Title: GSWTP Status: Complete Characters: Anon, Naomi, Principal Spears Rating: SFW Classification: One-Shot Author: PumpkinBrain Summary: Naomi has the best dream of her life. January 8th. A grand day at volcano high. Dinos walked about, talking and chatting, smalking and batting. Those aren’t real words, but the day was grand! Well, about as grand as a high school can be. Which is to say… the day was strikingly normal. Naomi, our lead focus, was helping her beloved Principal hang up some promotional material for the new semester. It said something like… ‘welcome back from your happiness!’ or whatever. It was purposefully mean-spirited. Naomi wished to not put it up, given its nature, but Principal Spears insisted. Said that ‘those friggin’ teenagers need to learn that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows’ or something. She was starting to believe that he was paid off by Mr. Carlewskii, because he looked uncomfortable every time he said that. But she, being the president of the council, had to follow orders. So there she was, standing on top of a ladder, pushpins and banner in her hands. Principal Spears held the ladder below her. He was absolutely terrible at it. “Principal Spears, please stop shaking the ladder..” Naomi whispered meekly. She never really bothered standing up to him— but he was starting to worry her. “Huh? Oh, my apologies, Naomi.” He muttered. He had apparently been distracted by something. Not abnormal… “It’s alright.” She whispered, putting a pushpin in the top-left corner. Two more to go, and she would be done. She could get off this shitty ladder and feel safe again. “Yeah, but still. I should be a lot more…” he trailed off, seemingly being distracted again. Uh oh. Oh no. “Principal Spears?” Naomi asked. “Give me a minu-“ Principal Spears began to yell. “Hey, you two! Don’t you-!” He cut himself off, and Naomi whimpered. She began to brace herself for whatever was going to happen. …And happen it did. All it took was Principal Spears moving in the wrong direction to knock over the ladder completely— his hulking frame being nearly 100 times stronger than her weight and the ladder’s combined. She tensed up as she felt herself become weightless. It was a common feeling, falling. Tripping and jumping help simulate this. However, she could say with confidence: she did not recommend falling off of a ladder. It sucked. She hit the ground shortly after, and everything went dark. ——;—— When she awoke, she felt… different. Almost like she wasn’t in her own body. Everything felt wrong; everything felt fucked. As she opened her eyes, things looked normal, but… it still just felt so off. She removed the covers from her body as she got out of her bed. She felt remarkably fine for what had happened. Didn’t she fall off a ladder and hit her head? If so, where was the bruise? Where was the headache? Where was the confusion? Well, that last bit didn’t count. She WAS confused. She DID feel like she was forgetting various things. But what? What could she be forgetting? A homework assignment? A person? A name? She shook her head. Considering she was fine, she probably had to get to school. That whole falling thing was probably just some weird dream. It would make sense— usually, when you get hurt in a dream, you wake up. So.. why did she feel so.. unawake? She sat in silence for a moment, before she sighed. “I’m being ridiculous.” She muttered, shaking her head once again. She fully got out of her bed, not bothering to make it. She liked to remain professional when at school and during events, but nobody can stop her in her own home. Who cares if she wants to be a little messy? Certainly not her, and certainly not her sister. She chuckled at the thought, and moved to her drawers. She got out the required clothes and changed from her jammies into her normal everyday outfit. It was her basic morning routine. Brushing her hair in the bathroom, she began to talk to herself again. “Alright.” She muttered, running the brush through a particularly tough strand. “I’ll go to school and I’ll ask Principal Spears what I should do for today. It’s..” She checked her phone quickly. It was the same day as she thought it would be. March 23rd. It really was a dream. “It’s a normal day. I go to school, I get my tasks, I do them.” She set down the brush. It was time for her to go. Grabbing her backpack and rushing out the door, she unlocked her car and threw her stuff inside. The pristine interior of the bright yellow 2006 Volkswagen Beetle was comforting to her— it was familiar. It was one of the first familiar things all day. Everything had just felt so off up until now. But, climbing into her car, she felt normal. She felt good. Today would be a good day. She repeated the mantra as she turned the key and started the car. The annoying pop music on her radio presets started up, and she smiled. Today would be a good day. …After around ten minutes of driving, she pulled her car into a parking spot in the student parking lot. She, sadly, didn’t have a spot reserved for her; but nobody really parked in the spot she picked every day, so she guessed it counted. She removed her keys and stepped out of the car, grabbing her backpack from the backseat. She closed her door and faced the high school in front of her. “Alright. Time to start the day.” She smiled. Saying that was a tradition she had started back in her freshman year— it was just something to help boost her spirits. She used to not like school very much, if you could believe that. She giggled at the memory. How times change. She walked up and inside the imposing-building-turned-second-home. The doors swung open and the rustle and bustle of Volcano High was another familiar sight. That’s two in a row, now. The day really would be just fine. She walked down the halls and towards her locker. She would put her backpack away and then head for Principal Spears’ office. It was what she was supposed to do; it was what she always did. Today was familiar. Today was normal. “Hey, Naomi!” A voice yelled. An unfamiliar voice. Uh oh. Defcon 3. Defcon 3! A bald human wearing an olive tee-shirt with a green button-up over it walked up to her. He had a smile on his face, and he looked happy to see Naomi. He seemed to be in her grade, so maybe she knew him from somewhere. But she didn’t remember Volcano High ever having any humans… However, as soon as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, she found herself smiling at him. “Hey, Anon! Good morning.” She beamed. “Good morning, babe.” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. They began to walk together. “What’s on the agenda today? Spears got you doing anything weird?” He chuckled. “Not sure yet. I just got here.” She smiled nervously. She felt like she was oddly late. “Really?” He asked, almost incredulously. Oops. Maybe she really did show up late. “Don’t you like to show up early most days? School starts in like, five minutes, or something. Everything alright?” He laughed. “Sleep in a little late?” “I think so..” She whispered, looking down. She honestly felt a little ashamed. “Hey, it’s alright.” He squeezed her against him in a comforting fashion. “You’re still here on time. I can’t blame you for wanting to sleep in. But also, cheer up! I got good news.” She turned to face him. He was still smiling. “What’s that?” She asked, feeling a little better already. His smiling face always put her in a good mood. He pulled two of something out of his pocket. They looked like receipts. Noticing her questioning look, he followed up. “I got us tickets to that movie you wanted to go see.” He explained. “That one about the kid?” She gasped. No way. He remembered?! “You remembered?!” She asked, echoing her thoughts. He had to be kidding. “The Stego in the Striped Pajamas. You got us tickets.” She asked, trying to confirm. He nodded. “Of course! It wasn’t that hard, you know? Just had to find the time to get over to the movie theater. Fernsworth and Carlewskii having their tests be on the same day really messed with my schedule..” he trailed off, grumbling about things being ‘dumb’ and ‘unfair’. But then he turned it around. “But whatever. Doesn’t matter. The tickets are for tonight’s showing, I have the day off work. You wanna come?” He asked. “How could I say no?” Naomi laughed. “It sounds like a lot of fun. Are you coming to pick me up, or do you want me to come get you?” She asked. She knew what his answer would be, but sometimes his pride won’t let her drive him around. She figured she would ask. “Errrmm… I don’t have a car.” He muttered, embarrassed. “I’ll get one eventually. I’m saving up. But lord knows that Homegoods pay fuckin’ sucks…” he started grumbling again. “Oh, stop complaining. They love you.” She giggled. “I know they do, dammit!” He exclaimed in mock-outrage. “But still. Point stands. I have no car. And I don’t know how many times that taxi guy is gonna give us a free ride.” He laughed. “You make a fair point. Alright. What time do you want me to come get you?” She asked. “Showing starts at 7:00. 6:30 sound good?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Perfect.” They split off from each-other not long after, both of them having to go to different classes. Anon to math and Naomi to Spears’ office. But, Naomi continued through the rest of her day, thinking excitedly about her date with Anon. That movie was supposed to be really good, sure, but she was more happy to just.. spend time with him. Anon always really cared about her and wanted to make sure she had a good time whenever they went on dates. She honestly felt a little bad about it; usually, she takes the lead, so having Anon be the one that plans most of their dates made her feel… inferior. She knew she was being ridiculous, of course, but she felt it should be at least equal. One of these days, she would have to take him to a Green Day concert or something. She knew he liked that band. …But when the day was finally up, and Naomi was back at home waiting to leave the house, she felt the urge to… get a little dolled up. Anon didn’t mention any kind of dinner, having only said things about the movie, but knowing him? He was gonna spur something on her last minute and surprise her, and she would be caught off guard, and he would laugh at her embarrassed expression, and he would… he would look so cute, laughing like that… even if it was embarrassing for her. It was just… oh, she loved his laugh. It was always so nice to see him so happy, especially because of how miserable he looked at the start or the year. Seeing his walls fall down and him be so genuinely happy was something that made her heart ache. But in a good way. She checked her phone, having put the last of her makeup on. It was 6:11. If she left at 6:15, she could make it to Skin Row by 6:30. So she had four minutes of time to kill. Well, not really. It would take four minutes to get out of the house and into her car, so she might as well just get going. She left her bathroom and walked downstairs, taking notice of some clatter going around in the kitchen. Her sister must be home. “Mia! I’m going out!” The teen shouted, not bothering to go see her sister. She liked her sister, sure, but she didn’t feel like letting Mia see her all pretty and shit. Mia was… overbearing, to say the least. “Alright! With Anon?” She yelled out from the kitchen, presumably peeking her head out. Naomi couldn’t see. “Yeah!” Naomi shouted back, opening up the front door. “I’ll be back in a few hours!” “Have fun!” Mia yelled. Naomi nodded, despite not being visible, and then opened the door; walked out, closed the door behind her, faced forward, and began walking. It was as shrimple as that. ——;—— Naomi and Anon walked arm-in-arm up to the movie theater. It was a cold night, or, as Anon would describe it, ‘Cold as balls’. Naomi would laugh at that, and he would smile back, liking the fact that his joke landed. Smiling and laughing, it was the status quo for them. And Naomi couldn’t help but feel like the happiest girl in the world, dressed up as she was. She didn’t feel uncomfortable about it, though, because guess what? The motherfucker (Anon) was dressed up too! He did have something planned! But Naomi didn’t want to make any guesses. She just smiled at the idea. “Hey, we got two tickets for the uhh… Stego in pajamas.” Anon said, walking up to the dino at the booth. He was red in color, and looked to be a T-Rex. A teenager, though, so he was still pretty small. “Alright.” The guy muttered, taking their tickets. He tore off two parts and handed a smaller piece back to us. “There you go. Enjoy the movie, guys.” He smiled a dead smile. He looked to be smiling genuinely, though. Maybe he was just tired. “Thank you!” Naomi beamed, giving the kid a nod. Anon nodded as well, and the two walked inside the theater. Anon turned to face her. “You want any snacks?” He asked. “Drink? Anything like that? I know you don’t like sugar but I’m pretty sure they have diet soda.” He suggested, shrugging. “I’m good,” Naomi nodded. “I can enjoy a good Diet Coke from time to time, but I’m not really feeling it right now.” “Ay, I hear you on that. No worries.” He smiled. “Did you want anything?” She asked, realizing he may have wanted something, even if she didn’t. “I’m willing to come along with you, even if I don’t want anything.” She smiled warmly. “I’m good.” He shrugged, and chuckled. “I should probably cut back on the junk food. My lank won’t last forever.” Naomi nodded, and they went back into a silence as they continued down the hall to their theater. That is, until Naomi leaned into him. She started speaking, “I’m glad you’re making healthier choices, honey.” “Oh, it’s, uh…” She could feel his blush. She just snickered. “It’s nothing. Just buying diet soda instead of regular. Shit like that… nothing major…” He chuckled nervously. “Are you sure?” She asked, removing her head from his side to look at him. “Or are you just downplaying yourself again?” He stayed silent. Hook line and sinker. “I uhh..” he whispered. His face was bright red. “I also might be eating vegetables with dinner…” He whispered. “Ohh, Anon!!” Naomi squealed. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m so proud of you!” She gave him a hug, squeezing tightly. “It’s just.. embarrassing, is all..” “It shouldn’t be.” She said sincerely. She stopped them from walking. Anon looked confused, but Naomi put a hand up, shushing him. “Anon, don’t be ashamed to be making better choices with yourself. Nobody will be ashamed or upset with you. Naser won’t be ashamed. Fang won’t be ashamed. I—” She said, putting emphasis on the I. “—will never be ashamed of you. I promise.” Naomi smiled, and then stood on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on the nose. “Okay?” Anon took a moment, but eventually, he nodded. “Okay.” He smiled. It was a nervous smile, and he was still blushing, but he was smiling. Then he kissed her back, once again making her embarrassed. He was always so good at that. Naomi pouted, Anon laughed, and then they continued on their way to the movie theater. Status quo: filled. However, the movie was going to start soon. They had to get there fast! When they got into the theater and settled themselves in, there were only a few previews that they were able to watch before the movie ended up starting. They really were almost late. Jeez. …Either way, the movie was starting, so the both of them shut up and enjoyed the film. Or, prepared to. Haha. ——;—— …After the movie was over, they were once again walking arm-in-arm, but now, it was a lot more sad. There was crying going on. From who, well, isn’t it obvious? “I just.. can’t believe it ended like that.” Anon said, sniffling. He wiped his eyes with a tissue Naomi had provided. “They fucking killed the kids! What the fuck, man!” He said, seemingly angry, but Naomi knew it was just sadness. Pure emotion. “Who does that? What kind of ending is that?” “I’m sorry, Anon.” Naomi muttered, holding him tight. “I read the book. I should’ve warned you.” “No, it’s.. fine.” He muttered. “You didn’t know I’d get emotional. Honestly, I feel kinda stupid for it.” He trailed off, looking away. Then he looked back to me. “But my point stands. That’s a fucked up ending.” “It really is.” Naomi smiled sadly. Anon smiled back. “It was a good movie, though. Written well. The sad ending kinda made sense, even if I hated it.” He said, going into a bit of an analysis. Naomi thought it was cute. Because of course she did. But she figured she’d humor his words. “You’re right. I felt it was a pretty good adaptation of the novel.” She smiled. She got closer to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for taking me.” “Of course, babe.” He smiled. “Thanks for not being busy.” “Oh, yeah!” She exclaimed, and then showcased some mock upset. “You totally sprung that on me. What if I was busy? Huh?” She asked, crossing her arms. “What then?” “I would’ve stolen you away from wherever you were, and I would’ve kissed you, and we would’ve ran away together, and we would’ve gone to the movies and dinner anyway.” He said, rambling on as he clutched me tighter to him. “Oh?” Naomi said. “What’s that?” “Huh?” Anon asked. “Dinner?” Naomi asked, feigning ignorance. She knew. She always knew. “Oh, shit.” Anon laughed. “It was supposed to be a surprise. Me and my big mouth.” Naomi laughed as well. “It’s alright. Surprise or not, I’m still happy you’re taking me to dinner. I’ll always be happy when you bring me places. You know that.” She smiled. She was being honest. Genuine. “I do.” He nodded. He was also being genuine. “Well, alright, then. C’mon. The restaurant we’re going to is right across the street.” “Oh, is it that Greek place?” The dinosaur girl asked. “I’ve never been there before, but I’ve heard it’s pretty good!” “I’m not sayingggg…” He teased, tapping her on the snoot. She pouted. “Whatever..” Soon enough, though, they were walking into that damn Greek restaurant. And that was all it took for Naomi to realize that he never actually denied it being Greek food. The sly dog. He could never actually lie to Naomi, so of course, he used his loopholes. What a bastard. But she laughed all the same. She was happy to be spending time with her boyfriend, is all. Greek food, Italian food, Rosa’s back alley Mexican tacos, a dirty crack shack? The food didn’t matter. As long as Anon was there with her, it was the best cuisine a girl could have. He… he had that effect on people. …When Anon and Naomi finally got a table, they were appreciating the atmosphere. It was a pretty neat place and seemed quite romantic. “This is a really good spot. I can’t believe I haven’t been in here before.” Naomi muttered, reading over the drink menu. Oops, that’s all alcohol. She flipped it over, embarrassed. “Right? I saw some interior shots on google and thought it looked dope.” Anon said, giving her another smile. He was always smiling. It warmed her heart. “I’m glad you like it.” “Of course.” She said, and reached across the table to grab his hand. She felt romantic. “As long as it’s with you, anywhere is fantastic.” Anon blushed. “Hehe. Oh, Naomi. You’re adorable.” Now she was the one blushing. “Yeah, yeah. You’re such a charmer.” “Oh, as if. That may not be my best material but you know it’s true.” He raised a finger and pointed it at her. “It may be.” The girl muttered, bringing up her menu to cover her face. Anon just laughed again. Then, the waiter— a human, surprisingly. Anon gave him a fist bump— came by. He got their drink orders, and Anon’s food order. He just ordered a totally normal beef gyro. Naomi didn’t want that, though she had long-since learned to not judge people for their choice of food. Not everyone was a herbivore like she was, so she couldn’t be upset when people ordered meat. It was stupid. She did need some more time for her order, though. Not that much time though. She just ended up ordering a tofu gyro. “I feel like I wasted his time.” Naomi muttered, watching as the waiter walked away. He didn’t seem upset at all, but some people are better at hiding it. “Why do you think that?” Anon asked, taking a sip of Diet Coke. He was thirsty after the movie, apparently. Naomi believed that to be his second refill. “Taking orders— that’s their job.” “Well, sure.. But…” Naomi trailed off, and tapped her finger against her lips. It was just a dumb habit she had. “I don’t know. I said I needed more time but I didn’t really. How can he NOT be annoyed?” “I think you’re reading too much into it, babe.” Anon suggested. “How can I be…” The girl trailed off, looking away. She had been thinking about it. “Am I?” “Yeah, of course you are.” Anon chuckled, and tightened his hand grip. “You always worry too much, Naomi. Let your shoulders relax a bit. It’ll do you some good. He’s doing his job— he doesn’t care about you messing up your order. He’s just glad you know what you want. Trust me.” Naomi looked back over at Anon. He seemed so.. real. She looked into his eyes and instead of finding deceit, bother, annoyance, anger.. she just saw… care. Appreciation. Patience and.. heart. “Just let go, Naomi.” He suggested again. She felt her shoulders relax. She felt herself… she felt herself let go. “Okay.” She smiled, and spoke calmly. “I’ll let go.” She felt so much better already. “Good. Thank you, babe.” He whispered, and tightened his grip on her hand. “Welcome to the party. How does it feel to be lazy?” Anon asked, taking another sip of his drink. “Feels great.” Naomi muttered, letting her head drop to the table. Argh. It always felt so heavy… “Hey, hey. Don’t fall asleep on me!” Anon laughed, absolutely beaming. “I need the company.” “I’m still awake…” She lulled. She then shot back up. “That’s actually a bad idea. I felt myself drifting.” She giggled. “See? I knew it. How much sleep did you get last night?” He asked. He was still joking around, but his voice had an undertone of care present. Naomi began to think on the question. How much sleep DID she get last night? She had no idea. “I have no idea.” She said, echoing her musings. “Couldn’t have been great, though. I felt like I had a really weird dream.” “Did you?” He asked. “Do you remember it?” “Nah.” She shook her head. “I never remember.” “Me neither.” The young man shrugged. “I just dream, wake up, and then go about my day. Happens to the best of us.” “I guess that’s true. That’s kinda what I did this morning. I don’t think I even made my bed…” She spoke that last part as she looked to the side. She revealed her power level! Shit! “What? Naomi isn’t totally neat in every way?” Anon gasped, feigning shock. “Who could’ve known!?” She reached across the table and gave him a smack on the forehead. He just laughed as he let his head move with my hand. He easily could’ve caught the smack, or dodged, but he chose to take it. He knew what he did. “Whatever, Anon. Yeah. I’m messy.” Naomi spoke, tilting her head upwards, as if she were an ancient queen. She began to fake an accent. “What of it?” “Hahaha!” Anon laughed. “What of it, huh? Sure, sure.” He giggled. Naomi smiled at that. She was glad to know she could make him laugh, even if it was just with dumb jokes. But eventually, their conversation came to a close, as the waiter came back with their food. They spoke fake-grace, grabbed their tinfoil wrapped meals, and began to chow down. ——;—— Anon and Naomi, now full from their meal, walked back out to Naomi’s car. The bright yellow Volkswagen was a sore thumb in the line of vehicles, yet still hard to find, as somehow, two RAM 3500s had sandwiched her car in and made it invisible to the naked eye. That’s odd. Yet… though the chances of that were weird, they were never zero. Keep that in mind next time you park somewhere. You might get blocked in by two giant pickup trucks. Huh? Anyway. As Naomi was about to hop into the driver’s seat, Anon put a hand up. “Hey, wait.” “…Yeah?” Naomi asked. Her hand was on the door handle, but she hadn’t opened up the car yet. “Let go of the door. Come on.” Anon asked, not looking like he would take no for an answer. Naomi just raised an eyebrow, but did as she was asked. Normally she wasn’t one to blindly take orders from someone she considered an equal, but Anon never really commanded her to do.. well, anything. So for this instance, she would go through with what she’s asked. Unless it was inappropriate. She wasn’t ready for that yet. Yet, she found herself gulping. Maybe that’s what he would ask… “Lean up on the car, over with me.” He said, demonstrating what he meant as he spoke. He was leaning on the front of her car. It was awkward, but he seemed comfortable enough. “Is that… are you comfy?” She asked, concerned despite it all. “Not really, but I will be if you come over here.” Oh, what the hell. Naomi walked away from her door, and over to his opposite side. She leaned up against the car as well. Anon wrapped his arm around her, and she smiled. He smiled as well, and began to speak. “The stars are beautiful tonight.” Anon whispered. “Yeah,” Naomi said, looking up at the sky he was seeing. “They are, aren’t they?” The area they were in was safe from general light pollution, surprisingly. Even though it was in a parking lot, there weren’t a lot of street lamps around. Just the occasional one, and… that didn’t do nearly enough to blind the world from its view of the stars. …The two teens stayed silent, as they watched the stars. There were no words that needed to be exchanged. No words that needed to be said… no words to interrupt the moment. Anon turned his head away from the stars, and towards Naomi. His girlfriend. His future wife. His one and only. Naomi turned her head to face him as well. She began to smile again, and he smiled back. Anon. Her boyfriend. Her future husband. Her one and only. …Anon, taking the initiative, leaned in. …after a night of fun, the two shared a kiss under that night sky. One full of passion, full of care. There was no lust in that kiss. No desire to get in the other’s pants, and certainly no ulterior motives. They were Anon and Naomi. They had faced the world, and continued to come out on top. The kisses they shared, they were always special, but… something like this only happened a few times in a person’s life. The only other kiss as notable as this was one shared under an altar. Finally, though, after a minute or so, they both had to breathe. Neither of them wanted it to end, but they both knew when they should’ve split it off. No more words were exchanged. Except.. except for a few. A few very important words. “Naomi?” “Mhm?” “…I love you.” Naomi, blushing, gave him another kiss. She then leaned into a hug. He hugged back. “I love you too, Anon.” They shared one last kiss under that night sky, until… everything faded to white. ——;—— Naomi awoke in her bed, feeling completely disoriented. Her alarm was blaring. She needed to get up to go to school. Ugh. School. Today! Of all days. It felt like a punch in the face. After such a good date yesterday, she feels it should just be the weekend already… Well, whatever. School means she would get to see Anon. That was always a happy part of her day. She smiled to herself. “I get to see Anon.” She whispered, and checked her phone. 7:00 AM January 9th. …wait. January 9th? Naomi did a double-take. She checked again. January 9th. That.. wasn’t right. Maybe her phone was busted. So she opened up her web browser. She typed ‘what day is it’ into the search bar, and Google had the same answer, January 9th. Which was… so odd. It wasn’t January. It shouldn’t be January. Anon started school around January. She’d known him for.. …w-wait. Who was.. who was Anon? She didn’t know an Anon. She never dated anyone named Anon. She… she was dating Naser. She had been dating Naser since middle school. They were perfect together, they were happy together. So.. why did she just have that dream? And why did her head hurt so bad? Ugh. She also apparently had a bag of water somewhere near her bed. It spilled all over the place. Damn it, this morning wasn’t going her way at all. There was probably ice in that bag, or something, but still. Why did she need a bag of ice? She rubbed her head, and was shocked by how much it hurt her. “What the hell?” She asked, and rubbed the spot again. A sharp pain. “Ow!” She yelled. She felt disoriented, too. A weird dream, nothing feels right. Like she hit her head real hard. …wait. Another realization. Another light bulb. She hit her head yesterday. She hit her head yesterday at school. Spears shook the ladder— she fell off and hurt herself. She probably passed out from the blunt force. So.. that.. all of what she just had.. with Anon.. …That was just a dream. An injury-induced dream. … She didn’t know why, but she felt the urge to cry. What she felt with Anon… even if it was just in a dream… she had never felt that before. Even with Naser, it always felt.. superficial. They would go on dates to keep up appearances. They would say they love each other, but who knows if they really did. They would care about each other, but it all felt like some kind of… scheme. It wasn’t right. However.. with.. with Anon? That… made up person? She was the happiest she’d ever been. Anon made her feel special. Made her feel… loved. Like she mattered, like she was worth paying attention to. He listened to her talk, he gave her advice, he kissed her under the light of the stars—! And he… he wasn’t real. …Naomi wiped her eyes. “God damn it. He’s not real.” She said. The words cut her like knives. “He’ll never be real. You’re in love with Naser. Not… some random human.” She told herself. But… truth is, she didn’t know what to feel. She just felt empty. And that’s what she felt all the way through her morning routine. She brushed her teeth, she brushed her hair, she put on her glasses and wore her uniform neatly. It just all felt… like autopilot. She didn’t want to be going to school. She might even be able to get out of it if she uses her head injury as an excuse. But… she couldn’t bring herself to do that. She wasn’t a slacker. She had to get to school and help Principal Spears. It was just what she did. But she felt… so empty. So sad. So broken. Even as she got into her yellow Volkswagen and sped off towards Volcano High, her mood never lifted. Her crappy pop music had been replaced by a broken melody rendition of Debussy’s ‘Clair De Lune’, and it nearly caused her to start crying again. She quickly turned the station off of that. Within a few minutes, she was pulling into the school parking lot, parking, stepping out of her car, and walking up the steps of Volcano High. It was average. She didn’t even bother saying her morning mantra. She didn’t care. She felt empty… as she has said multiple times. She was here to do a job. “Let’s see what Principal Spears had to say about what happened yesterday…” She whispered, walking towards his office. She knocked on his door when she got to it. It was a plain door in a plain office. Everything here felt plain… the whole world felt plain. Without Anon, at least.. “Ah, Naomi!” He exclaimed when he opened the door. He then wrapped her up in a surprising bear-hug. “Hurk! Principal Spears!” She yelled out, both out of shock and pain. He was a strong, strong man. Sometimes he didn’t know his own strength. “Ah, sorry.” He said, and set her back down. She began to hack and cough. God damn, he was strong. “I’m glad to see you back. I was very worried about you yesterday.” He said, and then trailed off into a lighter tone. “I’m sorry I knocked down that ladder, young lady. It was incredibly irresponsible of me. Could you ever forgive me?” He asked, showing a rare moment of weakness. Caught off-guard, the young lady just decided to accept. He was a nice guy. He didn’t mean harm. “Sure, it’s not a problem.” “Thank goodness.” The principal sighed. “If you had wanted to sue, I don’t know if we could’ve afforded it!” He laughed. Naomi laughed as well, despite it being a little awkward. They then both went silent. Principal Spears, awaiting a question, and Naomi, awaiting orders. …Naomi decided to speak up first. “So, do you have anything you need me to do?” She asked. It was a basic question, but she often had to ask it. “Ah, I do, actually. If you’re feeling up to it.” Spears said, putting a hand up to motion that she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to. “Depends.” Naomi said for the first time in her life. She was shocked she said that. Even the principal was shocked, but he didn’t comment on it. “W-We have a new student today. His name is Anon, this is what he looks like.” Spears said, and pulled out a copied photograph of a human boy with a green shirt. “Would you mind showing him around campus? It would mean a lot to me.” The young lady was floored. How couldn’t she be? “That’s… that is Anon.” Naomi whispered. She couldn’t believe her goddamn eyes. “That kids name is Anon?” Spears nodded. “His name is Anon. And he’s.. he’s wearing green.” “Yes?” Spears replied. “Naomi, are you alright? Are you sure you want to—“ “Yes!” Naomi shouted. “Shoot, sorry for interrupting. Yes, I would love to.” “Uh, great! He should be over…” Naomi tuned out the principal as he began to discuss where Anon might be. She didn’t care. She would find him. She would find him, even if it killed her. “Got that?” Spears asked, and Naomi just nodded. Within two minutes, Naomi was out the door, running at full speed through the empty halls of Volcano High. She never usually ran in the halls. It was often considered disrespectful, rude, and not allowed. But… she didn’t care. Fuck the rules. She was letting her shoulders relax this time. Because god damn it, she had a skinnie to find. [POST-NOTES] Just something cute to showcase my love for Naomi. She’s a very nice girl, if you look past all the shit. She only ever had good intentions. Thanks for reading guys. Credit to Sol_Regem for the idea, dedicated to foxtrot.