Purplephone One Shots

"Paranormal" AU #2

Scott came home from work, spinning his keys in his fingers. He'd had a close brush with Freddy earlier in the night, but besides that, things went well at work. He actually was having a pretty great day, all in all. And now was the cherry on top of the sundae: seeing his boyfriend, Vincent. They both had the whole day off work, so that they could cuddle and talk and kiss...

He chose to walk home; it was a beautiful day out. The sun was just rising over the cityscape, and flowers were in full bloom along the sidewalk.

He opened the front door to the house, smiling. "Vince? I'm home!" He got no response, which was strange, as his partner usually gave him a happy response and a kiss on the cheek. Every light in the house was left unlit; the smell of breakfast didn't permeate the air and footsteps could not be heard. Something was wrong in this house...

He walked up the stairs, feeling none of them creak beneath his weight, his hand brushing the railing on the way up. Maybe he was still asleep. "Always a heavy sleeper..." Scott mumbled to nobody in particular.

An unfamiliar sound could be faintly heard from the top of the stairwell: crying. Loud, heavy, passionate sobs. Whoever was wailing was obviously very distraught about something... that couldn't be Vincent, could it? He was never one to dwell on sadness. He was a happy person in general, and whenever he was knocked down, he'd get right back to his feet.

Concerned, Scott walked towards the sound, and finally located it in the couple's shared bedroom. It was Vincent. His back shook as he shuddered under the sobs, his hands pressed tight to his face and tears running through the cracks. He'd never seen Vincent like this before... what had happened?

"Vincent?" The crying didn't stop, with Vincent being in the same place as before. "Vincent, look at me. What's wrong?" He walked over and sat gently on the bed. It felt light, like he was sitting on air. "Vincent... I can't help you if you don't talk to me..."

He reached a hand out for his partner's, but the door flew open downstairs, followed by screams of "Vincent?!" It was Jeremy and Mike. At the sound of their voices, Vincent immediately lifted his head, turning it to the door. His eyes were puffy, and two glinting streaks of falling tears shimmered down his cheeks. Scott was taken aback by the tragically beautiful sadness of his partner, which seemingly had no cause. He was also a bit angry, which he felt guilty about, but really... he was Vincent's lover, and he couldn't get a response from him, but their friends could? That seemed at least unfair and at most downright rude.

He heard the footsteps up the stairs, and then Mike and Jeremy came through the doorway. They both looked like they'd thrown on something and rushed over; Scott reckoned this must be serious.

"V-Vincent," Jeremy talked first. "W-we just heard, a-are you okay?"

"... I just can't believe it, Jeremy... j-just like that... and everything's gone."

"What's going on?" Scott asked. Nobody replied.

"... look, Vincent, I'm sorry, but--"

"But what, Mike?!" Vincent squinted at the man. "But what?! Are you going to tell me to get over it like Boss did? Just another occupational hazard, just another stack of paperwork! No, it's more than that!" Vincent laid back onto the bed, pressed his face into a pillow, and sobbed hard. Mike took this as his cue to leave.

"V-Vincent... I understand how you feel, but... Scott was a good man. He'd be so distraught if he knew you remembered him crying." Jeremy gently rubbed the man's back. "Here, just let it out... I'm here..."

Scott was distraught. Was he really...? No, that was absurd. All of this was just an elaborate prank, and soon they would all jump up and yell things like "You should've seen your face!". But that didn't happen.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. And the crying continued.

"... Vincent?" Scott again dared to speak. Nothing came from the others. He sat on the edge of the bed, only to find it light beneath him, and not even bending with his weight. "... V... V-Vin?"

He put a hand on his partner's shoulder, and it went right through.