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|!| 'Snakebit' is a little book series of my own that I felt like making since I love writing. All of the characters in this "book" are reflected off of the Cursed AU as this is the dark and deep history of them before the curse even existed. In this series we follow Piconjo of whose life is full of bad luck and chaos just for the sake of proving his strength so that he can no longer be judged nor bullied for being considered weak and soft by his classmates or parents. |!|

(Sorry if the paragraphs are all wonky or if there's more typos. I'm tired and I didn't feel like re-reading the whole story and fixings the indents...School's crazy y'all.)

CHAPTER 7: Nightmare
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  It was dark, nothing to be seen or heard but the heavy gusts of wind. Pico looked around, trying to see if anybody was nearby. Nothing. He looked down below his feet, the ground not visible in any sort of texture except plain coal black. He raised a brow, taking a careful step forward. As soon as his foot landed, the wind grew heavier. He raised his arms to cover his face, his hair flowing along with the wind’s current. He pushed against the wind, having the urge to continue walking forward.

  A familiar voice would start to call his name. It was feminine, and she did not sound happy. Pico’s body went cold as he began sprinting into the unknown. The cries of his name would only grow louder, causing him to change directions each time. They never went away no matter where he had turned. He then collapsed onto the ground and on his knees, holding his head and ears tight so that he could block her voice from entering his head. A soft hand touched the back of his shoulder, causing him to flinch and immediately turn around with open eyes. There he saw what seemed to be his mother with no eyes as they dripped blood along with a huge bullet hole in her head that also bled. Pico’s eyes shrunk in terror, trying not to make it obvious that he was frightened of her. She slowly started to smile at him, edging closer until she was able to wrap her hands softly around Pico’s face like a baby. Pico didn’t move, scared of what was to come.

“Oh how they grow up so fast…Only if I were there to watch it happen.” She said calmly.

“What do you want from me? Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Pico said sternly, breathing heavily.

“Oh hun, but I am dead. Don’t you remember?” She remarked.

“T-Then why are you here? Just to taunt me?”

She giggled.

“No and yes! Just because I can’t physically be there to babysit you doesn’t mean that I can’t in your dreams.” She said playfully.

“Why would you want to waste such time of your freedom on tormenting me?”

“Well, it’s more rewarding than having to do other stuff down here.” She replied.

“Down..here?...What do you mean by that?” Pico asked confusingly.

“Why…did ya really think after my death I’d be able to reach the bright heavenly skies, my son?”

Pico glanced to the side with a doubtful face, knowing that she was right about that.

“See, even you know that I ain’t that good enough for it.” She snickered.

“Can you just….leave me alone?” Pico had said with an added temper.

“Why though? I practically just got here. I just want to-”

Pico then shoved her hands away with aggression, making her back up.

“I DON’T WANT YOUR AFFECTION! All that you were able to give me was traumatizing memories for fucks sake!” Pico yelled.

His mother didn’t look impressed.

“Well take a quick listen here you little shit.” She said angrily.

  She’d snap, the ground starting to shake. Pico stabilized himself, looking at the ground as he watched cracks appear all over until the ground gave out. The floor shattered like glass, Pico falling to who knows where. It happened too quickly for him to react, him falling backwards as he panickingly looked around. The walls would start to show lines, shaping out the hole he was falling through. It was almost circular shaped, but had many sharp turns from here and there. His mother appeared in one of the frames, her giving him a distinguished look. Pico only stared back, making himself look very angered and upset with her. Not too long after, she then smirked, pointing down below. Pico raised his brows, trying to look underneath himself against the heavy wind. There was a small flat rock that seemed just the perfect size for him coming up. He didn’t know what to do in this situation and only continued to fall, closing his eyes as he was preparing himself for the pain that was to come.

  A moment after, the wind stopped, his hair resting at ease once again. Pico was confused and squinted an eye open, looking around cautiously. He was sitting down comfortably on a rough surface. He opened both eyes, searching around himself before standing up. He dusted himself off, once looking ahead of himself and then immediately back again, there stood Boyfriend of who smiled happily at him. Pico narrowed his eyes, not liking the signs of his random appearance in this dark abyss. He couldn’t help himself but cautiously get closer to Boyfriend, wanting the need of comfort although he wasn’t sure himself if this even was his boyfriend. Once he got closer, he slowly reached a hand up to his face. It quivered as he was scared. Noticing that there was no reaction out of Boyfriend, he put his hand back down, backing away.

“You can’t fool me! I know him too well for you to be playing tricks on me with him!” Pico shouted into the abyss.

“You think this is a joke? Why, I thought you loved me?” Boyfriend said as he tilted his head to the side.

Pico looked over to Boyfriend with plain eyes.

“I do, but you are not the Boyfriend I know n’ love.” Pico stated.

“It makes me sad that you don’t believe it’s really me. After all we’ve been through?” Boyfriend said sadly.

The walls began to show texture, the sky existing once again. Pico’s eyes opened in shock as he recognized the place it turned into. It was his old alleyway.

“Remember where we first met?...Well, not really the first spot, but the first spot where we actually had some conversations.” Boyfriend said.

Boyfriend would walk over next to Pico, leaning against him with his arm.

“Such good memories weren’t they? The one time where you actually felt safe alas.” Boyfriend said calmly.

“No…You’re not real!” Pico yelled to himself, shoving Boyfriend off of him as he gripped his own hair tightly with his hands as he stared into the cold ground. “Get out of my head ya faker!”

“Oh I’m not faking anything. I’m just letting you know what is yet to come.” Boyfriend said as he rested a hand on Pico’s shoulder.

“You-...What?-” Pico said confusingly as he turned his head around to face Boyfriend only to be greeted with circular lifeless eyes that bled and a plain black smile that dripped black goo.

Before Pico could even react, Boyfriend had stabbed something into Pico’s eyes, his menacing laugh then turning into his mother’s as it faded away.

      Pico jolted awake, him lifting himself up in an instant with heavy panting. He quickly searched around himself, pinching himself to see if he was actually awake this time. He felt the slight sting, feeling relieved that he was finally awake. He calmed his triedly eyes, looking over at Boyfriend of who appeared to be sleeping right next to him. He looked outside the window, realizing that it was still pretty dark out. He assumed it was probably still pretty late at night or very early morning. He’d carefully shimmy his way out of bed, walking over to the bathroom. He turned the sink on, scooping up water in his hands and spreading it all over his face. He groaned, drying his face off. Once he put the towel back on the rack, he’d just stare at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were still slightly terrified, but they then eventually faded away into a tiredly mood. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing heavily to himself as he set his elbows on the sink’s ridge, placing his face into the palm of his hands.

  At this moment, he felt like crying to himself, but he did not wish for Boyfriend to hear it. Instead, he quietly whimpered to himself, slowly dragging his face into his arms as he leaned against the sink. Without even realizing it, he quietly began to cry. He let out a loud hic by accident, him stopping himself in almost an instant as he covered his mouth. He glanced over to the bedroom, seeing if Boyfriend had heard that. He didn’t move, so he removed his hands from his mouth and just stared at them. The feeling of tears rolling down his face ached him but did nothing about it and only watched as they splattered onto his hands.

He would be standing there for nearly ten minutes, zoning out into thought as he stared at them. The patter of small feet could be heard from not too far away, but he was too distracted to care or even notice.

“...Pico…? I-Is that you..?” Boyfriend asked with a soft voice.

  Boyfriend flicked the switch, turning the bathroom light on. Boyfriend watched as Pico flinched as if he was getting poked in the eyes. He squinted tightly, wanting to block the light from his face. He only placed his hands on the sink’s rim and grasped onto it tightly.

“What are you doing here in the dark?! You could have turned a light on you know!” Boyfriend asked concerningly as he walked over to Pico.

  Pico opened his eyes, turning his head to face Boyfriend. His eyes were slightly red as the trails his tears left were still visible, the small clumps of leftover tears still resting at the corner of his eyes. Boyfriend gasped at the sight of Pico’s face. He reached up and rubbed some of the tears away with his thumbs.

“What’s wrong Pico?! Why are you crying..?” Boyfriend asked.

“It’s nothin’.” Pico sniffled. “Just got lost in my own mind is all.”

“What are you doing up so early anyways? It’s only four in the morning!” Boyfriend exclaimed.

“Oh. I was awoken by a nightmare. Don’t worry about it though, I’m fine.” Pico said in the calmest voice he could.

Boyfriend looked at him worryingly, knowing that Pico was obviously lying.

“Do you wish to sit down and talk about it with me? Or do you want to try and go back to bed?” Boyfriend asked.

“I’ll just try to go back to sleep…” Pico said quietly as he gently removed Boyfriend’s hands from his face and walked back into the bedroom.

  Boyfriend watched as he walked off, following a bit behind as he turned off the bathroom light. Pico tucked his entire body under the covers, nothing of himself to be seen except for his body figure. Boyfriend edged himself up next to Pico, rubbing Pico’s arm slowly and gently. Boyfriend laid his head on Pico’s to where he pictured it being from above the covers.

  “I have a good feeling that I may know what your nightmare was about, but I understand if it is something that is hard for you to talk about. Just know I’m always open to hear you out or comfort you whenever you need it.” Boyfriend said calmly as he closed his eyes and let his body remain at bay.

Pico softly smiled, stuffing his head into the pillow’s softness. He closed his eyes, trying to think about the happier side of his life. It took a while, but he had finally been able to fall back asleep without worry.

  It was around 3 pm, the outside wind as steady as ever and the soothing sun at ease. The doorbell rang, Juno instantly racing down the stairs with heavy steps, barking and howling at the door. Boyfriend slowly lifted his head up, looking at the room door blindly.

“...Holyyy shit..” Pico groaned.

“Don’t worry I got it..” Boyfriend said quietly, patting Pico’s head before getting up.

Boyfriend walked over to the stair hall, peering over at Juno. He took a second to clear his throat before speaking.

“JUNO!- SHUT THE FUCK UP IT’S ONLY A-”

  The doorbell rang again. Boyfriend looked at the front door, taking a moment to realize why Juno was barking. Boyfriend groaned, walking down the stairs as his hand followed along the rail. As Boyfriend headed to answer the door, Pico triedly walked out the room, his arms hanging in front of him as he rubbed one of his eyes. He set his arms on the rail as he leaned slightly forward, looking down at the door, then at Juno. They both made eye contact, Juno’s tail wagging high as she raced upstairs to come by Pico’s side. She set her head on Pico’s thigh, looking up at him as she sat there. Pico glanced over at her for a moment and then looked at the door once more, awaiting for who was on the other side. Juno started whining as she pushed closer to Pico. Pico only hid a slight smile as he stared off, reaching down a hand to rub Juno’s head.

As soon as Boyfriend opened the door, he was greeted with a fairly unexpected large hug. Pico watched as the tall girl quietly squealed as she picked up Boyfriend and spun him around once in her arms.

“Oh how excited I am to finally see you, little blue!” the British girl said.

“Be ska dee!!” Boyfriend shouted as a large smile appeared on his face.

She would peek up behind Boyfriend’s scruffy morning hair, spotting Pico staring at her with a not-so-welcoming look. She set Boyfriend down, looking back at him.

“Ou a teh?” She asked Boyfriend as she side-eye’d Pico.

Boyfriend turned around, looking up at Pico. His smile stayed as he looked back at his sister.

“Teh a e Pico!” Boyfriend replied.

Pico would start to be a little confused about what language they were speaking. It didn’t sound like any other language he has heard of once before as it sounded a lot like just random high-pitched beep sounds.

“Oohh!” She exclaimed. She then looked up at him with a greeting smile. “Hi, Pico!”

Pico slowly blinked, his eyes just about half open.

“Hi.” he greeted plainly.

“You have probably heard about me and um, can probably tell who I am just by the looks of me.”

“..Let me guess. You’re Boyfriend’s sister?” Pico assumed.

Ruby nodded.

“He has told me so much about you and I am very pleased to finally be able to meet you in person!” she said happily.

Pico slightly smiled to the sound of that, but then it quickly faded away.

“Also…what was that gibberish y’all were just speakin’? That did not sound like a language everyone has heard about.” Pico asked.

“Oh! It’s a language I made myself!” Boyfriend said proudly. “Only my fairly trusted ones know it though.”

“It is not an easy language to understand I tell you-” Ruby added.

“Oh. You sure you aren’t just sayin’ random sounds?” Pico asked.

“Nope! Every sound and word has its own, or multiple meanings!” Boyfriend paused for a moment. “If you’d like I could teach you the language sometime soon?” He offered.

“Sure! I’d love to know this strange language of yours.” Pico chuckled. “What’s it called anyways?”

“We call it Beep language.” He replied.

“Ah- I shoulda guessed.” Pico laughed softly.

“Hey… What brings you here so late anyways? We were expecting you to be here about three days ago!” Boyfriend asked Ruby.

“Oh! I thought I told you about the delay unless it didn’t send to you properly.” She replied.

“Oh. Besides that allow me to show you around!” Boyfriend said as he excitedly jumped in place, taking Ruby’s hand and leading her away.

Pico watched as Boyfriend became a whole tour guide, him being very specific about where things were and how they looked. Letting Boyfriend do his thing, he turned around to head back into the bedroom. He cleaned himself in a slight rush just in case Boyfriend were to come into their room next. He threw his classic green hood on with the tan jeans and grabbed his guns from under the bed, attaching them to the side of his jeans. He noticed one of the guns had a little mark on it. He pulled the gun closer to his face, rubbing the spot with his finger softly. It smudged, assuming it was probably just dirt or something. Pico held it in one hand as he headed downstairs to go find a spare cloth to clean it with. Making it all the way downstairs he caught the eye of Ruby’s scrutinize look since she had noticed the guns. Pico only glared back with a pissy look as he headed toward the kitchen. There paper towels laid on the kitchen wall. He reached over to grab a few, soaking them slightly in water before tending to his gun. He marked the spot, rubbing the mark roughly to make sure it all came off.

    Pico smiled as the gun started to shine in his eyes. He looked at the dirty paper towel, finding much more dirt than what was more visible. He didn’t think his gun was THAT dirty after all. Pico thought for a moment, deciding to clean the whole gun instead, taking the other one out of the strap and setting it aside on the countertop. As he cleaned them, he would get lost in thought, no longer catching the sounds of his surroundings and only of the chaos that happened with these guns. He remembered when Nene first gave them to him. How excited he was to actually have a gun of his own. The tips Nene would always give him whenever they practiced with one another in their free time at school. The power he felt whenever using the guns, as if he was an unstoppable monster of havoc. The bet. He tried not to think about that part too much and wanted to focus more on his friends. He missed them, the amazing times they had with one another at the school. More than ever he had missed Nene the most. He loved how much of a mother she was to him but yet was so violent and aggressive towards others. It made him realize how much Nene actually cared for him, possibly even liked him too and is just waiting for the right moment. This calmed his mind down. He softly smiled as he cleaned the last spot of the second gun, finally finished.

     The guns sparkled, showing their true blue-ish grey as they glimmered. He neatly put them back in their straps, taking a quick glance around the house from where he stood to see if Boyfriend and Ruby were still anywhere around. There was no sight of them. Pico shrugged to himself, slipping out of the house and carefully shutting the door behind him. He patted down his pockets, making sure that he had his phone with him so that he could text Boyfriend later. Check.

    He began to walk down the neighborhood sides, wanting to go pay a visit to Nene on foot. Although a long walk, he knew how to make it go by faster than it really was. Just as he was about to exit the neighborhood, he heard the barking of a dog increase in volume at a quick pace. He turned around quickly, noticing the dog by its size and coat. Especially, the collar Boyfriend picked out for Juno. Juno jumped at Pico all excitedly as a leash dragged behind her. Not too far behind her was Ruby calmly walking and the sound of Boyfriend’s worried cries. Pico only looked down at Juno and ruffled up her fur. He could tell Ruby stopped about halfway between him and Juno as he could no longer hear her footsteps. Boyfriend not too long after was running to catch up as he probably had lost where the two went and was in panic.

     “PICO?” Boyfriend questionly yelled from afar.

     As Boyfriend started to head to Pico, Ruby stopped him in his tracks with one hand. Ruby looked nervous as she glanced from Boyfriend to him. Pico was confused of why now she was scared of him, well, other than the guns. He didn’t think Ruby would actually think that he’d use them on Boyfriend or any of his relatives. Boyfriend gently moved Ruby’s hand away, reassuring her that nothing bad would happen since he trusted Pico with all his heart. Juno’s attention then went to Boyfriend. She would start to jump all over him next, Boyfriend pushing her off and giggling. Once Juno calmed, he looked over to Pico of whose face looked plain and determined.

     “What are you doing? Or for better words…where are you going?” Boyfriend asked.

     “I just wanted to go visit Nene for some time while you hung out with your sister.” He said.

     “All the way back at that place? What if you get hurt!” Boyfriend exclaimed worryingly.

     “I’ll be finee- Even if I do, I’ll be okay and I’ll have Nene by my side for assistance if needed.” Pico said.

     He could tell Boyfriend wasn’t at all happy about Pico’s decision, but knew that he would be too stubborn to stay back anyways. Pico placed his hand on Boyfriend’s cheek, scooting himself closer to him.

     “Trust me.. I’ll be okay. If anything happens I’ll be sure to call or text you in an instant, understand?..” Pico assured with the calmest his voice could get.

     Boyfriend slowly nodded.

     “That’s my boyfriend..Now go have a good time with Ruby and the dog for me-” He then quickly kissed Boyfriend before running off. He turned his head slightly, waving his hand a little as he yelled, “Love you!”

     Boyfriend blushed, smiling as he watched Pico eventually disappear into the woods.

     The quiet alas within the darkness of the hollow. The sight of a poorly lit street up ahead after a long walk. Pico continued heading in the direction of the post. He stopped for a second to check his phone, looking around before driving his attention away, but something else caught his attention. A poster. It looked familiar to him, or well, to himself in appearance. He walked over to the poster and inspected it closely. His eyes were first drawn toward the picture of a person. It was him. Pico’s eyes opened in shock, ripping the poster off the wall. He was marked ‘Missing/Wanted’, and the picture on the poster was of him when he was younger and happy looking. He started to read the bottom text of the paper, noticing the phone number but not really recognizing it. He had no clue who this could be, who else did he know well enough that would have such an older photo of him and be living in these parts?

     He’d stuff the poster inside his pocket and start to run off, lifting his hood over his head and sticking to the more shadowy areas so that he wouldn’t be seen too well by others.

     It was a while before he finally recognized the neighborhood he was in, stopping in his tracks not too far from his old home. There was old crime scene tape all over the ground and covered in dirt. The house had seemed abandoned at this point, but definitely not forgotten by the company as it seemed that people still came here for inspections and experiments. Pico quickly looked around, making sure nobody was around before he sneakily dashed inside the old home. He quietly closed the door behind him, taking his hood off so that he could get a better look around. The inside looked decently cared for unlike how the outside was. He didn’t really care about the rest of the house and headed straight upstairs to the bedrooms. He went over to his room first, wanting to see if things were left. To no surprise, it seemed as if the investigators had taken all his stuff and probably used it as evidence for their case. He then walked over to his parent’s room, first noticing that the bed was completely gone. He could notice very old blood stains still on the floor, a lot more than he remembered. He tried not to look at it too much as he didn’t want to be reminded of that moment while in this house.

     He sighed, walking over to the room’s door frame and patting the sides of the wall. He took one final look around the whole place just before leaving and heading over to Nene’s house.

     Just about halfway there, he pulled out his phone to check the time. It was only 3:39 PM. Knowing that Nene still went to school, she wouldn’t be out until 4:30 PM. At this point, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to wait that long just for her as he didn’t want Boyfriend to worry too much about him being gone for too long. He put his phone back in his pocket, deciding to just go to the school instead then. He didn’t worry about getting in trouble as their school didn’t care about what happened with their students or guests. Pico wasn’t a guest. He was supposed to be here in the first place and was always expected since they knew that there were no other schools that he’d go to in this place.

     Arriving at the front of the school, he calmly opened the entrance doors, not at all surprised by the faces he was given by the random kids that always roamed the hallways just to skip class. He took his hood off, feeling rather more comfortable redeeming himself here as he knew that most of the upperclassmen respected him after what he has done. He could definitely tell that the word was spread, even to the newest members of the school. It made him happy that he was remembered, but he only wasn’t happy about the stares some of the students gave him. Pico took a breath in and out before walking towards one of the kids he had his eyes on for a while now. It was a girl almost the same height as him. He stopped right in front of her with unintended intimidating eyes. She looked scared of him as he could tell by the way her body slightly shivered and the look she gave him. Pico rolled his eyes.

     “Have ya seen a girl named Nene around here?..Or possibly a guy named Darnell by chance?” He asked her.

     The girl didn’t say anything and only looked around furiously as if she didn’t know if she should tell him or not.

     “Hm. I’ll take that as a no.” Pico grumbled, pushing her aside as he began to head down the east hall.

     As he walked down the hallway, he could hear the little whispers between people’s conversations although others were louder. From time to time he’d peek inside a classroom although knowing Nene, she was probably skipping too. It wasn’t too long until someone called his name.

     “Hey, I know that guy like a brotha!... AYE PICO!” He shouted from behind.

     Pico came to a halt, raising his shoulders as he stared at the ground with an annoyed look on his face. He only listened as the hallway got slightly quieter the closer the guy came. As soon as Pico heard him come close enough, he turned around to face him, standing up confidently.

     “Heyy. Didn’t really expect you to be the person these people were chattering about. I thought you were long gone after that-!”

     “Don’t even mention it Darnell.” Pico said, cutting him off. “I only came here to see if Nene was around by chance.”

    “Well of course she’s here. I’m sure she’ll get the news about you making a sudden appearance in no time. You know how quick the gossiping goes around here.” He said.

     “Yeah, yeah. Since you’re here I want to show you something..just um, not around these people-” Pico a little quieter.

     “Oh? You actually want to show ME something? Ah for once in a lifetime have you ever offered something!” Darnell exclaimed.

     Pico rolled his eyes, giving Darnell an annoyed look.

     “Go on. Lead the way! Maybe if we’re lucky we might even run into Nene on the way.” Darnell said.

     “I hope we do. She needs ta see this too.” Pico said as he began to walk off to where he remembered the areas that were more private and quiet.

     He chose to go inside an empty classroom that seemed like it wasn’t being used due to the lights being off and nobody’s things being inside. He flipped the switch on, looking around the room. Darnell came in behind him, peeking out the frame. Pico glanced over at him, noticing him signaling someone to come over.

     “What are you doin’?” Pico asked confusingly.

     “She’s here!” He responded.

     Not too long after, Nene came running in the classroom, repeatedly squealing Pico’s name.

     “PICO PICO PICO PICOOO!” She squealed as she gave him a big hug. “Oh I’m so happy you’re here! I didn’t think you’d ever come pay a visit!”

     Pico smiled, hugging her back.

     “Yeah well, I was startin’ to worry about y’all since ya haven’t come by to say hello in a while now.” Pico said softly. “But hey- I have something to show you two.”

     Nene let go of Pico, looking over at him with curious eyes. He’d then pull out the poster from his pocket, flattening it out on a desk to make the wrinkles go away a bit so that it was more readable and fixable.

     “Can you explain this ta me?-”

     Nene and Darnell shared glances as they both inspected the poster as if they’ve seen it before.

     “Oh! I remember this. I saw them startin’ to be placed around the neighborhood recently. I and Darnell swore ta not tell anyone your location though!” Nene said.

     “I thank ya for that..But do you know who was putting them up?” Pico asked.

     “Well I’m not too sure who she was, but she had long reddish brown hair and was kind of tall. She wore a fancy-looking coat with fluff on the rims. I assumed you had possibly known her since she has such an older photo of you placed on here.” Nene explained.

     Pico was silent for a second, his face not at all looking too happy.

     “You definitely have changed. I’ve never seen that look on your face in the longest time I’ve known you. Let me guess, you don’t like this girl?” Darnell stated.

     “Oh I know her alright, but she isn’t even in my family! HOW DID SHE GET A PICTURE OF ME LIKE THAT!” Pico started to yell ever so stressfully as he slammed his fists onto the desk.

     “Hey hey! It’s okay Pico!- Just calm down and let’s figure this out without any violence yet.” Nene said comfortingly as she set a hand on one of Pico’s fists.

     “Y’know, I think you should let him do what I’m pretty sure we’re both thinking what he wants to do to that girl, Nene.” Darnell said.

    “What? Are you crazy? We don’t even know too much about this girl yet! We can’t just let him kill her like that without at least ONE identification that she’s someone who needs to die.” Nene yelled.

    “Well it already seems that he doesn’t like her and maybe knows her well enough to tell himself! Just let him loose and do what he needs to do-”

     “He’s not a dog! Let him loose?- I’d rather get to speak with this girl myself before letting him try anything yet.”. Nene assured.

     “Then why don’t you go find the lady and talk with her then?!”

     “I will.” She pouted. “And you’re gonna be comin’ with me too!” She said, pointing at Darnell.

     “What- Why do I have to come?” He asked confusingly.

     “Because you need to see it all for yourself too before coming to conclusions.”

     “What about Pico?”

     “He can stand by since she seems to know who he is- and we don’t know what she’ll do if she finds that he’s with us.”

     “Eh, sounds fair.” Darnell said.

     “No no..you guys don’t understand what she’s like!-” Pico snapped.

                                                                                                                    “What’s she like then? You seem to know her well.” Darnell asked.

    “She doesn’t even seem that bad- she looks so innocent and sweet!-” Nene popped in.

     “No! She’s literally A FUCKIN’ DE-”

     Pico’s phone began to ring. The tone of it being unexpectedly loud. Pico took it out quickly, the caller being Boyfriend. He groaned to himself, giving a signal to the two that he needed just a moment. He walked over to the corner of the classroom and leaned his back up against the wall. He answered the phone.

     “Hello?” Pico started off.

    “Hi, Pico! I was starting to worry about you because you were not replying to my messages, so I decided to call you instead.” Boyfriend said worryingly.

     “Oh shit- sorry! I wasn’t lookin’ at my phone for most of the time. I was too focused on what I was doin’.” Pico replied in a bit of panic as he didn’t remember ever hearing the notification sounds of a message.

     “It’s okay! I’m just happy that I know you are okay now.” Boyfriend paused. “When are you coming back? I was planning to maybe take us out to eat with Ruby so that we could all spend some time together. We could maybe do other things after that if you would like!”

     “Oh, well I can start heading back shortly. I don’t want ta keep ya waitin’ for me.” Pico said quietly.

     “Oh great! I’ll see you in a bit then!” Boyfriend said excitedly.

     “Yeah… I’ll see you soon!” Pico said, trying to force a happy response in although he was incredibly angry with the current situation he was in.

     They hung up, Pico stretching his body before heading back over to his friends.

     “We’ll have to talk about this another time. My boyfriend has some plans planted and I don’t want to make him upset by being embarrassingly late.” Pico told them.

     “Simp!” Darnell randomly shouted teasingly.

     “Oh shut the fuck up! Don’t be jealous of me just because I can pull.” Pico said.

     Nene laughed, Darnell looking very offended. Pico let out a little chuckle, smiling.

     “I’ll catch ya guys tomorrow for this little thing ya got in mind..” Pico said.

     “Okay! We’ll cya later Pico!” Nene said, speaking for the both of them so that Darnell could just sit there and think.

     Pico gave them a peace sign with one of his hands with a smirk on his face before he raced out of the classroom and back out onto the streets.

Description
|!| 'Snakebit' is a little book series of my own that I felt like making since I love writing. All of the characters in this "book" are reflected off of the Cursed AU as this is the dark and deep history of them before the curse even existed. In this series we follow Piconjo of whose life is full of bad luck and chaos just for the sake of proving his strength so that he can no longer be judged nor bullied for being considered weak and soft by his classmates or parents. |!|

(Sorry if the paragraphs are all wonky or if there's more typos. I'm tired and I didn't feel like re-reading the whole story and fixings the indents...School's crazy y'all.)

CHAPTER 7: Nightmare
-------------------------

  It was dark, nothing to be seen or heard but the heavy gusts of wind. Pico looked around, trying to see if anybody was nearby. Nothing. He looked down below his feet, the ground not visible in any sort of texture except plain coal black. He raised a brow, taking a careful step forward. As soon as his foot landed, the wind grew heavier. He raised his arms to cover his face, his hair flowing along with the wind’s current. He pushed against the wind, having the urge to continue walking forward.

  A familiar voice would start to call his name. It was feminine, and she did not sound happy. Pico’s body went cold as he began sprinting into the unknown. The cries of his name would only grow louder, causing him to change directions each time. They never went away no matter where he had turned. He then collapsed onto the ground and on his knees, holding his head and ears tight so that he could block her voice from entering his head. A soft hand touched the back of his shoulder, causing him to flinch and immediately turn around with open eyes. There he saw what seemed to be his mother with no eyes as they dripped blood along with a huge bullet hole in her head that also bled. Pico’s eyes shrunk in terror, trying not to make it obvious that he was frightened of her. She slowly started to smile at him, edging closer until she was able to wrap her hands softly around Pico’s face like a baby. Pico didn’t move, scared of what was to come.

“Oh how they grow up so fast…Only if I were there to watch it happen.” She said calmly.

“What do you want from me? Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Pico said sternly, breathing heavily.

“Oh hun, but I am dead. Don’t you remember?” She remarked.

“T-Then why are you here? Just to taunt me?”

She giggled.

“No and yes! Just because I can’t physically be there to babysit you doesn’t mean that I can’t in your dreams.” She said playfully.

“Why would you want to waste such time of your freedom on tormenting me?”

“Well, it’s more rewarding than having to do other stuff down here.” She replied.

“Down..here?...What do you mean by that?” Pico asked confusingly.

“Why…did ya really think after my death I’d be able to reach the bright heavenly skies, my son?”

Pico glanced to the side with a doubtful face, knowing that she was right about that.

“See, even you know that I ain’t that good enough for it.” She snickered.

“Can you just….leave me alone?” Pico had said with an added temper.

“Why though? I practically just got here. I just want to-”

Pico then shoved her hands away with aggression, making her back up.

“I DON’T WANT YOUR AFFECTION! All that you were able to give me was traumatizing memories for fucks sake!” Pico yelled.

His mother didn’t look impressed.

“Well take a quick listen here you little shit.” She said angrily.

  She’d snap, the ground starting to shake. Pico stabilized himself, looking at the ground as he watched cracks appear all over until the ground gave out. The floor shattered like glass, Pico falling to who knows where. It happened too quickly for him to react, him falling backwards as he panickingly looked around. The walls would start to show lines, shaping out the hole he was falling through. It was almost circular shaped, but had many sharp turns from here and there. His mother appeared in one of the frames, her giving him a distinguished look. Pico only stared back, making himself look very angered and upset with her. Not too long after, she then smirked, pointing down below. Pico raised his brows, trying to look underneath himself against the heavy wind. There was a small flat rock that seemed just the perfect size for him coming up. He didn’t know what to do in this situation and only continued to fall, closing his eyes as he was preparing himself for the pain that was to come.

  A moment after, the wind stopped, his hair resting at ease once again. Pico was confused and squinted an eye open, looking around cautiously. He was sitting down comfortably on a rough surface. He opened both eyes, searching around himself before standing up. He dusted himself off, once looking ahead of himself and then immediately back again, there stood Boyfriend of who smiled happily at him. Pico narrowed his eyes, not liking the signs of his random appearance in this dark abyss. He couldn’t help himself but cautiously get closer to Boyfriend, wanting the need of comfort although he wasn’t sure himself if this even was his boyfriend. Once he got closer, he slowly reached a hand up to his face. It quivered as he was scared. Noticing that there was no reaction out of Boyfriend, he put his hand back down, backing away.

“You can’t fool me! I know him too well for you to be playing tricks on me with him!” Pico shouted into the abyss.

“You think this is a joke? Why, I thought you loved me?” Boyfriend said as he tilted his head to the side.

Pico looked over to Boyfriend with plain eyes.

“I do, but you are not the Boyfriend I know n’ love.” Pico stated.

“It makes me sad that you don’t believe it’s really me. After all we’ve been through?” Boyfriend said sadly.

The walls began to show texture, the sky existing once again. Pico’s eyes opened in shock as he recognized the place it turned into. It was his old alleyway.

“Remember where we first met?...Well, not really the first spot, but the first spot where we actually had some conversations.” Boyfriend said.

Boyfriend would walk over next to Pico, leaning against him with his arm.

“Such good memories weren’t they? The one time where you actually felt safe alas.” Boyfriend said calmly.

“No…You’re not real!” Pico yelled to himself, shoving Boyfriend off of him as he gripped his own hair tightly with his hands as he stared into the cold ground. “Get out of my head ya faker!”

“Oh I’m not faking anything. I’m just letting you know what is yet to come.” Boyfriend said as he rested a hand on Pico’s shoulder.

“You-...What?-” Pico said confusingly as he turned his head around to face Boyfriend only to be greeted with circular lifeless eyes that bled and a plain black smile that dripped black goo.

Before Pico could even react, Boyfriend had stabbed something into Pico’s eyes, his menacing laugh then turning into his mother’s as it faded away.

      Pico jolted awake, him lifting himself up in an instant with heavy panting. He quickly searched around himself, pinching himself to see if he was actually awake this time. He felt the slight sting, feeling relieved that he was finally awake. He calmed his triedly eyes, looking over at Boyfriend of who appeared to be sleeping right next to him. He looked outside the window, realizing that it was still pretty dark out. He assumed it was probably still pretty late at night or very early morning. He’d carefully shimmy his way out of bed, walking over to the bathroom. He turned the sink on, scooping up water in his hands and spreading it all over his face. He groaned, drying his face off. Once he put the towel back on the rack, he’d just stare at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were still slightly terrified, but they then eventually faded away into a tiredly mood. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing heavily to himself as he set his elbows on the sink’s ridge, placing his face into the palm of his hands.

  At this moment, he felt like crying to himself, but he did not wish for Boyfriend to hear it. Instead, he quietly whimpered to himself, slowly dragging his face into his arms as he leaned against the sink. Without even realizing it, he quietly began to cry. He let out a loud hic by accident, him stopping himself in almost an instant as he covered his mouth. He glanced over to the bedroom, seeing if Boyfriend had heard that. He didn’t move, so he removed his hands from his mouth and just stared at them. The feeling of tears rolling down his face ached him but did nothing about it and only watched as they splattered onto his hands.

He would be standing there for nearly ten minutes, zoning out into thought as he stared at them. The patter of small feet could be heard from not too far away, but he was too distracted to care or even notice.

“...Pico…? I-Is that you..?” Boyfriend asked with a soft voice.

  Boyfriend flicked the switch, turning the bathroom light on. Boyfriend watched as Pico flinched as if he was getting poked in the eyes. He squinted tightly, wanting to block the light from his face. He only placed his hands on the sink’s rim and grasped onto it tightly.

“What are you doing here in the dark?! You could have turned a light on you know!” Boyfriend asked concerningly as he walked over to Pico.

  Pico opened his eyes, turning his head to face Boyfriend. His eyes were slightly red as the trails his tears left were still visible, the small clumps of leftover tears still resting at the corner of his eyes. Boyfriend gasped at the sight of Pico’s face. He reached up and rubbed some of the tears away with his thumbs.

“What’s wrong Pico?! Why are you crying..?” Boyfriend asked.

“It’s nothin’.” Pico sniffled. “Just got lost in my own mind is all.”

“What are you doing up so early anyways? It’s only four in the morning!” Boyfriend exclaimed.

“Oh. I was awoken by a nightmare. Don’t worry about it though, I’m fine.” Pico said in the calmest voice he could.

Boyfriend looked at him worryingly, knowing that Pico was obviously lying.

“Do you wish to sit down and talk about it with me? Or do you want to try and go back to bed?” Boyfriend asked.

“I’ll just try to go back to sleep…” Pico said quietly as he gently removed Boyfriend’s hands from his face and walked back into the bedroom.

  Boyfriend watched as he walked off, following a bit behind as he turned off the bathroom light. Pico tucked his entire body under the covers, nothing of himself to be seen except for his body figure. Boyfriend edged himself up next to Pico, rubbing Pico’s arm slowly and gently. Boyfriend laid his head on Pico’s to where he pictured it being from above the covers.

  “I have a good feeling that I may know what your nightmare was about, but I understand if it is something that is hard for you to talk about. Just know I’m always open to hear you out or comfort you whenever you need it.” Boyfriend said calmly as he closed his eyes and let his body remain at bay.

Pico softly smiled, stuffing his head into the pillow’s softness. He closed his eyes, trying to think about the happier side of his life. It took a while, but he had finally been able to fall back asleep without worry.

  It was around 3 pm, the outside wind as steady as ever and the soothing sun at ease. The doorbell rang, Juno instantly racing down the stairs with heavy steps, barking and howling at the door. Boyfriend slowly lifted his head up, looking at the room door blindly.

“...Holyyy shit..” Pico groaned.

“Don’t worry I got it..” Boyfriend said quietly, patting Pico’s head before getting up.

Boyfriend walked over to the stair hall, peering over at Juno. He took a second to clear his throat before speaking.

“JUNO!- SHUT THE FUCK UP IT’S ONLY A-”

  The doorbell rang again. Boyfriend looked at the front door, taking a moment to realize why Juno was barking. Boyfriend groaned, walking down the stairs as his hand followed along the rail. As Boyfriend headed to answer the door, Pico triedly walked out the room, his arms hanging in front of him as he rubbed one of his eyes. He set his arms on the rail as he leaned slightly forward, looking down at the door, then at Juno. They both made eye contact, Juno’s tail wagging high as she raced upstairs to come by Pico’s side. She set her head on Pico’s thigh, looking up at him as she sat there. Pico glanced over at her for a moment and then looked at the door once more, awaiting for who was on the other side. Juno started whining as she pushed closer to Pico. Pico only hid a slight smile as he stared off, reaching down a hand to rub Juno’s head.

As soon as Boyfriend opened the door, he was greeted with a fairly unexpected large hug. Pico watched as the tall girl quietly squealed as she picked up Boyfriend and spun him around once in her arms.

“Oh how excited I am to finally see you, little blue!” the British girl said.

“Be ska dee!!” Boyfriend shouted as a large smile appeared on his face.

She would peek up behind Boyfriend’s scruffy morning hair, spotting Pico staring at her with a not-so-welcoming look. She set Boyfriend down, looking back at him.

“Ou a teh?” She asked Boyfriend as she side-eye’d Pico.

Boyfriend turned around, looking up at Pico. His smile stayed as he looked back at his sister.

“Teh a e Pico!” Boyfriend replied.

Pico would start to be a little confused about what language they were speaking. It didn’t sound like any other language he has heard of once before as it sounded a lot like just random high-pitched beep sounds.

“Oohh!” She exclaimed. She then looked up at him with a greeting smile. “Hi, Pico!”

Pico slowly blinked, his eyes just about half open.

“Hi.” he greeted plainly.

“You have probably heard about me and um, can probably tell who I am just by the looks of me.”

“..Let me guess. You’re Boyfriend’s sister?” Pico assumed.

Ruby nodded.

“He has told me so much about you and I am very pleased to finally be able to meet you in person!” she said happily.

Pico slightly smiled to the sound of that, but then it quickly faded away.

“Also…what was that gibberish y’all were just speakin’? That did not sound like a language everyone has heard about.” Pico asked.

“Oh! It’s a language I made myself!” Boyfriend said proudly. “Only my fairly trusted ones know it though.”

“It is not an easy language to understand I tell you-” Ruby added.

“Oh. You sure you aren’t just sayin’ random sounds?” Pico asked.

“Nope! Every sound and word has its own, or multiple meanings!” Boyfriend paused for a moment. “If you’d like I could teach you the language sometime soon?” He offered.

“Sure! I’d love to know this strange language of yours.” Pico chuckled. “What’s it called anyways?”

“We call it Beep language.” He replied.

“Ah- I shoulda guessed.” Pico laughed softly.

“Hey… What brings you here so late anyways? We were expecting you to be here about three days ago!” Boyfriend asked Ruby.

“Oh! I thought I told you about the delay unless it didn’t send to you properly.” She replied.

“Oh. Besides that allow me to show you around!” Boyfriend said as he excitedly jumped in place, taking Ruby’s hand and leading her away.

Pico watched as Boyfriend became a whole tour guide, him being very specific about where things were and how they looked. Letting Boyfriend do his thing, he turned around to head back into the bedroom. He cleaned himself in a slight rush just in case Boyfriend were to come into their room next. He threw his classic green hood on with the tan jeans and grabbed his guns from under the bed, attaching them to the side of his jeans. He noticed one of the guns had a little mark on it. He pulled the gun closer to his face, rubbing the spot with his finger softly. It smudged, assuming it was probably just dirt or something. Pico held it in one hand as he headed downstairs to go find a spare cloth to clean it with. Making it all the way downstairs he caught the eye of Ruby’s scrutinize look since she had noticed the guns. Pico only glared back with a pissy look as he headed toward the kitchen. There paper towels laid on the kitchen wall. He reached over to grab a few, soaking them slightly in water before tending to his gun. He marked the spot, rubbing the mark roughly to make sure it all came off.

    Pico smiled as the gun started to shine in his eyes. He looked at the dirty paper towel, finding much more dirt than what was more visible. He didn’t think his gun was THAT dirty after all. Pico thought for a moment, deciding to clean the whole gun instead, taking the other one out of the strap and setting it aside on the countertop. As he cleaned them, he would get lost in thought, no longer catching the sounds of his surroundings and only of the chaos that happened with these guns. He remembered when Nene first gave them to him. How excited he was to actually have a gun of his own. The tips Nene would always give him whenever they practiced with one another in their free time at school. The power he felt whenever using the guns, as if he was an unstoppable monster of havoc. The bet. He tried not to think about that part too much and wanted to focus more on his friends. He missed them, the amazing times they had with one another at the school. More than ever he had missed Nene the most. He loved how much of a mother she was to him but yet was so violent and aggressive towards others. It made him realize how much Nene actually cared for him, possibly even liked him too and is just waiting for the right moment. This calmed his mind down. He softly smiled as he cleaned the last spot of the second gun, finally finished.

     The guns sparkled, showing their true blue-ish grey as they glimmered. He neatly put them back in their straps, taking a quick glance around the house from where he stood to see if Boyfriend and Ruby were still anywhere around. There was no sight of them. Pico shrugged to himself, slipping out of the house and carefully shutting the door behind him. He patted down his pockets, making sure that he had his phone with him so that he could text Boyfriend later. Check.

    He began to walk down the neighborhood sides, wanting to go pay a visit to Nene on foot. Although a long walk, he knew how to make it go by faster than it really was. Just as he was about to exit the neighborhood, he heard the barking of a dog increase in volume at a quick pace. He turned around quickly, noticing the dog by its size and coat. Especially, the collar Boyfriend picked out for Juno. Juno jumped at Pico all excitedly as a leash dragged behind her. Not too far behind her was Ruby calmly walking and the sound of Boyfriend’s worried cries. Pico only looked down at Juno and ruffled up her fur. He could tell Ruby stopped about halfway between him and Juno as he could no longer hear her footsteps. Boyfriend not too long after was running to catch up as he probably had lost where the two went and was in panic.

     “PICO?” Boyfriend questionly yelled from afar.

     As Boyfriend started to head to Pico, Ruby stopped him in his tracks with one hand. Ruby looked nervous as she glanced from Boyfriend to him. Pico was confused of why now she was scared of him, well, other than the guns. He didn’t think Ruby would actually think that he’d use them on Boyfriend or any of his relatives. Boyfriend gently moved Ruby’s hand away, reassuring her that nothing bad would happen since he trusted Pico with all his heart. Juno’s attention then went to Boyfriend. She would start to jump all over him next, Boyfriend pushing her off and giggling. Once Juno calmed, he looked over to Pico of whose face looked plain and determined.

     “What are you doing? Or for better words…where are you going?” Boyfriend asked.

     “I just wanted to go visit Nene for some time while you hung out with your sister.” He said.

     “All the way back at that place? What if you get hurt!” Boyfriend exclaimed worryingly.

     “I’ll be finee- Even if I do, I’ll be okay and I’ll have Nene by my side for assistance if needed.” Pico said.

     He could tell Boyfriend wasn’t at all happy about Pico’s decision, but knew that he would be too stubborn to stay back anyways. Pico placed his hand on Boyfriend’s cheek, scooting himself closer to him.

     “Trust me.. I’ll be okay. If anything happens I’ll be sure to call or text you in an instant, understand?..” Pico assured with the calmest his voice could get.

     Boyfriend slowly nodded.

     “That’s my boyfriend..Now go have a good time with Ruby and the dog for me-” He then quickly kissed Boyfriend before running off. He turned his head slightly, waving his hand a little as he yelled, “Love you!”

     Boyfriend blushed, smiling as he watched Pico eventually disappear into the woods.

     The quiet alas within the darkness of the hollow. The sight of a poorly lit street up ahead after a long walk. Pico continued heading in the direction of the post. He stopped for a second to check his phone, looking around before driving his attention away, but something else caught his attention. A poster. It looked familiar to him, or well, to himself in appearance. He walked over to the poster and inspected it closely. His eyes were first drawn toward the picture of a person. It was him. Pico’s eyes opened in shock, ripping the poster off the wall. He was marked ‘Missing/Wanted’, and the picture on the poster was of him when he was younger and happy looking. He started to read the bottom text of the paper, noticing the phone number but not really recognizing it. He had no clue who this could be, who else did he know well enough that would have such an older photo of him and be living in these parts?

     He’d stuff the poster inside his pocket and start to run off, lifting his hood over his head and sticking to the more shadowy areas so that he wouldn’t be seen too well by others.

     It was a while before he finally recognized the neighborhood he was in, stopping in his tracks not too far from his old home. There was old crime scene tape all over the ground and covered in dirt. The house had seemed abandoned at this point, but definitely not forgotten by the company as it seemed that people still came here for inspections and experiments. Pico quickly looked around, making sure nobody was around before he sneakily dashed inside the old home. He quietly closed the door behind him, taking his hood off so that he could get a better look around. The inside looked decently cared for unlike how the outside was. He didn’t really care about the rest of the house and headed straight upstairs to the bedrooms. He went over to his room first, wanting to see if things were left. To no surprise, it seemed as if the investigators had taken all his stuff and probably used it as evidence for their case. He then walked over to his parent’s room, first noticing that the bed was completely gone. He could notice very old blood stains still on the floor, a lot more than he remembered. He tried not to look at it too much as he didn’t want to be reminded of that moment while in this house.

     He sighed, walking over to the room’s door frame and patting the sides of the wall. He took one final look around the whole place just before leaving and heading over to Nene’s house.

     Just about halfway there, he pulled out his phone to check the time. It was only 3:39 PM. Knowing that Nene still went to school, she wouldn’t be out until 4:30 PM. At this point, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to wait that long just for her as he didn’t want Boyfriend to worry too much about him being gone for too long. He put his phone back in his pocket, deciding to just go to the school instead then. He didn’t worry about getting in trouble as their school didn’t care about what happened with their students or guests. Pico wasn’t a guest. He was supposed to be here in the first place and was always expected since they knew that there were no other schools that he’d go to in this place.

     Arriving at the front of the school, he calmly opened the entrance doors, not at all surprised by the faces he was given by the random kids that always roamed the hallways just to skip class. He took his hood off, feeling rather more comfortable redeeming himself here as he knew that most of the upperclassmen respected him after what he has done. He could definitely tell that the word was spread, even to the newest members of the school. It made him happy that he was remembered, but he only wasn’t happy about the stares some of the students gave him. Pico took a breath in and out before walking towards one of the kids he had his eyes on for a while now. It was a girl almost the same height as him. He stopped right in front of her with unintended intimidating eyes. She looked scared of him as he could tell by the way her body slightly shivered and the look she gave him. Pico rolled his eyes.

     “Have ya seen a girl named Nene around here?..Or possibly a guy named Darnell by chance?” He asked her.

     The girl didn’t say anything and only looked around furiously as if she didn’t know if she should tell him or not.

     “Hm. I’ll take that as a no.” Pico grumbled, pushing her aside as he began to head down the east hall.

     As he walked down the hallway, he could hear the little whispers between people’s conversations although others were louder. From time to time he’d peek inside a classroom although knowing Nene, she was probably skipping too. It wasn’t too long until someone called his name.

     “Hey, I know that guy like a brotha!... AYE PICO!” He shouted from behind.

     Pico came to a halt, raising his shoulders as he stared at the ground with an annoyed look on his face. He only listened as the hallway got slightly quieter the closer the guy came. As soon as Pico heard him come close enough, he turned around to face him, standing up confidently.

     “Heyy. Didn’t really expect you to be the person these people were chattering about. I thought you were long gone after that-!”

     “Don’t even mention it Darnell.” Pico said, cutting him off. “I only came here to see if Nene was around by chance.”

    “Well of course she’s here. I’m sure she’ll get the news about you making a sudden appearance in no time. You know how quick the gossiping goes around here.” He said.

     “Yeah, yeah. Since you’re here I want to show you something..just um, not around these people-” Pico a little quieter.

     “Oh? You actually want to show ME something? Ah for once in a lifetime have you ever offered something!” Darnell exclaimed.

     Pico rolled his eyes, giving Darnell an annoyed look.

     “Go on. Lead the way! Maybe if we’re lucky we might even run into Nene on the way.” Darnell said.

     “I hope we do. She needs ta see this too.” Pico said as he began to walk off to where he remembered the areas that were more private and quiet.

     He chose to go inside an empty classroom that seemed like it wasn’t being used due to the lights being off and nobody’s things being inside. He flipped the switch on, looking around the room. Darnell came in behind him, peeking out the frame. Pico glanced over at him, noticing him signaling someone to come over.

     “What are you doin’?” Pico asked confusingly.

     “She’s here!” He responded.

     Not too long after, Nene came running in the classroom, repeatedly squealing Pico’s name.

     “PICO PICO PICO PICOOO!” She squealed as she gave him a big hug. “Oh I’m so happy you’re here! I didn’t think you’d ever come pay a visit!”

     Pico smiled, hugging her back.

     “Yeah well, I was startin’ to worry about y’all since ya haven’t come by to say hello in a while now.” Pico said softly. “But hey- I have something to show you two.”

     Nene let go of Pico, looking over at him with curious eyes. He’d then pull out the poster from his pocket, flattening it out on a desk to make the wrinkles go away a bit so that it was more readable and fixable.

     “Can you explain this ta me?-”

     Nene and Darnell shared glances as they both inspected the poster as if they’ve seen it before.

     “Oh! I remember this. I saw them startin’ to be placed around the neighborhood recently. I and Darnell swore ta not tell anyone your location though!” Nene said.

     “I thank ya for that..But do you know who was putting them up?” Pico asked.

     “Well I’m not too sure who she was, but she had long reddish brown hair and was kind of tall. She wore a fancy-looking coat with fluff on the rims. I assumed you had possibly known her since she has such an older photo of you placed on here.” Nene explained.

     Pico was silent for a second, his face not at all looking too happy.

     “You definitely have changed. I’ve never seen that look on your face in the longest time I’ve known you. Let me guess, you don’t like this girl?” Darnell stated.

     “Oh I know her alright, but she isn’t even in my family! HOW DID SHE GET A PICTURE OF ME LIKE THAT!” Pico started to yell ever so stressfully as he slammed his fists onto the desk.

     “Hey hey! It’s okay Pico!- Just calm down and let’s figure this out without any violence yet.” Nene said comfortingly as she set a hand on one of Pico’s fists.

     “Y’know, I think you should let him do what I’m pretty sure we’re both thinking what he wants to do to that girl, Nene.” Darnell said.

    “What? Are you crazy? We don’t even know too much about this girl yet! We can’t just let him kill her like that without at least ONE identification that she’s someone who needs to die.” Nene yelled.

    “Well it already seems that he doesn’t like her and maybe knows her well enough to tell himself! Just let him loose and do what he needs to do-”

     “He’s not a dog! Let him loose?- I’d rather get to speak with this girl myself before letting him try anything yet.”. Nene assured.

     “Then why don’t you go find the lady and talk with her then?!”

     “I will.” She pouted. “And you’re gonna be comin’ with me too!” She said, pointing at Darnell.

     “What- Why do I have to come?” He asked confusingly.

     “Because you need to see it all for yourself too before coming to conclusions.”

     “What about Pico?”

     “He can stand by since she seems to know who he is- and we don’t know what she’ll do if she finds that he’s with us.”

     “Eh, sounds fair.” Darnell said.

     “No no..you guys don’t understand what she’s like!-” Pico snapped.

                                                                                                                    “What’s she like then? You seem to know her well.” Darnell asked.

    “She doesn’t even seem that bad- she looks so innocent and sweet!-” Nene popped in.

     “No! She’s literally A FUCKIN’ DE-”

     Pico’s phone began to ring. The tone of it being unexpectedly loud. Pico took it out quickly, the caller being Boyfriend. He groaned to himself, giving a signal to the two that he needed just a moment. He walked over to the corner of the classroom and leaned his back up against the wall. He answered the phone.

     “Hello?” Pico started off.

    “Hi, Pico! I was starting to worry about you because you were not replying to my messages, so I decided to call you instead.” Boyfriend said worryingly.

     “Oh shit- sorry! I wasn’t lookin’ at my phone for most of the time. I was too focused on what I was doin’.” Pico replied in a bit of panic as he didn’t remember ever hearing the notification sounds of a message.

     “It’s okay! I’m just happy that I know you are okay now.” Boyfriend paused. “When are you coming back? I was planning to maybe take us out to eat with Ruby so that we could all spend some time together. We could maybe do other things after that if you would like!”

     “Oh, well I can start heading back shortly. I don’t want ta keep ya waitin’ for me.” Pico said quietly.

     “Oh great! I’ll see you in a bit then!” Boyfriend said excitedly.

     “Yeah… I’ll see you soon!” Pico said, trying to force a happy response in although he was incredibly angry with the current situation he was in.

     They hung up, Pico stretching his body before heading back over to his friends.

     “We’ll have to talk about this another time. My boyfriend has some plans planted and I don’t want to make him upset by being embarrassingly late.” Pico told them.

     “Simp!” Darnell randomly shouted teasingly.

     “Oh shut the fuck up! Don’t be jealous of me just because I can pull.” Pico said.

     Nene laughed, Darnell looking very offended. Pico let out a little chuckle, smiling.

     “I’ll catch ya guys tomorrow for this little thing ya got in mind..” Pico said.

     “Okay! We’ll cya later Pico!” Nene said, speaking for the both of them so that Darnell could just sit there and think.

     Pico gave them a peace sign with one of his hands with a smirk on his face before he raced out of the classroom and back out onto the streets.