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I have such bad Block Tales brainrot it's not even funny

(Here's Player without their hat and stuff)

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Birds of A Feather - Chapter 2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66317866/chapters/171908599#workskin

Chapter 2 is out,!! Also someone pls tell me how to draw wings–

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Birds of A Feather - Chapter 1

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66317866/chapters/170988031

FINALLY POSTED IT, THE 1X BLOCK TALES AU I COOKED UP AFTER READING A WHOLE LOTTA OTHERS

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Currently writing something, here's a sneak peek of the drawing and text–

"*Wow, your dad sounds like he sucks, kid." Who would name their baby that? They tried to conjure up a picture of the guy, probably someone addicted to gamersupps.

"*You only say that cause you don't have a dad!"

They choked on their own spit, "*####– Who taught you manners, HUH?"

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Peering In 7/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

< Prev |

Chapter 7 : A Distant Memory

Chapter Summary :

This is really goodbye this time.

Shrimpo doesn’t know how long he stayed outside for but it was daytime when he came to. When did he doze off?

Fuck did he feel sore all over though. Slowly, Shrimpo tried his best to gain his bearings and get up for once in his sad pathetic life. The vertigo hit immediately once he took his first step, waves of nausea from God knows how long of rotting in his bed. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and drop onto the ground in a bloody mess. Like that awful burning feeling in his chest rose that told him he was about to puke or worse.

He slapped his face, trying to ground himself. There were a lot of things to figure out and he didn't need more of his own stupid thoughts. Especially not the doubt that his mind conjured to stop him from finding out too much. And the big question was… why?

Memories unfamiliar to him still danced around in his mind, a peek into his past. And yet, not enough at the same time. He knows that Finn and him were… are.. friends and that he hurt him somehow. That and his grandpa also… And then there was that person that had been visiting him lately.

Who were they? Why did they visit him despite the clear dislike they have? And how were they important to him?

This shit was way too confusing for him, he just hoped for the best. Quietly, his inner self wanted to search for something, or a certain someone. To find answers, he had to find Finn, someone who was in the middle of all of this. He thought that he remembered a good place to start, the lake.

So, he started walking.

His body still remembered the way to the old place, something that was ingrained into him. A small piece of him he still had from the past. When he arrived however, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The lake, what was once his quiet place, filled with trees was… gone. Everything was uprooted and changed into a park even the lake had shrunk dramatically in places. Worst of all, instead of peaceful silence, there was the sound of people talking, mingling around and passing by him as if he was invisible. He froze as still as a statue, trying to process the change.

It should’ve been obvious, things would change in the time that he spent inside. But it left an awful taste in his mouth. How long has it been?

He lingered around, looking to see if he could see anything that even resembled Finn.

But everything felt unfamiliar and it made his skin crawl like all that made this place theirs was stripped away–

A shove at his shoulders caught him off-guard. “Oof- Why the hell are you-?!” The person who bumped into him startled and stared in horror once they noticed his form, voice dying in their throat. His eyes widened as he looked back, finding blonde hair and the same eyes that stared back at him through the door.

She backed away from him, paling considerably.

Shrimpo- “̴̨̯͍̻̤͓̮̯́͐̒̀̓̅͛͘͜͠͝͝H̶̡̞͓̱̲̣̗̬̣̙̳͚̥̠̭̐͋̉̂̋̈́̇͝ȯ̷̥̇̀̑̾̍̓͒w̴̧̺̖̟̲̩̺̩͓̗̐̒͂͊̀̅͘’̷̡̛͉̬̪̝̫͍̳̞͇̟͍̽͑͋̂̐̋̈̈́͛̒̚̚͝s̸͓͗͆̌̑͂͒̀ ̴͓̲̎̏̅̅̓͆̀̊̆͑͠ẗ̵͔̭́͌́h̷̢̧͈̖̘͉̩̙̱̖̏͑̔͛̏̐̍́̅̇̈́̚��a̵̡̨̨̝̘̤̟̳̥̙̦͇͍̗̒̔͊̓͒̊͆̈́̀̇̎̎t̶̢̢̨̹̻̤̪̰̮̆̌̑̄̋̀̌͗̈̉̄̐͂ ̷͈̮͍̹̏̔̒̿̓͒͗͋̅f̵̧̪̤̫̣͈͕̝̋̈́́͂̊́̈́̔̍̈́́͘̕o̵̠̝̗̖̹̞̮̫̽͊̏͌͝r̸͉̉̊̅͛͛̊ ̴͍͖̰͙͉̻̰͔̾̊͛͝b̷͍̯̞̤̝͙͋͒̈͛͌͛̂̓̽͘ę̷̙͕͕͈̼̩̘̩̹͍̖̝̬̂̈́͋̍ͅį̸͇̳̄͌̋̄̈̀͗͒ņ̸̨͙̯̬͎̓͑̄̐̎̐͑͌͘͝͝͠ͅg̵̡̡̡̡̧̠͍͚̯̘̮͖͔̮͎̉̉͗̓͝ ̶̡͖̱̤̰̯̻̫̮̞̅̅̏̇̇͛̈̃͊͘p̸͓̗͉̫̣̯̜̻̮̄͑̌̂̓̀͗͠e̶̢̖͚̣̱̥̗̣̺̲͉͎̅r̵͚̤̮̈̀̃́̓̐̉̓͘̕͝͝͝͠f̴̨̛̛͈̹̣͈̬̫͒̿̾̋͊̿͗̈̽̆̓̚͜ḛ̸̢̳͚̺̞͚̰̹̖̻̆̈́̈c̷̟͔͈̿̃̾͒̚͜͝t̵̤̩̘̗̞̮̦̹̞͈̩̣͓̄̅̊̕̚͜,̸̪̟̄̆̒ ̸̫͈̙̣̑̍́́̚h̷̡̰̹͚̤̦͇̤͈̪̞̫͊͗̿̈́̎̈́͆̃͗̌̚̕͜ȕ̸̢̢̦̻̙͕̤͓͖̳̭̰͌̊̊͊͑͒͊̂̽̃̃̔̕͜͝ͅh̸̡̧̗͎͔̲͓͇͖̝̜͈̝͓̍?̵̲̹̻͎̼̘͚̳͋̃̍̕ͅ”̴̛̘̂̒̇́̌̍̀̂̕ And she… “̷̧̢̝̘̟̳͕̠̈́̓̓̽̕͠Ý̶͇̩̫̔͒͑Ȍ̴̡̢̏̇̏͝U̵̩̳̅͛̎̈́̽̐͠ D̸̬̼͔̲̯̮͓͚̐͑̆Ö̵̖̗̲̤̱͖̜̗́̌́͑͑͌Ñ̶̟̩̺̄’̷̧̮͖̔Ṱ̴͈͈͚̬̯̠͖̂̀́͆̚͠ ̴̨̠̬̫̐K̵̗̏͜Ņ̴̱̹̱̃̿̌̓̎̕͝͝Ô̷̮͍̈́̿͆͒͌Ẇ̸͙͍̜̝͚͑̎̀ Ș̸͆̈̏̃̉̑͠͝H̵̡̫͓̼͒͛̊̓͆́Į̸̞͎̗̱̬̒T̵̢̺͗͆̎̂̕͝ ̴̛̱̩̄ͅA̵̗̰͓͕̓ͅB̴̬̲͎͈̟̼̯̋͐́̎͋̊͜͝O̶̘̗̔̇͆̀̉̑̑͠Ů̵͖͇̙̱͚͛̑̈́͜ͅT̶̢̠̭͉̲̬͇͖͊̂͋ ̷̢̀̃̍̍́M̶͎̗͖̩̆Ȩ̶̢̟̣̰̜̱͛͝!̴̣̜̉!̴͓̬̭͐̀̉̅̇̈͠ ̸̬̬̱͍͔͓̮͛̃̑͒͑̋̒̊Y̷̢̬̼̺̪̮̽̈́̄̊̇̒͘Ō̵̡̪̘Ů̶̡͎͈̻̰͉̓ D̸̡͈̙̤̯̞͍̪͌̐̈͐̂Ȍ̸͇̙̄̈́͝N̴͍̮̖̫̗̲͉͓͛͊̅̈̇̈’̵̨̗̺̦̬͛̍̌̃̓͊̈͝ͅT̴̛̻͇̖̝͚̗͐̈́͌͊̍͋͠ ̶̞͈̯̥͎̳͋̍͒͌́͒ͅK̷̹̾͘N̵̩͔̎͆O̶̤̩̦̎͋͆̒̓̋̕͝W̴̱͖̗̺̱̾̓̿̂̂͒ ̸̤͔͎͂̊̀̌́A̵̬̺̪͙͔̒̌̒̔̔̄̃N̵͙͔̠̬͖͚̜̻̈̾̿Y̸̯͍͎͚͖͓̱̽̇̏̎̑̍͑͠T̷̹͓̳̄H̷͇͎̚͘Ì̷͙̬̣̌͂́̑̂N̸̦̾̏̌̌́̉͝G̶͈͇̮̓͒́͆-̷̨͎̫̩́͊̔̎͌̕“̵̛̝͛̿̃̾͝  Glisten, was her name, wasn’t it? Their eyes met for what felt like not the first time, not that he could remember if that was the case.

“No…” She muttered quietly, taking another step back. Her eyes were swimming with conflicting emotions. “What the hell are you doing here..?”

“None of your business.” Shrimpo rolled his eyes and tried to close the gap between them which was met with a step back. He slowly became aware of every twitch, every unsure glance, every time she avoided his eyes. Weird, it was almost like… “What? Are you scared of me or some shit?”

“Scared, really? Haha…” The laugh Glisten let out was unsure like she was trying to convince herself. A silence took over the two, only the sound of the water reminding him why he was here in the first place. Her fragile smile cracked as the reality of the situation crashed into her. “Haha… Oh god no. This can’t be happening. You’re really…”

Is this girl fucking crazy?

“I thought… This… THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT!” A sharp backhand hit his face, pain immediately throbbing from the place where they met. He held the reddening spot, taken aback from the sudden slap. “I… That wasn’t- fuck! Why couldn’t you just leave me alone…” Her face twisted as fresh tears ran down her cheeks, hiccups interrupting her babbling. “Both of you are such idiots..!”

“Everything was perfect before you went and messed it all up!”

Shrimpo said nothing as Glisten ran away as fast as she could, leaving him standing alone in the park. The leaves scattered around him, no traces of the confrontation that just went down. His mind stormed with different thoughts, should he go after her? Press her for more? Or… A hand landed on his shoulder and his head snapped back, adrenaline coursing under his skin.

“Leave it.” A girl stared down at him, her voice giving no room to argue and her expression grim. Red hair, blue sweater, a bouquet of flowers in her other hand. Who the hell was she?

Before he could interject, she gave him a light shove and also went her own way.

---

Shrimpo wandered around the town, a sense of Déjà vu following him everywhere he went. But with the feeling, there was something else. An absence at his side, something that he can’t fill. There was a laugh that he missed, conversations that were lost, momentary pauses that only amplified the silence.

In the streets, a warning that he should be giving. “Look both ways first-!”

At the school gates, a scolding that he already grew tired of saying. “How are you always late, dammit?”

He wasn’t even safe outside of his house. “Let’s catch up oar somefin after this!”

Shrimpo took a shaky breath as he mulled over his decisions. There he was standing in front of Finn’s door, unsure of what to do. He doesn’t know how Finn would react to seeing him again. Would he be angry at him because of what he did? Would he be happy to see him again? Or would he be disappointed?

He knocked once quietly and then twice more. No one opened the door or even acknowledged the noise, the lights were off, nobody must be home.

That’s how he reassured himself anyway.

For the first time, he could say he missed his friend in a weird way. He had things that he barely even glanced at before suddenly become strange without a pun being thrown his way or a sudden quip, things that he didn’t understand, yet expected.

Maybe Finn was more important to him than he first thought but this constant loneliness? It was unbearable.

And there was absolutely no trace of him anywhere.

Eventually, he found himself back to the first place he searched, the lake-turned-park. And with a familiar face as well. Even with the sun setting, it was clear who was in front of him. Glisten sat on one of the benches littered across the place, her head turned down while flipping through a book lazily. A crunch of shoes against gravel nearing the space made her lift her head.

Their eyes met again however this time, there were no emotions in hers, only resignation.

“Oh… You’re back.” She shut the notebook, still avoiding his gaze. Shrimpo just sighed before sitting heavily next to her, legs giving up after the day of circling the town. She questioned again, a little more determined, “What are you even doing..? Why go outside, why now?”

“I already asked before, didn’t I?” He propped his arm up against his eyes, shielding them from the sun and prying eyes. She never did give him an answer and he still didn’t know where Finn went. That’s why he’s here.

“…” No words left their mouths after that, just a quiet moment of recollection. After a few seconds, she spoke up. “You’re really an idiot…” Glisten abruptly stood and threw the book at him, gesturing for him to get up. “C’mon. I’ll just have to show you.”

Shrimpo removed his arm from his face, blinking while slowly following after her, confusion contorting on his face. It was stilted and awkward between the two as they made their way out the park, no glances being exchanged between them. The book —now in his possession— felt impossibly heavy in his hands, dread starting to pile in his heart.

“Where are we going?” No answer, she just kept going. “Hey-!”

---

The next few minutes were a blur of eerie silence as apprehension and guilt mixed together in his mind. What was she doing? It didn’t make any sense.

Before they finally stopped.

And Shrimpo found himself standing in the cemetery.

Clear as day, he could see the name etched into stone.

A familiar bunch of flowers, wrapped and left by the headstone.

Finn.

What?

Why?

He collapsed onto his knees, kneeling in front of the grave.

This can’t be real.

It can’t be, right?

“I’m sorry… The fault is with me as well-“

No, that wasn’t true.

“No one noticed until it was too late…”

Her words faded into background noise.

His vision blurred and he fought to blink away tears.

No.

This is what he was running away from?

A crumbled-up piece of paper was shoved into his hands.

He didn’t know if he wanted to read what was written.

But he opened it anyway.

The page was mixing with his tears.

“

Hey, small fry!

I guess if you’re reading this, you decided to come out of your shell, huh?

It’s okay, I know you will someday.

You’ll be okay without me, right?

I know, I know.

I’m that shellfish after all.

Keep on going, okay?

Be happy and forget about me.

Love you,

Finn.

“

< Prev |

(Back to first chapter)

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jurerfgungcresrpgfzvyrbslbhefabjtyvfgra

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Was bored and in need of something to spice up my fanfic so here- (So far it's on chapter 2!)

Now that I think about it the voting system would work better in Tumblr...

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Can't believe out of all the art I've made for peering in, I never made this (also I changed Finn's design)

Also the sillies </3 (I accidentally made Finn bigger than Shrimpo)

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Hehehe I love hiding these little easter eggs

Peering In 4/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

< Prev I Next >

Chapter 4 : You're Cray-zy!

Chapter Summary :

Shrimpo is starting to lose his shit, except he's aware of it this time. He's not sure if that's better or worse.

"Jrveqb, fgbc obgurevat zr naq tb znxr lbhefrys hfrshy sbe bapr."

- T

"..."

- S

“What the fuck-“ His words were abruptly cut off when he was grabbed forward by his chin. That fucker was staring down at him, the side of his eye crinkling smugly when he noticed the anger directed at him. Is it just his imagination or was this guy really trying to piss him off now?

The halls around them seemingly disappeared as Shrimpo quickly swung a punch at his stupid fucked up face. But instead of his fist connecting with flesh, it felt like smooth glass. He flinched back as he heard a shattering and cracking sound start to spread over the “injury”. The X on his face stuttered, showing off the cracks he made to his face but his expression wasn’t angry or afraid. Far from it, actually.

It was almost like he was… happy.

What the actual fuck is happening?

“Y’know, I’ll just be glad that I could see you.” The chills that one sentence sent down his spine would be enough to spook him but he wasn’t about to show it, not when he was still fucking staring at him. He was about to step back before a hand took ahold of his wrist, immediately yanking him closer. “Oh no, I’m not done with you yet,”

He defiantly stared back at the person above him, fighting off the urge to spit in his face. “The hell do you want, bitch?”

“I don’t want a lot… I just want you to stop running away from me.” A sliver of that boy that waited everyday outside of his house came back, mouth in a cautious frown. So, pulling on sympathy strings again, huh? It’s still pretty pathetic. “And you need to admit,”

Shrimpo knitted his eyebrows together, confusion lacing his voice. “Admit? What the fuck do I need to admit?! You’re the one being a fucking creep!”

“Don’t you get it,” He tried to struggle out of his grasp while he talked, only to find the grip on his wrist was crushing. “This is all you, you did all of this,” The boy lowered his face, inching closer and closer to him. “Running away, avoiding your problems that’s what you always do,”

“DAMN IT, JUST LET GO OFF ME ALREADY!!” Shrimpo finally managed to pry his hand away from the grasp, carefully wringing it out. Why the fuck is he doing this? “I don’t need to do jackshit because you fucking told me to!”

“That’s. Where. You’re. Wrong,” He punctuated each word with a step closer. For every step, Shrimpo took another one back until he felt his back bump into the wall. He turned away from his gaze, feeling the breath start to catch in his lungs. “How are you supposed to learn anything if you keep doing this,”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“̵̖̯̪̝̩̦̎̈̋̚͝C̵̹͒̃͒́ò̷̮͌̔͊̏͛̏̑̍̽̓͠ü̸̘̩͚̝͇̺̖̖̯͉̰̗͗̅͐ṛ̶̐̐̏̈́͘͘͝ş̵̹͓̱̮͙͍̯̺̟͗̈̎͐̾̂̅̀ė̴̠̠͔̋́̋̓̅̓̐̃̆̕̚ ̵̢̼̥̃̒ͅy̷̨̢̢͙̮̗̣͇̹̫͋͠ơ̵̯͌ų̶͎̟̘̾̊̅̾ ̸̢̧̢̟͖̟̭̰͇̰̥̜̈́̃̄͗̒̽̽͠d̷̥̯̠͙͕͒̐͒̓̓̇͆̕o̷̻̺̠͖̖̦͔̹͈̲̅͒̏͑̔̈̉͑͛ṉ̷̨̖͇̠̪̩͈̞̅̔̏̒̓͠’̴̣̮͙͋̍̀̏̎͆͂̈̕͝t̶̨̳̩̭͕̺̾̏͑̇̇͗-̵̭̫̘̫͔̣͎͋͗͑̍̆̒́͋̓̕͘”̷̜̟͇̦̟̘̖͚̪̘̱̿̾͜

For a blissful moment, everything was quiet before Shrimpo felt hands on his throat. The air in his lungs felt like it was knocked out of him as he was shoved to the wall, coughing and jerking away. His eyes met with one bright blue and another with blood pouring from his socket. The hand on his neck pressed harder as he scrambled to pry them away. Slowly, the fight in him left his body and he saw the darkness at the sides of his vision start to creep in.

No. Why the fuck can’t he move- his body?

His lungs heaved for the air he needed but nothing was happening. He felt himself slowly go limp before nothingness claimed him.

---

He flinched awake in a cold sweat. Swerving his eyes around, he could see the wreck that was left of his grandpa’s room. A hand made its way onto his nape, checking the skin there which was as smooth as it should be. It was- It felt so real. His whole body throbbed at the reminder of the damage that he did.

“THAT WAS A FUCKING DREAM?!” Shrimpo screamed out to the empty air, wondering just which god he pissed off to get such shitty nightmares. The growls coming from his mouth didn’t even sound human at this point.

He’s just a dude trying to peacefully live his life, damn it!

The part of him that was still angry wanted to protest but he stifled the growl that was going to come out of his mouth. That was before he heard a soft knock on his door. Shrimpo stuffed his face into the carpet, hoping against all hope that he just misheard that. But he couldn’t ignore it a second longer when a second knock came.

Anyone but him… He quietly thought to himself as he shuffled his sore feet out into the hall.

Remembering what happened last time, he decided to hide and wait until he could hear their voice. It was strangely quiet today. He could feel a shiver run down his spine as he kept waiting and waiting and waiting until the aura around his eyesight started to get worse again. A headache was starting to form and despite his mind’s protests he went and looked through the keyhole of the door, only to see a completely different person on the other side.

This… girl? was dressed rather well, with jewelry, accessories, and all the like. Shrimpo didn’t like those kinds of people, they were usually full of themselves. And this one was the same.

“This is dumb…” She rolled her eyes, flicking away her short pony tail. “I can hear you, y’know?”

Somehow, a part of his brain would rather have the other boy visit him instead of this stuck-up girl.

“Everyone’s damn worried about you, just saying.” She had an accusatory tone as she rattled on about these people who he doesn’t even know. Her expression turned sour as the seconds wore on but he could also tell from her tense stance that she was uncomfortable. Probably got the wrong house, he thought to himself. “Don’t just-“

Shrimpo walked away from the door, feeling both amused and concerned before he abruptly remembered how weak his body was by almost falling into the living room. Shit, all this constant stress is being an absolute bitch to him. He carefully lowered himself on the couch, still feeling the soreness in his bones.

Fuck this, he’s sure a nap wouldn’t hurt.

---

His eyes squinted as it made contact with the sunlight reflecting off of the water’s edge, the breeze tickling his skin. Wait, water? Shrimpo quickly got up into a sitting position as he looked around, finding himself somewhere familiar. It was a lake that he would often be taken to by his grandpa, he remembers the times where they would go fishing or even collecting trash from the water. But now the first order of business,

What was he doing here?

The place looks far more overgrown with plants than he last remembered, or maybe that was because he hasn’t been here in awhile. Carefully, he got up while brushing the grass off his pants. Nothing of significance really stood out to him, except for the lake itself, contrasting its surrounding with how beautiful it was.

He walked against the foliage, determined to get closer. It was slow going but he trudged closer, feeling an uncomfortable feeling start to clench around his chest. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him, not this time. The small dock that decorated the place started to come into view and sitting on the very edge of it was… someone he couldn’t stand the sight off right now.

The stranger was wearing something different from his usual brown uniform, a navy sailor outfit with a life jacket that he put off to the side.

Shrimpo instinctively closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his foot took the first step onto the dock, the solid wood welcoming compared to the muddy earth. Damn it, why was it so hard? He can’t afford to not act anymore, if he doesn’t do this now… then when? When is he going to stop running away?

His chest stung with every pounding heart beat as he cautiously opened his eyes.

Like a wave of cold sea water, he felt the tense in his muscles start to wash away. The other boy seemed to notice his presence and quickly turned his head around. But this time his expression was odd. His eye looked sunken in and red as if he had been crying, the usual happy expression he wore had completely disappeared replaced with a grimace. He rubbed his good eye before opening his mouth to speak, “…Why are you here..?”

Shrimpo stared in mild horror at the other side of his face, covered in mismatched scars and marked with an empty eye socket. That’s what was hiding under that bandage?! The unknown person noticed his gaze before shielding the botched part of him. Shrimpo had no words to respond to his question and quickly looked away, feeling his sense of control over the situation waver once again. The acid in his stomach was already upset due to something and he could feel it but this was making it worse.

“I’m tired… I’m tired of this, Shrimpo…” He heard the other quietly whisper to himself.

The boy slowly stole his gaze away and back towards the calm waters, humming a strangely familiar tune. Shrimpo still felt uneasy from the attack that he pulled on him in his dream -fake or not- and so he stayed a safe distance away.

Everything felt so off but he could only watch and wait. An expectant pause passed between the scene, the wind starting to blow at his hair. He thought he heard the boy murmur a few words before shifting. And that was all the warning he got before he pushed himself off of the edge of the dock. A few bubbles floated up to the surface of the disturbed water, disappearing as the waves swallowed him.

Shrimpo froze in place, his mind caught between running or fishing him out. Oh god, what was he supposed to do? He never wanted to see someone die, even if it wasn’t his fault. His body stood still as he slowly watched the shadow start to fade away. Almost subconsciously, he felt his body jerk forward, breath hitching as he fell to his knees on the edge of the dock. The clear surface was already starting to even out, no trace of the body that had fallen in. He gripped onto the scratched-up wood, staring at his reflection in the water.

A boy with distress in his amber eyes stared back. He almost laughed at the situation, why does he feel so bad for-

Suddenly, a hand from the surface grasped his unsuspecting wrist, tugging him forward. The water splashed around his frozen form, sound dissipating the moment his head was pulled under. Instinctively, he closed his eyes and focused on the noises around him with the slight current lapping and rushing past his body.

A strange calmness overtook him then, the embrace comforting as the water flowed around him. This feels right, familiar. The sensations that he remembered dearly.

His eyes slowly pried themselves open and he saw a pair of eyes gazing solely at him, reflection of light dancing around them. The other drew closer, tightening the hug between them. Shrimpo tensed as he rested his head on his chest, gasping as the light of the surface was slowly growing farther the more they sunk into the lake.

.. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- 

But strangely it didn’t feel like it mattered much.

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

He felt the hands around his torso hold firm as if afraid he will fade away.

-... ..- - / .. - / .... ..- .-. - ... 

The darkness was starting to envelop him again.

.-.. --- ...- .. -. --. / -.-- --- ..- / .... ..- .-. - ... / ... --- / -- ..- -.-. ....

He reluctantly hugged back, caressing blood-stained fingers over his back. Is this what he wanted, Fi-

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[muffinchip]

Peering In 6/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

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Chapter 6 : Tuna-round

Chapter Summary :

Shrimpo disassociates. Hard. And he starts to question his sense of self.

"Fb... V urneq fbzrguvatf... V jnagrq gb nfx lbh-"

- T

"Bu, lbh fubhyq'ir yrg zvaabj gung V jnf va gur cerfrapr bs na bs-svfu-vny qrgrpgvir! Ubj pna V uryc?"

- S

"Svaa, cyrnfr. Lbh xabj V pna'g yvr gb fnir zl yvsr. Jul ner lbh fhqqrayl fb... unccl?"

- T

He wasn’t thinking. All that he could feel was the anger pulsing in his veins and the need to hurt something.

“SHRIMPO?!”

He thought he heard a scream and a chilling wet thud. Glass and water were strewn around the floor and table, mixing with the red of blood. Someone might’ve opened the door or maybe not. Because the only thing that existed at the moment was him and Finn’s unresponsive body.

Shrimpo stared at his shaky hands and the blood that poured from Finn’s face, the jagged edges of the glass sticking out among the red.

He did that.

---

He did that?

Shrimpo was still thinking. Everything that he ever knew was suddenly different. But still he couldn’t deny how right the entire thing felt. This was the truth all along, and he caused all of it. It wasn’t like in those stories where someone had a revelation and suddenly fixed everything, Shrimpo just felt numb.

He doesn’t even know why he was angry. The puzzle pieces were all in his hands but he didn’t know how to put them together, he forgot. And everything felt pointless. What could he do if he managed to put the pieces together?

Fucking nothing.

He has nothing.

His chest felt heavy and weak but he willed himself to keep walking, just keep walking and forget about all of this already. It hurt. Every breath stung and ached like everything was starting to collapse in on him. The sweat was starting to stick on his skin and it burned more than anything he’s ever felt.

Was he actually going to die?

---

Two firm knocks greeted him from outside, shaking him awake. For a blissful moment, he thought he had been dreaming. Too bad he could tell that he just passed out outside of that stupid door again. And everything hurt so goddamn much. He forced himself to just get up already and check outside, doing the same old routine he did.

When he peeked through the peephole, he saw the same girl from yesterday. If that was even fucking yesterday considering he lost track.

Shrimpo had a strange pang of longing for a certain fish enthusiast. It still didn’t feel genuine, as if instead of him, it was a different Shrimpo that had these memories of this “happy” life. Where was Finn anyway? He had so many unanswered questions. Then again, the last time he saw him was… when he screamed at him to fuck off.

If he wasn’t going to come back, Shrimpo couldn’t even blame him.

The other shuffled around a bit before she sighed and worked up the courage to speak. Did he even care at this point? “Hey. I-“ She sighed again and grimaced, hesitating before spitting out her words. “Sorry about what I said..”

On the other side, Shrimpo was contemplating whether this person was really a girl as he assumed or a guy. The voice was tripping him up but honestly why the hell would a guy even act like this?

“You kind of deserve it anyway, asshole.” There’s the snark and then, he almost missed it. “I kind of deserved that too…”

“…Who the fuck are you?” He started, careful to pick out his words because technically, he didn’t even know who this is, or why they were even talking to him. It could be that he forgot but it didn’t seem like he would care about someone this self-absorbed. His head was starting to hurt like hell.

“Is this even Shrimpo?” The other was deadpan as they stared ahead into the door, face in complete disbelief. It was silent for a moment and Shrimpo contemplated just punching this… person and leaving. But he would be lying to himself if he said that would be a satisfying conclusion. “That’s… weird.”

“Didn’t think you were the type to forget your grudges.” Their eyes looked distant for a moment. “Then again you do hate everyone..”

He groaned at the lack of an answer. “Cut the bullshit, I need to talk to Finn. Where the hell is he?”

“…You.. Nevermind…” They were hesitating but out right dodged his question. “Oh right… I’ve- H- …I got something for you.” Silently, they moved over to the side before opening their bag and rummaging inside. Shrimpo silently seethed, wanting to protest but ultimately deciding not to for now. After a few moments, they grabbed whatever they wanted to take and pulled it out aggressively, accidentally knocking some of their stuff out with it.

“Shit..!” Bristling and hurrying to take the items, they hid some of them out of view from him. Not all of them though as he managed to catch a glimpse of a notebook that seemed out of place in the bookbag, instead of all the pinks and golds, it was mainly blue with… fish theming?

It was as if it was…

Before he could make anything of it, they rudely swept the stuff back into their bag and presented the gift, a pop can that they placed on his welcome mat. They didn’t meet his eyes when they got up. “Happy birthday, by the way...”

That was the last thing they said before walking away from the house, unease in their posture. But he only stared at the can that was left at his door step. He felt a bit queasy the more he thought about it. Was it his birthday? All people knew their birthdate, right? Well, except for him, apparently. Still, there was one thing that stuck out to him, it was just how painfully empty his stomach felt. And damn did it hurt like a bitch. He suddenly felt very much alive but still it’s not like he can come outside. He has tried before.

Shrimpo glared at the door handle that he never had the courage —if he even had any— to turn. It made more sense, just a bit more, why he didn’t- couldn’t do it. Maybe his body never really forgot why he never wanted to go outside ever again… as if it was a weird defense mechanism.

Except, his defense mechanism was actually going to kill him this time.

Whatever, he’ll just leave it out there. This time, he was going to just sleep and actually forget about it or that’s what he said to himself anyway. What he ended up doing was lay on the couch and stared at the same old ceiling fan, spiraling around just like him. Sometimes it felt like he wasn’t doing anything and just watching another him just sleep and not do anything.

He would briefly get up to go and drink what felt like an ocean’s worth of water before laying back down again. If he slept, he didn’t dream.

---

When he came to, the house was dark and bathed in moonlight. He should’ve never gotten up. What fucking time was it?

Shrimpo glanced in the direction of the entrance way. His body seemed to move by itself and next thing he knew, he was sleepily rubbing his eyes in front of the door. A voice inside of him wanted to check outside. A peek outside told him that no one was out there but most importantly, the pop can was still outside. It was a gift, wasn’t it? A birthday gift from someone he didn’t know and honestly didn’t like all that much.

He contemplated taking the damn thing just so that his stomach had something substantial inside of it. But it felt as if something fundamental was going to change about himself if he actually goes through with it.

…

Should he really care?

Slowly and shakily, he reached out and gripped the handle with his -newly unbandaged- hand. Like usual, a shiver of unexplained fear gripped his entire body. But this time, he held on and the trembles started to extend to the rest of him. Why does it hurt so much?

His hand almost lost its grip but he persisted and tried to hold on. It wasn’t enough, was it?

Why?

What was he so afraid of?

“Grandpa..?” He was soaked to the bone but he could tell that something was wrong.

“I’m fine,” He coughed out. “Dry yourself off, alright?”

Shrimpo gasped before opening his eyes again, sweat starting to flow down his temple. The steady weight in his hands was growing too heavy for his liking. Now or never, he promised himself. Before he could even process it, the door gave out first when he turned the handle, desperation starting to claw at him.

His body dropped onto the hard wood of the porch, landing on his side.

He blinked once, twice, and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It was colder than he was expecting. The air was light and the skies dotted with a few faint stars, something he only imagined he would ever see again. He couldn’t help but stare in amazement for a split second.

Was he really outside?

His hand moved to pinch himself but he already knew the answer before the pain registered.

Yes, he really is. And suddenly, the pain didn’t feel so bad anymore. Shrimpo carefully propped himself up on his arms and took one long deep breath. Maybe he didn’t hate this as much as he thought he did. Or more accurately, his past self. He shifted himself to a sitting position, trying to ignore some of the protests his body had. Wait… something was missing.

He looked around for a second before finding what he was looking for, a red can that had rolled off to the side of him. The metal felt cold to his touch when he picked it up. It shouldn’t be much of a big deal but the thought that something- no, someone else was looking over him was strange. A sinking feeling filled his chest when he realized that he wasn’t able to say anything to Finn before he had blown up.

The difference was that he didn’t care about him but well, the other him?

Now that he thought about it, it didn’t make any fucking sense. That didn’t mean he could stop thinking though. He cracked it open and stared at the brown liquid inside, wondering if he ever drank this stuff before. It didn’t matter much if he couldn’t remember, right?

Right?

Shrimpo hesitantly took a sip and almost recoiled from the fizz and taste. “What the fuck it this shit?” It was sweeter than he was expecting and the fizz just hurt his tongue more than anything. He just continued to drink, attempting to not let it ruin his mood. The starts seemed to glow brighter as he watched and absentmindedly counted them. His eyes widened when he spotted a shooting star passing through the night sky.

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(Back to first chapter)

[muffinchip]

Sneak peek on an AU me and my sister are making,

The Mindscape.

It's a Backrooms-esque liminal space AU but with toons from completely different worlds/timelines. Basically, if the Dandy's multiverse and the Backrooms had a baby, it would be this AU.

(And soon to be askblog!)

[muffinchip]

Peering In 5/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

< Prev I Next >

Chapter 5 : Ink About It

Chapter Summary :

Does being self aware make it better or worse?

143

"Tyvf, fgbc vg, vg'f abg lbhe snhyg."

- E

"Lbh qba'g xabj gung! Vg'f- jul jbhyq ur..."

- T

"V qba'g xabj. Ohg V xabj lbh. V xabj lbh'er tbvat gb svaq rirel yvggyr rkphfr gb oynzr lbhefrys."

- E

The constant stream felt heavy as he paddled his way upwards, his body heaving for air the moment he broke the surface. Shrimpo treaded water, careful to keep the other body nestled to his side above the surface. The other boy coughed but mostly stayed completely still. He swam to shore the best he could with one arm but with his short stature, it was slow going. Eventually they both made it to shore, laying down on the grass to catch their breaths.

---

His mind was a bitch sometimes.

Shrimpo felt strangely detached, it was like seeing your own body rotting away, aware and yet unable to do anything about it. Those same walls around his house grew too narrow and cramped for his thoughts. Comfort that was usually second nature became alien, the mattress that bended under his weight, the long monotony of it all. He drifted in and out of sleep until the days and nights started to blur together and the pain just a dull ache.

Strange visions and memories twisted together with reality, his hazy mind unable to tell what was real and what was fake. Weary eyes tore themselves away from a distant light as he wondered what changed.

The dreams that he had… They felt so strangely real. Even if there were no possible way for it to be, he couldn’t shake off the feeling something was missing. Something that was dangerous, something that could pull him away from his safety. But there were no more nightmares after that one. Whether it was a good or bad thing, he hadn’t decided yet.

Whatever that weird dream was trying to tell him, it still didn’t matter in the end. Whoever he was, Shrimpo didn’t care anymore. He’s too tired to care.

The only thing that mattered to him now was passing the time and fighting off his pain. Even with the hunger pangs, he no longer had any appetite for food, only occasionally getting up to quench his thirst. The only vague memory he had off eating something was taking a few bites before his throat closed up. His hoodie no longer fit on him correctly, simply hanging off of him instead. Shrimpo wondered how long it would be before he starved or maybe he would force himself to eat whatever was left.

And maybe he was somewhat okay with that.

If that meant that he could stay here forever, it was fine.

The only thing stopping him now was his own mind. The nagging feeling in his head telling him he was wrong. He was wrong for dreading and yet craving that small bit of interaction, the only thing connecting him to the outside world. It was humiliating to realize he wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up.

He was eating himself from the inside out and it burned. Every waking hour was fucking torture, every moment asleep only made him wish for death. It was spineless but sometimes he wanted to just-

There wasn’t anything for him left anyway. And yet somehow he always clung to that bit of attachment he had left.

All because of…

---

“…Finn?” He shook the boy in question on the shoulder and he coughed out some water in response. The liquid that was in his throat made it hard for him to tell if Finn was laughing or gurgling since there was barely a difference between the two. This idiot... Shrimpo couldn’t believe he almost got himself killed by drowning. 

He kept patting his back until Finn finally managed to clear his lungs out and almost shook with laughter, full-body laughing that slightly eased his mind. “Hah- I was really in a sea-pickle, huh?”

“Really?” Shrimpo was not amused and it showed but the blue-haired boy kept on giggling at him. It honestly should get him angry but he already knew he couldn’t get mad at the other, something that was an endless source of teasing from the person in question. Sarcastically, he noted, “Maybe next time I won’t save you then.”

“Nonono, it’s just your face- holy carp- were you… pouting?” He stressed the last word and stared up at him intently. But Shrimpo snapped the moment his brain caught up with his words.

“HAH?! Why the fuck would I be pouting because of that?!”

Those aquamarine eyes looked at him, a gaze he will always be familiar with. “Do it again!”

“No-! You almost got yourself killed, damn it! What the fuck were you thinking!?” For once, Finn seemed to take his words seriously. “That’s not funny!”

“It’s ‘fin’, you were watching me over there..?” His voice curled up into a question when Shrimpo grabbed his wrist and got closer to him, accidentally trapping him between the ground and his body. Finn’s eyes stared up directly into his, their faces mere inches apart.

“What if I wasn’t?” The anger dripping from his voice wasn’t out of malice but he still reeled back when Finn tensed up. “Thought you said you wanted to be a marine biologist or shit, how are you gonna do that if you drown?!”

“I’m still learning…” Faintly, he smiled before tugging him closer, wrapping his hands around his torso. His embrace was warm and comforting, even with how water-soaked they were. “I’m not gonna be swimming with the fishies any time soon with you around!”

Shrimpo sighed loudly but accepted the hug. “Fuck you… Keep your damn life jacket on.”

“I promise.” The steady heartbeat he could hear under him was drowned out by his own, loudly hammering in his chest. He vaguely wondered if Finn could hear it. But when he shuffled to look up, Shrimpo only saw him staring up into the sky, eyes heavy with exhaustion. What’s wrong with him? He’s not worried, he wasn’t ever worried at all.

And yet, his chest felt stung.

Shrimpo wasn’t sure if he hated him or the feeling more.

---

Another one.

His bandages were already fraying, does he need to replace these? Not like he could summon the energy to do it anyway. Shrimpo kept staring at his hand, slowly getting annoyed that he could feel an itch start to make itself known. It can’t be that bad, so he decided to rip it off already. The skin under it healed… enough, at least it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be.

There were still some scabs so he was careful enough to avoid them as he scratched, even if he really wanted to pick the ones around his fingers. Shrimpo lost the battle of wills and just picked at them anyway. A glint around his palm caught his eyes, it was coming from one of his scars. The glass shards from the cup that he missed when he was picking them out had imbedded themselves into his skin.

Glass in his skin.

There was something about them that he couldn’t shake off. He couldn’t make himself look away, not even when he felt a familiar pain in his head.

Maybe if he pretended it didn’t bother him, it would go away.

That little thorn in his chest would go away.

This shit was getting so old.

He forced himself to pry his eyes away, slamming his fist into the bed over and over again. Every impact would make his hand start to sting in all the wrong ways, accompanied by a clanging sound as if there was something rattling against his bedframe. He took a couple steadying breaths before his mind could acknowledge the noise and where it came from.

Was there supposed to be something under there?

Curiosity won over as he hit the mattress again and heard the same noise. So, it wasn’t his imagination. He carefully collected himself and rolled onto the carpet, lacking the energy to even try and get up. His whole body felt like it was being weighed down with lead as he searched around the extremely dusty space underneath the bed. But eventually, he grasped something solid and big in the darkness.

He struggled to pull it out, it was heavy whatever it was.

The wooden box he pulled out wasn’t exactly what he imagined even if he wasn’t imagining anything in particular. It was obviously filled with something important if his past self decided to hide it here.

For some odd reason, he felt a nervousness he couldn’t pin point from inside his stupid brain. What the hell was in this thing? He brushed it off, it was too late for him to be regretful now.

When he carefully opened the box, the first thing he was met with was a few scattered polaroid photos. Shrimpo knelled closer before shakily taking the polaroids in his hands. There was no mistaking it even with the scratched over faces, these photos were of him and Finn.

The throbbing headache was slowly getting worse the more he stared at them. How?

Why?

It didn’t make any sense. Why can't he remember? He was hiding all this time and for what? He doesn't remember.

It just- IT DIDN’T MAKE SENSE. He felt his breathing grow shallow as his mind tried to conjure any old memories except for the one he was met with just a few moments ago. It was as if his own mind was fighting with him over what to do, his thoughts just ended up circling back over and over again. A warning.

But at this point, what did he have left to lose?

After a few moments in damn near complete silence that was starting to drive him mad, Shrimpo could only to come up with something that made his skin crawl.

Scattered glass. Everywhere.

He felt blood dripping on his hands. It wasn’t his, was it?

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(Back to first chapter)

[muffinchip]

Peering In 4/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

< Prev I Next >

Chapter 4 : You're Cray-zy!

Chapter Summary :

Shrimpo is starting to lose his shit, except he's aware of it this time. He's not sure if that's better or worse.

"Jrveqb, fgbc obgurevat zr naq tb znxr lbhefrys hfrshy sbe bapr."

- T

"..."

- S

“What the fuck-“ His words were abruptly cut off when he was grabbed forward by his chin. That fucker was staring down at him, the side of his eye crinkling smugly when he noticed the anger directed at him. Is it just his imagination or was this guy really trying to piss him off now?

The halls around them seemingly disappeared as Shrimpo quickly swung a punch at his stupid fucked up face. But instead of his fist connecting with flesh, it felt like smooth glass. He flinched back as he heard a shattering and cracking sound start to spread over the “injury”. The X on his face stuttered, showing off the cracks he made to his face but his expression wasn’t angry or afraid. Far from it, actually.

It was almost like he was… happy.

What the actual fuck is happening?

“Y’know, I’ll just be glad that I could see you.” The chills that one sentence sent down his spine would be enough to spook him but he wasn’t about to show it, not when he was still fucking staring at him. He was about to step back before a hand took ahold of his wrist, immediately yanking him closer. “Oh no, I’m not done with you yet,”

He defiantly stared back at the person above him, fighting off the urge to spit in his face. “The hell do you want, bitch?”

“I don’t want a lot… I just want you to stop running away from me.” A sliver of that boy that waited everyday outside of his house came back, mouth in a cautious frown. So, pulling on sympathy strings again, huh? It’s still pretty pathetic. “And you need to admit,”

Shrimpo knitted his eyebrows together, confusion lacing his voice. “Admit? What the fuck do I need to admit?! You’re the one being a fucking creep!”

“Don’t you get it,” He tried to struggle out of his grasp while he talked, only to find the grip on his wrist was crushing. “This is all you, you did all of this,” The boy lowered his face, inching closer and closer to him. “Running away, avoiding your problems that’s what you always do,”

“DAMN IT, JUST LET GO OFF ME ALREADY!!” Shrimpo finally managed to pry his hand away from the grasp, carefully wringing it out. Why the fuck is he doing this? “I don’t need to do jackshit because you fucking told me to!”

“That’s. Where. You’re. Wrong,” He punctuated each word with a step closer. For every step, Shrimpo took another one back until he felt his back bump into the wall. He turned away from his gaze, feeling the breath start to catch in his lungs. “How are you supposed to learn anything if you keep doing this,”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“̵̖̯̪̝̩̦̎̈̋̚͝C̵̹͒̃͒́ò̷̮͌̔͊̏͛̏̑̍̽̓͠ü̸̘̩͚̝͇̺̖̖̯͉̰̗͗̅͐ṛ̶̐̐̏̈́͘͘͝ş̵̹͓̱̮͙͍̯̺̟͗̈̎͐̾̂̅̀ė̴̠̠͔̋́̋̓̅̓̐̃̆̕̚ ̵̢̼̥̃̒ͅy̷̨̢̢͙̮̗̣͇̹̫͋͠ơ̵̯͌ų̶͎̟̘̾̊̅̾ ̸̢̧̢̟͖̟̭̰͇̰̥̜̈́̃̄͗̒̽̽͠d̷̥̯̠͙͕͒̐͒̓̓̇͆̕o̷̻̺̠͖̖̦͔̹͈̲̅͒̏͑̔̈̉͑͛ṉ̷̨̖͇̠̪̩͈̞̅̔̏̒̓͠’̴̣̮͙͋̍̀̏̎͆͂̈̕͝t̶̨̳̩̭͕̺̾̏͑̇̇͗-̵̭̫̘̫͔̣͎͋͗͑̍̆̒́͋̓̕͘”̷̜̟͇̦̟̘̖͚̪̘̱̿̾͜

For a blissful moment, everything was quiet before Shrimpo felt hands on his throat. The air in his lungs felt like it was knocked out of him as he was shoved to the wall, coughing and jerking away. His eyes met with one bright blue and another with blood pouring from his socket. The hand on his neck pressed harder as he scrambled to pry them away. Slowly, the fight in him left his body and he saw the darkness at the sides of his vision start to creep in.

No. Why the fuck can’t he move- his body?

His lungs heaved for the air he needed but nothing was happening. He felt himself slowly go limp before nothingness claimed him.

---

He flinched awake in a cold sweat. Swerving his eyes around, he could see the wreck that was left of his grandpa’s room. A hand made its way onto his nape, checking the skin there which was as smooth as it should be. It was- It felt so real. His whole body throbbed at the reminder of the damage that he did.

“THAT WAS A FUCKING DREAM?!” Shrimpo screamed out to the empty air, wondering just which god he pissed off to get such shitty nightmares. The growls coming from his mouth didn’t even sound human at this point.

He’s just a dude trying to peacefully live his life, damn it!

The part of him that was still angry wanted to protest but he stifled the growl that was going to come out of his mouth. That was before he heard a soft knock on his door. Shrimpo stuffed his face into the carpet, hoping against all hope that he just misheard that. But he couldn’t ignore it a second longer when a second knock came.

Anyone but him… He quietly thought to himself as he shuffled his sore feet out into the hall.

Remembering what happened last time, he decided to hide and wait until he could hear their voice. It was strangely quiet today. He could feel a shiver run down his spine as he kept waiting and waiting and waiting until the aura around his eyesight started to get worse again. A headache was starting to form and despite his mind’s protests he went and looked through the keyhole of the door, only to see a completely different person on the other side.

This… girl? was dressed rather well, with jewelry, accessories, and all the like. Shrimpo didn’t like those kinds of people, they were usually full of themselves. And this one was the same.

“This is dumb…” She rolled her eyes, flicking away her short pony tail. “I can hear you, y’know?”

Somehow, a part of his brain would rather have the other boy visit him instead of this stuck-up girl.

“Everyone’s damn worried about you, just saying.” She had an accusatory tone as she rattled on about these people who he doesn’t even know. Her expression turned sour as the seconds wore on but he could also tell from her tense stance that she was uncomfortable. Probably got the wrong house, he thought to himself. “Don’t just-“

Shrimpo walked away from the door, feeling both amused and concerned before he abruptly remembered how weak his body was by almost falling into the living room. Shit, all this constant stress is being an absolute bitch to him. He carefully lowered himself on the couch, still feeling the soreness in his bones.

Fuck this, he’s sure a nap wouldn’t hurt.

---

His eyes squinted as it made contact with the sunlight reflecting off of the water’s edge, the breeze tickling his skin. Wait, water? Shrimpo quickly got up into a sitting position as he looked around, finding himself somewhere familiar. It was a lake that he would often be taken to by his grandpa, he remembers the times where they would go fishing or even collecting trash from the water. But now the first order of business,

What was he doing here?

The place looks far more overgrown with plants than he last remembered, or maybe that was because he hasn’t been here in awhile. Carefully, he got up while brushing the grass off his pants. Nothing of significance really stood out to him, except for the lake itself, contrasting its surrounding with how beautiful it was.

He walked against the foliage, determined to get closer. It was slow going but he trudged closer, feeling an uncomfortable feeling start to clench around his chest. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him, not this time. The small dock that decorated the place started to come into view and sitting on the very edge of it was… someone he couldn’t stand the sight off right now.

The stranger was wearing something different from his usual brown uniform, a navy sailor outfit with a life jacket that he put off to the side.

Shrimpo instinctively closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his foot took the first step onto the dock, the solid wood welcoming compared to the muddy earth. Damn it, why was it so hard? He can’t afford to not act anymore, if he doesn’t do this now… then when? When is he going to stop running away?

His chest stung with every pounding heart beat as he cautiously opened his eyes.

Like a wave of cold sea water, he felt the tense in his muscles start to wash away. The other boy seemed to notice his presence and quickly turned his head around. But this time his expression was odd. His eye looked sunken in and red as if he had been crying, the usual happy expression he wore had completely disappeared replaced with a grimace. He rubbed his good eye before opening his mouth to speak, “…Why are you here..?”

Shrimpo stared in mild horror at the other side of his face, covered in mismatched scars and marked with an empty eye socket. That’s what was hiding under that bandage?! The unknown person noticed his gaze before shielding the botched part of him. Shrimpo had no words to respond to his question and quickly looked away, feeling his sense of control over the situation waver once again. The acid in his stomach was already upset due to something and he could feel it but this was making it worse.

“I’m tired… I’m tired of this, Shrimpo…” He heard the other quietly whisper to himself.

The boy slowly stole his gaze away and back towards the calm waters, humming a strangely familiar tune. Shrimpo still felt uneasy from the attack that he pulled on him in his dream -fake or not- and so he stayed a safe distance away.

Everything felt so off but he could only watch and wait. An expectant pause passed between the scene, the wind starting to blow at his hair. He thought he heard the boy murmur a few words before shifting. And that was all the warning he got before he pushed himself off of the edge of the dock. A few bubbles floated up to the surface of the disturbed water, disappearing as the waves swallowed him.

Shrimpo froze in place, his mind caught between running or fishing him out. Oh god, what was he supposed to do? He never wanted to see someone die, even if it wasn’t his fault. His body stood still as he slowly watched the shadow start to fade away. Almost subconsciously, he felt his body jerk forward, breath hitching as he fell to his knees on the edge of the dock. The clear surface was already starting to even out, no trace of the body that had fallen in. He gripped onto the scratched-up wood, staring at his reflection in the water.

A boy with distress in his amber eyes stared back. He almost laughed at the situation, why does he feel so bad for-

Suddenly, a hand from the surface grasped his unsuspecting wrist, tugging him forward. The water splashed around his frozen form, sound dissipating the moment his head was pulled under. Instinctively, he closed his eyes and focused on the noises around him with the slight current lapping and rushing past his body.

A strange calmness overtook him then, the embrace comforting as the water flowed around him. This feels right, familiar. The sensations that he remembered dearly.

His eyes slowly pried themselves open and he saw a pair of eyes gazing solely at him, reflection of light dancing around them. The other drew closer, tightening the hug between them. Shrimpo tensed as he rested his head on his chest, gasping as the light of the surface was slowly growing farther the more they sunk into the lake.

.. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- 

But strangely it didn’t feel like it mattered much.

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

He felt the hands around his torso hold firm as if afraid he will fade away.

-... ..- - / .. - / .... ..- .-. - ... 

The darkness was starting to envelop him again.

.-.. --- ...- .. -. --. / -.-- --- ..- / .... ..- .-. - ... / ... --- / -- ..- -.-. ....

He reluctantly hugged back, caressing blood-stained fingers over his back. Is this what he wanted, Fi-

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[muffinchip]

Peering In 3/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

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Chapter 3 : On Fin Ice

Chapter Summary :

Shrimpo is finally left alone to his own devices... so, what does he do?

"ubj fNq... vir urneq ur qbrfag unir nal sevraqf naq abj urf Ybpxrq uvzfrYs vafvqr uvf ubhfr Gbb?"

- N

"Uzz, v qbag trg jul uR qvq vg ohg lrnu, ur qvq. zvFf qryvyNu nfxrq Zr gb ivfvg ohg uR whfg tvirf zr gur pbyq fubhyqre. v qbag guvax urf pbzvat bhg nal gvzr fbba."

- Q

Shrimpo splayed on his couch and stared up at his rotating ceiling fan. Just staring, and nothing else. This… this was boredom to a whole nother level! And he HATES boredom. Too bad for Shrimpo, he couldn’t do anything else. His phone was nowhere to be found, and any other sources of entertainment, he either HATED or were too destroyed for him to use.

So here he was, doing nothing. He didn’t have anything to worry about anymore since that guy never came back after his last conversation with him. But he didn’t know that meant that the feeling would be replaced with whatever this was. It angered him in a way, how much his cracks were starting to show. His days were spent mostly pacing around the house, even the sweet release of sleep eluded him these past few days. It wasn’t like he needed the damn sleep anyway, restful night his ass! All he ever got was nightmares!

His stomach grumbled loudly, it was starting to cramp unbearably but Shrimpo couldn’t work up the appetite after puking that day. Especially, with all this disgusting crap on his floor that.. he also didn’t want to clean up. He smushed his head with a throw pillow before screaming loudly into it. Why does everything need to be so fucking hard?!

The frustration that was starting to build up was the only thing he focused on as he pulled at his hair absentmindedly. Ow, okay no, that was starting to hurt. And his hair felt oily as fuck. He belatedly remembered that he hadn’t showered for god knows how long. Add that to list of things he was bad at.

He probably smelled like shit…

Ah, whatever. It’s not like anyone can say anything about it. If they did, he would definitely give them a lesson they won’t forget.

Shrimpo laughed at his own sorry state but slowly got up from the couch anyway. If he was right, it should be around that time. All the clocks he owned was broken or out of battery, so his intuition it was. He was right most of the time so that had to count for something, right? Carefully, he crept up to the entrance of his house, pleased to hear no outside sound or horrible humming. He came up to the peephole and sighed in relief when there was no one at the door.

Should he feel relieved? He wasn’t sure. But it’s one of the better emotions that he’s been having surely.

Now, he should “test it out”. Shrimpo quickly grabbed the door handle before his body could protest. That cold dread was back the moment he gripped it in his hand, causing him to flinch back. His first instinct was to reel back and kick the unruly door, he hissed when his foot made contact with the wood.

“..What the actual fuck am I doing.” He groaned out after putting his head in his hands, more a statement than a question. Every time, every single time, he had a weird reaction to his own attempt at leaving his house. It was something akin to anger,—more like fear if he was being honest— the same feeling that got his heart pumping and sweat pouring. He carefully rubbed his sweaty hands on his hoodie and then just awkwardly stood there, staring daggers at an inanimate object.

He HATES this fucking door. He HATES the outside. Damn it, he HATES everything!

After an undetermined amount of time, Shrimpo decided that this wasn’t going to get him anywhere and left. Probably to get a snack since without the adrenaline, he could almost feel the stomach acid eating away at his insides. Once again, he headed to the kitchen to play a stupid game of hide and seek with his food.

Most of the cabinets were cleared out, he opened the fridge a million times, even the pantry—he forgot about the fact he even had one—was pretty dry. Well, except for a couple of cookies he wasn’t sure was expired or not. It was better than starving, he reasoned with himself. Shrimpo ate them as quickly as he could and drank a whole lot of water after that. Should last him a couple more days.

Eat food? Check…

At least that’s one thing done, he should give himself a damn pat on the back because he deserves it! Gramps would probably scold him for his eating habits though because of “how unhealthy it was”. He could really go for a home-cooked meal to be honest.

Shrimpo shook his head and cleared the thoughts, it wasn’t the time.

Unfortunately for Shrimpo, food came with an unwanted side effect, sleepiness. And just when he was doing so well at keeping himself awake too. He decided to distract himself for now before it really kicked in, kicking around some of the trash in his hallway and putting them into another dangerously rickety high pile. It only occurred to him after he finished that he was essentially tiring himself out, the opposite of what he wanted to do. Damn, he is so smart.

He tried his best to keep himself awake, shaking his head and blinking away sleep. Pacing around the halls helped somewhat but he slowly became aware of how tired he was and although he tried his best his legs were too tired to keep going. He rubbed at his eyes, wondering when the last time he slept was. Must’ve… must’ve been a long time ago.

Unfortunately, his eyes were starting to droop and it was getting harder to deny the sleep that was coming to him. He sighed in defeat and turned towards his bedroom door that was in front of him and opened it. Wait a minute… he drowsily blinked a couple of times, his door wasn’t supposed to be intact. All sleep left him as the realization hit him like a freight train, finding himself standing in the middle of his grandpa’s room.

It was already dusty and smelled off, different from the rest of the house. Everything was still in one piece frozen in time, away from Shrimpo’s destructive hands. He could see the picture frame that gramps had on his dresser the one where he brought his grandson to the beach for the first time, the only piece of glass he didn’t dare shatter. It was all here... When was the last time he came in here?

He caught himself waiting for that familiar voice to speak out to him, only to be disappointed when only the silence answered him. Looking down, he could see his hands shaking, it hurt. “You need to be able to take care of yourself,” he still remembered those words before he… left him. Just like his good-for-nothing parents, he disappeared from his life, leaving him alone again. He stared at the picture, was he lying to him? He said that he would be there for him, so why…

Why does he feel like this?

The muscle in his arm twitched slightly, a foreign type of anger filling his heart as he lashed out at whatever was in his way.

Why did he leave him?! Why does it fucking hurt so much?! Why? Why?! IT’S NOT FAIR! IT’S NOT FUCKING FAIR! IT WAS ALWAYS HIS FAULT! HE DIDN’T WANT MUCH! WHY DOES HE ALWAYS LOSE?! HE HATES THIS!! HE HATES HIS GRANDPA!! HE HATES HIS STUPID PARENTS!! HE HATES EVERYONE!!

HE HATES EVERYTHING!!!

He abruptly let himself fall down onto the carpet, panting breaths coming from his mouth. His fists were bloody and everything ached. Shrimpo couldn’t even summon up the energy to get up and look at what he did. At that moment, he just existed. And then, for the first time since he got that call from the hospital, he let himself cry, sobbing and wailing until he couldn’t anymore. Everything hurt so much.

He was so stupid. All of this was pointless, crying wasn’t going to do anything, he always told himself that. How was he ever going to be strong if he cried at every inconvenience? He just wished he had more time, that he told him he loved him more. But in the end it didn’t matter…

Because none of this would ever bring him back.

He was such a bad grandson.

---

Shrimpo blinked awake to the sight of the ceiling greeting him. When did he fall asleep?

Strangely, he felt… airy. It was almost stifling how wrong he felt. Whatever, time to face the music. He sat up to survey the damage around the room, stuff got thrown around definitely but the most concerning damage was the dresser and walls. There were some holes in the walls, courtesy of his fists, and the drawers looked like it was dismantled.

Fuck… He’ll have to fix that later. To think, all of this was because of a stupid breakdown…

A ringing sound made him startle slightly. At first, he thought that it was his phone again but after listening in he realized it was coming from outside…?

Shrimpo got up and walked towards the door, taking one last breath before opening it. It was a blur as he made his way outside, the ringing sound slowly getting louder and louder until it suddenly stopped. In front of him, he saw his worst nightmare coming true in the form of a certain stranger with long unruly blue hair. The other turned around, one hand fiddling with the bandage over his eye before abruptly ripping it off. It wasn’t anything that Shrimpo imagined under there. The eye was instead replaced with a large grotesque crack over the area, spilling blood from the gaps. “Well, hello there,”

“What the fuck…” In the blink of an eye, the crack altered into a giant X over his eye.

“Sorry for barging in! You just keep forgetting to lock the door…” He chuckled, his smile turning sinister for a fleeting moment.

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[muffinchip]

Peering In 2/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

< Prev | Next >

Chapter 2 : F-eel-ing Crabby

Chapter Summary :

Shrimpo tries to grapple with reality while his mind continues to slip.

FGBC YLVAT GB LBHEFRYS

YRG ZR BHG BS URER

There was silence on both sides of the line. A chill went through him as he stared– just stared at the darkness of the living room.

Shrimpo felt like he was going to be sick.

“Hello? ███████?”

Spots of darkness started to dance around his vision when he hung up. He quickly threw the phone away—uncaring of where it went—and got up to sprint into the bathroom. Everything after that was a blur as he felt the bile start to rise in his throat, his head starting to pulse in time with his heart.

The leftovers of his earlier meal were left in the toilet bowl as he tried his best to swallow his own saliva, bitter taste lingering on his tongue. He spat what was left in his mouth before flushing all of it down the toilet. If he was being honest to himself, the water didn’t change much when he flushed. But he had other things to worry about, namely his dry and irritated throat.

He would ignore it if it wasn’t annoying him so much, so he had to force himself to get some tap water from the kitchen. The water felt cold as he swallowed it, at least it went down easy this time. As he lowered the glass from his lips, he glared at nothing in particular.

He HATES throwing up more than anything. The feeling of emptiness, the taste of bile, the way his body forcefully wretched up the pieces of food that he was already struggling to keep in. Filling up his cup a second time, he can’t help but lament his situation. Everything felt too close near him and yet far away at the same time. There was no way something was wrong with him, he was Shrimpo after all.

And yet every time he heard that voice… Damn it, why does he need to be so damn weak?! He screamed in frustration, not sure what to feel angry at, the stranger? His luck? Himself? “That fucker knows my number now- FUCK! GO TO HELL YOU LITTLE-!”

The sound of shattering was what registered to him first when he slammed his hand into the counter. Then, there was stinging pain radiating all over his palm and fingers. He felt himself start to heave as he shakily lifted his hand to stare at the blood that was dripping onto himself, the glass shards imbedding into his skin. There was a sinking and crushing feeling in his chest. He– he felt like he couldn’t fucking breathe.

A hand planted itself on his throat, seemingly trying to choke him out. He staggered backwards, trying to gain some semblance of control over his own body. That awful sensation of screams fading in and out of the void came back with a vengeance. He shuddered when he heard the singular scream that always sent shivers down his spine.

“SHRIMPO?!”

His world suddenly tilted and it all faded to black.

---

Ugh, why the fuck does this shit happen to him?!

Oh right, because everything has a grudge on him apparently.

Shrimpo painstakingly wrapped an alcohol-stained bandage around his recently cleaned hand. It was good that the glass didn’t go too deep into his flesh, he reckoned. Or else he might’ve needed to do surgery on his own hand. That sounds like it would go to shit very fast even if he could probably pull it off. He tied off the bandage the best he could with one hand, silently glad that he kept a first aid kit in the bathroom.

It was a struggle to try and remember what he was doing before he passed out with his mind blanking. He scratched his head and grumbled, whatever, it probably wasn’t that important because right now his whole body ached more than when he used to train. The fact alone, coupled with his fighting streak, was enough for him to warrant having the med kit in the first place.

Too bad he didn’t really have the energy for it anymore.

And there was also…

Nevermind, he should probably get some fresh air outside instead of sitting around in his damp and frankly disgusting bathroom. The walk towards his front door was strangely quiet, not like he wasn’t used to it already but it felt different. It was like one of those scenes in a movie when something important was going to happen. He finds that he still HATES anticipation, especially when it wasn’t the good kind.

It would probably be fine this time, right?

The door was in front of him now, waiting for him to open it. Shrimpo brushed his hand against the doorknob and froze. It was like.. eyes were suddenly on him. His injured hand shook as he closed it around the handle, a sudden chill washing over his entire body. It felt wrong. Something was wrong. Slowly, he pried his hand away from the entrance and backed away. It frustrated him to no end how he couldn’t even open a stupid fucking door. It was just a door. He would destroy it if his punching hand wasn’t already messed up.

So, he couldn’t go out, he can’t even open his own damn door! What does he do now? Why did he care so much about something that he hated anyway? There was nothing for him out there.

Shrimpo paced around the entry hall, trying to calm his beating heart. Since when was he scared of anything, especially something so stupid?! He avoided the sudden thoughts that his mind conjured up before continuing to pace around the house, feeling a deep restlessness inside of him.

The darkness that marked night passed by his house, blanketing it in an already gloomy atmosphere. There was no light around his house, the moonlight filtering through the curtains the only source of it, despite not doing shit for his lighting problem. Unwelcome visions began to cloud his sight, shadows becoming monsters shuffling through the halls. He keeps walking because what else was he supposed to do?

The feeling persisted like an annoying pest until the sun rose up, bathing the house in an even more unwelcome glow. He HATES the sun and its stupid light and how fucking hot it is. This is why he stays inside because it’s terrible out there and he hates everything about it, even if he would rather have a choice. His sight locks onto the door again.

Shrimpo will prove that he could do this, just to prove he can because of course he’s able to do a simple task like this.

He went over to the door again and peeked through the peephole, trying to make sure that it was safe and to ease the unsettling feeling. What he was not expecting was an eye staring right back at him, pupils light blue in color. He fell backwards onto the floor before quickly shuffling back up, suddenly having the realization that his stupid intuition was right. Someone was looking at him. And he would recognize that eye from a mile away.

“Oh- Sorry!” That stupid fucking creep was back. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?!” Shrimpo finally responds, trying to ignore this guy for as long as possible be damned. How long has he been there?! It wasn’t like he heard a knock like most of the other times. A cold feeling gripped his chest. “Why the FUCK are you here, damnit?!”

“Oh, I just thought that it’s a fin-tastic day to go out!” That was new, he never taunted him before. He probably knew that he can’t take a step out of his own damn house. “I know you haven’t been feeling great lately, so why don’t we both go fishing?”

“No! I HATE fishing!! Stop bothering me!” He spat at the boy behind the door, covering the peephole with one hand incase the other called out his lie. In truth, there was fishing memorabilia all over his house, even in the entry hallway which was NOT his. It was annoying.

He still put on that fake happy aura, the delight oozing into his words. “We both know that’s a lie. You used to go with your grandpa all the time-“

“DON’T FUCKING TALK ABOUT HIM, YOU SHIT-FACE!!” He slammed his hand into the wood, panting from the anger that was rushing through his blood. The slight dizziness that accompanied seized his throat shut. How dare he mention him using that stupid ass mouth of his. After all the shit he put him through, it wasn’t enough?!

“███████? What are you talking about?” His voice was bordering on laughter. Laughter.

He could hear the blood rushing through his ears. If this guy had a death wish, well, he’ll gladly tear him a new one because this door was the only thing keeping him alive. “DAMN IT, WHAT PART OF LEAVE ME ALONE DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!” The other side fell silent despite his screams. “I HATE YOU! I HATE ALL OF THIS!!”

The boy‘s happy façade finally broke, his tone pleading. “C’mon, don’t mess around with me. Just come out, please?”

“NO! THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! JUST DO EVERYONE A FAVOR AND FUCKING KILL YOURSELF!!!” Shrimpo shuddered and clenched his fist, feeling the adrenaline fade. Finally. It felt good to get that all out. Somehow, he felt like this nightmare was about to end.

His confidence shattered when he heard a sniffle coming from behind the door.

“I- I thought we were friends… ███████, you’re my only friend!” He managed to bitterly choke out in between his sobs. What was he expecting? For Shrimpo to forgive him because he felt bad for him? But he still didn’t dare look outside. “You’re- hah- you’re the only one..!” Still in the middle of his breakdown, he burst into laughter again. A kind of laughter that felt fake to him. “You’re the only thing keeping me together. I just- I still don’t get it!”

There was a thick tension between them as a silence fell over the scene. Hah, Shrimpo was getting weak to fall to someone’s trick like this. It didn’t help that a deep part of him felt pity for this stranger. “Don’t lie to yourself, I’m not your friend, you’re just a delusional bitch.”

This time, the stranger didn’t respond. And he quickly heard the sound of footsteps growing farther away. He checked the peephole to see that no one was in the vicinity. Finally, he was alone. It felt like a weight had lifted off of his shoulders. Hopefully, that guy would learn his lesson already. It was getting pathetic.

Shrimpo turned away but not before giving the door one last look.

He shouldn’t have bothered to try.

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[muffinchip]

Peering In 1/7

Summary :

Every single day, a single person visits Shrimpo's doorstep eager to chat and try to coax him out of his house. The problem is this certain someone knows his name and seemingly everything about him despite the fact Shrimpo never explicitly remembers this boy. But something seems off...

What's really going on here? And why can't he work up the courage to come out of his house?

(Highschool AU)

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Chapter 1 : Red Herring

Shrimpo swore he heard a knock on his door which immediately filled him with an unknown feeling of frustration. He thought that the knocks would’ve stopped a long time ago but ever since that day, they’ve never let up.

He HATES that noise.

Every day, at exactly three fifteen PM, there was someone just waiting at his front porch, staring into space and talking to nobody. It was as if they were brainless zombies, following the same routine. At first, he could expect multiple different people, which he all ignored because who were these people to think he would let them in his house? But now, there was only a single boy with a bandage over his eye.

Shrimpo would swear him out if he had the energy but he didn’t want to waste what he had on this delinquent. The boy was strange, his uniform was well-kept, tidy even. And yet, his few injuries made him seem like he got into trouble. His smile was too wide, too friendly to be anything but creepy. He could tell he had one of his teeth knocked out too.

He REALLY didn’t want to deal with him if he wanted to pick a fight.

And so, every time the unknown student came he made sure to lock the doors, periodically checking on him through the peephole. It still didn’t ease his worry a single bit. He knew that if anything were to happen he could obviously beat him, he was the best after all. Today was just one of those days where he tried to avoid the prick as much as possible.

"Hey... ███████, gonna come out anytime soon?" The doorbell rang again. As he stared at him through the peephole, he could see the boy lowering his gaze to the dusty porch floors, shielding his expression. It always creeped him out how he knew his name and where he lived. "I know you’re in there, buddy. You don’t need to pretend.”

He was met with silence from a very angry Shrimpo. What the hell does he want?

His tone suddenly shifted, low and quiet replaced with cheerful. He didn’t know which one was creepier. “But It's alright! Take as much time as you need!" He HATES sarcasm. "I'll 'kelp' you if you need!"

But he might just hate those stupid jokes more.

He startled when his door knob started to rattle, the boy’s face just inches away from his view. The other stopped almost immediately when he realized it wouldn’t open. “Oops, forgot you lock your doors now. I can’t just barge into your house anymore, huh?”

The boy laughed but Shrimpo was currently in the middle of processing his words. He should probably start locking his backdoor too. Would this guy really try breaking into his house though? Whatever, there was nothing worth stealing anyway. It’s all trash.

His muscles twitched slightly but he resisted the urge to punch him in the face and grumbled under his breath. After an uncomfortable silence, he could see the boy shift his backpack onto the floor. The sound of him unzipping the bag was quiet but it might as well be a gunshot when it was this silent. The boy’s fingers twitched slightly before he pulled out what he was looking for- a few papers.

“Hope you don’t mind me staying for a bit!” What was up with him? Why of all people did he choose Shrimpo to torment? Why can’t everyone just stop bothering him?! The stranger chuckled before plopping down on the floor and… started to do his homework?

What the hell…!? Damnit, do your homework in your own home! Don’t do them on his porch!

His hand itched with the need to punch something and so he punched the first thing he saw, which was the wall next to him. He realized too late that the stranger outside his door could hear him too. Shrimpo groaned at his own stupidity and stalked away before the boy could even open his mouth.

Rounding around the corner into the bathroom, he quickly switched the lights on to glance at his bruised knuckles. They didn’t hurt that much but he still feels exhausted. While washing his hands in the sink as quickly as possible, he looked up to spot himself on one of the splinters of glass that was left of the mirror. He looks like absolute shit.

After thinking for a few moments, —or a few seconds, he doesn’t count— he smoothed over his bangs before sighing loudly. “What the hell am I doing?”

He decided to just turn back, go into his room and sleep. Just as he was turning around, his foot caught onto a pile of cans that he had stacked in the corner, barely missing it as a few tin cans fell onto the floor. He let out a huff before choosing to ignore it and let future Shrimpo deal with it.

Just like how he’s letting future Shrimpo deal with the trash in the bin. It wasn’t as if it was in the bin anymore. He kicked some of the trash that was spilling out, feeling just a tiny bit of satisfaction in what he did.

After stumbling around for a bit in the dark, trying to make sure not to step on the other piles of trash in the hallway, he reached the bedroom door. Well, what was left of it anyway. He immediately collapsed onto his bed, he ignored the fact that a small twisted part of him wished that he didn’t wake up from his sleep this time.

---

Shrimpo woke up feeling more tired than before. It was stupid because wasn’t sleep supposed to make you feel energized or some crap? It would be REALLY helpful if sleep worked like that for him. No more sleeping for almost the entire day because he felt like shit. That would be great, actually. “…Almost too good to be true…”

Because of course, life just always wanted to screw him over.

He stayed glued to his bed as he wondered if he should just go back to sleep again. His stomach growled in protest of that idea but he groaned even louder, stuffing his head into the pillow. It was high time he got out of bed though as his body protested almost immediately, a few aches throbbing slightly in his back.

He stretched and rolled out of bed, figuring that he should just take care of his bodily needs for now.

The first thing to address was his stomach. Shrimpo scrounged around the empty cabinets before he found something, a single protein bar. He HATES protein bars. But the phantom sensation of him cooking and chewing and eating and swallowing his food made him just hate the thing a little less.

He quickly unwrapped it and wandered around while eating, trying to take his mind off of it. What was he doing before sleeping anyway?

It was as if a lightbulb shone in his head as he remembered the strange boy at his front door and the fact he forgot to lock his back door. He practically bolted to the backside of his house, quickly locking the door because if the stalker was in here at least he was trapped here with him.

And now the annoying part.

He cautiously tip-toed up to the front door, taking a bite out of his dinner. The humming coming from outside of his door sounded.. not half-bad, he supposed. It only soured his mood a bit more when he realized that meant the boy was still outside his door. He quickly checked the peephole, seeing that the other wasn’t even doing anything anymore, just waiting outside his door for no good reason.

He couldn’t even see the boy’s face anymore due to him sitting down on the dirty welcome mat. Now that he thought about it, Shrimpo only really got creeped out when he couldn’t see his expression. He couldn’t tell what he was truly meaning.

No, wait, what was he thinking? He wasn’t scared of anything, nothing at all.

The sound of creaking coming from outside the door shook him out of his thoughts. He shuffled closer to the door and saw the boy’s stupid face with his stupid grin, staring right back at him. The other boy laughed before slinging his backpack on his shoulders. “Well, I should get going, I’ll sea you the next day! Hopefully it’ll be betta for you.”

Shrimpo watched carefully as the boy got off his porch, making sure he wasn’t just faking him out. After a few minutes, he felt a weight being lifted off of him as he relaxed. He didn’t even realize he was so tense. The light throbbing from his head made itself known as he took slow breaths. Whatever, as long as he’s alone now.

He threw what was left of the protein bar, leaving the wrapping near the entrance. He can’t be bothered to throw it away properly. The headache he was starting to get was not helping with his mood. He walked up to the living room, it was hard to tell in the dark but there was actually a nice space here —complete with a couch, coffee table and TV— devoid of his litter. It proved to be his downfall as he was completely unaware of what was about to happen before he felt himself stub his toe on the couch. “SHIT!”

He half-tripped half-collapsed onto the couch cushions and groaned into it. Great, his head hurt and now his toe hurt. What other parts of his body are going to start to hurt?

The universe really does hate him.

He shifted his head over to one side, watching the dust float up in the air. His periodic breaths tickled some of his hair while a floating aura started to surround his vision. It… was peaceful- too peaceful, too quiet. He HATES this.

Shrimpo flinched when he heard ringing from.. below him? What the hell, he thought to himself as he stuck his hand in between the cushions and reeled up his phone. He squinted at the light to read the number that was shown on the screen. Unknown number. Rolling his eyes, he closed the phone and threw it haphazardly onto the coffee table in front of him.

He definitely didn’t remember putting his phone here but he doesn’t really care much.

It only made him angrier when not a few moments later, the accursed thing rang again. He ignored it again. “…You have the wrong number, idiot.”

But of course, it stopped and started up another time.

“That’s fucking it!” He was going to give that person a piece of his mind. He slammed his hand over the back of the case before finally opening the call. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!”

There was a moment of silence where Shrimpo realized the person on the other line was about to hang up. He heard shuffling and soft breaths-

“Oh, you actually picked up! So, this is still your number, huh?”

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