"I can't help him! Did you hear what he said? ...I'd have to 'deal with him'. What on earth does that even mean? And did you see his knife? It was like twice the size of yours-"

"Hey, hey, hey. It's alright for you to be frightened but don't insult my knife. It's the best one out there. Just because it's small doesn't mean it's not feisty. Hey, kind of like you-" Blank chuckled, making Ethan groan and fold his arms.

"Blank! This is serious! My life could be being threatened and I don't know if I can go through this again..." He started to pace, biting his lip so hard that it started to bleed slightly. Blank simply watched the panicked human, his eyes tracking him as he walked up and down the room over and over again without getting tired.

"Anti won't do anything. If he does, he has me to deal with."

"But he has Dark too. Blank, I don't know what to do." Ethan's voice cracked as his anger vanished and was replaced with a concoction of fear and sadness. The trepidation made his knees wobble and lead to him repeatedly brushing his hand through his hair. A nervous habit.

"Ethan, please don't cry on me. You know human emotions are confusing to me-"  Ethan burst into tears, unable to hold them back anymore. Blank frowned, awkwardly pulling the other into a hug and patting his back. He was so stiff as comforting- or human emotions period- wasn't something you often came across in the demon world.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to lose my friend."

"You won't. I'll figure something out. Should I try to get in contact with Dark or Anti? Go into Jack's dreams?"

"You'll just end up hurt. We'll figure something out... I hope."

-

"Ethan," Mark whispered, keeping his voice low. He was sitting right next to Ethan, their thighs touching, whilst Jack sat on a completely different chair. "What happened between you and Jack? You're avoiding each other like you're carrying a deadly disease or something."

"Nothing. It just feels awkward." Ethan muttered, sighing and he leant his head on Mark's shoulder. It was simply a friendly gesture but he could feel Jack's glare on him.

"Why? I thought you two were great friends..."

"I don't know."

"It's sad that my two best friends can't get along."

"I'm sorry." Ethan shut his eyes, focusing on his low breathing. He hadn't been watching the movie that was on anyway so he found it easy to zone out and drift into the dream world.

-

"Ethan, I know you said not to but I talked to-" Blank started, bashfully scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't you dare say what I think you're going to say." Ethan kept himself composed, despite the fact that his stomach was doing an entire gymnastics routine and his mind was racing.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to help but I think I just made things worse..." Blank lifted up his shirt slightly to reveal a white bandage wrapped around his chest. "I didn't mean..." Then the dreaded black tears dripped down his face.

Ethan shook his head, hugging the demon. "I know."

Both looked up when they heard another deep voice boom, "Is he crying? How pathetic." Even though Blank's eyes were black, anyone would have been able to see the utter terror in them. If they couldn't, his fear was apparent in his shaking figure and the way he slowly backed up."How's the wound?"

"You're insane. You could have killed him!" Ethan yelled, filled with more fury than terror. His hands were clenched into fists but he was well aware he was no match for Dark. Dark could squish him like an ant.

"I'm not that stupid. It was barely deep enough to make a mark. Blank's just weak and pathetic."

"Why are you here anyways? We're not scared of you." Dark's eyes trailed to Blank who was quivering whilst still crying black tears, and let out a loud laugh.

"He sure is. But yes, I did come here for a reason. You two better stay away from Anti. If you hurt him, you'll have to deal with me."

"So you didn't give a shit about when you hurt Blank but now Anti's your world?"

"Blank was nothing to me. He never was... he was just a bit of fun."

"That's so horrible... Just leave us alone and we'll leave you alone."

"But Ethan... that's no fun..."

"We can make a deal. We won't hurt you or your precious boyfriend if you don't hurt us... or Jack. That goes for Anti too." Ethan held out his hand, as if he expected Dark to accept the deal. Unsurprisingly, he didn't.

"Right. You and Blank can't do anything to me and Anti. We're powerful."

"Then... how about you stop hurting Jack and hurt me instead. I'll take his place."

Dark looked sceptical for a moment, eyes tracing the room around him as he contemplated the offer. "I'll talk to Anti."