“tell me what’s troubling you, 07e.”

“please.”

“if you’re worried i’ll tell your parents, i won’t. please, trust me. i’m your best friend. you can tell me anything.”

07e had grown distant. more than icarus could bear. he was attached to the other, practically loved his best friend with his whole heart, the ice that he’d inherited from itrapped thawed to the very core with the heat that burnt within him for 07e alone. he wanted nothing—nothing more than for 07e to finally reside within him about what was troubling the latter so dearly. but 07e had never really been the most versatile person, & the thing that 07e never really adapted to was opening up to others. icarus knew of 07e’s upbringing, of his parents, of his judgemental peers he had whilst young. he understood, but couldn’t help but find it a bit depressive every time 07e brushed off any attempt icarus made at getting 07e open up to him about what was troubling the other boy so.

“it’s nothing, just some stomach flu. it’ll get better, i promise. yknow, just a seasonal thing,” 07e would mutter, subtly shifting away from icarus whilst he spoke. icarus often noticed how 07e would clutch his torso region, which would’ve played a role in fooling icarus into believing that 07e was really only just undergoing a brief time of sickness induced by seasonal change, & it was the middle of the shift between summer & autumn, so perhaps he should’ve believed. but he didn’t. he kept on observing. silent. he allowed 07e to believe that icarus had been fooled. he quietly noticed 07e’s subtle shifts in demeanour, how the latter didn’t exactly pick up his footsteps any longer as he shuffled down the college corridors & hallways. he noticed how 07e flinched & squinted at sunlight as if it physically burnt into his corneas, harming his eyesight in more ways than simply metaphorical. he noticed the change in 07e’s eyes, the sudden shift from pale yellow to deep magenta. he noticed how the image of some symbol in the exact same hue of purple began to sear through any & all clothes 07e would wear, creating a distinct image through the attire through no need for light nor any other mode of projection. icarus often lay & wondered at night what these changes could symbolise, what they could mean, what they could possibly be foreshadowing. one particular afternoon, after all of the day’s classes had drawn to an end, icarus returned to him & 07e’s shared dormitory to find the latter asleep on icarus’ own bed. he smiled to himself, not minding this intrusion, yet he grew slightly concerned when he saw how 07e was clutching icarus’ pillow to his own chest, as if replicating the sensation of him being there. 07e also had a faint look of disconcertion on his face whilst he slept, which icarus chose to ignore. he simply brushed 07e’s hair free of his face & went to do his assignment.

a few days after that, icarus was lying awake on top of his bedsheets once more, hands folded over his stomach, staring up at the ceiling, the soft sound of 07e snoring in the background coming to his ears like soothing white noise. his mind wandered across the events of the recent months; 07e’s changes, how he’d found the latter sleeping in his bed as if relishing any traces of icarus left without the latter actually being gone yet. shuffle. shuffle. thud. icarus flinched instinctively. 07e’s snoring had stopped. since when had that happened? icarus cautiously sat up in his bed, being careful not to bump his head on the ceiling. he peered tentatively over the edge of his top bunk, & spied 07e rummaging around the drawers the two boys shared. there was a sort of light coming from 07e’s face, yet as he had his back turned to icarus, he couldn’t make out what was producing that light.

“hey, 07e? you doing alright, man?”

icarus eventually gathered the courage to speak, now crawling to the end of his bed & swinging down the ladder rungs, landing onto the carpeted floor with a dull thud. as 07e kept rummaging around the drawers, icarus frowned in concern—& reached out with a hand for 07e’s left shoulder.