It was raining and you hadn't brought an umbrella. You ducked your head, miserably accepting the pellets of rain hammering against you. Whatever, you thought to yourself. Who cares if you turn up to college looking like a drowned rodent? It wasn't like you had any positive reputation to upkeep. Everyone more or less ignored you, with the exception of the one or two odd students that offered you pitiful looks as you trudged down the corridors. With shoes slipping slightly against the wet concrete, you proceeded on your path to school until you suddenly felt your phone emanate a soft vibration from within your pockets. You began fervently typing on your device.

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Kitty

What's the weather like for you right now, Yin? It's super rainy here. ('T᷄⌑T᷅)

Yin No way. It's raining here too I'm getting DRENCHED

Kitty (;° ロ°) Please tell me u brought an umbrella, Yin. ( ;' - ';)

Yin I... did not. Shocker, right? Didn't even bring a coat.

Kitty YIN, YOU'RE GONNA GET SICK ( °ロ°)!! Maybe you should stop somewhere and buy an umbrella or something. I can send you over money if you need it! (.◜◡◝)

Yin I'll pull through and survive. Honestly, it's more so just my ego that's hurt right now. I'm completely soaked. I look so nasty. Like a wet rat🐀 I'm so glad u can't see me rn.

Kitty I wouldn't mind at all ( ⸝⸝'꒳'⸝⸝) Because you don't look nasty. Even when you feel like a wet rat 🐀♡ I really wish I could see you

Yin Well it's never gonna happen lol. We're really taking "would you still love if I was a worm" to a whole new level. ... Wait no we're not. Being a worm is way worse than being a wet rat

Kitty I would still love you if you were a worm. ( '・ω・｀) I'd keep you all locked up and safe inside a special terrarium. And I would hang out with you everyday and feed you the tastiest soil and nutrients.

Yin If you were a worm, I'd use you as fishing bait (˙ᵕ˙)

Kitty (꒦ິ ꒳ ꒦ີ) Well, that's not very nice! ... But I guess I'd make sure to get you the best fish I can 😔

Yin Thank

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No no no. This isn't good. I messed up. I'm fucking stupid. Why didn't I check the weather app? I could have left an umbrella on their doorstep or... or- I don't know. Something. Anything. This is all my fault. [Y/n] is going to catch a cold because of me, because of my carelessness. I suck. I really fucking suck. I'm not good enough for them. I don't deserve anything. I should jump or something. FUCK. I'm so so so so so so so so so sorry, [Y/n]. I hope you can forgive me one day. I'm gonna make it up to you. I'll keep you safe and warm. Just.. give me some time. I-I'll think of something. Uhh... I can get you an umbrella! And some cold medicine! And even a brand new coat if you want! I think I have the money. I've been saving up for you. I can't wait for us to move in together so I can spoil you properly. You'd like that, wouldn't you? [Y/n], [Y/n], [Y/n], [Y/n] I love you. I love you! ♡ And I'M SORRY. I'll never make another mistake like this again. I promise you.

The male student glanced up anxiously from his phone screen, his solemn pink eyes settling your figure as you waded down the street in the rain. The boy squeezed his arm, feeling the fabric of his jacket against the palm of his hand. The idea of offering it to you flittered through his mind.

"Should I...?"

But he eventually shook off the thought upon realising how strange and surprising it would be for him to give up his jacket to a total "stranger! - even if it was with good intention. He didn't want to accidentally creep you out or blow his chances of ever befriending you again, so he held back on his burning desire to be heroic and gentlemanly and continued to monitor you from behind.

Koda wasn't looking forward to school. Sure, he'd be able to sit down at his desk and text you freely, but you'd be out of his sight, out of his protection. Separated in a whole other classroom. And it wasn't like he could watch over you during break either - as much as he sorely tried. You rarely exited the classroom except to go to the toilet. His only tether to you was through his device. He couldn't wait to graduate and scoop you up in his arms down the wedding aisle. Just a little longer, he promised himself.

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Upon arriving to class, you entered the as quietly as you could to avoid drawing attention. Then again, who in their right mind would be interested in someone as bland as you? This was your role in life; to blend into the background, a faceless extra in the lives of your fellow classmates, a forgettable ghostly figure lingering amidst the halls. You sat at a desk, thankful that you managed to claim a seat far away from all the drama and noise of your extroverted peers. You wiped off the droplets of rainwater from your phone screen and turned your attention back to the colourful message notifications on your phone screen.

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Kitty Did you make it to school, okay? (～'･ω･｀) Let me know if you need me to pay for any medicine! I don't want you to get sick from the rain. (ó﹏ò｡)

Yin Are you my mom or something now?

Kitty Maybe I am ( ⸝⸝'꒳'⸝⸝) Are you in class now, Yin?

Yin I don't even wanna imagine that. You give scary mom vibes. No thanks

Kitty ('；ω；') You don't mean that... I care deeply for everyone I love. I would never do anything to scare you. (つ•᷄᎑•᷅ )つ

Yin Mhm

Kitty Ah right. You didn't answer mommy's question. Are you in class? |ω・')

Yin I'd rather gut myself than refer to you as mommy. And yes, I am sadly in class. Was hoping to get struck by a truck or something on the way here. But alas, we can't all have nice things.

Kitty (('д｀)) Aw don't say that! I'd be sad if you died. Plus, you wouldn't want that. Getting hit by a truck will get you isekai'd!

Yin Oh that sounds good to me. I can finally acheive my dream of getting simped over by needy, possessive men.

Kitty (･ω･) oh

Yin Mhmmm

Kitty Ok (･ω･)

Yin >:) omg omg I forgot to tell u about this! ok ok so last night while I was playing Valoria, I got stu

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"Good morning, [Y/n]. How are you today?"

You snapped away from your phone to face the gentle voice talking to you. It was Sana - a well-liked student poised as one of the class representatives. She stood by your desk, exuding an air of serenity and kindness. Her cascading, amethyst-coloured hair lent an enchanting touch to her presence, catching the light with a subtle iridescence. She was a walking gemstone of beauty. A tranquil smile formed on her dark lips. Caught off guard by her sudden interaction, you stumbled to pour out a clumsy reply.

"Oh- Hi. I am okay, thank you."

Sana glanced with mild interest at the phone being protectively squeezed in your clammy hands as the screen repeatedly flickered with notifications from Kitty.

"Sorry, were you talking to someone?"

"Yeah. Just a friend."

"I see," Sana commented stiffly. She smiled but her eyes reflected a weight of concern for you and your withdrawn behaviour. This is why you didn't really like any of the class representatives. They were nosy and obsessed with everyone's business. Their man job, if anything, was to pester students like yourself and encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and make new friends - something you very much did not want to do. Sana briefly eyed the other class representative, a tall and overly talkative male, though he was too absorbed in conversing with the other students to notice her subtle eye contact. "Alright, [Y/n]! I'll let you continue with your conversation. Me and Liam are always here to talk if you need anything. Oh and remember to put your phone away when class starts, okay?"

"Y-yes, I will do that. Thank you."

Thank you? No, thank GOD that was over. For a moment, you feared she'd try taking your phone away like a grouchy highschool teacher and lecture you about the importance of making friends - but it would seem the reps don't have the power to do that once you're in college. You were basically a functioning adult now. All poor life choices are yours to deal with. Then again, that didn't stop the representatives from your last year class from bothering you and urging you to participate in their phony social events. You returned to your phone with 25+ messages.

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Kitty stu? huh ??? what do u mean, Yin? ('・ω・') Stew? Where did u go ( ˵•́ ワ •̀˵) ?

Kitty ... Yin? Hello? Did you get cut off? (*°ω°) Where are you.

Kitty Yin r u fr okay (•̆ꈊ•̆ ) I'm getting worried. When you stop typing mid sentence like that it makes me think you got murdered or something (ꏿ﹏ꏿ)

Kitty Yinyinyin come back :-) Are you talking to someone? You're talking to someone, aren't you ('• ω •') You can just ignore them, Yin. You don't own them anything. Talk to me instead. (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

Yin I'm back omg u sent me so many messages!! wth I thought my phone was having a seizure

Kitty YIN HI ♡ I missed you haha (≈'°ω°')≈ Where did you go?!? I was so worried. ('；ω；｀)

Yin I was gone for a minute

Kitty For chronically online people like us that is a very long time!! Seriously though, where did you go (・ヮ・)

Yin The class rep got me ( '＿ゝ｀)

Kitty (｡'＿｀｡) oh dear

Yin I mean she was actually really nice I think she was just checking up on me But I wish they'd just accept that I'm a loser and move on (╥ᆺ╥；) Im kinda scared they're gonna take away my phone away or something lol They can't do that, right?

Kitty Don't worry! I would totally kill them if they did that ( ' ∀ ' )ﾉ

Yin lol scary Ah shit. Class is about to start now. She told me to put my phone away so I don't think i can secretly text u anymore (at least for now) Farewell 💀

Kitty Aww okay ( ╥ω╥ ) I hope u have a good time in class (✿╹◡╹) Bye bye!

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The light from Koda's eyes faded with disappointment as he watched his screen wane to black, not another notification appearing on his phone. You were gone. His attention was brough back to his miserable reality. A world where everything felt hollow and fake - like he was the only real person on the set of a children's play. He fidgeted with his hands anxiously as thoughts rose to his mind of your whereabouts. What were you doing right now? Who were you talking with? His darkening emotions were interrupted by the feeling of someone placing a hand on his shoulder. He scowled, immediately sensing who it was.

Hayden grinned.

"Kodaaa, my guy! Have you accepted my guild invitation yet?"

Koda couldn't have looked more disinterested.

"No. Why would I do that?"

"WHAT? Come onnn, man! We got Alex, Ren, Kai, Lukas- We just need one more member to unlock the crystal realm quest that everyone's been talking about! Plus we all have crazy good stats. If things work out, we could probably get our guild ranking on the leader board I bet. So how 'bout it? We'll probably have to do a lot of XP grinding though so be prepared to pull a few all-nighters ahaha."

Koda sighed.

"Can't you get someone else to join? I'm really not that interested, and I'm not leaving the group I'm already in. Maybe ask Elias instead?"

"Oh my God. Come on, Koda. Please. Can't you just think about it? why are you so set on staying in that mid tier guild anyway? You got a girlfriend or something in there? Besides," Hayden lowered his voice, "we can't invite Elias. That guy can't play for shit. Even my little sister plays better than him."

"Then invite your little sister."

Koda turned back around in his seat before Hayden could protest further.

Alex, Ren and Lukas chimed in, buzzing enthusiastically about how much fun it would be, but Koda did not respond. He closed his eyes meditatively, focusing on the darkness of his eyelids. A self-soothing technique. The voices of his rowdy classmates softened to murmurs, barely detectable vibrations, and then silence. The blackness of Koda's mind dissipated and he began envisioning himself standing in a vacant room.

The quietness was deafening, broken only by the sound of an occasional drip. The walls were made of damp, cold concrete, covered in patches of familiar red substance. Overhead hung a singular flickering lightbulb that cast long, ominous shadows against the stone floor. The scent of metal tinged Koda's nose. He looked down at his hands. Blood. Lots of it. Squelching and dripping from his fingers. A calm smile appeared on Koda's face as his gaze eerily fell upon the room's main attraction. Hayden's body hung lifelessly from the ceiling, skinned, like a slab of meat being proudly displayed at the butcher's shop. Koda walked toward the cadaver and slid his fingers across the neatly-peeled torso, morbidly feeling the exposed muscle tissue. His glistening flesh was stringy and discoloured. Hues of pink, purple and yellow hung off him like accessories. Not too far behind Hayden were the corpses of his classmates. All of them equally mutilated beyond recognition.

Koda's eyes flickered with an unnerving excitement. Then he heard something. A voice.

Koda...?

The quiet voice echoed from behind a door. Your voice. He recognised it instantly and steadily approached the door, his heart pounding, face flushed with joy. He reached for the handle and opened it.

"Kodaaa~ Hi hi! How are you today?"

Koda cringed and opened his eyes, finding himself back in the confines of his loud and intrusive classroom. He looked up at the girl leaning on his desk. It was Skylar, the class model. Her sea green eyes sparkled like rare jewels as she feigned shyness and pretended to nervously play with her hair. A pink hue fell upon her cheeks. Koda stared back listlessly.

"I am okay, thank you."

Not an ounce of emotion seeped into his voice. Skylar continued to smile sweetly at him but it was obvious she was starting to strain a little bit. As she opened her mouth to speak again, Skylar was interrupted by one of Koda's so-called friends.

"Hey, Skylar! You play Valoria Online, right?"

"Yeah, I've got an account. Why?"

"Wanna join our guild? We need one more person."

Skylar's face brightened.

"Wow, you're inviting me? Sure! I'd love to join!"

"Awesome!! Thank you so much! You're our saviour, Skylar. Especially since misery-guts-Koda over here doesn't want to join."

Upon hearing that sentence, Skylar's face immediately dropped. Her eyes dulled and she looked offhandedly to the side.

"Uhh... actually, on second thought, I think I will pass. I'm not really into that kind of stuff."

"WHAT?! Why'd you change your mind so quick?!"

For the more intuitive students of the class, it was transparent that Skylar had a huge crush on Koda. Many people did. After all, Koda was physically attractive. However, his personality was nothing short of cold. He was never outright rude to anyone but he actively distanced himself from others.

The only people he sort of hung out with was Hayden and a few other boys - and even then, he didn't considered them to be his "friends". They were his tools. Part of his disguise in order to not stand out as an outcast. The last thing he needed was the class reps up his ass about not having friends.

After a moment of lingering by Koda's desk in the hopes of achieving any sort of positive interaction from of him, Skylar finally gave in and sulked back over to her desk. Most of the girls had given up on Koda, seemingly put off by his vacant interest in others, but Skylar was only more drawn to Koda's mysterious aura.

Skylar knew that there had to be more than Koda than what meets the eye.