Prom Dreams Side Story
Volume 1: Kyle Mason - “Paranoia”

by QZProductions

Loop One, Day Three

"Mom! I'm home!"

Wiping the sweat of the hot May afternoon from his brow, Kyle let out a relieved sigh. Then, after hanging up his book bag on a nearby coat stand, he unbuttoned his school blazer, removed it, and threw it over his arm. He listened for an answer from his mother, and when none came, he walked away from the foyer and into the empty living room.

"...Mom?" he said once more before turning his attention to the nearby hallway. "You there, Mom?"

"In the study, Dear," called a muffled voice from another room.

Kyle's lips curled into a small smile. Of course she'd be in the study, wouldn't she? He went down the hallway and approached the very first door he came across, cracking it open and poking his head inside.

"There you are," he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you while you were working..."

A woman with graying black hair glanced up from her keyboard; then, with a warm smile, she removed her reading glasses. "How many times do I have to tell you, Kyle? You're never a bother." She shut the lid of her laptop. "Besides, I was starting to get writer's block anyway. I could use the break."

With a chuckle, the boy let himself into the study. He took a quick glance around the bookshelves, lined with various literary awards and framed newspaper articles - "Eternal Blood Franchise Hits 10 Million Sales - And Climbing", "Interview With A Vampire Author: Rachael Mason Shares Her Story", "R. K. Mason Strikes Hollywood Deal For Best-Selling Vampire Series" - then made himself comfortable on the sofa directly in front of his mother's work station. "Yeah, well, I don't know how much help I'll be with that," he said. "I can barely finish an English paper without wanting to bash my head into the screen, haha."

Rachael raised an eyebrow. "But you did finish it, right?" she asked, "You said you would before this weekend..."

"Y-Yeah, I got it done, don't worry!" he said with a nervous wave of his hand. He shuffled in his seat, scratching the back of his head and glancing off to the side. "But, um, besides that... there's something I should probably tell you..."

At this, Rachael's other eyebrow raised as well, this time into an expression of slight concern. "Hmm?" She stood from her seat and approached the couch. "What is it?"

Kyle's cheeks began to flush slightly. "Well... you know that thing Randy asked me to do? To find a date for prom and all?"

The older woman's hand shot to her mouth. "You didn't....!" She grinned, sitting beside her son and wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "You did, didn't you!?" She chuckled, planting a small kiss on his head. "Haha, oh, my son, the heartbreaker! I knew you could do it...!"

With a gulp, Kyle tensed at his mother's sudden, embarrassing onslaught of affection. "M-Mom, cut it out, you're embarrassing me..."

With another small laugh, Rachael let go of him. "Sorry, sorry! You know how your mother gets sometimes." She leaned into the back of the couch and touched his hand affectionately. "...In all seriousness, though... I'm proud of you, Kyle. I know it's been scary, after all that happened with Serena, but -- "

Kyle winced a little at the sound of his ex-girlfriend's name. "Mom... can we not talk about that?" He sulked. "...Sorry, I just - I don't want to think about the past right now. I don't want to bring myself down like that anymore." He glanced back up at his mother. "I want to focus on the future from now on, you know?"

Rachael stared at him, momentarily finding herself at a loss for words. Then, she gave Kyle's hand a gentle squeeze.

"...I understand," she said. "You did something very brave today - we ought to be celebrate it, don't you think?"

"Uh..." Kyle blinked. "Celebrate? How...?"

"With a pizza, of course!" Rachael pulled her phone from her pocket and began to search local pizza restaurants. "How else?"

The boy couldn't help but laugh at that. "Haha... All right, sure, sounds good to me."

"Just try not to eat all of the sausage one, will you? You know your father will want some, too."

Kyle shrugged. "I won't make any promises - but I guess I'll try not to."

Rachael shook her head in amusement at her son's cheeky joke. "Right, then, while I get this ordered, you tell me all about your lady friend." She flashed a grin at him. "I'm dying to know, after all."

"Okay, okay." He folded his arms behind his head and moved his gaze towards the ceiling. "...Well, first off, her name is..."

---

Loop Two, Day Three

"Mom! I'm home!"

"In the study, Dear!"

Kyle cracked open the study door and peeked inside. "There you are. Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you while you were working..."

Rachael removed her glasses. "How many times do I have to tell you, Kyle? You're never a bother." She closed her laptop. "Besides, I was starting to get writer's block anyway. I could use the break."

The boy entered the room and meandered over to the couch, where he wordlessly plopped down with a heavy sigh. Then, he raised his palm to his forehead and began rubbing it.

"...Kyle?" Rachael rose from her chair and took a seat beside her son. "Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine." He shot his mother a small grin. "Just a bit of a headache, that's all." He began to scratch his cheek. "Anyway, uh... I kinda need to tell you something. You know that thing Randy asked me to do?"

"You mean, about finding a date for prom?" Suddenly, she covered her mouth in realization. "You didn't....!" She laughed, wrapping her arm around Kyle's shoulders. "You did, didn't you!?" She kissed his head. "Haha, oh, my son, the heartbreaker! I knew you could do it...!"

Kyle flinched at the kiss. Of course, his mother was no stranger to showing affection in embarrassing ways, but something felt... off. As though she had already --

"...In all seriousness, though," She placed a hand over her son's, "I'm proud of you, Kyle. I know it's been scary, after all that happened with Serena..." She smiled warmly. "But you managed to find the courage to at least try and move on. That's an important first step, you know?"

"Y-Yeah." For a moment, Kyle remained silent, considering his mother's words. Eventually, however, he spoke again. "...Hey, Mom... do you - do you think it'll work out this time?"

"That depends entirely on you two, Sweetheart." She began to stroke his hand. "It'll work out only as long as you both put in the effort. No relationship is easy to maintain, after all."

He frowned slightly. "No," he said, "that's not what I mean..."

Rachael removed her hand, blinking in confusion at his sudden change in demeanor. "Huh? ...Then, what do you mean, Kyle? Is everything all right?"

Kyle's gaze shifted to the floor, deliberating over whether or not he should tell her what was going on - about the déjà vu, the sinking feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong... Finally, with a sigh, he relaxed.

"...No," he said, straightening himself back up and smiling reassuringly at his mother, "no, everything's fine. I just..." He scratched the back of his head. "I was just being paranoid for a second. ...Thanks, Mom. That's just what I needed to hear."

Rachael stared at him for a moment longer, as though not truly believing him. Then, with a small sigh of her own, she smiled back. "Well, all right," she conceded before pulling out her phone. "Here, why don't I order us a pizza - you know, to celebrate? And while I do that, you tell me all about your date - I'm dying to know about her!"

"Sure thing." He leaned back in his seat. "Well, first off, her name is..."

---

Loop Three, Day Three

Rachael Mason startled from her work when she heard a door slamming in the direction of the foyer. For a moment, she stayed quiet, listening for the voice of who she was assuming to be her son; however, all she heard instead were footsteps, heavy and hurried, growing louder as they approached the study.

"Kyle...?" she muttered as she shut her laptop, stood from her workspace, and approached the study door. She opened it just in time to catch a glimpse of Kyle hurrying down the hallway towards the master bedroom of their home. Immediately, her mother's intuition told her something was wrong - it wasn't like Kyle to not announce his arrival, much less wander off without saying hello to her. Where on Earth could he be headed, and why?

While she knew that boys his age often had plenty of secrets they kept from their mothers, she knew somehow that this was different; as such, she decided to follow him into the master bedroom. Wordlessly, she entered the dark room, and for a moment she couldn't spot her son anywhere inside. Then, she was again startled by the click of a nearby switch, and she caught her eye on a beam of light coming from her husband's closet.

Slowly, she approached the bathroom where the closets were located, listening as Kyle rummaged around through - something, though she couldn't tell what. It wasn't until he began unpacking things - a camouflage jacket, a box of ammo, an emergency lantern - that she realized he had gotten into his father's hunting supplies.

But it was when he unsheathed the survival knife and began staring at it, thumbing over the sharp edges of the blade, that her heart began to plummet into her stomach.

Rachael inhaled sharply - why in the world would Kyle need something like that? He was such a gentle boy, he would never hurt anyone! Then she began to remember how strange he had acted over the past few days - anxious, withdrawn, paranoid, even - and instantly, her worries began to overwhelm her. She stepped forward, opening her mouth to call out his name, when suddenly --

Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine.

Her voice failed her, and her body froze, as though something kept her from moving all together. It was as though she had no choice but to listen to the voice of the young girl that rang endlessly in her head.

Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine.

The voice repeated itself. What was happening to her!? What was happening to her son!? She couldn't understand it - she couldn't resist it...!

You will forget what you've seen. You will not interfere. These are your orders - you will obey them.

Rachael's feet began to turn; then, slowly, she shuffled away from the bathroom and out the door of the master bedroom. As if in a trance, she began muttering to herself.

"Everything is fine... nothing... nothing is wrong..."

---

When he felt his hair stand on end, Kyle turned towards the bathroom entrance. Then, he shot up, pointing the knife in his hand towards the unseen entity he knew was there. He grimaced, breathing heavily through his teeth - if nothing else, he had learned to sense when that evil energy, that power he could only assume belonged to "her", was manifesting around him.

"You..." He raised the knife in a clumsy, threatening gesture. "Whatever you are, whoever you are - I won't let you mess with my head like this!" He placed his other hand on the knife's handle. "Do you hear me!?"

For a moment, he continued to feel its eyes on him - the eyes of an enemy he couldn't see and could only begin to comprehend. For a moment, he swore he could hear the faintest of laughter in the air... then, in an instant, the evil air dispersed, leaving Kyle alone with his thoughts and his newfound weapon.

"...Goddammit." He sank to his knees, retrieving the leather sheath off of the floor and placing the knife back inside. It wasn't much, he knew, especially against something that could manipulate even time itself to its will... but it was all he had.

He shoved the sheathed blade into the band of his pants and began returning his father's tools to the closet. Even with what little power he had, he thought, he had to stop this madness - he had to protect that person, whatever it took.