CHAPTER 568: THE IMPORTANCE OF AFFECTION

"Hey bro! Not to sound rude, but what the fuck is going on with you?" said Yvonne with a strained, almost concerned smile.

Yannick and a few others gathered near, glanced in her direction, confusion evident in their expressions. However, her brother quickly realized the meaning behind her crude words and chuckled lightheartedly.

"Nothing’s going on, sis! In fact, I feel better than ever!"

His words didn’t placate Yvonne’s concern. Instead, his wide, joyous smile only made her more suspicious and worried.

"Don’t joke around, Yannick! You never smile, not truly at least. Your smiles always contain suffering and lack emotion. Now tell me what changed before I beat the answer out of you!"

Her brother chuckled again. However, this time his smile didn’t hold any happiness, and his laughter was self-deprecating.

"You noticed it, huh..." he said as his blindfolded gaze met Yvonne’s worried metallic gray eyes. "I tried my best to hide it, but it seems I’ve misjudged your perceptiveness... I wasn’t in pain, but the suffering of each day took its heavy toll on my psyche...

"After losing my eyesight, I could only rely on my void sense. However, the amount of information it constantly pushed into my brain became overwhelming. Every moment of every single day I was in misery..."

The surrounding people, including his sister, gawked at Yannick. They knew something was bothering him, yet he dismissed every concerned question until everyone stopped asking and accepted his state.

"Imagine constantly feeling every single object within a kilometer radius. The sensory overload would drive even the sanest person to the doors of madness. I myself only survived because I became detached and emotionless, but believe me, it felt like a living hell!"

Yannick took a deep breath. He would’ve begun crying, but after losing his eyes, he never was able to cry again. Suddenly, he felt a gentle arm wrap around his shoulders. It was his sister, who cried in his sted too.

"You dumbass!" she cursed, while her muscular arm’s hold got tighter and her cries turned into gentle sobs. "You should’ve told me... or our parents... or our siblings... or anyone, for fuck’s sake... Why did you want to suffer alone?"

Her brother reached out, a kind, small smile stretching across his face. With one hand, he brushed away some of Yvonne’s tears while speaking in a gentle tone.

"I never was great at expressing myself. I always wanted to solve my problems alone, you know that better than anyone..."

Yvonne couldn’t help but giggle at her brother’s words, as an old memory appeared in her mind.

When Yannick was young, he often peed his bed, as most children did. However, after feeling ashamed once, Yvonne and her parents stopped finding his mattress dirty. In fact, every time they checked, the bed was clean as new!

One night, though. When Yvonne couldn’t sleep, she walked to the bathroom and spotted her tiny brother carrying a giant mattress into his room.

She and her parents believed Yannick had simply stopped peeing himself, but instead he just changed the mattress each night!

To this day, Yvonne had no idea where he got the mattresses from or where his old ones went. She also never told their parents what he was doing each night, because she found it too funny and she didn’t want them to berate her brother!

"...It was my burden to bear, and didn’t want to make you worried... I got used to it eventually, but now that I can’t feel the constant pressure anymore... It feels so liberating!"

Suddenly, Yvonne smacked the back of her stupid brother’s head, then gave a loving kiss on his cheek and hugged him. Yannick’s arms also wrapped around her body, and they stayed like that for a few minutes.

Afterward, the rest of the evening passed by fast as everyone began celebrating another victorious day.

Yannick’s first affectionate surprise wasn’t the last. As it turned out, he could get really talkative, especially after a few drinks.

He also spent an awfully long time giving everybody hugs, or placing his arm on their shoulders and holding their hands. There wasn’t any hidden meaning behind these interactions. He was simply starving for human connection.

Each time, his face took on hints of red as if he found these affectionate touches embarrassing or shameful. However, his blushes only fueled the extroverted members of their group, and it wasn’t long before someone put on music... and with music, dance came hand-in-hand!

First, Yvonne pushed him onto the dance floor, where they had an affectionate brother and sister moment. Next came Lucy, leading a few others, and together they began a group dance, which consisted of random movements, like at clubs.

They overwhelmed Yannick, poor introverted soul, within a few minutes, but he pushed through the desire to leave the dance floor. Instead, he doubled down and started doing some strange dance nobody had ever seen.

The lounge room filled with laughter as everyone began copying his movements. To the side, in a more silent corner, sat Sera and Bea, watching their friends with wide grins and light chuckles.

Next to them sat Joan and Melinda. They also smiled towards the group of dancers, but judging by their blank eyes, their minds were occupied with something else.

Sera leaned back with a sigh and glanced towards Bea...

"Do you want something to drink? Or dance?" she asked, while Bea just laughed and shook her head.

"I need to be a forest tomorrow as well! I can’t be hungover, otherwise, our friends might suffer. Their job is already difficult enough..." answered Bea, while nodding towards Joan.

Indeed, their friend didn’t seem to enjoy the evening. She seemed quite stressed about tomorrow, since it’s her time to fight and Evolve.

However, there seemed to be something deeper bothering Joan...

"Hey. How’re you doing? Are you stressed about tomorrow?" asked Sera with a gentle smile.

Her words startled Joan, but after a few seconds, she understood her question and answered with a faked confident smirk.

"Oh, of course! I’ll beat that asshole with ease! Especially after what I’ve read about him... That man deserves to meet Death more than anybody on this planet!"

Sera nodded in agreement, yet she couldn’t help but notice the longing gaze in Joan’s electric blue eyes. She thought about what could’ve caused such a sad and painful gaze when it hit her...

She glanced towards Melinda, her best friend. They had known each other for most of their lives, and so they could tell entire stories with just their facial expressions.

As Sera’s golden-green eyes met Melinda’s two dark blue and green gaze, her friend simply nodded at the silent question she’d asked.

"I’m sorry, Joan," began Sera after taking a deep breath. "If you don’t want to Evolve yet, there’s no need. When I created this fight list, I forgot about your past, and didn’t account for the struggle you’re feeling right now."

Joan’s eyes went wide upon hearing Sera’s words. However, soon a thankful but determined smile grew on her face.

"Thank you for the offer, but... I won’t waste this opportunity!... It’ll be difficult... The first willing Evolution after losing Eula... But she would want me to continue forward instead of cry about the past..."

While talking, her eyes moved from Sera to Melinda, and her smile became mischievous as she continued...

"Also, I can’t let my girlfriend become too powerful. She’ll turn our relationship into a dictatorship!"

Melinda giggled and spoke in a low, almost seductive voice...

"Oh honey! This is already a dictatorship! You think I need to use my powers to get my way? Don’t be so naïve, Joan..."

As she talked, she gracefully brushed a finger along her girlfriend’s hand, sending goosebumps along her body. She then touched her finger to Joan’s face and watched as a heavy blush settled on her cheeks.

Joan’s breathing quickened as Melinda pulled her finger away and, while giggling, whispered, "See? I already have you wrapped around my finger. Literally!"

The blushing woman forcefully shook her head and spoke to her lover with faked anger.

"Hey! You used some bacteria to entice me! That’s cheating!"

Melinda began laughing harder, while Sera just shook her head and interrupted their flirting with a small smirk.

"Sadly, Joan, she didn’t use any power or at least abilities related to the Evolutions... Melinda always had a way with all her partners. No matter how dominant after a few weeks, she could command them like puppies. It’s truly exceptional!"

Joan’s eyes went wide with shock as she glanced between Sera and Melinda. They shared a knowing grin while Bea was dying of laughter.

"That true, honey. My partners in the past all became quite obedient!" She said while gradually leaning closer. "However, none of them could compare to you, Joan. You’re truly exceptional in your own regard!"

Melinda climbed ever closer, while Joan leaned away, a teasing glint in her eyes. A few seconds passed until Joan found herself pressed against the couch’s side and Melinda sitting atop her, faces only centimeters from each other.

They shared a few breaths, then Melinda sealed their lips. Needless to say, they didn’t remain inside the lounge room for long afterward.

Sera and Bea also left to spend some time alone, while the party continued.

Yannick danced with everybody, then alone and after drinking way too much, he passed out on a couch lying atop his sister and a couple other drunkards, including Lucy and Will.

For the first time in months, maybe even years, Yannick had a peaceful night’s sleep, and the next day he woke up with a tired face. Yesterday he smiled and laughed so much it actually made his muscles sore!

The liberating feeling coursing through his body was indescribable. He didn’t even want to move from the couch, since the proximity of all his friends’ warm bodies filled him with joy.

However, while he wanted the warmth of other people to brighten his soul... The smell was unbearable, so he eventually left for the bathroom, where he puked his guts out...