Earthbound: Right at Home [Complete]

Chapter 25: Fates Reign

A cool chill in the air made you shiver, waking you up. 

Ness's room was flooded with a bright sunlight, causing you to shield your eyes. You sit up to yawn and stretch, letting a thick brown quilt fall into your lap.

Wait, this wasn't your quilt.

You take a quick glance over at Ness's bed, and a bright red blush crosses your cheeks. A cheery warmth settled in your chest as you smiled and chuckled lightly to yourself. 

That boy, too nice for his own good. 

You got up out of you cot, swinging you legs over to the side, allowing your bare feet to touch the cool floor. You got dressed into your usual attire and headed toward the living room of the house. 

Ness was already up, dressed as well, cap still on even though you two were inside. Then again, you couldn't recall a moment where Ness wasn't without his cap in the first place. 

You looked over to the TV, watching what ever TV show was on for the morning. On the screen showed a boy and a girl, the boy holding a mysterious looking journal. The two seemed to be getting ready to solve a mystery of some kind.

"Thank you for the blanket." You say, startling Ness a bit, making him flinch.

"Oh... you're welcome."

You laugh a little at his response. "What, did I scare you?"

"Nah, not at all. I was just... thinking about something."

You sit down on the couch, sitting down right next to him. Ness offers you some of the blanket, and you were more than happy to take it. For a while, you sat and watched the television, letting time roll on by.

"So, what's on your mind?" You ask, breaking the silence.

You and Ness were so close.

"Well, for one you've been on my mind ever since I saw you in the forest, so..." His voice trailed off, seeming more distracted than usual.

You should've blushed at that, but you didn't. Instead a singe of guilt stung you in your side, making you look down and play with your fingers.

"I don't mean that in a bad way, you've asked for help and I'm helping you. Gotta play hero, you know?" He winks at you.

Now, the blush appeared making you bury your face into the blanket. 

"I guess, you take that roll pretty seriously." 

Ness smiles, pride in his eyes.

"I wasn't  given these powers for nothing..."

You smile at him.

"You believe that now?"

He nods.

"With help from you, of course. I shouldn't really be ashamed to have PSI. I can do things that people can only dream of doing.  I still might be a freak to most, but that shouldn't stop me from helping those in need."

You were more than happy to hear this. You missed this Ness, the one that was always happy and out going. 

He seems to be getting back on his feat...now this didn't mean he would show off his powers by any means, but he would use them to lend out a helping hand.

"I thank you for that, I think seeing you again really helped."

Butterflies settled in your stomach. 

"I'm not even sure why I left..."

The pride that once was in Ness's eyes slowly faded away as he began to frown. He turns away from you and faces the television.   

"I wasn't exactly happy about that."

His voice went low, saddened a bit. 

You might have touched a spot that was tender.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I wasn't blaming you."

Silence filled the room as the TV went on, but it was slightly muffled due to the darkened tension that settled in the area. 

"I just assumed that you moved, but considering that I didn't receive any news that you left, that didn't seem likely."

You knew things were going to take a dark turn. You weren't ready for it.  

"So a few weeks went by, then a couple months, and eventually a full year. I was delivering news papers one day when I read an articular that declared that you were missing."

At that moment, you felt like you were struck by a rock.

"I went to the police, and of course I knew they weren't going to take me seriously. I mean, Why would they? I was barely seven."

You couldn't look at Ness anymore. Sadness engulfed you, forcing you to look away. You were overwhelmed with guilt... abandoning your best friend.

"So some more time went by and the police eventually gave up looking for you, that's what they told me at least, but I didn't give up yet... I couldn't. Not with you in trouble.

The next day, I went out to the forest looking for you. Even after hours of searching, I found nothing but a bloody knife... similar to the one you brought home."

Chills went down your spine, almost to the point where you wrapped yourself tightly, pulling it away from Ness.

He grips it, gripping the edge of the cover. You saw that his arm was slightly shaking. Trembling.

"Ness?"

He looks up at you with watery eyes. What ever pride he had was destroyed... replaced with sadness and... fear?

That was rare.

"Ness, don't beat yourself up about this. You did what you could and I'm thankful for that. You're a true friend, and you've always been."

Ness looked up at you, leaning back on the shoulder of the couch, eyes red and taking a deep breath, possibly collecting his thoughts. 

"Funny..." he said after a long period of silence. "We can tell the future, but we have so little control over what happens... Ironic, huh?"

You nodded slowly. 

It was a split second that you two locked eyes, then quickly looked away before causing an awkward moment of silence. 

It did seem pointless, giving a child the capability to tell the future, but giving them no control over what happens. What's the point, if it only hinders them in the process?

Then you remembered, as time drew near, he did become a bit over protective of you. Even with that effort, you two were torn away from each other by an unknown force living in the forest... no to see each other again for... how many years?

Then the adventure happened, and from that alone he could've easily forgotten about you, made new friends and moved on with bliss. 

You never changed. In fact, your world grew darker. Literally, throne into a world of forgetfulness.

"Um..."

Ness grabbed your attention, still pulling on the blanket. He was relaxed at this point, but you did notice the sudden draft in the room. 

"Oh... I did I steal this? Sorry..." You say, before splitting it in half for it to be shared. 

Ness chuckled at that before returning to the TV.

You looked away, sorting through you thoughts. 

Ness was a good friend, and you were thankful for that alone.