Transparent ✖️

3 - Visible Invisibility

The blinds, who were originally shut and blocked the sun from outside, suddenly opened and made you groan in pain. "Seriously, you're a mess, [y/n]."
"Close them." You mumbled as you turned away from the light, pillow in your face.
"If you learn when to wake up like a normal human being, maybe I will." Nik pouted.
"I am a normal human being, so close them." You managed to say through your muffled voice.
"It's literally 1pm."
"Exactly, I have another hour to sleep. Now let me be." You groaned your way out of the conversation.
Nik let out a huge sigh, and went out of your room. "I'm making late lunch, you better be up when it's ready."

Sighing, you sat up. "Damn him..." You finally realized you were in bed, and not on the couch like you were the night before. "Diarmuid?"
...
It took a minute or three before he finally answered. By that time, you were already dressed and were brushing your hair. "Good morning...?" He said with a hint of confusion.
"You finally appeared. What took you so long?"
His eyes widened and he was physically confused. "What do you mean? I've been here since you called my name at first."
"Uh, no you haven't." You looked at him.
"Yes I was." He insisted with his answer.

A sudden thought filled your mind, and you blushed crazily.
"Wait... you were here... the whole time?"
"Yes I have..." He had a hint of worry from the sudden red that infested your face.
"Even... while I was changing...?" You managed through a mumble.
"Wait what?? No! No no, I left when I saw you starting to... uh undress and I came back when I thought you were done and you were done so I didn't see anything everything was fine I swear I didn't see anything... That, came out wrong." Diarmuid finally sighed at the end after panicking and you saw his face get as red as yours.
"Ha, that's a relief..." You said to yourself as you played with one of the buttons from your shirt. 
You took a small peak at him from the corner of your eye, and saw him scratching the back of his head while he looked to the wall beside him. He was visibly trying to calm his sudden blush.

"[y/n]! Late lunch is ready! If you're not up, I will bring this spatula and spank you!" Nik yelled from the kitchen. You silently prayed to the gods for having Nik being the silence breaker at this moment. Then you processed what he said.
"You're not my mother. And I'm up, relax." You yelled back.

"Do you want some food?" You asked your ghostly friend before you left the room.
"Ah, well, he's there. I can't really—"
"Alright, I'll be back." You said before leaving the room.
Diarmuid stood there, dumbfounded and sat on your bed. He sighed as he fell back onto his back and closed his eyes. 'She didn't see me...? I was sure that I was visible in her eyes. Maybe- No, I'm overthinking it.' He looked back at the closed door which you went through to go eat. 'I guess I'll wait for her then...'

"You seriously expect me for you to work when you can't even cook?" Nik said as he gazed at you intensely, like a mother would do when she was testing her child.
"I need to get myself a job so I can have money to pay this apartment, dumbass. How else will I pay it? With my shit?" You said without a care as you ate.
"I don't think that'll work..." He thought it through.
"I swear to God."
"I have an idea! Why don't I be the housewife while you work?" Nik smiled.
"First off, you need to leave at the end of summer. You have your family back in America. Second off, you should say househusband or some shit, you're not a woman."
"Man, you're so grumpy today." He pouted as he ate his food.
"You woke me up."
"You wake up every morning! How can it be that this morning you're grumpier?"
"I repeat, you woke me up." You said with a tinge of annoyance.
"..." He went silent for a moment, then made a facial expression showing that he finally understood. He frowned. "That's rude."
"Not to mention you woke me up the worst way possible; opening the blinds of Hell." You said the last part of your sentence with disgust.
"Shouldn't you mean Heaven? Since it's all bright a—"
"WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IT'S PAINFUL TO WAKE UP THAT WAY!!" You yelled at him.
He blinked, once twice, and then started to chuckle. Red crawled up to your cheeks.
"I was just joking with ya. You want some coffee?"
You nodded as you looked down to your plate, a little embarrassed.
Movement caught your eye, so you looked at where you saw it; your room door. You thought you saw Diarmuid for a moment, but it's like if he had vanished. You shrugged it off and continued eating.

"Hey, [y/n]... With all seriousness, are you feeling okay nowadays?" Your friend put the cup of coffee beside your plate.
"Yeah, why?" You questioned with a mouthful of food.
"You seem... I don't know how to say this... not distant, but... always distracted. You look elsewhere when there's nothing to be seen. Is... Is the loneliness getting to you?"
Your eyes widened. "What? Of course not! I'm fine all alone."
He didn't seem convinced. "The [y/n] I know hates to be alone... But maybe I'm imagining things. You know me, I'm a worrywart with you." He smiled warmly.
To break the looming silence between you, he picked his plate and was going to yours, but you told him you weren't finished.
"I'll finish it in my room while I go ready myself for the day."
He nodded. "Alright, bring it back here when your done."

As you closed your door with plate in hand, you sighed.
"Is everything okay?" Diarmuid asked.
"Yeah... here." You handed him the plate with the leftover food.
"Ah, thanks." He used his weird spell to make himself touchable, and took the plate as he ate.
"So, you're gonna work?" He asked with a mouthful of food.
"Yeah. Ah, you don't mind, do you?" You said worriedly.
"Of course not. Why would I not accept it?"

You stood silent. "I don't want to make you lonely like before. I feel bad..."
"... [y/n]. Please don't make my existence stop whatever you want to do. I'll be fine."
The smile he gave was a simple but meaningful one. Even if a smile is supposed to show happiness, you saw the obvious sadness in it.

"Do your spell." You said bluntly.
"What?"
"Do the spell you do."
"Why..?"
"I said just do it."
"Ah.. uh, okay. It's already active."
You put the plate of food on your desk and went in front of him. You then lowered your head to his level, closer than usual. His face became red in an instant.
"W-Wait, [y/n], wha-"
"Shut up." You put your index finger on his lips and he instantly did what you said. "Listen to me. I don't care what you think, but you're part of my life now, and I'm starting to have a good bond with you so far. I want to keep it that way. I want us to have a good relationship while I'm going to live here and the fact that you've been alone for so long pains me. So I'll help. I'll keep you company. Don't think that you're slowing me down or that you're a bother to me because you aren't. I think... I think I would've gone mad if I was truly alone in this place. So—"

"I get it." He interrupted. You gazed at him, your face still close to his, but his flustered expression faded. He held a serious looking face. "I want the same. A good relationship. It would be a shame not to be able to talk to the only person able to see me because we hate each other."

A silence loomed between you two.
Before you could breath a word, he put his palm on your forehead, and kissed the back of his hand. A blush crept to your cheeks, and you backed away a step, flustered. He smiled at your reaction, and simply said, "What job are you applying to?"
You sat down next to him, "How about I tell you that tonight? Me and Nik are supposed to go explore the city during the day."
He nodded and smirked, "Yes ma'am."

Jumping away from the bed, you went to the door. Before turning the knob, you looked back, "See you later." You went through the door, closing it after you left the room.
Diarmuid flinched as he heard yelling from the other side of the door.
"What took you so long?! You were ready since the beginning!"
"I was doing little touch ups."
"You... don't wear make up, do you?"
"What?? Of course not. I was just fixing some stuff."
"Right. Like what?"
"My room?"
"Bullshit. You never do your room."
"Listen here you little shit..."
Diarmuid sighed. He looked up at the ceiling, whispering to himself, "Later, huh?"

For an instant, he felt a bolt of energy run through him. "Later... I have something to do later," he smiled. "Something... to expect for once."