Heat Haze

Deadly Mixture

A/N

I have character design sheets for each character. All of them have a little comment about the character on theirs. This is completely off topic, since he doesn't even appear in this chapter, but Duni's comment is "visit him at your local psych ward".

I couldn't think of a creative title for this one, mainly because it's super mundane. Also, I'm genuinely surprised that Donathan is actually a real name.

Tiny beams of light filtered into Don's bedroom via the shutters over his window. He squeezed his eyes tighter before eventually opening them. Everything was as mellow as usual, including the quiet humming of the outside world. Don would have normally smiled at such a lovely day, but he woke up in a state of shock.

"How did he know?" he asked himself. Truly, how did Duni know about his problem? Was it because of the Runes? He couldn't figure it out. It was almost like the Brit was watching him in every waking moment.

"Ugh.." Don groans, rolling onto his stomach. His hand clumsily reaches for the phone, hitting the table a few times before the message played.

"Salutations, Donathan. I would like you to visit my home. I require your assistance on a certain project,"

Oh, that bastard. Dawn's thickly accented voice was cut off once the message ended. Don sighed and went over to his closet. He hadn't checked in a while, but it looked like there were only five hats remaining. Taking the one furthest to the left, Don closed it. DDawn was literally going to be the death of him.

Almost an hour's walk later (Don didn't own a car. In fact, he was pretty sure the only person that could drive was DDawn anyways), Don arrived at his "friend's" house. Unlike most of the group, DDawn lived in a house. It was in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. He rings the doorbell. The door swings open for him, nearly missing Don. That was new. He walked inside, the door closing behind him. DDawn's house was barren and simple. Nearly everything was white, even the marble flooring and furniture. He had been here before, but every time he came inside, there was something different. Sometimes, the coffee table would be glass topped, other times it would be wood. This time, the light fixture was slightly different. Last time, it was a chandelier.

"I am in the basement, Don," DDawn shouts. Don trips down the stairs into the basement. The basement was DDawn's lab, something that he was completely familiar with. The lab was in stark contrast to the house above. It had grey stone walls and floors. Three large tubes sat against the leftmost wall, the one farthest to the left is broken. The other three walls had counters and cabinets attached to them. There was a lab table in the middle, which DDawn stood behind, a myriad of test tubes and beakers in front of him. There's paper towels and regular paper everywhere. Don walks up to him, but before he can ask questions, he's already shooting commands.

"Don, hold this," he said, handing him one of the beakers. The boy nodded, taking the tube with the white liquid in it. The beaker is labeled "NaOCl". He then opens a cabinet below him and starts looking through it.

"Shouldn't I be wearing an apron and goggles? Shouldn't YOU being wearing them?" Don asked. DDawn didn't even look at him, continuing to look through the cabinet. He pulls out a jug of colorless liquid marked "NH3" and pours it into a tube. Immediately, Don can smell it. It was like cleaning detergent. The robot's hand is shaking lightly, the liquid spilling slightly onto what could be called his skin. He scowls before closing it.

"Hold this, and DO NOT DROP THEM," the redhead warns before passing the colorless liquid to him.

"Alright," he then goes over to the sink and turns the water on. After briefly washing his hands, DDawn shakes the water off and quickly dries his hand, throwing the paper towel behind him, adding to the pile. He pulls out a rack from the open cabinet.

"Put the tubes there," Don nods before approaching the rack. However, he doesn't notice that the door of the cabinet is still open. He yelps, running into the door. It closes, causing him to stumble forward. He feels the two tubes slipping from his grip. They crash onto the floor, the two respective liquids mixing.

"You idiot! That was sodium hypochlorite and concentrated ammonia! If that gets into my vents or your lungs, it'll-" DDawn cuts himself off before pushing Don aside and running towards the tubes. He frantically pushes the buttons, the water draining. The doors slide out briefly, allowing him to step in.

"Hey, WAIT!" Don yells, running after him. The tube closes in his face. "DDawn, let me in!"

"Idiots get what they deserve. And it's not directly my fault that you spilled it on the floor," the odor from the mixed ingredients is stronger. Don starts to cough, his throat and chest bursting into pain.

"Open it!" he wheezes out. DDawn smiles at him from behind to glass. Don could feel his breath slowly start to leave him, slipping out of his fingertips. He can't see clearly. At first, he thinks he might be going blind until he realizes that his eyes are watering.

"DDawn!" he shouts out one final time before the whole world turns dark.

A/N

This was a little rushed, so definitely not my best chapter, but I have wrote worse. Trust me. When I was writing this, I accidentally spelt DDawn with three D's. DDDawn. Oh god.

Writing Don and DDawn in his house with shoes on was a little uncomfortable. I live in a heavily Asian-influenced and populated state, so I don't wear shoes in my house. I kept imagining them with only socks on, it was little weird.