Corpse had surprisingly woken to an empty bed. He tried to keep his thoughts calm as he considered how today would go, laying in silence. He considered putting his mask on for a moment. Was he ready for her to see him? Was this truly what he wanted to do?

He decided against it. If she had a problem, she would have to deal with it on her own. He was tired of letting his fears run his life. (Or maybe he just hadn't taken his medicine, so he wasn't really thinking.)

They hadn't gone to sleep until nearly three in morning, and for Corpse it was pretty normal to not sleep much. He checked his phone to see the time.

7:53.

Why was Madison awake? And, where was she?

He tried to settle his feeling of immediate panic, instead opting to simply look for her instead of coming to some irrational conclusion. He spent a few moments stretching his arms and legs, trying to make sure he still had feeling in his limbs before padding through the apartment in sweats and a t shirt, looking for Madison.

He hoped deeply that she hadn't been stupid enough to go into his youtube room. She wasn't that disrespectful of his privacy, was she?

"You didn't tell me you had a balcony," she commented calmly, still staring out into the sunrise as she heard him open the sliding door.

He cleared his throat a few times, trying to make sure he could actually speak. "I don't come out here much. Don't wanna risk anything."

She nodded her head slightly, head still turned away from him. They stood against the railing beside each other, watching the clouds move across the sky slowly.

"Corpse?" Her voice was quiet. He could tell whatever she wanted to say she had been considering for a long time.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so sorry."

Corpse closed his eyes, breathing deeply. She really had nothing to be sorry for. He was the one that was so fucked up. He was the one that had obliterated his social life, he had made himself this way. She was simply calling a friend when she was in need, and he was selfish for closing himself off from her for his own personal reasons.

"I-I, um..."

Corpse grabbed her hand then, turning her around, lifting her chin to face him. She was speechless as her eyes wandered around his face, seeing every part of him that most of the world would never see. He lifted his hand slowly, rubbing circles onto her cheek. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," he reassured her.

Now that Madison had seen him, she couldn't keep her eyes away. They stared at each other for a long time, taking it all in. "You're the only person that I would want to tell," she decided, staring into his eyes. He gave a slight nod before guiding her back inside.

"Do you eat breakfast?" he asked.

"No, just coffee."

"I wish I could drink coffee still... I miss it so much."

"I don't need it... I'll be fine."

"No, I have it."

It was comfortably silent as Corpse made her a cup of coffee, using a matte black mug. It was so him and she was grateful that she was able to experience it.

"I never thought I would live to see you in person. I had convinced myself you would be faceless forever." She said it lightly, trying to ease some of the tension. It was procrastinating really, trying to avoid the elephant in the room all together.

She knew Corpse would never make her talk about anything she wasn't comfortable with, but she felt horrible. He had risked his privacy because she was irresponsible and couldn't make good decisions. This was her fault, no matter what he said or thought. If he took her home without an explanation, she was unsure he would ever talk to her again. But even if she did tell him everything, there was a possibility he would still not talk to her.

"I knew I would show you eventually... just didn't know when."

They were silent as Madison finished her coffee. She cleaned the cup herself instead of letting Corpse do it, placing it back into the cabinet.

"Any streams today?" She cringed at her own awkwardness. Why couldn't she just talk to him the way she had been before?

"Uh, yeah. At 12 with OTV and Rae and a few others. You should tell them you're okay, by the way."

Madison nodded, going into Corpse's room to get her phone. She knew none of her friends would be awake, but sent them all a text assuring them she was okay, and telling them she was sorry for ruining the party. Corpse sat beside her on his bed, not knowing what to say or do. Was he allowed to touch her? He didn't really know what they were.

"I want to tell you everything. But I don't want to ruin your day."

"You won't. It would make me more anxious to wait until I was done streaming."

"Okay... um, can we cuddle and I'll explain everything?"

Corpse laughed at how cute she sounded, pulling her into his chest as he laid down. He stroked her hair as he let her relax.

"I quit Youtube for awhile because I was sexually assaulted. Same situation as Poki, and Yvonne, but I wasn't allowed to say anything because I wasn't part of the gaming community. If I had said I was even over there, people would've said I was a liar, trying to steal attention from my friends. I held it all in, and instead of having the opportunity to get closure, I had to keep quiet about it. As I watched their videos, expressing my support for them, I had to keep my mouth shut. It was frustrating, and with my OCD, all I would think about was how I needed to tell my story so I could help people. But I wasn't allowed to. Rae only knew because I told her. I was at her house one night, and finally told her. She wasn't surprised; everyone else had already told their piece too, but she felt horrible for the way I was forced to handle it. No one else had to sign an NDA, but I did. It was unfair and incredibly disgusting. So I stayed off line for awhile. I wanted to get better mentally so I went to therapy, stayed with friends, and found every distraction in the book but somehow I was still going home every night and suffering."

Corpse could feel the hot tears soaking his t-shirt but didn't want to stop her from talking.

"I haven't been taking my meds in weeks. I've just been trying to do this on my own, because if they're not working why am I taking them? I guess they were helping because last night... I've never felt like that. I've never felt so hopeless, so out of control of my own feelings. I couldn't focus on anything, my brain was just constantly moving. And... and I thought when I called you... I thought you would answer, and I would be calm. But you.. you ignored me all day, and you didn't even give me a chance, and so I panic-"

"I'm so sorry, baby." Corpse pulled her up into his neck as she laid on top of him, sobbing. He rubbed her back, squeezing her tightly, trying to calm her down.

After minutes of her not being able to catch her breath, still crying, Corpse flipped them over. He laid flat on top of her, seeing if this would work. It had worked for him, he was just trying things out.

He whispered sweet reassurances into her ear, continuing to stroke her face and cheeks. Eventually she started to calm down, finally breathing normally, only letting out tiny whimpers and looking at him with sad eyes.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I was being stupid and I was scared. I won't ignore you ever again. I can promise you that."

She nodded, sniffling, and staring at him. They laid next to each other for awhile, Madison eventually making her way onto his chest again, until Corpse realized he had promised to stream.

"Maddie baby, I gotta go stream, okay?"

She nodded, but didn't make any intentions of moving. "Come on, Maddie, I'm going to be late," he was getting urgent now, feeling anxious that his friends would be angry.

She moved to the side then, letting him stand. He stretched his limbs again, trying to get blood flow into his hands, making sure he could move all fingers.

"I won't be too long. Oh, and find something to eat, I'll pay if you wanna order us lunch."

Madison got up, too, standing behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, head falling between his shoulder blades. "Okay," she kissed his shoulder, separating from him, leaving him in his room, the shoulder she had kissed flaming hot, and him completely speechless.