Chapter Text

[Location: Home]







“Another day, another dollar,” I sigh as I unlock my front door and walk inside, finally home from another day at work. Walking into my messy room, I set my backpack with all my stuff on my “bed,” which is more-or-less just three mattresses on top of each other. “Least it's over,” I comment, changing out of my work clothes and getting into more comfortable casual clothing. I have the habit of talking to myself a lot. My parents have told me it's weird, but I don't really care. I like to get my thoughts out as soon as I can; it keeps my head clear for the more important thoughts that I should keep to myself.













Oh yeah, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Michael, a 20-year-old guy who works a crappy job in order to pay the bills, get food and new clothes, and occasionally support my hobby; that hobby being playing video games. I'm honestly nobody special, though I've got a few friends. Most of the time I come home from work tired and ready to relax. Fortunately, it's my day off tomorrow, so I can spend a fair bit of time doing what I enjoy, and sleep in tomorrow morning. My life is boring and uneventful, but sometimes, it's kinda nice.













“Time for some gaming,” I say as I sit down in the chair in front of my desk, upon which rests my computer. It's a pretty nice gaming PC, and I tend to worry about its health since I paid quite a bit for it. “Let's see, what shall I do tonight?” I muse, looking across the icons on my desktop. One does catch my eye as I browse my various games, but I finished it the other day – A game called Doki Doki Literature Club! My friend was quite eager for me to play it and get my reaction to it. It... definitely wasn't what it made itself out to be initially. I first made a few jokes, calling it “Waifu Simulator 2017” after seeing the four anime girls on the title screen, and one joke along the lines of “Oh, so do I get to choose which waifus go to their graves?” ...Which upon getting further in the game, was a joke I wish I didn't make. It was certainly a unique experience, and it actually managed to make me get a bit emotional.







“Heh, damn you for recommending me a game that you knew I'd make jokes about and then regret making them later,” I quietly chuckle to myself, remembering my friend who recommended it to me. I then decided to play a nice, relaxing game of Minecraft, as I knew it would help make my mood better before it was time for bed. I spent a few hours playing until I started getting tired, taking a minute to admire my lame building skills before saving and quitting.







“Welp,” I yawn. “Time for bed.” I then shut down my PC and stand up, slowly walking over to my bed. “Fuck, I have to move all this shit...” I sigh, picking up my backpack, taking out my tablet and setting it next to my pillow, then putting the rest to the side. Finally climbing into bed, I pull a couple blankets over me and lie down. “God, I love sleeping in...” I mumble to myself as I fall asleep.







I usually don't remember my dreams unless I wake up from a particularly weird one, or a particularly bad one. This was a weird mix of the two. I felt like I was falling, a dream I've had before several times, but this time I wasn't falling through blue skies and white puffy clouds – I was falling through some sort of starry void. It was strange and new to me; yet felt... familiar in a way that I couldn't place. Typically these “falling dreams” don't last for too long before I wake up, but this one was already different. It felt like I would fall forever, with no end in sight to this starry void I found myself in. Then, a noise brought me out of my sleep-induced trance...













[Location: ???]













Beep beep beep! What the hell? When did I have an alarm clock? Must have been something I got to remind myself that I needed to take my medication. I'd been having strange “episodes” for the past month or so where I would feel extremely light-headed, accompanied by a strong sense of deja vu, afterwards I would pass out and wake up on the floor after a short while, confused about what just happened. I'd managed to get prescribed a medication that my doctor believed would help prevent these episodes, and so far it's been working; so I take it every morning and at some point in the afternoon/evening hours. I groan, slowly getting up and turning off the alarm clock.













“Falling dreams suuuuuuuck!” I complain, climbing out of bed. Something feels off, though, but in my “just woke up” haziness, I think nothing of it. Making my way to the bathroom, I sit down and begin my morning routine. “Well, guess I'll go take my medication...” I begin, walking out of the bathroom and down the hall, before stopping at a set of stairs. “...What the fuck?!” I exclaim, snapping out of my haze and stepping back. I'd felt something was wrong, but this confirms that feeling. “This isn't my fucking house!”













I quickly run back into the bathroom and look in the mirror. “Well, I still look like myself, from what I can tell...” I remark, looking myself over. My turquoise eyes blink back at me, and I could tell that my dark brown hair was due for being cut, as I'd kept telling myself for the past month. Seems like my casual clothes I was wearing stayed with me, at least. “Ugh, I'm gonna have to go outside and see where the hell I am. This must be some weird-ass dream,” I mutter, walking back to the bedroom, looking for my shoes. I don't find them, however. “Must be downstairs, I guess...”













Sighing, I make my way out of the bedroom and walk down the stairs. I stop to look around, noticing how... nice this place looks. “Whoever's house this is, it's a pretty nice place, I'll admit,” I comment, glancing over to the front door, seeing a pair of black shoes on the floor. “Welp, there's my shoes,” I sigh in relief, walking over and grabbing the pair of shoes off the floor. “Looks like they'll fit me, at least. Thank you, owner of this house that I found myself in...”













Putting the shoes on, thankfully they do fit; I unlock the front door and make my way outside. But what I see out there leaves me speechless, save for a few choice words... “WHAT THE FUCK?!” I yell, running out of the front yard and looking around in sheer disbelief. This isn't my neighborhood! No seriously, it looks far too nice for it to be where I live. I'm almost sure I'm having a fever dream at this point, and then a girl's voice snaps me out of my shock.



















“Heeeeeeeyyy!!”