He stared at the ceiling, watching without cease. His eyes were strained and reddened from the time flown out the window. Minutes just melted into hours. It seemed like the world had slowed down, and at the same time, it was carrying on. Without his brother. Nobody cared about the happy little nobody. Except for his family. Also nobodies. Except for his parents, they weren't nobodies. Their work had only allowed them to fly home because of the death of their oldest son. It was considered a PTO, fortunately.

Outside of the family, though, did anybody care? Anyone at all? "Nobody does." The words slipped past his lips in a leisurely drool. He hardly knew when he spoke, himself. His own voice took him by surprise. It was groggy, and weak. The words just a little blurred. He almost sounded tipsy, or like he'd awoken from an enormous nap.

The popcorn design grew nauseating over time. At least that meant he could focus on puking rather than what had happened. Evelyn's father? Mr. Lewis? That man had practically helped raise these kids, Camilo included! How could he, of all people, be a cold-blooded, icy-hearted murderer?

His mother had allowed him to spend the night at Bean's place, with his backpack in tow. She figured it was the best thing for him, just at first, to get away from the place where Camilo had grown up. It was hard coming home for them, but not as difficult as it would've been to stay away. Meanwhile, she and her husband were taking care of Amelia. Since she wasn't completely catatonic, they both did all they could to keep her calm. One parent stayed home to care for Amelia, and the other went to speak with the police. It was a cycle system.

Viktor had kept his promise to Amelia. They saw Camilo again. In an old family photo. The murder itself had supposedly been too gruesome for the evidence shots to be shared with anybody but the parents. Viktor's father had explained to him that they wouldn't show him and his sister the pictures anyway, because of their age, but he didn't want to hear it.

According to a very-limited amount of words, Camilo was too disfigured to have an open-casket when they had their funeral. His parents said that they'd have to hold his brother's body for evidence. It could be ages before they ever got the chance to hold a funeral. It seemed to him that a body would surely decompose too quickly, right? No way they'd keep him in the hospital morgue when he was evidence of a malicious crime. Where did they keep body for preservation when they were victims of a murder case? Viktor grew angry when he thought about it. He wiped his eyes, just enough to clear them so he could continue staring at that bland, thoughtless ceiling.

"Hey dude. I brought you a waffle. In case you're hungry yet." A kind, but cautious voice noted through the air. Viktor hardly processed the words before he realized where they came from. The door. A slug's crawl was quicker than Viktor's head when he turned it to face the other male. Bean was right beside him, with a neat little tray. He laid out a folded napkin, poured a glass of orange juice, and smeared the butter on the waffles right in front of Viktor. "Breakfast. Courtesy of, uh, me, I guess." He side-smiled at his friend.

Viktor didn't realize he was whimpering until Bean's grin screwed into a downward spiral, his brows twisted with concentration, and his lively eyes grew warm with concern. "You okay, man?" He asked in a much quieter tone. As though speaking too loudly into the void would cause a backlash of epic proportions, and break their bond just as quickly as Evelyn and Cody had been torn from one another.

"What? I'm fine." Viktor grumbled, propping himself on his elbows. He reached for the fork, but couldn't shake his friend's stare. "Dude, you're crying." Bean replied in a cool, calculated tone. He told himself that the worst thing he could do to Viktor right now was panic. His mom had told him that he'd come around as long as he was patient, and listened to Viktor, and cared for his needs. Of course, that conversation had been about... something else. It was a long time ago. The principles still applied here, though.

Viktor stared daftly at him, like he didn't hear him. Slowly, a hand crept up to his cheek, which was dripping wet. "Oh." Viktor mumbled, and refused to look at his friend. "Vik, I know you're in pain right now. You don't have to hide it from me. I'm your best friend." Bean pursed his lips, standing once more. "I mean, that's what, my mom, would have me say." He blew it off, and looked away from the other male.

Neither of them could know why, but for some reason, Viktor chuckled. It was frail, but still an echo of a laugh. "Okay, Bean. Since you're obviously trying so hard, I'll get up. I'll move around and stuff, a'ight?" He hadn't realized how slow his movements were, and how shaky, until he got up. His arms seemed to just tremble on their own, his legs quaked below. "What?" He muttered, uncertain as to how he should handle it. "Vik, you didn't even take a bite of the waffles, and you haven't eaten in two days. That's what happens to the body. Anatomy class." Bean shrugged, his dopey grin more sheepish than normal.

On one hand, it was nice being right. On the other hand, people called him names a lot at school when he corrected them. Especially Justin. It was a force of habit not to speak out much at school because of this. But since he and Viktor had become friends, his confidence had boosted tremendously. That boy had no idea how much he'd actually helped Bean's entire self-image.

"I'm kinda dizzy." Viktor muttered, a hand resting on his forehead before he stumbled on nothing. Fortunately, when he tripped, it was a quick fall to the bed. "I'll help you walk. Don't worry. Just a dude helping another dude." Bean shrugged, and took hold of Viktor's arms.

"Thanks, man." The boy was out of breath, to his own annoyance. He had to lean against his friend for a minute just to regain it. Bean snorted, freckled cheeks starting to burn. "Yeah man, whatever. I'll take you to the table. We've got to think of something to distract your mind." He replied, leading his friend through the hallway.

The first thing that came to Viktor's mind, honestly? Evelyn. Her eyes were lush aquatic pools he could swim in freely. There was no fear of sharks tearing through his flesh, or whirlpools dragging him down to the depths to be forgotten in a lonely, fearful death.

(Isn't it lovely to have someone who takes away the pain of life-? I love my lover! I love my family members, and I love God. Thank goodness I've been saved from such depression, myself. ANYway, love you all, have a blessed day!)