another one.

Tae wiped his face, smearing his eyeliner as he shook his head. “You can’t help. Nobody can help. They all think I’m crazy. They think I’m in denial.” He scoffed. Tae was tired of hiding everything. He wanted one person to know that he was hurting. Maybe then they could help him find Jax. “I swallowed the whole bottle.” His face held no emotion. “Swallowed it down with a bottle of wine. One more hour and it would have worked.” He played with his fingers. “Have you ever been so depressed to the point where death feels like the only option?” Tae questioned. “I feel that every single day.”

"I don't, though... Tae, I'm not everyone." He could see that he was trying to push him away, making Eddie feel like needed to give him some space. He knew when to drop things, when some things were probably better left unsaid. But as he thought of ways to try and avoid getting too deep, Tae seemed to have a completely different agenda. "Wh...what?" He stared at him, wide-eyed—unable to respond otherwise to his comments. Eddie always thought he was such a resilient person, his tough exterior enough to fool anyone. Though, that's all it was. His exterior, what he wanted people to see. "I... I can't relate," he stated honestly. "But I'm sorry. I'm sorry you feel that way, I mean."

Tae stared up at Eddie and his eyes widened. “You don’t think he’s coming back.” He didn’t pose it as a question. “You…you think I’m dumb for waiting for him, don’t you?” He whispered. “You think I should have tried harder to leave, don’t you? You’re just like everyone else.” He cried. “You don’t care about me. Nobody fucking cares about me, but Jax!” He yelled, getting angrier by the second. “You probably just want to fuck me like most guys I meet.” He glared at Eddie. “Jax loves me and he will come back. He’ll see that I’m okay. He’ll see that I’m alive and that I’m back home. He’ll look for me and all of you will look fucking stupid.” 

He shook his head, his brows furrowing in confusion as Tae went on. “No... I didn’t say that. I didn’t want you to leave either.” Eddie was now staring him in the eyes, feeling that the words he said meant more than it seemed. He gulped, wanting to say something back, but finding himself at a loss for words whenever Tae had something else to say. Telling him he was wrong wasn’t going to make him feel better, and it definitely wouldn’t have helped the situation either. Instead, he stayed silent for a few moments, giving him some time to let out all the pent up feelings. When he finished, Eddie stood in his same position, staring at him, wanting to help him any way he could. “I’m not against you, Tae. I just... I wanna help.”

“Jax.” He nodded. “It’s been three months but he’s gonna come back. He said he’d never leave. He said he loved me and that he was different.” He forced a smile. “He’s coming back, right? He has to. He needs to know that I made it. I made because I wasn’t supposed to leave him.” He spoke, not explaining himself.

“Oh.” That was all he could say. The name did sound somewhat familiar, but it was no one that he’d been close to before he left. But Tae’s case seemed to be the exact opposite. From what Eddie could gather, Jax was someone that meant a lot to him but chose to leave in the end---and without a word it seemed, as Tae wasn’t even sure if his old lover would return. He shrugged helplessly, not wanting to say what the other didn’t want to hear. But he couldn’t lie to him. “I don’t know, Tae.” He frowned as he continued to stare at the floor, unable to decipher his vague words. “Sometimes... people make promises they can’t keep. And I’m not sure if this guy is someone you should be waiting out on.”

Tae was shaking and he squeezed his eyes shut. “N-nobody can touch me. He’ll know. I have to wait till he comes home. He’s coming back. H-he said he’d never leave. You don’t leave people that you love.” He nodded, reassuring himself. “He’ll know that you touched me and he won’t want me anymore.” He began to bawl. “It’s all your fault for f he doesn’t come home! You ruined everything!”

His face remained practically expressionless as he watched Tae, feeling useless in the situation. He had never been one to properly deal with other’s emotions---he couldn’t even deal with his own. But seeing Tae so sad, so vulnerable, it made him wish that there was something he could do to help. “I’m sorry, Tae,” he repeated as his gaze fell to the floor, suddenly feeling ashamed of himself. Though, his curiosity only continued to make matters worse, as he wanted to know who exactly this “he” was. “Who... who is he?” Eddie asked, feeling like he’d soon regret it.

Before he knew it, Eddie’s arms were wrapped around him. His body stiffened and he began to breathe heavily. “Let me go.” He whispered, voice shaky. “Please, Eddie, let me go.” He began to cry, trying to push the taller male away from him. “I can’t. Please, let me go!” He yelled.

A content smile spread across his face as he held the other in his arms. This was the first time the two have ever hugged, and everything seemed to be going better than expected. That was until the mood suddenly shifted. “Huh?” Eddie asked, moving back only slightly to see Tae’s expression. His whole body jumped when the other yelled, causing him to quickly back away. Tears streamed down the male’s face and Eddie had no idea how to react. He definitely hadn’t expected this reaction. “I’m sorry... I didn’t meant to...”

Tae watched as Eddie opened his arms and a look of fear flashed across his face. “I can’t.” He crossed his arms. “Plus i don’t want to.” He scoffed. “Why don’t you hug yourself, fucking giant.”

His eyes widened, brows raising as he nearly let out a laugh. “You can’t, huh?” Eddie shook his head as his grin widened, already coming closer towards the male. “We’ll see about that.” And before he could object, he lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Tae.