Dengaron P.E. (Personal edition)

The Purple Eye

Charlie woke up confused in yet another cold sweat, he rolled his eyes at his brain for playing that same dream again, except it felt different this time. A splintering headache redirected his attention as his eyes, eye, adjusted to the LED strip lights surrounding his room. It was day and he was in his apartment, Scarlett was sat at his desk reading something when her attention snapped to him. "About time you decided to get up." She said in a snarky tone, yet her expression screamed relief.

"Why happened last night?" Charlie asked in a deep morning voice, his words weren't forming how he was saying them in his head.

"Well, last week," Scarlett corrected. "You got in a fi-"

"Last week?" Charlie shouted knowing well something was seriously wrong with him, a gnashing pain spiked in the dark space of the left side of his peripheral vision.

"Let me finish!" Scarlett teleported next to the bed startling Charlie. "You and Tank got into a fight and he won, obviously."

"What over?"

"Not important, what's important is your alive," an impressed grin grow on her face. "You know, not many people have survived a punch from him."

Charlie shrugged thinking little of it. "Not sure I really understand, what about this?" He asked pointing to his left eye.

"Well," worried eyes widened as she took a moment to think. "When you got hit your eye kind of, popped? I think that's the best way to put it."

"What?" Charlie scrambled from his bed and fell to the floor not doing his headache any favours.

"What are you doing? You need to rest!" She lectured him.

Charlie didn't listen, he picked himself up and went to his bathroom where he found a wall cabinet with his dirty mirror mounted to it. His heart dropped when he saw a large bruise around an eyepatch where his left eye used to be. Scarlett rushed in after him.

"It's not too bad, the eyepatch suits you." She said trying to make him feel better, but he was more concerned about his depth perception and how he would never be able to properly judge distance anymore. Out of nowhere Scarlett embraced him in a tight hug. he'd only just realised he was crying, but something was wrong. The left side of his face felt wet too.

After he steadied his breathing, Charlie removed the eyepatch, he could even see it coming off and he once again had to adjust his retina to the light. Now in the mirror stood a red haired woman and a man with two eyes and a large purple bruise on his face. Scarlett's face turned too excitement and she became speechless. He also noticed that the iris of his 'new eye' was a rich purple.

Scarlett finally stuttered together the words. "How-why- But I saw your smooshed eye taken out at the hospital, and why is it purple?"

Charlie felt woozy at the thought and sight of this, if his own eye was removed during surgery then who's eye was this?

"Unless you've got some kind of..." her excitement grew. "A regenerative ability!"

"That's ridiculous." Charlie stated and Scarletts excitement faded. "If I did have some sort of regenerative ability would that not have healed cuts or broken bones?"

"You have a good point, anyway you need some rest and some food, I'll make you something."

Charlie watched her leave before he dragged himself back into the bedroom. When he did, Bot was there holding a glass of water out to him with a sad face projected on the small screen. "Charlie, you have not drunk any fluids recently, are you having another phase?"

Charlie felt sad at the thought his robot had been worrying about him. He spoke back in the same voice. "Bot, I'm fine but thank you." He took the water and drank it. Bot's expression turned into a smile. "If you need anything I'm here" Bot said after tracking to the side of Charlie's bed and came to rest on a wireless charging pad connected to his silver nightstand.

Once more feeling proud of his robotic creation, he got back into bed and something burst beneath him, a water packet with a feed and needle sat on his bed. "That's why I wasn't thirsty." He realised before looking down at his now water soaked bed. "Yeah, no."

He walked out to meet Scarlett in his retro styled kitchen, she was cutting a sandwich in half.
"So why are you here?" Charlie finally asked.

"I was assigned here by Jayden." She stretched her arm out holding a plate with a ham and cheese sandwich. "Here eat this!"
He didn't like how she was assigned to watch him, he was hoping she was here because she wanted to be. Even though he wasn't thirty, his hunger could drive him to kill as his stomach burgled. He happily accepted the meal.

"Thank you. So how are the others?" He asked with a mouthful of his lunch.

"Alex is worried sick but I'm seeing him tonight. Tank feels awful but he'll be relieved to see you doing well. Aaliyah's just got out of hospital but only for a foot injury but the other two I haven't seen."

"So Tank doesn't hate me?"

"God no! You were both drunk, boys fighting over a girl."

Charlie felt relieved and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, then he thought about what she said about him fighting over a girl, and the realisation struck him.

"It was you wasn't it." He spoke quietly.

"What was me?" She looked confused.

"The girl we were fighting over."

She laughed. "Yeah it was"

He looked to the floor. "I'm sorry"

She put her hand under his chin lifted his head. "Shut up, it's nice to see someone nice actually wanna be around me." She said with a smile, which made Charlie blush.

"Anyway I've gotta go to the ne-"

"I'll come!" Charlie spouted before he could think.

She raised an eyebrow. "Can't get enough of me?"

Charlie blushed. "N-no that's not it!" But it was. There was something about Scarlett that Charlie wanted more of. "I wanna come see how everyone's doing." even though he really did want to rest.

"Fine, but only if you're sure. I suppose everyone will be at the party anyway so we can show them how well your doing." Her smile grew.

"A party?" He felt sick again at the thought of that. "What's the occasion?"

She laughed. "Oh yeah I forgot you've been out for that long, it's New Years Eve!"