# What If Chapter 1

Chapter 1
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Anon’s hand shook as he locked the apartment door, and hadn’t stop shaking as he pushed the front door of the building open, two flights down. His clothes were rumbled, hastily grabbed from an unpacked box; a box that contained nothing of Lucy’s. None of them had, their contents flung out in a desperate search for something, anything, that proved Lucy had moved into that apartment with Anon. Even her side of the bed was cold, the sheets undisturbed. Pulling his coat tighter against the fall air, Anon shivered involuntarily, a shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature.
Frantically, Anon ran through the events as he knew them. Lucy hadn’t been there when he woke up, no trace of her to be found in their apartment. Ripley didn’t know what he was talking about, claimed to not have spoken to Lucy in years. Could this be some sort of elaborate prank, some means of getting back at him for hiding a jack-in-the-box in one of the boxes Lucy was packing the day before?
“No, this is too cruel, even for her…” Anon shook his head, not noticing the stares that followed in the wake of his muttering. The apartment Lucy and he shared was in an older but still well-traveled part of town, a place where two young lovers could afford to start their lives together. A passing mother pulled her young daughter closer to her as Anon brushed past, unseeing, uncaring of anything or anyone that wasn’t Lucy. Anon could feel himself spiraling out of control now, feel his world slipping away. He needed some advice, someone to set his mind straight, and he knew just where to find it.
Tish’s apartment wasn’t too far away from the small one-bedroom he and Lucy shared. Truth be told, it was Trish who had found the place for them, her and Rosa proving to be a huge help in getting their life started. Trish was Lucy’s friend, her best friend. Lucy had probably just…stopped by, on her way to get some breakfast, just like she said they would do. Grimacing, Anon remembered the plans he and Lucy had made as they laid in one another’s arms last night, plans that seemed to be vanishing like midmorning fog.
The building that Trish lived in was an old brick building, on a block that was a historically Triceratops neighborhood. Anon had nearly cried when he read her name on the list of tenants, reaching out to it like a drowning man would reach for a life preserved. Thumbing the button, Anon waited: The buzzer for Trish’s apartment pierced the stillness of the morning, the shrill bell echoing loudly in the small stoop that served as entrance to her building.
“Come on, pick up Trish…” Even Anon could hear the panic on his voice.
“…Hello?” The voice on the other line was groggy, dripping with annoyance. Trish was never a morning person.
Anon pressed himself as close as he could to the small intercom, struggling to keep his voice steady. “Trish, thank Raptor Jesus you’re up! This is Anon, is Lucy with you, I can’t find her anywhere!” She had to know where Lucy was, she had to!
“Wait, Anon? Like from high-school, that Anon?” Hot malice radiated from Trish’s voice, muffled only slightly by the dodgy intercom. “The Anon that broke Fang’s fucking heart all those years back?! How fucking DARE you come asking about her now! You fucking skinny piece of SHIT, do you know what you did to her?! FUCK. YOU.”
“Trish, wait, please! I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if I did anything to Lucy, please I can fix it, just tell me where she is!”
Anon could almost picture Trish on the other side of the intercom, a familiar look of hatred and rage blossoming across her face. Thinking back to those high-school days, Trish had looked at Anon like that a lot.
“You’re fucking unbelievable, you know that Anon?! You waited this fucking long to try and apologize, like it MATTERS now?! And what’s with this “Lucy” shit, anyways?!” Trish’s disgust for that name is evident even through the tinny reception of the ancient intercom. “FANG is happy now, playing HER music, and you can just go fuck off back to your cave, you little spear-chucking piece of SHIT!” A loud thump punctuates Trish’s final words, as if she had struck the intercom with her fist before ending the call.
Anon could only stand there, staring blankly at Trish’s name on the list. Nothing she said made any sense! She talked like Anon had hurt Lucy in the past, back in high-school, but Anon had no idea what she was talking about, they had loved each other in high-school. And what was that about, about “Fang”, like it was her real name, or something? Lucy used to go by that, sure, but she hadn’t used that name in years. The only thing that Trish had said that made any sense, was that Lucy was playing music; but what did she mean by “her” music? What was that trigga talking about?!
Movement from across the street caught Anon’s eye as he turned away from the intercom, two hulking Triceratops moving towards him, scowls on their face. Gulping, Anon chastised himself for not watching his mumbling, especially here. Turning his back on the two probably wasn’t a good idea, but Anon had to get out of there, fast, and no one could sprint backwards.
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“At least I’ve got a lead now,” Anon said as he took off running, the two men calling out after him.