A/N: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, b64 - write a fic with less than half dialogue, and for the digimon bingo - the non-flash version, #025 - quarter.
Flickering Out
.
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They think it's all over now but it's not.
They think he told the truth but he didn't. And they'll find out. Eventually.
Not today, hopefully.
.
He says he's feeling a bit under the weather. Kiyoshi and Teru are surprised. Masaken is suspicious - and that worries him the most, because Masaken is the sharp one, the strategist, and if anyone's going to pick apart his lies, it's him.
But he hasn't yet. It's made harder by the fact that Hikaru says it's contagious and it's probably better that they don't come and visit for a while, and so on. His parents help him out, if only because they think he needs some breather space from his friends.
Which he does, but not quite in the way his parents think.
.
He looks at himself in the mirror. His body flickers, and he can hide only so much of it under clothes. That's why the bed-covers are a god-send. He can duck under them when he feels another flicker coming on - and he's gotten good at feeling them coming on.
He won't be able to explain it to his parents if they see. He won't be able to explain it away to Masaken or Kiyoshi or Teru if they know. Because his parents know nothing about the digital world. Because he's told his friends it's all fixed.
That was the first lie. It was never fixed. Just stabilised, and that came with a timer attached.
He was starting to run low on sand.
.
He flickers while he lies in bed and, this time, the covers fall through him so he winds up on top of his blankets without having moved at all.
Maybe it's not the first time. It could have happened before, while he slept. But now even the covers won't hide the truth.
He can keep his friends away with excuses and harsh-sounding words whem they poke too deep (and he can only hope he doesn't have to do that again, but Masaken really is too sharp), but he can't keep his parents out even if he does lock the door.
He takes to locking his door anyway, because...well, he kind of has to when he's not all there three quarters of the time.
.
His parents are getting worried now. Rightly so, but he can't explain or do anything to take away those worries.
They call the cavalry, aka. his friends. And they know something is seriously wrong.
It also only takes one stab in the dark (that he hears, anyway) for them to work out it's to do with the digital world.
And another stab in the dark from Masaken for them to work out exactly what, and there's no point leaving them on the other side of the door after that.
.
It takes him a while to open his door. His hand keeps on passing through. It might have been easier to pass through the door himself instead of open it for them to come on through, but that'll frighten them no matter how much they know.
And if his parents are there as well... That's a conversation he really doesn't want to have.
They're not. It's only Masaken and Teru and Kiyoshi when he opens up the door. Masaken is at the front, his arms crossed. 'When were you planning on telling us?'
He hadn't been. Ever.
.
They've found out, and there's no hiding it after that. He's going to flicker back and forth until he's gone from this world, and there's nothing to be done.
They know the lie, now, but really, what has it given them?
They're all going to watch his body until it's there no more.