Yo, Gabe,
Hey, I wanted to talk -
You ruddy b*****d where the Jack have you been -
Ren crumpled the paper in his hand, mashed it into a ball, and tossed it over his shoulder, where it missed the trashcan by inches and fell to the floor among the other dozen or so.
He could not figure out what he wanted to say. Every time he started a letter to the nix, it did not get very far - a sentence or two at most - before he threw it aside, disgusted with himself for not being able to write properly.
It was late one evening when Ren had decided to write to Gabrian. The nix had been absent for so long - or rather, absent from Ren's line of vision. After Ren's summer plans to visit everyone had fallen apart, he had not seen anyone for several months. And when his second year at Amityville had begun, he had scarcely had time to figure out what the Jack he was doing, let alone go and see one of his closest friends.
He had no real excuse, no good excuse as to why there was this odd and unpleasant separation between he and Gabrian, he and Alessa. It was both disheartening and irritating.
Now, after several weeks - months, even - without hearing from the nix, Ren was starting to suffer from acute withdrawal.
Nix Withdrawal Syndrome.
It wasn't particularly pleasant. Though he was unimaginably happy that he was now dating LW, there seemed to be a part of Ren that was distinctly...unhappy; and this mainly had to do with the fact that he had not seen either Gabrian, nor Alessa, in an absurdly long time.
It was half his fault; Ren knew that much, at least, but that meant the other half of the blame lay with the nix himself.
He did not like waking up alone. How long had it been since he had opened his eyes and seen the blurred, emerald outline of an enormous serpent curled in the mass that was his famous pillow pile? How long had it been since he had heard the drawling, silken voice of his best friend, teasing him about one thing or another?
It was ridiculous. And Ren was not about to go without seeing Gabrian for long again.
Except, he realized belatedly, after making this resolve, that would mean doing one very important thing:
Telling Gabrian he was dating LW.
The very thought was a little intimidating, in and of itself. After all, LW was Gabrian's ex-ghoulfriend. How was Ren supposed to explain that, anyway? He had not even realized he liked LW the way he did, not until a few weeks ago, at least. And now they were dating and he had not told Gabrian.
It would not be a pleasant experience, telling the nix. But Ren missed the serpent something fierce; a deep, inexplicable longing for the presence of his best friend. The term did not seem quite right, quite enough to describe everything that Gabrian was to him, but it would have to do, at least for now. He was desperate for even the smallest amount of contact with the nix.
With a sigh, Ren reached for another sheet of paper.
Dear Gabrian,
There, that was certainly simple enough.
I miss you.
Maybe a little too simple. Ren scratched it out, and wrote above it:
I really miss you.
Good enough.
I haven't seen you in Jack knows how long. I know it's not entirely your fault; I'm to blame as well, but I was sitting here, staring at my pile of pillows and wondering why you're not in it. I don't like not seeing you; it makes me anxious, like I'm missing something.
I have something to tell you - something important, so expect to see me within the next few days (I hope that's okay).
- Ren
Short and to the point. Ren folded the parchment up, sealed it, and tucked it into his pocket. With a glance towards the clock, and the late time it was, he made a small noise of discontent and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Kicking off his shoes, he changed into a pair of loose sweats, climbed into bed, and closed his eyes, waiting to drift off into sleep.
It didn't happen. No matter how long he waited, how much he tossed and turned, attempting to lose himself in the throes of slumber, Ren could not manage to do it. It was back to being one of those times, where the still lingering insomnia forced its way into his life. He had almost thought he was over it - until he had seen the pendant dangling from Arel's hand in the hallway a few days prior. Then it had all come rushing back to him, in one terrible, horrible swoop.
He sat up, yawning and feeling incompetent. Glancing around the room at the various sleeping pets (Rhys was in his bed in one of the dresser drawers), Ren blinked in the near darkness, frowning.
It only took him a moment to make up his mind.
Swinging his legs over the bed, Ren grabbed a pillow, slipped from the shadowed room, and padded quietly down the hallway, out the door, and towards the demon dorms.
He had a nix to see, after all.
Dark Fire Angel
