#typicld

he’s right, but liam doesn’t want to admit as much. he feels a need to be fine, feels a desperate desire to be okay. he feels the need to be okay, he feels like he has to be strong. liam’s never really dealt with weakness before, with vulnerability. how could he? his life revolves around high stakes, revolves around coming across as a strong person. liam’s gaze lingers on elias a moment, clearly uncertain about what to do here. how do you respond to that? liam’s certainly not about to open up about the nightmares he has, the flashbacks and panic attacks.   ❝ i’m—i’m fine. ❞   the stutter makes the words sound even less convincing, liam’s gaze averting to the ground.   ❝ i’m just tired. ❞

jason stands in the center of a pile of ashes, hands clenched into fists at his sides, gaze locked on he ground beneath him. the ashes are still smoking, the boys hands still hot to the touch, slightest whiffs of smoke coming through the space between his fingers. he only looks up when elias speaks, silence heavy in the air as tear-filled eyes meet his. what is there to say? half the room is in ashes, the boy in the middle clearly the perpetrator despite no obvious way he could’ve done it. mouth opens to speak, but for a while no sound comes out, left without any idea what to say.   ❝ sorry. ❞   spoken like a child caught doing something wrong, sounding much younger than he really is.

                                    “        you’re    my    favorite,    y’know.        ”            words    slightly    DRAWLED,    possibly    even    slurred    but    not    from    LACK    OF    SOBRIETY.        more-so,    exhaustion.            “        out    of    your    band,    you    always    have    been.        you’re    just        …        ”            eyes    wander,    mind    too    clouded    to    be    able    to    pull    a    GENUINE    compliment    that    wasn’t    so    diminutive    as        ‘    CUTE    ’        out    of    thin    air.            “        charmin’,    i    s’pose.        but    anyways,    no    need    to    change    that.        ”            chestnut    gaze    NARROWS    at    him,    an    almost    threat    to    their    FRIENDSHIP.        the    feeling    lays    heavy    on    her    chest,    her    EYES.        anyone    will    tell    you,    sleep    is    a    necessity,    and    carmen    will    tell    you    too,    just    not    for    HER.        it’s    just    how    she    works,    it’s    how    she’s    ALWAYS    been.            “        ‘m    fine,    ‘m    good.        you    don’t    need    to        …        whatever.        ”