Fall into Despair

Chapter 4

Heart of Glass

The beginning of the game was really confusing.

Nobody could really tell what was happening on the field. Alex saw Sakura throwing 2 balls at Yamada, who was hit and fell right away. Togami and Leon both hit Celes and Asahina. Fukawa tossed a weak ball towards Ishimaru, who dodged it like a gymnast. And Kirigiri looked at Mondo, who kept blushing behind the prefect. She smiled softly, which was weird coming from her. Amidst the chaos, Leon got close to Alex and whispered something into the gay guy's ear.

"I think we should talk. Why are you avoiding me?"

"This is not the right time for this! And I'm not avoiding you!" Alex shouted his answer while avoiding Sakura's basketball. He picked it up and tried to throw it at her but hit Chihiro by accident. That was better than nothing. Hagakure laughed at the poor girl, not seeing the ball that hit his face hard two seconds after that. Junko, Sakura and Mondo all fell down at the same time.

"Well, when is the time? You were chatting with Celes and Asahina earlier! If you're not avoiding me, what is this?" Leon asked while hitting Fukawa in the chest. "Sorry about that one! I wanted to hit your shoulder!" he called to the girl, now in a heap on the floor.

"That is nothing, I'm just socializing like a normal human being!" furiously replied Alex. Togami and Ishimaru both got hit pretty hard by Sakura, the last girl remaining. While it is easy to touch her, her strength makes her terrifying. Alex and Leon were the last boys standing.

"Well Sakura, you are facing two boys. But I'm sure you'll win, after all, you can conquer everything!" laughed Monokuma, holding a martini with a little green umbrella in it.

He was right, and Alex knew it pretty well. He was strong... with his legs, not so much with his arms. So he wanted Leon to hit her so they can both win. But while he was thinking of a strategy, he did not see the ball coming directly at him. Desperately trying to save the "damsel in distress", Leon jumped in front of the ball, taking it right in the face. Shocked, but quickly reacting to this heroic act, Alex kneeled down, grabbed a ball with shaky hands, and threw it at Sakura, so shocked by what the baseball player didthat she didn't even try to dodge. The ball hit her in the stomach but she didn't even flinch.

It was over. Alex won the incentive game.

"Well, well, well, that was quick and intense. I did not see that one coming. Alex only won because Leon protected him, but the rules are the rules. Alex, you are the big winner today! You will be spared. You can now leave the gym and go back to your room. On the other hand, all the losers here and Kirigiri will have to go to the Cinema Room. Some DVDs are waiting for you in a red box. Don't worry, your names are on it. Just break Alex's. So, I'll see you tonight for the Monokuma Announcement!" quickly said Monokuma before disappearing under the table once again. Celes came right next to Alex and hugged him.

"That's good. Even if I didn't win, I wanted you not to have the incentive." She let go and studied him. "And also, I'm kind of curious. Maybe it's just another one of his tricks but, there's nothing we can do right now. Oh and by the way, next time you have a couple crisis with your lover, don't do it on the field where everyone can hear you scream." She left the gym with a wink, not giving him the time to answer.

Alex slowly walked back to his room. He had no idea what happened on the field. All of the dodgeball game went too quickly, especially Leon's rescue. He was both glad and furious by that. It was really sweet, but he could have just let him get hit and win the game, not getting the incentive along the way. But no, instead of having a ball on his face, he had a knight in shining armor in front of him. Alex wanted to repay him, but how... ?

Opening his door, he quickly went into his bathroom and removed his glasses before splashing some cold water on his face. After staring at his body into the mirror for a good five minutes, it was dinnertime with everyone in the cafeteria. But when he arrived, they all had sad faces. Alex shivered. Did the incentive work? Would they kill tonight? No, better not thinking about it. He sat with everyone at the large rectangular table and looked at his shoes. Kirigiri was the first to break the silence.

"This was an illusion, a trick. They would never be in danger. We've been here 3 days, not 3 years. So we're all going to eat and chat and laugh now before this atmosphere is really heavy for all of us, especially after these videos."

"Wait Kirigiri, we should explain the incentive to Alex before anything else." Celes cleared her throat, then continued, "We all saw our friends and our families getting killed. Well some got their friends, other got their families. The point is, Monokuma killed them and put that on tape. Some people here believe this is fake, others are convinced this is real. And now, everyone is silent because of this incentive. I see his plan, wanting us to kill someone for getting out of this school and check on our relatives. Well, I don't care about anyone that's been shown so as far as this incentive goes, I will not kill for now. How about you guys?"

Nobody replied. Alex stared at Celes. Despite her calm tone, she was shivering. He was glad he did not get this incentive but at the same time, seeing all these faces marked with anger and sorrow made his heart cringe. He drank a little water before eating the food Chihiro cooked for them. It was mashed potatoes with a steak for everyone. But the mood was so heavy nobody even said a word. They all finished, washed the dishes and left the cafeteria without talking. Alex was about to leave as well but Leon grabbed his arm and took him in the kitchen so fast no one saw what happened. The gay guy wanted to yell at him for doing that but a hand quickly covered his mouth. The redhead took two glass bottles of soda before going to the gym with Alex. They sat quietly on the stage.

"Sorry for that but I really wanted to talk with you alone," whispered Leon.

"You want to talk to me about the incentive? I'm here to listen if you want." proposed Alex, with a faint smile on his face.

'Well... It was nothing, seriously. He just showed us a bad video about my friends in my baseball team getting killed. They were hit with a baseball bat. I still think it's fake but, who knows..." His voice lowered. "I wanted to talk about this morning. Last night, you just came to me because you wanted to see if I was okay and the next day you ignore me. I mean what's up with that?" He sounded angry for some reason. Alex looked at him and couldn't keep a straight face anymore. He burst out laughing, putting a hand on his mouth to contain it.

"You are more concerned about my attitude than your friends?" he managed to choke out. "I'm sorry, this is inappropriate but I can't control it..." He went quiet for a while, trying to regain composure. "Like I said during the dodgeball game, I was trying to make new friends. I was always bad with socializing before so now, I wanted to have the chance to have friends for once. Not being alone..." He paused. "Thank you by the way. Thanks to you I didn't have my video..."

"Well don't do that again. I know you are making new friends and I'm totally fine with it but...I don't want to spend a day without talking to you, okay?" He finished his drink, putting the bottle beside him. "And I don't want to see you talking to other guys so it's great that you've been with Celes. I can see a great friendship coming from you two! Oh that's right, I didn't tell you I was a medium!" Leon began to laugh, making Alex smile in the process.

"Well Mister Medium, I think we should go into our rooms for now, the Announcement will start in a few minutes. And tomorrow, you're going to tell me all about my future!" He left his empty bottle as well, next to Leon's. They went back into their rooms together, not knowing what would have happened if they had stayed a little more.

During the night, a scream echoed throughout the school. But no one was able to hear it. Then, more screams. Footsteps leading to the gym. One last scream, one last breath, one last second to live.

It was over. Blood silently left her body. Laying down on the gym's floor, her hollow eyes looking at the ceiling. The last thing she saw was her killer's face, printed forever in her iris.

Tomorrow morning, they are going to find her body. Her clothes were messy, along with her hair. With a smile on her face, maybe she was relieved. Or finally happy. No one will ever know, not anymore...