The Purple Pupeteer

Infected

DING-DONG.

The sudden and unexpected sound of the doorbell ringing made Will jolt forward, almost choking on the tea that was in his mouth. The musician briefly glanced at the time once more. Half-past nine. With a slight sense of confusion, the blonde-haired man stood up with a groan, stretching his back out. He'd only just gotten comfortable, and now he had to move, damn it. His town's postman started her rounds very early, so it was most likely a delivery. At least it was arriving now, and not while he was out and about.

Briskly walking to his front hall, Will straightened up his jacket and fixed a polite smile on his face. However, when he unlocked and opened the front door, his smile faltered slightly with surprise. "Christ, you got here fast," he stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, nice to see you too, Will," the other man replied, with a bemused smile forming on his lips.

Will laughed slightly, shaking his head. "Sorry, Lewis. I just thought you were coming at ten, wasn't quite ready, ha."

The younger man was standing tall with his hands behind his back, slightly looking down at the musician behind blue tinted sunglasses. He had semi-formal matt black shoes, black denim jeans, and a yellow hoodie. Lewis shrugged. "Rather be early than late," he stated. "At least we get some time to chill."

"Want a drink before we head off? Kettle's boiled not too long ago, I can make a tea for you." Will stood to the side to make space as Lewis stepped past him.

"I'll have a coffee, please. Black."

The musician chuckled slightly, with a look of minor disbelief on his face. "A coffee? Since when have you had coffees?" His friend just shrugged again. Dropping that matter, Will pointed to an open doorway as he headed towards his kitchen. "Take a seat in there, I'll go make it."

Lewis nodded, following the instruction as he slowly strolled into the living area, surveying his surroundings. It was relatively basic; brown floor boards, white and grey walls, grey sofas and chairs, black shelves, black coffee table, black TV stand, a TV, and a couple of plants and posters scattered around. The younger man took a seat, his eyes fixed on the inactive screen before him as he hummed to himself, patiently waiting for his friend to come back. A remote control was laying on the arm of the sofa, within his reach. The corners of his lips twitched as he held back the calculated and manipulative smirk that threatened to cross his mouth, not wanting to give any indication to his friend that something was wrong. The sound of the blonde-haired man's footsteps became louder as they approached the room, after less than a minute of waiting.

"Well, here's your black coffee," Will placed down a large mug on the table and took a seat next to his friend, giving him a smile as he noticed his friend's unchanged appearance. "You drink a bit too much last night or something?"

Lewis glanced at the other man with confusion. "What?"

"You're wearing shades inside," Will stated, pointing to them.

"Oh, right," he giggled to himself slightly. "Don't worry about that," the younger man responded, a slight sense of amusement in his voice. Changing the focus on the conversation, he asked, "Mind if I turn on the TV? I want to show you something."

The musician frowned slightly at the sudden change in topic, but nodded. "Sure, go ahead. Are you going to screen share or something?" Lewis picked up the remote that was laying on the arm of the sofa, pointing it forwards. He made no attempt to answer the previous question, so, Will tried again. "What are we..." Click. The screen in front of the two men flickered to life within an instant, to reveal one single thing.

Shades of purple.

"What the...?" Will glanced across the screen with confusion, trying to work out what he was looking at. Unable to do so, he turned to his friend. "What is that?"