The room was quiet and sterile. Bright, almost artificial light filtered in through the parted curtains. John sat up tentatively, and reached for his glasses. He became aware of his new surroundings and at realization, widened his gaze. How had he ended up here? And where exactly was "here"?
Even without his glasses, the change in scenery was significant. The area had been painted meticulously with dull white paint, to match the rest of its subdued decor. John couldn't decide whether the hue was comforting or unnecessarily bland, thus making it uncomfortable.
His first thought was his computer. He had to get to his computer. The problem though, was that John was not completely certain as to where the aforementioned device was located in this new facility.
Pushing his glasses onto his face, the young boy scanned the scene for clues. After locating the cord attached to it, the rest wasn't that difficult. Finally something rewarding! Despite his apprehension that stemmed from waking up in an unknown location, the fact that his computer had followed him brought him comfort.
It had been placed directly in the center of the tan desk it resided on. John approached it, stumbling slightly from his previous sleepy state, and collapsing on the desk chair. The black haired boy ran a finger through his locks and proceeded to jab the power button with the opposite one.
The usual welcome screen greeted him as he sat expectantly for it to load. Same old routine, day after day. It was more than worth it though, because after the long wait for his old computer to boot up, he would be provided the oppurtunity to talk with all his best friends. Jade, Rose, Dave, and the strange aliens they had met through Sburb. Even Karkat was a best friend of his. Actually, now that he thought of it, especially Karkat.
It was odd. They were complete opposites, yet so close. At least he thought they were close. You could never tell with Karkat, what with his reverse displays of affection.
The young boy was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud auditory alert that the computer had signed on and was ready for use. Funny, he didn't remember having the volume that loud. Then again, who memorizes how loud they keep their volume?
As always, the first thing on his mind was checking his Pesterchum. Hopefully it wasn't too backed up on messages, because he wasn't sure how long he had been here and when he had last been on.
His eyes widened in sheer shock. After an extensive search through the whole computer and its files, not one thing existed by the name of Pesterchum. Nor did any previous chat data appear when he searched stored files. It wasn't something he would have done to clean up his computer, because he certainly would not have deleted Pesterchum. It was his only lifeline to his friends that meant the world to him.
He began to process everything he had thought, observed and discovered. He had dreamt last night, come to think of it. It was so vividly engrained into his memory that he could forget if he tried. Every bit of it came back through a surge of information. The Karkat, the automobile, driving to school and them talking on the phone the way there. And the fact that the pessimisstic troll had almost met an untimely demise at the hands on another driver on the road.
But as all dreams went, this one had its bizarre elements. How was an alien on Earth operating a motor vehicle properly, let alone using it to go to school? It was just a dream after all though, so he let it slide. But how much more of this was a dream? Had any of it happened at all? There was no solid proof, for Pesterchum had mysteriously disappeared.
Or maybe it had never existed in the first place.