Another time skip, this time by a month

Gar smiled as he watched Patrick head back to his house after another 'date', as Patrick liked to call them. The word made him feel weird, his stomach tightening every time Pat referred to their outings by it. A date was supposed to be some kind of romantic engagement. Like when a married couple goes out to dinner, or when a guy takes his girlfriend to the movies.

What he was doing wasn't a date. Gar was simply trying to get Patrick to see what he hadn't been able to see before. Like today, Gar had taken Patrick to a lake in the park. Small fish lived there, along with some frogs and dragonflies. It was nice and Patrick obviously enjoyed it, even said so himself before calling it a 'date' again.

Gar turned away and began walking somewhere to sleep that night, feeling too tired to fly. He eventually settled on going back to the feild he had taken Pat previously. He smiled at the memory, his heart fluttering in his chest. He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, sleepyness overcoming him.

Before he could fall asleep though, he heard a car engine echoing through the woods again. He sat up rubbing his eyes as the lights from the vehicle came into view before the car stopped and the pair exited.

"That's weird...," One mumbled as they looked up into the sky. Gar, confused, stepped out from under the tree and looked up too. The moon shined as bright as it normally did, but there weren't any stars with it. Gar cocked his head to side as he tried to come up with a reason why the stars weren't visible. It was a clear night, no clouds showing as well as no light pollution since the city was quite far from the feild.

"I don't know, maybe someone forgot to turn the lights on?" The man said, he chuckled softly before sitting back down in the car. Gar narrowed his eyes, forgot to turn on the lights, he knew it was supposed to be a joke but nonetheless it made his stomach feel queasy.

The pair left soon after, the car lights fading as they drove back into the woods leaving Gar alone and confused. He looked over to the center of the field, where the fireflies usally hovered, yet no light sparkled. Gar half heartily hoped that they just weren't there tonight.

He walked back over to the tree, struggling a little before climbing up onto a branch. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that the stars would return the next night with a sigh.

He felt drained as he finally fell asleep.

_/_/_/

When morning came it was much the same. However, the sun seemed dimmer than before, Gar hoped it was just his imagination though. He didn't want to think about the meaning of it, if something was wrong it wouldn't be good. He hopped down from the tree he had rested in, the landing unbalanced and his limbs unorganized. He felt exhausted.

He walked along the path, heading back towards the city slowly. He told himself he didn't feel like flying, that's why he wasn't, he didn't feel like it. Just like he didn't feel like collecting the night lights- though upon arriving to the city he noted how most of them were already gone, he felt uneasiness settle in his stomach but ignored it as he made his way to Patrick's house. He would hopefully ease his nerves.

Upon arriving to Pat's house, Gar snuck in through an open window. He walked through the house slowly, checking every room til he found Patrick who sat on the couch petting Ophelia. Gar smiled, finding the scene adorable as he moved to sit next to Pat.

Gar let out a deep breath as he moved his hand to touch Pat's shoulder but jumped when he felt an electric shock surge through him. Panic washed over him suddenly, the pain passing through him as his mind blanked. He shook his head, taking another deep breath and reaching to touch Pat's again.

He jumped again feeling the electric shock pass through him but didn't pull away. His hand rested on Patrick's shoulder, yet he didn't get any reaction from Pat who continued to Pat Ophelia silently.

"Pat? Hey, can you-" Gar began, leaning closer to him before falling forward.

His hand had phased through Patrick's shoulder.

"

Wha- no. No, no, no," Gar repelled, moving to the other side of the couch. He looked down at his hands, not knowing what to do, he was shaking badly. He felt his heart in his throat, the thumping echoing in his ears as he slowly moved back to Patrick and tried to touch him again.

The lights in the room dimmed, though Gar didn't notice as his hand went through Patrick once again.

"Pat? Patrick? C'mon please see me," Gar's voice cracked as Gar began to practically punch Patrick I hopes it would work. Gar moved so he was in front of Pat.

"Please, I can't lose you. You're the only one I have. Please," Gar shook, his heart breaking as each second passed the Patrick didn't respond. He collapsed on the floor, holding his face in his hands. He saw Pat's head flick up, a tiny sprout of hope yanking at Gars heart before he heard the front door close and watched Ophelia sprint out of the room.

"Hey, you're home eariler than I thought you would," Pat stated, he grabbed his guiding stick and stood. Gar stood too and moved out of the way.

"They decided to close because of the weather, it's super dark outside even with the sun out. People are claiming it's the end of the world," MK replied with a chuckle. Gar glanced out the window to find that it had indeed gotten considerably darker.

"Anyway, what did you do while I was gone? I'm surprised you didn't go for a walk again, you've been doing that a lot lately," MK stated, she began walking out of the room amd Patrick followed.

"Yeah, I was hoping to go out but decided against it.." Pat looked visually disappointed. Gar looked down at the floor as he followed them.

"Why not?" The question stuck in the air. Patrick shrugged with a sigh.

"Didn't see a reason to today I guess," Patrick's lips tweaked into a tight grin as he moved to his bedroom. MK laughed before heading to the kitchen, leaving Gar alone.

It seemed like he would always be alone.