'I don't think I can do this,' EJ announced, his grip on the cushion tightening.

You looked across at him, eyebrow raised ever so slightly. 'Yes you can,' you stated, 'you're gonna be fine.'

'I'm not.'

'Yes you are.'

'No I'm not.'

'Yes you are. I'm too tired to argue with you, dude.'

After Socks had left on Monday afternoon, you had spent the rest of the evening and all of Tuesday morning in a rush preparing your house for guests. You didn't have enough food for a cooked meal for two, so you'd suggested takeout. Greg had agreed quite happily, and said he would pick up a Chinese on his way there to save you from going out to get it and making yourself even more tired.

Your tiredness wasn't anything unusual. It was probably a side effect from your little excursion on Sunday night, as well as being tense every time you went outside. What was unusual, however, was EJ.

When you had opened the door to let him in that morning, the first thing he did was step inside and practically leap into your unsuspecting arms, head nuzzling into the crook of your neck. The door was slammed shut before his arms were thrown around you in a bone-crushing hug.

You put a hand against the wall to steady yourself, your other hand automatically resting on his back. He was breathing heavily, every few breaths shaking as he exhaled into your skin.

'Hey, EJ, what's up? You aren't usually this huggy,' you wheezed, straightening your legs and removing your hand from the wall.

His grip on you tightened. He mumbled something that sounded like, 'Got scared...thought you were gone.'

'Gone? Gone as in how?'

'Dead. Gone.'

Oh.

You didn't question why he thought you had died, but moved your free hand and patted him on the head in what you thought was a comforting way.

When he felt your fingers in his hair, he nearly short-circuited, and a barely audible whimper filled his throat. He was clutching the fabric of your hoodie as though it would disappear at any second and turn into dust in his arms. He focused on your breathing and on the beating of your heart in your chest, trying to calm down the racing thoughts that used his mind as a circuit—never stopping or slowing down.

He had never felt so terrified at the prospect of losing someone. Usually, fearing for a friend's safety wasn't of the utmost important in his line of work—if you could even call it 'work'— as everyone he knew could defend themself against anything a human could attempt to attack them with. But you weren't a henchman of Slenderman; you could get killed so easily by something as simple as a single stab or gunshot wound.

He had had visions of you, dead in a million ways. A spear through the head, strung up on the ceiling, disembowelled in bed...those were the first three visions his brain had thought of in an attempt to torture him. (In fact, when he saw your face after you had opened the door, all the thoughts of your death flashed through his mind again and didn't stop until you were securely in his arms. But that's the safest place for you, isn't it? Near him, where he can see and touch you to make sure you're alright. Heh...perhaps he should take the keys for your place and lock you up so you can never get into any harm...ah, God, what's he thinking? He can't do that, no matter how much he would love it. That's just too mean.)

'It's okay,' he heard you whisper, 'it's okay. I'm okay. Look at me. EJ, look at me.'

He slowly lifted his head, letting go of you and stepping back. However, he stopped in his track when he felt your hands cup his face. Your eyes held a sorrowful look that made his stomach twist.

In your eyes, he was glitching all over the place and, by some miracle, you were holding onto the version of him that was human. Freckled face, familiar messy hair, dark eyes that were filled with tears. You wiped them away, ignoring the fact that it was actually tar. You could see his corrupted form struggling to overpower his original form, but you focused on his human face.

No. Let me have this. For the love of God, let me have a minute of this.

'Are you sure you're okay?' you asked quietly, 'if you aren't up to it, I can tell Greg that today isn't a good day and rearrange it.'

'No.' He shook his head. 'No. I just...needed to see you. I'm fine. I promise.'

'Promise? I don't mind just staying here with you.'

'We can do both. Spend time together and meet Greg.'

So that's what happened, leading to EJ curling up in the corner of the sofa, clinging to a cushion while you sat in your usual spot in the other corner, legs tucked underneath you.

You watched him closely, eyes slightly narrowed. Something was...off about him. Well, that was kind of obvious based on what happened earlier, but there was something that you just couldn't figure out. He seemed to be more open and human-like then before. Was it just the fact that you two had known each other for longer? Were you becoming closer friends?

A knock at the door shattered the silence like a bullet through a mirror. You got to your feet, patting EJ on the shoulder and whispering, 'You'll be fine,' before opening the door.

Greg was stood with two bags in hand—one from the takeaway, and another from a shop you didn't recognise. It was small and pretty.

'Hey,' he said, smiling, 'nice place you have here.'

'Thanks.' You smiled back, stepping aside to allow him in. 'You didn't have trouble finding it, did you?'

'Nope. Satnav didn't play up.'

'Thank God. Sometimes it can be a real pain in the arse to find.' You took him to the kitchen, apologetically asking if he was alright with getting the takeaway out of the bag and onto the plates.

'Yeah, sure.'

You thanked him and darted into the living room, picking up the notebook and pen that you had found for the occasion. You gestured to EJ to follow you.

'Come on,' you said, 'you got this.'

Greg had set up the table for you both by the time you returned. You placed the notebook down in front of the seat next to Greg, and you watched in amusement as his face paled when EJ sat down. To him, it probably looked like the chair moved itself.

'Is he...?' he tried to ask.

You nodded. 'Yeah. EJ, this is Greg. You were best friends in uni.'

'Greg,' EJ echoed, staring at the man with a hint of confusion. He picked up the pen and scribbled something in the notebook. 'Hi.'

'Oh! Uh, hey?'

You kept quiet, busing yourself with the food on the plate in front of you.

'Psst, (N/N)! What do I say now?' EJ hissed pleadingly.

You glanced up, swallowing the mouthful of takeaway. 'I'm not telling you what to say,' you stated blankly, 'talk to him like you would talk to me.'

'But he's not you,' he exclaimed in a somewhat whiny tone. You will always be the superior talking partner. You will always be superior in everything.

'What's he saying?' Greg inquired, twirling some noodles around his fork.

'Oh, he's just a bit nervous, that's all.' You forced a smile, staring at EJ with a look you had definitely inherited from your mother. 'Just try and talk to him, alright? Don't force it. Just say whatever comes to mind.'

He thought for a moment before hastily jotting something down. Greg read the note and, surprisingly, laughed.

'You really think so?' he asked mirthfully, 'y'know, that isn't the first time you've told me that.'

Delighted, you watched the two of them chat. Many pages of your notebook were used up, but you didn't mind. Just seeing them be friendly to each other was enough for you. You felt like a proud parent watching two rivalling siblings get along for the first time that day.

You stayed out of the conversation, busying yourself with stacking the dishwasher and tidying your desk ready for work the next day. Annalise had been kind enough to give you a few days off after you had submitted your research on the Greek Gods on Friday, but had warned you that the next client was incredibly demanding, so your days off were supposed to give you a chance to rest.

Sorry, Annalise. That didn't really happen.

It was nearly dark by the time Greg left.

'Thanks for arranging this whole thing, (Y/N),' he said as he stepped outside, clutching the tiny white bag.

'No problem. It was nice to see the two of you getting along.'

He held the bag out for to take, not looking you in the eyes. 'I really mean it. This means a lot to me, so I...want you to have this.'

You took the bag, carefully opening it to reveal a beautiful crystal sun catcher. It was a single strand, with five crystals on the chain and one large teardrop shaped crystal at the end. Under the glow of the hallway light, it sparkled brilliantly. You let out a tiny gasp of awe.

'Greg...' you breathed, 'you absolute bastard this is beautiful!'

'Gabby helped me pick. She says "hi", by the way.'

'Tell Gabby I say "hi" back and "thank you" for the gift. Thank you too, dude. You didn't have to.'

You waved him off, watching his car disappear into the forest. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around your waist and a head rested on your shoulder.

'You've been very quiet today,' EJ murmured, 'what's wrong?'

'Nothing,' you replied, 'I was just letting you two spend some time with each other.'

'You should've stayed with us. I missed you.'

'Dude, I've been in the house the entire time.' You rolled your eyes, pushing the door shut. 'C'mon let me lock the door.'

Somewhat begrudgingly, he let go and let you lock the door. He followed you to the living room, sitting down his corner while you sat in yours.

'So,' you began, 'did you remember anything?'

He nodded. 'Yeah.'

'Really?!'

'Yeah.'

'What did you remember if you don't mind me asking?'

'Some stuff I did with Greg, and some stuff about school.' His voice took on an excited tone. 'I think I was a medical student. I can't really remember the lectures though...'

'It has been four years, though,' you pointed out, 'so it's understandable. Hey, if you want, I can get you some books that you can read through?'

'For real?'

'Of course. My cousin's a scientist, so I'm sure he'll have some spare textbooks I can borrow. If not, he might know some people who went to med school who would lend him theirs.'

'You're really kind. Thank you.'

'It's fine. He won't use them anymore anyway.'

The conversation fizzled out for a moment or two, before EJ suddenly asked, 'Why were you quiet earlier?'

'No reason.'

'You said something like that earlier. You can't lie to me, (Y/N).'

Is it just me or has the air turned a bit colder?

'...Just some old habits,' you answered finally, averting your gaze from him to the wall in front of you. 'Back from the private school I went to.'

EJ said nothing, so you continued talking.

'The people there weren't really my kind of people, so I never tried to connect with them. Whenever we were in groups of more than two, I always got pushed to the side since I never tried to make myself heard.' You shrugged lightly. 'It is what it is.'

EJ stared at you for a second, head tilted ever so slightly. 'You don't ever have to stay quiet whenever I'm around,' he said quietly, 'I'll always listen to you even when nobody else does.'

I'll always be here for you even when nobody else is. Even if you get tired and push yourself so hard that you crumble, I'll be here to pick you up and make you feel better. I'll cherish every part of you until the end of time. You were the first person to show me true kindness since that godforsaken ritual, and I will never leave your side.

that little monologue at the end is based on ritsu sakuma's promise to mao in chapter 7 of band ensemble/the eve!!! i will take any chance to use maoritsu stuff in my writing ehehehe. its my favourite ship in enstars next to reikoga and chiakana and overall just a major comfort ship (yes lemme just out myself as a ritsu kinnie rip-)