Pisanthraphobia (H2OVanoss and Others)

Chapter 12

Brock almost fell out of his chair when he turned, giving a playful glare to Nogla as Lui watched from behind. Daithi got off of him and he stood to greet the two with friendly hugs.

"Where's Brian?"

He shifted his eyes, smile fading a bit, and sighed to himself. It was now or never, and though he had been running over what he would say in his mind he wasn't sure how he felt.

He told him that he needed coffee, and the group moved to the Starbucks. Ordering their drinks and sitting down in some comfortable lounge chairs, Brian sat facing the other two and prepared him.

"I'm not quite sure how to explain this, but Brian has been...different as of late."

"Different?"

He saw the confusion dance behind their eyes, and he leaned back farther into the cushions.

"You know that Jonathan was murdered a while ago."

Their expressions turned more serious, and they exchanged glances. He knew this was going to be difficult, and the topic was hard to bring up in their group.

"Well, Brian didn't take it too well..."

"You mean he's still mourning? Like depressed?"

"Depressed? Probably. But as far as mourning he hasn't really shown any grief."

Another shared glance.

"Brian has... somewhere in his mind he still remembers, still feels, but he's locked it away. He's been unwell, always drunk or at parties. He's like a different person, and he won't talk about Jonathan or any of what we used to be at all."

There was silence as his words sunk in, only the chaos of the airport filling their void of thought. Brock doubted they would truly understand until they saw him, but he could tell they had pieced together why Brian didn't answer and why Brock had been so hesitant.

Eventually, Lui stood and put a hand on Brock's shoulder, urging him to stand. When he did, Nogla and Lui grabbed them all into a group hug, much more passionate than the one before.

"We'll figure it out. For now, let's just go to the apartment and we can find out what to do, together."

Brock smiled, and they went to the car. They didn't talk during the drive beyond the usual 'how was your flight' banter, but the air was light and Brock was relieved that they had accepted it, at least for now.

They pulled up and Brock unlocked the door, sending a loon behind him as they entered. The living area was trashed again, though not as badly as before. When they checked all of the rooms Brian was nowhere to be found.

Brock left Lui and Daithi to settle in to the guest room while he made food in the kitchen. There weren't a lot of ingredients to work with, so he settled with pizza rolls and a bag of Ruffles.

He set everything out on the table and sat back, the news playing on the TV visible from the living room. The two guests joined him a bit later, and they settled around to eat and chill.

Half an hour later they were watching futbol (American soccer) and there was a scratching sound. Muting the sports, they all froze and the door handle was rattled. They were about to get up and check it out when the lock turned and it sprung open.

For Lui and Nogla, the person who walked in was unrecognizable. His appearance was messy, his eyes bloodshot and his face gaunt. He wore a backwards SRV shirt and ripped jeans that barely stayed on.

He stumbled in, and Brock moved to help him stand. Brian shook him off, mumbling something so scrambled that it was certain that he was drunk or high.

Brian managed to make his way to the kitchen, but whatever he was looking for wasn't in there. He moved towards the bedrooms, but his eyes wandered towards the table and he stopped dead.

The others hadn't finished their food, and a few innocent pizza rolls remained on the plate. Suddenly Brian was kneeled on the floor, cradling his head. He made moaning sounds and breathed loudly, hyperventilating.

Sliding as he crouched down, Brock acted quickly and started talking, telling Brian to breathe as he took long deep breathes in a practiced motion.

The second he was alright again, Brian was in his bedroom with the door locked in a flash of speed that appeared out of nowhere. Nogla blinked, looking from the door to Lui to Brock and back again.

Brock sighed and stood, moving to the couch with Lui dragging Daithi to follow. They all sat, and it was evident in the silent air that they were breaking down. Eventually, Brock spoke.

"I think...I think he was remembering."

"Remembering Jonathan?"

"Yeah, remember when we all ate pizza rolls during that vacation? It feels like such a long time ago now."

"Yeah, but things like that won't happen again."

They all closed their eyes and leant against each other, reflecting on the past and how much their lives had changed it the past years.

Some of the changes were good, like Craig and Tyler finally getting together, but some almost overtook the little pieces of happiness that remained. The darker memories made the happy ones seem ironic, and it tainted the light.

Still, these three were probably the ones out of the group who had handled it the best, unlike the decline of Brian or the insanity of Evan, so they had solace in that, though it didn't really matter.

That night, a sadness surrounded the small apartment, and a single email was revived but not read. At least, not yet.

Back at it again :P
Updates will resume here , and POTC will be edited and posted. The end of semester is so much fun :/
So, how are you all?