A/N: I finished this chapter way earlier than I thought I would. I swear to god, I'm a little addicted to whatever's going on in my imagination right now (and I'm neglecting some aspects of real life right now to do so) and ideas are just tumbling straight out of my head on into the story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter - again, it's still a little slow, but we're getting there, I promise! (I personally can't wait for Evan to meet Jonathan in person and spend time together with him, but that's another chapter down the road...)

A soft ringing sounded in the distance, an odd, distorted noise. Fumbling about, Jonathan reached for his phone.

"Liselle?" Jonathan called, his voice uncertain. "Liselle, what is it?"

"I can't do it anymore, Jonathan. I really can't." A high voice crooned softly over the line.

"What- what do you mean?"

"I don't know if I love you anymore, Jonathan. I don't know if you love me. I don't know… just… let's just take a break, shall we?"

"Liselle – LISELLE, WAIT!" Jonathan yelled fruitlessly, as her voice faded away into silence.

"LIS-"

His eyes flitted wide open, as he caught the last half of her name in his throat in a loud gasp. After a long moment to gather his thoughts, he sat upright, pulling the comforter around his body tighter. He needed warmth – a warmth that went beyond the physical warmth that he tried hard to surround himself with in the moment. He shivered, freezing deep inside.

Luke was right. The emptiness was killing him. It made him want affection and companionship – as well as Liselle – more than anything. Every bone and every particle in his body ached for a loving touch, and the only person that could have possibly given it to him had walked out on him once again.

Reluctantly, he crawled out of bed and headed to wash up. As he ran his long, thin fingers through water, he looked up and stared at the man in the mirror. I look terrible, he thought to himself. Delirious outta my mind. Sighing, he bent down into the sink and scooped water towards his face furiously.

When he finally freshened himself up, with his breath smelling of mint and his skin emanating a fresh, woodsy musk, he started up his computer and joined in on the group call on Skype. Instantly, he was bombarded with yells over his headset.

"EVAAAAAAAAAN!"

"GOD DAMN IT EVAN I'M FUCKING DONE!"

Deafening laugher then followed these angered screams, with Evan's being the most audible. A quick check revealed that everyone in the call was in a session of GMOD, and Jonathan joined in on the game, eager to see what antics the crew have been up to.

An ever-familiar scene was unfolding before his eyes. Countless explosions filled his screen as Evan continually spawned nukes all over the map whilst he zigzagged all over, laughing maniacally as structures were destroyed and friends were constantly being zapped out of existence only to re-spawn in the middle of another explosion.

"You guys will never get me!" Evan laughed, as he spawned another nuke right above Jonathan's character.

"NOOOO VANOSS!" Jonathan yelled, bursting into a fresh set of giggles as he watched his character give way to an explosion.

"Oh yeah?" Tyler yelled over the chaos, and as he did, a rocket flew towards Evan's character, sending its ragdoll flying towards the ground. "GOTCHA, BITCH!"

And so began the first of many explosions and battles amongst the group of friends. Jonathan was almost in tears by the end of it, with the endless fits of laughter that he was constantly sent into by the chaotic fights and outrageous comments making his day just like every other time that it did.

Just as the session was ending, Nogla asked a favor of Evan and Jonathan.

"I need an intro from us three, it's going to be like you and Delirious hanging out and shit like that, and then I come in and you guys nuke me, okay?"

"Jesus, that is the worst sounding intro I've ever heard of." Evan replied.

"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it. You guys can be fighting over the title of the real Delirious or something like that, I don't care, just make it intense."

A cry of mirth from Craig and Tyler confirmed what the rest of the participants were thinking.

"Oh, shut up, you know what I mean." Nogla bit back, annoyed. "Actually, you know what, make it intense however you want, that's plenty of views right there."

"If you say so…" Evan positioned his character right next to Jonathan's, with their faces barely touching.

"This is so gay," Jonathan giggled.

"It's what the bad man wants, baby. We give the bad man what he wants." Evan quipped playfully. His tone changed immediately, as he began again – "Delirious. You know what?"

"What?" Jonathan responded.

"I'm the real Delirious."

"No, I'm the real Delirious!" Jonathan tried to sound indignant.

Nogla's Zoidberg character walked up towards the two characters, and he began, "Hey guys, I'm the real – "

BAM. The scene was filled with nothing but explosions and particle effects once again, and Jonathan fought hard to suppress his laughter until he had clearance from Nogla. When the green light was finally given, the parties exited the game, each satisfied with their recordings. Farewells were given amongst the group, and one by one the participants in the call began to dwindle.

"Delirious?" Evan called out.

"Yeah?" Jonathan answered.

"Not much, uh… Just wondering about something Luke said to me."

"What?" Jonathan asked. What did Luke say to Evan? He wondered angrily for a moment if Luke revealed the possibility of a holiday trip to LA to Evan. Nobody should know, he thought. Especially Evan.

"Really, it's not much. I'm, uh, going to bed, so yeah, you should too."

"I just woke up not long ago." Jonathan sighed.

"Oh, right. Everyone's sleep schedule is so bloody messed up, I don't…" He yawned, almost inaudibly. "Play together again soon, okay?"

"You make it sound like we rarely ever do."

"No, but it's just that what with you being sick and moving and then settling down and all that… we haven't really played together seriously for some time."

"Sorry dude. I'll try to keep up with you guys, but I've got stuff for my own channel to mind too. I need to rush out some of those Let's Plays for the subscribers, too."

"Either way, it'll be nice to play with you again properly." Evan yawned again. "I should really sleep. Goodnight, Delirious."

"Goodnight," Jonathan said, his voice softer than usual. Just as a click signaled that Evan had hung up and dismissed the group call, he added in an even softer whisper, "Sleep tight."

Once again, everything was empty.

"Luke? What the hell did you tell Evan?" Jonathan seethed.

"Nothin' much, just that I might be goin' up to L.A. with a friend soon. And I didn't just say it to Evan, it was for everybody."

"You - He knows it's going to be me!"

"Well then fine, you'd want to meet him in person too, don't you?"

"That's beyond the point! You know it's the last thing I want for now."

"God, Jonathan, don't you think you're overreacting? You think that he knows. What if he doesn't? What if, when I bring you up there, he just thinks you're just another friend of mine?" Luke reasoned. "Or… do you want him to know that it's you?"

"Shut the fuck up."

"Oh, come on. You've always wanted to hang out with him in person. Whether he knows it's you or not doesn't matter. Do you really think he'll mind if it's really you?"

"It's not that – it's just that-"

"That what? You're not pretty enough for him?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes. Again with the teasing. "I don't care what he thinks about what I look like. It's just – he's so popular. If he knows, then the whole world will soon know. I'll end up appearing in a photograph or a video and everyone will figure out who I am."

"No photos and no videos then. Just me, you, Evan and Craig and whoever else wants to join in. Relax, man. Your identity ain't getting rustled anytime soon." Luke replied, assuring. "When're we good to go? I'm keepin' any time before the Christmas week free."

"Give me a week. I need to pack and shit. And make sure the laptop and all the other equipment's working fine so I can bring it along."

"Alright buddy. Seeya in a week." Luke hung up.

In a week, I'll see him. And…him, Jonathan thought, closing his eyes. He tried to visualize their first meeting. Evan would stand there, his medium tanned skin glistening gently against the sunlight. His dark hair would be styled to perfection, and his deep brown, almost-black eyes would bore deeply into his own ocean blues. The moment would be perfect… until his eyebrows knit themselves into a frown. "You're Delirious," he would accuse, his anger unmistakable. "Did you really think you could get away with lying to me? You're pathetic."

"Mysterious? Seriously…" Evan's voice distorted, and deepened into another familiar voice, "you're simply a pathetic kid trying to hang with the big kids."

Evan moved even closer, his soft features melting away into another man with every step he took. His muscular form seemed to grow even bigger, and he was soon hulking above Jonathan. The deep voice continued –

"You're just a leech. Sticking around us? You're nothing. Staying so close to Nick like that… are you a fag? You are, aren't you? You dumb fag, you can't even talk right. Come any closer and I'll tell everyone you're a faggot, Johnny boy!"

"I thought we were friends…" Another voice began. "Nick, I thought we…"

"Enough, Jonathan. Act normal or something. Don't come close to me anymore…that's the most I can do for you. Eric isn't going to like it, but…" A sigh. "I lo-… I hope you understand. Goodbye, Jonathan."

"Goodbye, Jonathan." Liselle's voice echoed softly in the distance.

His eyes snapped open once again. How did I manage to fall asleep? He immediately looked for the time, and to his relief, merely 15 minutes had passed. His chest ached painfully at the memory of Liselle – and even more painfully at the memory of someone he had tried so hard to forget. The pain, however, swelled when he thought of Evan. The mental image of Evan rejecting him hurt beyond compare, eating away at every inch of his body. He sighed, and cupped his head with his hands.

Evan lay on his bed, his head buzzing in exhaustion but sleepless. Sarah lay beside him, her sleeping form moving ever so slightly with each soft snore.

He's coming, he thought to himself. He heard exactly how Delirious's voice rose by a pitch as he queried about what Luke had said to him – it was the very same rise in his voice that he had whenever he got agitated or excited, the very same way his voice would soar to a different octave whenever they played together. Delirious was definitely upset that Luke spoke to him.

Evan played around with possibilities in his head. He could see little reason why one of his best friends would be so upset at the possibility of him knowing who he was. Or does he simply never want me to see his face?

He let out a deep sigh.

Sarah turned slightly, stirring. She frowned, and whispered, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Not much. I'm really tired but I can't sleep."

She scooted over, half-asleep, and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Forget whatever you're thinking about for a moment, and you'll sleep…" She trailed off, and a soft snore rose from her sleeping form once again.

Evan smiled weakly. Oh, what the hell, he thought, shutting his eyes as tight as he could and willing himself to sleep.