The Depra King

I checked the time and groaned as I rolled back under my covers. I can"t believe its only noon. Ugh, give me five more hours. h.e.l.l, give me the rest of the day, or even better, the rest of my life.

And right before I was about to drift off to sleep again, my phone started to ring. I looked to see who it was and decided to ignore it. It rang a couple more times after that, before I heard yelling from outside.

"d.a.m.n it Depra! I know you"re awake in there! Let me in already!"

Too tired to, sorry about that.

"I swear, if you don"t open the door right now!"

I peeked out from underneath my covers. She"s not going to go away, is she? I rolled out of bed, wrapping my covers around me before shuffling to the door. I hesitated before unlocking the door. It swung open, and I was met with the bright daylight of summer, along with the hair of summer, golden blonde, and soft blue eyes glaring at me.

"What"s up with that getup?"

"I"m tired Lachesis, leave me alone."

"Hmph!" She crossed her arms underneath her chest and pouted. "You know how long it"s been since we"ve seen each other?"

"About two weeks?"

"Three weeks! We haven"t seen each other since school let out! And what have you been doing?"

"Sleeping."

"Have you even been outside the house at all in three weeks?"

I could only take the sudden onslaught of abuse from my childhood friend, Lachesis. "I don"t think so."

With each response she looked angrier and angrier. "How much do you eat every day?"

"On a good day two meals. Mostly just snacks though."

"Please tell me you"ve at least showered?"

"I took one about a week and half ago."

Silence fell as she looked me up and down. "Disgusting."

I sighed. Why is she even judging me anyway? Is she my mother or something? A happy memory of me and my mom flashed through my head, and I felt a wave of cold wash over me.

"What do you want Lachesis?"

"You"re having company over today." She said as she waltzed into my house.

"Says who?"

"Says me and all our other friends."

What? "But it"s my house, so how come I don"t get a say?"

"What"s your say then?"

"I"d really rather not."

"Exactly, so your opinion doesn"t count!"

What type of logic is that? I thought as I followed her to the living room, where she relaxed into the sofa.

"Will Hiro be here?"

"Nope, H.P. is doing something else later."

A look of disgust pa.s.sed over my face. "Ugh, so he"ll be there then, along with your friends."

"Don"t be like that! I know you don"t like him, but he is my boyfriend, so try to get along with him, all right? Besides, they"re your friends too!"

"If I really have to hang with someone, I"d rather it be Hiro." Hiro is the only one who"s real with me, and her friends are just, troublesome, I guess.

"Oi, that Hiro guy really gets on my nerves, thinking he can just steal best friend status away from me!"

"I really don"t get why you don"t like him."

"Just as I don"t get why you don"t like my boyfriend!"

"Your boyfriend is an a.s.s, and Hiro hasn"t done a single thing except help you. Honestly, I"m surprised he doesn"t hate you."

"My boyfriend is not a donkey, thank you very much! Besides, he refuses to tell us the truth about our 8th member! What really happened to her?"

This is getting nowhere. "Whatever, so what time are your friends coming?"

"In about 20 minutes."

"Huh!? What the h.e.l.l Lachesis!?"

"So, hurry up and get clean and changed already! I"ll set everything up, so don"t worry about that. Now, chop chop!"

She pushed me from behind, causing me to stumble over my covers. "Oh, and also don"t use your covers like that, you look like a hermit."

I shuffled back into my room and threw my covers back onto my bed and grabbed another set of pajamas along with socks and underwear. I shuffled back out to see Lachesis straightening things up, humming happily as she did so, swaying her hips back and forth as she silently danced to whatever tune was playing in her head.

I couldn"t help but feel an almost gut-wrenching sadness invade my being, as my eyes watered watching her. I punched myself in the chest, hard, and I groaned as I started to cough. Lachesis looked up and frowned.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I"ll be fine."

Her gaze lingered on me for a little bit, before she pouted and continued to work. "Stupid Depra," she muttered.

I sighed and shuffled my way in the bathroom, where I first brushed my teeth before hopping into the shower. I let the hot water run over me, allowing my body to relax, and my mind started to wander.

I used to always enjoy taking the longest, hottest showers possible once upon a time. I would just lose myself in my thoughts, one of my few sanctuaries in the world, the one place where I felt at peace, where there were no family issues, no past to deal with, and where I could just imagine myself anywhere but here, until my family interrupted my musings and forced me to hurry up.

Family…

I felt another chill wash over me, and I quickly finished my shower. As I said, I always enjoyed taking the longest, hottest showers possible.

I used to anyway.

I dried off and avoided looking at myself in the mirror as I got changed. When was the last time I"ve been able to look myself in the mirror anyway? I stared at it, the steam fogging up the reflection. I slowly placed my hand on it and hesitated before slamming my fist into the wall and taking my hand off the mirror.

How could I look in the mirror anyway, especially when I don"t even like the person reflected in it?

I walked out the bathroom and saw that everybody had already arrived. d.a.m.n, do I really have to do this? Maybe if I sneak into my room now, they won"t notice I"ve come out.

One of the girls turned around, and her face lit up as she saw me. "It"s Depra!" She rushed towards me and grinned. "Been a while, hasn"t it?"

The girl rushing towards me was named Hemera, a cheery girl with bright yellow eyes along with golden yellow hair. She was short, only reaching up to my chest, and having a lot of "plot" as Hiro would call it.

"Oof!" I stumbled back a bit as she tackled me. "What"ve you been doing cooped up inside this stuffy ol" house!?"

"Sleeping. I like sleeping."

She looked up at me and tilted her head. "But there are so many better things to do other than sleeping! Seize the day I say!" Ugh, a corny rhyme.

"Sleeping helps me not deal with you guys. It"s fun."

"Right…" She said before releasing me. "Whatever you say, we"re gonna have so much fun!" She radiated so much positivity it almost hurts me sometimes.

"That"s enough outta miss sunshine here. Stop messing with him already Hemera." She was suddenly dragged away by another girl, with skin as dark as the night, and hair even darker, along with white eyes to match, she was the polar opposite named Nyx. She was, as Hiro would call it, "flat is justice" or something like that. He comes up with the most interesting ways to describe people.

"Hey, lemme go Nyx! I wanna talk to him more!"

"We both know you radiate far too much happiness for him to handle." Hemera complained as she was dragged back to the rest of the group, which, besides Lachesis, her boyfriend, and I, consists of three girls and guys. The last girl, Necessitas, just nodded at me before looking back down at her phone. She had neat brown hair, with different colored brown eyes.

The other three guys, Aether, Eros, and Erebus, were busy goofing around the TV, playing one of my video games. And last and most certainly least is Lachesis" boyfriend, the a.s.s, whose name I refuse to say.

They actually all came here. I sighed before scratching my unkempt hair, which was slightly wet from the shower I took. The only place to sit was either next to the a.s.s or on the floor.

I plopped down on the carpet and watched the others play a racing game, the one I would play with Hiro whenever he visited or vice-versa. They really sucked at it to be honest.

I brought my knees up to my head and turned toward the wall, away from everyone else. What the h.e.l.l am I even doing? How can I be expected to have fun like this? Maybe I should just go to sleep here…

"Hey, King! h.e.l.lo?"

I turned toward the loud voice and was met with Erebus staring at me, his only visible eye the color of a blood moon glaring at me.

"What is it?" I murmured, yawning loudly.

"I asked if you wanted to play with us. Four of us can play together you know."

"I"ll think about," I said evasively, to no avail. Erebus dragged me over to the TV, where Aether handed me a controller. I chose my character and customizations, and we started the race.

"Hey, you"re pretty good Depra!" Aether said, shocked as I zoomed into first.

"I"ve had a lot of practice," I said quietly, thinking back on all the races I had lost against Hiro.

"As expected of one of the chosen ones! His strength is to be feared to be sure, but compared to my own, he is like a sc.r.a.p of paper in the wind!" Erebus exclaimed, tailing close behind in second.

With jet-black hair covering one of his eyes, Erebus was probably the most eccentric one out this group of people. Well, besides…

"You should learn to smell the roses sometime my dear Eru~! How else will you get the girl of your dreams?" Eros, the other contender for most eccentric, had stopped racing all together and was instead in a field of flowers, along with some other female CPU"s. How he even managed to pull that off is beyond me.

"Like you would know. My fated one has already appeared before me, the Dark Empress Necessitas!"

"I don"t want to be in your fantasy."

"Plain she may look, all the proof you need is in her different colored eyes! In my past life, my lover also had eyes exactly like hers! Such that we can meet once more is fate indeed!"

"I said leave me out of it!" She threw a book at the back of Erebus" head, which caused him to go off the course in the game.

"Hey come on! I was close to catching up to King d.a.m.n it!" He complained, quickly fixing his mistake.

"I won." I said as I crossed the finish line.

"You only won because I, Aether, allowed it. Otherwise, I would have lapped you all in this race." Then again, all the guys are pretty eccentric.

"Just admit it Aether! You lost simply because I have my crimson eye aiding me in battle! With this eye, I can see what lurks in the darkness! But because of this, I am cursed to fight off the demons that lurk in the shadows! I must remain ever vigilant and-!"

Another book got thrown at Erebus, this time from Nyx. "Shut it already! How have you not grown out of this phase of your life?"

Hemera was just laughing at the entire thing, giving off her sunny grin. "He"s pretty funny actually!"

Erebus just sighed before looking back at the screen. "Imbeciles, all of you. There is no joke to be had. All of what I say is true. Well, let"s continue King. I can still win the prix this early in the game!"

I ended up winning the next couple of Prix"s, and even the girls, who were chatting amicably, started to watch in shock.

"You"re pretty good, aren"t you?" Nyx said, her mouth gaping open as she just stared at my 6th prix win.

"Close your mouth Nyx, you"ll catch flies." Hemera started to manually open and close Nyx"s mouth with her hand, although she too was shocked.

"I knew you were good, but not that good," Lachesis murmured, before the a.s.s cleared his throat.

"If you guys don"t mind, I"ll switch out with one of you."

"It has to be Aether. He"s been in last place for every single last race." Erebus said in response.

Aether crossed his arms, his sky-blue eyes staring intently at the screen before he responded. "I let you peasants win."

"Like h.e.l.l you did!" Erebus and Eros exclaimed, and Aether reluctantly handed the controller to Lachesis" boyfriend, who happily took it and sat down next me, a sly smile on his face.

"Go easy on me, won"t you?"

I could only glare in response before turning back towards the screen. Like h.e.l.l I will, I thought to myself.

The first race went without incident, and we were halfway through the second when he tried to start a conversation with me.

"Wow, your skills really aren"t anything to scoff out, huh?"

"…"

"Who did you practice against to get so good? Or did you play online a lot?"

"…"

"Tough crowd, huh?"

I finished the race in first place before saying anything. "Quit talking already."

"Hehe…" He chuckled to himself as he zoomed into second place at the last second, causing an outrage from Erebus.

"How the h.e.l.l did you do that you d.a.m.n cheater!?"

"I would never!" He raised his hands innocently. "How could I even cheat in the first place in a game like this?"

Erebus continued to complain, and the a.s.s chuckled it off before turning towards me.

"Well, looks like I"ll have to get first the next two races to at least tie, huh?"

"As if you could do that a.s.s."

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Suddenly his demeanor changed as we started the third race, and he leaned in close while near some item boxes.

"Well, you are what you eat, and boy is it delicious if I do say so myself."

My eyes widened at the sudden remark, and I could feel the anger welling up inside me, almost causing me to do another thing I would regret.

Almost.

"Whoa, what happened to my items!? Was it a glitch or something?" The a.s.s proclaimed, complaining at his predicament.

No. Not again. My heart started to hammer, and sweat started to slide down my face, the thought of it happening again enough to terrify me down to the bone.

I started to breathe faster and faster, and the world started to spin out of control as I began to get extremely lightheaded. And right when I was about to crack, I felt myself get embraced by someone warm.

"It"s all right. Nothing has happened, nor will it."

It was Hemera, who whispered those warm words into me, and I felt myself calm down, allowing her warmth to envelop me.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, before setting my controller down and escaping away from the warmth she provided. "Sorry, but I"m done for now. I"m gonna get something to eat."

As I left, everyone"s face filled with worry, except for the a.s.s, whose gaze was on the one filled with the most worry. Of course, he didn"t know that.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed some cookies and started to eat them, while gulping down some water before staring out the window, gazing at the trees gently swaying in the wind before sighing. I stared at my hand before clenching it, cursing my own weakness.

"Yoo-Hoo!" I turned around to find Hemera grinning at me, her positivity radiating off of her. She also helped herself to some cookies before grabbing my hand and steering me outside towards the patio, which overlooked the large backyard, about 50 yards long.

"Wow, you really do have a large backyard!" She said, admiring view.

"You can occasionally see deer and other animals wander in from the woods in the back," I added.

"It really is a nice house," she murmured, and the wind gently sent her cascading golden yellow hair flowing to the side as she looked over the railing.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked, getting straight to the point. She didn"t answer, but instead continued to watch the swaying trees.

I walked up next to her and decided to join her, gazing out towards the trees, the sun bringing down its warmth on the both of us on a clear summer day.

And when the breeze stopped, Hemera let out a joyful laugh before gazing at me, her eyes sparkling.

"Don"t you just love summer Depra? For me, it"s my favorite season of the year. The warmth it brings and beautiful days like this are what really make me feel so lucky to be alive, you know?"

I didn"t say anything, letting her continue.

"But you Depra, you"re like a summer storm that, while it may seem scary at first, washes the world clean, helping the world flourish as a result."

I couldn"t bring myself to look her in the eye, and instead turned away.

"I"m really not like that all. Hiro is more like that than anything."

"That may be true, but you should know that it"s no coincidence that you two get along so well together."

She stopped leaning against the railing and let out a breath of relief. "Just figured you needed some fresh air is all."

"I really don"t get you guys at all. I just don"t understand. Why…" Why they treat me so well, when I"ve done nothing at all. Is it pity, a favor, or some other obscure reason; I really can"t tell anymore.

"It"ll be alright, it"s not so deep." She started to walk back towards the door before gazing up at the clear sky.

"Even if you don"t, we remember."

Huh? What did she mean by that?

"But if you really want a reason, it"s cuz we want to! Duh!" She put her hands behind her back and tilted her head as another one of her brilliant smiles reached my eyes.

And like a lightning flash, I felt a strange sense of dejvu, along with a strange sense of accomplishment accompanied by happiness. But much like a lightning flash, it was gone, and all I was left with was confusion in the end. And yet, even that faded away to nothing…

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It was now reaching evening, and everyone was still around, although we moved on from the videogames to card games, where Hemera was destroying us.

"Ah yeah, I"m the greatest all right!"

Aether crossed his arms before replying. "I"m the greatest. I let you win, duh. If I wanted to, I could blow all of you out the water."

Necessitas rolled her eyes. "Whatever Aether. I"m not sure where that boundless confidence comes from, but you pretty much suck at everything. I don"t even know how you didn"t need help getting into the school we"re at."

Everyone except me laughed, as I sighed. "How long have we been here anyway?"

Everyone stopped and looked at me. "Did I say something strange?"

Lachesis shook her head before a grin erupted on her face. "Oh nothing, just caught us by surprise is all."

"He does have a point though. I"m starting to get really hungry. Hey Depra, have any food here?" Eros asked, smoothly wrapping his arm around me as his warm caramel eyes try to woo me over.

I felt my face grow warm, and sparkles started to surround us before I quickly shook it off. "d.a.m.n it Eros, stop doing that!"

"I can"t help what can"t be contained. It"s not my fault you fall for my charms. It"s the woes of being a s.e.xual deviant."

I got up, and Eros hummed happily as he followed me into the kitchen to the refrigerator, where inside there was…

"Nothing." Eros rested his hand on my shoulder while looking away. "Sorry."

Lachesis came in soon after and saw the insides of the refrigerator before her mouth dropped. "What the h.e.l.l Depra! How is this completely empty!?"

I opened the freezer and pulled out some frozen pizza. "I have food."

She ran her hand through her hair before sighing. "All right guys, we"re going out to eat today!"

"Whoopee! Where"re we going?" Hemera asked cheerfully, peeking her head in the kitchen.

"I would prefer it if we went to that glorious sanctuary, where not even demons dare step; yes, a true safe haven for all, with prices so cheap that it causes even the lenient of G.o.ds to make their blood boil in rage! That place-!" Erebus once again got cut off by another book thrown by Necessitas.

"I hate to agree with him, but I think that place could work. We have enough cars to drive everyone there as well."

"I wish to be with my fated one, the dark empress-!"

"Absolutely not! Go ride with someone else!"

In the end, the riding arrangements went like this:

Necessitas drove Erebus, who rode shotgun, and Aether, who sat in the back. Lachesis"s boyfriend drove Lachesis, Eros, and Nyx, and I somehow managed to get stuck with Hemera driving me.

"Don"t worry champ, I"ll take good care of yah!" she said as we both got into her beast of a truck.

"This big truck of yours really doesn"t suit you Hemera," I commented as I buckled my seatbelt. Hemera pursed her lips when she heard that before starting up the truck.

"I quite like it. It makes me feel so high up, looking down on the people below."

I could only stare at her in response. She caught me staring and frowned before tilting her head. "Did I say something wrong?"

Scary. "Uh, no, nothing at all. Let"s get moving, otherwise we"ll get left behind."

I felt a hard slap on my back. "That"s the spirit Depra!" The engine roared to life, and we were off to our destination, towards the heart of the city we lived in.

"So, do you really plan to spend your last summer in high school cooped up in that house of yours?"

I scowled before turning away to the window. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, at this rate, you"ll just become a b.u.m, you know that?"

"You sound like Lachesis."

"She does make valid points. You could at least soak in the sun sometimes. It"ll help out, I promise."

I peeked next to me to see her grinning at me, her positivity and optimism filling up the air in truck. "I so happen to enjoy spending my time inside all the time. Sleeping."

"You can sleep outside too."

"Does outside have air conditioning?"

"It can. Ever heard of fans?"

Ah, she got me there. Sensing me in defeat, she got a proud look on her face before she started to hum happily to herself.

"By the way, where exactly are we going? You guys never said."

"Oh, that"s right, you"ve never been there before. It"s a quaint little place we enjoy going to called The End of Days."

"Um, doesn"t it sound a little ominous? What sort of food do they even sell there anyway?"

"That"s for me to know and for you to find out!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Well, not like I was very hungry these days anyway, so I wasn"t planning on getting anything.

"And you"re eating too. How can you expect to be happy if you don"t even eat?"

I just stared at Hemera, stunned. "Was I thinking aloud?"

"Nope, I just know you well enough to know what you were probably thinking."

Great, add easy to read to my resume. I felt myself get slightly annoyed at my current situation and started to glare outside the window. Why did I end up with Hemera of all people, especially alone?

We rode in silence for a while after and didn"t speak again until we had arrived at our destination.

"Well, this is the place! Looks pretty neat, doesn"t it?"

It looked like a restaurant from h.e.l.l. A steampunk-ish vibe surrounded the place, with the name of the restaurant looking as if it had been scrawled in blood. The outside walls looked as if it had been patched together by a crazy engineer, using whatever bit of sc.r.a.p metal was around to construct the place. On the roof, industrialized chimneys poured out smoke and steam out into the sky. The parking lot in which we parked was in great disarray, the pavement almost crumbling down into nothing. The most shocking thing, out of this entire place, was that the surrounding buildings were shockingly normal, adding a sense of surrealism to the entire place.

I couldn"t help but let my mouth drop as I got out of Hemera"s truck, and I heard her giggling as she walked next to me.

"Just wait until you get inside." She started to push me along, as I noticed that even the sky, which was just a clear sunny day a couple minutes before, was now a sky filled with dark clouds, along with thunder rumbling in the background. I could"ve also had sworn I had seen red lightning as well.

As Hemera continued to push me, I noticed that nothing grew here, as if the soil here had become infertile somehow. And suddenly I was at the door, where the biggest surprise awaited me.

"It"s… HUH!?" I couldn"t help but let out a yell of shock at the interior of the restaurant.

"Told you it would catch you off guard," Hemera said, laughing from behind me.

I was a little bit more than caught off guard. I couldn"t even begin to process what the h.e.l.l I was seeing.

I suddenly felt a calming warmth fall over me, and I looked down at Hemera, who had grabbed my hand. "Better?"

I nodded. "Better." She let go of my hand, and I finally took in my surroundings.

They were, in a nutsh.e.l.l, completely normal. Normal booths, normal chairs, normal lights; everything in here was so completely normal and average that it was almost off-putting. h.e.l.l, the only thing not normal in this place were the people. I saw a couple of people in dressed in strange uniforms with a variety of odd weapons placed on their hips. They glanced at us before turning back to what they were doing, which looked like a war meeting. The strangest thing about them though were that they were all girls, each with adorned with brightly colored hair.

And that wasn"t even the beginning of the strange people. People with sharp fangs, others dressed like witches and warlocks. I also could"ve sworn I saw a person who was see through, but at a second glance, there was no one there except a hooded figure carrying a scythe.

"Oh, it"s Depra and Hemera! Hey, we"re over here!" I saw Lachesis and the others seated at a nearby table, and we both took our seats, and we somehow also managed to be seated next to each other.

"Wow, what luck! You must really wanna sit next to me huh?" And I thought I was free from her already. To my left was Erebus, and to Hemera"s right was Aether.

"I hate to ask, but who the h.e.l.l found this place?"

"That would be the figure forever cloaked in darkness, hounded by demons and other creatures from your worst nightmares! For my name is-!"

"It was, you guessed it, Erebus," Necessitas said, who was sitting across from Erebus.

"Hey, can you at least let me finish my intro!?"

"Despite inward and outward appearances, the food here is actually amazing," Nyx said, sitting to Necessitas right.

"Pa.s.s this menu to Depra my dear Eru~!" Eros said, who was sitting next to Erebus.

"Shut it yah incubus. I won"t fall for your charms. But here you go King."

"I really have to wonder what type of food they even they sell here," I murmured as I opened the menu. After taking a quick glance at the menu, I calmly shut it close before setting it down on the table.

"Oh, do you already know what you want Depra? I personally really like the Normal Burger, but I"m kind of craving the Normal Spaghetti," Lachesis commented, happily flipping through her menu. She was sitting across from me with her boyfriend sitting to her left.

"Hmph, as if any of those things could satisfy me. Only the very best on the menu could suffice for me, the Normal T-Bone," Aether proclaimed, who somehow managed to sit at the head of the table.

I just simply sighed. I really should"ve stayed home today. It feels weird, being here with them. As I watched the others engage in conversations, I soon found myself lost in my thoughts.

When was the last time I had done something like this without the Hidden Club? The memory was murky, but I remember going somewhere with my mom, brother, and stepdad. It was to celebrate our birthday if I"m remembering correctly, one of the last semblances of family bonding we did together. Of course, it was ruined thanks to that woman who showed up, but before she was there, I remember having some semblance of fun.

My mom tried her best to help me the two us out, but that woman, my mom"s mom, always accused me of wrongdoing, no matter what I did.

But they"re both gone now…

YOUR FAULT!!!

I felt my brain replay the incident, and I felt myself fall into a pit of black; cold chills continually washing over my body as I started to shake, falling deeper into that pit…

YOUR FAULT!!!

I didn"t mean…!

YOUR FAULT!!!!!!

No, I…!

YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!!

Sorry…

"DEPRA!"

I was suddenly snapped back to reality, and I found myself on the floor, curled up into a ball. It happened again.

Lachesis was right next to me, a sincere look of worry on her face. "You okay? What happened? Was it one of those again?"

I didn"t answer, but instead slowly got back up, lifting my fallen chair before glossing over the menu again.

"Depra…"

"I"m fine, okay! Just, let"s eat already." I couldn"t bear to look anyone in the face or allow them to see my own. So instead, I buried my head in my menu, looking at the only semblance of Normal left…

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After we finished eating, Hemera and I got back in her truck in silence. After we buckled our seatbelts, I managed to get a look at her through the mirror, and was shocked at how her normally happy and optimistic appearance had now changed into one filled with sadness, much like how the world turns darker after the day is done and the sun has set under the horizon.

"Sorry." I don"t know why I muttered those words to her, but she perked up as she looked at me, an unwavering smile on her face.

"What could you possibly be sorry about? It"s not as if you did anything wrong, either in the past or now." She started up the truck and turned on the Bluetooth in the truck.

"I hope you don"t mind me playing some music."

"So long as it isn"t country, I"ll be fine."

She leaned back into the seat as she was on her phone. There was a brief pause before she nodded and clicked on a song.

"I quite enjoy this song. Well, let"s get going shall we!?"

Surprisingly, the songs she played weren"t reflective of her personality at all. But they weren"t bad by any means. On the contrary, they were something that Hiro would probably like a lot. As I sat in the car, watching the darkening surroundings fade away to the suburbs, I realized something odd.

"Where are we going? This isn"t towards my house."

"Oh, you noticed? I need to grab something from home first, and my house is on the way to yours on the way back, so I hope you don"t mind a small detour."

I frowned but conceded. Not like I could do anything about it. I didn"t even have any experience driving in the first place, so if she wanted to take a detour, it"s not as if I could complain.

We stopped in front of what seemed to be a small, rundown apartment complex. "I"ll be right back, so sit tight!" And then she was gone, running up the stairs to the second floor.

I fiddled with my fingers as I stared outside, looking at the place Hemera lived in. The place seemed old, yet had a comfortable feeling to it, as if I had found my home I had long forgotten about. Just being in the vicinity of the building made me feel a sense of peace and tranquility, maybe even almost happiness?

I shook my head. There were a couple places around this strange city that had similar effects on people, or so I heard, but this was the first one I"ve ever been too. Weird…

One of the pa.s.senger doors opened, and a duffel bag was thrown in before it was closed shut.

"Oof! Sorry it took so long! Grabbing everything I needed took me longer than I expected!" Hemera climbed into the drivers" seat before shutting it. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah, let"s go." Honestly, when was the last time my house truly felt like a home?

We drove the rest of the way in silence, the only thing invading the silence was Hemera"s music. And soon, we made it back to my house. It was dark outside now, the sun now having set for the day. Only the moon and stars were left, shining their light in the night sky.

I got out of the truck and sighed. Can"t wait to go bed. I need to sleep at least for 2 days straight to recover from this.

To my surprise, the front door was already unlocked. Maybe I forgot to lock it before I left? I yawned as scratched my unkempt hair before glancing in the living room. Oh, looks like everyone"s here. That"s nice.

Wait, what? I turned back towards living room to find everybody dressed in pajamas, grinning from ear to ear.

"It"s a sleepover!" They yelled out, and Hemera followed behind me, carrying her duffel bag.

"Before you ask, I was sworn to secrecy!" I glared at Hemera before running a hand through my hair.

"Ugh, do what you want." That was all they needed before they started to chat amongst themselves once more. I shuffled my way to my room before closing the door.

"It"s dark."

I grabbed my covers off my bed before stopping in front of the door.

Do I really wanna do this? I didn"t have an answer for myself yet. I knew what they were trying to do, but it wasn"t working, not by a long shot. If anything, it only made feel worse all day today. Maybe I should just give up…

And suddenly, I felt my hand on the door handle. My hand was slightly shaking, and I looked down at it like it was a foreign object.

Why did I…?

I gripped the handle tighter before taking a deep breath.

Not as if I have anything else to lose.

I opened the door, and light flooded into the room as I squinted to let my eyes adjust, before they focused on the scene in front of me.

"Hey Erebus, stop that! You know I"m ticklish!"

"But you enjoy it, do you not my Empress of Darkness?"

"Since when the h.e.l.l have I been yours!? Take this!"

"Dear Eru~, you really don"t understand a maiden"s heart, do you? Allow me to teach you the wonders of the opposite s.e.x!"

"Hmph, who needs girls when you"re me. I am everything I need and more."

"So, basically nothing at all Aether? You should really stop bragging when you have nothing to back it up."

"Nyx, just because you haven"t accepted the way of Aether doesn"t mean you can"t convert yet. I have always been willing to teach my fellow disciples."

"Hey Lachesis, how about we start a tickle fight!? We can giggle our way to sleep!"

"Ugh, please don"t remind me of fights. The Hidden Club"s fights have scarred me for a lifetime."

"I have to agree with my girlfriend here, especially since we"re all like them, I rather not bring the house down."

All of them were sitting around the couch and on the floor, talking and laughing like fools.

"Alright, let"s start the pillow fight!"

"Hemera, I thought you said it was a tickle fight? Whoa!"

Hemera threw her pillow, which she presumably brought from home, at Lachesis, who dodged. So instead, it hit me square in the face.

"Uh oh…"

Everyone went silent as the pillow plopped down onto the ground.

Lachesis, Hemera, Necessitas, Nyx, Aether, Eros, Erebus, and the a.s.s. I stared at every one of them before sighing. Well, I guess I know what choice I want then.

I picked up the pillow and nailed it directly at Hemera"s face, who fell backwards from the force. "I"m game for a pillow fight."

And the tension was finally released as we all cut lose. The battle ground was the entire house, and although we ended up breaking quite a few things, I felt a feeling I thought was only possible with the Hidden Club.

I was having fun.

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It was now past midnight, and everyone had already pa.s.sed out in their respective places in the bas.e.m.e.nt. I was the only one awake, so I decided to go out into the backyard to feel the fresh air.

I walked outside onto the gra.s.s with just my socks on and stared up at the night sky. I didn"t realize I could have so much fun with these guys. They may be weird, but they"re comforting in their own way.

"It"s strange, but it feels as if I already know them really well…"

"Depra…?"

I heard a sleepy voice from behind me, and I saw Hemera rubbing her yellow eyes, letting out a slight yawn.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

She shook her head before walking my way. "No, I was really close to falling asleep though. What"re you up to?"

"I just needed some fresh air is all." She stopped next to me and nodded.

"Told yah you needed fresh air sometimes."

"No need to rub it in," I muttered, and she giggled to herself before slapping me on the back.

"So, let me ask you again. Are you going to stay shut up in this house of yours, or will you try to enjoy the time you have here?"

"I don"t know," I answered honestly.

She nodded to herself before smiling. "Well, that"s good enough for now, don"t you think? At least it means you"re making an effort, doesn"t it?"

Was that really true though? To me, it felt as if I was still falling in that never-ending pit of darkness. I guess, the only difference would be…

A cloud suddenly pa.s.sed over the moon, causing our surroundings to grow significantly darker. But with that, came a new source of light…

"Whoa, are these fireflies?" Hemera said in a hushed whisper. Blinking yellow lights surrounded us, lighting up the area with their mystical light.

Hemera leapt out into the midst of them, her golden yellow hair being illuminated by their pure light. She spun around, taking in all the beautiful lights surrounding us.

And I felt another chill at that moment, but different from the once I was used to. Instead of frightening me, it calmed me down, and brought me peace.

"This is amazing!"

Another chill.

"Yeah, you really are���"

It wasn"t a chill at all. No, it was the warmth brought about by one the lights dancing among the fireflies.

And so begins his summer vacation.