Chapter Text
Every right turn leads to a dead end. Left turns are out of the question: deep, dark underground in a void. You can’t seem to find your way out. You are trapped. The only way out is up, but it's not like you’ll try anyways. You’ve lost all hope for a grander fate and have come to accept your demise. You’ll never be whole again. So, end it, coward.
TW: Drugs and Overdose
Funeral
An old man sat alone on the old bench. The wind blew calmly and swayed the trees back and forth. The sunlight reflected off the crystal-clear waters, allowing the ripples to dance in its diamond cloak. Nature was at the peak of its beauty. The dark hairs on the man’s head moved in rhythm to the wind. He was dressed in an all-black suit as he twirled the small Lily flower in his hand. Since she passed away, he’s kept one on him at all times. He hummed softly as he waited for his visitor. A small tune that his wife used to sing each morning back when she was able to stand. He missed those mornings.
Late upon arrival, his visitor dressed in a dark suit due to their last event. As he breathed out, he felt a trail of frozen air behind him. It was the first breath of fresh air since he’s left the dreadful place. The graveyard where he along with others mourned by his side.
“You’ve been distant lately. You haven’t answered not one call or text from me. You even showed up late to your mother’s funeral for heaven's sake.” The old man spoke up. Cole’s breath hitched as he listened to him. He didn’t try to defend himself. After all, what could he have said?
“I’m sorry, dad. Life hasn’t been kind to me recently. Unexpected events just happened, and I got so caught up in my own emotions that I got preoccupied.” The raven hesitated as he sat down next to his father. Lou shook his head in bewilderment, but he didn’t let words follow his expression. They sat in silence for a brief moment before the older male spoke up again.
“You don’t just forget, son. Not something like this. Life isn’t kind to just anyone. Everyone goes through bad times, but what matters is what you make out of it.” Lou responded. Cole felt guilty after hearing his advice and watched his father fidget with the flower in hand. Mom. He missed her more than anything.
“Then what do I do?” Cole questioned. Lou turned and faced him, seeing him at eye level. He sighed and rubbed his temple before setting his sights on the flower again.
“I can’t tell you an answer that I can’t provide for you. Do what you think is right.” Lou said as he dug his hands into his pockets. He turned once more and faced the lake.
“But what if I don’t know what to do?” Questioned Cole as his voice cracked. They sat in silence as the question lingered in the air. After seconds passed, Lou moved. He sat up from the park bench and offered his hand out to Cole, he hesitantly grabbed it as his father lifted him. Lou sighed, patted his shoulder, and handed him the Lily flower.
“You’ll find your answer as time moves forward, Cole. And that’s all I can tell you.” Lou concluded. Cole looked back at him with dry eyes. If he had more tears to shed, he’d let them run down as soon as the flower hit his fingertips. If she were here, she would dry his tears and bring him into a warm embrace. So, when his father turned away, he hugged him like it was the last time. It was one of the few times Cole saw his father break down. Lou sniffled and returned the hug. Cole couldn’t cry, all he could do was feel the same sorrow as his father.
“I love you, Cole. I know you’re going through some things, and I just want to say I’m proud of you for being a strong man. Your mother and I are very proud of you.” He said between broken sobs. And he broke. Father and son cried into each other's arms as the river flowed on.
—
Cole wanted to make things right between him and Kai. He would admit, it was foolish to enact on his feelings without sorting them through first. But what could he do? Kai was perfect. He had the best personality, stylish too. He had bonded with him quickly due to his cockiness (which he found to be somewhat admiring).
Ever since their fight, neither one of them has talked. Cole wasn’t sure how to approach him. So, he tried messaging him.
Cole - Yesterday at 9:30 PM
Hey, I’m sorry and I want to make things up to you. Could we meet somewhere and talk about it?
Cole - Yesterday at 9:35 PM
Kai please, I know you're up
It says you left me on read :(
Cole - Yesterday at 9:41 PM
Can we talk about this?
Kai - Yesterday at 10:12 PM
I just need time alone right now
Cole - Yesterday at 10:13 PM
You’re right, I’m sorry
When you’re ready, please let me know
He didn’t receive a text message for the next few months after that.
3 Months Later
3 months had passed since the incident. It had been 13 weeks since Kai and Cole last talked. 91 days since he had gone offline. Cole put a break on his ‘streaming career’ once the video had gone viral. The ‘RedSh0gun’ had his identity revealed as no other than “Nya’s older brother”. Many fans had begun to pick sides, some reasoning with Cole, sympathizing from the unknown stress he was put under. While others sided with Kai, who is believed to have fallen for a lie. Right or wrong, good or bad, nobody could conclude. It simply wasn’t right to put all blame on one or the other.
No matter how much he begged his sister for his number, Cole couldn’t get into contact with Kai. He remembers the time he tried to visit him to talk. The door had shut harshly once the two had made eye contact. He knocked on the door a couple of times and called out his name, but nothing followed.
“Go away. You shouldn’t be here right now.” A muffled voice called out from the inside.
“Kai? Don’t tell me you hate looking at me now.” Cole sighed. No response. He didn’t hate him, did he?
“Just leave, Cole. I’m not interested in talking to you right now.” The voice was weak and hoarse. He was sure that he heard a sniffle and a couple of coughs along with it. And with that, Cole obliged. Nothing good came out of convincing him.
But he didn’t cry. He didn’t give up. He knew Kai was just upset with him, so he wanted to show that he was willing to try for him. To be the one by his side again. His one and only. Shortly after that interaction, Cole decided to deliver some sweet treats to Kai’s doorstep, not daring to confront him again. When he went by to check on him again later that day, he was pleased to see that the box wasn’t in the dumpster.
What Cole thought was a good process turned out to be a flop as Kai had yet to respond to him. He didn’t know what else to do, so he did what he could. He talked to Nya. So here Cole was, standing a couple of feet away from Nya at a local pharmacy. She had her hair up in a black ponytail with a black tank top. She wore a blue jacket with navy blue sweats. Cole had to admit, Nya was beautiful up close, and he meant that in the friendliest way possible. Jay was a lucky guy.
Once Nya found what she was searching for, she frowned. Of course, it was on the top shelf. Damn cliches. Cole took it as an opportunity and grabbed the small box of allergy relievers. Nya sighed in relief as Cole handed her the medicine.
“Oh, thanks for helping me- Cole? What’re you doing here?” Nya questioned as she lifted her eyebrow. He could see the resemblance between the two.
“Oh uh, I just happened to stop by.” He technically wasn’t lying. He originally went there in hope of buying a new charger for his phone. He had broken it while he wasn’t careful and accidentally tore the cord somehow. Nya blinked and scanned Cole’s body language to find any hints of false information.
“Allergy medicine? Is Kai feeling alright?” Cole noticed the box and asked about it.
“I knew it, you wanted to ask about him because you guys haven’t been talking. Sorry, but out of respect for the both of you, I want to stay out of it.” Nya folded her arms and sighed.
“Okay okay, I get it, I understand. I just want to know if he’s alright. I haven’t heard from him in a while, and I’m worried for him.” Cole confessed. He fidgeted with his fingers in his pocket and caught sight of the pharmacy office behind her.
“Fine. Kai’s been out of it and ended up catching a fever. So, I’m buying some allergy medicine to help him get better. I’m not sure about anything else going on between you two.” the noirette confided in the raven. Cole nodded. But he couldn’t take his eyes away from the pharmacist in the background. Or rather, the prescriptions.
“Cole, are you doing alright? You keep looking back like there is something behind me.”
Cole snapped out of his trance and focused his attention back on the shorter being.
“Yeah, sorry. I got distracted. Tell Kai that I hope he gets better and that we’ll be able to talk soon.”
“I’ll let him know for you,” Nya responded. Cole smiled lightly and walked past her, ready to check out. “Oh, and Cole?”
“Yeah?”
“You know you can talk to me if something is wrong, right?”
“...Yeah. I know. Thanks, Nya.”
—
On the way back from the grocery store, Cole ran into a suspicious-looking man in the alleyway. He had the stereotypical drug dealer type of look. The dark hoodie, dark jeans, black sneakers, and face were well hidden, you could imagine it. Cole knew better, so he walked back the other way. Yet he saw the same man in a different alleyway a couple of blocks down. This guy couldn’t possibly think of selling something to him. He wasn’t that desperate.
Eventually, it was becoming more than a coincidence that this man was at every corner he turned. So he confronted the guy.
“Who are you, and why are you following me you creep?”
“I heard saw you at the store earlier. You looked pretty down man.”
“What the hell? You were watching me too?”
“Look, I’ll just cut to the chase.” The man suddenly pulled out a bottle of pills. He shook it to emphasize that he had some left. There had to have been about 5 in there. Cole’s eyes widened once he knew what was happening.
“What the fuck? I’m not buying anything off of you. Get away from me right now!” Cole shoved the man away from him and backed away. Cole was bigger than the man and normally, he’d easily be able to pummel this guy to the ground if necessary. But the raven hadn’t been himself for the past few months. His strength was nowhere near as much as it was 3 months ago. He’d at least be able to tackle him.
“Nothing at that store was gonna help you, man. You were staring past the pharmacist for minutes. I bet you were just dying to get your hands on one, so I got a couple for you.” He spoke clearly. He was aware of what he was doing. It had to have been a business of some sort.
“I’m not buying these off of you. End of story.” He’d rather not deal with the cops at the moment. The last thing he needed was to be arrested for illegal possession of medicine. Nor end up in the emergency room for a drug overdose.
“Woah, no need to get hostile bro. I’ll give it to you for free, like a trial run. If you like it, then I’ll charge you half off for it.” The guy smirked
“What? But I said no-”
“Take it, big guy. You’ll thank me later if it gets your cogs turning. Also, no take back's. I don’t do returns.” The shady guy walked away quickly and waved his hand. “You know where to find me. I have a feeling you’ll be back somehow.”
Cole stood there on the street with a bottle of pills in his left hand. He couldn’t believe he took it. Though, it’s not like he’ll use it, right?
At least, that’s what he thought. He felt different once he took the first pill. It felt, euphoric. He was free from what was hunting him and eating him alive. He was practically dancing around his apartment all night. So, what he thought was going to be a one-time thing ended up becoming an addiction.
He wasn’t an addict. He couldn’t have been. Cole could stop whenever he wanted to. But that feeling of being free was too alluring to him. He couldn’t let that go. Not again. And so, he was back in that alleyway with the shady man.
“I did tell you I had a feeling you’d be back.” He grinned wickedly. Cole felt horrible for coming back after he swore that he wouldn’t. He swore that he was better than this.
Would his parents still be proud of him now?
—
TW: OVERDOSE AND DRUG ABUSE
1 pill became 3. 3 had become 6. 6 became 12. And soon, he lost count. Cole felt like a drunken mess. His vision was blurred, and it became painful to stand up for too long. Everything began to hurt. But he didn’t care. He couldn’t care.
Then the phone rang. Then the phone stopped. And it rang again. And again. Until the sound faded out and everything faded to black as soon as he hit the floor.
The room was dark. Nothing but one singular candle illuminating a small portion of the abyss. Sitting awkwardly on an empty plate where a small chocolate cake once was. The party hat has been crushed onto the ground. Cole sat there and watched the candle as time seemed to have stopped. It burned brightly on the plate melting at a fast pace. Yet, the flame never burned out.
Cole lay in the middle of the floor, staring into space. Yet the room remained black. All he could see was the burning candle on that same, god-awful plate. He couldn’t speak. All he could do was stare at the candle.
There he was. Lying in the middle of the floor. Blacked out and unconscious. He could only hear the distant muffled cries in the background and the feeling of warmth as his body was pulled into the arms of someone he couldn’t see.
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(Sorry for the depressing comeback chapter. Here are some posts made by the streamers as a bonus.)
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GulpGulpKing @ilovemyhomies6969 - 10:30 AM
Hey man, what do you think about what’s going on?
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Zane Julien @iceicebabyy - 3:21 PM
I do not wish to speak on the behalf of my friends. I can only hope this will be resolved positively and that both sides of the party are doing well.
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Greeny @myelementisgreen - 7:28 PM
My friends will handle the situation as they please. I ask you all to stop giving them hell about it.
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UwU @whotfareyou?
Ok, who let him curse?
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I<3Nya @jaythebestman - 5:40 AM
I swear I’m gonna shove a lightning bolt up someone’s ass if I see one more comment shit-talking Rocky and Red.
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LiterallyeveryJaysimp @imcallingyoualloutincludingmyself - 5:44 AM
I volunteer as a tribute
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H20 @waterqueennn - 7:59 AM
No.
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RockHard @rockydangerBUFF - 10:50 PM
Taking a break due to personal issues.
Edit: Please stop harassing Kai and the others. It’s not cool.
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Decentx @unstablemotherfucker09 - 12:32 AM
I’ll eventually write something positive for you in the story and stop making it a living hell.
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RockHard @rockydangerBUFF - 2:43 AM
What?
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HottestBitchAlive @RedSh0gun - 4:20 AM
Can y’all not talk about the stream in my thread?
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undertalelover1090 @undertalelover1090 - 9:30 PM
Pls, just tell me this isn’t my fault.
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Ur mom @randominternetstranger - 9:40
Bro, what part of “STFU” do you not understand?
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