DEVIATE X / / AN UNORDINARY FANFICTION

XIV.

"Where is he?"

I trudged over the huge rectangle of perfectly trimmed emerald grass, not bothering to wait up for Dane. Irel was supposed to be taking a flight for an interview with a college in England a couple of days ago to discuss his international transfer. If he was in trouble, would he be able to make it?

Just how much "distress" was he in?

"Wait."

Dane grabbed my hand before I could touch the door knob, holding out the bag I forgotten in the car with his other hand. Underneath his sturdy grip, tremors shook my hands violently, so violent that there was no doubt he could feel them.

"You can't go marching in there in disarray like that. Irel's already not doing well, and greeting him like that is just gonna worry him more." He explained punctually. "Relax, kid."

I nodded slightly as I took my bag from him, watching as he opened the door.

Inside the pristine white cavernous foyer, Miss Rose sat expectantly on an expensive chair, instantly turning her head to us. She enveloped me in a hug, her long white wavy hair falling in a glossy waterfall over me. I hugged her statuesque figure tighter before meeting her amethyst shaded eyes.

"How are you?"

"Good, but never mind me, love. He wanted to talk to only you." She said in an eloquently soft voice. "He's in his room."

This....this was

I nodded as I pulled away from her, glancing at Dane. He stood quietly with crossed arms, an intricate tattoo of a dragon laced around the lean band of muscle on his right forearm. He looked at me expectantly before nudging his head toward the direction of the grand staircase.

I felt a sense of dread creeping with each step I ascended until I hit the second floor. The weight of my legs and labored breaths became more evident as I reached Irel's room, raising my hand to knock softly against the thick slab of varnished wood.

The door creaked open to reveal a distressed pair of purple eyes, lacking the usual vitality and luster I was familiar with. Something was definitely wrong.

Before I could say anything, I felt his sturdy weight slump against mine, his arms unable to properly wrap themselves around me. The essence of charisma and optimism was devoid in his presence, to the point where all he could do was stoop and put his tired head on my shoulder.

"Irel...." I breathed softly.

"I'm sorry.....I'm bothering you. I should've waited until the weekend to talk to you." He mumbled against my shoulder.

"No!" I said abruptly, shocked at the own desperate plangency of my voice, composing it as I remembered Dane's advice. "No," I repeated softer as I wrapped my arms around him. "That can wait. This is more important. Irel....tell me what happened."

I grabbed his arm as I sat him on the bed, shutting the door behind us. He looked down at his hands as I waited for him to speak.

"You were supposed to catch your flight on Saturday. But now I hear from Dane that there's something wrong, so bad that I have to get pulled out of school. Please, tell me what's wrong." I pleaded.

"I had to go to a funeral." He said, barely audible enough to hear in the already silent room. "I missed my flight because....my best friend Rei was murdered."

I felt frozen in place, only aware of my thunderous heartbeat racking against my ribcage.

Rei.....as in Remi's brother Rei? There was no doubt in my mind that they were the same person. The fact that they both attended a funeral recently only made this speculation more viable. I knew he had a sister, who would've thought she was my roommate?

Personally, I never knew Rei, only catching glimpses of him from the second floor when he would pick up Irel to hang out during their high school days. Sometimes he would peer up and wave at me, grinning warmly at my curiosity. They were tight knit in high school, with a bond so tightly woven together that they were practically inseparable. Rei wasn't only Irel's best friend, but I knew this was the only person he admired so passionately, taking up his charisma and optimism to make into his own, growing stronger as the years went by.

But now, the person that made Irel's confidence and wonderful morals was now gone. And without that admiration, he was now devoid of what made him Irel.

"I...I..." his voice cracked. He was trying to hold in the tears. "I feel like I don't know what to do. Even when he promoted me as Ace, I still looked to him for direction. And then college came...."

He closed his eyes momentarily as I watched the sun bask over the white tufts of hair from the colossal window. The golden light illuminating his body made him look a model sculpted out of marble.

"He was so set on making the world a better place even after we graduated. He had aspirations.......aspirations I didn't want to join. I should have never left him, Del. It's my fault. If I would've stayed by his side, he wouldn't have died."

"No."

I turned his head in my direction.

"Don't say that, Irel. You couldn't have prevented......or even known that would've happened. It's not your fault." I added softly. "It's okay to grieve and to be hurting. But to staunch these feelings and turn it into the illusion of guilt? To lament on what you could've done? That isn't okay."

He nodded slowly before shakily standing up, drawing closer to the huge wall of glass overlooking the garden. I stood up and followed him.

"Del?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you.....not leave yet?"

I nodded slightly before leaning against his broad shoulder, as I felt his body slowly beginning to rack with. I held him tighter, knowing that feeling the full ramifications of how much pain he was truly in, was the first step to healing. :;