Chapter Six: Eric isn't a vampire and Charles can't believe it

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Picture this: Eric trudges through the school gate, sending venomous glares from his tired, red-ringed eyes at anyone that gets too close to him. A side effect of having some sort of mental breakdown and terrible family connections is that you tend to very rarely get your clothes washed and, as a result, he doesn't exactly look like he's at the top of his game.

"Is that him? He looks homeless -"

"Jeez - something's really hit Lehnsherr hard -"

"I mean, he's still hot. I think I've got a thing for bad boys. Oh- piss off, Joe -"

His new plan of action is just to lash out when someone invades his personal territory (much more fiercely protected than personal space) because if he can keep himself separated from everyone physically, then surely mental detachment must follow, right?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Picture this: after a week of school without Eric, the rumors flying around the school as to why he's suddenly disappeared have become so ridiculous that when Charles finally lays eyes on him again, he's vaguely surprised that Eric hasn't grown horns or turned into a vampire.

It turns out that Charles isn't the only one being distracted by Eric (again) as the whole class falls silent when he kicks open the beaten wooden door of the classroom and enters the room, eyeing the other students with uncertainty.

Taken aback by his pallid face, crumpled clothes and generally disheveled appearance, Charles bites his lip and watches Eric slowly make his way towards his seat by the window, and indeed towards Charles. He crosses the distance from the door to his desk with his usually bright eyes trained determinedly on the floor, not even making eye contact with Charles when he walks past him and tosses his bag underneath the seat beside him.

As Eric sinks into his seat and hunches his shoulders over his desk like he's trying to shield himself from something, the little nerd beside him studies the profile of his blank face, pondering what on earth happened to change him so much, and so quickly. It's almost like something's just sucked the life out of him, Charles thought softly to himself, like he's lost his will to live.

Before Eric had walked into that room, Charles had been convinced that the minute he saw him again he would be relieved, just to know that he was alright. But now he feels his stomach sinking as it hits him that Eric is definitely not alright, and maybe he never was.

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⏰ Last updated: Aug 16, 2016 ⏰

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