Tw: Mention of self-destruction, memory manipulation
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Forever cheered and clapped his hands as Charlie finished the most recent song. Charlie had a good voice despite the fact it was clear he wasn't professional like some other people on the island were. Like Wilbur.
Charlie smiled brightly too, sitting next to Forever. He took a bottle of water from his inventory and drank it as he scrolled through his tablet through a list of songs he could do next. A part of him wanted to join Charlie, it looked like so much fun. But Forever was a little self-conscious about his voice and also he knew it was a good idea to save his voice for tomorrow. The hybrid didn't have to worry about that, he didn't have social obligations out in exile, but Forever was the president and couldn't get away with not talking. A part of him envied Charlie for that reason.
"What song should I do next?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know... uh..." Forever leaned closer to see the screen. He didn't know a lot of the songs on the list, and Charlie was scrolling a bit too fast for Forever to register all the English words and names. "Whatever you want to sing."
"Helpful," Charlie said sarcastically. He handed the tablet to Forever. "Pick one, any song."
"I don't know any of these songs."
"Even better! Just pick randomly."
Forever was skeptical, but he went with it anyway. He scrolled through slowly, reading all the names and trying to process them. Hayloft by Mother Mother, Rät by Penelope Scott, and Your New Boyfriend by Wilbur Soot.
He knew that one, he paused over Wilbur's song for a moment. But then he saw the one underneath it and raised an eyebrow. Two Trucks by Lemon Demon. Lemon Demon? His brain repeated the words over and over. So... a demon that likes lemons? Or was it a demon that also was a lemon? Was there something he wasn't understanding about that name? Maybe it was an expression or something.
Whatever it was, it intrigued Forever. And so, he clicked on the song and handed the tablet back to Charlie. The slime looked at the screen and laughed.
"Of all the Lemon Demon songs, you chose that one." He laughed.
"I don't know! You told me to choose something!" Forever shouted.
"No, no, it's good! You did great. I am just saying, prepare yourself for this one." Charlie said. He stood up and went to the karaoke machine to set the song up.
Needless to say, it was a fun but strange night. Forever was happy to be here with Slime because it was his birthday. But also...
"Slime, I am sorry to interrupt, but I was planning on going to a party tonight." Forever said. "It's a big house party we have been planning for weeks, so..."
"Oh... yeah, alright. No worries. Have fun getting fucked up. Do a line for me, 'kay?" Charlie said playfully. Forever laughed.
"Will do. See you, Slime!"
He always liked hanging out with Charlie. The hybrid was very fun and lively even if he was a troublemaker sometimes and more than a little self-destructive. Forever had been told that Charlie was a lot different before tragedy struck, but he never met that version of Slime.
This version was more subdued, he had a tendency to make self-deprecating jokes and put himself in embarrassing situations just to make people laugh, and he was incredibly smart when he bothered to sit down and think. He'd be lying if he said he didn't care for the other, and it made him a little upset to see no one else even knew today was Charlie's birthday. Or bothered to show up for him.
Forever shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn't matter now. He was going to a party, he couldn't be moody at a party.
-
"Charlie!" Forever shouted the moment he teleported here. "Where are you?"
He came to visit the hybrid whenever people hadn't seen him for a long time. Out here, there'd be no one to hear or see if Charlie encountered some real danger. It was a source of anxiety for Forever. Charlie was one of his citizens even if you remove their friendship from the equation. Charlie was his responsibility, he had to check on him when he became too reclusive.
Forever looked around. The crack shack was still standing, the mines looked untouched, the fire was dead, and the chairs around the fire were still empty. But where was the hybrid?
Wandering over to the crack shack, he knocked on the door. It was quiet inside. He didn't like it.
"Charlie?" Forever called.
When there was no response, he pushed the door open and it creaked slightly. The floorboards were unevenly placed, making it nauseating to walk on, but at least they didn't creak as much as the door. It smelled bad in here but Forever didn't know how to describe the smell. A little moldy? He became worried that there was dangerous mold growing in here. It was certainly dark enough for that.
Forever peered down the ladder and into the basement. It was dark. Was Charlie sleeping?
"Olá?" He called hesitantly.
Creaking from below alerted him that there was something down there. And then he heard mumbling before a voice called out tentatively. "Y-Yeah?"
"Hey, Charlie. I just came to check on you. Can I come down?"
"Uh..." It went quiet. "Hold on."
And so Forever did. He knew it wasn't likely, but he was worried the other wasn't dressed. He knew some people slept without clothes and out in the middle of nowhere, Charlie didn't usually have to fear someone walking in on him. The idea made him quietly laugh, but he waited anyway.
"You are good, come down," Charlie said.
As he climbed the ladder, the awful smell faded. It smelled like soap. Lots and lots of soap. That was a little confusing.
He stepped down onto the floor of the basement and looked around. It was still very dark, but his eyes were getting used to it. A birthday present sat at the far end of the room, Charlie's messy bed was pushed against one wall, and there was the man himself. But something was off.
If you didn't look at his left side, you could say he was exactly as he had been when Forever last saw him. Average height, skinny as hell, with fluffy brown hair, green eyes, black boxy glasses, and a general look of softness to his face that Forever thought was cute. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone, even if you tortured him. But there was something wrong here.
His left shoulder had a patch of darkness on it, green 1s and 0s flickered across the dark patch. Charlie didn't acknowledge it, he just smiled and waved. Forever stood there motionless.
"It's good to see you, Forever. You spooked me a little, I was just sleeping." Charlie said.
"Charlie, what's wrong with your arm?"
"Hmm?"
"Your arm! It's like... glitching." Forever said.
Charlie looked towards his shoulder. His eyes lingered on the dark spot for a while, but his face remained neutral. And then, he turned back to Forever.
