With a kiss and the promise to call and write, he left him.

Left them.

That's how it felt, at least. Maybe not at first. Maybe not after the first twenty texts were sent with scattered replies that dropped into none, or the first week without any letters. But the memory of how it felt to go every day without speaking to his boilfriend began to creep in, bit by bit, consuming all the fragments of hope he had left. Thackery was patient, and far more optimistic than most, but after a while it began to feel an awful lot like the months after Ash told them they couldn't be together.

And after a while the hurt wouldn't go away, and the lonely worries wouldn't stop tying knots in his stomach, and the best he could do was cover it with other things that made him happy. They were thin, sugarspun strings of things that unhappiness easily broke through, but he kept trying, and happiness did win every now and then, if only briefly.

Each of his endeavors was reported through a message to Ash's phone. He might not pick up, but...he'd hear it eventually, right?

The first was after successfully fending off the shadowling attack, and sounded breathless, as if he'd rushed all the way back to his room before calling, not wanting to share with anyone else:


"Hi Ash! I got to fight with a key! Not like me and a key got in a fight but like a real key weapon! Did you know that kind of stuff existed? I sure didn't, but I kinda think I need one now. Maybe I can go looking for one. That sounds like a pretty cool quest I guess. I love you! Muah!"


The second followed shortly thereafter, voice a little hushed, like a juicy secret:


"Oh, I forgot! There were these two boils when we were doing the key stuff and I thought they looked really cute together but they weren't doing a very good job of being together, so I told them to introduce themselves and maybe kiss and stuff and guess what? They did kiss! Aren't you proud of me? I'm proud of me. I hope it goes the same way with Aymet and Amrita. Maybe I should give more advice. I still miss you even though it's only been five minutes."


He'd turned his phone over in his hands for nearly half an hour after that one, wondering if the two boils he's spoken of were together right now. If they were happy. If they liked spending time together. If they were holding hands, and sneaking every bit of contact like he used to. If they were falling in love.

The third came a few days later, after texts upon texts of <3s sent whenever he was thinking of him, words eager and full of optimism:


"Hi Ash! I wish you could've been here after all the votes got tallied and stuff. Because guess what! I won! I mean I guess maybe we kinda knew that but it's good news anyway. And our friend Aymet got President, and then Amrita and Mort and Alex made it, too! I hope they'll be happy I'm with them even though I'm a demon. Love you!"


A Student Council position was an excellent distraction, he'd found. There was a lot to be done, and a lot to be planned for, and a lot of questions to ask and answer. Being treasurer was going to be so much fun! More fun if he could share it with someone, but most of this stuff was supposed to be secret anyway, he guessed...

But no message of congratulations came, and he wondered if it was worth it.

With no acknowledgement of their existence, the hearts and xoxos came fewer and far between. Routine still dictated at least one after waking and one before bed, but they were otherwise sparse. He felt almost disingenuous sending them when he wanted to send frowny faces or worries along.

He saved those for the voicemails.

The fourth came after the burst of Council excitement had worn down, late at night, when all of the minipets were already sleeping, tone lethargic:


"Hi Ash. It's me, Thackery. It's been a while. I hope you're okay. It's kinda lonely here. I haven't seen many people since I hurt everyone as a king. I feel too bad. Maybe I should go say hi. I miss you."


He didn't go say hi to anyone. He stayed alone in his room for a day, doodling in the margins of one of his notebooks, hanging upside-down off of his bed, occasionally checking up on Remi to be sure the bad feeling inside him was sad and not danger, and generally letting his thoughts get the worst of him.

The fifth came the night after all of those troubling thoughts, each pause broken by a shameful sob:


"Hi..um...do you...still love me?"


He sat in silence for a while, long after the answering machine's recording capabilities, until finally ending the call and setting the eyephone on the surface of his vanity. Sighing, he slumped to rest his head next to it, staring at the glow until it flickered off. He chewed his lip, fending off thoughts that had begun to run wild, gaze eventually finding his own reflection in the mirror.

Well, desperate times...

The duplicate image seemed to shift from the mirror world into reality, greeting his other-self with a cheerful wave and a wagging tail. The heavy misery surrounding Thackery didn't seem to deter it at all; it pulled him from his chair and into a hug.

"C'mon, let's play!" it suggested, playfully poking at his cheek. He offered a weak smile, but shook his head, tugging it towards the other side of the room. He didn't feel like playing; of course, that's why the other Thackery even wanted such a thing. That made this dynamic a little frustrating sometimes.

"Maybe later. I just wanna cuddle right now." He plopped down on the bed, other-self in tow, and nestled down beneath his heavy comforter. With...himself...in his arms, curled up on his bed, it felt a little less lonely. He tucked his head in the space between its neck and shoulder and sighed, gently petting one of its ears. Being held by a more cheerful, more energetic image of himself wasn't really what he wanted, but it was better than nothing.

Anything was better than being alone.