Chapter Text
Crystal and Niko had started walking around the office more, taling to people, sorting things on the caseboard, sitting next to him, getting up again, talking to more people - it was a lot for the few minuets hed been sitting there. He knew it had only been a few minuets because Edwin had said it to him all bussiness when he left. "I'll only be a few minuets, Charles. Wait." he'd said, "I'm on my way to the..."
the
uh
...
To Tragic Mick's. right. for books.
He wondered what kind of books he was getting, and what he was researching and why it meant that Charles couldn't come with him. God he loved surprises.
He was shaken from his thoughts by Niko, who had come to sit next to him and was repeatedly tapping his hand.
His voice sprung to life, the rest of him stayed put. Waiting. Because Edwin wanted him to wait.
"Niko!"
"Charles!" She said, shoulders doing... something. Dropping, he figured, based on the evidence his perhipheral vision gave him. He wasn't sure why she was so releived.
"You alright?" He asked, after a long silence.
"Yeah" she stuttered "Yeah sorry it's just... you're crying, charles."
"I am?" he touched his cheeks, feeling the salty liquid - he was.
"Mhm. Is it because you're upset about... what happened?"
Crystal chimed in from the desk, sounding defeated, "I told you, Niko, he doesn-"
He didn't wait for her to finish, "I guess I just miss him, you know?"
Another silence. It was a shocked thing, like a river dam developing a hole on the coolest, crispest day autumn had to offer. Like the smallest little jet of water freeing itself on the riverbed so that it may flow just the little bit.
It was Niko who broke the silence, but not the shock.
"I know," she said, "It surprised us all when it happened, but charles-"
"Right? He never goes to the shops without me, but I trust him, so it doesn't really matter" he added. Just like that, an icy sadness frose the little jet right over. He's not sure what he said to make it happen, but winter had come over the faces of his friends
"I... oh." Crystal said. Hushed. Why was she always so hushed around him now? "Right."
A slumped out Niko took his hand, "what's he shopping for charles?"
"Books" he said. Certain.
"What kind of books?" She continued, looking Charles in the eyes even though he was lazer focused on the mirror still.
"Dunno. I think it's meant to be a surprise. He knows I like a surprise - big surprise guy, I am."
"That's so cool!" She said, with a big smile plastered across her face. As senior fake smiler though? the smile was fake. Faker than anything - easity passible as real to the normal eye, but he wasn't buying it. He just couldn't figure out why it would be fake though, so he left it.
He thinks maybe he'd been thinking about it too long, because when he stops, Crystal and Niko are across the room, talking.
"...erous Niko, we don't know what feeding into the delusion could do, we aren't trained for this!"
"But if we look into what he's saying we might get through to him-"
"and what if we don't? what if we loose him Niko? What if we loose him too?"
a beat.
"... I was only trying to help"
another beat. a sigh.
"I know. I'm sorry, Niko, we should be trying. But if we're going to need to ask someone who knows what they're doing."
"right... I just hate seeing him like this. It's been weeks"
That was when he knew he should stop listening. Weeks. Now that was just silly. It had only been a few minuets. He knew that because Edwin had told him, "a few minuets, Charles. wait.".