Chapter Text
The warm sunlight peeked in gently, slipping through the window little by little to embrace the barely messy room. Even with the curtains closed, Avery’s eyes felt irritated, along with the light chirping of birds and a constant beep coming from his small nightstand next to the bed; the young man’s rest had been interrupted. He let out a faint groan as he stretched his body, not really in the mood to start the day.
Carelessly, he extended his arm to reach for his phone, straining to see the screen, which only brightened his face even more. It was 7:30 a.m., the time he used to get up for breakfast before getting ready for university. Something that, a long time ago, stopped being the case.
“Alright…” he muttered to himself, sitting on the mattress before rubbing his eyes clumsily, trying to remove the sleep crust, before standing up. Once again, he stretched his entire body and placed his hand on his cheek to scratch, yawning with considerable force. But realistically, anyone watching might have thought he was screaming like a lunatic.
His eyes then landed on his desk, the place where he used to do his college assignments or just spend time playing on his laptop. But for about a month now, specifically since New Year’s, he hadn’t sat there—much less to play. Honestly… just seeing that part of his room brought a painful sense of nostalgia and sorrow, something not easy to handle for someone like him.
“…You’re too sensitive,” he thought, leaving the room with a lump in his throat.
The second semester had ended some time ago, and the start of the new year hadn’t been the most pleasant; now he spent his days focused on his new job as a cashier at a small supermarket not too far from home.
His father was a good friend of the owner, and before letting him waste the following months of vacation, they agreed to have him as a part-time employee. It’s not that he hated the idea of working; in fact, it made him feel more independent, but at the same time, his mind wasn’t in the best place to handle the stress that comes with customer service.
Rude people exist everywhere in the world, that’s a fact, and many times you think you’re prepared for it. But what are you supposed to do when you’re in the middle of grief? Or… can this even be considered grief?
There wasn’t a day that he didn’t think of Derek: before sleeping, doing his household chores, having dinner with his family; Avery always kept him in mind, even though he had barely met him in a silly game like Minecraft. It might sound like a far-fetched excuse, but his new job had worsened this feeling in just three days.
Seeing the faces of all those people, noticing small details like their clothes, accessories, or hair, always brought a simple yet anguishing question to mind.
“What would he look like?” His hairstyle, his eyes, his skin, his voice… He would have loved to talk to him, not through the game chat, but by call, to express how grateful he was for saving his life, to remind him who he was, and maybe—just maybe—that could have prevented Derek from throwing him into the void.
“Yes… maybe,” he thought deep in his mind, finishing scanning one of the customers’ products, charging almost automatically. “That’ll be $34, sir.” The guy just nodded and handed him the exact money, taking his bag and leaving; he didn’t even say a simple “thanks.”
“Ah… what am I doing with my life?” Once again, that question that always seemed to disturb his mind. “Am I even doing things right?” he added to himself, remembering the letter that D3rlord3 had prepared for him. “I… I can’t be happy like this.”
Small tears welled up in his eyes, on the verge of breaking down.
“Excuse me?” A male voice called him; a young adult, maybe a year or two older than him. “Hey, are you okay?” the guy asked casually, but with genuine concern. “Do you need a moment…?” He wanted to read his badge to call him by name, but he couldn’t even vocalize the first letter.
“Yes, sorry!” he replied immediately, wiping the tears as quickly as he could to regain composure. His nervous laugh and red cheeks, from the embarrassment of crying in front of someone at work, gave him away. He wasn’t comfortable, but he had an obligation to continue.
“Hey…” the braided-hair man tried to say something.
“I’ll just charge you!” His eyes were glassy, and his voice clearly shaky.
“Hey…”
“I just have to-”
“Avery, stop!” he exclaimed, annoyed, saying his name in a way that sounded almost familiar.
“I…” No, he didn’t know what to say. Not even the most demanding customer had ever called him that. It didn’t feel good, but it didn’t feel bad either.
And suddenly, there was only silence, darkness, and a vision that grew increasingly blurry.
“Avery?”
Echo, so much echo in the voice that called him.
“Buddy, wake up,” he said, snapping his fingers in front of his face, while his boss’s voice could be heard faintly in the background.
In his hands was a half-drunk glass of water, and his mouth felt strangely sweet. Of the few words present in the room, he only managed to understand something about a “sugar low.”
“No… what?” he murmured, slowly sitting up. He felt his heart pounding, and a discomfort lingered in his head that, although unpleasant, was bearable.
His boss sighed in relief seeing him awake, signaling that he would step out for a moment to continue a call. And though the young man was quite confused, he already had an idea of who he was contacting: his father.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” mentioned the previous customer, with a barely perceptible smile.
“Th-thank you,” he said, trembling a bit as he looked away, feeling the atmosphere strangely unusual. “Don’t take this the wrong way, please… but why are you still here with me?”
“Well, I raised my voice and then you fainted. I was worried I might have caused you some stress overload or something, you know? Not every day someone faints in front of you.”
“Ah, yes… sorry.” Though he didn’t know why, he felt strangely disappointed by that answer. But, of course, what exactly should he have expected?
He took another sip of water, tasting the intense sweetness filling his mouth.
“And how do you feel?”
“Still a bit uncomfortable. My head hurts a little.”
“Your boss was talking about giving you the day off or something. Maybe you should see a doctor.”
“Yeah, probably,” he said, looking at the door with a small glass window, where he saw his superior speaking nervously. He had always been considerate of the health of his clients and employees, especially if they were people he cared about.
“Avery.”
“Eh, yes?” he turned his head to look him in the eyes.
Suddenly, a strong hug enveloped him, tightly squeezing Avery’s body. Hands ran along his back, gripping firmly so he wouldn’t pull away.
“I told you not to think you failed… you never did…” Curiously, the one on the verge of tears now was him.
“Wait!” He brusquely grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him back, needing to see his face once more. His breathing quickened, and his lips trembled in an innocent gesture of wanting to crumble.
Could it be…
“You’re not a very hard guy to catch, you know? Avery…”
“It’s… it’s you…”
The boy let out a soft laugh.
“Me” He replied.
“Derek”.