"Are you lost?"

"What's your name?"

"You're Tyler?"

"I'll help you get home."

Don't touch me!

Cold clammy fingers seized his neck and dragged him off the path, clamping over his mouth as he tried to scream. He kicked and thrashed as hard as he could, earning a foot to his gut and a fist to his face. He bit down on the fingers pressed against his lips and felt his mouth fill with someone else's blood. A scream pierced his ears and shredded his hearing until he couldn't even hear his friend crying his name.

He couldn't see, but he ran. He ran until his lungs were fire, but he couldn't stop. Suddenly, the phrase run for your life had a new very literal meaning. He couldn't see. He couldn't see. It was so, so dark. Someone's hand was in his, and he squeezed it tightly.

"Tyler!"

"Tyler, come back!"

"Tyler, you're going to get hurt out there!"

Go away go away go away!

"Tyler, you're alone."

"Tyler, let me help you home."

Let me help you.

Let me help you.

He hit the floor with a thud and a choked gasp for breath, and found himself staring at the blurry darkness under his bed with tears in his eyes. He tried to sit up, only to discover that he was tangled up in sweaty blankets. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, his sobs shaking his whole body, and slowly untangled himself. This was the fourth night in a row he'd woken up screaming or crying, remembering things that he desperately wanted to forget.

He knew it was because he'd gone back to the forest a few days ago, and only found Josh's pocket knife and his beanie, both stained in mud and buried in leaves and a thin layer of snow. He was absolutely terrified that something had happened to him. He didn't know if someone had found him, or if he had actually scared him away. He couldn't stand the thought of either of them, and it had started to affect how he slept at night. Every night, he found himself back in the forest, running for his life, or trying to catch Josh - the latter was by far the worst. He found himself in place of the man from his nightmares, calling Josh's name, offering to help him come home. He couldn't take it anymore, so he made a decision right then and there.

He wasn't going to sleep. He was going to stay up until he physically couldn't stay awake. Then maybe he'd pass out and escape the nightmares when his body finally crashed.

He climbed to his feet and stumbled, his balance nearly failing him. He shuffled to the door, rubbing his eyes to clear the blurry vision.

"Where're you going?" Clancy mumbled, yawning.

"To the bathroom," he said.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Liar," Nico hissed, and Tyler flinched.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. He left the room and flipped on the light in the bathroom, squinting in the brightness. When his eyes adjusted, he was met with his reflection staring back at him with empty eyes filled with nothing but tears.

Pathetic.

He turned on the sink and splashed his face with cold water, shivering afterward. How was he going to stay awake? He needed a plan. He'd tried to pull all-nighters before, and he always crashed around four for lack of something to do. It was already about three.

He decided he'd go downstairs and make himself some tea - he wanted coffee, but he knew the smell might make his family suspicious if one of them happened to wake up. Besides, tea had enough caffeine in it, and his mother argued it was better for him, anyway.

What else could he do during these long nights? He thought hard as he sat on a stool by the counter and stirred his tea slowly, but he was already exhausted and had a hard time focusing. He took a sip of tea, wincing as it burnt his lips, and tapped his fingers on the table. He could always talk to Clancy and Nico. But he didn't want to let Nico think he was relying on him. No, he was strong enough to do this by himself.

He had to keep moving, somehow, but that would be difficult, saying as he barely had enough energy to sit up. He forced himself to drink more of his tea, and sighed softly through his nose. He'd just have to train himself to stay awake.

"No offense, Tyler, but I don't think this is the bathroom."

Tyler whirled on his stool, nearly spilling his tea down his pajama shirt. "Nico!" he hissed. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Nico just shrugged and pulled up a stool next to him. "Figured you'd want some company. Nights can get pretty long without it."

"What are you talking about?" Tyler gave his tea another stir and drank a little more. His stomach protested, but he ignored it.

Nico rested his elbow on the counter and leaned back. "Well, since you weren't actually in the bathroom, and instead, you're making tea, I figured you're trying to stay awake. To avoid nightmares, yeah?"

"Yeah," Tyler muttered.

This time, Nico just laughed. "You know you'll never escape them, right?"

"The dreams can't haunt me when I'm awake."

"Reality is your nightmare, Tyler. You can't escape that."

"Unless I'm dead."

Nico smiled, nodding in agreement. "Unless you're dead."

After that very unsettling remark, Tyler tried to ignore him, but he could feel himself falling asleep again, and needed someone to talk to. "Where's Clancy?"

"Upstairs sulking."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just told him the truth."

"And what exactly is the truth?"

"That you don't want us around."

"But that's not what you said, is it?" Tyler sipped his tea and cringed as his stomach twisted with nausea. Why did it hurt so much to drink something?

Nico smirked. "You think you know me pretty well, don't you?"

"Well, since I've been around you 24/7 for the past three years, yeah, I think I know you pretty well." Tyler glared at him, hating that he just smirked back. "You told him that I didn't want him around, not both of you."

Nico shrugged. "Fair enough."

"So you lied."

"No, I just choose to leave out a small detail. I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"Why do you hate him so much?" Tyler demanded, slamming his mug down on the counter.

Nico just rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You can't say you don't hate him, too, sometimes."

Tyler hated that he was right. Clancy was growing more annoying, especially now that he wouldn't stop talking about his last conversation with Josh. He was always mumbling or humming to himself at night, and clinging to Tyler like his life depended on it during the day.

"He's so annoying," Nico said, drawing the word out for emphasis. "Doesn't it bug you that he's constantly holding on to your arm like some pathetic three year old?" He grabbed Tyler's arm to illustrate, and refused to let go when he tugged away.

"It is pretty annoying," Tyler grumbled in agreement, swirling his tea.

"And he's always bringing up things you should have done with Josh, like -" Nico cut off for a second and raised his voice almost an entire octave, imitating Clancy as obnoxiously as possible. "'You should have just told him what you were thinking. No, wait, then he might have thought you were crazy or weird. You never should have snuck out. No, wait, then he'd be even more worried about you. But what if he's not worried at all? What if he never wants to see you again? Oh my gosh, Tyler!'" Nico yanked on his arm again and leaned against him like a toddler. "'Tyler, Nico's scaring me and I don't want to be alone with him anymore so I'm gonna attach myself to you like a parasite and never let go unless it's to freak out at you and cry like a prepubescent seventh grader!'"

Tyler snorted a sort of pity laugh and took a long drink to avoid answering right away. "That was a pretty accurate description," he admitted. "Except for the voice." He chuckled slightly under his breath, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "It's like a half octave higher."

"Like this?" Nico squeaked out, and Tyler almost choked on his tea as he laughed.

"Yeah, like..." He turned around a little and froze as he saw Clancy standing in the hallway, staring at them. His expression was full of anger, but the hurt was written plainly in his eyes.

"So that's what you think of me?" he said, his voice low.

"Clancy, that's not what I meant," Tyler said quickly, the guilt eating a hole in his chest like acid.

"Then what did you mean, huh?" he demanded, raising his voice and cringing as it cracked. "What did you mean?"

"I..." Tyler's voice trailed off as he struggled for the words.

"That's what I thought." Clancy's glare was stone cold. Tyler had never seen him like this before, and it scared him. "You're a liar. You lie to your parents, you lie to Josh, you lie to Nico, so why was I stupid enough to believe you wouldn't lie to me? You're just like him." He jabbed his finger at Nico, who just raised an eyebrow at him. "And I hate him." He whirled around and stormed back down the hall, leaving them staring after him in disbelief.

"Then why don't you just leave?" Tyler asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Unfortunately, Clancy heard, and he whipped back around. "Because I'm stuck, don't you get it?" he nearly screamed. "You think you're stuck with me? I'm stuck, too, stuck with two monsters who use every second they get to tear me apart! If I could, I'd leave in a second, but I can't, okay?"

And suddenly, it was quiet, and he was upstairs without another word. They sat in silence for a moment, and Tyler hated every second of it.

"Well, that went well," Nico commented.