when the sun goes black (old- will probably revise)

10

Tbh I feel like it's too soon for this level of drama but idk what else to do for a chapter so here we go

It was the middle of the night when Frank burst into Party's cell, his face solemn. He sat up in his cot, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, utterly confused.

He looked like hell. His hair was a tangled mess, a sheen of cold sweat stuck his clothes to his skin, and his expression was intense yet unreadable- a look of terror hung in his eyes, fixed on some faraway point. Whatever it was, Frank had had a rough evening.

"...Fun? What are you doing here...?" Party squinted at his silhouette in the doorframe as light poured in from the hall. He realized his mistake with the name, but oddly enough, he didn't correct Party as he usually did. Bigger things were on his mind.

"Listen. I-I need to tell you something," he stammered. The room was shrouded in darkness as the door closed, but Frank had a small handheld lantern that bathed them in dim light. His hand was shaking, causing it to flicker. He set it on the ground, beginning to pace in anxious circles. "I can't keep it from you. It's not right,"

Party raised an eyebrow, intrigued yet concerned. "What's so urgent that you had to come here in the middle of the damn night?"

"You're gonna die, Party." His voice was weak and strained, as if it hurt just to think about. "They're going to kill you."

Party's eyes widened. He was certainly wide awake now. He remembered experiencing things like this during Ritalin withdrawal. Strong bouts of what could only be described as mania, where his grip on reality loosened and his emotions- suddenly much too strong to handle- took the reigns.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Frank wandered around the cell restlessly, his head in his hands. "M-my superior, she told me. They aren't gonna mask you or transfer you to someone else. You'll be terminated on the spot. And I've already failed, there's nothing I can do and-" he shook his head and met Party's eyes with a look of abject hopelessness and terror. "Why would they do that? You're too young to die. It doesn't make sense. Nothing makes sense. I think I'm dying too, Party. I feel sick. Like... like I'm falling into a bottomless and I can't stop it no matter what I try."

Shocked as he was by this revelation, he couldn't be angry. Clearly, he was having a hard time processing it himself, and he understood. Knowing the false idols that'd raised him up from his lowest would mercilessly claim a life, especially in this state, had to be devastating.

"...It's gonna be okay," he stated, getting out of his cot and approaching Frank.

"I can't do anything," he muttered. "I'm powerless. I've always been powerless. I'm stuck. It feels like I can't breathe."

"Fun, we need to get out of here." Party declared. "We can make a plan and leave the city. We have a home in the Zones. It's too dangerous for either of us to stay here."

Frank froze, staring at him blankly. "No." He simply replied, after a few seconds of silence. "No, I can't do that."

Party laughed a bit in disbelief at his blunt refusal. "It's the only choice we have. If we stay here, I'll die and you'll get found out, and who knows what they'll do to you?"

"I can't!" He repeated, firmer this time. "My whole life is here, if I leave, I..."

"What? What will happen?!" He couldn't help but raise his voice, getting agitated that he still insisted on staying, siding with people who wanted Party dead. "You'll finally live the life you were too much of a coward to all those years ago?"

He'd gone too far, and he knew it, but it was too late. A look of rage flew over Frank's face. Party shook his head. "I-I didn't mean-"

"Oh, fuck you, Party! You don't understand anything! You think it's so easy to just pack up and run away!" he yelled, swearing for the first time in years. "You haven't lived my life. You haven't felt the things I have. You have no idea what it's like!"

Frank shoved him against the wall with strength he didn't know he had, glaring into his eyes with sheer venom. Party was speechless. "You left me, Party! Don't you understand that?! You were all I had and you abandoned me without looking back, but they never did that. All I had to do was follow the rules and I had friends, family, a community, people who loved me. Day in and day out, they made me feel like I could be someone to be proud of, like I could make something of my life. You threw me down to my lowest and they picked me up, and now you walk back into my life and expect me to just leave that all behind?!"

"I never wanted to abandon you, but Fun, I had to live my own life." Party responded, frozen. He hadn't yet let go, and the air was thick with pure emotion. Everything Frank had bottled up over the years was coming out. He wanted him to have this, to let it out, to know how he truly felt. "They never cared for me the way they care for you. I wanted to take you with me, but you wanted to stay."

"I just needed time! You wouldn't even give me that! I... I needed you. You were the only thing that made me feel okay sometimes and now, now I don't even know who I am anymore. You make me so goddamn fucking confused and I wish- I wish you were dead sometimes, because I don't know how to handle you being here again like nothing ever happened!" He screamed, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Party remained resigned and silent. "Every time I see your face, I feel so torn. I can't take it. You hurt me like no one ever has, but I can't hate you for it, and it's so goddamn frustrating it makes me want to kill myself."

He began to sob quietly as his hatred dissolved into sorrow, his grip weakening as tears streamed down his cheeks. He furiously tried to wipe them away, letting go and turning the other direction. "I want it to fucking end. I can't take this anymore. I can't do this." He croaked. "It's too much. I don't even know why I stopped, I... I can't get a grip."

Party approached him, quiet and careful."Hey," he murmured, bending over a bit to get a glimpse of Frank's face. He defiantly buried it away in his hands. His shoulders trembled. "Do you remember the first time you cried? Back when we were kids?"

"I had a dream about it. You broke into my house," he declared through the tears. Party chuckled softly.

"Maybe a little bit." He replied. "I can't really hug you too well right now, given the handcuffs and all, but maybe we can figure something out?"

Frank parted his fingers and glanced through them. Party smiled gently, trying to seem as welcoming as he could, awkwardly holding his bound arms up and out.

Without another word, Frank embraced him fiercely. He wrapped his arms tight around Party's torso, and he reciprocated as best he could, slipping his hands over Frank's head and giving him a loose and awkward hug.

It felt good. Safe. Just like childhood. That first hug that kept all the bad things at bay. He could hear them and he could feel them, scratching at the door of Party's cell, crooning Frank's name and screaming for him to let them inside. He'd have to eventually- something would have to happen, he would have to face his failure and the person who always instigated it, who always sparked that stupid, stupid curiosity that only ever caused trouble and pain. He poured every confusing feeling into each tear that came out of his eyes.

"I don't know what's gonna happen," Party murmured. "I can't make sense of this myself, but I know one thing, and that's that I'll stay with you, no matter what you decide."

"You're a liar," Frank sobbed. "Fuck you for doing this to me. I hate you. I hate you so much. You can't just fucking say that, you can't do this, not after... not after everything you-" he cut himself off in a fit of furious cries, falling limp and helpless to the unfairness of it all.

He sighed. "You have every right to feel that way. I hurt you. I let you down. And I know you might not believe me, but I promise you I'm telling the truth when I say I have never regretted anything more."

"...I don't really hate you." He admitted quietly. "I-I don't know why I said that. I don't know why I said or did any of this. I don't understand what's happening to me."

"It won't make sense for a while. How you feel. How you act." Party reassured. "That's just how it is. You'll get through this. Coming out the other side is worth it."

"I don't know what I want anymore," he raised his chin, looking up at Party with a soft and almost curious expression. He furrowed his brow, tears continuing to trickle down his pale cheeks as he tried to think. "I'm just... I'm scared. I've never been this scared in my life."

"I know." Party murmured, meeting his eyes. "I'm scared too. But it's gonna be okay,"

Frank nodded. Even if it felt like a lie, it was still nice to hear.