You didn't want this. You didn't want this at all; you would rather have killed yourself than to put Tyler through this.

But you had no choice.

Sobbing hysterically, you finally hung up on him. He hadn't spoken a word after you had demanded for him to leave you alone. Hell, you screamed at him, and he had fallen silent. You knew you wouldn't be able to handle his reaction, and so you hung up. Curling up into a ball on your bed you cried for who knew how long.

This isn't fair to him... it isn't fair at all... but Dark will.... this isn't fucking fair!

Eventually you had cried yourself back to sleep, and while there were no more visits from the demon, you nonetheless slept fitfully. Waking up with a headache, you were too scared to look at your phone again. What if there were missed calls, or unseen texts? Heart pounding in your throat you got up to shower, lower lip trembling as you tried not to start crying again.

You hated this. You absolutely hated this. But Dark had given you no other option; he would kill you if you went on, or worse... he would try to harm Tyler.

You supposed that going to visit Mark was simply out of the question. Mark had been the one most looking forward to seeing you two get together; hadn't you promised to give Tyler an honest chance? And here you had screamed at him last night, demanding that he leave you be.

The water ran down your body in rivulets as you stood in the shower, immobile save for your expression working over. The tears just wouldn't stop; your heart ached.

It wasn't fair.

•●♡●•

The pounding at the door made you jump from your place on the couch, and you squeezed your hands into fists on instinct. Who the hell would be visiting so...

Oh. Oh, no.

Hesitating at the door, you slowly unlocked it and took a peek, only to come face to face with Mark's stern expression. "Are you gonna let me in? We need to talk," he spoke softly. No trace of his usual goofy smile.

He knew. He had to have. Wasn't he friends with Tyler? Surely he would have said something...

Swallowing the lump in your throat you stepped back, allowing the Korean male to walk inside. His eyes scanned everywhere in your apartment except on you. Soon enough he walked over and sat on the couch, watching you until you followed suit, albeit slowly. "Tell me why you did this," Mark began quietly. His tone was saddened, but he was better at hiding his feelings than you were at the moment.

Especially when you buried your face into your hands and began to cry again. "It's not my fault, you don't understand!" you wailed, sobbing too hard to elaborate any further.

Mark waited until your sobbing had tapered down a bit before speaking again. "Tyler called me at five this morning. He hasn't slept since you called him and screamed that he leave you alone. Now what happened?" He frowned, looking at you. "I thought you two seemed happy together."

Every word only made the pain in your chest worse. You fully regret letting Mark inside, but you knew the male was stubborn and wouldn't have left until he spoke to you. "I... I w-was happy..." you stuttered, wiping your eyes and refusing to meet his. "You don't understand, Mark..."

"Exactly. I don't understand why two of my best friends can't be together. Why are you breaking his heart?"

All you could do was start to cry again.

Goddamn you, you fucking demon!

"Hey," the male spoke again, his tone softer. "Just tell me what's going on. If you're hurting this much, why tell him to leave you alone?" As you cried, Mark sighed softly, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but I can tell you still like Tyler. If there's somebody trying to keep you two apart, talk to me. I'll sort it out."

How could you tell him? It would have sounded ridiculous, and yet...

"Darkiplier," you replied gently, wincing at even just the name.

Mark slowly removed his arm from your shoulders, eyeing you quizzically. "Darkiplier? What the hell are you talking about?" His tone was trying to find the humor in the situation, even when there was none. Typical Mark.

"I've been having nightmares, Mark," you said at last. "Darkiplier... he... visits me in my nightmares. He's been hurting me, don't you get it?" If Dark was a part of Mark, surely he would have known something, right?

But the male's expression was incredulous, to say the least. "Darkiplier is just a fan-made person. You can't be serious."

Anger began to take over, though not quite directed at the male. Pushing up your sleeve you showed him the blisters all along your arm. "He hurts me," you pressed. "He... he doesn't want me to be with Tyler."

Taking your arm and examining the blisters, Mark eyed you even more skeptically. "Why would you hurt yourself like this?"

"I'm telling you it's not me, it's him! Why won't you listen?!" You panted, anger mixing with the urge to cry again. "I know how stupid it sounds, Mark, I know. But why would I hurt myself like this?! He chokes me, whips me, he even spanked me at one point! I'm not making this up!" Tears ran down your face as you watched him for his reaction.

Which there was none. Mark only stared at you, still skeptical. "I thought you two were happy to be together," he repeated himself. He only wanted to see the two of you happy, why were you suddenly acting like this? "If you're afraid of being hurt--"

"Dark is going to kill me if I keep seeing Tyler!!" you screeched at him.

Standing up, Mark continued to stare. He had promised Tyler that he would talk to you, but how could he repeat such an absurd excuse like the one you had given? Darkiplier? Were you serious?

•●♡●•

Mark had left at last, none too happy with the answers you had given him. You felt like a complete fool; why would he have believed such a ludicrous answer like that? He had every right to be skeptical, but now you were certain you would never see Tyler again.

It was late at night before there was another knock on your door, this one heavier than before. You hadn't quite moved from your place on the couch, and if someone was visiting you again, there were only two possible answers as to whom it was: Ethan or Tyler. And you had the feeling that Ethan wasn't the one there.

Another knock, more insistent, heavier with the hand. It had to be Tyler.

Fuck it. I just won't sleep tonight. Or ever again.

You slowly opened the door, and Tyler pushed it open further until he forced his way inside on his own. You stammered at him, too scared even of his presence, unsure how to act after what you had done. But he grabbed you by the shoulders first, then the head, kissing you deeply, panting through his nose.

You couldn't help but kiss him back. How could you not? He was passionate, backing you up against a nearby wall, wrapping your arms around his neck.

The two of you stayed that way for probably an eternity or two, just kissing. Needing each other's company. Eventually it was Tyler who pulled away, wiping his mouth a tiny bit as he watched you trying to settle down; the sudden kissing had gotten your heart racing. "Mark... told me what you told him. He doesn't seem happy. I don't think he believes you," the male explained. "But... I know you would never purposely hurt yourself. I know you wouldn't."

Lower lip shaking you covered your face, trying not to cry again. It was exhausting. "He's going to kill me, Tyler... I can't... you shouldn't be here..."

"You think I give a shit what some made-up demon tells you?" Tyler sighed, gently leading you to the couch and sitting the both of you down. "I did some research. He has to be real, somehow. Darkiplier is just some demon, but I don't know what kind. I don't know how Mark isn't aware of it." He swallowed, adding, "I don't think he believes you. No, I know he doesn't." He pulled you closer, wrapping arms around you. "But I'm not leaving you alone tonight. I want to see if he shows up. Will you let me stay?"

How could you refuse? Maybe having Tyler around would give you some sort of protection? You nodded, resting your head against his chest, finally feeling at peace for the first time all week. "I'm so sorry," you murmured, suddenly sleepy.

"Don't be. As soon as Mark mentioned Darkiplier, I didn't blame you. But... I can't just leave you be. Can't you see that?" He pressed his lips to the side of your face, whispering into your ear as deliberately as he could manage. "I love you."

That's exactly what you were afraid of.