Noise and static: Chapter 3
It's possible that I'd chosen to be lost and lonely my entire life, perhaps I'd isolated myself through years of self-pity or delusions of grandeur from my paranoid state of mind, perhaps I was just a twat my entire life. But when I fell asleep that evening, the day I made the choice to change my life for the worse, I didn't feel alone and lonely anymore. I had fallen asleep feeling Sayori's socked foot on my leg and her arm pressing down on my side as she took most of the space in my bed. The most important thing though, was that Yuri had chosen to stay in the same bed as me to sleep for the night.
I was far too afraid to look at her during our entire time in the same bed, and we stayed silent as the moon basked the room in a nightly gloom. Sayori's heaves and light snoring kept us awake for a few hours, or at least it kept me awake, but I'd been far too stressed out to fall asleep either way. It was that weird feeling of fear and anxiety mixed with excitement that most teenagers feel at some point before becoming an adult, that feeling of being a mouse in a house full of cats, a small Jerry gerbil faced up against Tom the cat.
The more time passed, the more our defenses broke down, and it was partially due to the sustained awkwardness of being so close to the girl I'd thought would never be by my side, but mostly because Sayori kept moving and pushing the both of us around during her sleep. "Never again.." Yuri groaned as the coral haired cutie shoved her elbow on her face, a small chuckle escaping my lips as the smaller girl slept peacefully in between Yuri and I. "Totally unaware.. huh?" I asked, a small smile on my lips, that smile that everyone has when they think about Sayori really. The moon flew far above us shining down on my bedroom when I fell asleep, soon followed by the mysterious woman that lied besides Sayori..
"Are they asleep?" Natsuki asked her club president as she made her way back to the living room, the baker unable to look away from the television, thoroughly enjoying the documentary she was watching. "Yeah.." The devil sat down besides her, crossing her arms and lying against the back of the couch, apparently deep in her thoughts. "It's really unhealthy, y'know? Kinda creepy too." Natsuki smirked as she looked at Monika with a cocky smile. "But I guess you're used to creepy, isn't that right Monika?" The brunette looked down at her feet and turned her face away from Natsuki's, taking a second to regain her composure and hide the wince that Natsuki's words caused. "Yeah, you're right. Hope you won't... Snap at me some more~" She joked, a small smile on her face as she turned back to face Natsuki.
She wasn't smiling.
"Sorry.." The only sound that echoed in the room at that point was the television, stuck on a shot of a zebra drinking silently by the river, all by its lonesome. The two girls were sitting down on the same couch, and both of them looking at the same television, but they couldn't be further apart. The seconds of awkward silence turned into minutes, when Natsuki stood up "You're heartless." She sighed, turning the TV off as she made her way towards the bathroom, leaving Monika alone to sleep on the couch as she went to my mother's bedroom (She really wanted to be able to say that she slept with my mom when we'd be having breakfast.)
Monika stayed silent, slowly standing up and heading towards the door with a small wince of inner pain. She grabbed one of those windbreaker coats that was hung on the coat hanger and opened the door, standing outside in the cold on the front porch of my house. She walked towards the street, exiting my garden and staying outside on the sidewalk for a long while. The automatic lights from the front porch remained on as she looked at the outside world with a pained smile, walking towards the bus stop that was a few meters away from our neighbor's house. She sat down on the bench and put her hands in my mom's coat's pockets, her eyes pointed straight at her feet as she let a few tears drop down from her eyes onto the cold paved and cracked floor.
"What a miserable life you seem to be living, miss." The devilish club president immediately looked up at the speaker. There was a man in his early twenties with a calm smile and a friendly demeanor that looked back at her. "Y-You can.. see me?" The girl asked, looking around herself for anyone else that man'd be talking to. "Well.. If I'm not mistaken, that's what eyes are for, right?" He smiled, sitting down next to her as she looked back at him, confused and slightly worried. "They're made to see beautiful things.." He added, winking at Monika in the cheesiest most nerdy way she had seen in a long time. As the two of them looked at each other, the brunette couldn't hold in a giggle that tickled the back of her throat, a sort of mocking chuckle that he'd gotten out of her through mysterious means.
"Sorry.. Sorry! It's just.. Really weird that anyone can see me, and even weirder that the first.. well, second person that does, is hitting on me ~" She smiled, turning her body to face the man that was talking to her. He seemed decently fit, maybe a tiny bit of a gut but nothing major, a sort of every man type of guy with unremarkable build or features, your average joe really. He was wearing a black beanie that covered his hair and a grey scarf that covered his throat, with long ample clothes that really hid his body rather well. "Well, if you're a mirage, I certainly don't want you to disappear." He added, before leaning back and asking her a few questions about herself.
The two of them were looking into each other's eyes more than anything, and eventually, after a series of bad puns that Monika initiated (much to the stranger's pleasure), the two of them had to part. There was a warm atmosphere in the cold night as the girl stood up and looked down at the friendly sitting stranger, putting both of her hands behind her back and leaning forward in a pose she'd rehearsed hundreds of times, perhaps thousands or millions of times. "Thanks for lifting my spirits mister!~" He smiled, standing up as well and putting a hand on his hip as he stared back at her. "It was my pleasure miss. I'll be here whenever you need me~" He smiled as the bright lights from the nightly bus bathed the both of them during this moment of parting. With one last goodbye, Monika turned around and began to ponder.. How did that guy manage to see her? And what did he mean by I'll be here whenever you need me?
But most importantly.. Who was he and why was her heart beating so fast?
Words words words echoed echoed echoed.. The light devoid alley started shaking, maybe the world itself was rumbling, the hooded shadow held it's chest in it's hand. It seemed like time was stopping in this dirty dead end, vines and snails trying to escape the malicious aura that The Hood was emanating. Trembling, shaking, rumbling, the hooded creature was yelling in the moonlight, the people in the closest houses were asleep and showed no signs of acknowledgement.
The Hood spasmed on the road, barely able to stay on it's two feet. One foot in front of the other, The thing started walking in a strange and alluring way. It picked up pace, eventually frantically running through the desolate streets of a frightened town, one who's school was victim of a tragic event. The hood screamed at the top of it's lungs, the body contracting and bending in various shapes, hidden in dark shadows. Roaming the town, howling and growling in distorted and broken ways, the hood ran faster and faster, piercing the wind and reaching it's lair.
It's temporary lair was a hotel, the King Hotel. The thing zipped it's hoodie all the way up to it's face, hiding whatever was below the clothing, and headed inside the massive building. Upon entering the reception hall, the receptionist was playing a flash game on the lobby's computer, most likely some version of the old game Snake. The thing headed up to the second floor, his twitches and groans echoed in the stairwell, they stood out like a river in the arid desert, finally ending.
And as the beast arrived in front of it's room, the monstrosity that was That Thing pulled down it's hoodie.
It had a schizophrenic superhero's face, my face...
Six months had passed since the shooting, the leaves had bloomed and fallen to the ground, six months had passed since I had realized my higher calling, what I was meant to do with the power that the world gave me. It was ten in the afternoon when I came back home, exhausted after having spent my entire afternoon helping random people around with directions or daily life issues. When I arrived home, my first instinct was to hold the door for Yuri, Sayori, and Natsuki as they followed me closely, bickering about whether or not we should have accepted the money for ice-cream from that old lady near the movie theater.
"No way, we aren't doing this for money, we're doing this because it's the right thing to do." I sighed, letting them spread around the house freely. Sayori immediately headed towards the kitchen "Come oooooon! This isn't about money, but happiness and ice cream! You do want us to be happy, right?" Sayori smiled as she bent over and opened the refrigerator, grabbing a box full of popsicles and stuffing the orange popsickle straight into her mouth. "Dude, I'm not responsible for your happiness.." I added, walking towards the living room and sitting down on the couch. "Can you get me a cherry popsicle?" I asked her, the girl immediately nodding and looking for one. "Sayori, he's using you you moron!" Natsuki chimed in. "First you don't let us get ice-cream for BS moral reasons, and now you're bossing us around? Get your own ice cream!" She smirked as I looked at her with a sigh, raising my hands up in the air. "Fine! Thought we were all friends here.."
"Not when it comes to ice-cream.." Natsuki said, piercing me with a tough glare as Sayori giggled, handing me my popsicle.
Yuri heard footsteps coming down from my bedroom, turning her head to look at the source of the noise. "Your Mom still isn't home." Monika said as she grabbed a bag at the end of the steps, throwing it in Yuri's general direction. The purple haired girl caught the bag and smiled warmly. "Thank you Monika." She bowed her head and the brunette had a small smile on her lips. "My pleasure.." This made me sick, I just didn't understand how she could forgive a murderer so easily, allow a freakshow to go completely unpunished despite the pain and sorrow she caused, just because she used to be a friend..
"Hey everyone! Let's watch Tiger king again!" Sayori yelled out of excitement as Yuri already winced at the thought of enduring the show for a third time. "I' wanted to.. watch the news.." She blushed, looking away from Sayori as her face slowly decomposed for a second, before beaming radiantly once again. "Oh, that's fine! Sorry, I'm being selfish again.." She added as Natsuki grabbed her hand and sat down on the couch with her, looking at her. "You're not, it's okay. Just let Yuri watch her boring stuff and we'll watch tiger king together again." The pink haired girl said as Sayori's face lit up once again, the cinnamon bun immediately hugging the baker as she laughed. "Thanks Natsukiiiiiiii! You're super cute and sweet when you want to be!" I knew she wouldn't admit it, and Natsuki had the potential to be a huge pain in the ass when she wanted to. But she was also pretty sweet and honest whenever it was needed.
"Phantom cloak, a friend or foe? This is Bethany Gartner for FRNews, and today's subject is the vigilante known as The Phantom Cloak. Since March of this year, roaming through the streets is a vigilante dressed in black. Wearing a debonair old fashioned black suit and a white mask, he lurks through our streets with a predatory behaviour, targeting criminals and abusers before mysteriously handing them to the police beaten up and tied up through anonymous calls. Today on our show are two experts on the subject matter,detective Herllock Lupine , and judge Arsen Shomes. Thank you very much for coming.."
"Sayori, can you fetch me a bottle of coke?" The young man asked from the living room, not noticing as Yuri grabbed the room warm bottle and gave it to him. "H-Here you go.." Sayori giggled and winked at Monika, the other girl being ever so serious, focused on the news from her spot on the stairs.
"Honestly Bethany, this is a first in the field of criminal justice and vigiliante justice. I'd say that this is a first for Humanity itself. I mean, this goes beyond just justice and vigilante. This is a matter of superpowers here. " Monika sighed, grabbing a glass of water and chugging it in one go, as if it was a strong whisky. "You must be refering to these videos taken showing the Phantom Cloak mysteriously taking down as, right?" Bethany asked with a small smile as she looked at the detective in the eyes. "Do you think these videos are real, or are they photoshoped and faked?" As he nodded and reaffirmed his standpoint, the judge immediately spoke up, beginning to argue with his fellow interviewee about the merits of there being a Vigilante with superpowers prowling around at night, unrestrained.
Arsen and Herllock kept on arguing about The Phantom Cloak, asking if he was a threat to society at large in it's method of dealing justice. It was late at night and the dokis were starting to feel tired, as they passed by my couch I gave them a slight wave before they headed to bed. In the distance I could hear Natsuki argue with Sayori about tiger king, Natsuki feeling too tired to watch the show saying that they'd be able to rewatch it on Sunday. Only Monika and Yuri were still there with me as we watched the news unfold, a feeling of pride swelling within me as my name was being brought up more and more with each passing minute of this debate.
As the debate came to a close and the news program for the evening was about to end, they decided to show a small clip taken from a CCTV system that was supposed to show the vigilante, me, in order to help people decide whether or not I was more dangerous than actual criminals.
The video showed a drug dealer in baggy clothing in his thirties dropping a small white bag on the floor, almost by accident, and seemingly in panic. He looked around for a few seconds, and as he bent down to grab it, I had jumped down on him from out of frame, rolling on the floor and pinning him down on the ground as he was struggling to recover his balance. I had practiced the roll after my landing for weeks before attempting it for the first time in an actual situation. I would drop from my balcony window onto the floor and make sure to tuck my head into my chest as to not break my neck, before rolling forward and springing to my feet. It was strangely beautiful for me to see my own entrance on TV, a pretty cool feeling of pride and excitement.
The video showed me standing up, my black coat and cape flowing to my feet (and me walking on it, forcing me to wash it for a solid thirty minutes once I'd realized back at home.) and the man being pinned against a wall and unable to move. Probably the girls' combined efforts to hold him against the wall. They were oddly strong considering their stature, almost unnaturally so.
"As fun as it is to watch our resounding glory on TV, I need to do some homework.." I said as I stood up. "I've done it for you already" Monika replied as she glanced at the window. It was snowing that night, and it might have started snowing once the girls had left to head off to bed. "It's a shame that Sayori and Natsuki didn't stay a bit longer.. They'd have loved the snow.." Yuri sighed. For the demonic girl, that window was an opening into an entirely new and perfect world, one she had dreamed to reside in for her entire existence. Her focus was sharp and her intense glare portrayed a sense of impatience. I looked at her with disgust, unable to thank that bitch, and walked up the steps leading to my once lonely bedroom, Yuri following closely behind. As we disappeared up the stairs, the video had ended, the last frame being a photograph of the man in cuffs, taken into custody.
The brunette finally took a few steps outside into the cold winter night, the breeze of the awfully dry wind was waiting for her as she headed outside. She felt each of her bones shake in a terrible plight to get back into the warmth of the house she lived in, yet her mind was much stronger, pushing her body to remain in the desolate night. The street signs were slightly glowing as a tiny amount of frost had built up on the iron borders of the stop signs and red lights. She watched the world around her with a sort of child like amusement, it was her first time with snow in the real world after all.
Monika was sitting down on the front steps of my house, closing her arms around her chest and trying her hardest to warm herself up by dragging her arms up and down and up and down and up and down. She looked ahead towards the other side of the road, and there He was. She smiled and stood up, looking both ways before crossing the road to join Him. "Hey! It's been a while, was something of the matter?" She asked Him with a soft smile.
The man she was talking to smiled, that very same beanie and scarf covering his neck and his scalp, yet a strand of blond hair showing as he smiled warmly at the girl.
"Yeah, sorry about that, work's been even more exhausting than usual. Big project coming up, I hope we'll rock your world once my team and I manage to get our plans under way." He smiled warmly to contrast the cold atmosphere outside "In any case, enough about work! I'm really happy to see you, you look happier and happier each day, you really shine tonight!" The brunette giggled and looked straight into his eyes, happy to see someone that was on her side for once. "Is that so? Well.. How could I not be radiant when you're here with me?" The club president admitted with a creeping blush, the man in front of her blushing for a few seconds before rubbing the back of his head. "Honestly, you'll be the death of me~" The man smiled as he winked at her, the girl blushing right back at him.
"How are you doing since last time, Monika? And can we go sit down on your porch?" He asked. "Better, thanks to you. And of course!" She replied, walking with him towards the steps she had sat down on a few minutes earlier. "I have to ask you something.." Monika asked him, a toothy grin shooting up across his face as he answered. "Shoot! I'm down to answer." The club president seemed a little nervous as she tried to steady her breathing, looking at him and finally asking her question after a few awkward seconds of silence. "I don't know who you are, I assume you're the true player of the game, and that.. The one I'm living with is somehow.. not." Monika said while tapping her finger on her chin, in a contemplative posture.
"I am." He answered. "I know your story, Monika." He kept on going, looking up at the starts, showing his shaved chin as he bore a small smile on his frostbitten lips. He radiated an aura of calmness, the entire porch seemed so heavenly that evening. "I had been looking for you for a while, ever since your game released, I knew you had to be out there somewhere.. So I looked for you everywhere." She seemed confused, had he really been looking for a girl who was just a video game character to him in real life? "I know it sounds weird.. But I had that intuition, that feeling that something had been stolen from me. The love you felt for me, I felt it for you. And I knew I had to find you, otherwise I wouldn't be whole. Without you, I was like a man who'd had his home stolen or burned under his nose.."
"So I searched for you, and eventually, I saw you on the news after that school shooting. It was hard to see you, but in a phone recording taken by one of those students, bright as day, I could see you throwing that table on the shooter. I knew what I had to do and where I had to go, and so I found you." He answered, placing his hand on hers. "I'm sorry I took so long.." The player answered, bringing his face closer to Monika's, closing his eyes as her mind was surely about to go blank from the pleasure of being wanted for the first time in her life.
She came back home and headed off to bed a few minutes later, a giddy smile on her lips as she fell asleep on one of the floor mattress set up in the attic, next to Natsuki.
What a perfect evening it would be.