There's Something Happening - Digital Time Fanfic

Chapter 11: Memory

Colin's perspective: I couldn't shake it. The thought of Tony crying on the floor. It replayed over and over in my head. Half of me wanted to confront Tony about it. The other half told me to stay out of it; it's not my business anyways. For days it puzzled me.

I was sitting on the couch, in a daze, looking at the TV. It was off but I didn't really care. Veg sat down with me.

"Hi, Colin."

"Huh?! Oh.. hey, kid."

"You do know the TV is turned off, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Colin, you've been so down lately. Is it because of what happened at the party?" Veg asked.

"Uh, to be honest, I don't even remember the party. It's all just a messy blur," I said.

"We heard screams coming from a hall and then we saw you laying on the ground and Tony was leaning against the wall in front of you and-"

"Tony was with me when it happened?" I questioned.

"Yeah, he was. I noticed he was blushing a lot, I have no idea why," he said. I looked down for a moment, then looked back up at Veg.

"Was he the only one with me when it happened?"

"I think so."

"Weird. Why would I just leave a party at Blenheim Palace to hang out with Tony?" 

"Well, I heard Tony talking to himself last night.. something about him never getting to tell you... something. I don't know, I never really heard him that well. He was awfully quiet," Veg explained. I knew what I had to do now. I had to come to grips with Tony. I had to talk to him. I was starving to know what went down that night. 

I sat in my bed, thinking of ways to approach Tony. It shouldn't have been as hard as it was; all he ever did was sleep, drink coffee and play video games all day. Video games... Death and Despair... I harked back to when I watched Tony play that game. I felt the memory spark in my brain. It was all coming back to me, ever so slowly. I remembered how every time I saw a jump scare, I glitched and hid behind Tony. I remembered how I could hardly sleep that night. How I got up at midnight to get a snack. How I ran into Steve in the kitchen. Sleep mode... I remembered talking to him about how only the new computers have sleep mode. I could finally remember something!

I tried to think even deeper. I squinted my eyes and thought about the tulips. I remembered! I remembered giving him the tulips! Sitting in the front yard, picking a bouquet of flowers for Tony. But why? Why would I be picking flowers specifically for Tony? I ended up tiring myself out from how exhilarated I was. And soon I fell asleep. 

Tony's perspective: Another night of crying my eyes out. I wondered if maybe this was how I was gonna live my life. Every night, I just sit on the floor with the flowers and cry. Every. Single. Night. 

I woke up with a headache that hurt more than death itself. For the love of fuck, could things get any worse?!

I went out to the kitchen, not even bothering to put on a shirt. I sat down on the couch, right between Shrignold and Lars.

"Um, Tony, do you mind?" Lars asked sourly. I didn't answer him, I just stood up and sluggishly walked to the other end of the couch. 

"Jeez, what's bugging you, Tony?" Paige asked, looking up from the colouring book her and Veg were working on. 

"Eh. I'm just... tired," I grumbled. Colin walked in right after I said that. I was honestly humiliated when he saw me without a shirt on. He didn't seem to be phased by it though. I did notice he looked particularly less confused today. He even had a sort of smile on his face. But not a warm, welcoming one. More like a prideful one. 

"Good morning!" He sung. Now I knew something was up. Was it another virus? Go figure. My thoughts kind of drowned out everyone else's voices. I was only brought back to my attention when I heard my name.

"So, Tony, do you wanna get the mail with me today?" Colin asked. His eyes pierced through me like lasers. My mind scrambled to find the words to say.

"O-ok," I faltered. I shot a swift glance over at Shrignold. He was already looking at me when I did. I saw him mouth 'you got this'. I got up to get dressed, then I put my coat and hat on. Colin did the same. We both walked down the stairs together.

"Why did you want me to go with you, Colin?" I asked, trying to not sound suspicious. He shrugged.

"I don't know, I just chose randomly," he said nonchalantly. I wasn't fully assured just yet. We stepped outside and were both hit with a delightful surprise. A thick sheet of snow covered the ground. We both stood in amazement.

"Oh, wow..." I exhaled. 

"This is the first snow of the year! Y'know what? Forget the mail, we're making a snowman!" Colin cried. I watched as he raced out into the snow. Suddenly, everybody else ran past me, all dressed in their winter clothes. I guess they also found out about the snow.