Claustrophobic | Skephalo

An Invitation

thank you so much for 17k <3

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Darryl

"You never die?" Darryl repeats, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dave frowns at his own comment almost like he hadn't realized what he said. "What? Oh, I was just joking around."

"Oh."

How can Dave pick up the eye, but Vincent can't? I don't understand, but Dave has a look on his face that makes me believe he's hiding something. Maybe I'm just crazy, but in the short time I've known him, he hasn't said much at all. Why wouldn't you talk unless you had something you didn't want others to hear?

Darryl adjusts his hand that's resting on Zak's leg, and Zak places his hand on top of Darryl's— But it was ice cold, and Darryl almost flinched at his touch. More than anything, he wanted to go into a heated room, drink hot chocolate, and cuddle up under a warm blanket, but the best he could do was light a fire when they returned to the house. And that was if all the remaining firewood wasn't too soaked from the storm.

"Darryl," Zak whispers.

"Hm?"

"What do we do?"

"What do you mean?"

"About Vincent, Clay, and Dave. Do we invite them back to my house?"

"Um..."

"—Because they brought Rocco, which means that they were already there."

Darryl glances over to where Clay, Vincent, and Dave were now celebrating, the three of them laughing and splashing each other with the freezing water. The eye still rested in Dave's hand, and he held onto it with a firm grip. Darryl doesn't even need to ask to see it, he knows Dave would tell him no. He didn't hold it up as a trophy like one would think; it was mostly hidden away, almost as if Dave was filled with remorse for killing the Enderman. He masked it well, though, with a splash to Clay's face and a belly laugh.

People have always told Darryl that he was good at reading people. It's not so much as intelligence, but his knowledge and recognition of emotions allows him to be able to tell when someone is hiding something. His mother even said that Darryl would make a good lawyer, but Darryl didn't like the idea of putting himself on the spot all the time. Dave seemed like he was the same way, for the most part, but Darryl assumed his thought process was for a reason: whatever he was trying to hide from the rest of the group.

"It's your house, Zak. You get to decide whether they can come or not."

"No way! I said it's our house, remember? I don't really know Vincent, Darryl, all I know is that he kidnapped me and then saved my life. I need your opinion."

What Vincent did to Zak... And me... Was horrible, but... I can tell he's been trying to redeem himself, even though it's only made matters worse most of the time. Him and his new friends, wherever they came from, came out of their way to help Zak and I, and we probably would have died without them. I don't like the idea of completely letting Vincent back into my life, but... Maybe trying it out wouldn't be so bad.

Darryl nods slowly, trying to process his own thoughts. "Okay. We can invite them over. Who knows, they might not even want to stay." He stands, removing his hand from Zak's knee. "Vincent," Darryl calls out, causing everyone's head to turn towards him. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Uh... Yeah. Hold on." Vincent replies, wading out of the stream. "What's this about?" He asks, once away from the others.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping Zak and I out. I know that I didn't treat you perfectly, and we both did things that we regret, but it was really... It was cool of you to come back for us." Darryl says, avoiding eye contact with his old friend.

"Look Darryl, ever since I decided I wanted to make things right between us, I hadn't given up. Then, the whole incident with me accidentally kidnapping Zak happened, and I felt... Well, I guess I felt helpless. I basically abandoned my army, they probably believe I'm missing in action or zombie-fied, and all I could do was wander around the city alone. So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that helping you guys is my way of feeling like I matter again."

"I know how it feels to be pushed away, and I'm really sorry I made you feel like that. That's actually why I wanted to talk to you; to invite you and your friends over. We can... I don't know... Have a small party? What we did today, killing that Enderman... It's incredible. And I don't know if you guys have anywhere that you're living, but there's a bunch of spare rooms in the house in case—"

"—That sounds nice, and I'm sure Clay would be down for it too, but I'm not sure about Dave. He's been really tense this whole trip, I think he might just want to go back to his city."

Darryl's mind wanders back to his suspicion about Dave earlier. "Can I ask, do you know Dave well?"

"Well, I don't know everything about the guy, but we've helped each other out a bunch and we're friends who trust each other, so I figure I don't need to know everything. Why do you ask?"

"Right, yeah. Okay."

"You're acting weird."

"No, I—"

"—You know what? I don't even want to know. I'll talk to Dave and see if he wants to stay for a night or two. I'm sure the stockpile of food you guys have will be enough to convince him."

Darryl laughs anxiously. "Great."

Vincent wanders back over to Clay and Dave, who were now sitting on the edge of the stream, playing with Rocco, while Zak walks up to Darryl.

"How did it go?" Zak asks.

"It went well, I think. He said that staying for a night or two would be nice."

"Seriously? I wasn't expecting that. I figured he would just make up some excuse to leave."

"That's what I thought, too. But..." Darryl looks at Zak with wide eyes, his excitement showing through his expression. "Even though he hasn't  been gone that long, I really think he's changed. There's something about him, Zak, that's totally different from the Vincent that hunted us and kidnapped you."

"Do you think it has something to do with Dave and Clay?"

"Yeah, probably. Something is off about Dave, I can feel it. I tried bringing it up to Vincent, but I panicked and backed out before I could make him angry by accident or something. Maybe I can ask him again when we have the party."

"Party?"

"Oh, right. I told Vincent we could do something to celebrate not dying a horrible death to the Enderman. And for them saving our lives."

"Sweet! I haven't been to a party since... Well, since before the apocalypse started!" Zak threw his arms around Darryl with joy.

Darryl chuckles, patting the boy's back. "I'm glad you're down for it. But it's not a huge party where everyone gets drunk and dances on the roof, or whatever you're probably thinking of. We'll just get to know each other, eat some good food for a change."

"Okay, sure," Zak elbows Darryl's arm teasingly.

"What is with you today?"

"Nothing. I just want to have fun! And you said that this party was a coverup to figure Dave out?"

"What? I never said—"

"—Because that sounds like a great idea. Get him drunk, and you'll get answers."

"That's... Actually not a bad idea, if we do it right."

"Mhmm." Zak shrugs. "I mean, I like Dave, and I think Clay is cool, too, but if you think something is up, I'll help with anything."

"So we have a plan, then?"

"We have a plan."