dunno what is this shit

T H E  P R I S O N  I N   T H E  S E A :

WORMS

I smiled fondly at Danielle while suppressing my shivering. She looked up at me warmly from under my coat. "Nicholas, what's with that funny face?"

"Um, nothing." My teeth chattered when I opened my mouth to talk. Giggling loudly, she dragged me under the big, navy coat as well. It was warm and smelled like me, or more accurately, the soap I used.

"Nicholas, you're so funny!" I squirmed. This coat was not big enough for the two of us, and I did not enjoy being squeezed next to someone, not even my girlfriend. Danielle knew that. She also thought I had the most adorable mad face in the world. Presently she reached for a cheek to squish.

I could hear Jason groaning from where he was crouched over on the moist gray cement. He had been busy watching something on the ground intently with eyes full of curiosity. Biting his lip, he glared at Danielle. Jason was not fond of lovey, mushy things, and especially not fond of Danielle's obnoxious giggling. Her soft amber doe eyes melted and she engaged me in a hug, head in chest in order to avoid Jason’s icy blue stare.

“You… and your incessant hugging and smothering.” Jason spat. He turned his attention back to the thing on the ground- it was brownish-pink, thin, and absolutely disgusting.

“Jason, it’s just a worm. Leave it alone.” I sighed. It was no use; Jason had a passion for defenseless little things. It was one of those things, and by those things, I mean, those things that made Jason so bizarre. By far, it was not the only and the strangest attribute of his.

“Oh God! Nick-nick, cover my eyes!” Danielle squealed, shoving her head into my stomach. I felt an overwhelming desire to stick the worm in her face. But instead, I extracted myself from her koala cling and told her that it was just a worm.

“It’s not the worm-” And I could see why. Jason had picked up a stick and was prodding the gooey mass. He was grinning madly.

“Move, you piece of filth!” He let out an unrestricted and hoarse chain of sick laughter as he continued to torture the half-dead animal. “What, tired?” he whispered with a sarcastic edge. He gave the worm a harsh poke. It feebly lifted a tapered end and tried desperately to inch on. Jason regarded it with a smirk, sitting back and watching its last attempt to find the safety of its burrow. “You think you can make it?” His eyes sparkled viciously.

A minute passed, and the worm was still under Jason’s watch, still fighting on with various gashes on its side. One side of his lip was cured downward in a snarl. Danielle whimpered, pressing her eyes against my side as to avoid the scene. I wrapped an arm around her, and she gripped me tighter. I knew what would come next, as I’d seen Jason do this a million times.

“Time’s up,” he said, in a trembling, mad voice. Eyes wide open in anticipation, he walked the short distance to the worm. He bent down to breathe on it, causing the creature to stop and examine its surroundings. Straightening up, but never taking an eye off the target, he raised a foot tentatively.

In a second, the worm was nothing more than a sticky mess of organs and flesh under Jason’s shoe.

I sighed, and shoved Danielle off. She was noticeably paler and shaken up. “It’s just a worm.” I told her. I stroked her hair softly. “Everyone kills bugs all the time. Jason just-”

“I’m tired of hearing Jason this and Jason that, Nicholas!” She growled.

“What’s wrong with me?” Jason shot back at her.

“You’re- you’re a creep! You kill little innocent animals for fun and you- you collect roadkill and rip it apart-" she sobbed.

I stretched my legs out and got up from the bench. “Come on, Danielle. He’s not that bad.”

“Nicholas, I know he's your friend, but seriously-"

Jason chuckled. "Nicholas, I know she's your girlfriend, but seriously, will you two stop smothering each other in front of me? It's extremely awkward."

Danielle's eyes reminded me of a doe in the headlights, just about now. "You could have told me... Instead of... doing that."

He shrugged. "The birds would have done it anways."