⏾⋆.˚ sleeplessness - chapter two

Instructions

(read notes and credits first) sleeplessness ch. 02 ⏾⋆.˚ As Owen walked out into the hallway, a strange sensation came over him. Like it shouldn’t have been so easy. So easy to just… leave. He took a few tentative steps forward, dragging his feet a little. He felt uncoordinated, tired, aimless. He didn’t bother looking behind him. He knew what was there. Overhead, the lights burned his eyes just like the room before had, and the hallway stretched on; clean white walls and glaring white lights. He just had to keep moving forward. “Hey?” A voice called from somewhere behind him, snapping him out of it. He quickly realized that he’d only made it a few feet from where he started. Had he really been moving that slowly? Had he spaced out again? Owen turned. A boy was standing near a door that was now ajar- previously, he almost hadn’t realized it was there. He’d seen the doors, but it hadn’t yet occurred to him that they would or could open. “Uhh- you there. …I’m talking to you.” The boy said again. Owen lifted his gaze from the floor to look at him. He had black hair and skin paler than Owen’s, with lots of freckles. His eyes were grey and attentive, intensely focused on his. Owen blinked and looked away; direct eye contact made him nervous sometimes, especially from a stranger. Seeing Owen acknowledge that he was there, he grinned. Not with his whole face– his eyes stayed the same. But he grinned wide enough to show all of his front teeth, except for, Owen noticed, a missing one right in front. It was a bit odd, but Owen found himself almost comforted by his… strangeness. Owen swallowed hard, thinking. When you start to become comforted by things that are out of place, rather than the other way around, there’s probably something wrong with you. “I’m Blake.” he said loudly, reaching out his hand while taking a step forward. When Owen didn’t take it he cleared his throat, looked down, swaying back and forth a little as he waited. “Umm. You don’t shake hands? Well, you’re not very friendly, are you?” He huffed impatiently. Owen looked up at him again, embarrassed. He reached out his hand first this time and Blake eagerly took it, shaking hands with him firmly. “So, what’s your name?” Owen looked down at his wristband. A number, 06. There was more, too- a date (birthdate?) his age, and gender. “S-” he started, reading the number. Smack! Blake slapped his hand away. “Not the- not your number, stupid! Your NAME.” He let his arm fall to his side. “Owen. I’m Owen.” He mumbled his response. “Right! Nice to meet you.” Blake said quickly, rocking back and forth on his heels absentmindedly. “I’m gonna… keep going. This hallway is freaking me out.” Owen nodded and followed after him, who had already started at a brisk pace down the hallway. He seemed eager to get out of there, and after a moment of consideration Owen decided he did too. They reached the end of the hallway quicker than they thought they would. Much quicker. The hallway had a weird feeling to it. It had looked endless, stretching on forever at the start, but they passed through it quickly. A shiver ran down Owen’s spine, but he said nothing. . . .