Journey of the Heart ~ Clownzy

Tying Loose Ends (25) (rewritten)

~ Clown ~

Clown Pierce's eyes shot wide open.

Beads of sweat slid down the sides of his forehead; his ragged breathing was competing to be louder than the sound of his racing heart; darkness lingered around him but there was still enough light to determine that he was laying in his bed. To the side of him, he could make out the faint outline of Branzy. The other man stirred, awaking in a similar fashion to Clown - distressed and feverish.

Branzy frantically sat up in the bed, hugging his knees to his chest and glancing at Clown. Noticing that the jester was awake, Branzy whispered, "I just had the weirdest dream."

"Like you were watching the past and couldn't control your actions?" Clown muttered.

"How did you-"

Clown cut him off. "It happened to me too." Clown pulled himself upright so that they were both sitting facing each other on the bed.

"Do you think that's actually what happened after we both left The End?" Branzy earnestly asked.

"I guess so, I mean we already knew most of that to a certain extent."

Branzy chewed on his bottom lip. "What do you think happened to them? Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

"I don't know, but honestly, my gut tells me we won't." He tore himself away from Branzy's eyes and instead fixated on the blanket. He took note of every fold and crinkle, every small stich in the material, every shadow painted by the overlapping sheets. After all, that was far easier than talking about death, regardless of whether it was someone who had tried to kill you. "I guess since they're us, they technically live inside of us now." Clown mused.

"As strange as it sounds, you're probably right."

They sat there in a moment of silence before Clown further spoke, "I can't believe I got to have a second chance." Clown returned his gaze back to Branzy.

"I'm glad you did." Branzy whispered, staring deep into his eyes, "It allows us to actually have our first chance."

Clown looked back at Branzy and swore he could make himself out in those pools of amethyst. "You know Branz, I don't know if I've ever told you this, but you have the most beautiful eyes, I wish I could steal them and keep them."

At that, Branzy broke out into a fit of laughter. "What? You are actually so stupid. Touch my eyes and you'll wake up without your ears tomorrow." He playfully tapped the black appendages protuding from Clown's head.

Clown feigned a shocked gasp, "Branzy? My ears? Well, that's too far. You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I dare."

"I'd love to see you try," he snorted.

Branzy laughed a little more before his smile faded. "On a serious note, as much as I hated both Lefu and Kevin, I can't help but feel like I lost something."

Clown pulled the blanket he was sitting in tighter around him. "Yeah, I get what you mean. The past few weeks and days have brought about chaos and emotional pain and yet not all of it was bad. I did genuinely see Lefu as a friend and of course, this whole thing helped me and you come together."