He Left Sparkles in his Wake

Jumper (Archie)

Archie stuffed his earbuds in his ears. Over the past few weeks, he had pushed everyone away: Hidden Block was out of the picture, he hadn't seen Cake since their sleep over, and Normal Boots only tolerated him. He kept to his word though, and cleaned the Normal Boots Room weekly. He never spoke. Archie was a phantom given flesh.

He missed them all.

"Scum like you doesn't deserve to interact with the likes of them." Archie hissed at himself under his breath. He hit the play button and let the emotional music assault his ears. The music was sustenance for the inner workings of Richard, locked away deep within the core of Archie's steel heart. A mixture of frustration, denial, and sadness boiled up from the former host. Archie rolled his eyes and gathered the now familiar cleaning products from the janitor closet. The robotic boy stalked off to the club room and effortlessly began to tidy it. Richard softly sang along to the songs from within, but Archie forced them to stay internal. He would not lose control again. He would not let them be weak again. The track playing began to fade out as the door opened. Archie payed no mind to the boys filing into the room. That is, until the next song began to play.

He froze. In a moment of emotional turmoil, Richard broke free of his prison and took control of his body again. His very being was like that of a statue; eyes wide, barely breathing, clutching the broom in his hands as if it was the only thing keeping him from returning to the confines of that cold heart that had taken over. The room was blurry and had begun to go dark. The only thing Richard could focus on was the familiar music; flooding his head and beginning to drip out of his mouth.

"The angry boy, a bit too insane, icing over a secret pain. You know you don't belong. You're the first to fight. You're way too loud. You're the flash of light on a burial shroud. I know something's wrong. Well, everyone I know has got a reason to say, 'Put the past away'. I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend. Cut ties with all the lies that you were living it. And if you do not want to see me again, I would understand." Richard sang, just loud enough that the entire room could hear. His body began to shake with the imminent onset of a panic attack. A hand violently yanked his earbuds out, bringing the boy to some sense of reality.

"If you're not going to clean, then get out." Jared snarled down at him. A single tear mixed with eyeliner dripped down Richard's cheek. The words didn't compute. Jared leaned down to stare into the cloudy brown eyes.

"I was singing this song when he jumped....I-I didn't know....I wouldn't have guessed...I...I miss him..." He mumbled as his control slipped. Jared watched as all emotion drained from Richard's face. His brown eyes went from clouded with emotion, to glazed over and lifeless. Jared backed away in shock.

Archie quickly regained his control and set the body in motion. He grabbed the cleaning supplies as fast as he could and marched with his head held high, and earbuds trailing on the ground behind him, out of the room. He slowly made his way to the janitor's closet and returned everything to it's proper place.

"Idiot! That was the last time you get to be in control. You are weak!" Archie snarled to Richard and carefully pocketed his headphones. He took a deep breath, pushed Richard back into the depths of his soul, and walked in the direction of Bluebell.

On his way, a girl with red hair stopped him. She was familiar enough: a classmate and someone who he had seen with Cake. He eyed her suspiciously but stopped and allowed her to speak.

"Richard, right?" She asked nervously. She shifted her weight from foot to foot anxiously and wrung her hands together. Archie felt bile rise in his throat. He and Richard were not the same. Richard was weak, made fun of, and no longer deserved to have control. He sighed and tried to fake a polite expression.

"Yes. Can I help you?" He responded with a hint of bitterness. She breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed his wrist.

"Luna. Come on! I'll explain on the way." She urged and pulled him in the direction of Prim Rose. Archie grit his teeth and let Luna lead him.

"What is this all about?" He muttered, starting to become frustrated. He needed to reset: reseal Richard away or he would lose control again. Luna's grip on his wrist tightened and she moved faster.

"It's Cake. She's just won't...and Hidden Block couldn't..." Luna tried to express, but she had trouble articulating what she wanted to say. She started running as Prim Rose got closer. Luna's grip on Archie's arm only tightened as they scaled the stairs and eventually stopped in front of a pastel pink door.

"What about Cake?" Archie asked. At the mention of the pinkette, Richard had come back with a vengeance. He lurked, waiting for the perfect moment to regain control and see his friend. Luna had tears in her eyes.

"She just lays in bed all day. She won't eat, drink, talk! She just lays there! Even HB couldn't get her to snap out of it. You're our last chance." She muttered darkly. Richard, with a surge of emotion, took control. He quickly grabbed the door knob and entered the pink room.

In the bottom bunk laid a familiar figure: soft pink hair fanned out against a pillow, gentle blue eyes in a daze, shallow breaths  making the blankets move. Richard swallowed and moved closer to her. Cake didn't move as he approached. Her eyes didn't move from their trained spot. He knelt down beside her bed and watched her for a moment. She was still breathing, although not nearly as deeply as he would have liked, and she was blinking on occasion.

"Cake? I-it's Arch-Richard. It's Richard. Are you okay?" He asked softly. She remained motionless. Richard forced a smile and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Um...Jared and I broke up a few weeks ago. You, uh, you were right. You've always been right."

She blinked, she breathed, she remained otherwise motionless.

Richard felt his heart begin to break. Hot tears poured down his face. His cheeks were becoming stained with eyeliner. "Cake please. This isn't funny. I know you're mad at me, but please say something." His heart ached with every word. But she didn't speak. She just laid there, locked away in her mental prison. His hand slid off her shoulder and fell to his side.

The world fell silent as Archie regained control. So silent, that neither Richard or Archie could hear the blood curdling scream of a broken man pouring from the body's lips.