TIRED OF FAKING IT / open

If anyone had noticed I was gone, I would be surprised. The Ascendants was a fast-paced group with a constantly growing member base. It was great that the place was thriving, but it was hard to get back in gear with my own activity. The days were long, and for a while... I had been trapped in a pit of depression. I... still am. I doubt that I will get out of it for a while. I had been cooped up in my room for so long not talking to anyone, even my closest friends. All I had been doing was reading, drinking, and popping pills. It was stupid. But... that was me. I was full of bad ideas.

Eventually though, I knew I had to leave my damned hidey-hole. Staying by myself was not helping my case and I just became more and more bored and apathetic and depressed as days went by. It was time to really just...

Do something.

I dragged a small bag behind me, discreetly taking a seat in the back corner of the room where the majority of us were hanging out now since the lockdown. There was a lot of anxiety in the atmosphere, and the least I could do was try and help.

I tore open the plastic bag with a claw, tearing a long hole and revealing a variety of stuffed animals. Call me ridiculous, but honestly, it was all I could think of. My mind was fuzzy from the binge drinking session of last night, but I still appeared lively and alert.

"Hey... anyone want a cuddle buddy?"