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God he was such a fucking idiot. Was he really this stupid? The rose tinted glasses so strong that he couldn't see the shit happening right in front of his face. How long..? How long have they been… He curled in on himself, burying his face in his hands. He can't cry. It's his fault he CANNOT cry.
The worst part about it all was how he found out. He didn't suddenly gain some sense, suddenly put it all together. He was fucking told. Richie told him. Told him it was getting unbearable to watch and, despite Seven caring deeply for them both, he had to talk to them.
He must've looked so stupid, a dumb expression plastered on his face. His ignorance knew no bounds. His voice grating as he asked Rich what he was talking about. Richie didn't help, looking at him like it was obvious. Explained that Amber and Six had an unspoken rivalry , though he didn't know if that was the right word for it. It was one-sided at first, he described, but recently it’s been getting worse and worse. He bit his tongue and turned away from Seven at that point, and Seven leaned in, begging Rich to tell him what he knew. He sighed and begrudgingly told Seven that he thought Six was getting physical with Amber, and Seven’s heart broke. He had to leave. He apologized to Rich and went home. And now, there he was, sat on his couch, wallowing.
He had to find out whether Rich was right or not, but he couldn’t bring himself to take the first step. How could they do this?? They didn’t have to be friends but- but this!?? It was the worst. Seven felt his stomach turn, the thought of Six hurting Amb, hitting Amb, it was too much. And if she didn’t tell him about it..? That only meant that what she was doing was worse.
He’d noticed Six would often leave if Amber was around, but he never thought… he always thought he was weirded out because Seven had a girlfriend at all! Assumed that after a while, it’d pass. But as the weeks turned into months, Seven believed Six and Amb just didn’t get along well.
He pulled his hands away from his face as he stared at his ceiling. What was he supposed to do now? Talk to them? Would that even change anything? AGH WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT?? How the fuck could they do this to him?? They just had to be civil!! Could they not manage that??
He needed to hit something. Something needed to break. It needed to crack and crunch under his fist. He needs to feel it. His eyes scanned the furniture in his living room, the dining room table and chairs, the bookshelf, the china behind a glass display… For a second, it looked perfect. He could already hear all the glass shattering. He needed to destroy it, obliterate it. If they wanted to break things, they should be happy!! They broke him. And now he’s gonna break everything in his home, and it’ll be their faults.
He trudged off the couch, taking heavy breaths as he made his way to the display. The delicate china arranged in such a way… Seven hadn’t bought any of it, it was left over from the previous owners. He’d left it in the corner of his living room, collecting dust. That was until Amber arrived, took it upon herself to clean it, arrange it in a way that looked masterful.
Seven wound back, resolving to destroy that memory, to destroy her. He wanted her out. She needed to get out !!!
But before his fist could go through the glass, he heard a weak knock at his front door. He growled under his breath and swung his door open. He didn’t care who it was, didn’t care what they wanted.
It was Six, and the scowl didn’t leave Seven’s face. Six looked up at him and quickly averted his eyes. “Look, I only have about 5 minutes, 10 if I push it-”
“What do you want?” Seven had a cold look in his eyes, his voice lacking any empathy.
Six was fidgeting with his fingers. “I-! I don’t know what Richie told you but-”
“Does it matter?”
“I-it does!!” He finally looked up to Seven, his eyes a mix of anger and desperation.
Who gave him the right to be upset about this? Why the fuck are you upset about this? Seven couldn’t hide the disgust from his face as he leaned on his doorframe, “So, tell me, what happened. Or what's been happening.”
Six scowled, “Your girlfriend, she-” he balled his fists, “she's an asshole.”
“That doesn't tell me what she did, or what you did.”
“She-!! She couldn't leave me alone !!! She was terrorizing me, Seven!!”
“SO YOU HIT HER??”
Six recoiled. He'd seen Seven mad, but never like this. There was no room for remorse behind his eyes and Six understood. Nothing he could say would make it better. “I- I didn't hit her…” he made himself smaller, not that he needed to, Seven already towered over him.
“Don't fuckin' lie.”
“I'm not!! I- I shoved her!!! She- she kept pushing!!!” His voice was desperate, and Seven didn't say a thing. “She was the one who started it I- I was just protecting myself…”
“If she was fuckin’ botherin’ ya so much why didn't ya tell me.” Six looked back to Seven, hoping to see a face full of forgiveness, but was greeted with something else. It was his father. Cold, unapologetic, and uncaring.
And Six turned away, “Cuz you wouldn't have believed me…”
Seven sighed, heavy, “Go home, Six. We can talk about this later.”
“S-Seven-!”
“NOW!!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE BEFORE I DO SOMETHING I'M GONNA REGRET!” He was seething. He hoped Six would at least deny hurting her, but this??? To try and justify it?? He felt like he was gonna wretch.
Six scrunched up his face, revealing an ugly scowl, and stormed off of Seven’s porch. Seven watched him go before slamming the door shut. MOTHERFUCKER!!! He gritted his teeth, every attempt to recollect himself met with a hot fire that burnt within him. It was searing him alive. He ran up the stairs, bursting into a room that used to be a guest bedroom, now a makeshift gym. He had a standing sandbag in the room, and it became the target of his wrath for the next hour. He whaled on it, beating it. Usually, he pictured a person when he hit the bag; had you asked him who he was picturing now, he wouldn't be able to tell you.
A cacophony of emotions mixed into one another, grief and fear, rage and sorrow, betrayal and spite, all sent his head spinning. He wished he didn't know. Wished Richie never told him. He could've lived in peaceful bliss, in ignorance. But that was too hard for Rich, wasn't it? So sorry you had to see something mildly uncomfortable. Now I have to live with this for the rest of my life!! He punched the bag one last time, panting, trying to catch his breath. He shouldn't be blaming Richie. This was on him. He failed to notice, failed to say anything. This wasn't on Richie, this was on Seven.
His legs gave out, and he crumbled, sobbing into the floor, cursing under his breath. He hated it. He fucking hated them. He should hate them… but no matter how much he told himself he did, the sickening feeling in his gut didn’t go away. Why did he still care for them? They betrayed him and hurt each other for what, Seven didn’t know. He needed to talk to Amber, talk to Six again. He needs to know… but not today. He needed to be alone today. He dragged himself to his couch; he didn’t deserve the comfort of his bed, and slept the rest of the day away.
The next morning he didn’t go to school; the nauseating feeling in his stomach hadn’t gone away. The rage left him, leaving only hurt and grief. He wanted to be alone, but the loneliness was killing him; he knew it was. Someone… he had to talk to someone. Pulling himself off the couch, he slipped on his shoes. He didn’t even bother changing as he walked, his clothes still covered in yesterday’s sweat. The fall air sent a chill down his spine, winter was approaching, and he couldn’t care less, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of Six and Amber. He needed someone rational, someone who’d talk him down, someone who’d tell him he’s being stupid.
He found himself in front of the police station. The feeling in his gut refused to go away even here. He climbed up the stairs and entered the building, immediately making his way to Carol. She’d known him since he was a kid; anytime Haymitch was busy, he’d pawn Seven off to her, and he hated her. No matter how old he got, she still treated him like a kid. He tried his best to smile as Carol looked up from her work. “Oh, Seven!! What a nice surprise!! Do you want some animal crackers!?” and she immediately dove beneath her desk to grab the huge jug she kept stashed there.
“Uh, haha, no- Carol, uh… I just- Is Mr. P here? I uh- I need to ask him somethin’...” Seven fidgeted with his hands, running his thumb over his knuckles.
Carol looked up at him, a light smile on her face, “Yup~ He’s in his office. You know where it is!”
“Thanks… Carol…” Seven forced a smile as he dragged his feet to Haymitch’s office. As he reached for the door he felt the alarm bells going off in his head. He knew Haymitch would have nothing good to say, this was his problem, and he needed to deal with it. But he needed something! He needed to be told he was stupid, that there was a simpler way to do things, that he was being dramatic, overly emotional. He needed to be crushed so he could build himself back up, build himself better this time, so please. Destroy me!
The door creaked as Seven entered and flashed his iconic grin, masking any of the cruel thoughts that bounced around in his head, “Hey, Mr. P!!”
“Seven, how many times do I have to tell you not to bother me while I’m at work.” his voice was cold. He needed this.
Seven shut the door behind him, leaning on it. “Sorry, but Carol said I could come in!”
“Of course she did. What do you want?” He didn’t even bother looking up from his work as Seven sat himself down in the leather chair across from him. He shifted a few times, failing to get comfortable, the chair squeaking with each movement, and Haymitch looked at him, slightly irritated.
“Haha- sorry. Um… I- I uh…” he hadn’t thought about what he’d say. What he’d ask him. Should he tell him it’s about himself or make hypothetical people?? He hadn’t thought this far ahead, and his head spun. Did he even want Haymitch’s opinion anymore? He didn’t know. But he was here now, so he was gonna get a lecture either way. His eyes wandered the room before landing on Haymitch again, the slight irritation turning into mild annoyance. He looked like he was seconds away from telling Seven to get out. “I’m… havin’ some trouble at school…”
His eyes drifted back down to his work, “I’m not one of your teachers, Seven. You should be talking about this with them.”
“Yeah, no… I uh- I wanted your thoughts on it… which is why I'm ‘ere…” He tugged at his sleeves, hiding his hands. He’d just noticed his knuckles were torn, probably from the night before.
“Speaking of school, shouldn’t you be there now?”
“Uh yeah, I- I was plannin’ on going after I saw ya.” he lied, a smile plastered across his face.
“Uh huh…” he scribbled a few things down on the pages in front of him.
Seven looked down to his hands, picking the grime out from under his fingernails. “So uh… Mr. P… what do ya… what are you supposed to do when uh- two people you care about are fightin’..?”
“What does that have to do with school?”
“I see ‘em at school…”
“...” Haymitch looked up to Seven, sighing deeply, “fighting how?”
Seven hunched his shoulders. “I- don't know…”
“Then how do you know they're fighting?”
“Cuz, a different friend told me… an’ one of ‘em admitted to it…”
“So what's that one doing?”
“He uh… I accused him of hittin’ ‘er, and he uh- he told me he didn't hit her, but just shoved her… but I uh… I don't know if I believe him completely…” he refused to look at Haymitch, he already knew what kind of expression he was making.
“You know if he's hitting a girl that makes him a scumbag, right?”
“He uh- he said that she started it…”
“That's not the point.” Seven hunched his shoulders with the words, tightly gripping at his jeans. Haymitch pursed his lips before speaking again, “And what'd she do to him?”
“I dunno… I… I didn't get the chance to talk to ‘er yet… all I know is that he said she terrorized ‘im, refused to leave ‘im alone but… but that could mean anything…”
Haymitch clicked his pen and leaned across his desk, “Seven…”
There it was, the mix of disappointment and scrutiny that Seven expected from Haymitch. He'd grown so used to this treatment from him, this feeling that tore him from the inside out, and he held his breath, hanging on Haymitch’s every word.
“You need to pull yourself together.” There it is… “Your friends are fighting. If you want to get involved, talk to them. If you don't, don't. You ain't a child, stop acting like one.”
“...Ok Mr. P…” this was what he wanted. Surely this was what he wanted. The coldness, the lack of empathy, slapping some sense into him, pulling him back together.
“I'm sorry, Seven… that your friends are fighting.”
Seven looked up at him; he wasn't looking at him. He'd gone back to his work, noting something on the pages in front of him, and Seven tried his best to hide a smile, “Yeah… it's ok… Thanks anyway, Mr. P!!” The chair squeaked as he got up, making his way to the door.
“Have fun with school.” He didn’t sound like he meant it, more like he was saying it for the sake of saying it. And Seven let his smile slip.
“I will!!” He quickly made his way out of Haymitch’s office, shutting the door behind him. Ignoring Carol, he left the police station, the burst of energy he'd just received slowly leaving him, leaking out of him. He didn't want to go to school, Sorry Mr. P… Seven made his way home.
He sat himself on the couch and pulled out his phone. Scrolling through his contacts, landing on Amber's name. He paused, Haymitch was right, he needed to talk to her. He needed to hear her side. Six said she started it. Why would she- it doesn't make sense. He started typing Hey Amb, something’s been bugging me. Do you have time after-school so we can talk? I can pick you up.
His thumb hovered over the send button. He needed to do it. He had to. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the button. Whatever happened now, it was on Amber. A few minutes later, she responded, “Yeah, I have some time!! I'll see you then~~”
How could she act like nothing was wrong? Did she not know? God was he gonna have to burst that bubble for her? He felt sick again, doubling over and gripping his abdomen, his nails pressing into his skin. Don't throw up, don't cry!! You were fine two seconds ago. Just stay fine !!!! Be ok you piece of shit!! His grip grew stronger with each thought. He felt his eyes start to wet and groaned. His gaze drifted to his clock, 1:52 pm. 20 minutes, he had to hold it together for 20 minutes, then he'd see Amber and-
He felt dizzy. His head spun all of a sudden. Water. I need- water. He stumbled to his fridge, grabbing a bottle of water, practically choking it down. His breath shook as he tried to get himself together. I… I need to leave. I can't- he grabbed his keys and made his way outside. His car- where was-?
It was bright red, he didn't understand why he had such a hard time finding it. He sat inside and it felt suffocating. Almost instinctively, he stuck the keys in the ignition and turned. The engine roared as Seven's hands shook the roof- He flicked a switch and the roof of his car opened up, allowing the crisp air to surround him. His breathing slowed as his body shivered from the cold. He leaned back, trying to relax for a moment, his eyes drifting to the clock in his car, 2:07. He should probably leave, grab Amber. What happens, happens. If Six is lying, he'll deal with it. If she's hurting him, he'll deal with it. He'll figure it out like he always does. If he has to break up with her… He wished that wouldn't be the case. Pulling out of his driveway, he drove to school.
He parked in front of the building and waited for her. Usually, she's one of the first ones out of the building, today was not one of those days. He waited at least 10 minutes for her to come outside, and when she did, she looked anything but happy. She met his eyes and tried to smile. He looked away immediately. Amazing, you couldn't even pretend, dipshit?
“Hey, sorry, Witman kept me a bit late. You ok?” Her voice was soft, sweet, and Seven felt his insides churn.
“Yeah. Why.” He gripped the wheel tightly.
“Cuz you got the roof up in 20-degree weather.” Amber giggled, then her eyes hit his hands. “Oh my god, Seven, what happened !!” She reached for his hand, wanting to get a better look, but he recoiled at her touch. Pulling his hand back violently. He panted, a harsh scowl on his face until he properly looked at Amber. She was scared, her eyebrows curling up with worry.
He tried to let himself relax, sighing as he brought his hand to his face, running his fingers through his hair. “Sorry, Amb. It's nothing important… Just hurt myself again is all…” He started the engine.
She pursed her lips before letting it go. “Where do you wanna go? We could go to the diner or-”
“Can we stay outside?”
She looked at him confused, “Outside? Seriously Sev are you ok? It’s actually freezing!!”
“I just like the cold…” he refused to look at her, looking at his hands as they held the wheel.
“...Well I guess we can stay outside? Do you wanna go to a park or-”
“The woods behind my house.”
“The-” she took a second to try and figure out whether he was joking or not. He wasn’t, his face grim as he suggested it. “Ok, the woods behind your house it is. You should at least grab a coat though, I don’t want you catching a cold.”
“I’ll be fine.” And Seven drove back to his place, parking his car on the street as they walked into the wooding behind his house. The frozen dirt crunched beneath their shoes as they climbed over the old growth. Seven held a hand out for Amber, helping her climb over the larger trees. The two hiked for about 15 minutes before Seven found a good enough spot to sit. It was a small clearing with a tree that curled in such an interesting way that it practically looked like a massive chair. He climbed up the tree, pulling Amber up after him, and the two sat in the tree, facing each other. She looked out into the forestry, “You know, if you wanted to go hiking we could’ve stopped by my house. I would’ve grabbed some better shoes,” giggling to herself.
“Sorry…” he curled in on himself, hugging his knees.
“God um-! It-it’s ok!! Don’t beat yourself up over it!! I-it’s fine!” her hands waved around frantically.
“It- it’s not that Amb…” he turned away from her, practically speaking into his forearms.
“Then… what is it?” She leaned toward him, putting a hand on his face, gently guiding him to look at her.
He was tired, all the fight left him on the drive over, and now, he was just tired. He wanted it to end. He wanted all of this to just end. “What are ya doin’ to Six…”
She froze at the question and tried her best to smile, “What do you mean?”
“Amb please, I know already. Don’t lie… it just hurts too much.”
She pursed her lips, “Who told you?”
“Does it even matter? Jesus Amber, he’s my brother!!”
“He was hurting you!” She leaned forward, getting in Seven’s face.
“So you hurt him back !?” Seven felt the tears welling in his eyes. Don’t cry. You piece of shit don’t you dare fucking cry right now. Pull yourself together!!
“It’s not that simple, Seven.” She leaned her back against the wood, crossing her arms.
“Really? Then please, explain it to me!! What could Six have possibly done to deserve this from his brother’s girlfriend? He’s already getting bullied Amb, you had to pick on him too??”
She stared at him, hesitating to speak for a moment, “Look Seven, I wasn’t-” she pursed her lips, “he… he said you weren’t his brother…”
“He-”
“I asked him, and he hesitated. I asked him what you were to him and he kept alternating between friend and brother, like he wasn’t sure. And- and he keeps lying to you!!”
“I DON’T CARE !!!” And just as quickly as that sudden burst of energy came, it left, leaving Seven exhausted, “God… I- I just don’t care Amber… He wants to lie to me? Fine. He wants to say I’m his friend instead of his brother? Whatever. But-” he looked up to her, a mix of sorrow and anger behind his eyes, “But that doesn’t give you the right to terrorize him. If you were that fucking concerned about it you could’ve talked to me, like a normal person!”
“It's not that simple…”
“No, but it was !! You could've told me you had concerns about whether or not he cared about me and I would've told you to mind your own fuckin business!!” She recoiled as he raised his voice, and he sighed. “Amb I- I don't even know if I can stand to look at ya anymore…”
“Seven I- it's not that serious I swear!! Six blew things out of proportion!!!” She tried to reach out towards him, but Seven pulled away.
“How could he possibly blow things out of proportion?”
“Well, he was the one who got physical with me.” She sounded like a child, a petulant child passing off the blame.
“And why did he do that Amber? Cuz he's not exactly the type to hit someone for no reason. ESPECIALLY someone who's dating his brother!!” She shifted, looking uncomfortable at the question. “Cuz he told me you refused to leave him alone, you terrorized him!!”
“I-!” She stared at him, and all she saw in his face was pain. He was yelling at her but he just looked hurt, betrayed. “I'm sorry… I only meant to protect you…”
“PROTECT ME FROM WHAT?? Having a brother?? Having a normal girlfriend?? I didn't have much to begin with Amb but-” he brought his hands to his face, she can't see him cry. He felt the waterworks and knew he wouldn't be able to stop it this time, the ball in his throat growing with every word. He groaned as he clawed at his face. Curling himself into a ball his voice quivered, “How could you do this to me, Amb?”
“I-I didn't mean to!! I just wanted-”
“It doesn't matter!!!! Good intentions or not you still did that shit!!! He was terrified of the world before you showed up and now??? It's fucking over Amber!! I- I don't know what to do anymore!!”
“We can fix this!!” She gently touched his arm, trying to pull him into a hug, but Seven recoiled.
“We??? There is no we Amber, it's just you!! YOU terrorized my brother! YOU refused to leave him alone. YOU drove him to the point of violence!! If anyone's gonna fix anything, it's you!!” His breath shook with each word.
“I will!! I promise I will!! I'll fix this!!”
Seven shook his head, “How can you promise that when you haven't even told me what you did to him?”
“Th-that's because there's nothing to tell… not really… I… I usually just gave him dirty looks… sometimes I'd talk to him when we were alone, and that was it!!
He didn't believe her. If that's all that was then he wouldn't have freaked out like that. Six is paranoid, not crazy, “What would you say to him?”
“Huh?”
“When you spoke to him, what would you say?”
“I- I don't remember exactly-”
“Then give me the short version! Summarize it!! What sort of things were you telling my brother that made him claim you were terrorizing him!!!!”
“I…” she bit her lip for a second before sighing, resting her head on her knees. “I was mostly just cold with him. What I usually said wasn't particularly mean, but the way I said it… it seemed to really bother him. Last time when he- … um… when he did that I uh- I told him if he kept acting like this he was gonna die bitter and alone… getting in his face with every word… I- I didn't think it'd get to him that bad…”
“Why would you say that to him?”
“What?”
“Why would you even say that to him in the first place!??!?!” his voice growing louder with each word.
“I don't-”
“Are you crazy Amber?? What could you have possibly been talking about that leads to you saying that ?!?!?!” She was quiet, staring at him, like she was trying to come up with another excuse, another lie, and Seven felt himself crumble. He couldn't do it anymore. His voice broke, “I’ve had this huge pain in my chest and I've felt sick since yesterday and it's not cuz of Six, it's you… it's cuz of you..”
“But, Six-!”
“Six has been hurting me for years, but I was always able to bounce back… I don't know if I can bounce back from this Amb…” He couldn't look at her, the pain in his chest getting worse by the second. The cold was nice, numbed him, and he shut his eyes.
“I’m sorry- Seven…” She didn't sound like she meant it. “I didn't mean- I never meant to-”
“It's whatever Amb…” Who gives a shit about how I'd feel anyway… “Can… Can you leave… I wanna be alone- for a bit…”
“Seven I-”
“Sorry, I… I can't drive you home I just… I just can't- right now…” He buried his face in his knees, making himself as small as he possibly could.
“It's ok…” her voice was soft, gentle, “Please… when you're feeling- please call me…” he heard her clothing shift as she climbed down the tree, her feet hitting the dirt below, and the ground crunching as she walked away, getting quieter with each step.
It didn't help. God, talking to her didn't help. She did it for him… fuck- she did it for him… No matter what I do, am I just destined to hurt him..? He made himself smaller, choking on his own tears. I- I need to fucking die, be anywhere but here. Why… why can't I just- Why do I need to hurt him… Why can't I just- we just- Why did any of this need to happen…
He didn't know how long he sat in that tree… the next time he looked up he noticed the sun was setting. His body was so numb from the cold he had a hard time climbing down, his legs shaking with each movement. He trudged through the woods, back to his place, his home. Did it even feel like home anymore? He didn't know… he got to the front door and turned the knob, shivering at the stark contrast in temperature. He wanted to sleep, to lie on his couch and waste the day away, but he couldn't.
Richie was here.
“Hey~” he waved at Seven, not looking up from his notebook, scribbling something on the page.
“H-hey…” his voice was choked out, strained, and Richie looked up at him immediately.
“What's up?”
“Nothing… just need to lie down for a sec…” He tried his best to sit on the couch, but his legs gave out, falling into it.
“Pfft yeah I guess you did!” Richie nudged Seven, then quickly recoiled, “Holy shit man you're freezing!!! You sure you're good?”
“Yeah, yeah it's just… a lot… I guess…” he felt a ball grow in his throat, stifling his voice, and brought a hand to his face, doing his best to hide his expression.
Richie got up from the couch and walked upstairs, leaving Seven alone for a moment. He didn't want to talk to Rich. Why did Rich have to be here? He lied down, curling into himself on the couch, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing a thumb over his knuckles, doing his best to calm himself down. Then, he felt something pressing against him. It was a blanket, Richie looked down at him sadly as he sat on the other end of the couch.
“Wanna talk about it..?” He cocked his head to the side, trying his best to smile.
“Mmmm…” Seven pulled the blanket closer to him, “People suck.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They sat for a moment in silence, Richie shifting awkwardly. “What'd they do?”
Seven sat himself up, avoiding eye contact, “Hey Rich… how long have you known… about Six and Amber…”
He almost looked surprised by the question at first, then it looked like all the pieces fell into place. “Do you want the answer that'll make you feel better, or the truth?”
“...Truth.”
“Pretty much since you started dating her.”
It felt like a knife, stabbing and slicing. Jabbing all of his insides and pulling out what it could hook itself onto. And he keeled over, gripping his gut, scrunching his face with the pain.
“...sorry…”
“No!! No uhh It's fine. I'm fine ahhh just- just feel a bit sick haha…”
“Why… why does this bother you this much…”
“Huh?” Seven turned to look at Rich, and his face was pained.
“I don't get it, they're fighting, cool. How does that affect you?”
“It-” he didn't get it, how could this not affect him? It's his girlfriend and his brother. Was it not affecting Rich? Hearing that his childhood friend is getting physical with his friend’s girlfriend? Didn't he want to do something about it ??? Is Seven just crazy?? “Rich, it's my girlfriend and my brother… I don't-”
“Yeah but like, they're not hurting you.”
“No, but they are !! I don't want my people hurting each other, Rich!!”
He sat on that for a second, looked like he was really pondering it, “So just tell them to stop?”
Why didn't I think of that!! “Like it's that simple Rich. They're not sorry, they don't feel bad. How could I possibly get them to stop if they don't feel bad about it?”
He shifted in his seat, “So… you talked to them?”
Such a stupid question, an idiotic question, “YES!! He blamed it on her and she blamed it on him!! And both apologized, but not for what they did!! They apologized for how it affected me !!!! I’M FUCKING LOSING MY MIND RICH WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO !?!?!?” Seven looked manic, a crazed look glazing his eyes as he leaned into Rich.
And Richie just watched. Stared at him with a saddened expression. “I don't know…”
Seven felt something crack, something break inside. There’s no reason to yell at Richie. He didn’t deserve it… “Sorry… fuck, I’m sorry…”
“It’s ok… So, they blame each other?”
Seven chuckled under his breath, “Yeah… Six says he was just protectin’ himself. Amb says she was tryna protect me.”
Richie almost laughed at that. “Protect you from what?”
“From Six.” Seven giggled with the remark, then stared off into the ground, paying close attention to the cracks in his floor, “Do I really seem that helpless..?” A smile still spread across his lips.
“Nah, not if you ask me anyway.” Richie stretched out, purposefully kicking Seven in the process.
“Asshole!! I ain't askin you!!”
“Well I'm the only one here so who else would you be asking!?” Richie said, a shit eating grin plastered his face.
“The ghost that lives in this place, Rich! Didn't I tell you about ‘em?” Seven leaned over with a playful smile.
“No you didn't~~ please tell me more.” Rich rolled his eyes.
“Ya see, the family that used to live in this place had a daughter, Elizabeth. She was a sweet girl, kind, caring, but ya see, she wasn't the smartest. When she was ‘bout 14, she fell down the stairs and snapped her neck.”
Richie stared at Seven like he was kidding. “Is… is there more..?”
“Nah, she snapped her neck and died.” He said it so matter-of-factly, then leaned back into the couch.
“Soooo… she came back as a ghost..?”
“No! Are you fucking stupid Rich? This isn't Occult Club!!”
“BUT YOU JUST FUCKING SAID-”
Seven's laughter interrupted him, a strong laugh that came from his belly. He couldn't stop, bringing himself to the verge of tears. The way Richie got so frustrated so quickly!! It was exactly what Seven needed.
“Laugh it up dickhead. I hope you get hit by a train.” Richie crossed his arms, pouting.
“Awww, did it hurt your feelings that badddd?” He leaned into Rich, but was immediately shoved away.
“Fuck off!!” A huge smile spread across his face, laughing with the words, making it hard to take him seriously.
Seven laughed with him and for a moment, he felt lighter. For a moment, he was allowed to be happy, to be normal. But the moment was fleeting, as he calmed his breath he stared at his hands. Staring at his torn knuckles, signs of his weakness. “What do I do Rich…”
“Dunno.”
Seven turned to face him, looking a little more than annoyed, “You dunno? ”
“Yeah, Amber isn't my girlfriend. Six isn't my brother. I have no clue what I'd do, so I'd probably just do nothing. But you aren't me man, you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Seven sat on that for a second. “You were weirdly sensible about that…”
“I wanna be a playwright, Seven! I better be fucking sensible with my words!!”
Seven snickered at that. He'd have to deal with Six and Amber properly, but for now? For now, he was gonna pretend. Pretend everything was fine, and that it'll be ok…
“You hungry, Rich?”