"Aubrey, I gotta tell you something."
Sitting inside a random McDonalds on a Tuesday, two teenagers ate their food. One boy—a ridiculously tall one at 6'4 inches, had his messy black hair down to his Adam's apple as well as black studded earrings.
"Yeah?" The other boy—the aforementioned Aubrey, asked. He was plain-looking, with short hair that did not obscure his eyes. Though, he rested on his elbow, the hand obscuring a bit more than half of his face.
"Turns out, I'm moving real soon. As in, like, a week."
Aubrey's eyes widened. "Wait, for real? Why?"
"My mom needs to move because of some family stuff. She lost her job, and we've got no choice but to move closer to family."
"...Alright. Well, I guess it's not that big of a deal. We can still call and stuff."
"Unfortunately not."
"Hm?"
"My aunt's place doesn't have internet or service. I've visited before and it's a complete pain in the ass."
Venting his frustration, the boy—Sam, took a bite of his burger and chewed to have some kind relief.
"That… shit, man. But Junior year just started!"
"Yeah, I know, right? It's bullshit. The school there, I don't know if it even has one. I might actually end up a fucking highschool dropout."
"...Son of a bitch, man. Well, then who will I hang out with during lunch? Or, at all, really? Since you've got a certain kinda reputation, people tend to avoid me, and I avoid them because I don't like them."
Looking down, Aubrey's eyes narrowed, as he completely covered them up, massaging his face.
Ever since elementary school, they had only been friends with each other. Sam was a rebellious kid with a short fuse and a violent way of dealing with those he did not like. Aubrey was a quiet kid who rarely talked, but was grouped in with Sam due to association.
Ergo, if Aubrey did not have Sam, then—
Won't I be alone?
"It sucks, but it should be alright. When I can, I'll move back here, 'kay? And I'll try your number; if you change it or whatever, then I'll wander the streets in my free time, looking for a short dude with dark hair. Got it?"
"What an inconvenient way to look for me. But alright then, I'll try to find you as well, then. And I'm not short!"
The two finished their food, and went on to hangout for their final week together, potentially forever.
—
But, once that week ended, the day of isolation was upon Aubrey. With Sam gone, Aubrey went to school as normal, went to his first class as normal, sat as normal, and yet—
I am… alone.
Moving through the school day, Aubrey came to that conclusion. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.
Before he'd ever met Sam, he already somewhat struggled with making friends. Though it wasn't impossible, it was troublesome. And in fact, the friends he did make ended up being fake ones, until they left him for hanging out with Sam.
And now, with an already not-so-great reputation for being a piece of shit, merely by association, he was almost guaranteed to be alone.
How painful it was.
To be alone. Surrounded by other people, human beings, many of whom may share personality traits and common interests—yet to still remain utterly alone.
Isolation? Easy. Oh, how easy it is to be isolated. Isolation, merely not having anyone near, is bearable for all men. But loneliness?
How bitter loneliness is. To know that there is a way out, yet knowing they will never accept you. That the end of the race is just a few steps ahead, yet knowing your efforts will never be considered enough.
All alone, Aubrey agonized internally.
It hurts.
When he passed by people in the halls, they looked at him with disgust. This was not new. Yet, he could not bear it. Unlike before, he did not have someone in this world other than his family, who would dare look at him with love.
Every single stare in this world was disgust, contempt, or disinterest.
Have I not… Have I not been cut off from the rest of society?
Even at his part-time job, his coworkers did not care for him. They were teenagers much like himself, and due to proximity, went to the same school. Sam's fiery reputation had thus gotten them to dislike him.
—Have I not been cut off from the rest of society?
Months passed. Holidays, breaks from school, all these things came and went. He'd laugh—occasionally. He'd cry—somewhat often.
Sam had left him. His greatest friend disappeared, and Aubrey was left to deal with the loneliness that had been accumulating for most of his life.
I am alone.
Sitting in his room, upon his chair and looking out of the window on a snowy winter day, Aubrey expressed his melancholy once more.
I hate being alone. Then, if everyone hates me, why shouldn't I hate all of them? Yeah.
Absolutely.
"I hate all of them. I hate those stupid fucks at school. I don't like even a single one of them."
Yet, overpowering his hatred and resentment, was the fear of loneliness.
Even if I hate them, I can't stand being alone. It makes everything so much worse. I hate standing out, I hate being looked at with disgust, I hate being treated like I'm not a human being.
I just want to be normal. I just want to finally fit in with society, and stop being so alone. I see it everyday, everyone with the friendly connection that I already lost. I'm so lonely.
Then, I'll do it.
—
To fix his reputation, Aubrey helped everyone. To those in whom he sought friendship, he would go out of his way to help them, often at a cost to himself. But that was fine.
As long as I am not alone, I'm fine with that.
Day after day, he helped people with acts of service, being nice to them. If he was nice to people, then they wouldn't dislike him as much. They thought he changed from what he never was, and opened up to him.
Finally, in the second semester of Junior year, Aubrey Palmer had managed to blend in with human society, performing acts of "kindness" to gain their trust, and promptly become friends with them.
I was lonely. But as long as I can blend in with everyone else, then I'm not alone. People who are alone are easy targets. I can't be alone, lest I be the target of hatred. They might not ever truly see me, but that's fine. I don't need to be seen.
All I need is to stop being alone.
…
"Oh, hey man," Aubrey said nonchalantly. "Uhh, it's not what it looks like."
"It… it's not?"
Aubrey shook his head, dropping the knife and getting up, putting his hands up. His friend closed the door behind him as he slowly moved closer inside.
"Th-then, what is it?" His friend asked, his voice shaking with terror.
"Just… uh, y'know. This guy, he was going to hurt you. Do you believe me?" Aubrey asked, sniffing the air.
"U-um, I really don't know…"
Smelling the air, the scent of a lie made its way into Aubrey's nostrils.
"Oh, that's fine. Well, um… yeah."
Aubrey's eyes narrowed.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone. It's not a human being, I swear. I just—y'know, telling people what you saw would be… bad."
His friend was silent for a moment, speaking forward with an uncleared throat. "Ugh, hh, yeah. I promise, I won't tell anyone! Um…"
—The scent of a lie.
"Th-the date went well, y'know? We're actually going to be talking more now… she knows my name, I know hers, and… we'll be meeting up tomorrow night. I'm really interested in reading the books she recommended… She told me that the books you read can tell you a lot about the person. Um…"
Aubrey kept his hands up. He stared directly at his friend with his eyes obscured by his hair, not giving even the slightest clue as to his true intentions.
"I think… I really like her," his friend pleaded. "And she says she really likes me too!"
"...Shit, she's here."
In such a stressful situation, Aubrey's friend was easily fooled. Even just for a moment, just for an instant, his friend turned his head—
A warm blade found its way into the back of his brain.
Blood did not splash. The Black Wraith could not bear the idea of evidence being left behind.
The knife was removed, and Aubrey's friend collapsed to the ground, falling limp with a cold, hasty thud. Aubrey looked over to the bloody corpse of the all-black man, as it vanished into nothingness.
If that had happened even just 20 seconds earlier, Aubrey's friend would still be alive.
With a soft sigh and a dull stare, Aubrey looked down at his friend's corpse. For the first time, he had to worry about dealing with a body. Though, luckily, the knife of the Library-Killer did not allow blood to seep out.
Aubrey grabbed his friend by the collar, dragging him over to the sink and bringing him into the Mirror World. He left the body behind in the alternate plane of existence, ensuring the body would never be found.
As he continued to walk through the black void, Aubrey had a thought.
Wait, hold on, I forgot… What was that guy's name? Nico? Nica?
A soft chuckle spat out of Aubrey's throat in a rush, as he found it instantly funny.
Nica? Sounds like I'm saying the n-word, depending on how you pronounce it.
"Heh," he laughed aloud, "I should use that next time I'm with the others. That might make them laugh."
He did not care that he was dead. After all, his ordinary life was no longer threatened by that person's existence. And as long as he was still able to blend in with the rest of society, so long as he was not alone—,
—Aubrey Palmer wouldn't think anything of it.