5 Stories to Make Your Spine Tingle

"Ian!" My mom yells. I groan and roll out of bed.

"Coming," I yell back, throwing on a red T-shirt and jeans. I cross the hallway to brush my teeth before school.

My black hair was disheveled, and my usually blue eyes were red. I observe them, wondering if it was a trick of the light, or maybe it was because I had just woken up.

They stood out in my pale skin, and I wished I had colored contacts to try and hide the different color of my irises. I blink, rubbing my eyes and hoping my discolored eyes would fix themselves.

Nothing changes, so I go downstairs and eat my breakfast quickly, running out to meet up with Billy while we walk to school.

He waves at me, talking about his victory in Fortnite last night as we walk along the uneven sidewalk, and I half heartedly listen. I keep my eyes trained on the ground, not wanting to alert him to my dilemma.

"You know, you should look at people when they talk to you." He says absentmindedly, and I glare at him as he passes me. He turns around and sees my eyes, and his widen.

"Whoa, dude, cool contacts!"

"They're not contacts." I say, catching up to him easily.

He doesn't say anything else about my eyes, instead yapping about his parents' divorce. He goes on and on and on about what they were going to agree to, and I mumble under my breath I wonder why.

"What?"

"Nothing." We enter school and go to our classrooms after waiting around in the cafeteria for the bell to ring.

All throughout the day, people made remarks about my red eyes. They stayed red for a month, and I wished people would shut up about them- it really wasn't a big deal.

Billy became even more upset and gloomy, and his bubbly personality faded away with his parents' separation.

"You good, bro?" I ask him one day as he pushes away his lunch. It was the second time he went an entire school day without eating, and I couldn't be sure he was eating at home.

"Yeah," He pauses. "My dad died."

"Oh,"

"My mom shot him."

"A whole month ago? You've been moping like this for forever now." I say.

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts, dude. Get over it, things happen!" I yell.

"Dude, my dad is dead."

"I heard."

"I have depression, okay? It doesn't just 'go away'. I've already attempted suicide three times."

"Hopefully you succeed next time." I spit, walking away. I go to the bathroom, my eyes were still red. I've felt so hateful of everything ever since they changed colors, but there was nothing I could do about it.

When the final bell rings for the day, I see Billy walking to the bridge. I quietly follow him, watching him as he props himself up on the railing. After a moment, he drops his backpack to the ground, staring at the still water calmly.

I creep closer, and the closer I got, the more my view became like Billy's. Staring down at the water, my hands hanging over the railing.

Memories flash through my mind, but they aren't mine. Dad getting shot, Mom getting arrested, a local family adopting me. Billy.

The world tinted, becoming black and white, all color fading out. A voice chanted, "Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!"

Billy climbs over the railing, but I feel my own body mimicking the actions, as if I were controlling him... or the other way around. My vision shifts to the water again, directly below me.

The black water was waiting. Inviting Billy. I take a deep breath and jump. I feel cold water slam into me, and then my vision turns back to where I had stood- having watched my best friend jump off the bridge.

I run to the edge of the bridge, screaming at the black water. "No, Billy!" I sink against the railing and start sobbing, hugging my knees and muttering to myself.

Cars drive by, one stops after a while of my sitting in the cold. A tall woman got out, and she squatted next to me. "What's wrong, honey?" She asks, her voice full of concern.

"My friend just jumped." I stutter. "It's my fault, I made him do it."

"I'm sure you didn't cause it. Not alone, anyway."

"No, I was in him. I chose to jump."

"That doesn't make any sense." She says gently. "Grab your bag. Bags. I'll take you home."

I know not to get into a stranger's car, but when someone isn't a good person you can tell. You can feel it. I grab my backpack, looking at Billy's before grabbing his, too, and getting into the lady's car.

"What's your address?" I tell her, and she starts the car. We ride in silence, and she walks me to the door, asking me to get my parents. I tell them someone wants to speak to them, going to my room and sitting on my bed.

After a while, Dad bursts into my room, drunkenly. "You brat!" He roars, coming close and yanking me off the bed. "Pack your bags! You're going to go live with your grandparents! You let your friend jump?!"

I obey, and he drops me off at their house and speeds away. He doesn't even bother to make sure I get in okay, and I knock before letting myself in.

"Oh, it's just you, dear." Grandma smiles. "I was coming to get the door. Did your parents come, too?"

"No, dad said I have to live with you guys," My throat starts to close and tears come to my eyes. "He thinks I killed Billy."

Billy had come over a few times, we'd spend the night with my grandparents and give them something to remember about us. Our youth, their youth. Grandpa said I reminded him of him and his friend when they were younger, and I had taken that to heart.

A few weeks went by, and the people who had lived next door eventually moved out. The house was empty for about a month before a small family of three moved in. Two parents and a pretty girl.

I watched her from my window, hoping she didn't look up at me. She was talking with her mom, and they were grabbing bags out of their backseat.

I wondered what they were talking about hwen suddenly she looked up at me.

She was stunning, with long black hair and green eyes. Her bangs touched the bottom of her eyebrows, but she looked cute. I blushed, looking away and pretending I was watching the cat across the street hop onto the fence.

Her attention shifted to what I was looking at before she spared another glance at me. She finished helping her mom and they went into the house together.

She came over later that day, while I was sitting with my feet in the pond grandpa had built. She sat next to me, inviting herself. I didn't mind. I looked over at her, smiling.

"Hey," My voice cracked, and I felt a blush creeping back into my face.

"Hey. I saw you in the window. Not to be creepy, I'm sure you saw me." She grins.

I smile. "I noticed. But I wasn't staring at you. I promise."

She smiles, looking away. "So, what do you do for fun around here? Out in the country, there's like nothing to do."

"Honestly, I just moved in, too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah,"

"I wouldn't have guessed."

"I live with my grandparents now. I just moved in a few weeks ago."

She nods, looking around at the expansive backyard, connecting to hers. "This place is beautiful, though." I nod in agreement. "So, do you go to school around here?"

I nod again.

"So, then, would you be interested in showing me around? Town, school, everything. I want to get the full experience."

"No problem." I grin at her, and she grabs my arm. My heart jumps into my throat as she pulls out a sharpie.

She scrawls something on my arm, and when I turn to read it I see a phone number. "I could've gotten my phone-"

"It's more cute this way." She smiles, cocking her head. "Text me later?"

I feel a smile split my face as I nod stupidly. She waves goodbye, heading back to her house. I admire her, feeling stupid. Feeling in love.

She came over a week later, introducing herself as Mauricia, and we began to hang out more after school once I showed her around. She kissed me, and I kissed her back. After that, we became a couple.

She got close with my grandparents, drinking coffee and laughing with them. She had been talking with my grandma about knitting, something they both had a passion for. I was surprised, but I let them go on about their day.

Grandpa didn't know what was going on, either, so we both sat listening intently to our soulmates talking about what they made. Mauricia was showing grandma pictures of sweaters she'd made before showing her an animal she crocheted.

Grandma complimented her, and I got up to use the bathroom. My eyes had flickered back and forth, becoming red every now and then and going away.

I had violent thoughts when they were red, but there was nothing I could do other than push them away. I sighed as I washed my hands, wishing my eyes would go back to normal. Dad hadn't tried to reach out, Mom hadn't either.

When I returned to the living room, Mauricia excused herself, heading to the bathroom. Suddenly, my vision darkened, and I was looking at myself, through grandpa's eyes. I saw big events- graduation, their wedding, my dad being brought into the hospital room by a nurse.

Suddenly, I saw through grandma's eyes, seeing similar events as I grab a knife and begin stabbing grandpa. His chest heaves as blood pools out, ruining his white button up.

Staring at the mess, I slit my throat, but it wasn't me.

Grandma falls dead and front of me, and I scream. "Grandma! Oh, my gosh!" I kneel next to her body, blood gushing from the wound as Mauricia returns. She screams in horror, looking at me.

"Did you do this?"

"No!" I exclaim. My heart was pounding, and she eyes the bodies.

"Should we call an ambulance?"

I shrug, refusing to touch the murder weapon. A butter knife. "I don't know."

My mind was racing as fast as my heart, and Mauricia takes a deep breath, calming herself faster than I was managing.

"Maybe we should hide them."

"Hide them?"

"Bury them. They'll think we did it if we don't."

I agree hesitantly. I witnessed a murder, sure, but that didn't mean I committed it. I stand up, finding trash bags and gloves. Mauricia and I manage to shove their frail bodies into the bags, dragging them behind us into the woods.

I guess it came in handy that I was dating the nosy neighbor's daughter, so she didn't keep an eye on my house all the time. We walked deep into the woods until Mauricia told us to stop. The ground was soft beneath our feet, and my stomach felt like it.

"Here. We dig."

I begin to dig a hole, and she starts on one a few feet away. The bodies are in between us, and I don't know which bag held who. I was focused on the hole I had managed to dig.

We were close to six feet by the time the sun began to set, and we tossed the bodies into the holes carelessly. I said a short prayer, not knowing what to say.

We take our gloves and put them in a store bag before tying them to a rock and throwing it in the river even further in the woods. We begin the trek back, grabbing the shovels and I carry them while Mauricia follows.

Suddenly, she starts laughing. Cackling, even. I turn to face her, and she had her hands on her knees, bent over laughing. "Are you okay?"

She nods, wiping tears from her eyes. She smiles at me, her canines sharpened into fangs, her pupils slits in her green eyes. I start to say her name, but she laughs even harder, stepping closer as if this were some joke.

I really hoped it was, but she said, "You really thought I was human?"

"Uh," I did, but she probably already knew, hence why she was asking.

She continued to creep closer, and I felt a chill pass from head to toe. Her mouth began to move, but her voice was in my head.

"You can't do anything. I have the same powers...."

"Get out of my head!" I scream, panicked. My heart was pounding, and I began to step backwards, watching the monster in front of me. I fall, but I quickly pick myself.

No, I don't Mauricia does. She forces me to walk forward, towards the river we were leaving. I try to plant me feet, but it just tears the soft earth up.

I plunge in, feeling cold hands wrap around my neck gently, pushing my head down. I thrashed, trying to get out and only getting mouthfuls of water.

I sputter and kick, but it's no use. I see me and Billy in daycare, the day we first met and becoming friends. Then I see my grandparents killing themselves, the way I should've viewed it.

Finally, everything goes black and the cold hands release. Water runs through my ears and into my mouth and nostrils as I go limp, my body floating away.