Chapter 20: The Breaking Point Approaches
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The Day I Should Have Stayed Home
I knew today would be bad.
But I didn't think it would be this bad.
The halls feel different. Heavier. Like the very air is pressing down on me, suffocating me, squeezing the breath from my lungs.
I move through the crowd unnoticed, like a ghost. Just another background character in the grand scheme of this school's social hierarchy.
But I know they're watching.
Not the teachers. Not the nobodies.
Them.
Jason and his group.
The moment I turn the corner, I see them.
And they see me.
Jason straightens from where he was leaning against the lockers, stretching like a lion waking from a lazy nap. His smirk is already in place.
I swallow the urge to turn back. That would be worse.
Much worse.
---
The First Demand
"Steins."
Just my name. One word. A command.
I don't stop.
I don't acknowledge him.
I don't give him a reason to keep going.
I keep walking, gripping my bag tighter, willing my feet to move faster.
But then—
A hand slams onto my shoulder.
I freeze.
Jason leans in, voice too casual, too friendly. "Didn't you hear me?"
I pull away from his grip, forcing my expression to stay blank. "I heard you. I just don't care."
Laughter.
Low, amused chuckles from the others.
Wrong move.
"That's cute," Jason says, eyes glinting. He turns to Luke, who grins and pulls something from his pocket. A napkin.
No.
Something on the napkin.
A crushed insect.
Jason tilts his head. "Eat it."
The hallway seems to tilt.
I stare at the napkin, at the twisted remains of whatever unlucky creature Luke plucked from the ground. My stomach churns.
I don't react.
I don't speak.
I won't.
Jason watches me like a scientist observing a lab rat, waiting for a reaction.
I walk past Luke.
"Hand over your money," Brandon says, stepping into my path, palm outstretched.
I sidestep him.
"If not then steal," Ryan says, voice mocking. "Prove you belong."
I push forward, refusing to stop, refusing to engage, refusing to—
Then Jason says it.
---
The Moment It All Snaps
"Man, no wonder your family turned out like that."
A gunshot couldn't have hit me harder.
I stop.
The world stops.
My vision tunnels.
I don't breathe.
Jason notices.
And he smiles.
"Oh?" he hums, stepping closer. "Did I hit a nerve?"
Luke snickers. "Probably. Poor Derrick. His whole family's a bunch of nobodies, just like him."
Ryan chuckles. "Maybe that's why his parents settled for each other. No one else would want them."
Laughter.
Sharp. Cruel. Cutting through my skin like razor wire.
Something inside me tears.
A thin, fragile thread—
Gone.
I turn.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"You think that's funny?" My voice is low, quiet. Too quiet.
Jason grins. "What, that your dad's a failure? That your mom probably regrets having you?"
Brandon whistles. "Damn."
Luke chuckles. "That one hit deep."
My hands shake.
I want to hit him.
I need to.
Every fiber of my being is screaming at me to swing. To make him hurt.
I can already picture it.
The satisfying crunch of bone beneath my knuckles.
The way his smirk would vanish, replaced by shock, pain, fear.
The way he would finally understand.
My nails dig into my palms.
I breathe.
Once.
Twice.
The rage doesn't fade.
But the moment passes.
I unclench my fists.
Jason tilts his head, mockingly. "No comeback?"
Silence.
He taps my chest, twice. Light. Casual.
"You're nothing, Steins. No one cares what you say. No one cares what you do. You could die tomorrow, and nothing would change."
His voice is different now.
No teasing. No arrogance.
Just certainty.
Because he believes it.
And maybe—
Maybe he's right.
I exhale.
I step back.
Jason smirks. "That's what I thought."
He turns away.
The others follow, laughing, their voices echoing down the hall.
I don't move.
Not for a long time.
My fists are clenched so tightly, my nails cut into my skin.
But I don't feel the pain.
Because inside—
Inside, something else hurts more.
---
The Walk Home – A Storm Unleashed
The final bell rings.
I don't hear it.
I don't feel anything.
The world is distant. Blurred. Muted.
I move on autopilot.
One step. Then another.
The cool evening air bites at my skin, but I barely notice.
I should be angry.
I should be furious.
I should be planning my revenge, imagining all the ways I'll tear Jason apart.
But I don't feel rage.
Not right now.
Right now, I feel hollow.
Like Jason reached inside me, ripped something out, and took it with him.
Like maybe—
Maybe he really was right.
Maybe I really don't matter.
Maybe I could disappear, and nothing would change.
My feet slow.
The wind howls.
The streetlights flicker.
Then—
A single thought.
A quiet whisper in the back of my mind.
Not yet.
Not like this.
Not in this way.
I clench my fists again.
This isn't over.
Not by a long shot.
Jason thinks he won.
Thinks he'll always be on top.
That he can do whatever he wants.
Say whatever he wants.
But he's wrong.
He just doesn't know it yet.
And when the time comes—
When he realizes—
He won't be laughing anymore.