When he crawled out of bed it was well past noon. Roch didn’t even bother to fix his hair as he shrugged on his vest and headed out the door, numbly walking down the hall and across the campus to Amphi’s dorm. His eyes, usually so full of life, seemed cold and empty. His hands were shoved into his pockets as he headed through the monster dorm and slipped into Amphi’s room. He had things he needed to do, he thought as he gently shoved her minipets into the closet. There might have been other people that thought of doing this, but he had sworn he would be--

He almost broke down as he saw Dallas creeping back out the door. The idea of shoving the pup into the closet--even though he knew for a fact that it wasn’t bad there at all, still bothered him. He reached down, scooping Dallas up in his arms before closing the door. Silently he headed for the bed in the middle of the room, dropping down on it, the pup in his arms. His eyes went to the aquarium, watching the minipets swim around as his hand absently scratched Dallas behind the ears.

She was gone. It hadn’t been long enough to feel like this, he told himself. But at the same time the image of her face appeared in his mind, flushed and happy as she swam up to him, wrapping her body around his, telling him that she was ready to go. It hadn’t been long enough to feel so empty inside. And yet he saw her, clear as day, get to her knees on his bed and lean forward, boldly kissing him on the lips before stuttering out that she wanted to be with him. Memory after memory, some silly, some serious, all rushing through his mind like photographs. Cupcake frosting and glitter, the smell of sea salt clinging to his skin as she rode the rollercoaster, her hand grasping his.

He’d been so sure they had time, he thought, hating himself. So sure that one day he would know her well enough to-to maybe... to maybe even talk about the serious stuff--the after graduation stuff. So sure that he would know her as well as he did Desiree. His fingers curled, recalling every inch of her tail--all the parts he had touched, all the reactions he had gotten. His hand tightened into a fist as he remembered all the songs that had been sung.

Dallas licked him, making him jerk back to the present. The pup looked worried, was even whining at him, and Roch had no answers in return. He didn’t know what to tell his family... he didn’t know what to tell Undine, either. He was... lost.

He’d wanted to know her favorite food. Her favorite colors, her favorite time of day, her--everything. He’d even gone online, finding a candle store for them to go to, so he could get her sea scented candles and--

“Jackdammit,” he cursed, running a hand over his face. He didn’t want to say that Amphi was dead. OR weaponized. All he wanted to tell people was that he and Amphi were dating. To walk down the halls with her at his side, smiling happily, proudly. But that wasn’t going to happen, he admitted.

But--but--he didn’t want to say she was dead. Not yet. That was giving up too quickly. He just--he just didn’t know of any way to find out for sure. It wasn’t as if he could mount his bike and ride off into the sunset to rescue her, most likely the hunters weren’t even IN Halloween. They were probably in the human world, and even finding them there would take someone with far more access than even his dad had--

It would take a boogey. Or a Trick or treater, maybe, if even THEY could find out.

Why would the hunters keep her alive, though? He didn’t know, but he didn’t want to think about it, either. He just wanted to have a little bit of hope. He just... wanted to hear her voice. He pulled out his phone, speed dialing her number, his heart in his throat as he listened to the phone ring... and ring... until it clicked.

“Um... This is Amphi and her Skellyphone, You’re supposed to leave a message after the beep if you want. Maybe, I mean you could...Possibly--“ and then it beeped.

“Hey... I just... I just needed to hear your voice, blue eyes,” he said quietly, knowing that the message would never get to her. “Sorry, y’know? I probably shouldn’t be fillin’ up your inbox, but I think I’m gonna be calling a lot. I’m not giving up, though. I’m going to--I’m gonna talk to some people, see if they know how to find you. You’ve only been gone like, a day, and I already miss you so much that--well... I miss you. I just want you back, blue eyes. I’m uh, takin’ care of your minipets--“

The recording clicked off. He’d talked too much. He hadn’t talked enough. But he’d heard her voice. It wasn’t enough, he knew that. It was like a single chocolate chip when you were looking forward to an entire three layered chocolate cake with frosting. But... he’d heard her voice.

He took a deep breath, shuddering physically for a second before he stood and went to find Dallas’s leash. He would take the pup home with him. And he would come back. There was nothing that could keep him away.