The night was calm; everyone was asleep, peaceful in their own little dreamlands. But of course, nightmares tend to ensue at the most unexpected moments.
Gumball was sweating, although he didn't toss and turn a lot, a look of pain was obvious on his face. He let out soft whimpers and a few grunts here and there.
Gumball's POV
I was walking, walking through a forest that seemed so familiar, like I had some sort of awesome or embarrassing battle here. But even if this forest seemed so familiar, there was this odd and scary feeling I got. And I have this sudden feeling I'm not alone.
"Hello?" I called out nervously. The atmosphere here is really making me scared. "I-Is anyone there?" N one replies but instead, there's this fog. But it was just sunny a while ago! "W-Where did this fog come from?" I continued walking, what other choice do I have? The only sound I could hear are my own footsteps. My heart starts racing and I bite my lip, trying to calm myself.
"You're as weak and a loser as ever Gumball."
I turned around and saw a shadow coming towards me. The voice sounded so familiar, it was the voice of someone I hoped would go away forever.
"Zach…" I take a step back; I think fear is crawling its horrible claws at me again. "Why are you here? How are you still alive?!" I'm almost yelling at him, but I know Zach won't be fazed by any of my antics, he's just too cool. He looks at me with the usual cocky smile and jerky collar style. Wait, does that even make any sense?
Zach shakes his head. "Oh Gumball, Gumball, Gumball, Gumball." He crosses his arms and sighs. "Still the typical loser with no sense of being cool or a winner, aren't you?" Zach retorted.
Now that hurt. "I can be cool!" I said defensively, I can be cool. I know I can. "And a winner!" I added! Zach doesn't know me! He just likes to fill my head with fake memories! And that was exactly what he did last time.
"Oh really?" Zach really is nothing but an arrogant, cocky, self-centered jerk! And probably a bunch of other names I don't particularly have in my vocabulary.
I grunt in frustration. "Enough with this! Tell me why you're here Zach! You were supposed to disappear when I legally changed my name to Gumball!"
Zach chuckles. I don't understand. Why is he chuckling? What's there to chuckle about? Another reason I hate Zach! He's confusing as well!
"Oh Gumball." He said my name like it was something said at a funeral or a disappointed moment. "Stupid and loser Gumball, you didn't realize it? Or you did realize but just locked it away because you didn't want it to be real?"
"Realize what?" My voice is shaky. No, I can't let this jerk intimidate me!
"That no matter what you do to try to erase me, even if you change your name over and over again, even if you try to forget me…" Zach sounded so confident, a confidence level I've never felt or heard before. "I am a part of you, and you can never erase me, no matter how hard you try…" He pauses, and I suddenly feel weak, weak to the core. No, this can't be happening; I can't let myself lose to Zach! Not again… "And I am you."
…
I jolt up, I could feel my heart pounding, like it's about to explode like a bomb. I'm sweaty all over and I could still feel it, I could still feel the time when Zach changed my memories, I felt so lost, felt so much like a loser…
I scramble out of bed and into the bathroom. I turn on the lights and turn the faucet; I wash my face to get the sweat off a little. When I'm done, I look at myself in the mirror. I look horrible. I look like I just visited a nightmare and barely made it out alive, which is actually the case. I pant as pieces of the nightmare came back at me.
Oh why isn't there just a magic wand I can use to make all these nightmares disappear and replace them with happy dreams filled with ice cream, cute kittens, delicious food, Penny―
Snap out of it Gumball!
I look at myself in the mirror again and sigh. I know who I am, and I am Gumball Watterson. I'm a loser and a coward that also procrastinates and most of the time gets in trouble. But at least I'm an awesome and good loser and a coward that isn't all cocky and arrogant and thinks he can do whatever he wants.
"I am Gumball Watterson. I am not you Zach." I glare at the mirror. "And you are not me. And I will never let you take over my mind and change my memories again!" I can't let him. Not after what he made me do to my family and friends. As cheesy as that sounds.
I felt determined, I felt determined to not let Zach win. But somewhere, deep in the back of my mind, I could faintly hear an obnoxious laugh and a sentence that just increased my fear level.
"We'll see about that."
…
I'm walking with Darwin to our lunch table. I sat down and quietly took a bite of my… I wasn't even paying attention to what I was eating. My mind was too wrapped up around the nightmare I had last night.
"Dude, are you okay?" I heard Darwin asked.
"Hm? Yeah…" I swallowed. "What makes you think I'm not?" I try to make it sound healthier, but it sounded more like a liar trying to say he's not lying.
"Well, for one thing, I think you're eating macaroni and lettuce mixed with mayonnaise, cheese, and olive oil."
And there it goes. I stood up. "Excuse me while I go and blow out the remnants of a disgusting meal."
I threw up everything. After the water washed away all the remains, I looked back up at the mirror. I look even more horrible. My eyes seem swollen, my sweater is all messy, and my skin is taking on that sickly pale color.
"You look even more like a loser now." No, that stupid jerk! "If I was in control, I'd never eat a disgusting meal like that and I'd always look cool! Unlike how you look now." I could see Zach in my reflection, but I know he's not my real reflection.
I could feel my teeth grit in anger. "Leave me alone! I don't want you here! No one wants you here! Not after what you did and how you treated everyone!" My voice is rising higher.
But Zach didn't even faze. I guess, that's a little cool.
"Oh Gumball. Still stupid and a loser as always. Do you really think no one will like a winner?" he emphasized winner like it was some kind of key word.
I can't argue, I can't think. And I scream the only thing that comes to mind.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I could've broken the mirror, but I knew I didn't have the strength for that. Instead, I clutch my head, my head pounding and it's like my head's being taken over… not just by Zach, but by the insanity he's causing me.
"Gumball!" I didn't need to turn around to see Darwin running up to me with a worried look. "Gumball, I heard you screaming, what happened? Was there some kind of ninja attack? Spiders? Tell me man! What is happening to you!?" Darwin shakes me violently and I'm actually relieved he came barging in like that. It really felt like I was losing my sanity there for a moment.
"Chill, Dude. I just thought…" Umm… I forgot I'm a terrible liar. "I thought Sarah was in here stalking again when it was really just nothing."
Darwin looked at me for a second. "Oh ok! Come on," he helps me get up, "we'll be late for class if we stay here any longer."
I just hope I can focus and take down the notes I need. But right now, I'm not sure of anything.
