Chapter Text
"Don't do that!" You yell, pointing at your younger brothers when they both pull at a bag of chips. The youngest loses his grip and falls on his ass on the kitchen floor as you put the other groceries away. You snatch the bag before they manage to rip it open, putting it on the fridge and glaring them down. "Dinner first."
Luckily, today you don't have to do anything besides heating some left-overs. School tired you up more than usual.
You put on headphones as you eat and watch some videos on your phone trying to ignore your brothers talking loudly about a game they started to play recently.
You tap on the new message before even reading what the notification says.
UNKNOWN
You better fucking show up at 8
"What the fuck?" You whisper to yourself.
YOU
who's this?
You don’t even manage to go back to your video before they text you back.
UNKNOWN
Don’t pull that shit with me. You’re dead tomorrow if you don’t come tonight
You frown. You can’t think of anyone that would text you like this, let alone the fact that you did not make any plans tonight.
YOU
yeeeeeaaaahh
no idea what you’re talking about
also
rude
You go to take another bite when you realize you mindlessly ate everything too fast while you were bothered texting. You sigh and lean back as you wait for your brothers to finish too. Your phone vibrates.
UNKNOWN
Listen here bitch. You bring me the rest of the money at 8 or that broken leg will only be the beginning.
You blink thrice as you not only understand that this person got the wrong number but also why. Still, the situation amuses you too.
YOU
my legs work just fine BITCH
your comprehension skills however…
Five minutes or so go by until a new message shows up right when you finish watching the video.
UNKNOWN
Send me a pic
YOU
HUH?
UNKNOWN
Take a pic right now and send it to me
YOU
sure let me just
go break my own leg too while I’m at it
UNKNOWN
I don’t know where you got those balls from in such a short time but you better not show your face again. EVER. Must be fun when you’re behind that screen but you whimpered like a little bitch a couple of hours ago.
YOU
BITCH i don’t know who you think I am but let me spell it out
you
got
the
wrong
number
now shut up I’m busy
You put your phone down and start on your chores. Dishes first. The mundane tasks leave space for you to think about those texts again and again. No matter what your mind keeps going back to them. You scoff. The audacity. Who even talks like that? You never met anyone with that attitude. It’s like a teen gangster from those movies your parents scolded your brothers for watching. How old was this person? Must be young, right? Do adults talk like that too?
You even started to imagine what they looked like writing those messages. The characteristics were blurry but the stupid faces you came up with got you laughing as you were folding your laundry. It’s past 9 when your phone vibrates while you’re studying.
UNKNOWN
(photo)
Know him?
You sigh when you see the notification but you’re actually caught off guard when you see the photo. There’s someone laying on the ground on their side, one hand pressed against their abdomen while the other’s limp under them. Someone out of the frame is pulling their hair as the camera captures their beat up face. So much that you can’t even tell if you know them.
You stare and zoom in and out for every little detail you can get. The uniform’s color doesn’t look familiar, though there isn’t much light to help you out, but you decide, based off what you think the uniform looks like, that you don’t know them. Probably for your peace of mind as well.
YOU
no clue
maybe take a picture before you attempt diy plastic surgery
UNKNOWN
Funny. This is who you were supposed to be.
YOU
wow
gladly i’m not
did you really beat them up to be sure you got the wrong number
UNKNOWN
Would’ve beat them up regardless
This guy’s out of his mind.
YOU
you’re so cool
I’m gonna block you now
UNKNOWN
Like fuck you will. No one blocks me
YOU
or what
You stare at your phone, homework forgotten. You’re not sure why you’re entertaining this. Or why you didn’t block them when you got the first messages. You chuckle when you suddenly remember the stranger danger speech your mother gave you once.
UNKNOWN
Or I find a way to make you pay.
YOU
you literally know nothing about me
besides the fact that I’m not the one in that pic
UNKNOWN
Don’t underestimate me
You scoff and go back to your homework. You finish it later than expected, half-focused on it while your mind kept coming up with scenarios of what could happen if you blocked them. You decide you watch too much TV.
The next day, your phone keeps vibrating on your way to school. It’s a fifteen minute walk and you left a little later than usual, but the repetitive sound irritates you so much you stop and take the phone out of your backpack. 12 new messages.
UNKNOWN
Did you actually block me?
Bitch
I’ll fucking kill you
I see you’re getting these
So you didn’t
Good. You’re all bark and no bite aren’t you?
just some pussy trying to seem bold
Answer me
.
.
.
.
YOU
piss off
i don’t have time for tjis shit
UNKNOWN
I doubt you have anything going on in your life
You quickly snap a pic of the ground as you walk.
YOU
(photo)
late to school
UNKNOWN
You a fucking chick?
You stop and scroll up. It seems your legs and brain take turns working. Why the fuck did you send a photo? This isn’t your friend. What if it’s a creep who can actually find you and also what if they find something on the ground that they can use to find out where you live and they-
YOU
just leave me alone
UNKNOWN
Where you from?
YOU
why?
UNKNOWN
just asking
You stare at the screen, trying to think. Your finger is hovering over the block button.
YOU
how old are you?
You remember you were doing something and start walking, your eyes on the phone the entire time.
UNKNOWN
16
WHAT? You stop again without thinking. They could be lying. They can see you’re in some kind of uniform from that photo that also has your lower body in view. You can’t trust them so easily.
YOU
sure…
send a pic
in your uniform
The photo you get shows their legs, abdomen and left hand holding a lit cigarette. It’s a male uniform. Looks the same as the one the person in the photo last night was wearing.
You start running the rest of the way to school, making it just in time.
YOU
full body. hold a grape juice box in your right hand
and
point left with the other.
Class couldn’t pass slower. You thought about that guy the entire time. They probably won’t send anything in which case you’ll block the number and go on with your life.
As if.
UNKNOWN
You don’t tell me what to do bitch
The second text came 5 hours later.
UNKNOWN
But if you’re so damn curious I’ll entertain it this time only
(photo)
(photo)
He has purple hair. You zoom in as much as you can. His face is kind of pale and he wears glasses with really thin frames. He’s wearing the same uniform he showed you this morning. He looks done with life. You can see he took it in the back of a classroom. The first photo is exactly like you asked. In the second one he’s closer to the camera, his head slightly tilted to the left and his middle finger covers almost half of the picture. You can’t help but smile at it. There’s a million things you can poke fun at but you settle on a little more serious reply.
YOU
we’re the same age
Guess you’ll have to wait for another reason to block him.