Summer: A Warm Breeze Brings In The Old; Chills PT. 2/3

It was now reaching evening, and everyone was still around, although we moved on from the videogames to card games, where Hemera was destroying us.

"Ah yeah, I'm the greatest all right!"

Aether crossed his arms before replying. "I'm the greatest. I let you win, duh. If I wanted to, I could blow all of you out the water."

Necessitas rolled her eyes. "Whatever Aether. I'm not sure where that boundless confidence comes from, but you pretty much suck at everything. I don't even know how you didn't need help getting into the school we're at."

Everyone except me laughed, as I sighed. "How long have we been here anyway?"

Everyone stopped and looked at me. "Did I say something strange?"

Lachesis shook her head before a grin erupted on her face. "Oh nothing, just caught us by surprise is all."

"He does have a point though. I'm starting to get really hungry. Hey Depra, have any food here?" Eros asked, smoothly wrapping his arm around me as his warm caramel eyes try to woo me over.

I felt my face grow warm, and sparkles started to surround us before I quickly shook it off. "Damn it Eros, stop doing that!"

"I can't help what can't be contained. It's not my fault you fall for my charms. It's the woes of being a sexual deviant."

I got up, and Eros hummed happily as he followed me into the kitchen to the refrigerator, where inside there was…

"Nothing." Eros rested his hand on my shoulder while looking away. "Sorry."

Lachesis came in soon after and saw the insides of the refrigerator before her mouth dropped. "What the hell Depra! How is this completely empty!?"

I opened the freezer and pulled out some frozen pizza. "I have food."

She ran her hand through her hair before sighing. "All right guys, we're going out to eat today!"

"Whoopee! Where're we going?" Hemera asked cheerfully, peeking her head in the kitchen.

"I would prefer it if we went to that glorious sanctuary, where not even demons dare step; yes, a true safe haven for all, with prices so cheap that it causes even the lenient of gods to make their blood boil in rage! That place-!" Erebus once again got cut off by another book thrown by Necessitas.

"I hate to agree with him, but I think that place could work. We have enough cars to drive everyone there as well."

"I wish to be with my fated one, the dark empress-!"

"Absolutely not! Go ride with someone else!"

In the end, the riding arrangements went like this:

Necessitas drove Erebus, who rode shotgun, and Aether, who sat in the back. Lachesis's boyfriend drove Lachesis, Eros, and Nyx, and I somehow managed to get stuck with Hemera driving me.

"Don't worry champ, I'll take good care of yah!" she said as we both got into her beast of a truck.

"This big truck of yours really doesn't suit you Hemera," I commented as I buckled my seatbelt. Hemera pursed her lips when she heard that before starting up the truck.

"I quite like it. It makes me feel so high up, looking down on the people below."

I could only stare at her in response. She caught me staring and frowned before tilting her head. "Did I say something wrong?"

Scary. "Uh, no, nothing at all. Let's get moving, otherwise we'll get left behind."

I felt a hard slap on my back. "That's the spirit Depra!" The engine roared to life, and we were off to our destination, towards the heart of the city we lived in.

"So, do you really plan to spend your last summer in high school cooped up in that house of yours?"

I scowled before turning away to the window. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, at this rate, you'll just become a bum, you know that?"

"You sound like Lachesis."

"She does make valid points. You could at least soak in the sun sometimes. It'll help out, I promise."

I peeked next to me to see her grinning at me, her positivity and optimism filling up the air in truck. "I so happen to enjoy spending my time inside all the time. Sleeping."

"You can sleep outside too."

"Does outside have air conditioning?"

"It can. Ever heard of fans?"

Ah, she got me there. Sensing me in defeat, she got a proud look on her face before she started to hum happily to herself.

"By the way, where exactly are we going? You guys never said."

"Oh, that's right, you've never been there before. It's a quaint little place we enjoy going to called The End of Days."

"Um, doesn't it sound a little ominous? What sort of food do they even sell there anyway?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Well, not like I was very hungry these days anyway, so I wasn't planning on getting anything.

"And you're eating too. How can you expect to be happy if you don't even eat?"

I just stared at Hemera, stunned. "Was I thinking aloud?"

"Nope, I just know you well enough to know what you were probably thinking."

Great, add easy to read to my resume. I felt myself get slightly annoyed at my current situation and started to glare outside the window. Why did I end up with Hemera of all people, especially alone?

We rode in silence for a while after and didn't speak again until we had arrived at our destination.

"Well, this is the place! Looks pretty neat, doesn't it?"

It looked like a restaurant from hell. A steampunk-ish vibe surrounded the place, with the name of the restaurant looking as if it had been scrawled in blood. The outside walls looked as if it had been patched together by a crazy engineer, using whatever bit of scrap metal was around to construct the place. On the roof, industrialized chimneys poured out smoke and steam out into the sky. The parking lot in which we parked was in great disarray, the pavement almost crumbling down into nothing. The most shocking thing, out of this entire place, was that the surrounding buildings were shockingly normal, adding a sense of surrealism to the entire place.

I couldn't help but let my mouth drop as I got out of Hemera's truck, and I heard her giggling as she walked next to me.

"Just wait until you get inside." She started to push me along, as I noticed that even the sky, which was just a clear sunny day a couple minutes before, was now a sky filled with dark clouds, along with thunder rumbling in the background. I could've also had sworn I had seen red lightning as well.

As Hemera continued to push me, I noticed that nothing grew here, as if the soil here had become infertile somehow. And suddenly I was at the door, where the biggest surprise awaited me.

"It's… HUH!?" I couldn't help but let out a yell of shock at the interior of the restaurant.

"Told you it would catch you off guard," Hemera said, laughing from behind me.

I was a little bit more than caught off guard. I couldn't even begin to process what the hell I was seeing.

I suddenly felt a calming warmth fall over me, and I looked down at Hemera, who had grabbed my hand. "Better?"

I nodded. "Better." She let go of my hand, and I finally took in my surroundings.

They were, in a nutshell, completely normal. Normal booths, normal chairs, normal lights; everything in here was so completely normal and average that it was almost off-putting. Hell, the only thing not normal in this place were the people. I saw a couple of people in dressed in strange uniforms with a variety of odd weapons placed on their hips. They glanced at us before turning back to what they were doing, which looked like a war meeting. The strangest thing about them though were that they were all girls, each with adorned with brightly colored hair.

And that wasn't even the beginning of the strange people. People with sharp fangs, others dressed like witches and warlocks. I also could've sworn I saw a person who was see through, but at a second glance, there was no one there except a hooded figure carrying a scythe.

"Oh, it's Depra and Hemera! Hey, we're over here!" I saw Lachesis and the others seated at a nearby table, and we both took our seats, and we somehow also managed to be seated next to each other.

"Wow, what luck! You must really wanna sit next to me huh?" And I thought I was free from her already. To my left was Erebus, and to Hemera's right was Aether.

"I hate to ask, but who the hell found this place?"

"That would be the figure forever cloaked in darkness, hounded by demons and other creatures from your worst nightmares! For my name is-!"

"It was, you guessed it, Erebus," Necessitas said, who was sitting across from Erebus.

"Hey, can you at least let me finish my intro!?"

"Despite inward and outward appearances, the food here is actually amazing," Nyx said, sitting to Necessitas right.

"Pass this menu to Depra my dear Eru~!" Eros said, who was sitting next to Erebus.

"Shut it yah incubus. I won't fall for your charms. But here you go King."

"I really have to wonder what type of food they even they sell here," I murmured as I opened the menu. After taking a quick glance at the menu, I calmly shut it close before setting it down on the table.

"Oh, do you already know what you want Depra? I personally really like the Normal Burger, but I'm kind of craving the Normal Spaghetti," Lachesis commented, happily flipping through her menu. She was sitting across from me with her boyfriend sitting to her left.

"Hmph, as if any of those things could satisfy me. Only the very best on the menu could suffice for me, the Normal T-Bone," Aether proclaimed, who somehow managed to sit at the head of the table.

I just simply sighed. I really should've stayed home today. It feels weird, being here with them. As I watched the others engage in conversations, I soon found myself lost in my thoughts.

When was the last time I had done something like this without the Hidden Club? The memory was murky, but I remember going somewhere with my mom, brother, and stepdad. It was to celebrate our birthday if I'm remembering correctly, one of the last semblances of family bonding we did together. Of course, it was ruined thanks to that woman who showed up, but before she was there, I remember having some semblance of fun.

My mom tried her best to help me the two us out, but that woman, my mom's mom, always accused me of wrongdoing, no matter what I did.

But they're both gone now…

YOUR FAULT!!!

I felt my brain replay the incident, and I felt myself fall into a pit of black; cold chills continually washing over my body as I started to shake, falling deeper into that pit…

YOUR FAULT!!!

I didn't mean…!

YOUR FAULT!!!!!!

No, I…!

YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!!

Sorry…

"DEPRA!"

I was suddenly snapped back to reality, and I found myself on the floor, curled up into a ball. It happened again.

Lachesis was right next to me, a sincere look of worry on her face. "You okay? What happened? Was it one of those again?"

I didn't answer, but instead slowly got back up, lifting my fallen chair before glossing over the menu again.

"Depra…"

"I'm fine, okay! Just, let's eat already." I couldn't bear to look anyone in the face or allow them to see my own. So instead, I buried my head in my menu, looking at the only semblance of Normal left…