Short Story: [Emberfate] Radio Silence

Hey! 

I'm back with another short story for Emberfate, this time of Chris! This will be the monthly reward for this month (June), though there should be more short stories coming soon to make up for previous months that have been missed.

As usual, it's written by Nic Wooden and edited by me. I hope you all like this!

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The soft afternoon sunlight streams in through the window beside your desk, its golden glow spilling past a stack of papers you had shoved aside and coming to a final rest over your hands, which are currently idly tapping away at your phone. You’re not doing anything important; it’s just a mindless matching game, which is perfect because right now, your mind is anywhere but here.

Out of habit, your gaze slides to your little text icon, but nothing is there — or at least nothing from the person you want to talk to the most. You sigh and delicately put the phone on the desk, running a hand through your hair.

Once again, your concern and irritation about your partner’s absence over the past week and a half rush to the forefront of your mind. The sudden loss of contact from Chris wasn’t at all worrisome in the beginning; it wasn’t even a surprise. He did warn you ahead of time, with a huge groan and much complaint, of a big test he had coming up for one of his computer science classes. You understood why he’d have to put Emberfate and you to the side for a few days while he focused on that.

However, that test date has come and gone, while the stretch of silence continues, and that’s what has you worried. You’ve messaged them on Harmonies several times these past few days — not enough to spam them, but what started as a single check-in soon spawned other messages and even a few texts. But across all apps, you can see that none of them have been read. Even worse, they haven’t logged into Emberfate recently either, and they practically live there.

You tap your fingers against your desk, doing your best to think the situation over with a cool head. You are confident that he isn’t upset with you and has just gotten caught up in something else. After all, his birthday was just two weeks ago, and you thought it went amazing. True to both of your interests, you celebrated by partying up on Emberfate for a dungeon run together, and you gave him a rare piece of gear that you had luckily gotten your hands on weeks before, which he seemed delighted by. Chris had even gifted you a rare pet in return as a surprise, despite it being his birthday. The two of you stayed up ridiculously late, laughing and talking well into the night about anything and everything.

That is one of the things you like best about them — how easy it is to hold a conversation together and how you never get bored of bantering with them. You like to think that your shared love of sarcasm and playful sharpness keeps things interesting, and Chris seems to agree.

The morning they disappeared, they had sent you one last text in which they said that he couldn’t wait to have the test over and done with, and that afterward, maybe the two of you could spend some quality time together. After that, he’d sent a couple of quick and incredibly cute bunny pics of Coach and Rookie, and then —

Radio silence.

Cradling your phone, you open your text chain with them and stare at the chain of messages before you, the last several of which have received no reply. Chewing your lip and creasing your brow, you contemplate if you should send another message or if that would make things worse.

Just as you’re about to toss your phone across your bed in frustration, some movement on the screen catches your eye. Your head whips back down, and you stare at the flashing row of dots, which indicates that Chris is typing, almost as if you have summoned him. You stare, riveted, not realizing that you’re holding your breath until abruptly, the typing stops.

You exhale in frustration as the screen goes black. Then, just as you are about to start your own reply calling him out that you saw him texting and demanding answers, an incredible short message flashes across your screen.

Sorry. Can I call you?

You suck in a sharp breath. Well, that doesn’t sound good. For a minute, you stay paralyzed; a dozen scenarios of what might be wrong fill up your mind, but you do your best to push them away as you slowly type up a response.

Sure. Now?

His response is immediate. Yeah.

Spinning back in your chair, you immediately pull up the app, but before you can even type in Chris’ name, your screen is filled with their icon and the familiar pulsing tone that indicates an incoming call.

You answer, and their face blows up on the screen. You immediately notice Chris’ expression. It’s far different from their usual smirk or playful teasing smile. It’s not even an irritable frown, as you’ve also experienced on more than a few occasions. Instead, it’s downcast, and while a bit of frustration is mixed in, they mostly look… glum.

For a moment, the silence stretches awkwardly before you. The river of questions you had only minutes have entirely dried up, except for one. “Hey Chris,” you ask softly. “Are you okay?” His eyes take their time meeting yours, but eventually, they do, and he gives you a shrug.

“Yeah, I guess,” they respond, but for once, that familiar accent doesn’t comfort you. You two return to silence, but thankfully, Chris breaks it before it can get worse.

“I’m sorry,” they offer quietly. “I didn’t mean to go dark on you like that.” They lean back in their chair and rub their eyes aggressively with the palms of their hands before slowly lowering them back to their desk. They shake their heads, but with what appears to be enormous effort, resume their explanation. “It’s just these past few days have been…” Their frown is replaced with a sarcastic grin. “Well, suffice to say the test didn’t go well.”

Honestly, you’re a bit surprised that he had gotten a grade back so quickly, but you keep that to yourself and let your lips fall into a frown. “I’m sorry,” you offer lamely, “that sucks.” It’s not much of a response, but all the same, it gets a chuckle out of Chris.

“Yeah, that about says it all, really.” His brief humor slips away, and the storm clouds begin to gather in his eyes. “It’s just frustrating, you know? I’ve thought about changing majors a thousand times, but I’m already so far in, and the student loans, and I know my dad was really happy about me doing computer science… So I’ve stuck with it no matter how much I hate every second of it.”

He sighs. “But I still actually tried really hard this time and spent a lot of time studying, so it just pisses me off that I still barely managed to scrape through.” He glares at the floor and shakes his head. “I don’t know. I guess it just put me in a bad mood.”

Your lips quirk up, and you can’t keep your voice from becoming teasing. “I’ve noticed. But really, Chris? Are you ever not in a bad mood?”

Chris rolls their eyes, and you see a bit of challenge return to their expression, their lips twitching upwards. “I’ll have you know that I’m an absolute delight.” They lean forward in their chair and put on the most ridiculous sickly sweet smile, complete with batted eyelashes, to prove their point, and now it’s your turn to roll your eyes.

“Nuh-uh-uh Chris,” you wag a finger in front of your cam for emphasis. “That angelic look can’t fool me. You’re an arrogant ass, and you know it. I’m surprised you couldn’t just annoy the professor into giving you a better grade, just so that they could get you out of their class faster.”

You hum thoughtfully. “Though either way, it sounds like they’ll be rid of you. C’s get degrees Chris, haven’t you ever heard that?” Chris doesn’t manage to restrain a laugh at that, but they are quick to counter it.

“If only it were that easy,” he chuckles, “but I can hardly be that annoying, can I? I got you to date me after all, so unless you’re a sucker for punishment, you must find something about me charming besides my incredible, model-like, good looks.” An actual snort escapes you, and he pretends to be offended.

You’ve missed this.

At that thought, your good mood evaporates. Chris seems to notice, and you can feel the air begin to edge back into discomfort. You try to think of how to word the request at the tip of your tongue, but before you can, Chris clears their throat and speaks, their voice suddenly much softer. “Thanks. I didn’t realize how much I needed this.”

You nod but turn your gaze away, and Chris sighs. “Look, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” You have to bite back a response that you didn’t say you were worried about them. It’s an impulse fed by irritation, and you don’t want to turn this into an argument, so instead, you shrug.

Helpfully, he continues unprompted. “You know I tend to retreat when I’m upset by something. I guess that’s always been my first response. But…” He trails off, and you know that he is waiting for you to turn your gaze back to him; after a moment, you do. He nods, glad that he can look directly at your face as he says the next part.

“But that isn’t fair to you, and even if it was, I don’t want it to be like that anyway. So I’m going to make sure that I get better at managing that from here on out, okay?”

Warmth spreads in your chest, glad that they could see to the heart of what was bothering you; they’ve always been good at that.

“Good. Not to blow up your ego to the size of the moon or anything, but it has been too quiet lately. I needed something distracting to come back into my life these past few weeks, even if it was an annoying distraction.”

They smirk. “I’ll take that as a compliment then. I knew you missed me.”

“That’s not what I said, Chris.”

The smirk grows bigger. “It doesn’t matter. It’s what you meant, and trust me, I’m flattered.”

As if to show agreement for his point, a particular pair of bunnies hop into view, noses twitching curiously at the camera. You grin, no longer able to control the corners of your mouth from twisting upwards.

Perhaps he is right. You’ve missed this even more than you realized.