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Rowan's stomach was heaving, he felt himself about to retch yet he didn't. To prevent making a fool out of himself, he kept it in as much as he could.
He had to grit his teeth to prevent anything from coming out.
"...Khe-"
'..?'
Turning his head where the noise came from, there stood the trauma consultant.
Seth Thorne.
"Y-you—Are you-"
"No, continue playing."
Rowan wasn't buying it one bit!
He could see the way Seth covered his mouth, and the struggle to not smile at his suffering.
The dark room suddenly felt more suffocating than ever, Rowan wished there was light.
'I came here for a therapy session...'
How'd he end up playing a horror game instead?
Putting his attention back onto the game, he just felt more shitty, like he was being used as some sort of guinea pig.
'Is this how all game testers feel?'
His eyebrows slightly furrowed. He was far from being alright, like he had said, he was here for a therapy session.
His black circles under his eyes were still very prominent. However, with Seth's help, his sleep schedule became much better.
The bed didn't suddenly feel like a chore to lay on, usually he'd spend his time doing nothing but staring at the ceiling on it. But lately, he had actually slept.
And that's the problem!
Seth was rarely ever available.
Rowan would knock on his door many times, even going as far as to beg him to answer, but Seth never does. It has gotten to the point where he'd clock in for work much earlier just to see Seth at least once.
Today was one of the days Rowan managed to see Seth, but unfortunately, he'd been tricked into playing the games he developed.
Rowan knew that the only reason he'd been able to continue with his sessions up until now was because Seth pitied him, and because he needed somebody to test his games on.
His fingers continued to hover over the keyboard as the clicking sounds intensified.
Click. Click.
Click.
'Survive... That's all I need to do.'
It shouldn't be hard, right?
He dealt with anomalies on a daily basis, there's no reason on why he should be scared of a simple horror game!
Actually, there was one...
It's a game Seth made.
Staring intently at the screen, he licked his dry lips as the realisation dawned upon him.
No, Rowan knew a long time ago.
He just didn't want to admit it.
But to secure his future counseling sessions, he had to go through this hellish ordeal.
'No, no... Why is my heart beating so fast.'
Rowan felt the color draining from his face as he struggled to survive. He felt himself being immersed inside of the game, as if he was actually experiencing it.
It didn't feel like a a game at all.
Then...
[Death]
His character died.
And Rowan passed out at the same time.
...
'Did he just pass out?'
Seth's fingers went to Rowan's neck, touching the pulse softly to make sure he didn't die of a heart attack.
"If he died, that would be really bad..."
Not only would he lose the perfect guinea pig, but he wouldn't be allowed to sell his games on Dock anymore!
"Hey, wake up."
Turning his head slightly towards the side, he sat down on his desk.
He reached towards Rowan's hair locks and grabbed them, pulling them to get a better look at his face.
"He really did pass out..."
"Well, I guess I owe him a counseling session for doing me this favour."
Seth let go of his hair, letting Rowan hit the desk head on.
Thud!
"..."
Is he really somebody of the Third Order?
"I didn't know there would be this much of a difference."
Seth stood in silence as he thought about Kyle.
'One day... I'll make him scream.'
Seth eventually turned his attention back to Rowan.
His expression turned into one that of amusement, he relished in this feeling.
Rowan didn't scream, no, but his expression said all that Seth needed to know.
He was scared.
And the cause of it...
Was his horror game.
"...Kek."
Seth quickly covered his mouth before quickly turning towards the door.
'I really need to get out of here.'
If he didn't, he wasn't sure if he could control himself anymore.
A child appeared in his point of view, her white clothes making her look like a mental ward patient. Her eyes were all doe and tearful.
"Can I have some chips?"
"No."
Her expression shifted immediately once she realised it wouldn't work, revealing her true self.
"Give me the chips! I know you have them!"
Squeak! Squeak!
The horn echoed loudly in the office. Thankfully, other than Rowan, there was nobody else wide awake at this hour.
"If you don't give me the chips, I'll go with the clown!"
"You—!"
Seth immediately froze at the thought of Mirelle going with this perverted son of a clown.
Squeak! Squeak!
Mr. Jingles nodded fervently, standing next to Seth as if agreeing with his previous take of Mirelle eating too many chips.
"...The chips are in the cabinet back at home, be careful to not get caught."
Mr. Jingles looked at Seth with a betrayed expression.
"What are you going to do with that guy?
Seth looked towards where Mirelle's finger was pointing at.
It was Rowan drooling on his desk as he fell into a deep sleep.
'That fucker...'
"Leave him here, he'll get out once he wakes up."
Seth sighed as he looked at his 'patient' who was more of an experimental subject to him.
"Ah, but I'd feel bad if he's left all alone in here...!"
Mirelle clasped her hands together as she looked at the unconscious man.
"I had a lot of fun last time, I'd love playing with him again~"
"..."
"Hehe~"
"On second thought, I still need him to test out my games. I'll bring him back to my room."
Squeak!
"Aw, okay..."
Seth couldn't afford to lose Rowan to Mirelle like last time, not when Kyle is avoiding his games like the plague.
Recalling the first time he met Rowan made him want to sigh loudly, letting him meet Mirelle again...
'Zoey... is a big no, and I don't know other people as much as those three.'
Yes, Seth needed Rowan.
Hence, that's why he decided on taking him back to his room.
***
With the help of the Nightwalker, Seth lowered down Rowan's body to his bed.
Before laying down himself, he wanted to take a shower first.
"Alright, now then..."
"More chips."
Mirelle took out an empty bag of chips, showing it off to Seth.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!"
"No is a no, and that's final."
"That's not fair! You said you'd feed me tons of food if I went with you!"
"You make it sound like I kidnapped you..."
Seth froze, blankly staring at Mirelle before sighing.
'Technically, I did kidnap her...'
Running his hand over his face, he looked at Mirelle before finally adding.
"You'll get more tomorrow."
"..."
Turning around, she went back inside of the frame she resides in.
And Seth was completely drained by now.
'I'll just take a shower and then go to sleep.'
This time, he really needed it.
Finally, after what felt like forever, he was finished showering.
Seth plopped down on the side of the bed, his eyes already closing. While it felt a little unnerving knowing that somebody else was with him, he didn't really move around a lot in his sleep.
He wasn't that worried.
So, he let himself go.
And...
Bzz!
Static could be heard from Seth's phone, yet nobody woke up.
Both Rowan and Seth slept, each to their own side. The bed wasn't quite large enough to fit both of them, so it felt a bit cramped.
Seth's ear twitched as he slightly moved closer to the edge of the bed.
Of course, he'd be the first one to notice, even while he's asleep.
"Cover that guy's ears, quick!"
Mirelle hurriedly looked towards the Nightwalker, assigning him a task it would gladly do.
It nodded and stretched it's elongated dark arms, carefully trying to cover Rowan's ears without waking him up.
The Conductor stared at the scene happening in front of him.
Slowly turning towards him, Mirelle stiffly and politely asked. "Um... Can you cover his ears."
She pointed towards Seth.
"..."
"Please...?"
The Conductor stepped towards Seth, moving his hair before placing his hands on his ears.
Mirelle's eyes sparkled at the scene, finally...
It was Mr. Jingles time to shine.
The first time the static happened, it couldn't be heard unless you focused intently on it.
Now, the entire room was filled with the sound, louder than before.
On Seth's phone, smiling widely, a cartoonish-looking clown character appeared.
It was Mr. Jingles.
"Mr. Jingles says~ Sleep peacefully."
Seth relaxed against the Conductor's hand, who found the entire situation even more amusing.
"Mr. Jingles says~ Move closer to each other."
To prevent them from waking up, the two anomalies stopped covering their ears once they made sure that they're sound asleep.
Both Seth and Rowan moved closer to each other.
"Mr. Jingles says~ Hug each other."
Rowan put his hands on Seth's waist, pulling him closer as Seth moved on top of him for a more comfortable position.
Rowan's shoulders were visibly relaxed more than before, Seth's hair was blocking him from breathing properly.
He didn't seem to mind it, he even leaned in closer to him.
Mr. Jingles disappeared from the phone's screen, going back to rest now that his job was done.
"...Hihi—"
Mirelle covered her mouth.
"Hehe—Phone, phone!"
The Nightwalker took the phone, Mirelle helped in guiding him to where the Camera app was.
"Quick, take a picture, quick! Make sure to get one from every single angle~"
In a playful tone, she quickly ran to the side of the bed and stuck her tongue out at the two sleeping together.
"That's what you get for not lending me chips..."
The Conductor moved away from the picture, sometimes butting in to help with the camera positioning.
"I can't wait till they wake up~"
The sound of giggles could be heard throughout the room. Mirelle went back inside the frame, spying on them through it.
Finally, the sound of birds chirping outside could be heard.
And...
"If you don't let me go on the count of three, I'm going to punch you."
"What?"
"Three."
Then, the sound of a punch could be heard. Seth's hand landing directly on his eye.
"A-ow!"
Rowan clutched at his eye, his arm leaving Seth's waist.
"Y-you didn't even let me-"
"Shut it."
Seth moved slowly, trying to get up. His legs felt a bit wobbly as his mind struggled to not think of anything provocative.
"...Wait, can you move a bit more slowly?"
"Fuck you!"
The sound of a punch landing could be heard once more.
***
"You look like shit."
Zoey commented on Rowan's appearance.
"Um—Rowan, did something happen?"
Kyle moved closer to check on him, wincing at the black eye.
"Oh wow, that looks really bad."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, Zoey's right. You really do look like shit, are you sure you can work like this?"
The Section Chief stepped into the room, glancing at everyone when his eyes finally landed on Rowan.
"That's a really bad one, who the hell did you piss off?"
Even he felt pity for Rowan.
"Seth punched me."
Zoey's eyes widened at his words, her expression became one of annoyance at the mention of Seth.
"Seriously? Fuck, that guy always has a problem with everything. Let me guess, you didn't want to test his stupid game out and he got mad at you?"
"...Come on, Seth's not like that. There was probably a reason on why he did...that."
"Kyle, he gave the man one of the worst cases of a black eye that I've ever seen."
Turning towards Rowan, Kyle tried to figure out the context behind his black eye.
"What exactly happened between you guys?"
Silence ensured.
By now, everybody in the room was focusing on the story between Seth and Rowan.
And Rowan, well...
He was too out of it to think of a proper answer.
"I accidentally slept with Seth and he punched me when he woke up."
"..."
"What the fuck did you just say?"
"Y-you..."
"Oh my god."