Chapter 4: |Beginnings|Chapter 4

Avery wasn't sure how many hours had gone by since he had fallen asleep, he had woken up confused and disoriented. He remembered closing his eyes on the couch, and now he was on his bed covered in the blanket from the living room, he quickly sat up and looked around. He slid off the bed and went downstairs, there were no clear signs of Nytin anywhere, and when he went to the dryer, it was empty and clean as if Nytin hadn't ever been there in the first place, the only sign that another person had been there were the neatly folded towels on the washing machine.

Avery went back upstairs and flopped on his bed curling into his blankets, upset with himself for falling asleep while a guest was over. He turned around and noticed that there was something on top of his journal, he grabbed it and brought it close to his face, luckily the letters were big enough for him to read, which he deemed was done on purpose. 

Hello Starshine,

I hope you find this letter when you wake up, but if you're reading this you clearly have and hopefully I wrote big enough for you to see.

Anyway, thank you again for washing my clothes, and next time if you're tired just tell me and I'll bring blankets, or something along those lines.

I'll see you in a few day's time, probably at your house with something to repay you.

Signed, Nytin

PS. Your shampoo smells really good, so thank you for that too. I might start using it myself now.

Avery read the letter and folded it with a small laugh, "You write like an old man.." he said with a small content sigh, he moved over to his nightstand and opened it, grabbing some tape and another book, identical to his journal but this one had all kinds of papers and pictures inside, it was a scrapbook of some kind. He opened to a blank page and taped the letter inside, putting it back into the nightstand and grabbing his real journal along with the slate and stencil.

He opened it to a blank page and began writing, unable to keep himself from smiling as he did. He paused in his writing to put some music on, and hummed softly while writing whatever came to mind in the journal. 

He wasn't sure how much time had gone by when he had finished, checking the time he was shocked to say the least. It was four in the afternoon which meant he had slept for a lot longer than he thought he did, it was already around seven in the afternoon, and when he looked out the window, the sun was already setting, he could tell due to the reds and oranges slowly disappearing into darkness, but unfortunately Avery couldn't tell it that it had begun snowing, he would have to be outside and have the snowflakes float right in front of him in order to notice, or simply have someone tell him.  

Avery decided to skip dinner and simply get ready for bed, he took a quick shower and headed back upstairs to put his pajamas on, and threw himself into the pillow fortress he called his bed. He wriggled around restlessly, curling up under the blankets and closing his eyes, "I wonder what he's gonna bring…maybe apple stroodles." He snickered to himself quietly, before closing his eyes to give his body the rest it needed. 

From there a week had gone by, and with no sign of Nytin, Avery found himself missing the strange man more and more as the days went by but with no means to contact him, he simply had to wait. He had visited the clearing at their usual time, but Nytin hadn't shown up there either, and for the first time Avery felt as if the clearing was a bit too empty to be there alone and had headed home shortly after. He decided to invite his friends over to hang out and maybe play some games. He put in one of his earbuds and dialed a number, after a few rings, a soft voice came from the phone with another voice that sounded a bit distant yelling out something Avery couldn't quite make out.

“Hey Avery, do you need someth-” The soft voice had begun to speak but was cut off as the louder voice joined in.

“That Avery?! Avery! I finally beat Amirah in that racing game! Quick, put it on speaker babe!” The second voice got louder, which meant the person had gotten closer. There was a soft ‘Okay’ from the other person.

Avery laughed a little, “Hey guys, also are you sure you didn't just get lucky Blaire? Or… that maybe Amirah went easy on you?”

Blaire went silent for a moment, causing Avery to laugh a little more. 

"Did you go easy on me Amirah?" Blaire asked, no longer speaking to Avery.

Amirah quickly answered, "Just a little- ahem, anyway, didn't you need something Avery?"

Avery responded after stifling his laughter, "Oh yeah…I was wondering if you guys wanted to stop by? I'm free today and I'm feeling lon-" He couldn't help but think about Nytin for just a few seconds, but quickly brushed it aside clearing his throat, "I mean.. we haven't seen each other in a while, so-" 

He was interrupted by the brash voice of Blaire, "Of course we'll come over! I'll bring snacks!" 

Avery flinched a little, as her voice was very loud and his ears were sensitive, "O-okay, I'll see you guys soon then?"

Amirah answered this time, "We'll be there in about.. I dunno 30 minutes or less? See you soon." 

"Alright, see you soon." He smiled, but before he hung up the phone, he could hear Amirah beginning to scold Blaire, he didn't quite catch what she said but found it funny anyway.

Avery began tidying up his home, bringing out a few of the games they usually played, and moved some pillows and blankets down to the living room, while doing that, he put holiday music on the television to fill in the silence. He hadn't realized how alone he felt in his tiny studio apartment, having spent a lot of time with Nytin lately, and now with the sudden decrease in time spent with him, it felt as if something was missing. He of course, had Blaire and Amirah, but they didn't visit very often as they had their own lives and things to do such as work, while Avery was unemployed and unable to do much due to his disability.

Avery danced around his home looking for things that were out of place, singing along to the music playing. He didn't do any kind of specific dance, just a mixture of whatever he could come up with, he spun and pretended to be waltzed with, failing to notice Blaire and Amirah walk into the apartment, they didn't announce their arrival either, simply watching him dance, clean, and sing. Avery paused, seeing two blobby figures, one was ginger, while one was dark, he abruptly stopped his dancing and whipped around to see the two figures standing at his door, "Is.. that you guys?" He slowly asked, seemingly ready to run away. 

Amirah had been recording Avery the entire time, trying to contain her laughter, "Y-yes." She managed to squeak out.

Avery's face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree, he stared at them in utter horror, "Oh.. oh no.. did.. did you see that?" He asked softly. 

Blaire answered this time, "Oh you know we did!" She said, finally erupting into loud laughter, Amirah was laughing but softer, still pointing the phone at Avery. What was worse on his end was that he couldn't even see the phone, or that she was holding anything. 

Avery's once pale face was now as red as a cherry, he covered his face going over to the couch and burying himself in the mound of blankets and pillows he had put there before. He let out an embarrassed groan, kicking his legs, "Why didn't you knock? That's so embarrassing.." his voice was muffled from the blankets, but he didn't want to crawl out from them quite yet.

Amirah and Blaire walked over to the couch, sitting down and trying to catch their breaths. Amirah spoke first, "You gave us a key, remember?" 

Avery gave an annoyed groan, "Right. Right. I forgot…maybe I should take that back.." He said finally coming out from under the blankets, that's when he noticed that Amirah had something in her hand, and it was small and sported the same colors that he remembered her phone being, "A-Are you recording right now? Delete that!" He reached forward to grab the phone but was quickly held back by Blaire, while Amirah stood up to end the recording and lock her phone, putting it in her purse.

Blaire let go when she deemed it safe, which ended up with Avery face planting into the sofa, "Oops. Sorry Avery." She said with a chuckle, picking him back up and sitting him down upright. Blaire was definitely the definition of a 'jock', she was a little over six feet tall, with long curly ginger hair. She was very muscular and lifted Avery with ease, he was no match against her so he simply let her carry him.

Amirah sat back down, "Aww.. don't be upset. We're just making memories." She said with a small giggle, Avery rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling. 

"Fine.. I'll just get you guys back later." He said and looked around, "So.. did you guys bring snacks?"

Blaire abruptly stood up, proudly putting her hands on her hips, "Hell yeah I did! I brought spicy chips.. and those nasty ass jelly beans we never finished.." She walked over to a large grocery bag that had been left by the front door, "I brought honey buns, basically my entire snack supply!" She walked back over, placing the array of snacks out on the table.

Amirah grimaced at the sight of the jelly beans, "I thought we all agreed to throw those away after we got the vomit flavored one..?" 

Avery shuddered, "That wasn't half as bad as the rotten egg one." His eyes watered simply at the thought of it, truly those candies were evil, and should have been disposed of the day they bought them. 

Blaire shrugged, "Figured it could be a punishment for losing, I brought the braille uno too." She said bringing it out, "Or we could play bullshit." She looked on the table for the playing cards, there were board games, a tactile Rubik's cube, but no cards, "Actually.. where are the cards?"

Avery blinked, "I forgot.. I think they're upstairs..in the.. closet, top left?" 

Blaire immediately volunteered, "I'll go get them!" She scampered away towards the stairs, she tried to go even faster by skipping stairs but ended up falling forward with a loud 'fwumk', "I'm okay!", her voice rang out before she disappeared into the loft area.

Amirah waited a few seconds and then sighed, "I'll go help her before she messes up your closet." She said and quickly joined Blaire to look for the cards. 

Avery laughed a little, those two were almost inseparable, of course that was expected of a couple, but they seemed even closer than that. Avery felt that they'd get married sometime in the future, and greatly looked forward to it, just the thought of it made him happy for them. He began organizing the games and snacks, before he heard a shout.

"Who the hell are you?!" Blaire's voice rang out in the small apartment, startling him.

Upstairs, Amirah and Blaire were staring at a cloaked figure that had begun to crawl through the window, and stopped halfway once Blaire had yelled out. The cloaked person slowly entered the room, looking around, and then pointed at themselves in what seemed like confusion. Amirah couldn't help but snicker from behind Blaire.

Blaire glared at her for just a second, "Don't laugh-" She shook her head, putting her attention back onto the stranger, "Yes you! Are you an idiot?! Who the fuck are you, and why are you crawling through the window like some weirdo?"

The figures finally spoke, "Actually, I should be asking who you are." They said staring down at Blaire, they were taller than Blaire, but the two were close in height so neither were intimidated by the other in any way.

Blaire didn't back down, her emerald eyes glaring up at the person, "I asked you first."

The person simply glared back, their Jade eyes meeting her emerald ones, "I asked you second." 

Blaire stared at the person for a few more seconds before yelling down towards the living room, "Avery! Some bummy, hobo, looking dude in a cloak just came through your window!"

The person seemed to take that into great offense, "Hobo?!-"

Avery seemed to know exactly who it was, although he was confused by the odd entrance, he answered excitedly, "That's Nytin! You can let him in!" 

Nytin quickly went over to the railing, "Hey! You can't just agree that I look like a bum!"

"I didn't, I never agreed to anything, actually." Avery said in a matter-of-fact way, crossing his arms playfully.

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Nytin glared at Blaire and Amirah before going down the stairs, "That's fair but you didn't deny it either.. pretty cold of you." He said playfully, walking over to Avery, when he got closer it was revealed he had a large bag in his hands that had been hidden inside his cloak. Blaire and Amirah had quickly followed after him, standing next to Avery. Nytin and Blaire traded a sour glance at each other before turning both their attention to Avery.

Blaire opened her mouth to speak, but Nytin quickly cut her off, "Anyway, who.. are these two?" He asked, handing the bag to Avery, who took it, but didn't look inside yet, though he did take notice that it was rather heavy.

Avery motioned to Amirah first, "This is Amirah, I've known her since we were in diapers," Then he motioned to Blaire, "This is Blaire, I've known her since middle school.. and then.." he motioned to Nytin, "This is Nytin, I met him a month or so ago," Avery paused for a split second before pointing to himself, "Oh and of course I'm Avery, nice to meet you all." 

All three of the other people rolled their eyes at his lame joke, not that he could see it. Finally Amirah spoke, "You've never mentioned Nytin before.. I mean I don't think you have.." She said softly, "..and you've known him for over a month and haven't even told us? I thought we were friends.." She sounded similar to Avery when he had been messing around with Nytin, her voice full of false hurt. 

Avery sheepishly laughed, "Oh.. I didn't?.. well to be fair I haven't even heard from you guys in a month." He said looking at her in what looked like pain, "So who's really hurt here?" He mimicked the false hurt right back. 

Blaire and Nytin had been exchanging bitter glances at one another, Blaire didn't trust Nytin at all, and Nytin thought Blaire was annoying. They turned back to Amirah and Avery who were both trying to get the other to feel guilty, and Avery rose victorious after hugging Amirah and apologizing for 'being a truly awful best friend'.

Nytin shifted to stand closer to him and nudged his arm, "Look at what I brought you, if you don't like it, I'll get you something else." 

Avery paused, "Wait this is for me?" He asked, staring up at Nytin, who simply hummed 'mhm', a grateful smile quickly appeared on his face, "Thank you." 

Amirah and Blaire curiously scooted closer to get a better look, Amirah leaned over Avery's shoulder and patted his arm rapidly, clearly impatient, "Hurry! What's inside? I'm curious." 

Avery swatted her hand away playfully, opening the bag and pulling out a long box of assorted macaroons, as well as a dark blue weighted blanket that was covered in constellations that were big enough for Avery to see and read, and to finish it off there was a large jacket inside that was decorated beautifully with galaxy like colors and dotted with stars, the hood was very soft and fluffy, to the point you could lay on it as a substitute pillow. 

"Holy shit dude." Blaire blurted out, Amirah was simply amazed at such an unexpected gift, and that Nytin seemed almost indifferent to it, having offered to return anything Avery didn't like. Amirah had to stop Blaire from stealing a macaroon, and dragged her away to the other snacks to give them some privacy for the moment.

Avery blinked and then looked over at Nytin, "Wow.. a-are you sure? This is a lot.. h-how much did this stuff cost?" He wasn't sure how to react properly, it all looked expensive from what he could see, the blanket was heavy and warm, and the jacket was soft and cool. 

Nytin was about to nod, but quickly spoke up instead, "Yeah, for the strudels and washing my clothes, oh and for letting me wash my hair.." he trailed off, "as for the price.. not much, I made the blanket and jacket so.. uh.." he paused at the last comment but it seemed to make Avery relax, he rubbed his neck nervously and smiled, "So don't worry about it too much, it's the least I could do-"

He was cut off by Avery hugging him tightly, he was unsure what to do with his hands and stood there stupidly with his hands hovering over Avery's back. Nytin could feel his ears burning, but he slowly accepted the hug, gently putting his hands on Avery's back, still at a loss of what to do.

Avery squeezed him a bit tighter before letting go, "Thank you, so much, this is soooo amazing, I can't believe you made this." He said moving back to the jacket, he put it on and it fit perfectly, it wasn't tight, and it wasn't overly big either, "How come you never mentioned being able to make clothes? Is that why you've been gone for so long?"

Nytin had been staring at Avery as he excitedly put on the jacket, his ears still burning, he coughed and answered, "I-it's just a hobby, and uh…yeah you could say that." 

Amirah perked up, "You made something of this quality.. and it's 'just a hobby'?" She had been feeling the blanket, it was very soft and not too heavy at all, it wasn't a crushing weight, it was like a very gentle hug, "That's really impressive."

Nytins ears turned redder at the compliment, "I-its nothing really.." he said sheepishly, he was not used to getting compliments like this.

Avery moved closer to him and tugged at his cloak a bit, "Since you're here, do you want to join us for game night? We have a lot of snacks." 

Nytin hesitated, but upon seeing Avery's almost pleading face quickly agreed which seemed to improve Avery's mood immediately. He brought Nytin over to the couch, and sat down right next to him, the group decided to play uno to start the games, and added a penalty for whoever had the most cards by the end. Avery had to explain to Nytin several times how to play the game, and Nytin frequently leaned over to ask him what a card could do, but eventually he got the hang of it and played just fine. 

Suddenly, Blaire slammed her final card down, "Uno out!" She shouted, "Now count your card losers!"

Amirah flipped hers down on the table, crossing her arms clearly upset, "I have seven left."

Avery sighed in relief, "I have five.." he looked over at Nytin who had gone silent, "How many do you have left?"

Nytin looked as if he were going to flip the table, "I. Have. Fourteen. Cards." He said through gritted teeth.

There was immediate laughter from Blaire, "You loser! Now you gotta eat one of those disgusting jelly beans!" She was practically crying from laughter just from the look on his face.

Nytin was livid about losing and his situation, he hadn't ever had a 'bad' jellybean, but Avery had tried to describe it and was unable to finish without shivering in disgust. He grabbed the box and reluctantly shook one out, it was completely brown. He hesitated, staring at the bean in his hand, a bead of sweat rolling down his chin, he really did not want to eat a liver and onion flavored jelly bean. Then, he felt a small tap on his shoulder, he looked down to see Avery looking up at him with a small reassuring smile.

"You don't have to eat it, it's just a game." He tried to be reassuring, but on one hand he did want to see Nytin eat it, and on the other he wanted to be a good person.

Amirah and Blaire both 'booed' loudly, putting their thumbs down, and began obnoxiously chanting, "Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!", over and over.

Nytin nervously looked at the small but deadly bean that laid in the palm of his hand, he felt doubt creeping up on his shoulders, telling him to just chicken out, but his pride said otherwise. He quickly popped the jellybean in his mouth prompting loud cheering from Amirah and Blaire, while Avery simply grimaced. He crushed the jellybean between his teeth, letting the flavors pour right onto his tongue, and at that very moment it did..?

He gagged. Hard. 

Nytins eyes watered as he clenched his fists, keeping his teeth clamped down tight on the jellybean, but as he squeezed it, the more the rancid flavor seeped into his mouth and spread over his tongue. He felt his stomach twist and he doubled over, slapping his hand over his mouth as he gagged once more. From the corner of his eye he saw Avery move forward to attempt at helping him in any possible way, perhaps to comfort him, he wasn't exactly sure or able to find out as his entire body shuddered involuntarily. He felt something rapidly rising in his throat, and at that moment he abruptly stood up and ran to the bathroom, almost tripping and falling in the process. 

Once he made it, he slammed the door shut and immediately wretched into the toilet. The other three sitting in the living room grimaced, as they heard the muffled pain going on from behind the door. 

Avery looked at the beans and let out a sigh of relief, "I'm so glad it wasn't me..pft..hehe.."

The three were able to hold back their laughter for about two seconds before howling in laughter. Blaire was smacking the couch, tears running down her face, while Amirah was gasping for air, letting out tiny squeaks of laughter, and Avery was coughing and covering his face that turned bright red from laughing so hard. 

Nytin eventually emerged from the bathroom, he was out of breath, wiping sweat from his face with one hand, and clutching a bottle of mouthwash in the other, his eyes narrowed on the three laughing toddlers on the sofa and he took one last swig of mouthwash, spitting it out into the sink before walking back to the couch and sitting down silently, clearly upset. 

He caught his breath and finally spoke when the other three had finally quieted down, trying to hold back their giggles, "Why would anyone create something so wretched?"

That very sentence sent the three right back into their fits of laughter, which were interrupted with coughs and gasps, their lungs begging for a break. Nytin couldn't help chuckling softly along with them, covering his face with one hand, he was embarrassed to say the least, but he was having fun, a lot of fun.

Avery sighed happily, calming down and leaned back against the couch, looking up at Nytin, "I told you that you didn't have to do that." He said softly, still with a small smile on his face.

Nytin simply smiled back, "Didn't wanna be a bore, had to save face for my first time playing uno." 

Blaire raised a brow, "What are you, eighty? What's 'save face' supposed to mean?" 

Nytin shrugged, "Just something I picked up a long time ago, just means I didn't wanna ruin the fun." 

Blaire shrugged, "Whatever, let's just see if you lose again, I want to see what happens if you get 'used bandaid', that ought to be the greatest thing I'll ever see. " She grabbed the Uno cards again and began shuffling them. She definitely wasn't the best shuffler, as the best shuffler there was Amirah, but Amirah had busied herself with a honey bun and a can of soda leaving it to her to shuffle.

They all waited patiently for their cards to be handed out, and then the game began, with each player trying out different strategies. Nytin was very determined to win, or at least not eat another jelly bean, he had thought he was doing fairly good until he heard Avery's soft voice shout next to him.

“Uno!” Avery smacked down a card, now having a singular one remaining, it immediately caused tension between the other three players, they were all hoping that Amirah, who was the only person who could get him to draw cards, would make it happen. They all nervously played their turns, scared that if Avery won now, that they’d have one too many cards, as they all had over five cards, while Avery had been lucky the entire game, forcing them to draw or skipping. 

 Amirah slowly placed down a card, Blaire and Nytin watched in horror as they realized that it wasn't a draw card, she took a breath before announcing it, “Blue..f-five”

Avery immediately slapped down his card, “Uno out!” It had been a yellow five, meaning he won the game, “Count your cards!” 

The other players shouted in frustration, and began counting their cards reluctantly.

Nytin groaned in dismay, he had less cards this time, but still a lot, “I’ve got ten.” He dropped his cards on the table in dismay, sighing and glaring at Avery, even though it didn't work and Avery simply innocently smiled, too happy about winning to care about the distress he caused amongst his friends.

Amirah gleefully said hers after Nytin, “Thank god..I have nine.” She tossed her cards down and leaned back, all of her tension gone.

This time Blaire had beads of sweat forming on her head, “I..I have eleven.” 

Nytin shouted in triumph, surprising Avery as he had never heard Nytin get so excited before, he laughed a bit as Nytin did a small fist pump in the air. 

Blaire was quicker than Nytin in her punishment, and didn't need any comfort or reassurance to complete the challenge. She quickly popped a jelly bean in her mouth, and almost immediately ended up running to the bathroom, lasting no longer than Nytin did. Everyone erupted into laughter as Blaire flew into a frenzy of cursing incoherently, as she put her head under the sink and tried to wash her mouth out, using both the mouthwash and water.

Avery had laughed so hard he fell against Nytin who hadn't laughed as hard, and was chuckling to himself and making sure Avery didn't somehow roll off the couch, Amirah had fallen back against the couch, curling into a ball clutching her sides as her girlfriend suffered alone in the bathroom. 

After Blaire returned, she demanded they play a different game, and so they chose “bullshit”, Avery once again had to explain to Nytin the rules once more, this time he quickly caught on, and the game went by rather quickly, with some minor, playful insults thrown occasionally from everyone but Avery.  Overall, they played many games and got along just fine, even if it didn't sound like it at times, as Blaire and Nytin seemed to have formed some sort of competition while Amirah and Avery simply watched them, occasionally making comments to make them upset and try harder or do something drastic just to make a point.

In the end, Avery could say that game night was rather successful, and he’d remember it for years to come, and one would agree that the others felt the same way. 

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