As Emma and Valentina walked inside the gymnasium, they were hit with the sounds of feet hitting and squeaking on the shiny light brown wood floor. Walking into the locker room was left with quietness as Emma and Valentina put their stuff into their lockers. That’s when they heard two girls chatting it up before stepping inside and greeting the both of them. It was their friends, Amelia and Grace. Amelia was known for her artistic talents and her way of presenting how she felt through her art. A very lively girl that had sparkling blue eyes with long, bright pink hair that made her stand out from the rest. Grace was known as the nicest person you'd ever meet. She was a short, green-eyed girl with short black hair that complemented her fangs on her head. She always tried her best to be nice to everyone. She was friendly and easy to talk to, which was such a perfect blend for Emma. That's why she considered Grace her best friend.

  “Hey girlies, thank god you made it on time before the bell. You both are always late.” Amelia exclaimed.

  “Yeah, blame little Miss Slow Step over here.” Valentina said, pointing to an embarrassed Emma rubbing her neck.

  “Yeah, sorry, I just have been thinking a lot lately. This nightmare I keep having is really messing up my whole… Well, everything.” Emma explained. Grace looked at her with kind eyes before asking,

  “Well, what's your dream about? Maybe if you tell us, we could figure out a way to prevent it from happening!” Emma put her hand on her head and tried to think about that dream, although she struggled to put it into words. To be fair, this dream is pretty far from being anything nice or easy. Amelia noticed Emma’s struggle and had an idea to help her out.

  “If you're having trouble explaining it, why not draw it instead?” she asked, taking out a piece of paper and a pencil and handing it over to Emma. Emma looked at the paper and tilted her head.

  “I'm not a good drawer, Amelia," she said. Amelia patted Emma’s shoulder and chuckled.

  “You don't need to be good at drawing. All you need to do is draw what you see. It's a great use for therapy if you ask me.” Amelia said cheerfully. Emma looked at the paper and sighed before going towards the wall of the locker room and drawing her dream. Her memory was slightly blurry, but she can remember most of it. She drew the table and chairs, drew a stick girl in the middle of the table, and drew all the stuffed dolls on the sides of her with her friends' names on them. Everyone took a good look at the drawing, taking in everything.

  “This sure looks dark.” Grace commented.

  “So what would this even mean?” Valentina asked, believing this whole therapy session was odd. Amelia scratched her head but smiled as a theory popped up in her head.

  “Maybe it's symbolic of how you're feeling!” she said confidently.

  “Like what?” Grace asked. Amelia placed her hands on her hip, then pointed towards Emma.

  “You, my friend, have autophobia. You're afraid of being alone!” she explained. Emma’s eyes widened, and she thought about it. She did know she had problems with being on her own. She always hated the thought of being alone and always needed somebody or something to keep her from feeling isolated and insignificant; however, she never knew that it was a phobia. Valentina rolled her eyes.

  “Really? Autophobia? That's silly,” she said. Amelia shrugged and said,

  “It’s a plausible idea. It explains the nightmares she’s been recently going through.” Grace nodded her head in agreement. Emma was in her own little world, thinking of the implications in her brain. She never thought this fear was THAT bad, to the point where she’d get nightmares like this, but now knowing this, it started to worry her more. What if they got worse? As the girls walked out of the locker room, Grace was trying her best to make Emma feel better, to no avail. As they walked to the bleachers of the gymnasium, there sat a girl alone. Her eyes behind her black glass were hazel, and she was quite short. Compared to the rest of the girls, who stand around 5’5” to 5’8”, she looked to be 5’2”. Her brown hair held two ponytails on the sides of her head, and she was such a quiet one. Sometimes it was hard to tell she was there. At least not for Amelia, as she ran up to Hazel and gave her a big hug. None of the other girls were close friends with Hazel, but they let her stay around them for Amelia.

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  “Hey bestie, what are you up to?” Amelia said happily.

  “N-nothing, just sitting here by myself. A little bored.” Hazel said nervously. Her face had a tinge of pink from being embarrassed from the sudden attention.

  “Well hopefully, we can give you some company then,” said Grace, who sat on the other side of Hazel. There the girls had talked about many things, like classes and their jobs or lack thereof for Emma and Grace, but Emma was thinking about other things. Autophobia. It shouldn't be worrying her this much, but when she took the time to think, the idea of being alone made her heart beat quicker. She wanted it out of her mind; this burden of feeling alone was too much, and she needed to figure out how to get rid of it.

  “Hey, I’ll be right back. I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Emma said before getting up and leaving. As everyone talked, Hazel couldn't help but feel like something was going on with Emma. Although no one seemed to notice, she stood quiet, not trying to intrude on anything that was probably none of her business. In the bathroom, Emma started feeling nauseous, and her body filled up with nothing but anxiety. She splashed her face with water and tried to stop her heart rate from spiking anymore. She just couldn't get her head out of that dark mindset of hers. Emma went and leaned up on the bathroom wall, feeling like she could lose it. She stood there silently; the only thing breaking the silence was the sound of the vent in the bathroom. It made the room smell weird, putrid even, but Emma didn't care. Throwing up from the musty smell was probably the least of her worries at the moment. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a minute before opening them to the sound of footsteps. Odd. She didn't even hear the door open. That's when she looked up and saw another version of her from that dream, just now looking more like a young girl. She froze in fear, wondering what the heck was going on. The other one floated down and oddly patted Emma’s head sweetly, confusing the now unguarded woman. She heard the room get quieter as the other Emma spoke.

  “It’s ok to feel afraid about being alone. There are always other ways to help heal that wound,” the alternate girl said softly.

  “Like… what?” Emma asked, weary. The other Emma smiled and took out this doll from her pocket. It was bloody, and it sounded like there was a heartbeat in it.

  “Look. Even though this person’s heart isn't in their body, there is still a heartbeat. Which means they aren't dead, which means as long as they're with you, you'll never be alone.” she said happily, almost childishly. Emma looked at the toy, feeling uneasy.

  “What’s your point?” she asked, which made the other version of her childishly groan.

  “I’m saying, if you don't want to be alone anymore, we can simply just… Well… Take the hearts of your friends and stuff them in big plush dolls,” Emma’s heart dropped, and she quickly shook her head.

  “N-no! I won't do that. Not to my friends,” she yelled out. The other Emma shook her head and giggled.

  “Oh come on, think about it. How long do you think they’ll last before they leave you or are killed by another soul?” she asked, making Emma sigh in sadness. She always thought about that, but she pushed that thought down a lot.

  “I promise you, if you do this, they'll be with you forever, and all that pain they might go through will subside, and they’ll be much happier.” the other Emma said softly. She extended her arm, expecting it to be taken. Emma was torn. Was this right? Was this wrong? She didn't know, but subconsciously, her hand extended to the other Emma and took it in hers. The other Emma was excited and was basically jumping in the air with joy. Emma sighed and looked at the other her with determination.

  “So how do we start?” she asked. The other Emma was very joyful and had a knowing smirk.

  “First, we make a plan for our first target.” Emma felt her spine tingle as she thought about who it would be. As she peeked out of the bathroom door, she looked at her friends on the bleachers, thinking which one could be first.

  “I—I don't know who I would even go for.” Emma said quietly. The other Emma peered through the door too, and with some quick thinking skills, she looked at Emma confidently.

  “Well, how about we go for the one who helped you figure out your nightmares? Amelia. She would be the perfect experiment for us, and she will be rewarded with staying alive forever!” she said confidently. Emma stared at Amelia, biting her lip as she thought about it. Maybe this would work. She just had to think of a plan. However, she worried about the consequences of all this and if it even worked. But she said she’d do it, and if this did work. Maybe she won't be so worried about being alone.