Oblivion

S I X

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

Zyre

"So, anything on the schedule for today?" I asked Nyco as he walked into the room yawning.

He stared blankly at me, "Why are you up so early?"

I smiled brightly at him from my spot on the couch, "Don't you get it? The earlier I wake up, the more time I can spend with you each day."

His face flushed bright pink as he poured himself a cup of coffee -- I had made a pot when I woke up because I had been deathly tired -- before walking over and taking a seat next to me on the couch.

"Back to the flirting, then?" he asked, taking a sip from his mug.

I shrugged, scooting a bit closer to the brunette before replying, "Well, you are single, attractive, and don't tell me off when I do flirt with you."

He rolled his eyes at me, though, his face got a shade darker, "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Yeah," I said, "But you haven't said you're against the flirting."

"That's because I'm not," he told me, "I'm fine with it as long as it doesn't get too out of hand."

I grinned at him, "How sweet of you."

He rolled his eyes at me again, shaking his head in amusement as he continued to drink his coffee, "You know, I'm kinda glad you weren't actually a spy."

I chuckled at that, "Why? Would one of the girls have killed me if I was?"

He looked slightly shocked at that, "Wait, what? I told them that there will be no death," he paused for a moment, "not if it's necessary, anyway."

"Wow," I mumbled sarcastically, "How reassuring."

"I'm very reassuring," Nyco said with a smirk, leaning into my side, "Mostly."

***

"Do you ever think of what it's like to have Hollow Disease?" I asked out of the blue, while Nyco was reading a book.

The brunette tensed slightly before turning to look at me with an odd look, "H--"

Before he could say anything, I cut him off, "If the side effects never go past super healing, then it'd be pretty cool, right?"

For some reason, Nyco seemed a little relieved, "I guess, but I'd never want to live forever, anyway. If I didn't have so many responsibilities here, then I'd probably already be long dead by now."

"If I could live forever -- without all the shit side effects -- I'd spend every day by your side," I flirted, smiling brightly at him.

The brunette tensed, clearing his throat before setting his book to the side, getting up and walking out of the room. I stared after him in confusion for a moment before following after him.

"Did I say something?" I asked as I tried to keep up with Nyco.

Why was he walking so damn fast anyway?

He glanced back at me with a scowl on his face before storming off as I stopped following the boy.

Maybe I did say something.....

"Don't mind him," Jexa said as she walked out from the kitchen, "He gets all grumpy like that every now and then. Tends to get worse around fall."

"How long have you known Nyco?" I asked curiously.

"Since November of 2017," she answered, "That's when I met everyone here."

"How'd you end up here?" I questioned, "You seem like you'd rather be by yourself."

She shrugged, "It used to be just me and my boyfriend -- fiance, really -- but, some things happened and you can't tough it out alone when you're pregnant and have a boyfriend who has Hollow Disease."

I blinked a few times in shock, "You...were pregnant? But--"

"Yeah, there are no little kids running around, and yes I am young, but I always did want to be a mother," she interrupted me, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at me.

"How old are you again?"

"Eighteen," she said, "Why?"

"You're younger than I am...and you've already..."I trailed off in surprise, "I thought you were at least twenty."

She smiled at that, "I guess I do look older than I thought. Anything else you might want to know?"

"What happened? With the baby and all that?"

She let out a sigh, "Well, apparently...most babies are born with the Hollow."

"Oh..." I murmured, "I didn't -- sorry."

She smiled sweetly at me, "It's okay, I might as well tell you the story anyway...it's been awhile anyhow."

"Oh?"

"Well, to begin with, it was April of last year...."