Our Peculiar Ways - Stray Kids

3- Monsters?

As if I was to know how to destroy the world? I was a kid. Nobody seemed to realise that...

The anxiety in the Stray Kids' dorms had risen to an uncontrollable level, flying through the roof and probably hitting the moon.

One thing that was known to them was that with strong and intense emotions like this, came a lot of Peculiar things.

So as the Stray Kids members rushed around in a panicked frenzy as they tried to keep themselves contained and prepare for their interview that afternoon, the news and media rapidly flooded with thoughts, assumptions and fear towards a certain group of eight. A group of eight, who were desperately relying on themselves and eachother to handle the situation professionally and in a way that prevented a possible repeat of their past, or worse.

They only had one lead as to what, or should I say, who caused this internet wild card against them all over again. The first thought they all had was a name. Not just any name. The name of a woman they knew far too well, a woman who ruined their lives and turned the entire world against them in 2008 and has continued to since. Eliza Ellissworth.

They were right, obviously it was Ellissworth. What they didn't know was why. Why did she all of a sudden decide to spark unnecessary fear in the world and the Peculiars. Leaving the eight of them against everybody else, yet again. Who knows why? All the Peculiars knew was that they had an advantage this time, or two. They were more powerful now, that can very much be a positive as much as that can however, be used against them. That wasn't their advantage, though. Oh definitely not. They had the simple fact that there was no literal evidence that they were still out there, no one even had any proof that were even still alive.

Well, they were. Obviously! Luckily for them, nobody (but themselves) had the evidence that they were. Let's just hope it all goes to plan and nothing goes wrong.

They spent the hour before the interview; getting ready, calming their nerves and chewing a worrying amount of gum. Not just any gum, of course, a special recipe that they created themselves back in 2016 in order to hide their identities. It was really simple, how it worked. It merely changed their appearance slightly (hair, eyes, any peculiar marks on their skin) and almost placed a blanket over them that made it impossible for anyone to see past and sense their Peculiar identities. It hid that side of them completely from the world and gave them the look of Stray Kids.

The time of the interview quickly rolled around and they had to leave their dressing room and go onto the stage. It was their first time on one of the most famous talk shows, with a host known to pick up on small details and ask odd questions. They couldn't handle showing any form of weakness nor difference. And if they did? Well before they could say 'Stray Kids',  the headlines would be putting the two group names for the eight boys into one sentence. 'Are Stray Kids the Peculiars?' That was their biggest fear for that afternoon. That was their biggest fear of the six years that had just past, that was their biggest fear for that moment and it was their biggest fear for whatever was to come.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The talk host declared, sending goosebumps across each of their skin and butterflies throughout their stomachs. They adjusted their clothes and mic-packs, taking deep breaths and preparing for the moment. Hyunjin, Jisung and Felix wore dark sunglasses in case they slipped up and their eyes glowed by accident. The rest wore natural coloured contacts but those three had the brightest eyes and needed extra protection, just in case. "Give it up for Stray Kids!!"

They stepped out onto the small stage, waving and bowing to their fans and the host. The lights flickered in ways that bothered Jisung, the temperature was too uneven for Hyunjin, the eyes of so many people messed with Seungmin's thoughts. It was barely five minutes in and it already felt like a disaster.