Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I lost interest for a while and was about to abandon the story, but decided against it. Enjoy!

Jonathan walked down the hallway, books tucked neatly under his arm and eyes fixated on his brown shoes determined to avoid eye contact with anyone at all costs. Finally out of class, Crane allowed his mind to wrap around the more than unusual events of the day having forced himself to concentrate on everything the professor had droned on about all through class. After all, Jonathan Crane was not one to let his mind wander during any class no matter what the circumstances may be.

Still absorbed in thought, Jonathan was much too occupied to notice the brown-haired girl glaring daggers at him as he exited the old-fashioned building and passed right by her. Finally feeling the eyes boring into the back of his head, Crane stopped right at the bottom of the steps and turned to her determined to remain calm.

"What are you staring at!" she hissed at him.

"I was just about to ask the same thing, but seeing how you beat me to it…"

She stopped him before he could finish his sentence, her eyes narrowing even more. "Listen NERD BOY. You may think that since you're out of grade school that you're safe… might even make some new friends. But the thing is… the only friends you will EVER make… are the birds that will come to pick at you when we hang you up in the field where you belong scare… crow."

Despite the throbbing in his head that suddenly began again, Jonathan maintained his calm.

"Tell me… Raelle… is it just me or are you taking out all your frustration... all your guilt… on me. After all, your friend had her eye gauged out all because you wanted to amuse yourself at her expense. Jee… I sure wish I had a friend like you."

Raelle's eyes widened filling up with tears. Her hands clenched into fists as Jonathan's hard words smacked her across the face making her unable to even say anything back. Using her shock to his advantage, Jonathan turned on his heal and walked off, smiling to himself. For some reason, seeing the girl like that filled him with sheer joy that made him want to clap his hands in glee.

He made his way across the grass and entered the dormitory building. His footsteps echoed around the empty hall. As he approached the corner, he heard hushed voices murmuring amongst themselves.

"Crane… that's perfect."

Jonathan stopped immediately upon the mention of his name. He stood still, hardly daring to breathe so he wouldn't miss a word of the conversation was obviously mostly about him.

"As soon as the exams are done with… we track him down… which shouldn't be all that hard seeing how he stands about 2 feet above everyone else."

"Good… whose cars are we using… it's a long drive to that field last I checked. And we'll need a couple because I doubt there are many who are going to wanna miss this show… After all… scarecrow's a BIG hit."

Jonathan stood against the wall, eyes narrowed as he absorbed the hushed words. He immediately understood what the group of students around the corner were discussing and it wasn't good news.

Every year, after the final exams, the majority of the student body would get together and celebrate with numerous parties, getting as drunk as possible and running around the nearby town screaming at 4 in the morning. But around the ending of the two-day celebration, they'd be so incredibly drunk that one (or more) helpless and, not to mention, unfortunate students would end up becoming their amusement. And from what Crane heard, it turned out this year he was the lucky guy.

Shaking slightly, Jonathan took an involuntary step back as he took in everything the people ahead of him were discussing.

"Do it late when there are no cars on the roads…"

"What if he starts screaming or making a scene… the teachers, and god knows who else, will wake up."

"Oh we don't have to worry about that… if he's out cold the most of the time, the only things that'll hear him scream are us."

Suddenly finding himself shaking as he continued to listen in on the terrifying conversation, Jonathan's eyes widened as another voice spoke out, the same one he had been hearing all day and for much of his life. It spoke inside of him blocking out all other sounds suddenly becoming more alluring than ever before.

Did you really expect it to change? Nothing will change if you continue to sit around doing absolutely nothing… that is why it is time to take control of your life… and the lives of others.

Jonathan felt his legs weakening as the whispered conversation grew more and more distant. Somehow, Crane knew that the voice inside him was no stranger. Why he had tried time and time again to keep it silent suddenly became a mystery for the voice could help him in a way no other person could.

Harness your fear and the fear of others! Accomplish that and no one will ever dare to look down upon again!

--

Light. There was too much of it, sweeping away the blissful darkness and invading his eyes bathing it in a red glow that refused to go away. Unable to be rid of it, Jonathan pried his eyes open facing a white roof. Closing his eyes once more, Crane felt his brain finally starting to function properly causing thoughts to cascade into his head.

A white ceiling… last time he checked, Jonathan's ceiling had been a deep brown and he could not recall changing the colour of it very recently.

While pondering about ceiling shades was crucial enough, Jonathan decided to switch his train of constant thoughts on a different track. As he sat up slowly and looked around, he found himself a very white room sitting upon what seemed to be a hospital bed. Now understanding where he was and why his ceiling wasn't the proper colour, Crane wracked his brain trying to figure out exactly why he was in the hospital.

Crane's eyes narrowed slightly as he found himself unable to recall anything from the last time he was conscious. Clouded images filled his memories, but he was unable to decipher them.

"Ah… Jonathan! Seems you're awake!"

Jonathan jumped as a friendly male voice appeared at the door. He spun his head towards the door and saw a man, obviously a doctor, standing at the entrance of his room smiling with a clipboard in his hand.

"You've been out a bit now," he said stepping into the room and unclipping a pen from his pocket. "So how are you feeling?"

A spark ignited in Jonathan's head. "Exactly how long have I been unconscious?" he questioned attempting to end his confusion.

"Hmm… about three days," the doctor replied studying his clipboard.

After a slight silence, Jonathan finally managed to get out two words. "Three… days?"

"Yes from what I see here," the man replied obviously not catching on to Jonathan's shock. "So how are you feeling?"

Jonathan twitched in annoyance. He just woke from being unconscious for three days without remembering a thing and this medical expert was asking how he was feeling? How understanding of him.

"… Confused."

"Hm… I see I see…" he murmured copying his words down onto his paper not taking the time to register Jonathan's reply. "No headache… no dizziness?"

"No," he replied resisting the urge to interrupt the doctor's questionnaire so he could get some answers himself.

"Good good…" he murmured once again writing down on his paper. "So… Jonathan. What do you last remember?"

Crane paused closing his eyes in thought. "I… was on my way to my dorm and I heard people… talking," he replied truthfully trying to remember more. "And… well that's the last thing I can recall."

"Well… I see now…" said the doctor fidgeting with his pen. "Well allow me to fill you in a bit. You were found unconscious in one of the dormitory hallways and I believe it was the people you heard talking that found you and quickly called the hospital."

Hearing this, Jonathan's head spun as it pieced together the clouded images his mind had refused him to let him remember. He remembered the plans he had overheard being discussed. He recalled the voice in his head sounding so captivating…

Jonathan turned and saw the doctor studying him with interest.

"You remember then?"

Jonathan stared at the bed sheets running a hand through his hair. Come end of year, he was going to become his classmates' entertainment and it seemed that he had no way out of it. Then he called back the words the voice had said to him. It had made so much sense… he didn't have to accept their brutality anymore…

"Jonathan?"

Crane looked up. "Yes doctor… I remember."