"You ready?" He asked.

I nodded.

He took a deep breathe and stared into my eyes.

His eyes flashed completely red and for a brief second, horns appeared on top of his head.

I jumped the fuck back.

"What the fuck?" I yelled.

He lunged at me-
~~

I sat up fast, panting heavily. I looked around me, getting away from Chris as fast as possible.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, looking slightly alarmed.

"Y-you...I had a dream..." I trailed off.

"About what?"

I stared at him, shaking my head. "It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

It was just a dream. It's not real. Chris is a normal person.

"Come here. It's okay."

I nodded and moved back over next to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assured him.

"Alright. Well, let me know if you wanna talk about it."

I laid back down next to him and looked at what he was watching.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's called The Lords Of Salem. I think you'll like it."

~~~~~

The day was uneventful. Chris yelled at Ryan and that was about it. I was hungry but I didn't wanna bother Chris or risk going downstairs and dealing with Ryan. Chris was asleep anyway.

I was playing with his hair while I watched some stupid tv show.

He seems to be handling this really well. I know if I just almost died, I'd be a little more freaked out. But I guess this is familiar situation for him. I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time it's happened.

I feel bad for him though. His ribs were bothering him before he fell asleep. I hope he's okay. I don't want him to get more hurt. I like him.

I heard a knock at the door and looked up as it opened.

Kuza stood there. He gave me a soft smile and came over to Chris and I. "Hey."

I waved. "Hey."

"You okay?" He asked. "I heard about the thing with Ryan."

"Yeah. I'm fine..."

"But...?"

I sighed. "I'm just a little worried about Chris."

"Wow..." He said, smiling at me. "I've never seen you actually care about someone."

"Shut up. I don't want him knowing that he got me to actually give a fuck about him."

"He got you to take your walls down, Ricky. It's nothing to be ashamed of." He told me.

"Yeah, but I don't like being vulnerable like that. Every time I open up like that, I get taken advantage of and I end up getting hurt."

"Chris won't hurt you." He said. "I know him."

I just shrugged.

Chris shifted slightly in my arms, rolling over onto his side. I looked down at him. He looked uneasy as he slept; it seemed almost like he was having a bad dream.

I ran my fingers over his cheek. "I really like him, Kuza. But, I'm scared to tell him."

"Don't be scared." He said after a moment. "Tell him how you feel."

"I mean, we kinda talked about it a little, but it seemed like he didn't really know what to say either.'

"Just tell him." He said. He hugged me. "I gotta go, okay? I'll see you later."

I nodded and he left the room. I pulled the blanket around Chris and I, waiting for him to wake up.

I was starting to get a migraine from not shooting up for a few days. I need to ask Chris when he wakes up.  It's bothering me, but I don't wanna wake him up. He needs to sleep.

We sat for almost another hour before he began to stir. He opened his eyes and moved onto his back.

"Hey." He said, stretching his arms.

"Hi." I replied. "How do you feel?"

He shrugged. "'bout the same."

I nodded.

"But you look sick."

"Y-"

"Gimme my phone. I'll take care of it."

I handed him his phone and watched while he sent a quick text.

"How did you know? I didn't even say anything."

"You had the look in your eyes."

"Oh..."

He sat up and pulled me close to him. I could feel his breath on my ear. "I don't wanna pressure you, but I heard a bit of your conversation with Michael."

My breath caught in my throat. "Huh?"

"What did you need to tell me?"

"I- Um...I really- you didn't hear that part?"

He shook his head. "All I heard was that you had something to tell me but you were afraid to."

I groaned. "Can this conversation wait until after I'm
high?"

"Fine." He said, kissing me softly.

There was a knock at the door before it opened. Ryan stood there. He kept his head down as he walked over to us. He gave Chris a covered tray and quickly left the room without saying a word.

He handed it to me.

I guess his yelling at Ryan really upset him.

"Why didn't he say anything? What's wrong with him?"

"He's knows that I'm mad at him."

"Oh."

I uncovered the tray, seeing a full set up there. It had everything I'd need to do this.

I quickly cooked it up and drew it into the needle. Chris watched me. I tied off my arm and found a vein. I pushed the needle in and pushed down on the plunger.

It took a few minutes for the drug to take affect, but once it did, I felt much better.

"So..." He said. "What did you wanna tell me?"

"Huh?"

"What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, uh, I like you." I said.

"Mmm?"

"Like, ya know, like."

"I see."

He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine.

"That's good to know."

I nodded, leaning back. "Kuza wanted me to tell you that you got me to care about you, and I usually don't care about people, and he said I should tell you because you wouldn't hurt me and because every time I open up and let my walls down, someone hurts me and I really like you, Chris, and-"

"Slow down. Jesus." He spoke. "I like you too. I understand what you're saying. And Michael is right. I won't hurt you."

I nodded.

He stared at me for a few, not saying anything else.

"Will you tell me about you?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"I wanna know about you. Like, your life."

He sighed deeply. "I don't know, Ricky...I-I don't really like to talk about the past."

"Please?" I asked. "I told you about me."

"It's not a happy story, love. I don't think you'd want to hear it."

I climbed onto his lap. I ran my fingers over his cheek, pressing my lips to his. "Chris, happy or not, I wanna hear it. I wanna know who you are. You're only showing me the surface, the outside. I won't judge you."

He bit his lip before releasing a long breath. "What do you wanna know?"

——————

sorry this took so long whoops
also, most of you voted yes for me to add supernatural elements to this, but i'm not 100% sure if i'm going to yet.

~xxLux