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Lukas's POV

Lyra nodded. "Yup!"

Rachel left after kissing the both of us, which we both commented on being gross. Lyra made me eat by saying she wouldn't leave me alone until I ate every last bite of the egg and toast breakfast she made for me. It worked out for her, and when we headed to my room to start the livestream, a bubbling feeling erupted in my stomach.

God, I can't believe I neglected my subscribers like that.

"It's on," I heard her say. Leaning over, I squinted my eyes to read the chat as the first thousand people came flowing in.

"is that luKAS????????"

"HES ALIVE, YALL—"

"WHWHWHWHHWHWHWHWH"

"O-O"

Lyra turned to me after reading the few comments on the livestream. "Seems like they all missed you," she said, nudging my side with a wink.

I sent her a weak smile, feeling a little sheepish. "I-I guess so." Putting my hand behind my head, my eyes flickered around the room before looking over at the webcam. Awkwardly, I smiled and murmured, "Hey, guys. I'm back."

Lyra then took control of the livestream, introducing me back to my channel and explaining that something unfortunate happened. I was glad she spared confidential details, deciding it was better to focus on the present.

We were live for about an hour, answering questions, thanking the supporters for what they sent in, thanking for them staying long enough for me to come back. I was glad that they weren't bothered by Lyra at all, and it made me happy enough to know that they enjoyed her time on my channel. Taking in a few last minute questions, I scrolled through the live chat, searching for a question.

One question, in particular, caught my eye.

"When are we gonna see Meredith again?" Lyra read aloud, knowing that I was focused on it.

She turned to look at me, her eyes flashing. I tore away from her gaze and let out a small sigh. What am I supposed to say? I promised I wouldn't say anything about Meredith's situation, especially since it'll be dangerous for her as well. Leaning forward to the livestream, a smile stretched on my face, and I winked, putting a finger to my lips.

"Let's keep her existence in this world a secret between us, alright?" I whispered to them.

Before I could watch the chat explode by my statement, the livestream ended.

~~~

After I spent the day catching up with my family over lunch and dinner, I found myself sitting on the roof of my house, looking up at the night sky. It just after the sun went down, leaving a blur of pink and orange at the horizon in front of me. Colors of dark blue filled in the rest of the sky. The wind became more prominent as the warmth of the sun left me. A photo was between my fingers. I remember taking this with Lyra and Meredith. It wasn't too long ago, was it? I can't remember. Sighing quietly, I hugged my knees to my chest, hiding my face into my arms.

"Hey," I heard someone say from behind me. I didn't bother to turn around, hearing her shuffle over towards me when I didn't answer. A blanket wrapped around me, and my eyes shifted to glance at Lyra. She was looking at the horizon, where my gaze was earlier, and I peered away. "The sky's looking pretty tonight."

"Yeah..." I whispered.

Tightening her own blanket around her, she turned to look at me, a hesitance in her eyes. "Are you.. okay?" Before I could respond with my usual "no", she added, "You know what I mean when I ask that. I know you do."

My eyes flickered, and I felt my fingers dig into my palms. "Can you move on?" is what she means. I put my hand on my head, shaking my head and pulling the pink strands of my hair down my face to cover up my expression. I didn't want her to see me broken after all her efforts to make me feel better. Why is she still trying? Anyone would've left by now.

"I-I don't know..." I finally answered, saying what I've wanted to say for a long time. An empty laugh escaped me, but it was quickly replaced by the tears filling my eyes. I felt them spill over as I muttered, "I don't know anymore... I should've known a girl from a parallel world wouldn't stick around for too long, whether she wanted to or not." I suppressed a sob, swallowing it down, and Lyra reached over, pulling my hands away from my head. Glancing up at her, her face changed when she saw me, from collected to apologetic. My voice cracked as I asked her, "Why does it have to be me, Ly..? I deserve to be happy... right?"

Lyra didn't say anything, but I let her arms surround my hunched body. My face pressed into her hoodie. It never felt more comforting to be held by her at any other time than this time as I sobbed into her shoulder.

"Maybe our worlds will cross over again," she whispered with a hopefulness to her voice. I could sense her smile widening as she said, "Don't you think..?"