End Of A Fool's Paradise

“This sucks...”

School just ended and the only thing I did today was resting in the infirmary due to my headache.

I still remember everyone's faces when I suddenly collapsed when I tried to go to the toilet during the first period.

Before I left my house, I thought that I could bear with the pain but I was wrong.

Even though a whole weekend passed, my headache was still strong.

It was Friday when I collapsed in my room. My father told me that I was sleeping like a log. After my parents were unsuccessful in waking me up, they decided to leave me be and therefore I skipped school that day.

I spent most of my time during the weekend with sleeping. Strangely enough, I was able to sleep well despite having a headache.

However, during my sleep I got flashes of my past memories.

Memories of my childhood. Memories of the time I spent with my family. And memories of me helping my uncle.

I would say that my past was rather normal with nothing unusual happening.

And yet, starting during my time in middle school, everything got hazier. I was barely able to recollect anything from that time. It was as if there was something important still missing...

But it was even weirder that I had still no memories with Anna, Jack and Fynn.

Of course, I notified my parents that my memories were suddenly coming back and the image of how delighted they were to hear the news was still burned in my mind. We didn't understand why my memories were coming back but we concluded that it may had something to do with my headache.

Another thing I wanted to do was to contact Fynn.

The flashback I had last Friday still concerned me. But just the talk with my parents drained me too much. I knew that I could not have another conversation so I decided to talk to him when I meet him at school.

Sigh.

“I should just go home and rest there...” I muttered lethargically.

But before I could do that, I had to go back to my classroom to pick up my things.

While I was on my way to my classroom, I had to lean my body against the walls to keep my balance. Even now I struggled to walk in a clean line.

Luckily, school was over meaning that there was almost no students in the hallways. Thus, there was no need for me to watch my surroundings.

“I just can't endure it any longer!”

Hm?

I finally arrived at the door of my class but I suddenly heard a girl raising her voice in the neighboring class.

Was that Anna's voice?

“Sorry, but I'm also reaching my limit...”

This time it's Jack. Why did he sound so nervous?

Curious about their conversation, I wanted to enter their room.

“Both of you. Shut up.”

My hand was already on the door handle however my body froze up.

Without a doubt, that voice belonged to Fynn. But that cold tone...

It was like in that flashback when he and my uncle drugged me...

I let go of the door handle as I noticed my fingers shaking a bit. Not only that, but I also noticed my body breaking into a cold sweat.

“Do you really think that we can stop now? It would be a waste.” Fynn continued.

“Yes, I know but pretending to be his girlfriend for another two weeks is too much for me!”

What...?

“It's nice to have him as an errand boy for my team but having someone like him constantly near me just makes me crazy...”

Hold up...

“Hey, are you two kidding me? Look me in the eyes. Do you really think that I suffer less than you two do? Remember, there's no one here that hates him more than me.”

Stop... Stop it... Stop, please!

“Huh? Of course we remember. However, weren't you the one that suggested that we should act as his friends while he has no memories?”

“Yes, that's true. But I don't care how much I have to suffer as long as he suffers even more.”

“A-aren't their other ways to make him suffer?”

Sigh.

“Jack, listen. Ask me another stupid question and you know what will happen, right?”

“Y-yes! I'm sorry!”

“Well, the drug will wear off in roughly two weeks. Just keep it up, okay?”

You're kidding, right?

Bump!

“!”

I didn't realize that I took some steps back and even bumped my elbow against the window.

“Who's there? Jack check the outside.”

“Yes!”

Crap!

I couldn't waste any time to hesitate. So I quickly went into my classroom and hid under a random desk.

“Nobody's here, Fynn.” Jack announced from the hallways.

I was lucky, I guess...

“Dammit...” I whispered.

The dream about Fynn giving me a drug and their talk just now...

Everything made sense now...

He- No... They hated me from the beginning.

The entire time I was just their plaything.

“It hurts...”

I regarded them as my dear friends who genuinely wanted to help me with my situation.

I started off with no memories. However, the three of them filled my empty mind with new memories.

I enjoyed the time I spent with them extremely.

I remember how worried Jack was when I told him that I wanted to meet my uncle.

I remember how Anna showed me how a couple would behave during a date.

I remember how much fun I had talking with Fynn and how reliable he was.

“Please, let me wake up from this nightmare...”

Just why...

Why were they doing this to me? What did I do to make them hate me so much?

They even drugged me to make me suffer. Was I their greatest archenemy?

“I don't want to accept this...”

I noticed that they behaved strangely from time to time but I decided to ignore it. Now everything's connected...

And yet I didn't want to face this reality.

Besides my family, they were everything I had. Even though only two weeks passed, they greatly impacted my life.

“Screw this...”

Currently, I was still under a desk hiding from the others. I knew that I could stand up a long time ago but I did not want to.

The place under the desk was perfect for me to reflect on my pathetic self.

“Shit... I want this pain to go away, already...” I begged as I grabbed my chest tightly.

Small drops of tears fell to the ground.

Those small drops quickly turned into bigger ones and the pace in which they fell increased.

I cried. I cried a lot. And yet I put up a smile as I reminisced the fun times I had with Anna, Jack and Fynn.

An hour later I arrived at home.

Just like every other weekday, my father had to work whereas my mother welcomed me back.

She had already prepared dinner but I told her to eat without me as I was too tired.

Thus, I went into my room and jumped into my bed.

It didn't took long until I fell asleep.

However, I felt weird.

I felt like something was slowly trying to take me over.

I didn't understand why but I thought it was the right thing to do if I did not put up any resistance.

“Ugh!”

It seemed like my headache achieved new heights. The pain was almost unbearable.

I see. These must be my last moments.

I guess this was a befitting end for a fool like me who was too naive.

Who would have thought that I would get played around with since the beginning? Well, certainly not me.

I can only hope that you will clean up this mess.

Or rather than 'you' should I say 'I'?