bite of cake off of Olette's plate. She didn't notice because she was still arguing with Hayner, who was apparently winning.
"Hay, don't you understand that sometimes the world just doesn't work that way?" Olette frowned and crossed her arms childishly.
"No, Letty, I don't. For guys like me the world does work that way. You can take a girl home, sleep with her, and then never call her again. Because I'm sexy, and girls love to have sex with me." Hayner flicked a finger on the curve of her nose, all while laughing to himself. Olette gaped at him, then pushed his shoulders and turned to face Selphie instead, who was far less offensive at the time.
"Can you believe those two?" I asked Van, who simply shrugged in response.
"I can't believe how they haven't done it yet. Hormones are practically jumping like electricity between them." He smirked and continued his food stealing game.
I rolled my head so that my other cheek was lying on the table, and I really shouldn't have. That was when I made eye contact with him.
He was the most awful person to ever exist in the history of ever. Quite frankly I was pretty sure that the sun would not set if he didn't do something just terrible to another human being in the span of the day. His silver hair lay artfully over his shoulder while he leaned back in his chair and laughed with his friends. His sea-foam eyes danced while he animatedly told a story that had them all rolling.
I hated Riku with probably all of my being, and then a little extra to boot. We called his group the nobodies and, boy, did I ever wish they deserved the title. They were actually the most popular kids in school, while my friends and I were closer to the bottom of the food chain than the top. But I wouldn't have traded Olette, Hayner, Pence, Vanitas, Roxas, Selphie, or Kairi for anybody else in the world. They were the best friends any guy could ask for.
The silveret stood up from his spot and walked to the lunch line, his head craned to continue talking to his friends. Roxas never saw him, he never saw Roxas. It was a disaster waiting to happen, but when their bodies collided I never would have guessed the commotion that would ensue.
"What the hell man, you ruined my shirt!" Riku stared at Roxas in disbelief, his arms spread wide as he recoiled. Roxas gaped at the silver-haired man, his gaze switching from his face to the nachos that were now displayed all over his white t-shirt. Rox tried to stammer out an apology, but it ended up coming out as something like "My nachos…" and a small heartbroken gasp.
Riku was obviously appalled. His face switched from disbelief to anger in a flash, and before I even realized what was happening, or Roxas even realized, for that matter, Riku had shoved him in the chest.
I was flying from my seat to come to Rox's aid. I wasn't going to let my best friend go down without some back-up. Vanitas reached out for me, trying to call me back to the table, but I was already gone. Riku's friends had the same idea that I did, and soon the red-headed guy named Axel was coming right at me. Needless to say the fight turned into a full-out brawl between my friends and the nobodies. Hayner took on Demyx and Vanitas duked it out with Luxord. But for the most part, we got our asses kicked. I had a bloody nose and a busted lip, but that wasn't going to stop me from kicking the red-head's ass.
The only thing that stopped the fight was the sudden screaming from my table where Olette and Selphie were backing away and shrieking. I whirled around to see what all the commotion was about only to see Pence vomiting everywhere. All over the floor, the table, all over himself and everything in sight; it seemed impossible how much his body was expelling.
Vanitas, a med student, sprang into action and immediately rushed to Pence's side.
"Pence? Pence, what's wrong?" He helped his friend stand up straight before being covered in projectile vomit. Vanitas cringed but refused move away. The fighting had stopped for now, since the nobodies that surrounded me shared my disgust and watched on as Vanitas continued to try and get a response from Pence.
"What the hell is that?" There was a chorus of cries from people in the cafeteria, but I remained frozen in my spot. I didn't say anything; I didn't help anyone. I just stood there, gaping at the scene just as Riku was next to me. The two of us were stuck in the moment, trapped in time.
Vanitas sat Pence down and began crying out for help, as our friend's condition had worsened. People fled the cafeteria now, seeing as Pence had started convulsing and throwing up blood. Van tried to stop him, tried to help him, but he couldn't.
"What's happening?" I tried to speak but it was Riku who managed words before me. He still stared in horror at the sight. Hayner had joined those fleeing the café, bringing Olette and Selphie with him as he went. I remember feeling jealous that I hadn't gone too.
Pushing his dark hair (now covered in the contents of Pence's stomach) out of his eyes, Van flustered for words. "I'm not sure! He won't stop!" He called for help once more, but no one seemed to be coming. There was noise everywhere and through the chorus of concerned and anxious voices it was hard to make any individual out. There was something about it that didn't seem like reality. I was caught in a trance, trapped next to the silver-haired boy, and I couldn't move. I couldn't believe anything that was happening.
In fact, I was so busy watching everything going on around me, all the chaos and panic, that it was only Rox's scream that brought me back to my senses.
"What the fuck!" Roxas yelled in my ear and then ran toward the table. I turned my head to see what he was talking about, only to catch a glimpse of Pence, dead on the floor.
"I don't know what happened…" Vanitas stared in disbelief at his friend lying in a mess of blood and stomach acid. Quickly as possible he dropped to his knees and began performing chest compressions on Pence. I found that my legs were working again and I picked them up one by one and moved my way closer to the scene. Strangely enough Riku followed me, as if we were still stuck in the same trance.
I was half-way to the table when it happened. Pence shot upright, sputtering and choking. Vanitas sat back and took a breath of air, smiling that he had recovered his friend. His smile lasted only for a second though, because before I could lift one foot up and then set it down again, before I could even take a step, Pence was on top of Vanitas.
I'll never forget the way my brother screamed. I'll never be able to rid myself of the memory of his tortured, pained cry. I can see it all before my clear as day. I felt a hand pull me back, I watched helplessly as Vanitas' skin was torn from his skull. I had to endure the sight of his flesh being eaten away by Pence, patient zero. Roxas scuttled away from the scene on his back, his face mirroring my horrified expression. I remember that there was so much screaming, and all hell broke loose. I never saw Vanitas again, for by the time I returned to the café his face had been eaten clean off.