Time - (Identity V-Elisop)

Chapter 5

(TW: MENTIONS OF ABUSE)

Vera felt bad. She didn't know whether to go and comfort Aesop and ask if he was okay, or to leave him alone as he wanted.

They didn't really talk much later either and they ended up going to bed and leaving it at that.

Vera wanted to help. In any way, shape, sort or form. For all she knew Aesop wasn't experienced any sort or romantic love.

She knew Eli had a fiancee, empathis on had. Unfortunately, Eli recieved a letter last year. A letter informing him of her death.

That time for Eli was the worst. He hardly left his room, hardly ate or drank anything, hardly interacted or spoke with anyone. He just sat in his room and cried or lied in his bed.

He was also excused from matches for two weeks, the host didn't want him slacking off most likely. And when he got back to matches all he did was decode, rescue or help others, and when he got chaired by the hunter all he did was accept it. He didn't struggle even when there was a chance.

After a long while he started talking to people more, and eating meals with everyone else. He didn't forget about her, he just wanted to live life to the fullest, for Gertrude.

Whilst in his depressed state, Eli also got closer to Aesop, neither of them socialised often, and Aesop helped Eli feel better. And after he found life worth living again, Aesop developed the feelings for him.

The feelings that kept him up at night. The feelings he hated. The feelings that kept him from seeing his best friend normally. The feelings that would never be returned.

Aesop pondered in a chair. He thought about what happened the night before with Vera. He ran away with tears in his eyes. Pathetic.

He remembered how Jerry raised him. Emotionless, focusing on the job. Aesop also remembered the times he would beat him, he beat him if he cried, he beat him if he got something wrong, he beat him when he felt like it.

Aesop hardly went outside then, he didn't attend school as he was homeschooled and Jerry taught him everything, so nobody would see the bruises and scars. In his mind Jerry was a hero, and he was to blame, he deserved it.

Only at the manor did he realise not everything was his fault. He became friends with Vera and during Eli's hardtimes they grew close, as friends of course.

Aesop never searched for relationships, excluding the one with his late mentor. He focused on his work and his work only.

Aesop shivered, he forgot his window was open and now the snow was falling heavier than ever. Getting up to close it, he looked across and the bare trees covered in snow.

The host changed the rules to one match per week while the snow was heavy, probably to make sure nobody got hypothermia or something.

Luckily, Aesop didn't have a match this week, apart from the one yesterday, so he was free for the rest of the week.

Some part of him wanted to speak to Vera, ask for advice to get closer to Eli, and the other...the other part of him  wanted to just try and drop the feelings. Aesop knew Eli would most likely be hesitant to get into a relationship. So there was little to no chance he would return said feelings.

Eli was interested in Naib as well, so it wasn't like Aesop had a chance with him.

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Eli was in his room. His owl, or Brooke Rose, was perched on the window sill with the window open. To him the snow and cold didn't necessarily bother him, he was used to it.

The snow was still falling. Eli glanced at the two photo frames on his desk. One of him and Gertrude together from when he wasn't at the manor and Gertrude was alive. The other framed photo was a group picture, a group picture of Naib, Aesop, Tracy, Demi and him in the snow, the photo was from two years ago. It really showed how long they were trapped in the manor.

Aesop stood out to The Seer, not in any particular way. Aesop was one of his bestest friends, he helped comfort him during the time he was in such a depressive state he could hardly care for himself, a state that made him not want to leave his bed, or shower, or eat, or even leave his own room. All he would do is cry or sleep. If he hadn't decided to go to the damned manor, he would be with her, she could be alive if he was there to protect her.

He missed Gertrude, he missed her very dearly and that would never change. He hated himself for falling in love with Naib, one of his friends. And he fell in love so quickly as well...

So when he consulted Aesop and asked for advice with the matter he was a bit scared when he seemed disappointed and upset. It was understandable though. Not every sane person fell in love with one of their friends. And as much as he tried to forget the feelings, they were there.

Being with Aesop gave him a sense of security, a sense he could trust him more than himself. He was thankful for him, and apreciated him a lot. Sometimes, he thought it was something more than friendship between them. But that was stupid, for all he knew Aesop was straight and most definitly didn't seek anything more between the both of them.

Sometimes the feeling, he had about Aesop over-powered the ones he had about Naib. Eli only fell in love once, a long time ago with Gertrude. Of course he didn't know or remember what it was like to actually be in love.

Something about Naib was just...perfection, he couldn't name the exact thing he liked about him. Not necesscarily his looks, or personality, just something about him he couldn't really put his finger on. He loved him.

(A/N: Hello again! I am so sorry for how long this took me to update, my thoughts were empty and to be fair I would consider this more a filler chapter. When I was writing a part of Aesop's backstory, I really hope I didn't make it seem disrespectful in any way, shape or form. I promise to make the next chapter better. Bye Bye!)