‡† The Unseen †‡

08 † Home, not rest †

You little..

Raven stared at it for a long time, fingers brushing the lines. His throat burned as the significance of what happened hit him.

Someone had seen him.

Really seen him.

Not the perfection everyone wanted him to be. Not the golden boy they looked up to. Not the popular high every guy wanted to be around. Not the straight A's athlete. Not Almighty Raven well Eli.

Him.

The one who could only relate with broken skies and thunder because that's the only thing that matched his existence. The wreck that he always stuffed in a good crystal ball, everyone else seeing the golden crystal, but no one bothering to wonder what they'd see inside. The one that was so scared of other's opinions that he brought up a fake version of himself.

Someone saw him. Had drawn him. And that person was someone he knew.

What would he say? Now that he'd seen me..

He waited for the impending panic attack that followed such realization, but none came. And deep down, he knew why.

The guy who saw me is nothing like the people I don't want to crumble in front of.

They were no expectations. They hardly knew each other. They saw glimpses of each other's unseen threats, not the bold golden lines–or dark emo ones– that everyone else saw.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, the pressure in his chest loosened—just a little.

He didn’t smile. His lips twitched.

But he didn’t fall apart either.

————

The house was too quiet to sleep.

The thoughts were making the silence even more obvious. His thoughts about his mother, his father, his schooling, Devon..

The drawing..

You know what?

Raven mechanically tossed his hoodie back on and slipped out the front door without a sound, closing it behind him. The air was cold—clean, in a way that felt like a reset button. Streetlamps and lights flickered and glowed above cracked sidewalks. The town was asleep, but the city itself still awake.

Like it was supposed to be up to watch people.

People like him.

His mind blanched at that thought— “People like him.”

Okay.. that's.. unnerving.

He kept walking.

He wasn’t sure where he was going.

His feet just moved.

Past the school. Past the empty fields. Down the familiar path near the bakery. All the while, his mind scanned through all his present worries, making sure his past regrets were still buried deep within.

If those were to resurface..

Then he saw him.

Devon.

Leaning against the rail by the old bridge. Hood up. Sketchbook in hand, lamplights illuminating his frame Luke they wanted him to keep drawing. A cigarette burned low between his fingers, the ember flaring like a tiny heartbeat in the dark.

He hadn’t seen Raven yet.

Raven stopped.

Just… looked at him.