i used to light you up

chapter 1

The apartment door swung open after what felt like an eternity of waiting on Eli's part. Edgar looked taken aback for a moment, already preparing his snarky remarks about breaking and entering. Until he saw how gloomy Eli looked. He had never seen his friend look so dreadful before- it was kind of starting to make Edgar depressed, honestly.

"Eli, what are you doing here?" Edgar asked, making sure his tone wasn't too abrasive as he set his things on the extravagant dining table.

"I didn't even see it coming..." Eli started- more muttering to himself than responding to anything Edgar said. Edgar almost rolled his eyes before remembering that his friend was in some sort of dilemma.

"Uh, Eli?" Edgar tried again to catch the seers' attention.

"Sorry," Eli said, coming out of his trance, "I just... I think it's over-"

Edgar became more concerned now and moved across his living room to sit with his friend, sitting on the couch next to Eli. "What do you mean?"

"Gertrude ended things with me," Eli said, keeping his face forward. A thousand things ran through Edgar's head- should he offer support? Advice? Should he offer to tell Eli's ex-fiancee off? Edgar apparently took too long to gather his thoughts because Eli began again, "I knew we had financial issues but I tried my best to assure her that it wouldn't last. I thought we were really trying to stay together."

Edgar frowned deeply. He had met the couple after Gertrude's particularly harsh critique of one of his favorite pieces he worked on entitled "très belle peinture dans une langue étrangère". He had decided that the woman didn't know anything about art, calling one of Edgar's pride and joy paintings "Devoid of any real substance" But he and Eli had really hit it off, Edgar's abrasive nature matching perfectly with Eli's tendency to be snarky. The couple had only been together for a few months then and hadn't yet gotten engaged, and Edgar grew quite close to Eli in the almost two years since the trio's initial meeting. He had seen the couple get engaged, have typical arguments that lovers have, and seen the highs of their relationship too. Gertrude was one of the only people fighting for Eli as the doctors tried to figure out his worsening eyesight as he aged. Eli had once said that he could never picture himself with another woman for as long as he lived- even though he was only twenty when he said it. Even though he never took a particular liking to Gertrude, Edgar's heart broke a little for Eli as he watched his friend wait expectantly for an answer to what to do about losing her so suddenly.

Edgar stammered a little, trying to pick one of his racing thoughts to console Eli. He Sighed, resting his hand on Eli's shoulder "Eli... why didn't you tell me you were struggling to support yourselves? I wish i could help you..."

Eli huffed not in anger or malice towards Edgar, but in general frustration "You know she doesn't like taking hand-outs from friends, Edgar she'd only get angrier if you tried, besides it's over now, right? I have to move on."

"Does she think I would run some kind of charity? I would only do it because you're such a dear friend of mine. You know I would never let you struggle." Edgar said, his fuse running somewhat short at Eli's Ex-lover. "Do you want to stay with me?"

Eli rested his elbows on his knees, looking more miserable by the second, "You don't have to offer that, you know."

"Believe me, I know," Edgar snorted, rubbing Eli's shoulders gently. "At least until you two figure out the housing situation, who gets to keep the summer home, etcetera."

"Summer house...? Anyways, if you don't mind, that sounds nice, Edgar thank you for the offer. I think I will stay here if that's alright."

"Yes! Just bring your things here, and make the guest room your own for as long as you'd like." Edgar said, standing before clasping his hands together, "I hope you don't think of me as rude, but I've got a commission to work on before the deadline next month. Please, make yourself at home, I'll be in the studio if you need anything."

With that, Edgar picked his bag up from the dining table and headed into his studio to work on his art.

Later in the night, when Edgar finally emerged from his studio and Eli had returned from the homey townhouse he shared with his now ex-fiancee, the pair sat down for dinner together. Edgar had decided that since Eli had gone through the break up so recently, that he would spare Eli from his dreadful cooking, and decided to order food from his favorite bistro in town. When Edgar called Eli down to eat, he looked even more miserable than before. It had become more evident on his face that he had spent a large majority of the day crying.

Edgar placed the small brown take out boxes around Eli, stepping back proudly, Edgar placed his hands on his hips proudly and beamed at the seer brightly. Eli couldn't help but smile back at the artists' generosity towards him.

"Edgar, you got all of this for me?" Eli asked in disbelief.

Edgar's laugh echoed through the large living space, "Of course! I didn't know exactly what you like, so I got you a selection of things." Edgar returned to his own seat, scooping his own food onto an ornate plate in front of him. Eli felt somewhat ashamed like he was taking advantage of Edgar's kindness, but when the seer brought it up to his friend, Edgar brushed him off with a wave of his hand.

"As I said earlier, Eli, if I didn't want you here, I wouldn't have offered in the first place. You're my friend, not some kind of ploy to increase my own morality or ego."

"Hey, how did retrieving your things go?" Edgar asked, scraping his spoon against his plate to clean it. Immediately the once lighthearted conversation gained an air of intensity. Edgar felt horrible for asking, seeing that clearly, it didn't go well by the grim look overtaking Eli's features. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright, you didn't know. I saw some of her friends retrieving some of her portfolios from the house as I arrived. I don't know how we're going to tell our landlord of the split. Obviously, she has also found a place to stay. Independent of me or what we were." Edgar couldn't hide his contempt behind a pleasant facade anymore, he openly grimaced.

Edgar tried to hide his anger, taking a moment to consider what attacking the woman would do. He decided against spewing his venom, knowing that speaking badly about a woman Eli so dearly loved would only cause Edgar to gain Eli's ire. Without warning an idea popped into Edgar's head.

"Eli, you should come to this event at Symphony with me!" Edgar spoke in a rushed, excited tone.

Eli looked as gloomy as ever, "A nightclub, really?" Eli's mouth morphed into a flat line. This reaction elicited an eye roll from Edgar.

"Yes, really. And it's not a nightclub, it's one of the most prestigious clubs in town. It's the club to be at. You're coming with me, it's tomorrow night." Edgar continued, his excitement mounting, "Don't worry about clothing, I'll see to it that you're appropriately dressed."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful bu-" Eli began.

"Great! Say no more, no need to thank me. This will be great for you, Eli maybe you'll meet someone more worthy of your time while we're there." Edgar said, standing to clear the table of dinner's mess.

Once Edgar had bid Eli goodnight, Eli sighed making his way to the guest room where he would be staying for the foreseeable future. Eli sat on the edge of the large, plush bed and once again rested his elbows on his knees, letting his head fall into his hands.

Eli had no memory of when the tears started, all he knew is that by the time sleep finally came to him, his pillow was thoroughly soaked with them. The seer, at last, drifted into a deep, almost dreamless sleep.