Dearly Departed

Ant

When I woke up Jordan was getting ready to leave.

"Jordan?" I whispered, taking account of the fact that Ty was still curled up on the couch beside me.

He turned and looked at me. I started to get up, but he motioned for me to stay put. He looked... Angry? (Oh no!)

"No Ant," he scolded. "Just stay, alright? You can't do anything about this."

It hurt me to hear him like this, but I obeyed his demands as he quietly took his leave.

Ty woke up not long after and groggily asked where Jordan was.

"He left already," I sighed.

"By the way, Ant. Who is Jordan anyway?"

How was I supposed to answer that question? I honestly didn't know much about him. Was I supposed to tell Ty about our relationship? "H-He's a friend..." That was a terrible answer and I knew it, but I hoped Ty would buy it for now.

"You should follow him," Ty suggested.

"Wh-What? Why?" Needless to say, I kind of wanted to, but why Ty would suggest it completely escaped me.

"I know that look Ant. And no one puts up such a fight to keep their friend from leaving. Plus... I know you kissed him. (I love this sentence too.)" He smirked at the end, and I was a blushing, bumbling mess. "You'll really have to find a way to explain this to Adam when he gets back. But right now, I think you need to go after him. Go find Jordan and don't let him go."

Ty pushed me away from him and towards the door. I smiled gratefully and bolted out the door. I had a vague idea of where Jordan might have gone, and I found that he actually hadn't travelled very far.

Making the executive decision, I stayed in the shadows and just followed him from a far. (So... Stalking?) I knew if he saw me he would send me right back.

Soon he walked straight into the taiga where I knew the Nether portal was located. Was he going to the Nether? I had to be extra careful now, knowing that hiding spots were sparse in the taiga. When he arrived at the portal, he turned and looked around as if checking for onlooking eyes. But as he stepped in, little did he know that I was just a couple steps behind him.

After following Jordan quite a distance, he disappeared into a Nether fortress. Curiosity enticing me to keep going, I stepped out from the shadows and started towards the entrance.

Bad idea.

I was almost instantaneously bombarded by zombie pigmen, letting out just a strangled cry before being overwhelmed.

When I came to I was sitting in a large, nether brick room, my hands tied tightly behind my back. (Oh man.) Standing before me were two thrones and sitting on them were two people I could never have imagined would be sitting together.

"J-Jordan?" I whimpered, tears gathering in my eyes. He just sat there, next to Herobrine, his expression stern and intimidating.

Herobrine let out a deep chuckle.

"Ah. You are familiar with my son then, are you?" he spat, Jordan not even fazed by the suggestion of a blood relation to him. I couldn't stop myself from glancing to Jordan for assistance. Surely he would speak up for me.

"You can't be so reliant on him, AntVenom. Dependence always ends in tragedy. But my, my, what can I expect from the son of Notch?" At that I saw Jordan's eyes widen a bit, but not enough to be quite noticeable. "I can't keep you too long, not in my throne room at least. You can quickly say your goodbyes but then you'll be off."

Herobrine then teleported out and Jordan came and stood over me. I was still on my knees. (Gutter...)

"Jordan... Jordan you have to help me, please. Please Jordan, I-" (Wow, Italy much?)

He grabbed my collar and brought our faces so close, our noses were touching. He looked me straight in the eye and whispered, "It's over Ant," before ripping my amulet off my neck and storming away.

"JORDAN, NO!" I screamed. I would have reached out to him, grabbed his arm, but my wrists were still bound behind my back, and remained bound until I was knocked unconscious.

Later, I was violently thrown into a room, nether-brick fences surrounding me entirely. It was a cell. And I was doomed to be here, most likely, until I died.

I could feel hot, fat tears rolling down my grimy face. I knew it was of my own volition and soft-heartedness that I ended up here, but part of me tried to blame Jordan.

"It's not his fault though," I argued into the still air. "It's mine for coming down here."

"Well he's the only reason you came down here. And he's the one who didn't speak up when Herobrine condemned you to this dark cage," I countered. How was I arguing both sides?

"No, you can't blame him. He didn't do anything wrong."

"If he didn't do anything wrong, then why are you down here in his dungeon? You can't win Ant! It's all Jordan's fault! Ther-"

"IT'S MY FAULT FOR FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE!" I screamed. I couldn't even speak after that. I just collapsed onto my knees and sobbed, head in hands.

This wasn't a dream. He wouldn't come back for me. He didn't love me, he didn't care. Jordan hadn't only stolen my amulet, he also stole my heart. And there was no chance I could get it back.

I didn't even want to believe what had just happened.