Chapter Text
The sun filters through your window lying right across your eyes, rousing you from your slumber. You rub at them groggily and turn over in your bed. Settling down for another round of snoozes and dreams, you are jolted awake by your alarm. You tumble out of bed. Laying there for a moment before crawling over to the other side of the room to turn off the incessant noise. You sigh and decide that you are awake. There’s shit to do today anyway. Standing and moving to your dresser, you grab something at least slightly presentable and head off to the shower to get cleaned and dressed.
You hum softly to yourself as you lather your hair and body with your favorite soap and shampoo. It such a hassle to get clean sometimes, but always worth it. Stepping out and drying off takes no time, and throwing on your clothes takes even less. You examine your face in the mirror and decide you don’t care that you look like a preteen with all your bad acne. At least you had straight teeth! A rare occurrence in nature, but you had pretty good genes.
You grin at yourself and then scowl and then stick your tongue out before frowning. Humming softly to yourself, you leave the bathroom feeling only a little worse about your appearance than usual. Your home is clean, and it’s easy to find your shoes and purse. You slip both of them on and grab your list. It’s your monthly grocery run today, and you needed to be sure you got everything. Double and triple-checking the list, you add a few more things and finally work yourself up enough to step out the door.
You live in a rather well to do apartment complex in the middle of the city. Your neighbors are all very friendly to you when you see them, and you don’t step on any toes. Mostly because you only really see them when you go to get food and supplies, which is, typically, a once a month thing. Even being outside the door to your dwelling makes you anxious. You shake it off as best you can and start off to the store. Then pause as you hear new voices in the place across from yours. Two of them. Must be new neighbors. They left the window curtains wide open, so you could vaguely see their distorted shapes through the warped, wavey glass.
What you saw was troubling, indeed. They looked as thin as bones and as pale to boot. It was so bizarre that you stare even when you are past their window. After getting to the sidewalk, you decided they must have been trying on Halloween costumes early and brushed it off. The store you go to is very close by, so you just walk there like normal and prepare yourself for a torturous walk back laden with always one too many things. More than one trip was for the weak, and as long as you could help it, you would never admit that you absolutely are.
The people at the store all knew you at least a little. You were not the most seen customer, but you were consistent in what you bought, and when you came, so they remembered. One of them; A scruffy young adult, always came over to help you carry things. You always refused his help, he still insists that he help you anyway, and you always always always crumbled and let him. His insistence consistently made you feel guilty. Especially when he once said that it was basically an order from his boss.
You don’t like to inconvenience anyone. Never the less he is there once again to help you shop for all you needed and to scan and bag your items. It was only lucky that he didn’t insist on helping you take them home. You don’t know how you would handle something like that. So instead, you quickly grabbed everything and hefted it up and proceeded on to the short but long walk back home.
Half an hour later: twice the time it took to walk there unburdened, you were once again in front of your home. It’s impossible to unlock your door while carrying everything so you set down as much as you can to open your door and get back inside where it’s safe. Shortly after you open your door, you hear your neighbors door open as well. The sound startles you, and you turn to look at them. The site shocks you so much you can only stand there and stare.
Not Halloween costumes. They are not Halloween costumes! Standing there, right outside the opposite door is a skeleton who is staring straight at you. As if it can see right into your very SOUL. You gasp and stumble inside, dragging everything in as fast as you can, and practically slamming the door behind you. You hold it shut with your body for a few moments and then lock it. Then you rush around to all your other windows and doors to lock them all up nice and tight too. You then go to your room, lock that door as well, and crawl into your bed to panic.