Nothing is Wrong

Part II: Something Tightens

Jan 26, 2026

Something in my head knows more than I do

The pain learns your habits.

It’s there when you wake, but it doesn’t rush you. It waits. Lets you brush your teeth. Lets you get dressed. Then, the moment your thoughts drift—

Why does this feel familiar?

—the pressure tightens.

Your vision blurs. Heat blooms under the scar, sudden and punishing. You grip the sink until the room steadies again, breathing carefully through clenched teeth.

Okay.
Message received.

Outside, the air feels staged. Too still. No wind. No birds. Cars pass, but the sound lags behind the movement, like the world forgot to line itself up properly.

At school, everything feels half a beat off.

Someone laughs before the joke lands.
A door closes twice.
You swear you pass the same staircase again.

Ignoring it takes effort. Effort hurts.

In class, your pen slips from your fingers. As you bend to pick it up, you notice something carved into the underside of the desk.

A line.
Another.
Numbers.

5:54

Your head slams with pain. Hard. Immediate. Your ears ring sharply and the room tilts. You straighten too fast.

The teacher asks if you’re okay.

You nod.
You always nod.

At lunch, conversation reaches you late, muffled, like it’s traveled a long way to get here. Someone asks what you’re doing this weekend.

You almost ask what day it is.

The pain flares before the thought can finish forming, fast and precise. Your stomach twists, breath catching like you’ve been caught doing something wrong.

At home, you do something small. Something reckless.

You don’t take your meds right away.

Nothing happens at first. The pressure stays, watchful. You sit on your bed, fingers brushing the scar again. It tingles now. Warm. Alert.

What happened to me?

Pain detonates. You gasp, curling forward, nails digging into your scalp as if you could force the answer out. Images flash behind your eyes. White light. Voices layered over each other. Your parents’ silhouettes behind glass.

Then silence.

The pain vanishes.

You look up, heart racing.

The clock reads 5:52 a.m.

You’re standing.

You don’t remember getting here.

glitch.

— By Deerswanlie🦢💕