I'm sorry it's so late but high school
"Bored..." Mitch muttered, shooting another arrow at his ceiling. He had managed to form the shape of an X and a frowning face by now and was running out of things to do. Jerome had left earlier to get some food from the market, so Mitch was left to entertain himself. He was having a good day until then, but now he was too bored to be motivated and too awake to be tired.
He told himself he should be recording videos or working on something for the channel. His viewers certainly could tell he had been slacking off, so didn't they deserve a new and improved him? Still, he could barely find it in him to get up from his spot on his bed, and his computer looked so far away. Creating a tweet after all that effort? He would be unable to do anything else for the rest of the day, maybe the week. His viewers would have to wait a while.
He wondered how he would get to the Hunger Games against Jordan and Ryan later if he couldn't even get out of bed. Jerome would probably have to drag him there against his will and, like every recording as of late, he would smile and act like he was happy and everything was okay. Jerome would try and cheer him up, he'd feel slightly better, but the next day the cycle would start all over again. It was an endless roller coaster of highs and lows that Mitch just wanted to get off.
Something moved in the kitchen, pulling Mitch out of his thoughts and into the present. He automatically tensed and launched into fighting position. "Well, now I got out of bed..." He thought to himself as he approached the room. Jerome shouldn't be home yet, and if he was he would've checked on Mitch by now and scolded him for sleeping this late. Was this an intruder sent to kill him? Normally Mitch would welcome this, but Jerome would flip out if he came home and saw this. When Mitch entered the kitchen, however, all he saw was a piece of paper floating to the ground.
"Not this again..." He groaned. He and Jerome needed to check the security of their home if enemies could so easily leave threatening messages on their floor.
When he picked the paper up though, more than one sentence was written on it. It appeared to be some sort of poem. More curious than scared, Mitch began reading.
Young boy, as you sit
And crumble inside
I give you a game
So you won't have to hide
The rules are quite simple
I write, you do
I can see your future
I assure this is true
You'll find a lost cause
You'll lose an old friend
You'll be betrayed
You'll meet your end
One last task
To create a link
You'll realize true enemy
Is closer than you think
"Well," Mitch commented. "How dark."
There were three options for how this happened. One, a crazy fan felt the need to mess with Mitch's emotions and sent this. Two, some associates of the leader had decided to take revenge in a very odd and surprisingly nonviolent way. Three, this poet wasn't lying and could actually see into Mitch's future.
He wasn't sure which was worse.
Mitch wondered if this poet wasn't actually a bad person. Maybe he was a good guy just trying to warn Mitch of some threats. Either way, Mitch decided to exercise complete caution. That meant that no one could be trusted. Anyone could be the enemy close to him; anyone could betray him. If the note was designed to make him paranoid it certainly did the job. The more Mitch thought about the possibilities, the more he worried. What if his friends were plotting against him? Maybe he was a nuisance to them and this was their way of permanently solving the problem. Maybe they were tired of his negative attitude and wanted to keep him suffering in silence. Maybe they were unrelated and something more powerful was out to get him. What had he gotten himself into?
Something told him to keep this a secret. Adam had told him to open everything up to the group, but they didn't even know he was miserable. Ashley would probably just threaten to kill whoever did it, and Jordan and Ryan didn't even know half of what happened last time. And Jerome... If this was true, Jerome could very well be the one to betray him. Maybe sharing wasn't a good idea. Nothing seemed like a good idea anymore. He didn't know what to do.
Mitch sunk onto the couch in defeat and sniffled a bit. "Why are they so against me?" He wondered aloud. "Why does everyone hate me?" He certainly hadn't done anything bad to them. Why did it seem like the whole universe was out to get him? A feeling of hopelessness overtook Mitch as he snuggled into the warm pillows. He should just stay here forever. He could be the Couch King. He'd never lose hunger or health and he could sleep a lot. Appeared foolproof, aside from losing all his friends and his channel and his life. Sleep seemed worth all that sometimes; it was a safe haven where he could be warm and happy. Isn't that all anyone could want in life?
The boy finally sat up and forced himself to look over the note again. "You'll find a lost cause... What could that be?" He mused. Something he had given up long ago? Next was the "lose an old friend" line. He presumed someone was going to leave him. Something deep down told him Jerome was his oldest friend, but he pushed it aside. He obviously understood the meaning of betrayal, but who? It didn't seem like any of his friends. And meeting his end... He wasn't sure what to make of that line. When? Tomorrow? Two weeks? Two months?
The line that truly stumped him was the close enemies. One might think that it meant someone he was friends with was really an enemy, but that was already stated that someone would betray him. He didn't quite understand how this would work if it was real. He hadn't stopped to think about that. Was this even real? It could be just a troll that had finally gotten to him. He debated the question for a while, his whole being hoping it was fake.
If it wasn't, though, he was sure in for a heck of a ride.
So I did a thing. Yeah... I'm curious to see if anyone has any theories on the poem (is it real, what is the lost cause, betrayal, etc.) Let me know in the reviews!
~Scarlett