~Heart-struck by letters and butterflies~ (Eddie Dear x Frank Frankly)

Ch 5. Distanced

[Art is not made by me]

(Song recommendation: "Valentine" by Laufey & "despair" by leo.)

Frank Frankly's POV:

(Warning for a little bit of angst?)

Ever since Eddie Dear arrived in the neighborhood my mind couldn't seem to get enough of him. I hate it. His stupidly cheesy smile, his kind and friendly demeanor, his perfectly neat hair, his southern accent, his clumsiness, his sweet eyes. How could he just be so stupidly perfect in every way?

Every time I am near him I always get a weird, unfamiliar feeling. I hate it. Ever since I felt that feeling I declared to never get near him again. Just so I didn't have to feel that unfamiliar feeling again.

I hate being uncertain about things. You can't just look up how you feel and get a certain, exact answer. I'm the person who everyone goes to for answers because I am the smartest neighbor in the neighborhood. And I take pride in that. But, If i can't even put a finger on what I feel then who do I go to in order to find the answer I'm looking for? Am I even as smart as I take credit for? I hate this.

Narrator/no one's POV:

Frank Frankly started to distance themselves from everyone but Eddie Dear in particular. And everyone took notice of this. Sure, Frank was not the kind of neighbor who willingly goes out all the time but they didn't even try to reach out to Julie Joyful, who was their best friend. And even that was out of the ordinary for them.

Frank spent most of their time inside their house, keeping themselves entertained with the massive collection of books. Rarely going outside except for essentials and collecting the mail from the mailbox, making sure Eddie left from eye sight before doing so. Even their flowerbed is being affected by Frank's seemingly disappearance, now becoming a tangled and unkept mess without all the care Frank gave to their bushes and flowers.

"And they haven't come out of their house at all for the past few days! I tried to offer them to go out on a picnic, going out to play games, even offering to go out and catch butterflies and bugs! But all my efforts have just been shot down. This came out of nowhere!" Julie whined to Poppy. Julie was over at Poppy's barn, helping her make cookies and pies per people's requests. Julie was mixing a bowl full of ingredients as she went on about her rant.

"Well maybe they're just taking a break. Not everyone has as much energy as you do." Poppy replied, placing an apple pie in the oven to bake. "But they have never just seemingly disappeared from the earth like this! They always tell me if they need a break. You have to admit this is a little bit weird." Julie countered. "Well I must say that it is a little bit odd for Frank to do this but I wouldn't think of it as anything that they wouldn't do. People just need to recharge their batteries sometimes. But I must admit," Poppy sighed before continuing, "you do know Frank more than me."

Julie sighed, her mouth formed into a slight frown as she'd place the bowl and whisk down on the counter. "Don't try to think about it too much Julie. Frank will be just fine." Poppy cooed in a soothing tone. She always knew how to comfort her fellow neighbors. "Now, are you done with the cookie batter?" Poppy asked, walking to Julie's side. "Mhm." Julie replied as she'd hand over the bowl to Poppy. "Well done! Now we can move onto the next step." Poppy said.

[Later that day]

Eddie Dear's POV:

"You know, I haven't seen Frank lately. They don't come out to collect their mail anymore." I'd sigh, shuffling through the pile of letters and envelopes. "I know. I'm worried about them too, everyone is." Julie replied. Julie came over to my post office to help me organize the mail and packages. "But the interesting thing is.." Julie paused for a moment. I'd glance up from my work and stared at her. "Frank hasn't made any connections with anyone but me until you rolled into the neighborhood."

Julie turned and met my eyes with a sly smile. I quickly turned away and returned to scrolling through some letters. I never thought that I would actually be in the likes of Frank. "Really? You think so? I-I mean I guess I just never noticed." I'd say.

"They treat you differently than anyone else in the neighborhood. I've noticed that. I guess that you just got something different about you that Frank just can't seem to stop thinking about." Julie giggled mischievously. I practically felt my heart beating in my chest. Frank thinks about me? "O-Oh. Well I'm just trying to be a good, friendly neighbor. Maybe they're just trying to do the same. Like, returning the favor." I'd chuckle nervously. "Maybe." Replied Julie, returning back to her stacks of letters and organizing as usual.

A few minutes passed by of just silence until Julie, yet again, broke it. "You know, maybe you can try to talk to Frank. That might help them get out of their house for once." I'd raise an eyebrow. "Haven't you tried?" Julie sighed, setting down a stack of envelopes she held in her hand. "I did, I talked to them but they simply refused to leave their house."

"But why do you think I could help?" I'd mutter, asking purely out of curiosity what Julie thought of me. "Well-... You know it's just worth a shot! I mean they would come out of their cave eventually." Julie chuckled, picking up the stack of envelopes and returning back to sorting them. "I mean- what would I even talk to them about?" I'd question, feeling slightly stupid for not even knowing their interests.

"Butterflies, of course!"

"Butterflies?"

"Heh, yeah! They could talk for hours about them."

"Ah.. butterflies." 

(Total word count: 1079)

I really don't know if the warning is even necessary in the first place but yet again I am not the biggest fan of angst so I'm not very good at it. But I do promise that it probably won't get any more angsty than that (the next chapter will be a real sweet treat for y'all). Also, do you guys like the song recommendations? I wanted to try something new and as I was writing while listening to those songs I just felt like they fitted well. Let me know! ^^ -TiKi