Death Doesn't Discriminate •|• Sequel To If You Ever Come Back

6 - Learn To Be Lonely

"I'm sorry", he said. "You just reminded me of someone. I'm Patrick."

I nodded, trying to process everything the two men said to each other. "It's... it's okay, I think. I'm Dil."

Patrick pulled up one eyebrow. "I've never heard that name."

"What name?" A tall man with short, black hair and the same bright blue eyes as I had stumbled into the room, almost falling over his own feet.

"Oh, look what the cat dragged in", Pete said in a voice which almost screamed how done he was with this person.

"Oh, hi!", I waved happily. I didn't understand why Pete didn't like this man, he seemed nice. "I'm Dil!"

"Hi, Dil. I'm Phil", Phil laughed and I could hear Pete sighing in the background.

"Well, you guys can go on talking and shit, but I have to practise my oath", he said while turning around.

"Oh, crap!", Patrick facepalmed himself. "I would help you!"

Pete just waved in a 'I don't mind' way. "It's okay. I need to concentrate anyway. I've got a bet with Andy."

I had no idea what the two were talking about but listened anyway. If there was anything I was good it was hearing everythig while people thought I wasn't paying attention.

"Oh, goodness", Patrick sighed. "Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid."

Pete chuckled nervously, as if he knew what he did was very stupid indeed. "Just betting that I could learn the oath in a day and spending the night in the dungeons if I couldn't."

Patrick walked up to him and started whispering aggressively, which I couldn't understand. Finally he walked away and him and Pete both went different ways.

A sudden feeling of anxiety fills me. "Wait, Pete, wait!", I shouted while running after him. "Don't leave me alone, please."

Pete chuckled softly, staying silent for a while as I waited in anticipation. "Come on, then", he smiled finally. I jumped up and fastened my pace so I could walk next to him.

"So, Dil", he started. "Tell me something about yourself. About your life, you know. Friends need to know some things about each other."

"Friends?" I froze and looked up at him, feeling as if my eyes were going to fall out of my head. "Oh, yeah, right.", I coughed awkwardly. "Well ehm... I'm fourteen..."

"Fourteen?", Pete interrupted me. I'm used to that comment, people often think I'm older than I actually am.

"I'm tall for my age." I smiled a little. "I live... well, lived with my father. Just me and him, always. He isn't actually my father. I'm adopted. He said he was always on his own and couldn't handle the loneliness. He hasn't been lonely since he had me."

I stayed silent and Pete smiled sadly. "He must miss you a lot."

I shrugged. "Probably. It was so sudden for him. Never saw it coming."

"May I ask what happened?", Pete asked carefully.

"Car crash", I mumbled.

"Oh.. I'm sorry." Pete bit his lip and I could see he didn't know what else to say.

"Don't be sorry for me. I never felt any pain. Be sorry for my father."

We both fell into silence. I felt he knew what it was like to lose someone he loved and wondered what on earth happened to him.

"I was named after him, you know", I finally broke the silence. "My name is a mixture of his name and a name he really liked. Phil. I never knew why he liked the name. He just said it was special."

"What was your father's name then?", Pete asked casually. "David or something?"

I shook my head and answered just as casually. "It was Dan."

I didn't understand why Pete suddenly turned paler than any human I had ever seen.

I didn't understand why he ran away, his eyes filling with tears. I didn't understand why after that, he didn't dare to look me in the eye.

But I mostly didn't understand why I could hear a soft chuckle which seemed to come from both all around me and inside my mind.

A/N: Holy HELL it's been a while since I've updated this but I just got stuck at one point and couldn't get any further until I finally decided to switch the POV for a bit.

So here you go, a huge chapter, larger than any chapter I've ever wtitten for this story, all from the POV of your favorite socially anxious child. I hope you enjoy it!

~Panda (damn it feels weird writing this again)

P.S: I will actually love you forever if you understood the musical reference in both the title of this chapter and the chapter itself.