The Party

Seraph waved his hands wildly, a giant smile on his face. "Victor! You know how I stay at your house over the night? And we sleep and have fun?"

Victor blinked, taking a second to comprehend Seraph's bizarre method of speech. "Uh...like a sleepover?"

"Yes! A sleepover!" Seraph's pink eyes blazed with felicity. "I think we should have one of those! But, instead of me sleeping at your house, you can sleep at my house!"

"You want me to go to your house?" Victor felt a knot growing in the pit of his stomach. He cared for his friend deeply, but leaving the safety of his home all night was out of Victor's comfort zone. He enjoyed his bed, the smell and feel of the sheets, and the food his parents cooked. Victor had never left home without being with either Matthew or Umbra, so this was new territory for him. Even going to Matthew's apartment every other week was no where close to this, as that was like his second home.

Victor looked down at Seraph's hand,  which was tightly clutching his own. He lifted his eyes, discretely grinding his teeth.

Seraph looked so happy. He was waiting impatiently for Victor's response, which he probably thought to be a for-sure yes.

And why shouldn't it be? They were friends. Sleepovers had become a common occurrence in the Mortis family, with one happening nearly every week. They regulated between both Matthew and Umbra's houses, and it was always a blast.

I'm gonna look like a jerk if I don't wanna go to his house, Victor thought. He's gonna be like 'Oh, Victor, why don't you wanna come over? I come over all the time and you don't have a problem. Do you not like my house?' And then I'm gonna be the worst friend in the world, all because I'm too scared to sleep over at someone else's house. And then Seraph's gonna leave, and I'm not gonna have any friends anymore, and then Umbry's gonna start taking me out on those weird father-son English tea parties again! I can't do that again! I don't wanna wear a top hat in public again!

"Victor," Esper interrupted, "you're hyperventilating."

"I do that when I'm excited." That was a lie. Hyperventilation was saved for moments of stress, like being subtly coerced into going to a sleepover in another dimension.

"So what do you think, Victor?" Seraph asked, squeezing his sweat-soaked hands, "Do you wish to come to my house and stay the night?"

"Sounds fun," Victor rasped, wishing for spontaneous combustion to conveniently happen.

Seraph clapped his hands together, the small wings that floated near his back twitching with joy. "Oh! I have another idea! Perhaps Esper can join us?"

Esper's bemused expression faded, and he raised his hands defensively. "Oh, no," he said, not using telepathy, "I couldn't do that. I don't want to intrude upon your personal time. I would be out of place."

Seraph leapt off the floor, touching Esper on the shoulder. "You would not be out of place! I live in the Celestial Realm! You are a fellow spirit, you must see how beautiful my home is!"

Esper wiped a bead of sweat off his face. "I really don't want to be a bother; I'm not that fun to play with. My blindness will become a burden."

Victor squinted. Oh, he's not getting out of this. If I have to go to a sleepover and be uncomfortable, its only fair Esper has to too.

"Pretty please, Esper?" Victor urged, joining Seraph in physically pleading with the nature spirit, "I really love having you around!"

"Victor's right! I really like you, Esper!" Seraph wrapped Esper in a hug, surprising him.

"Would that please you?" Esper mumbled, his voice sounding heavy.

Both of the boys nodded furiously.

Esper turned his head, squirming out of Seraph's grip. "Alright. I guess I'll go. But we need to ask Mr. Umbra first. That's the only way we can go."

Author's Note- tbh, writing from Victor's perspective is my favorite thing

(Art by -Meowtastic-)