Chapter Text
Avery was... well, not okay after his friend, Derek, aka D3rLord3, sacrificed himself.
He couldn't stop reading his final letter.
He told him not to blame himself, but it was hard not to.
Even if he wasn't the only one he had let himself die for, he seemed to specifically do it for him.
He could've saved him.
He could've stopped The King himself.
He could've found ANY other solution, as long as Derek survived.
But no.
He was a coward.
HE let him DIE.
If he'd just tried harder, they both could've lived. They could've met. They could've had a future. Derek could've had a future.
Avery finally settled on one conclusion: If Derek couldn't have a future, neither should he.
He read his note one last time, tears streaming down his face and little sobs occasionally escaping from his mouth.
He missed him.
He couldn't wait much longer for them to reunite.
He first took a second to write a quick note just assuring the police that he wasn't murdered. He didn't have many loved ones who'd care about him or any stupid note he could write.
Then he walked out to his backyard and planted a small blue orchid he'd collected on his way at the foot of the small stone grave he'd made for his late friend.
Then he started walking.
Walking to the lake maybe half a mile from his house.
On the way, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and considered calling someone. Maybe a family member, maybe a hotline of some kind.
He thought better of it and kept walking.
And he walked along a sidewalk dimly illuminated by street lamps.
And he walked out onto the dock of the large lake.
And he jumped in without thought.
As the water flooded into his lungs and ripped away at the top layer of slime on his skin, he thought of the cruel irony that this is what he did for 12 hours in a loop while he could've been saving d3rlord3. Except this would be the last time he did it.
Gods, he was excited to see him again, to apologize for the way things ended, to finally see his face for the first time.
At least, he hoped there was an afterlife where they could meet.
He wasn't even sure there was one anymore.
He began to lose consciousness.
Good.
The last thing he would ever think about was the life he cut short, the life of his friend he caused to end.
The bubbles rising to the surface stopped as Avery sank to the bottom, dead.
He would see D3rLord3 again.
No matter the cost.