The days passed much faster than they did before, as the group of kids made infrequent visits, going at seemingly random times, so as to come off less suspicious to the adults.
But he didn't mind in the slightest. It made him all the more happy when they did show up.
…Especially when he finally wizened up and left the front door unlocked.
Heck, within a month or two, he had gotten confident enough in just how safe they were now that he started walking home with them.
He still stayed out of the town, out of sight, obviously, but that didn't stop him from striding alongside them for most of the trip there…
What it did do, however, was put a damper on his spirits.
Once that habit started up, he started sticking around longer and longer, to watch them reunite with their families from behind the trees.
I'm home!
We're home!
And oh, welcome home…how much they were missed…
Dinner was ready as well.
Or just getting cold.
Or about to be made.
It made the empty feeling return, only for him to, initially, choose to ignore it.
Ignoring it, while appearing effective at first, was immediately rendered useless one dusk, when, upon returning to the Creepy Steeple, he caught himself shouting to absolutely no one:
I'm home!
…He had never done that before. Not once.
In his head, perhaps, but never aloud, like someone was actually there to hear him.
To welcome him back, hug him, tell him he was missed…
He was all alone here…
Completely alone…
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_ _ _ _ quickly discovered he was, apparently, innately good at acting.
While his emptiness grew, the visits seemed less and less fun.
Eventually, he had grown to despise his friends, though he never meant to.
They didn't know how much it hurt to see them. How badly he wished he had their lives…
Never would they know, either, if he had anything to say about it.
He maintained a cheerful facade, "happily" continuing to change as they asked, or indulging in whatever games they played.
He listened to their occasional rants about how suffocating or horrible their parents were, all the while perfectly pretending he actually cared.
…He was a good friend for that, wasn't he?
He could have told them how much he wished they'd leave him alone.
He could have challenged them to live his life and see how much they wanted to complain about having a family after a few months in isolation.
But he didn't.
Honestly, thinking it over before he fell asleep, the creature wasn't entirely sure why he spared them.
Perhaps he was simply grateful for their company, even if he wouldn't allow himself to admit it.
Then there was the fact that he had already tasted being completely alone, and still feared it happening again…
Either way, within a few weeks, the faking managed to take its toll on him.
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On one particular day, he hadn't been able to sleep at all, due to being unable to chase the strangely blissful thoughts of being one of his friends, living life like that without a care in the world. And he'd be damned if he fell asleep, and dreamt of such things.
So, when dusk came, bringing his friends along, he was too tired to act. Whatever god that existed knew he tried, but it came off half-hearted.
Thus, his friends easily saw through it.
What's wrong, _ _ _ _? You don't seem like your usual self today…
He didn't want to tell them anything; the last thing he needed was another misunderstanding.
…but he had to respond with something, and he couldn't pretend nothing was wrong. That lie would be far too obvious…
…I guess…I just…
…I'm a little envious of you guys, I suppose…
Envious? Had that always been a word he knew?
He couldn't remember ever hearing it before…
Maybe it had been hiding with his still-forgotten past.
Envious…?
I mean…I…wish I had a family too…
It was painful to admit. At the same time, it was the safest truth he could tell them.
All that was left now was to hope for the best…
What he was expecting—hoping for, really—was the kids simply shrugging it off and continuing their games without a second thought.
What he got was them suddenly excusing themselves, and hurrying off, much to _ _ _ _'s surprise…and annoyance.
Where were they going? Why were they leaving?
Did they decide it was too awkward to be around him now?
…No, no.
That couldn't be it, he assured himself. They would come back, like they did before.
And so, he waited…
And waited…
And waited…
…Until, a bit too soon for his liking, the sun started to rise.
It was too late for them to come back now; no way they'd be allowed out after daybreak.
Giving a slight, paranoid chuckle, he trudged back into his house, back up to his room, without a word.
Rather than go to his chair, however, he simply found the crystal star, then, upon picking it up, flopped down right there. Without really thinking, the duplighost curled around it, closing his eyes.
This thing…whatever it was…quickly put his heart at ease, similar to the last time he held it.
And, when he had finally calmed, he soon drifted into sleep.
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How long had it been now…? Months?
Long enough that he had time to test out another thing that had entered his mind, after trying to use the Star to calm himself down again.
Poor unsuspecting Gladys…
She wound up being his first test subject, thanks to her and her friends being all too trusting of the monster.
…Of course, it didn't really come off that way.
He was nice enough to turn everything back to normal after a couple hours.
Either way, he had confirmed something:
He could steal someone's body without anyone, except him and the victim, realizing it.
Sure, it'd require better acting than before, but he was sure he'd do just fine. After all, he seemed to be pretty good at it last time…
Either way, he headed back to the Steeple, making his way back to his room.
That small test had taken quite a bit out of him, though he didn't realize it during his accomplishment high earlier…
Crawling into his chair, he plopped down, and tried to sleep.
…Of course, that's always when one's mind tends to wander.
All this time, though, and his "friends" still hadn't come back yet…
There wasn't even a hint that they would either.
_ _ _ _ gave a slight growl thinking about it, angry he had been abandoned for something so stupid.
They asked what was wrong, after all. If they were going to ditch him afterwards…
Something dark flicked towards the bottom of his sight, but he wasn't paying enough attention to know what it was.
He was too busy seething.
Those stupid brats…
He couldn't believe he was ever happy around them if this was how—
_ _ _ _!
He recoiled, a bit of bile almost escaping, but he swallowed it back down.
That voice…
Hey, _ _ _ _! Come down here, we have something to show you!
…It couldn't be…could it…?
Hurrying down, he swung the front door open with very little thought, other than, 'They came back?'
They really had come back to the Steeple? To visit him?
…Strangely, his rush ended with him face to face with a parrot.
A bright green one, to be precise.
W-what…?
He's a present!
He peeked around the bird, noticing that one of his friends was holding the parrot up, and everyone else was in a little group behind them.
You said you wanted a family, so…
…well…pets can be family!
Sorry we were gone so long. We had to collect the money for him…
And we wanted him to be a surprise!
What do you think?
He stared at his new "family member" dubiously…and somewhat offended.
He wanted a family.
They gave him a bird.
There were plenty of crows around Twilight Town. If he really wanted a bird family, he could easily go get one.
The monster stared at them, wondering if they were really being serious about this. If they really thought a freaking bird was going to make him happy.
…But, perhaps, he was being a bit too harsh on them.
They had no idea how his loneliness felt, and, thus, no real understanding of how to cure it.
…Thanks, you guys…
…Does he have a name yet?
Nope! We're leaving his name up to you!
…Thanks…
He took the parrot, staring at it with barely hidden contempt.
What a stupid, nameless thing. He hated it. He couldn't muster anything but hate for it.
Part of him knew it was wrong; his friends had done a lot of work to get enough money to afford him this "family member". He should at least feel grateful…
…He just…couldn't.
Not after so long.
Hiding that as best as he could, however, he and his friends played around with the new parrot, teaching it phrases and such until it was time to go home.
By then, it had gotten quite a few good things it could say, and, with time and care, would probably learn when to say them and such…
…He chose to leave it in the main room.