mч gσd, mч hєαrt вєαtѕ fαѕtєr.

Charles' eyes caught a glimpse of a tall bald man, his throat had tightened and his fingers found themselves fixing his tie. Something about the way the man stood, talked, walked around, even so breathe brought him memories of a teenager that he knew in his college years and below.

His green eyes followed him as he licked his dry lips.

αnd mч mínd íѕ rαcíng

He then finally saw them. Those eyes. The very blue eyes, the exact same shade, but now dull of everything they used to serve for. The eyes that belonged to the very man that disappeared years ago.

cσuld ít вє...?

Most that knew him suspected that he had died off without anyone's knowledge. They hadn't heard from him for years; no letters, no signs of communication, and no one heard anything from anyone else.

Charles caught his breath in his throat as the tall male turned around towards him.

cσuld ít вє thαt чσu'vє cσmє вαck tσ lífє?

The phone guy had to force himself to look away just as those icy blue eyes found their target on him, filled with intent on never looking away.

Charles licked his lips again, only to press them into a thin line.

í knσw thσѕє єчєѕ fσllσwíng mє

He can't help himself but look back around, letting his green eyes catch every detail of the bald man to make sure it was him. And he couldn't be more right.

The exact scar on his right eyebrow showed it self as clear as day, a new marking found on his lips, the dark, deep blue eyes the same, and the bags under his eyes couldn't be mistakable.

dαrk αnd fαmílíαr αnd dєєp αѕ thє ѕєα

His jawline was even structured the same.

And Charles has to force himself from following the purple man just as he walked off to socialize with a pretty lady, though he can't help but shiver every time his never ending pool of blue looked over at him, even if it was just for a second.

Everything seemed to fit his description of his old friend, something just appeared...off.

í knσw thαt fαcє, ѕtrαngє thσugh ít ѕєєmѕ

The phone guy watched a red lady gently grab his hand, her lips moving as if she were talking to him, though he couldn't read what she was saying just by watching. The man smiled down at her, nodding a bit before running his hand through her hair.

чσungєr αnd kíndєr ít hαuntѕ αll mч drєαmѕ

Charles could immediately recognize who the lady was, and it almost made his heart stop.

He wanted to catch his attention, but he was unsure if it was a good idea or not.

hσw cαn чσu ѕtαnd thєrє?

The bald male gently kissed Margaret's hand before leaving her alone with the other lady, his deep blue eyes twitching over to where Charles stood. He was leaving the crowd, and it made the chubby man gain the urge to follow him. And that's what he did.

α whíѕpєr αwαч

He gently made his way through the bundle of people, apologizing if he were to bump into someone.

His green eyes caught sight of him, standing outside on the balcony. His arms were crossed behind his back as he could only guess that his icy eyes were looking up at the night sky, admiring the stars.

чєt, ѕσmєhσw вє ѕσ fαr αwαч

Charles stands by the entrance to the balcony, leaning against one of the doorframes. Should he say something? He notices how his body had become stiff, how his back had straightened up, how his fingers clenched into fists as he made his quiet arrival.

ín єчєѕ σncє fαmílíαr hσw ѕtrαngєr í ѕєєm

For the third time that evening, he licked his lips before he made words throw up from his vocal chords. "H-Hello?" His voice was almost a squeak, as his nervousness had filled his gut.

Icy blue eyes turned to meet green, a stern look on his facial features as he replied. "Yes?" His voice was emotionless besides sternness filling his response.

wíth ѕσ mαnч wσrdѕ lєft tσ ѕαч

Charles has to swallow the hiccup down his throat. "Richard? Is it really you?"

"тнιѕ мan ιѕ dead," The purple man replied harshly, glaring down at him instead of answering his question. He knew who it was, and Richard knew he already had his answer.

"Wh-Wha-"

"тнιѕ мan ιѕ no мore," He explained it a bit better, his arms falling to his sides, refraining from clutching the phone guy into his grasp. "нe dιed a lιттle eacн day,"

Charles gasped as he was forced to look up at him, his fingers making him look towards a certain group of people that he knew. It consisted of Mike, Jeremy, and...Fritz? They all had their attention towards each other, talking amongst one another. "lιĸe a тнιeғ, тнe cнaтeaυ d'ιғ нaѕ ѕтolen нιм away."

He pulled his hands away from his cheeks, and he can't help but try to push a word in. "R-Richard-!"

"тнe мιnd playѕ тrιcĸѕ," His tone had a hint of insanity behind it, but his dark eyes never changed. "yoυ are conғυѕed."

It was true. Charles was confused, the most confused he had been for the longest time in his life. He knew that this was Richard, it had to be. But so much was different, all the subtle changes would build up. What had happened to him?

"тнe мan yoυ ѕeeĸ ιѕ long gone," Charles knew what he meant, but he still held onto that one thin line. "dead and cold."

His arms were in his grasp, being tightly gripped. "a ѕтory тold вy тнoѕe нe тrυѕтed," his eyes flickered towards the three male group again. "-тнoѕe нe loved," then his blue eyes met his emerald pupils, and Charles cant help but feel the blush crawl onto his cheeks. "and тнoѕe wнo тнen мoved on."

Then the chubby male felt his heart crack a bit.

Richard let him go, forgetting everything that had happened just recently and walked away. Charles was quick to regain his balance, as if he didn't, he would have fallen, before watching the purple man leave him alone outside the cold.

The tall male gently grabs Margaret's hand after introducing himself to her again, asking her for a dance just as many others joined in. As if he knew.

A lady adorn with chestnut-colored hair gently poked his shoulder, causing him to turn his attention over to her. To explain her appearance was that, well, she didn't wear a fancy dress, but something plain, her hair had a few grey streaks colored into her hair, and as well, her eyes were brown.

"Hey, fella, name's Ellena." The woman adressed her name. "Say, uh, wanna dance?"

Charles let his eyes look over to the taller male before nodding. "Sure..."

The phone guy wasn't taught well on the subject of dancing, but he went along with what he knew about it. And surprisingly he was doing well.

'ι aм a gнoѕт; jυѕт a мιrage'

He heard Richard's voice play in his mind like a record player. Maybe he heard the words because there was a slight chance that they might have just moved past each other.

thєrє ín thαt vσícє.

He didn't notice the change in dance partners, who was smaller than the female who's name was Ellena. She had blonde hair and two different colored eyes, one blue and the other green. But unlike the other, he was taller than this one this time.

She smiled up at him, and he lets himself smile back.

wнo cнaѕeѕ тяα¢єѕ σf уσυ

Charles' green eyes saw the familiar blue again, seeing a different girl in his grasp, and not surpsingly, she was smaller than him.

dαrk αnd fαmílíαr αnd dєєp αѕ thє ѕєα

The phone guy caught a glimpse of Jeremy dancing with a red-head, a sweet, innocent smile playing at his lips. Then the girl would be grabbed by Richard, and the blonde would grab a blonde like him, her dress white and blue.

Charles grabbed a female with short hair of the color brown, she seemed nervous, and didn't dare look him in the eye.

'тнιѕ мan ιѕ dead - нe ιѕ no мore'

The chubby male's mind is filled with images, memories, all with a familiar blue burning and being the center of attention.

í knσw thσѕє єчєѕ.

In a surprising turn, his dance parnter had switched roles on him, dancing the leader's part instead of what the regular woman would move to, not like he complained, his hands were aching.

тнoυgн, ιт'ѕ тσятυяιиg мє.

The purple man's and the phone guy's hands met, and they grabbed a hold of each other. Charles' cheeks painted a light pink as he looked up to Richard, whom's gaze had been more soft than before.

¢αи єιтнєя σf υѕ яєαℓℓу єνєя вє fяєє?

His hand slid around his waist, and Charles' life feels like it has ended, his world is spinning, and he wants to run away, to never return.

нσω ¢αи уσυ ѕтαи∂ тнєяє?

Richard brought him closer than he had ever wanted, but somehow his body heat was welcoming. He had leaned his head down to his, as if the purple man planned to kiss him, but the connection never happened, thankfully for Charles.

"α ωнιѕρєя fяσм мє," The taller male growled lowly, only for the phone guy to repeat his words with a blush glowing on his cheeks.

He pushed him away, and Charles didn't hesitate, the closeness had become discomforting to him. The dance had almost come to an end.

ωнєи уσυ αяє ѕтιℓℓ ѕσ fαя αωαу

Charles has to remember that this isn't the same man that he used to know. This wasn't the school bully that he used to get cornered by until they became friends and made amends. This wasn't the guy he shared secrets with while they were in high school. This wasn't the college student he liked to study with and told him that about that girl named Margaret. This wasn't the Richard he knew.

αи∂ ωну ∂σєѕ тнє тяυтн ѕєєм тσσ нαя∂ тσ вє тяυє?

Because everything was falling into pieces, only for it to fit into a puzzle. A puzzle that was almost impossible to complete, only to be rewarded in the end with undesirable love. But that will never happen because the player will soon give up after a while, and the puzzle will be forgotten.

ωιтн ѕσ мυ¢н вяσкєи

Charles finally realizes that the dance is now over, and they're just staring at each other in тнє eyes. Blue entranced with green, whilst emerald is lost in thought.

"and ѕo мυcн daмage," Richard breathed out, barely above a whisper.

Somehow they had thought the same thing at the same time, in the same exact moment. "тнєяє αяє иσ ωσя∂ѕ-"

The purple man presses his finger to Charles' lips, eyebrows furrowing a bit. "-тo ѕay."

And in a blink of an eye, Richard was leaving the chubby man alone, looking for an exit. He would pick up Margaret later. Right now, he needed to get out of the same room as the phone guy.

Mr. Schmidt, Fitzgerald, and Smith all turned their heads toward his exit, all of them with raised eyebrows.

Charles runs his hand through his hair, licking his lips again. He needed a drink.