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Description
you are my sweetest downfall
i loved you first; i loved you first
beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth
i have to go, i have to go

My lungs burned as they ached for the air I couldn't give them. My fingers searched for something to hold on to but curled against my palm, empty.

I was drowning.

I swirled around in the empty, deafening darkness, cold and numb, thinking of things that shouldn't matter anymore.

Where did my glasses go?

Did my roommate get the rent money I left on his desk?

Was that light up ahead, glinting off a piece of glass at the bottom of the rapids? Or was it the light that was fabled to be seen at the end of a long tunnel?

Or was it something else entirely?

Eridan...

Long arms, strong arms, enveloped me and drew me close to a warm body. I felt lips on mine, breathing into me even as we hung beneath the surface, warm air entering my lungs. My lips remained unresponsive and my useless eyes slid shut of their own accord. I would have gone limp if I wasn't already, unable to do much except exist; and even that I could only do half-assed.

I felt myself being pulled through the water, breaking the surface easily. As my lungs swelled from the now over-abundance of oxygen, I groaned softly and fell into a more abstract version of blackness.

"Wake up!"

)O(

Whoa.

Okay.

How did that happen?

I'd woken up in my own bed, morning sunlight filtering through my window, glasses sitting on the nightstand beside me. I looked around; everything was as it had been before. My computer sat on its desk on the far end of the room, my half-open closet vomiting clothing out as if it had had too much alcohol.

I heard a knock at my door, and a bored-sounding voice reached through to my ears, muffled by the wood.

"Yo. Time to get up. School in an hour."

That's right. It was a normal day, even if "normal" wasn't what I'd ever intended to be, even if "normal" wasn't so infuriatingly boring it made me want to claw my eyes out and repeatedly faceplant into an oncoming meteor until I literally burst at the seams. My dream, weird as it was, was just that: a dream. I forced it out of my mind.

"Thanks, Dave," I replied as I came back to the present moment. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to wake myself up; failing spectacularly, I snatched my glasses from my nightstand and pressed them aggressively to my eyes.

It was going to be a long day.

)O(

It was a long day.

I spent my entire first class distracted by nothing in particular; but, considering it was a class I never did very well in - also known as Graphic Design - nobody paid much attention. I wondered for the millionth time why I'd signed up for this elective.

My second class - my last class for the day - was also a useless class, in my opinion; I had been required to take it, however, since I'd failed it in high school. U.S. History was not a class one would take if one majored in computer programming and minored in computer ethics, or am I alone in thinking that?

The teacher was on vacation, of course (no, just before summer break is definitely the most intelligent time to leave for a few weeks). But he'd insisted his daughter substitute for him. She was a strong-minded girl no older than I was, if that, with long auburn hair and a love for all things archaic.

She pissed me off.

She saw no reason everyone else should love history and anthropology and paleontology and old things in general as much as she did, and saw fit to pester me ceaselessly about it every time we made eye contact. Once I figured that out I made sure to keep my eyes off the front of the classroom indefinitely, and leave the classroom in-between the other students rather than first or last.

But it wasn't just the school day that was long.

I passed by the old coffee shop near my apartment, chancing a glance inside to see if he was in there, but the only people inside were two of the workers. One of them looked up, out the window, at me, but I hurried away before his features could register in my mind.

I didn't know where I was going. I hadn't even brought my laptop, or, really, anything that could be of use to me. I hadn't even known if Dave was still there before I'd left in a huff, too sick of school and of life in general to be able to stay another second in that apartment. I was too upset to have realized the light was red before I walked into the street.

"Whoa, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me backward before I'd had time to realize the voice was talking to me. A huge SUV whizzed by not two inches away from my nose, and the sound of the horn honking startled me out of freezing where I stood. I swiftly shot them the finger before turning back to my rescuer; and realized it was him, the person I'd ogled at through the glass in the window of the coffee shop. However, I was still not particularly pleased with him.

"The hell did you do that for?" I snarled at him, my temper having reached an all-time high.

"Well, excuse me for having the audacity to save your fucking life," he retorted. "Or did you not see the huge metal monster hurtling out of fucking nowhere to run you down?"

I glared at him, unable to come up with a snarky response. After all, he had a point. But then my eye caught something; a glimmer of sunlight reflecting off his glasses. It reminded me of something; light glinting off of...something. My mind returned to my strange dream last night. Water...darkness...and someone embracing me...

Someone was embracing me.

I opened my eyes, just realizing I'd closed them. I'd spaced out, fallen to my knees, and now I was trembling in someone else's grasp, tears leaking from my eyes. I was making a production on a fucking street corner; what was wrong with me? But I couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't get up. All over a stupid dream.

"Are you okay?" The guy's voice sounded from nearby, and I realized he was the one holding me. I pushed away from him.

"Just fucking fine," I replied, and my hands went to my eyes, one removing my glasses and the other wiping the tears away. "I just need to get home."

"I'll walk you," he said, not remarking on my ridiculous speech impediment - for which I was grateful. "Where do you live?"

"A bit forward, aren't you?" But the thought of this made my cheeks burn a little. This was the first time I'd talked to the guy; I didn't even know his name, but had seen him at that coffee shop the few times I'd gone and the slightly more frequent trips past the front of the place.

He flushed at my comment. "I was just...Wondering if you're going the same direction I was."

"My apartment's the opposite direction." I shoved my hands in my pockets, turning. "Whatever. Do what you want, I'm not stopping you."

He ended up following me, his footsteps almost silent against the baking concrete. I could feel his eyes on me, but didn't want to turn around to find out if his gaze was concerned or reluctant.

As I turned the hallway corner, I caught a glance of auburn hair and put my face in my hands. "Shit," I muttered.

"What is it?" the guy asked, but he didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Hi, Sollux!" Aradia said, walking toward us. "I was just knocking at your door. Did you go somewhere?"

"No," I growled sarcastically.

Instead of being offended, she laughed. "Haha, yes, I know, that was a stupid question. Well, I just came by to see how you were doing; you seemed a bit out of it in History today."

"You think?" I muttered. "I'm fine," I said louder. "Just had a crazy dream last night and it was distracting me." I felt the guy's eyes on me at that, as if my statement had piqued his interest. Doubtful.

"A dream, huh?" She seemed to perk up a little, as well. "Want to tell me what it was about?"

"No," I answered. "I kind of just want to go home."

"Oh," she said, finally getting it. "Well, then, I'll see you at school, Sollux. It was nice meeting your friend, er..."

"My name's Eridan," he said, finally speaking. "It was nice to meet you, too."

She skipped off, but I hardly noticed. Eridan. The name in my dream last night.

your hair was long when we first met

Description
you are my sweetest downfall
i loved you first; i loved you first
beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth
i have to go, i have to go

My lungs burned as they ached for the air I couldn't give them. My fingers searched for something to hold on to but curled against my palm, empty.

I was drowning.

I swirled around in the empty, deafening darkness, cold and numb, thinking of things that shouldn't matter anymore.

Where did my glasses go?

Did my roommate get the rent money I left on his desk?

Was that light up ahead, glinting off a piece of glass at the bottom of the rapids? Or was it the light that was fabled to be seen at the end of a long tunnel?

Or was it something else entirely?

Eridan...

Long arms, strong arms, enveloped me and drew me close to a warm body. I felt lips on mine, breathing into me even as we hung beneath the surface, warm air entering my lungs. My lips remained unresponsive and my useless eyes slid shut of their own accord. I would have gone limp if I wasn't already, unable to do much except exist; and even that I could only do half-assed.

I felt myself being pulled through the water, breaking the surface easily. As my lungs swelled from the now over-abundance of oxygen, I groaned softly and fell into a more abstract version of blackness.

"Wake up!"

)O(

Whoa.

Okay.

How did that happen?

I'd woken up in my own bed, morning sunlight filtering through my window, glasses sitting on the nightstand beside me. I looked around; everything was as it had been before. My computer sat on its desk on the far end of the room, my half-open closet vomiting clothing out as if it had had too much alcohol.

I heard a knock at my door, and a bored-sounding voice reached through to my ears, muffled by the wood.

"Yo. Time to get up. School in an hour."

That's right. It was a normal day, even if "normal" wasn't what I'd ever intended to be, even if "normal" wasn't so infuriatingly boring it made me want to claw my eyes out and repeatedly faceplant into an oncoming meteor until I literally burst at the seams. My dream, weird as it was, was just that: a dream. I forced it out of my mind.

"Thanks, Dave," I replied as I came back to the present moment. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to wake myself up; failing spectacularly, I snatched my glasses from my nightstand and pressed them aggressively to my eyes.

It was going to be a long day.

)O(

It was a long day.

I spent my entire first class distracted by nothing in particular; but, considering it was a class I never did very well in - also known as Graphic Design - nobody paid much attention. I wondered for the millionth time why I'd signed up for this elective.

My second class - my last class for the day - was also a useless class, in my opinion; I had been required to take it, however, since I'd failed it in high school. U.S. History was not a class one would take if one majored in computer programming and minored in computer ethics, or am I alone in thinking that?

The teacher was on vacation, of course (no, just before summer break is definitely the most intelligent time to leave for a few weeks). But he'd insisted his daughter substitute for him. She was a strong-minded girl no older than I was, if that, with long auburn hair and a love for all things archaic.

She pissed me off.

She saw no reason everyone else should love history and anthropology and paleontology and old things in general as much as she did, and saw fit to pester me ceaselessly about it every time we made eye contact. Once I figured that out I made sure to keep my eyes off the front of the classroom indefinitely, and leave the classroom in-between the other students rather than first or last.

But it wasn't just the school day that was long.

I passed by the old coffee shop near my apartment, chancing a glance inside to see if he was in there, but the only people inside were two of the workers. One of them looked up, out the window, at me, but I hurried away before his features could register in my mind.

I didn't know where I was going. I hadn't even brought my laptop, or, really, anything that could be of use to me. I hadn't even known if Dave was still there before I'd left in a huff, too sick of school and of life in general to be able to stay another second in that apartment. I was too upset to have realized the light was red before I walked into the street.

"Whoa, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me backward before I'd had time to realize the voice was talking to me. A huge SUV whizzed by not two inches away from my nose, and the sound of the horn honking startled me out of freezing where I stood. I swiftly shot them the finger before turning back to my rescuer; and realized it was him, the person I'd ogled at through the glass in the window of the coffee shop. However, I was still not particularly pleased with him.

"The hell did you do that for?" I snarled at him, my temper having reached an all-time high.

"Well, excuse me for having the audacity to save your fucking life," he retorted. "Or did you not see the huge metal monster hurtling out of fucking nowhere to run you down?"

I glared at him, unable to come up with a snarky response. After all, he had a point. But then my eye caught something; a glimmer of sunlight reflecting off his glasses. It reminded me of something; light glinting off of...something. My mind returned to my strange dream last night. Water...darkness...and someone embracing me...

Someone was embracing me.

I opened my eyes, just realizing I'd closed them. I'd spaced out, fallen to my knees, and now I was trembling in someone else's grasp, tears leaking from my eyes. I was making a production on a fucking street corner; what was wrong with me? But I couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't get up. All over a stupid dream.

"Are you okay?" The guy's voice sounded from nearby, and I realized he was the one holding me. I pushed away from him.

"Just fucking fine," I replied, and my hands went to my eyes, one removing my glasses and the other wiping the tears away. "I just need to get home."

"I'll walk you," he said, not remarking on my ridiculous speech impediment - for which I was grateful. "Where do you live?"

"A bit forward, aren't you?" But the thought of this made my cheeks burn a little. This was the first time I'd talked to the guy; I didn't even know his name, but had seen him at that coffee shop the few times I'd gone and the slightly more frequent trips past the front of the place.

He flushed at my comment. "I was just...Wondering if you're going the same direction I was."

"My apartment's the opposite direction." I shoved my hands in my pockets, turning. "Whatever. Do what you want, I'm not stopping you."

He ended up following me, his footsteps almost silent against the baking concrete. I could feel his eyes on me, but didn't want to turn around to find out if his gaze was concerned or reluctant.

As I turned the hallway corner, I caught a glance of auburn hair and put my face in my hands. "Shit," I muttered.

"What is it?" the guy asked, but he didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Hi, Sollux!" Aradia said, walking toward us. "I was just knocking at your door. Did you go somewhere?"

"No," I growled sarcastically.

Instead of being offended, she laughed. "Haha, yes, I know, that was a stupid question. Well, I just came by to see how you were doing; you seemed a bit out of it in History today."

"You think?" I muttered. "I'm fine," I said louder. "Just had a crazy dream last night and it was distracting me." I felt the guy's eyes on me at that, as if my statement had piqued his interest. Doubtful.

"A dream, huh?" She seemed to perk up a little, as well. "Want to tell me what it was about?"

"No," I answered. "I kind of just want to go home."

"Oh," she said, finally getting it. "Well, then, I'll see you at school, Sollux. It was nice meeting your friend, er..."

"My name's Eridan," he said, finally speaking. "It was nice to meet you, too."

She skipped off, but I hardly noticed. Eridan. The name in my dream last night.

your hair was long when we first met