The Depra King

Why am I up again? I asked myself as I turned my alarm off. Ugh, I"m so d.a.m.n tired, maybe I"ll just drift back to sleep before…

I opened my eyes, groaning once more as I remembered. Yep, that"s why I"m up. I lazily got out bed and went through my usual morning routine, except instead of washing my face I took a shower, the first time I had done so in about a week. I wrapped my towel around my lower half and shuffled to the kitchen, where I made myself oatmeal and got water. I ate my breakfast in peace, enjoying every bite of it. After finishing up, I threw away my paper bowl and tossed the spoon in the sink behind me. Yawning, I shuffled back to my room, checking the time on my phone. It was now a quarter to noon, and all I had to do now was get dressed. I opened up my closet, with it opening with a squeak.

I grabbed a pair of decent looking sweatpants and a grey shirt that simply said relax on it and put on the bed. I then grabbed some underwear and socks, putting them on first before getting fully dressed. I yawned once more, scratching my hair before realizing I had forgotten something.

I quickly grabbed the deodorant and put some on before I heard a light knock on the door. Ah c.r.a.p, she"s early.

I grabbed my shoes, an old pair of rundown tennis shoes, and made my way to the door. I opened the door, wincing at the bright light coming in.

"Ah, I almost thought you weren"t here!"

Standing in the doorway, hair blazing orange in the sun, with a simple white dress on, was Pandora.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Um, come in. I still have some stuff to do, since I wasn"t expecting you so early." I motioned her inside, and she nodded, giving me a warm smile.

"What a nice place." She peered around as she walked to the living room. "Is no one else home?"

"Eh? Oh, I live alone, since, well…" I trailed off, trying hard to fight off the inevitable fall.

"Oh right! My bad!" She bowed down in a apologetic manner.

"Really, it"s alright. Anyway, I need five minutes is all." She raised herself up and nodded before taking a seat on the couch.

I went back into my room and put my shoes on, sighing. d.a.m.n, I wish I was at least mentally prepared first. I grabbed my phone and started the search for my wallet.

"Where is it? Did I bring it with me on the camping trip?" I thought aloud as I dug around my camp bag. Not finding it, I went out of my room and headed downstairs, where I dug around my bag I took to the beach.

"Ah, here it is," I murmured as I fished it out and put it in my pocket. "Alright, guess we"re good then." I got back up and stretched upwards, starting to feel a little nervous.

It"ll be alright Depra, nothing gonna go wrong here, I thought, trying to motivate myself. I went back upstairs to see Pandora examining a flower on the table.

"I"ve never seen a flower like this before," she murmured, looking at it in excitement. "What exactly is it?"

"It"s a Calla Lily," I said, and she jumped and turned around, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it"s just you. Man, you really spooked me there."

"…You do realize I"m the only on here, right?" She rolled her eyes as I said that.

"A girl can be spooked regardless. Anyway, ready to go?"

"Yep, lead the way." And then I left to spend the day with the girl named Pandora.

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"Mhhm! Delicious!"

We were in a restaurant, since the first thing she wanted to do was to eat lunch. She was happily wolfing down a steak, eating surprisingly a lot for a girl her age. I was halfway through my food, burger and fries, and let out a notably loud burp.

"Oh, excuse me." I covered my mouth, slightly embarra.s.sed. She looked at me and stopped eating, composing herself before letting out an even louder burp.

"Excuse me."

I was so shocked that I almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of what she did. "Is this a contest?"

"Only if I win."

"What type of contest is that then…"

She giggled at my response, her normal hair color, a rare color of the Padparadscha Sapphire, purplish-orange, was fully able to be seen in the lighting, and bobbed up and down as she giggled. She quickly recovered and sipped some of her lemonade before stirring her drink around with her straw.

"So, how"ve been? I mean, we did decide to hangout today to catchup, right?"

"Uh, yeah! Um, I"ve been alright. My friends have been dragging me out of the house all break, so I at least haven"t been cooped up doing nothing all the time. In fact, a couple weeks ago we went camping in the nearby mountain."

"Oh, Olympus?" She stopped stirring her straw.

"Nah, the one across it."

"I see. I know you went to the beach as well. What else did you do?"

"Um, my friend, who lives next-door to me, often brings her friends over to hangout, so I do that quite a bit. Also, I stayed at my friend"s house for about week after we went to the beach. Other than that, I"ve mostly just stayed at home, sleeping inside or outside."

"Depra!"

"Uh, yes ma"am!?" I involuntarily straightened my normally slouched back at her sudden words.

"Ask me what I did now," she said casually, continuing to stir her straw.

I can"t understand this girl for the life of me! "Uh, what did you do?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Eh!? "Um, huh?"

She started to laugh at my reaction. "Oh, lighten up you. I"m only teasing." She let out a soft smile which caused me to relax again, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You stress me out sometimes, you know that?"

"Nah, I would never!" Ah, the lies we tell…

"But seriously, what did you do?" I asked before taking another bite out of my burger.

"Oh, you know, mostly been at home too. It"s been way too hot this summer. I did go visit my grandparents outside this quaint lil" city of ours. That"s why I was gone for so long. We do it every year. They"re nice people, and they spoil me silly, so I love them dearly."

"Why did it sound like you only love them because they spoil you?"

"Duh, because it"s true."

I could only stare as she started to laugh. "I"m joking! I"m not that bad of a person, alright? You should know this by now!"

I nodded, getting over my shock. "Yeah, you really did help me out a lot back then. Honestly, I don"t really know how properly thank you…" I trailed off, dipping some fries in ketchup and eating them.

"Hey, I"m glad to help, okay? Seriously, nothing of note to tell me, right? I mean it Depra, if you don"t, I"ll dropkick you later." She was smiling, but I had feeling she would do it.

I thought back to that night, where Lachesis had found me collapsed in the hallway of my house, unable to move my body. She saw me hesitating and reached out to grab my hand.

"Hey, talk to me, you hear? We"re problem buddies. You tell me your problems, and I tell you mine."

I looked down, sucking in my bottom lip. "It was bad."

"How bad?"

"I couldn"t move."

I looked up, and I only saw concern in her regal purple eyes. Her hand squeezed mine slightly. "Your incidents, how many times do they happen a day?"

"… 3 times on average." It had gotten worse.

"d.a.m.nit Depra, I thought you were getting better. This is what happens when I"m not around, huh?"

I chuckled at her joke, and she gave me a smile. "See, laugh more. It helps, trust me. Well, if you can"t laugh by yourself, I"ll just have to be around you constantly to help you, huh?"

"I guess your right about that…"

Silence, and I looked up to see a shocked look on her face, a rare sight indeed. "You know, you are the most troublesome boy I"ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with."

"Ugh, whatever. I"m eating now." She giggled as she watched me eat my food, and she cut out a huge piece of steak for herself and chomped it down so easily I was starting to worry about where it all went.

"You sure do eat a lot."

"Well, I am a growing girl after all. I have to eat at least this to catch up to my troublesome senior."

"Ah, I always forget you"re younger than me." I think she"s in the same grade as Luna, meaning she"ll be a soph.o.m.ore this year, but she sure as h.e.l.l doesn"t act like it.

"Yep, so my beauty will far outlast yours!"

"I don"t really consider myself attractive, but whatever…" She on the other hand was the opposite. Honestly, I don"t know why she decided to start a conversation with me that day.

"Hey, don"t sell yourself short! Sure, you dress shabbily, your hair sucks, and it looks like you don"t sleep at night, but it"s all a part of your natural charm!" She gave me a dazzling grin.

"I really can"t tell if you"re trying insult me or not." She giggled again, and we finished our meal in relative peace, splitting the bill at her insistence.

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"So, you said you wanted to take me somewhere?"

We were walking through the neighborhood, getting closer to the city with every step. Pa.s.sing us by were a variety of shops and businesses, and many of them called out to me to say h.e.l.lo as I pa.s.sed by.

"Yeah, where we"re going, we need wheels." I waved at a baker, and he motioned me to come closer.

"Hey, it"s been a while kid! Oho, you"ve got a girl with you this time huh?"

"Nothing like that. What"s up?" He grabbed some pastries and offered me some.

"Here, on the house."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah of course, especially after you and your dandy club helped us out that time, it"s the least I could do." He handed me two tarts, and I accepted, nodding in thanks.

"Thank you, I mean it."

"No problem! And hey, tell that pink-haired girl to come here soon as well, yah hear?"

"I"ll tell her when I get back home. I"ll see you later." I waved goodbye and handed one of the tarts to Pandora.

"Someone seems popular. Also, I thought you didn"t have a license."

"Oh, that. Yeah, my club helped these people out a while back. They often offer me stuff like that whenever I come down here."

"What did you do to have that happen?" Pandora asked, taking a bite of her tart.

"In a nutsh.e.l.l, saved their business"." I took a bite out of mine as well. "Mm, tasty."

"No other explanation?"

"It"s a really long story. I"ll tell you later. Anyway, we"re here." I stopped in front of a bike shop, where the owner was waiting for me.

"Ah, here you are Depra! Your bike is fixed up. Although, I do have to tell you, it would"ve been simpler if you just bought a new bike. I have plenty here." The owner steered us towards my old bike, now with a new addition to it.

"Also, I added this as you requested. Are you gonna have the lil" lady ride on the back?" The owner laugher, her hair bouncing jovially.

"Yeah, that was the plan," I said, and Pandora looked alarmed.

"Hold up, I"m riding with you!?"

"Yep, it"s simpler than asking you to bring a bike as well. Besides, you"re all dressed up. I wouldn"t want your dress to get dirty you know."

"Aw, look here! A bona fide gentleman this one is!" She nudged Pandora, who only sighed.

"Good thing I have shorts underneath."

"Anyway, you don"t have to pay anything Depra. On the house. Just make sure you don"t wreck her again, yah hear?"

"I"ll do my best," I said, and I turned to Pandora, who took off her white sunhat.

"Anyway, where we"re going is pretty far, so if you have to pee, do it now."

"Seriously, where are you taking me? Are you going to have your way with me or something?"

"Ugh, you sound like someone else I know," I said, groaning as the image of Prez appeared in my mind. "No, I"m gonna visit some people I owe a great deal to. It"s in the farmland, so it"ll take a while."

"Why don"t we just take the bus?"

"We are, but it"ll still take a while even on bike afterwards."

She seemed flabbergasted. "Okay, I"ll be back. Watch my purse." She handed me her white purse, and the owner directed her to the bathroom.

"So, how"d you end up with a cutie like that?"

I felt my face grow red. "Is that how people see it?"

"Is that not how you see it? You like her, don"t yah?"

That was a complicated question. Just thinking about it caused my heart to ache.

YOUR FAULT!

I froze as those words echoed through my head. No, not now. Stay calm Depra, stay-

YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT!

The owner saw me swaying and grabbed my shoulder. "Whoa, easy there. Are you really struggling with that question? Ah well, boys will be boys after all."

"No, I…" What did I think about-!

YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT!

"Hey Depra, what"s wrong?" I heard Pandora"s voice, and I focused on her face before sighing.

"Huh?" Suddenly the voices were gone, and I blinked as I caught my breath. "Oh, I just got a little dizzy is all."

"Huh. If you"re feeling like that, I could bike."

A brief image of Pandora riding the bike while I sat behind her, clinging to her, flashed through my head, and I quickly shook my head. "Yeah, that"s not happening in a million years."

"Alright then, a million and one years it is."

I sighed at her ridiculous answer. "Anyway, thank you again for fixing my bike."

"Not a problem! Come visit more often, bring your club and that girl along sometime, yeah? The others would appreciate it."

I nodded as I hopped on my bike. "Yep, I"ll ask about it later today. I"ll see you later then."

"Take care now!" Pandora hopped on the back and clung to my back, and I kicked the stand up, and we were off to the nearest bus stop.

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"Hey Depra, are you okay? You"re breathing kinda hard there."

We were now in the farmlands, far away from the bustling city. I had been biking nonstop for over an hour and was still only about halfway to my destination.

"It"s no hah problem hah!" I barely managed to screech out those words, my lungs burning due to how little exercise I"ve been getting.

"You wanna take a break than?" Pandora suggested, and at her word I immediately stopped, trying to catch my breath.

"I"m so, hah, out of, hah, d.a.m.n shape!" I yelled out, kicking down the stand for my bike before collapsing on the gra.s.s field next to the road. Pandora laid down next to me, looking at me with worry.

The view was nice though, I thought as I desperately tried to catch my breath. There was farmland as far as the eye could see, with houses dotted here and there. The fields were almost glowing gold due to the sun shining down from above, and in the distance, I could see the mountain Olympus tower above the clouds.

"Now that I, hah, think about it, hah, why are there, hah, always clouds around Olympus?" I managed to pant out, and Pandora looked to me with excitement in her eyes.

"Sounds like another excursion, right Clyde?"

"I"d rather not get, hah, arrested Bonnie."

She pouted at my answer. "No fun! But I"ve always wondered myself. Maybe we really will go up there and solve the mystery of Olympus, hmm?"

I groaned as I sat up. "It"s sacred, isn"t it? There"s probably just a shrine or something up there. Oh, thanks." Pandora gave me a water bottle from her purse, which she bought when we went to the convenience store while waiting for the bus to arrive.

"No problem chief!" Huh, I actually didn"t mind that one. She grabbed one for herself and drunk about a quarter before releasing a satisfying "Ah!"

"So, you wanna explain what happened back at the bike shop?" So, she did notice. I chugged my water until it was halfway before glancing at her. She was looking at me earnestly, waiting for my answer.

"It almost happened again. You know, an incident. I don"t know why it didn"t happen this time though…"

"Hmm, I wonder indeed. Maybe because a cute girl is here by your side, willing to listen to your every need!?"

I chuckled. "Yep, that"s definitely the reason why. Good job." She smiled happily and continued to drink more water. "Honestly, I"m relieved though. I didn"t want to worry the owner or anything like that."

"Aw, look at you, being considerate! It"s one of your many good points."

"I really don"t think I have any though…"

(Coward.)

I froze as those words echoed through my head.

(A greedy, indecisive coward.)

"No, I"m not…"

(Greedy, Indecisive, Coldhearted, Slothful, Cowardice, dare I say more?)

"I…"

(What right to live do you have that they didn"t?)

"No, they"re not…"

(Oh, so they are alive then? Bulls.h.i.t, as if you could make a decision regarding that).

"I don"t know anymore…"

(Giving up? Guess we can add weak-willed to the list.)

[Depra!]

"?"

(Tch, annoying b.i.t.c.h. But, you will never forget who"s fault it is, right?)

"I…"

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I woke up, staring at a purple sky. Wait, no, that can"t be right.

"Depra, are you okay!?"

Oh, it"s purple eyes I"m looking at. She really does have beautiful eyes, doesn"t she?

"Depra, are you okay!?"

"…so beautiful."

I slowly managed to get up, groaning. "Ugh, it happened again, didn"t it?"

"YOU IDIOT!"

"OOF!"

I felt myself get tackled down to the ground as Pandora leapt onto me. She was glaring at me, her hair looking as if it could be on fire.

"Don"t worry me like that stupid!" She started to hit my chest.

"Ow, hey, I"m sorry! Geez, please stop!" I managed to push her away, only for her to lunge back in, hugging me tightly.

"Seriously, you should tell me when stuff like that is about to happen!"

Why is she being so irrational? She knows I can"t just tell her. I frowned as I patted her head.

"Sorry. I"ll do better."

"Hmph! You better!" She quickly let go, turning around so I couldn"t see her face. I sighed, scratching my head.

Why do I always worry the people I care about…

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"We"re finally here!" I said, d.a.m.n near collapsing on the ground. Pandora kicked the stand down on the bike and stared at the nearby house.

It was a quaint little ranch style house, not too big or small, with a large expanse of farmland spreading out as far as the eye could see, with the only other building they had being was an old farmhouse. If I"m remembering correctly, it was about 100 acres of land they had.

"Whoa, it"s so quiet over here," Pandora murmured. "It"s as if we"re the only ones here."

"I quite like it here. I wouldn"t mind coming all the way out here and living my life in peace."

"Eh!? Huh, that"s unexpected." Pandora took off her sunhat and looked over at me. "Are you going to tell me what exactly we"re doing here?"

"Oh, that. It"s just an old couple who helped me out a while back. It"s been too long since I last came here, so I thought it was about time."

"And you brought me here because...?"

"Oh, they like company."

She nodded before cracking her neck. "Alright, I"m ready. Let"s do this."

"…You do know we"re not fighting, right?"

I let out a small smile at her ridiculousness and proceeded to knock on the door.

"Oh, who could that be dear?" I heard a sweet voice from behind the door, and I heard it click open to reveal a woman in her late 70"s, dressed in an ap.r.o.n. She had strikingly white hair, with a pair of soft, brown eyes. She also had many wrinkles all over her body, but still managed to convey this energy of youth. I called her Granny.

"Oh! Oh, dear, you won"t believe who decided to come and visit us!"

"Eh, who is it?" yelled out a gruff voice, coming in from deeper inside.

"It"s Sonny! You know, the youngin" who comes by often!"

"Oh, that kid"s back?" I heard shuffling, and an old man in his late 70"s came out, stroking his small salt and pepper beard, although more salt than pepper. He wore an old pair of overalls and had a pair of brown gla.s.ses that suited his light-brown eyes, which widened as he saw me standing in the doorway. I called him PawPaw.

"Oho! It is Sonny! It"s been quite some time, hasn"t it? About 2 summers ago if I"m remembering right." He gave me a warm smile, and I nodded, smiling back.

"Yeah, it really has. Sorry for not visiting sooner," I managed to mumble out, and I felt a light pat on my shoulder.

"Oh, it"s fine. You young people are out living your youth. No need to apologize for that. Heck, when I was your age, I almost never came home at night." She giggled to herself. "Anyway, come in, come in! It"s been so long; we need to catch up. I"ll make a pot of tea." She led me in, guiding me to the living room, where an old CRT-TV was playing a soap opera.

"Hey, did you bring company too?" PawPaw asked, looking at Pandora. "Well la.s.s, no need to be shy now. Come in, come in, the more the merrier!" He led in after me, and we both ended up on the couch together, with PawPaw sitting in a nearby chair.

"So, how"ve been Sonny? You were a soph.o.m.ore last we saw yah, so that means you"re about to be a senior, right?"

"Yep, last year of high school this year," I said, nodding in agreement. "Honestly, it"s been kind of a blur, these past years."

"Yah think it"s bad now, wait till you get to my age," he said, laughing at his own joke. I couldn"t help but chuckle along, and PawPaw looked over at Pandora, who was admiring the place.

"So, who might you be la.s.s? Are you his girlfriend? Is that why you decided to come here, to show off yah cute lil lady?"

She giggled. "Yep, that"s exactly it."

"Hey, don"t just lie like that!" She giggled again before smiling.

"No, I"m not. I"m just a friend for the time being. My name"s Pandora, pleased to meet you."

"Ah, Sonny, you"re a lucky guy, having a la.s.s like that fawn over you."

"I just said we weren"t dating!"

He chuckled. "Hey honey, was I like Sonny back in the day?"

Granny walked in, carrying in a tray of tea and biscuits, setting them down on the table. "Yes, maybe even worse dear."

"Oh, let me," Pandora said, offering to pour the tea.

"Oh, thank you Pandy. If only my hubby would be as nice as you."

"Oh hush! I worked hard; I at least deserve my beautiful wife serving me tea during retirement."

Pandora poured out a cup for everyone while Granny sat down, smiling at the two of us.

"What should I call you two?" Pandora asked, handing them each a cup a tea before sitting down, handing me one.

"Oh, just call us what Sonny here does: Granny for me and PawPaw for the old fart over there."

"I take back what I said earlier; you ain"t beautiful at all!"

"Hey, stop that you two. I didn"t come here just to see you two squabble again," I said, chuckling.

"Oh, hush Sonny. When you get our age, little fights like this only represent our undying love for each other."

Pandora smiled at Granny before taking a sip of tea. "How long have you two been married?"

"Oh, 59 years! We"ve almost reached the big 6-O!" PawPaw said, musing to himself. "Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday. As she walked down that aisle, in her beautiful white dress, I knew there was no other woman for me. How long we"ve been together is a testament to that."

"Yes, even though our kids have long grown up and gotten married and had kids of their own. Heck, even some of their kids have kids, if you can believe it!"

"Oh, I would love to get married someday," Pandora said wistfully, glancing at me.

"Why"re looking at me?"

"Hmph, no reason," Pandora said, taking another sip of her tea. "Does your family visit often?"

"Not as often as we like. It"s been years since they"ve come to visit. That"s why I"m glad Sonny comes to visit every now and again. Some of our grandchildren should be around ya"lls age, so I can"t help but spoil you silly!"

"Granny, I already told you, I can try to find them for you if you miss them that much."

"Oh, don"t start with that. I mean, look at you! You"ve grown skinnier again, haven"t you? I remember when we first met, you were about 13 at the time. You were run ragged, riding that raggedy old bike. It"s why we gave you the one you have now yah know."

"Yeah, I remember. I really must thank you again for that." I bowed my head down. "I don"t know what I would"ve down if you hadn"t taken me in."

"No need to thank us Sonny. Its simple kindness is all, anyone would"ve done the same." Granny took a sip of her tea and breathed a sigh of relief. "But it looks like you"re a lil happier, and that"s all that matters to me. Although, make sure you eat three meals a day, okay?"

"I"ll try my best," I said, taking a bite out the biscuit Granny had made for us.

"Still, it really is a nice place you have hear," Pandora said, gazing around the small, but cozy room. "Depra was just telling me that he wouldn"t mind living all the way out here."

"Oho, Sonny, you wanna be a farmer then? I can teach yah the ropes!"

"Oh, I do believe that is the first time that Sonny has mentioned anything about the future!"

The future huh? I stared down at my tea, pondering to myself. "Honestly, I don"t know what I wanna be. I haven"t really put much thought into it."

"Well, that"s alright for now. I didn"t think I would be this guys wife while I was growing up. No, I thought I would use my beauty and feminine wiles to snag someone better."

"And I thought I would marry an actress, but life disappoints us, doesn"t it honey?"

Pandora started to laugh at their exchange, and I couldn"t help but let out a chuckle too. I really did miss these two. I really should try to visit them more often in the future…

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We spent a couple hours after that chatting with one another, and before we knew it, the sun had begun to set already. After saying our goodbyes and a promise to visit soon, Pandora and I started our long way back to the city.

"Hey, let"s walk and talk for a bit," Pandora suggested as I kicked the bike stand up.

"Um, sure, I guess. Not for too long though, since I"d rather not be in the countryside while it"s dark out."

We walked in silence for a bit, the dirt road glowing orange from the setting sun, until Pandora turned towards me, a serious look on her face.

"How did you meet them?"

I probably should"ve seen this one coming. I bit my lip, trying hard to say what I needed to say without drudging up the past.

"It was in middle school, and my grandmother on my mom"s side was coming to stay with us for a week. I don"t really remember why she was there, and I don"t care to. But what I did know was that there was no way in h.e.l.l I was staying there for a week. Lachesis, my neighbor, was going out of town during that week, and I was truly desperate. So, I hopped on my bike the morning she was supposed to arrive and left. I didn"t really have a plan, but I knew I wouldn"t stay there."

"So, you biked all the way here? By yourself?"

"Almost. I collapsed right as Granny was pa.s.sing by, and I ended up staying there for a week. They gave me a new bike, this one right here, since the other one was in disrepair. I think they still have it too. But, afterwards, I went and visited them many times whenever I didn"t want to be at home. However, I stopped once Junior year came, and I"m pretty sure you can hazard a guess why that was."

She sighed as I finished my story, taking off her sunhat. "What a troublesome boy in Pandora…"

"But I don"t regret it though. I love talking to the both of them, and if I didn"t run away that day, I wouldn"t have met them, nor you. They really liked you know."

"So, does that mean you"ll take me here again?" She asked, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Whenever we"re both free again, we"ll go together."

"It"s a promise then!" She nodded happily and started to hum to herself, her hair bobbing up and down slightly. "Still, never knew you wanted to be a farmer Depra."

"Hey, stop teasing me. I never said that, although…" I trailed off, and Pandora frowned as she peered into my face.

"What"s up?"

"I really haven"t thought about the future, have I?"

"Well, with all that money you have, you don"t really need to."

"Not funny," I growled.

"Yep, sorry." We walked in silence for a couple more moments before Pandora spoke again.

"So, what do you wanna do?"

"If I knew that, we wouldn"t be having this conversation."

"Well, I can"t take care of you forever, so you have to start pulling your own weight in this relationship of ours."

What the h.e.l.l did that even mean? I swear, this girl confuses me like no other. I decided to ignore her last statement though. "Why haven"t I thought about it…?"

(Indecisive.)

I stopped, hearing the voice I longed to never hear again.

(You d.a.m.n well know why you can"t. Why don"t you accept it already?)

"No, not again..."

(Oh, and here I thought you looked forward to this. Don"t you see? Or are you too stupid to understand. A Stupid, Greedy, Indecisive, Coldhearted, Slothful Coward.)

"I…"

[Depra!]

I was suddenly snapped back to reality, with Pandora shaking me.

"Sorry, I just…"

She let out a sigh of relief as she heard my voice. "Oh good, I stopped it before it went to far." She looked back up into my eyes. "Please, rely on me a little more, okay?"

I blinked as I stared into her regal purple eyes. "Uh, sure. Only if you do the same."

"Oh, silly Depra, I already rely on you." She finally broke the gaze, and I felt myself collapse onto the gra.s.s.

"Sorry, give me a minute." She nodded and went to put the bike back up.

Rely on her, huh? I feel as if I"ve done nothing but rely on people all summer. I stared at the darkening sky above. Is it really okay to keep doing this, relying on her and all the others?

"Uh, Depra, you might wanna look at this!"

Huh? I gazed back at Pandora, who was staring at rather large tornado, crackling with lightning, heading straight for her. Huh, how strange.

"Wait, what the f.u.c.k!?" I jolted back up, my body aching from not having rested fully, and I could only stare as the tornado. Seriously, this is why I hate nature.

I watched Pandora"s sunhat get blown into the tornado, and she looked extremely scared. "Hey, we should leave now Depra!"

I ignored her and started to walk towards the tornado. "Hey, is it really okay for me to rely on you?"

"Huh!? Why are you asking this now!?"

Why do I feel like this? This overwhelming urge to tell it all to her. I sighed as I continued my walk towards the tornado.

"Then, if it"s truly alright, then I"ll tell you." And then I used the thing that had caused me so much grief, so much pain.

And for once, I didn"t feel any of it.

I grabbed her hat out of air, and turned back to a shocked Pandora, who could only stare at me.

"Depra, what just…?"

"If you"ll let me, I"ll tell you the whole truth. I"ll rely on you, just as you asked of me. And that"s a promise."

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"You did what!?"

It was late now, and I had already escorted Pandora back to her home. I was in my house now, getting ready for bed while talking to Hiro on the phone. I held my phone away from me as I had just told him what happened with Pandora.

"Yeah, I told her."

Silence, and then a loud sigh. "You can"t just tell anyone this, you know. I mean, you do know that"s a pretty big deal, right? h.e.l.l, you haven"t even told me parts of what you told her!"

"I don"t know. It just felt right I guess." I pulled on my socks and collapsed into my bed. "Haven"t you felt like that before?"

"You mean like taking a chance on someone? Yeah, I guess I can see what you mean by that."

"Wait, you have?"

"Long story bro, I"d rather not get into it right now. But, if you feel as if it was the right decision, then I trust you. Just don"t end up regretting it, alright?"

"Yeah, I felt as if it was just right, you know? I"ve never felt this way about someone, you know?"

"Aw, someone"s in love!"

"Ugh, you two would get along great, I swear. Jokesters, the both of you."

"Well, I"ll have you introduce me one day soon man. Anyway, seriously, I"m proud of you. Especially after what happened and all, I thought you wouldn"t open up to anyone else again."

"Thanks. Although, it was kinda strange that tornado suddenly appeared."

"Eh, I"ve seen stranger. This place is one strange place after all."

"If you say so. I just feel as if nature trying to kill me or something lately."

"Hah, trust me, if that was the case, you would be dead."

"…No faith huh?" And we both started to laugh.

"Anyway Depra, I"m going to bed soon. I have to at least try to not go to bed late, since summer break is almost over."

"Oh yeah, guess that means I can"t sleep until 12 anymore, huh?"

"Well said. Good night, and keep me posted, okay?"

"Yeah, don"t worry, I will. Night." And I hung up, setting my phone down next to me. Should I call Lachesis? I stared at my phone before shaking my head.

"Yeah, I"ll tell her about it later. I"m beat after cycling around all day." I yawned and put my phone on the charger before turning off the desk lamp.

School huh? Can"t say I"m excited about that…

And so, the boy"s summer draws to a close.