There's Something Happening - Digital Time Fanfic

Chapter 4: Death and Despair

Colin's perspective: As I laid there in the pitch black darkness of my room, staring at the ceiling, I felt as if I might melt. The one thing on my mind was Tony.

"He doesn't like you. Stop getting your hopes up," I thought. I mean, it wasn't hard to see that we weren't made for each other. But still, something in the back of my mind kept telling me that we were, no matter how ridiculous it seemed. I turned over onto my side and shook off the feeling, and soon enough I was asleep.

I woke up to the sound of screaming. I guess that was a normal morning for me. I sat up, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and went to find the source of the locomotion. I walked into the kitchen to see Lars and Steve, flinging their arms at each other like they were having a preschool fight.

"What- why are you guys yelling so early in the morning?" I asked.

"Steve burned the bacon!" Lars exclaimed.

"Well, I wouldn't have burned it if you didn't distract me with your dumb joke!" Steve growled.

"IT WAS A DEEZ NUTS JOKE, IT WAS FUNNY!!"

"WHAT IS A "DEEZ NUTS JOKE" AND WHO THE FUCK IS CANDICE?!"

"Lars! Steve! Calm down! If I make something, will you guys stop fighting?" I asked, breaking up the argument. Lars and Steve struck resentful looks at each other before both agreeing to stop.

I started to make pancakes when Paige came into the kitchen. Her eyes had big dark circles underneath them.

"Are you ok, Paige?" I asked as she walked past me, hunched over.

"No, I'm exhausted. I knew it was a bad idea to go to the bar last night, my sleep schedule always gets fucked up," Paige mumbled.

"So what's everybody's plans for today?"

"I'm gonna watch TV! The new season of Loving Lies is coming out today and I can't wait to watch it!" Shrignold said, jumping in his seat.

"Wait, you watch Loving Lies too?! I love that show!" Lars gasped. Shrignold stared at him in disbelief.

"No way! Wait, who's your favourite character?"

"Uh... ooh, that's a tough decision but I'd have to say Lola-"

"Holy Malcolm, me too!! I love the part where-"

"Ok, nerds, don't hurt yourselves," Steve exhaled. "I'm going to a cooking convention. I've been waiting for months to go there and there's finally an open slot!"

"What about Veg? Who's gonna take care of him while you're out?" I asked.

"Oh, Paige can," Steve said, glancing over at Paige who was sitting at the dining table, drinking coffee. She spat it out immediately.

"I'm taking care of him? Hell no. I don't know about you but I'm going back to sleep," Paige told him. She slammed the coffee cup down on the table and stormed to her room.

"Steve, me and Shrig could look after Veg for you," Lars offered. Steve thought for a moment before talking.

"Ok, but if something bad happens to my little Veggie, I will murder you both," Steve explained. Lars and Shrignold both smiled and nodded their heads anxiously.

All of a sudden, Tony walked in. He sat down on the couch and sunk back into the cushions.

"Hi, Tony! Want some pancakes?" I asked, leaning my head out the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, so Tony gets breakfast but we don't?" Shrignold sneered. I flushed and laughed it off. I served breakfast and sat down at the table with everyone else.

"So, what are you up to today, Tony?" I asked as I dug my fork into my pancakes.

"Hm, I'm not sure... I wanted to go get this new video game I saw, it looked really cool," Tony said.

"Sounds fun! I mean... could I join you? I don't really have much to do around here."

"Ok! A bit of company would be nice."

After I finished eating my breakfast, I got up from the table and raced to my room. Me and Tony would finally be alone together. It was almost technically a date!

Tony's perspective: I got ready to go. I didn't want to dress up too fancy, that would be weird. I chose a t-shirt and a pair of jeans to wear, slapped myself in the face softly and walked out the door. Colin was waiting for me outside, looking at the tulips that had been planted alongside our apartment.

"Lars said we can take his car," Colin told me, fishing for the keys in his pocket. He hurled them at me and I unlocked the vehicle. Colin didn't like to drive. He had gotten in a car accident years ago and to his surprise, he was able to stay alive. The only downside was that he had to get his body replaced with a computer. He went through years of therapy, years of mental health groups, but nothing ever helped him get behind the wheel again. 

He reached over for the radio and switched through different stations until he heard a song he liked.

"So, erm... do you like playing video games, Colin?" I asked.

"I've never tried before," Colin answered. I looked at him with a shocked expression on my face.

"You've never played a video game?!"

"Never. I'm more of a reader than a gamer."

"Funny; I'm the complete opposite."

"Maybe I could play one with you sometime and I could lend you one of my books to read!"

"Heh, sure!"

Of course, Colin and I had lived together for almost 6 years now, but for some reason we had learned more about each other during that 15 minute drive than we ever had. 

When we got to the video game store, I ran straight to the one I wanted. Colin followed me up to the counter. I placed the video game down and the cashier scanned its barcode. She handed it back to me.

"That's $24.99," she said. I opened my wallet and looked through it. I looked back up at the cashier.

"Er... I don't think I have enough..." I frowned, showing her the lonely 10 dollars inside my wallet. Colin suddenly handed me another 20. I looked over at him and smiled. I put the money on the counter and she traded me the video game. Colin and I walked out the door and got back into the car. Before I left the parking lot, I hugged the video game to my chest and squealed with joy.

"You really wanted that game, huh?" Colin laughed. I nodded enthusiastically.

When we got home, I ripped the video game out of the plastic wrap it was sealed in. I put the disc into my console and picked up the controller. Colin was sitting next to me on the couch as I waited for the game to load.

"So, what's the game called anyways?" He asked.

"Death and Despair," I said, not taking my eyes off the TV. Colin picked up the case of the game and inspected it.

"There's blood and severed body parts all over the cover! This looks like a scary game, Tony," he told me.

"Pssh, it's fine. You get used to it after a while," I said. Finally, the game finished loading.

Colin watched me play for two hours. Every once in a while, there would be a jump scare, and Colin would glitch out and hide behind me. I laughed at him and he would turn as red as a tomato.

"Don't worry, Colin, it's only a game," I assured him.

"I'm not sleeping tonight," Colin whispered to himself.