Fall: Remembrance That Begets; Slothfulness... PT. 1/5

"Oh, I wasn't expecting to see you today."

I was walking through the halls, on my way to the roof to eat when I noticed Necessitas eating by herself, nibbling on her sandwich.

"Why are you here?" I asked, stopping in front of her. "Or are you the type who prefers to eat alone?"

"No, I like eating with people, just not with Erebus. I'm basically hiding," she said, and she patted a spot next to her. "Wanna eat with me?"

I shrugged. "Eh, why not." I took my place next to her and opened up my lunchbox.

"Why are you alone? Don't you eat with other people also?" She asked, peering into my lunchbox.

"I had plans to eat with someone else, but they couldn't make it today, so I was gonna go to the roof to eat with the others." I opened up my steaming bowl of tomato soup and took out a slice of grilled cheese.

"Since when did you bring your own lunch?" Necessitas asked, looking down at her lackluster meal.

"Oh, well Luna insisted that she make me one now that I'm her big brother now, and I can't exactly refuse her so…" I trailed off, dunking my sandwich into the warm soup before eating it. "Oh man, her cooking really is good."

"I see, so that's how it is," Necessitas murmured, and she readjusted her glasses before taking a bite out her sandwich. "Can't say I'm not jealous of you."

I nodded, smiling to myself. "Yeah, I can see why Hiro never wants to share his food with anyone. I don't wanna share with anyone after having some of this."

Necessitas giggled. "Sharing is caring you know, so how about some for me too please?"

I tapped her hand away as she tried to come towards my food, and she pouted. "Phooey."

I dipped some more of my sandwich into the soup before taking another bite. "So, have you given it some thought?"

I swallowed and opened up my water bottle. "Given what some thought?"

She drank some water before answering, her different colored brown eyes looking at me inquisitively. "You know, the question I asked you about. It was during summer, chopping onions together."

Oh, that. I took a swig of water before letting out a relaxing sigh. "I haven't really had much time to think about it to be honest."

"So, you forgot," she translated.

Silence, and then my answer. "Yeah…"

She nodded to herself before leaning back against the wall. "Figured as much. Still, I think you're capable of giving me an answer now, aren't you?"

Am I incapable of expressing myself, or do I just not want to do it? I took another swig of water, thinking to myself. To express myself freely, is that something I'm able to do now? Or have I always been able to do it?

"You don't have to hide it anymore. Let me help, and you'll be able to let it all out, all the discourse and trauma." It was a girl with messy brown hair with wide-rim glasses as she went out to touch me-!

I gasped, trying to catch my breath as the memory faded back into oblivion.

"What's wrong?" Necessitas asked, and as her hand started to reach me, I flinched back involuntarily, much to her surprise.

"O-oh, no, that's not-" I tried explaining myself, but she pulled her hand back and just gave me a knowing smile.

"Was it another incident?" she asked, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Uh, no, it wasn't," I said, finally able to relax. "It was something strange, but I wouldn't worry too much."

(Slothful.)

I froze again as I heard the voice again for the first time in over a month, and gripped my shirt tightly, where the girl next to me couldn't see it shaking. Calm down, you're fine, it'll be fine.

She shook her head. "With you, anything strange is potentially bad you know, so I would at least be a little more wary."

I raised my hands up in defense. "Really, it's nothing. It happens occasionally whenever I'm with you guys, but it's nothing to worry about."

"Well said King! The Dark Empress must not fret over trivial tasks such as this one! She must join me in my fight against demons as lovers do!"

Necessitas eyes widened as her face flushed pink at Erebus' words. "E-Erebus!? Where are you!?" She frantically looked around, trying to spot him, and frowned as her face started to lose some of her flush. "Wait, where exactly are you?"

The window next to us opened, and Erebus hopped into the hallway, carrying his food with one hand. "I see, so when I call you, you look for me with all the love and compassion that beautiful heart of yours holds. Well, do not worry, for I am here to-!"

He got cut off by Necessitas throwing a book at him, in which the spine hit him square in the nose, causing him to fall on is butt. The most surprising part of it though is that he didn't spill his food at all, even when he fell over.

"How did you get here Erebus?" I asked, frowning as I dipped my sandwich into the soup once more. "We're on the third floor."

"I jumped King; how else would I get up?" Oh yeah, because that's the most obvious way Erebus.

"Hmph, you think that was cool, wait until you see this!" We turned to the window again to see Aether come through it. He ultimately failed and landed on his face, food spilling all over him.

He shot to his feet, brushing himself off before clearing his throat. "I meant to do that."

"Like hell you did!" He too got hit with the spine of a book in the nose, causing him to fall back onto his spilt food.

Necessitas sighed, holding her neck as she glanced at me. "Well, at least we have others to talk too."

Ah, but she spoke too soon, as Eros rounded the corner as soon as she spoke, an entourage of men and women crowding around him, all vying for his attention.

"Oh Eros, where are we gonna have fun today~?"

"I don't care where; I'd rather know what we're doing~!"

"Ooh, why don't we start now~!?"

Eros took note of us, and a dazzling smile reached his lips. "Alas, my little lambs, I seem to be preoccupied for lunch today, but will tomorrow suffice~?"

They all squealed in excitement at his words nodding to one another before continuing down the hall they came from, and Eros walked to the four of us, sparkles darting about him.

"I wish you would've told me about this get together dear Deppy~! Especially after that heartfelt confession you gave me, I could've sworn we grew all the more closer~!"

I watched him sit next to me and start purring, one of his hands crawling towards me.

"Ow, what was that for Deppy?" Eros said, pouting as he pulled his hand back.

"Don't be slick, you were trying to steal my food, weren't you?" He tsked his teeth in response, proving me right.

"You're too smart for your own good," Erebus declared, popping a carrot in his mouth. "But you're still cute nonetheless Deppy~. You too Eru~."

"I don't wanna be hearing that from you, yah Incubus!" Erebus exclaimed, taking his seat across from me. "I only wanna hear it from my beautiful Dark Empress!" He looked over at her expectantly, and she rolled her eyes, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"Hmph, serves you right. It's because all woman fall for me as soon as they see look upon me, so of course she wouldn't compliment you," Aether said, collecting the remnants of his food and putting on his plate.

"Like I'm gonna compliment either of you," Necessitas grumbled. "Only Depra deserves my compliments." She turned to me before continuing. "Let's see, Depra is very, Depra is really, Depra is… good at being depressed?"

"Who would take that as a compliment even if it is true!?" I exclaimed, swatting away Eros' hand again.

"Oh, he's good at not taking care of himself," she added, smiling at me like she won the grand prize. I should punch her for that.

I sighed, scratching the back of my head. Well, at least Miss sunshine isn't here.

Oh, I spoke too soon.

"Get away from me you ball of sunshine!"

"Hemera Tackle!"

I saw two bodies slide by my field of vision, and I blinked before turning to my right, where I saw Hemera, who had tackled Nyx and was pinning her down with her chest.

"Nibble."

"He-hey! Who the hell said you could nibble on my ear!?" I could see what Hemera's true plan was though and grabbed one of her legs to pull her away.

"Eh!? Aw Depra, whadda yah doing!?" I managed to drag her away far enough so Nyx could get up.

"Please, it was obvious you wanted her food."

"Tee-hee, it was that obvious?" She hit her head with her fist, sticking her tongue out while winking at me.

I saw Nyx place her food down before grabbing the scruff of Hemera's shirt, lifting her up.

"What have I told you about taking my food!?" Nyx yelled out, and Hemera winced at her words.

"But it's more fun to take food from you! Ooh, grilled cheese!" I swatted her hand away, grabbing the rest of my slice and dunking it into the soup, popping it into my mouth.

"Hey, don't change the subject!" Nyx said, and Hemera just giggled.

"Oh, don't be like that! We've always shared food, haven't we?"

"Yeah, because you won't buy any for yourself!"

"Yeah, I am a cheapskate, aren't I?"

"Don't be damn proud of it!"

I started to laugh, and not one of those shallow ones that are reflexive; no, this one came from within, the first time I've laughed so hard in a long time, so long in fact that I don't even remember the last time I've done so.

Tears started to well up within my eyes but never falling, and I held my stomach as it started to hurt. These guys really are the most ridiculous people I've met.

But they aren't all that bad, as if I'm meeting old friends again after a long time.

(SLOTHFUL!)

A hazy image appeared before me, and a group of kids were laughing and eating with one another, much the same way the people in front of me were…

I clutched my shirt tightly, a bead of sweat streaking down my face as everyone around me continued to laugh. What the hell was that?

Necessitas was the first to notice what was wrong. She managed to stop laughing and pulled on my sleeve. "Hey, is something wrong?"

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "No, I'm alright. I've been seeing these strange memories lately is all…"

Now everyone had managed to stop laughing, and they turned to me as I continued. "They're not bad memories per se, but whenever I see them, I get this overwhelming feeling take over me. But the weirdest part is that it only happens around you guys…" I trailed off as I dipped another slice into my soup. "I really don't know what's up with that."

"Hmm, sounds like a case of insanity," Erebus murmured, nodding to himself as he brought his hand to his chin.

"You're the last person I wanna hear that from," I grumbled, taking a bite out of my now dipped sandwich. "Well, it doesn't hurt me at all, so I guess it doesn't really matter in the end."

"That's a pretty optimistic view," Hemera said, taking some of Nyx's food despite her protests.

"Do you disagree?"

She shook her head, giving off a radiant smile that lit up the entire hallway. "Nope, I think it's great, just like Nyx's food!"

"Again, buy your own food yah damn cheapskate!" Nyx said, putting Hemera in a headlock.

It was then I noticed that my head had been hurting slightly for quite some time, and I rubbed my temples together before taking another swig of water. "Ugh, my head hurts."

"Do you need to go the bathroom dear Deppy~? I would love to accompany you," Eros purred, and I swatted his hand again.

"So you guys can steal my food? Yeah right, I'm not letting Luna food go to waste." I dipped my slice of grilled cheese back into the soup before taking another bite.

"Aw, almost had him guys!"

"Since when has this been a group thing now!?" Everyone started to laugh again, and I rolled my eyes as I finished up my second slice of grilled cheese, having two more left.

"Oh, now that we're all here, we should plan something after school together!" Hemera exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she leaned towards the center of our haphazard circle.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've all hung out together, hasn't it? That includes you too my fellow denizen of the night," Nyx said, splitting her sandwich in half with Hemera.

"So I have to come too huh?" I guess I'll have to tell Pandora then.

"I know that King is busy with many a thing, but even I know that you have nothing to do afterschool today!" What a roundabout way of telling me that I do nothing at all Erebus.

"I guess it'll be fine. I was just gonna fail at sleeping since I have nothing but nightmares whenever I try."

"Your nonchalantness about stuff like this worries me," Necessitas said, and I slapped her hand away from my food. "You are eating, right?"

"Yep, two meals a day," I said, dipping my slice into the soup before taking a bite. That last part I said wasn't exactly true anymore. I stopped eating breakfast since the nightmares caused me to sleep in too much, and I stopped eating dinner a long time ago, so the only thing keeping me going was lunch. Oh, and snacks.

"It should be three, but I'll give you a pass this time," Necessitas said, readjusting her glasses.

"You guys need food?" We all turned to Aether, and I noticed that none of the food that he spilled around him was there anymore, nor the remaining food on his plate.

"Tae~Tae, I love you and all, but you're not convincing when it's clear that you ate all your food," Eros said, his warm caramel eyes pitying the man in front of him.

"What food?" We all let out a collective sigh and ignored him, and I finished up my slice of grilled cheese, only one remaining.

"Anyway, as the ball of positivity next to me was saying, it has been a while since we all met up with one another," Nyx started, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "I personally don't care for her specifically, but she does make a great suggestion."

Hemera took a bite out of Nyx's sandwich as punishment, and Nyx put her in another headlock.

"But I'm hungry!"

"For someone so small, you do eat a lot! Where the hell does it all go!?" Hemera started to tickle Nyx, causing Nyx to let go.

Where does all that food go? My eyes started to drift downward, where I found my answer.

"Oh Nyxy, I think Deppy has found your answer!"

I cleared my throat, my ears starting to warm up. "I have no clue what you're talking about. And don't you think I didn't notice!" I slapped his hand away, and the disappointment in his eyes was almost palpable.

"You're too good at being selfish you know? I thought I taught you the wonders of love~!"

"This and that are two separate issues," I grumbled, dipping my last slice into the almost gone tomato soup before taking a bite.

"At this rate we'll never decide where the hell we're going. Hey Nyx, stop messing with Hemera already so she can speak," Necessitas said before taking a drink of water.

"She's been messing with me, not—hey!" Hemera stole some fries from Nyx while she was distracted and popped some in her mouth.

"I swear, if you two don't stop playing…" She trailed off, and the two girls sat up as stiff as a board, as if ready to get orders from their commanding officer.

She really is the friend mom, I thought before popping the last of my grilled cheese in my mouth and using my spoon to get the last of my tomato soup.

"Now that I think about it, I never read the note," I murmured to myself, and I grabbed the note from within the lunchbox and read it to myself.

"Make sure to enjoy it Big Bro Depra!" There was a drawing of Luna giving me a smile, which caused me to smile involuntarily. She really is the sweetest girl I've ever met. Oh, but don't tell Pandora.

"Anyway, go ahead and speak Hemera," Necessitas said, and the two girls relaxed as they heard her words.

"Right, as I was saying, it's been a while since we've all hung out with one another, so I declare that we all go too-!"

"-the hideout, let's all go to the hideout to slay some demons!"

A memory of a boy leading a merry band of adventurers through a well-worn trail, having blissful-

(SLOTHFUUUULLLLL!!!!!)

-fun on a warm, green day.

I nearly choked on my water, shooting up to my feet as I was unable to catch my breath, gasping like a fish out of water.

"Depra, are you okay!?" Necessitas entered my field of vision as I managed to cough, and a girl with messy brown hair entered my vision instead.

"It'll be alright, just leave it all to me," she said, and her kind words filled me with an overwhelming feeling of-!

A flash of white pain coursed through my brain, and I slid back down to the floor, taking long shaky breaths.

"Depra, are you alright!? Hey, answer me!"

Ah, right. "Ye-yeah. I'm okay," I managed to say, still unable to catch my breath, and I looked at everybody's worried faces before taking a deep breath.

"I'm fine, really. I do need to go to the bathroom though, so if you'll excuse me." Crap, this is really bad. Really, really bad. I got back to my feet and started to walk to the bathroom, concealing my shaking hands from them.

"Hey, do you want me to come with?" I looked down at Aether and shook my head.

"I'll be fine. When I get back, tell me more about the plans alright?" And with that, I made my way to the bathroom, where I stumbled to the sink, gasping as my head throbbed with intermittent pain.

What the hell is this? What the hell do you want from me?

Another hazy image of probably the same trail I saw earlier flashed in my head, causing another streak of white-hot pain in my brain. This time however, I knew where it was at.

I splashed some water on my face, sighing. What do you want me to do, go there?

There was no response, and I immediately felt like an idiot for even asking. They would never tell me useful information anyway.

I watched the water drip down from my hair, and it was there I formulated my decision. I shook the remaining water from my hair and rushed out the bathroom, making my way to the entrance of the school.

It was a dark gloomy day outside, and I stopped as my hand reached the door handle. Do I really want to do this? I have no clue what the hell I'm even doing right now, but this feeling, those memories, and those group of friends who are worried even now upstairs…

I nodded to myself, renewing my resolve. "I have to know, no matter what."

I opened the door and made my way outside into the frigid cold, the dark clouds overhead bringing with them a wind chill that cut right through my jacket.

I walked, walked, and walked some more, until I couldn't take it anymore and started to run, run, run back to the place I had ran to all those years ago, the night my [second] regret had taken place; running past the house in which it occurred, the home in which I slept in, the vivid imagery of the houses and trees all around me, until I reached the place where my life took a major turning point.

I stopped, gasping for air as I bent over, my hands on my knees as I had pushed my out of shape body to it's limit, before looking up at the park where I made my declaration to live through it all.

The pain in my brain was worse now, and I winced as I walked through the empty park, dead brown leaves scattering about the place as I made it to the entrance of a trail I no longer remembered.

I watched as a group of kids ran past me, as bright as the sun itself, running on a trail filled with greenery like no other, and then the image faded into the dead brown landscape in front of me. I gulped as I began my descent, more memories flashing by me, some with as little as five kids in them, some as many as seven, but all of them filled with joyous, [slothful], happy faces as they ran with one another.

I watched them run off the trail down into a side path, filled with green weeds and leaves brushing past them, and the image faded to a thorny route that clung to my clothes, as if they were trying to pull me back, far away from my final destination.

"Look, the hideouts right there!"

"Whoa, this would be an awesome place for a hideout! How did you find this place Nyx!?"

More memories, more pain, it was hard to tell what was reality anymore, and right as my brain was going into overdrive, the thorns pulling me away were gone, nothing but the green grass below me as I reached a clearing of sorts, and I watched a boy walk towards the center before turning around, a wide grin on his face as he raised a stick he found.

"Alright, this'll be the hideout for us! And we'll name it-!"

We'll name it…

The memory faded to a desolate sky, dead leaves, brown grass, and amidst it all was-!

I collapsed, unable to breath, unable to move as I heard laughter echoing all around me as it seemed my very being attacked me, my brain struggling to fight back against the onslaught, and I started to spasm, foaming at the mouth as the laughter grew louder and louder and louder-!

Silence as my brain won out, granting me a moment of clarity.

(It's time to wake up from this dream, DEPRA!!!!!)

And I blacked out, their laughter the last thing I remember…