He looks at the moon as tears escape his eyes.
"Why did you do it?"
He looks up to the moon with a blank expression.
"I don't know."
He laughs and laughs and laughs. He's done fighting, he's done trying to figure it out.
'Good. Don't fight it. Let me out. Let me out! LET ME OUT!'
He looks up at the other man as his blank expression turns into one of worry.
The mask cracks and his eyes turn black.
"Run."
"Do you think he's actually coming?"
Evan looks over at Craig, who was standing in the door way, and sighs. Evan looks out at the setting sun as he leans back in the patio chair.
"I don't know, Craig. I'm honestly surprised he even gave your invite a single thought. Why would he risk something he's been trying to keep to himself for more than 20 years?"
Craig walks over and sits next to him, "Perhaps he actually trusts us now? At least enough to actually meet us in person, mask or no mask."
"It just doesn't seem like him, you know?" Evan rubs his temples in frustration.
Craig reaches over and pats a hand on his friends shoulder, "I know your worried Evan, I am too. But maybe this is a good thing?" Craig smirks, "After all, you've had the biggest crush on him since forever."
"Mini!" Evan shouts at his friend with a blush covering his cheeks.
Craig laughs but retreats back into the house. Evan sighs tiredly but perks up at the cab coming into the driveway. There he was, looking exactly like his character model. Same exact mask, same blue hoodie, black sweats and black shoes. It was scary at how exact Johnathan had gotten with his imitation.
Johnathan reaches into the seat beside him and grabs his bag before giving the driver the money he earned. He reaches up to lightly trace his mask. It was strange. He had woken up a day after his talk with his friends to find this mask on his kitchen counter. It was made of an unknown material, soft, flexible and light yet tough, not fragile and the straps made it hard for anyone to yank the mask off his face. While he knew not the material it's made from, it was a breathable one, it was easy to breath in and it didn't become hot with the mask. Another thing weird is that when he spoke, it did not hinder his voice at all, it was almost like he didn't even have a mask on. However, Johnathan wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Otherwise commissioning a mask like this would cost him a LOT of money. He didn't trust a regular hockey mask nor those Jason copies in the Halloween stores. It just didn't seem right so the gift was a welcome one.
"Delirious!"
Johnathan spins around and finds himself pulled into a big hug by Evan.
Evan laughs and lets the man go, "It's so good to finally meet you in person!" He looks up slightly, "You're taller than I thought you'd be."
Johnathan shifts in nervousness, "Yeah, I've been having a growth spurt the last week. Doctor says it won't stop for a couple months." It was a half truth. He was having a growth spurt but even he knew it was unnatural. He wasn't stupid enough to go to a doctor and expose what's happening to him. Plus, he didn't know when the growing would stop.
Evan gives Johnathan a big smile as he guides the man up to the house, "Well, it's still nice for you to be here. The others didn't believe you were coming so this'll be a shocker."
They enter the house and head for the living room. The house held this feeling that set Johnathan on edge, especially with the knowledge he has on it. In the living room, there are four other people. Nogla, or David, was a good head taller than Johnathan, standing at about six foot two in height. His messy black hair and scraggly black beard was an odd charm and his lanky frame and black framed glasses made him look frail. He's wearing a green plaid long sleeved shirt over a graphic tee, black jeans and grey socks. Mini Ladd, or Craig, was laughing at something Panda, or Anthony, had said. His forehead was slightly larger than normal but it suited his face. He has short brown hair and a dark ginger beard, his Irish decent showing true. His frame was short but bulky, it was obvious he worked out, just like Evan. However, his black framed glasses gave him this nerdy look. He wore a black graphic tee and black sweats, Johnathan rolls his eyes at the sight of Mini's name on them, it was obviously one of his own merchandise. Anthony has short black hair and a small black beard as well. He wore a black and white shirt with some tan cargo shorts. His frame was, ah, big boned? He wasn't as muscled nor thin but he wasn't fat. Chubby, Johnathan thinks is the word.
Brian's brown hair was stylized in a sort of swoop to the side. It was clear he spent an hour on it early this morning. His face was clean of any facial hair and he didn't wear glasses. He wore a grey graphic tee with some black jeans. His frame was like Craig's, muscled and short but he was less defined than Evan. Johnathan looks at Evan from the corner of his eye. He hadn't really looked at Evan when he greeted him out front. Evan was obviously Asian decent despite being Canadian, what with his tan skin and slanted eyes. His hair is short and black and he, too, didn't have any facial hair. He wore a red and white jacket with a white shirt under it, a pair of blue jeans and white socks. Evan's frame made it obvious he played a sport, in this case Ice Hockey, with the defined muscles, broad shoulders and overall thickness. It was strange. Johnathan's body didn't look stronger, he didn't look frail either, but when he tries, he's actually strong enough to punch a hole in a wall. He internally winces at the memory. He was angry, so, so, angry and he needed an output right then or he would do something regrettable. Again, it was strange. He wasn't doing anything that warranted such anger, he just started seeing red and felt the need to hurt something.
"Hey, guys! Look who actually showed up!" Evan cheers.
"Is that who I tink it is?!" David rubs his eyes in amazement.
"Sup, dudes?" Johnathan greets them with a shrug.
"Delirious!" Craig shouts in excitement, "I can't believe you actually came!"
"I said I was, didn't I? Just remember the deal." Johnathan says the last part with utmost seriousness.
"Don't worry, this is a good enough treat for us all!" Anthony laughs, "Actually getting to meet you in person, mask or no mask, is awesome!"
"Yeah!" Brian agrees but then curses, "Shit! I owe Tyler fifty dollars!"
David laughs, "Oh yeah! You bet he wouldn't show up and Tyler took you up on it. Guess Tyler is super lucky."
"Delirious," Johnathan turns to look at Evan, "Come on. I'll show you to your room."
Johnathan bids everyone a good night and follows Evan up the stairs. Evan points out the bathroom as they pass it and two doors down, they enter his room. The bed is huge, with forest green blanket and the softest looking pillow ever. There is a dresser next to the door with a small vanity mirror and a desk with a black chair. There is a desk lamp on the deck, a tall floor lamp next to the dresser and a table lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. There is a small bookcase full of novels next to the desk. On the other side of the bed is two sliding glass doors that leads to a balcony with two white chairs and small stone table. There are two other doors, one Johnathan assumes is a closet.
"That door leads to the closet, and that door leads to a small private bathroom. Everyone has one. It has a small shower stall, a toilet, a sink and a mirror. The bathroom in the hallway is for those who don't want to go all the way to their bedroom just to take a piss and it has a washing machine and a dryer, so it's for laundry as well." Evan chuckles as he points to the corresponding doors.
"Thanks, Evan." Johnathan absentmindedly says as he throws his bag on the bed to explore the books in the bookcase.
Evan watches Delirious for a few more minutes before he leaves, shutting the door behind him. For the next two hours, Johnathan listens to the others chatter down stairs before they all clammier up the stairs and go to their rooms for the night. An hour after he is sure they are all asleep, he heads out to sit on the balcony and watch the stars. The growth spurt isn't the only thing going on with him. He never seems to get tired. Oh, he has dark rings under his eyes from exhaustion but whenever he lies down to try and sleep, he just stares at the ceiling for hours on end. For the past week, he's gotten maybe three hours of sleep each night and each night the time frame only gets shorter. His body needs to sleep, he can feel how sluggish and painful its gotten as it begs for more and more rest, but his mind refuses to shut down. It's really frustrating and exhausting. Maybe his mind is afraid to sleep? The last time he actually got any semblance of rest, he was swept up in that accursed world again with no one but the horrifying scenes played before him, not even Void had been there to help keep him grounded.
So caught up in his own mind, Johnathan doesn't notices how much time had passed until the dawn's light snaps him out of it. He got no sleep. With a sigh, he goes down stares and enters the kitchen. For some reason, he constantly felt the need to cook meals at breakfast and dinner time and for everything to be spotless. It could be a phantom habit from the other world, the one where everything was a white, a sanitized color, and how he would always cook breakfast and inner before and after working in that hospital. As he got lost in his thoughts, his body moved on autopilot. To smell of pancakes and eggs seemed to waft upstairs and wake everyone up. One by one, the members inhabiting the lodge had come down and watched as Johnathan cooked six things at once like a pro. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and six cups of coffee were made and place on the table. Evan was the only one to notice how robotic it seemed. Evan looked into Johnathan's eyes and he could see how far away they looked, it was almost like someone else had taken control of his body. It was only when Johnathan sat down did he blink and look around in confusion before noticing the gaping looks he's getting.
"What?" Johnathan couldn't help but snap sounding angry and cold before going back to his relaxed state.
Again, only Evan could see the switch and it made him frown in concern.
"I didn't know you could cook!" Anthony sputters out as everyone takes a seat at the table and begins eating.
Johnathan bristles, "Is there something wrong with that?"
"No! No! Nothing like that!" Anthony waves his hands frantically, "It's just that it smells, look and tastes great!"
Johnathan blushes at the compliment, he's never had one before about his cooking. He looks down at his plate and the food does look good, but like sleep, he hasn't been hungry in a week. Unlike sleep, it hasn't had an effect on his body, yet, and if he forces himself to eat he feels sick afterwords. Looking at everybody else, he uses his fork to play around with his food, fake eating a few bites and swallowing them and waits until everybody is almost done to get up and subtly scrape his food into the trash as he walked to the sink.
No body but Evan noticed, to busy eating the delicious food Delirious made for them.